BTCC 2011 - Rounds 1, 2 & 3 - Brands Hatch

[Julie B]

QUALIFYING
Neal takes first pole of 2011

Matt Neal has qualified on pole position for the opening round of the 2011 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent.

Worcestershire’s Neal, driving his Honda Racing Team’s new turbocharged Civic, set a new qualifying lap record of 48.210s to achieve pole. Over such a short lap (the Brands Indy circuit is just 1.2 miles in length) that was a staggering 0.255s clear of his rivals, headed by young charger Andrew Jordan in his Pirtek Racing Vauxhall Vectra – like Neal, also using a turbo engine built to the BTCC’s latest Next Generation Touring Car regulations.

Third was the reigning Champion Jason Plato in his Silverline Chevrolet Cruze while another youngster, James Nash in his turbocharged 888 Racing with Collins Contractors Vectra, put in a late burst of speed to secure fourth place on the starting grid for the first of tomorrow’s three races.

Neal, BTCC Champion in 2005 and 2006 and runner-up to Plato last season, said: “What a start and we’ve probably even surprised ourselves with that gap. But the race will be different – we can’t sustain that pace every lap and all the turbo runners are expecting to suffer greater tyre wear over the second half of the race whereas Jason is not too far away. He’ll come on really strong as the race wears on so starting ahead of him in particular is exactly where I need to be.”

Jordan, aged just 21 from Lichfield, added: “I was fastest in the morning practice sessions and knew the pace would increase again in qualifying but perhaps not quite by that much! I’m confident I can give Matt a good run over a race distance, but the one I’m really watching is Jason – that Chevrolet is notoriously good at looking after its tyres and he is the big threat for all of us.”

But Plato, who starts the new season equal with Andy Rouse’s record of 60 wins, begged to differ. The Oxford racer commented: “That really is everything we’ve got in our tank – we’ve gone quicker than the pole record we set here last October yet the gap to Matt is still nearly four tenths of a second which is a bit of a shock. The other teams have clearly done a great job in the winter. There is all this talk about the turbo cars having tyre worries but until we actually find out tomorrow then that’s all it is… talk!”

Completing the top six in qualifying were Plato’s young Cumbrian team-mate Alex MacDowall and Warwickshire’s Mat Jackson in the local Wrotham-based Airwaves Racing team’s Ford Focus. Tom Chilton had looked set to challenge Neal for pole but instead dropped to seventh when his best time was disallowed after his Team Aon Ford Focus failed a mandatory ride height check.

At least he took part in qualifying. Having to sit out the session after a high-speed crash in morning practice badly damaged his car was Neal’s team-mate Gordon Shedden. The Fife racer, third in last year’s BTCC, is therefore set to start tomorrow’s first race from the back of the 23-car grid.

1. Matt Neal Honda 48.210s
2. Andrew Jordan Eurotech Vauxhall 48.465s + 0.255s
3. Jason Plato Chevrolet 48.583s + 0.373s
4. James Nash Triple 8 Vauxhall 48.623s + 0.413s
5. Alex MacDowall Chevrolet 48.658s + 0.448s
6. Mat Jackson Motorbase Ford 48.667s + 0.457s
7. Tom Chilton Arena Ford 48.668s + 0.458s
8. Tom Boardman Special Tuning SEAT 48.752s + 0.542s
9. Paul O'Neill Tech-Speed Chevrolet 48.849s + 0.639s
10. Andy Neate Arena Ford 49.036s + 0.826s
11. Tony Gilham Triple 8 Vauxhall 49.045s + 0.835s
12. Rob Collard WSR BMW 49.130s + 0.920s
13. Jeff Smith Eurotech Vauxhall 49.176s + 0.966s
14. Liam Griffin Motorbase Ford 49.220s + 1.010s
15. Dave Newsham Geoff Steel BMW 49.248s + 1.038s
16. Tom Onslow-Cole AmD Volkswagen 49.540s + 1.330s
17. Nick Foster WSR BMW 49.587s + 1.377s
18. John George Tech-Speed Chevrolet 50.065s + 1.855s
19. Chris James ES Chevrolet 51.169s + 2.959s
20. Frank Wrathall Dynojet Toyota 51.449s + 3.239s
21. Tony Hughes Speedworks Toyota 51.736s + 3.526s
22. Gordon Shedden Honda

[Julie B]

RACE 1 - RESULTS
Jason Plato has won today’s first Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship race of 2011 at Brands Hatch to set a new series wins record.

