BTCC - Donington 2013

[Julie B]

FP1

Shedden sets the pace
Reigning BTCC champion Gordon Shedden set the quickest time in the opening Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship free practice session at Donington Park this morning (20 April).

The Honda Yuasa Racing driver pipped his team-mate Matt Neal by just 0.008s, with the MG duo of Sam Tordoff and Jason Plato close behind – themselves separated by just 0.020s.

After a mixed weekend at Brands Hatch, Shedden expects to run well here at Donington Park, particularly with not having to carry any ballast for qualifying and race one. “We have no weight so I’m not surprised to see we’re at the top, but there’s still room to improve,” he said. “We need to be qualifying near the front while we have no ballast so let’s hope we’re competitive this afternoon”

Andrew Jordan led the way for much of the first half of the session, after eclipsing the Toyota of early pace-setter Frank Wrathall. Jordan has to settle for fifth at the finish however, but within touching distance of the Manufacturer-run quartet.

A fuel pump issue curtailed Adam Morgan’s early running but the Ciceley Racing driver’s good form continued as he surged into the top six late on. Morgan ran well during pre-season testing at Donington before scoring a career best finish of fourth at Brands Hatch last time out. His impressive display again during practice at the Leicestershire venue means he continues his run as Toyota’s top performer so far in 2013.

There were encouraging signs for both eBay Motors and Airwaves Racing who both experienced difficult weekends at the Brands season opener. Colin Turkington and Aron Smith set the seventh and eighth fastest times respectively in free practice one, but more importantly for the two squads, their times were less than four tenths off the ultimate pace.

Despite setting the first representative time in the session, Wrathall ended up ninth, ahead of fellow Toyota pilot Dave Newsham. It was, however, a dramatic session for Newsham and his Speedworks team-mate Ollie Jackson. The duo endured three spins between them down at the Old Hairpin with Newsham’s final excursion taking place just before he set his quickest lap of the session. No sooner had Newsham returned to the track, that his team-mate Jackson was having his own moment coming out of Redgate.

Such was the competitiveness of the session; the top ten were covered by just half a second.

Mat Jackson’s Ford Focus and Jeff Smith’s Honda Civic followed in the times behind Newsham, whilst Tom Onslow-Cole will have been encouraged to be just one second off the pace in 13th.

James Kaye was the quickest S2000 runner in his VW Golf, ahead of David Nye's Ford Focus and Warren Scott's SEAT Leon.

2013 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Donington Park - Free Practice 1
1. Gordon Shedden (Honda Yuasa Racing): 1:10.595
2. Matt Neal (Honda Yuasa Racing): +0.008
3. Sam Tordoff (MG KX Momentum Racing): +0.265
4. Jason Plato (MG KX Momentum Racing): +0.285
5. Andrew Jordan (Pirtek Racing): +0.298
6. Adam Morgan (Ciceley Racing): +0.337
7. Colin Turkington (eBay Motors): +0.338
8. Aron Smith (Airwaves Racing): +0.387
9. Frank Wrathall (Dynojet): +0.440
10. Dave Newsham (Speedworks Motorsport): +0.503

[Rob]

Yuasa ‏@YuasaBTCC 18 Apr
MATT NEAL: "I'll be lighter than usual for Donington which should help for qualifying & for a strong weekend.

Good weekend again for motorsport.

[Julie B]

FP2

Jordan quickest in FP2
A flurry of activity in the final few minutes of free practice two saw Pirtek Racing’s Andrew Jordan post the fastest time of the day at Donington Park. The local driver took pole position last time out at Brands Hatch, and is again looking like the man to beat going into this afternoon’s qualifying session.

KX Momentum Racing’s Jason Plato was just 0.184s behind Jordan, and both drivers will be buoyed by their pace, having 45kg and 36kg of ballast on board respectively. Jordan commented after the session, “Most of my laps are on the edge but there’s always a little bit left. I am sure qualifying will be into the 1m 9s. I still think the likes of Shedden will be up there for qualifying as he doesn’t have any ballast but if we put it anywhere on the first two rows we’ll be happy with that.”

Plato added: “We tried a few things in FP1 that didn't work so we've reverted back towards the set-up we had at Brands Hatch. There's still some improvements to be made but to do that time with 45kg on the car - I am pretty happy with that.”

Gordon Shedden, who was fastest in the first free practice session this morning, sat at the top of the time sheets for much of the forty minute session but ultimately posted the third fastest time behind Jordan and Plato. Plato’s team-mate Sam Tordoff again impressed with consistently fast times and was fourth quickest over the line, with Matt Neal rounding out the top five for Honda Yuasa Racing.