Reigning champion Plato led every lap in his Silverline Chevrolet Cruze after Honda’s Matt Neal, who’d started from pole position, was pushed into a spin and out of the race after just two corners (see photo).

The victory is the 61st of Plato’s incredible career in the BTCC and it means, in terms of wins, he is now the most successful driver in the championship’s history – he’d gone into the race tied with Andy Rouse on 60.

Oxford’s Plato said: “It’s a really good way to start the season. I wasn’t expecting a win as we certainly don’t have Matt’s pace at the minute. Third was on my radar but I got a decent start and managed to block Andrew Jordan out so that was second. Then Matt made a tiny error and went wide at Paddock Hill Bend and I got the overlap on the run up to Druids Bend. I wasn’t home and dry but knew then I had a chance to win. Matt having a problem made it a lot easier.

“The wins record is a bonus but I’m not bored yet of the feeling I get from winning so I want to win a lot more before I’m done.”

James Nash finished a best-ever second in his 888 Racing with Collins Contractors Vauxhall Vectra while third, giving Team Aon’s new Global Ford Focus a podium result on its debut, was Tom Chilton.

Nash, who started fourth and set a new lap record, was delighted with second place – a position he held from Druids on the opening lap. At the finish he was just 0.709s behind Plato. The youngster from Newport Pagnell said: “There was a bit of a mess in front going into the corner which opened up the door for me very nicely so thanks very much!”

Closely following Chilton throughout for fourth was Mat Jackson in rival Ford team Airwaves Racing's Focus, while Plato's team-mate Alex MacDowall and Honda's Gordon Shedden completed the top six – the latter with the drive of the race having started back in 22nd and last following a heavy crash yesterday.

Elsewhere, there were points on their BTCC debuts for both Nash’s team-mate Tony Gilham and Dave Newsham in his Geoff Steel Racing BMW as they finished in eighth and tenth places respectively.

Just ahead of Gilham in seventh in the GoMobileUK.com with tech-speed's new Chevrolet Cruze was Paul O'Neill, while behind in ninth was the Pirtek Racing Vauxhall Vectra of Jeff Smith.

Smith’s team-mate Andrew Jordan, who started from second on the grid, finished 16th and a lap down after a troubled race. He lost places in a tangle with MacDowall at Druids Bend on the opening lap which led to the Chevrolet bumping Neal's Honda into a spin. Jordan then set about making up lost ground and had just passed MacDowall for fifth when he slowed with a left front puncture.

Tom Boardman had looked set to finish sixth but retired his Special Tuning Racing SEAT Leon with front-end damage after a clash with Shedden's Honda in the closing stages.

Of the other top names, Tom Onslow-Cole was 13th in his first outing in the AmD Milltek Racing.com team's VW Golf. Robert Collard was 17th, two laps down, after a pit stop to cure his wounded WSR BMW following a collision on the green flag lap with Airwaves rookie Liam Griffin's Focus. Griffin's car was too badly damaged in the impact to make the start.