The first half of the session was not particularly dramatic, with the top drivers putting in fast times early on before returning to the pits to make setup changes. During the quiet period, it was Aron Smith who ran well for Airwaves Racing, sitting in sixth position at the mid-point of the session. The Ford Focus still seems to be struggling for outright pace, however, as both he and team-mate Mat Jackson dropped back to over a second behind Jordan’s fastest time by the end of the session.

By contrast, the Toyota Avensis looks to be a strong contender around this iconic circuit, with three cars inside the top ten. Dave Newsham has taken a step forward from the first session this morning in which both he and his team-mate Ollie Jackson spun their Speedworks Motorsport cars. Dave ended the session sixth fastest ahead of Dynojet’s Frank Wrathall – both drivers posted their fastest times on their final run. Ciceley Racing’s Adam Morgan was slightly further back with the eighth fastest time.

A fantastic lap from RCIB Insurance Racing’s Jack Goff just ten minutes from the end of the session put his Vauxhall Insignia in 13th. This will undoubtedly encourage the Team HARD. squad who have taken on a mammoth task in building and developing three brand new cars ahead of this season.

Further back, the Jack Sears Trophy cars again look to be very competitive this weekend. James Kaye was the fastest of the S2000 spec drivers in his AmDTuning.com VW Golf, 0.378s ahead of Addison Lee Motorbase driver Liam Griffin.

Qualifying for the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship starts at 15:40 this afternoon, and you can watch the session live online atwww.itv.com/btcc/live

2013 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Donington Park - Free Practice 2
1. Andrew Jordan (Pirtek Racing): 1:10.046
2. Jason Plato (MG KX Momentum Racing): +0.184
3. Gordon Shedden (Honda Yuasa Racing): +0.307
4. Sam Tordoff (MG KX Momentum Racing): +0.351
5. Matt Neal (Honda Yuasa Racing): +0.560
6. Dave Newsham (Speedworks Motorsport): +0.729
7. Frank Wrathall (Dynojet): +0.873
8. Adam Morgan (Ciceley Racing): +0.910
9. Jeff Smith (Pirtek Racing): +1.018
10. Aron Smith (Airwaves Racing): +1.103

[Julie B]

Qualifying

Honda Yuasa Racing’s Gordon Shedden secured pole position at Donington Park after his late flying lap edged out a fantastic effort from Frank Wrathall in his Dynojet Toyota Avensis.

Shedden last claimed a BTCC pole position back in 2011 at Oulton Park, but the reigning champion would not be denied on this occasion as his ballast-free Honda Civic flew through the sweeping turns of the Leicestershire circuit.

It had looked as if Wrathall had done enough to secure a surprise pole position himself before being relegated to second by just 0.049s. His lap was still good enough to force early pace-setter Andrew Jordan down to third however, but the Pirtek Racing squad will be buoyed by their performance having carried significant success ballast.

Matt Neal (Honda) and Jason Plato (MG) will line-up fourth and fifth respectively for tomorrow's opener, ahead of Ciceley Racing's Adam Morgan after yet another impressive performance. The Toyota Avensis driver produced a number of eye catching displays at Brands Hatch last month, and his early quick lap at Donington confirmed his place in the top six order.

MG KX Momentum youngster Sam Tordoff will be a little frustrated with seventh on the grid having run nearer the front during practice, whilst Colin Turkington closed out the top eight as his eBay Motors team continue to develop the new BMW 125i M Sport.

Dave Newsham again left it late to haul his Avensis into the top ten - he ended up ninth ahead of the Honda Civic of Jeff Smith, who recovered from an early spin. Tom Onslow-Cole (VW Passat) finished a second off the ultimate pace, but still topped both Rob Collard (BMW) and Mat Jackson (Ford Focus).

Jackson's Airwaves Racing team-mate ended his session in the gravel, bringing out a late red flag, which completed a rather frustrating day for the Wrotham-based squad. Rob Austin also had his own trip through the gravel on the entry to Goddards but recovered to end the session in 18th, one place behind team-mate Will Bratt.

James Kaye continued to dominate the S2000 runners, as the veteran racer saw off the challenges from the Ford Focus duo of David Nye and Liam Griffin.

Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap
1. Gordon Shedden Honda 1m10.074s
2. Frank Wrathall Dynojet Toyota 1m10.123s + 0.049s
3. Andrew Jordan Eurotech Honda 1m10.181s + 0.107s
4. Matt Neal Honda 1m10.215s + 0.141s
5. Jason Plato MG 1m10.358s + 0.284s
6. Adam Morgan Ciceley Toyota 1m10.493s + 0.419s
7. Sam Tordoff MG 1m10.561s + 0.487s
8. Colin Turkington WSR BMW 1m10.595s + 0.521s
9. Dave Newsham Speedworks Toyota 1m10.905s + 0.831s
10. Jeff Smith Eurotech Honda 1m11.020s + 0.946s
11. Tom Onslow-Cole HARD VW 1m11.117s + 1.043s
12. Rob Collard WSR BMW 1m11.156s + 1.082s
13. Mat Jackson Motorbase Ford 1m11.158s + 1.084s
14. Ollie Jackson Speedworks Toyota 1m11.320s + 1.246s
15. Daniel Welch Welch Proton 1m11.344s + 1.270s
16. Aron Smith Motorbase Ford 1m11.412s + 1.338s
17. Will Bratt Austin Audi 1m11.555s + 1.481s
18. Rob Austin Austin Audi 1m11.581s + 1.507s
19. Jack Goff HARD Vauxhall 1m11.582s + 1.508s
20. James Kaye AmD VW* 1m11.867s + 1.793s
21. Nick Foster WSR BMW 1m12.216s + 2.142s
22. David Nye Welch Ford* 1m12.552s + 2.478s
23. Liam Griffin Motorbase Ford* 1m12.591s + 2.517s
24. Lea Wood Wood Vauxhall* 1m12.628s + 2.554s
25. Joe Girling Finesse Chevrolet* 1m12.920s + 2.846s
26. James Cole HARD Vauxhall 1m13.611s + 3.537s
27. Warren Scott BMR SEAT* 1m22.641s + 12.567s


Race 1 - Results

Race 1 - Results
Reigning champion Gordon Shedden won the opening Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship race at Donington Park after a controlled lights-to-flag victory.

Shedden was kept honest throughout by fellow Honda Civic racer Andrew Jordan, with the gap rarely rising above the one second mark. Jordon closed in during the latter stages but Shedden hung on to win for Honda Yuasa Racing by 0.426s.

“We managed the gap, kept it sensible and brought the car home for a good win,” said Shedden. “It’s a great way to start the day and let's hope there's more to come later.”

Jordan was equally pleased with his own performance, knowing that his Honda carried significant ballast in the opening contest. “The car was really good," he said. "When you consider that Gordon wasn’t carrying any extra weight, which he will be for race two, then it was a really good result.”

In a similarly poised battle, Matt Neal claimed a podium ahead of the MG of Jason Plato. The duo made relatively light work of getting by front row starter Frank Wrathall in the opening laps and pulled away together for a podium duel. Plato remained close throughout, but never drew close enough to make a significant move.

Adam Morgan impressed yet again in his Ciceley Racing Toyota Avensis after coming out on top in a battle with Wrathall and MG KX Momentum's Sam Tordoff. The trio fought hard for position and when Wrathall and Tordoff made contact shortly after the mid-distance stage of the race, Morgan eyed his opportunity to nip by. Toyota's top performer didn't need a second invitation and he went on to claim fifth.

Tordoff made it back on the track after a trip through the grass during his battle with Wrathall and immediately set about hunting down his Toyota rival once more. His quest proved fruitful late on when he nipped by Tordoff at the final chicane.

Wrathall had to settle for seventh at the finish, some way ahead of another battle between the eBay Motors BMW of Colin Turkington and Toyota Avensis of Dave Newsham.

Jeff Smith rounded out the top ten for Pirtek Racing after several pulsating battles down the order. His race started with minor contact with Tom Onslow-Cole’s VW Passat and a battle ensued for several laps. He made his move on the run down to Redgate on lap five and he also nipped by Rob Collard’s BMW 125i M Sport three tours later. Now up to 12th, Smith reeled in both Airwaves Racing cars. The ‘soft’ tyre shod Ford Focus pair of Aron Smith and Mat Jackson began to run out of grip in the closing laps, and Jeff Smith was able to secure his place in top ten with two textbook manoeuvres.

Onslow-Cole finished in 13th after seeing off the attentions of Rob Austin (Audi A4) and Collard, who recovered from his own moment at the Old Hairpin.

James Kaye won the Jack Sears Trophy for cars running with S2000 machinery. The veteran racer brought his VW Golf home less than a second ahead of the Addison Lee Motorbase Ford Focus of Liam Griffin.

Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Gordon Shedden Honda 19m04.814s
2. Andrew Jordan Eurotech Honda + 0.426s
3. Matt Neal Honda + 5.177s
4. Jason Plato MG + 6.535s
5. Adam Morgan Ciceley Toyota + 8.759s
6. Sam Tordoff MG + 9.200s
7. Frank Wrathall Dynojet Toyota + 10.247s
8. Colin Turkington WSR BMW + 11.079s
9. Dave Newsham Speedworks Toyota + 13.020s
10. Jeff Smith Eurotech Honda + 20.187s
11. Aron Smith Motorbase Ford + 20.957s
12. Mat Jackson Motorbase Ford + 22.486s
13. Tom Onslow-Cole HARD VW + 24.205s
14. Rob Austin Austin Audi + 27.799s
15. Rob Collard WSR BMW + 28.175s
16. Ollie Jackson Speedworks Toyota + 29.699s
17. Nick Foster WSR BMW + 36.211s
18. Jack Goff HARD Vauxhall + 36.579s
19. James Kaye AmD VW* + 36.985s
20. Liam Griffin Motorbase Ford* + 37.900s
21. Joe Girling Finesse Chevrolet* + 45.665s
22. James Cole HARD Vauxhall + 46.862s
23. David Nye Welch Ford* + 47.098s
24. Lea Wood Wood Vauxhall* + 47.920s
25. Will Bratt Austin Audi + 58.161s
26. Warren Scott BMR SEAT* + 1m04.888s

Retirements:

Daniel Welch Welch Proton 11 laps

[Rob]

Jordan delight in race two
Andrew Jordan claimed his first win of the 2013 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship after producing a stellar drive in race two at Donington Park.

The Staffordshire racer made a steady getaway before pressuring pole-sitter Gordon Shedden in the early stages. Jordan got a run on his Honda counterpart at the start of lap six and completed a move down the inside of Shedden at Redgate. 23-year-old Jordan never looked back and romped to a well-earned victory at his home circuit.

“The home crowd are giving me a lot of support here this weekend,” said Jordan, who has closed to within one point of championship leader Jason Plato. “Matt and Jason obviously won at Brands and then Gordon won the first one here, so I thought it was time I got myself on the top step podium. The car has just been fantastic all weekend.”

Plato and Neal had a memorable early battle for third with the milestone makers running side-by-side from the start/finish line all the way down to the Craner Curves. Plato eventually got by and went on to claim second in his 400th BTCC race after a late gutsy move on Shedden with another Craner Curves move on lap 16. Race one winner Shedden held on to claim a podium ahead of his team-mate Neal, who was contesting his 500th BTCC race.

“It was a good race. Things got close with Matt but I was worried about the mad Scotsman ahead,” said Jason in jest. “Gordon drove a good defensive drive but we were able to get by in the end and score some good points.”

Adam Morgan finished just over half a second behind Neal after hauling himself into the battle for a podium. He bumped into Neal at one point as both drivers challenged Plato for third, but he eventually settled for fifth position in his Toyota Avensis. Such has been Morgan’s impressive start to the 2013 BTCC season that he’s already accumulated more points in the opening five races that he did in the whole of last year.

Despite his young age and relative inexperience Sam Tordoff produced a mature drive, waiting to make his move past the BMW 125i M Sport of Colin Turkington. The Ulsterman made a great start initially but it was clear he was holding up the challenge of Tordoff and the Toyota of Dave Newsham behind. Tordoff eventually got by and was followed through by Newsham and an opportunistic Aron Smith. Turkington claimed ninth at the finish ahead of an impressive run from Tom Onslow-Cole in the PPCGB Kraftwerk Racing VW Passat. Onslow-Cole’s reward is pole position in race three after the number ten was chosen at random in the reverse grid draw.

Jeff Smith will have been disappointed to miss out on a top ten finish, but after making a poor start the Pirtek Racing driver stormed through the order, claiming the fastest lap in the process.

The majority of competitors in the Jack Sears Trophy endured a nightmare race, which began when David Nye’s Ford Focus made contact with James Kaye’s VW Golf off the line. The pair made contact with the pitwall, which triggered a brief safety car period at the start of the race. Joe Girling retired his Chevrolet Cruze with a driveshaft, whilst Liam Griffin parked his Ford Focus with its own mechanical woes. Warren Scott spun his SEAT Leon at the bottom of the Craner Curves and ended up beached in the gravel, which left Lea Wood to claim victory in his Vauxhall Vectra. Far from just settling for the win, however, Lea fought hard with the quicker NGTC cars, finishing 17th overall and just 0.167s behind the BMW of Nick Foster.