1. Jason Plato Chevrolet 20m31.736s
2. James Nash Triple 8 Vauxhall + 0.709s
3. Tom Chilton Arena Ford + 4.318s
4. Mat Jackson Motorbase Ford + 4.746s
5. Alex MacDowall Chevrolet + 13.078s
6. Gordon Shedden Honda + 14.663s
7. Paul O'Neill Tech-Speed Chevrolet + 15.260s
8. Tony Gilham Triple 8 Vauxhall + 16.259s
9. Jeff Smith Eurotech Vauxhall + 21.946s
10. Dave Newsham Geoff Steel BMW + 23.508s
11. Andy Neate Arena Ford + 24.798s
12. Nick Foster WSR BMW + 26.706s
13. Tom Onslow-Cole AmD Volkswagen + 28.240s
14. John George Tech-Speed Chevrolet + 1 lap
15. Chris James ES Chevrolet + 1 lap
16. Andrew Jordan Eurotech Vauxhall + 1 lap
17. Rob Collard WSR BMW + 2 laps

Retirements:

Tom Boardman Special Tuning SEAT 22 laps
Tony Hughes Speedworks Toyota 15 laps
Frank Wrathall Dynojet Toyota 13 laps
Liam Griffin Motorbase Ford 0 laps
Matt Neal Honda 0 laps

[Julie B]

RACE 2 - RESULTS
Jason Plato has won today’s second Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship race at Brands Hatch – adding to his victory in the first.

As in race one, Plato led all the way in his Silverline Chevrolet Cruze to achieve the 62nd triumph of his career (he’d already achieved a record 61st earlier today).

The Honda Racing Team’s Gordon Shedden finished second in his repaired Civic ahead of Mat Jackson’s Airwaves Racing Ford Focus. Jackson had held second for much of the race, challenging Plato for the lead early on, but in the closing stages was passed by Shedden and dropped to third.

Plato's two wins today have already thrust him into a handy 11-point championship lead but he will only start from seventh on race three's reversed grid. He said: “Winning that one will be impossible. My car will have maximum success ballast (45kgs) again and all the turbo cars around me have much better torque out of the corners which makes it very difficult to overtake them. Given the buffer we’ve already built up in races one and two then a nice boring points finish will be quite satisfactory, but if there’s a gap I’ll certainly be going for it.”

Scottish ace Shedden, who started the race from sixth – reward for a terrific drive from 22nd in race one – added: “The Honda Racing Team really deserve this for the work they did in repairing the car after the crash yesterday. I was quite happy to follow Jackson, but then it started to go a bit pear-shaped for him and when his car went wide at Clearways I didn’t need a second invitation to nip down the inside.”

James Nash, second in race one, took fourth in his 888 Racing with Collins Contractors Vauxhall Vectra, followed by Paul O’Neill’s GoMobileUK.com with tech-speed Chevrolet Cruze. Sixth and seventh, having worked their way through from the back of the grid after problems in race one, were Andrew Jordan (Pirtek Vectra) and Shedden’s team-mate Matt Neal who set a new lap record.

Notably, after the race and live on the ITV network's ITV4 and ITV4 HD channels, Ferrari’s 1979 Formula 1 World Champion Jody Scheckter drew Number 7 to put Neal on pole position for race three's reversed starting grid. Jordan will therefore line up in second alongside Neal – just as they started today’s first race having qualified first and second fastest in Saturday’s qualifying session.

Meanwhile, sixth for many laps, Tom Chilton wilted to eighth in his Aon Focus. Robert Collard (WSR BMW) and, scoring another point on debut BTCC event, Nash’s team-mate Tony Gilham completed the top ten. Fellow newcomer Dave Newsham (GSR BMW) was just half a second behind Gilham at the flag in 11th having earlier spent many a lap battling with Collard.

Plato’s team-mate Alex MacDowall finished 13th following a pit lane drive-through penalty for jumping the start. Other top names Tom Onslow-Cole (AmD Milltek Golf) and Tom Boardman (STR SEAT) retired on the opening lap with accident damage after their cars had collided at the very first bend.

1. Jason Plato Chevrolet 22m21.689s
2. Gordon Shedden Honda + 2.128s
3. Mat Jackson Motorbase Ford + 2.588s
4. James Nash Triple 8 Vauxhall + 3.001s
5. Paul O'Neill Tech-Speed Chevrolet + 4.232s
6. Andrew Jordan Eurotech Vauxhall + 5.859s
7. Matt Neal Honda + 6.286s
8. Tom Chilton Arena Ford + 9.868s
9. Rob Collard WSR BMW + 11.816s
10. Tony Gilham Triple 8 Vauxhall + 16.019s
11. Dave Newsham Geoff Steel BMW + 16.526s
12. Andy Neate Arena Ford + 17.468s
13. Alex MacDowall Chevrolet + 22.893s
14. Nick Foster WSR BMW + 28.476s
15. John George Tech-Speed Chevrolet + 31.259s
16. Jeff Smith Eurotech Vauxhall + 31.395s
17. Chris James ES Chevrolet + 1 lap
18. Liam Griffin Motorbase Ford + 1 lap
19. Tony Hughes Speedworks Toyota + 3 laps

Retirements:

Tom Onslow-Cole AmD Volkswagen 1 lap
Tom Boardman Special Tuning SEAT 0 laps

[Julie B]

RACE 3 - RESULTS
Matt Neal has won today’s third Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship race at Brands Hatch – the first victory for Honda's new turbo engine.

Neal led all the way from pole position in his Honda Racing Team Civic, setting the fastest lap time en route for a bonus point. The victory went some way to making up for his race one disappointment this morning when he'd also started from pole position only to be spun into retirement.

Finishing close behind in second was Mat Jackson in local team Airwaves Racing’s Ford Focus and third Paul O’Neill, giving the GoMobileUK.com with tech-speed team a first podium result with its new Chevrolet Cruze.

Neal told btcc.net: “That was a tough win. I was very mindful of tyre wear so was having to just put in spurts of speed to keep Mat out of reach. But after what happened in today’s first race this is a really good way to end our day. I'm chuffed to bits for everyone at Honda and Team Dynamics."

Fourth was Neal’s team-mate Gordon Shedden after he eventually found a way past Jason Plato’s Silverline Chevrolet Cruze which finished in fifth. As a result, reigning Champion Plato, who won the day’s earlier two races, leaves Brands Hatch leading the championship standings by nine points from Jackson. A surprise third in the order, just four points further back, is James Nash who finished the race in sixth position having picked up second and fourth places earlier in the day in his 888 Racing with Collins Contractors Vauxhall Vectra.

Seventh, having lost out to Nash after a lengthy battle, was WSR BMW driver Robert Collard. He was closesly followed across the line by Tom Chilton's Aon Ford Focus and Plato's team-mate Alex MacDowall. Nash's delighted team-mate Tony Gilham made it three points finishes from all three races on his BTCC debut with another very impressive tenth place.

But the race again proved disastrous for fellow Vectra driver Andrew Jordan. The Pirtek Racing star had challenged Neal for the lead over the opening laps until, for the second time today, his car slowed with a deflated left front tyre.

Chilton's team-mate Andy Neate was also in the wars, his car being spun round on the opening lap as the pack exited Druids Bend. He recovered to finish an eventual 16th.

1. Matt Neal Honda 19m50.198s
2. Mat Jackson Motorbase Ford + 0.189s
3. Paul O'Neill Tech-Speed Chevrolet + 3.813s
4. Gordon Shedden Honda + 6.602s
5. Jason Plato Chevrolet + 7.150s
6. James Nash Triple 8 Vauxhall + 7.323s
7. Rob Collard WSR BMW + 7.928s
8. Tom Chilton Arena Ford + 8.307s
9. Alex MacDowall Chevrolet + 8.910s
10. Tony Gilham Triple 8 Vauxhall + 11.764s
11. Tom Boardman Special Tuning SEAT + 13.663s
12. Dave Newsham Geoff Steel BMW + 14.026s
13. Tom Onslow-Cole AmD Volkswagen + 25.806s
14. Jeff Smith Eurotech Vauxhall + 25.910s
15. Nick Foster WSR BMW + 26.427s
16. Andy Neate Arena Ford + 26.996s
17. John George Tech-Speed Chevrolet + 33.353s
18. Liam Griffin Motorbase Ford + 33.589s
19. Chris James ES Chevrolet + 1 lap
20. Andrew Jordan Eurotech Vauxhall + 1 lap
21. Tony Hughes Speedworks Toyota + 1 lap

[Julie B]

RACE 3 - RESULTS
Matt Neal has won today’s third Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship race at Brands Hatch – the first victory for Honda's new turbo engine.

Neal led all the way from pole position in his Honda Racing Team Civic, setting the fastest lap time en route for a bonus point. The victory went some way to making up for his race one disappointment this morning when he'd also started from pole position only to be spun into retirement.

Finishing close behind in second was Mat Jackson in local team Airwaves Racing’s Ford Focus and third Paul O’Neill, giving the GoMobileUK.com with tech-speed team a first podium result with its new Chevrolet Cruze.

Neal told btcc.net: “That was a tough win. I was very mindful of tyre wear so was having to just put in spurts of speed to keep Mat out of reach. But after what happened in today’s first race this is a really good way to end our day. I'm chuffed to bits for everyone at Honda and Team Dynamics."

Fourth was Neal’s team-mate Gordon Shedden after he eventually found a way past Jason Plato’s Silverline Chevrolet Cruze which finished in fifth. As a result, reigning Champion Plato, who won the day’s earlier two races, leaves Brands Hatch leading the championship standings by nine points from Jackson. A surprise third in the order, just four points further back, is James Nash who finished the race in sixth position having picked up second and fourth places earlier in the day in his 888 Racing with Collins Contractors Vauxhall Vectra.

Seventh, having lost out to Nash after a lengthy battle, was WSR BMW driver Robert Collard. He was closesly followed across the line by Tom Chilton's Aon Ford Focus and Plato's team-mate Alex MacDowall. Nash's delighted team-mate Tony Gilham made it three points finishes from all three races on his BTCC debut with another very impressive tenth place.

But the race again proved disastrous for fellow Vectra driver Andrew Jordan. The Pirtek Racing star had challenged Neal for the lead over the opening laps until, for the second time today, his car slowed with a deflated left front tyre.

Chilton's team-mate Andy Neate was also in the wars, his car being spun round on the opening lap as the pack exited Druids Bend. He recovered to finish an eventual 16th.

1. Matt Neal Honda 19m50.198s
2. Mat Jackson Motorbase Ford + 0.189s
3. Paul O'Neill Tech-Speed Chevrolet + 3.813s
4. Gordon Shedden Honda + 6.602s
5. Jason Plato Chevrolet + 7.150s
6. James Nash Triple 8 Vauxhall + 7.323s
7. Rob Collard WSR BMW + 7.928s
8. Tom Chilton Arena Ford + 8.307s
9. Alex MacDowall Chevrolet + 8.910s
10. Tony Gilham Triple 8 Vauxhall + 11.764s
11. Tom Boardman Special Tuning SEAT + 13.663s
12. Dave Newsham Geoff Steel BMW + 14.026s
13. Tom Onslow-Cole AmD Volkswagen + 25.806s
14. Jeff Smith Eurotech Vauxhall + 25.910s
15. Nick Foster WSR BMW + 26.427s
16. Andy Neate Arena Ford + 26.996s
17. John George Tech-Speed Chevrolet + 33.353s
18. Liam Griffin Motorbase Ford + 33.589s
19. Chris James ES Chevrolet + 1 lap
20. Andrew Jordan Eurotech Vauxhall + 1 lap
21. Tony Hughes Speedworks Toyota + 1 lap

[Rob]

great to have BTCC back. Was a good days racing. In the Ginetta juniors, what or should say where has the Moores gone?