2013 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Donington Park – Race 2

1 Andrew Jordan (Pirtek Racing) 10.967
2 Jason Plato (MG KX Momentum Racing) +1.955
3 Gordon Shedden (Honda Yuasa Racing) +3.233
4 Matt Neal (Honda Yuasa Racing) +4.365
5 Adam Morgan (Ciceley Racing) +4.980
6 Sam Tordoff (MG KX Momentum Racing) +7.004
7 Dave Newsham (Speedworks Motorsport) +7.422
8 Aron Smith (Airwaves Racing) +10.469
9 Colin Turkington (eBay Motors) +10.977
10 Tom Onslow-Cole (PPCGB / Kraftwerk Racing) +11.470
11 Jeff Smith (Pirtek Racing) +14.458 1:10.841
12 Robert Collard (eBay Motors) +14.770
13 Mat Jackson (Airwaves Racing) +19.626
14 Jack Goff (RCIB Insurance Racing) +22.534
15 Daniel Welch (Welch Motorsport with Sopp + Sopp) +26.803
16 Nick Foster (eBay Motors) +43.201
17 Lea Wood (Wheel Heaven / Houseman Racing) +43.368
18 James Cole (RCIB Insurance Racing) +48.354
19 Will Bratt (WIX Racing) +1:16.788
Not Classified
- Rob Austin (WIX Racing) +6 Laps
- Ollie Jackson (Speedworks Motorsport) +6 Laps
- Frank Wrathall (Dynojet) +11 Laps
- Liam Griffin (Addison Lee Motorbase) +11 Laps
- Joe Girling (M247 Racing with Tech-Speed Motorsport) +13 Laps 1:13.784
- Warren Scott (Team BMR Restart) +14 Laps
- James Kaye (AmDTuning.com)
- David Nye (Welch Motorsport with Sopp + Sopp)

[Julie B]

Race 3 - Results

Former BTCC champion Colin Turkington claimed his first victory since his championship winning campaign back in 2009 after a faultless drive in the final race at Donington Park. The result also marks the first win for the new eBay Motors BMW 125i M Sport.

Honda Yuasa Racing completed the podium order after both Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal muscled past the MG of Sam Tordoff on the final lap.

Starting from the front row, Turkington blasted by pole-sitter Tom Onslow-Cole off the line and immediately pulled clear. Onslow-Cole held on bravely in the early running as he fought off multiple challenges from behind in his VW Passat. The tussling enabled Turkington to pull clear, but even when Tordoff made it by Onslow-Cole he was unable to plug the gap to the flying BMW.

The race was broken up behind after a wild spin for Dave Newsham left his Toyota Avensis lying on the racing line at the high speed Craner Curves. A host of drivers took immediate avoiding action including Adam Morgan’s Toyota, the two manufacturer Hondas, Jason Plato and the Ford Focus of Aron Smith. In was a scary moment that left the chasing back trailing both Turkington and Tordoff.

Adam Morgan passed Onslow-Cole, and he briefly held third before both Honda Yuasa Racing duo eclipsed both the Passat and Avensis. They immediately set about chasing down Tordoff’s MG and when the youngster ran wide at Coppice on the final tour, they both nipped by to snatch a last gasp double podium.

Morgan completed the top five order ahead of Onslow-Cole, who showed excellent pace towards the end of the race with the five cars ahead of him all running the ‘soft’ Dunlop compound.

Airwaves Racing’s Aron Smith and Mat Jackson secured seventh and ninth with the MG of Jason Plato sandwiched between them. Jeff Smith completed his wild day with another off-track moment followed by a storming drive to round out the top ten. His team-mate and championship challenger Andrew Jordan endured his most difficult race of the season after having to pit to remove grass from his radiator that was causing the car to overheat. After a quick fire stop by the Pirtek Racing team, Jordan surged through the order to finish 13th and take the fastest lap of the race.

There were early spins for eBay Motors’ Rob Collard and Dynojet’s Frank Wrathall – the former recovering to finish 12th behind the Welch Motorsport Proton of Daniel Welch, whilst the latter retired following his moment.

Joe Girling took his first win in the Jack Sears Trophy after the Chevrolet Cruze driver pulled clear of the SEAT Leon of Warren Scott.

The points standings has closed up after difficult races for both Plato and Jordan, although both still hold the top two positions with a five point gap between them. Neal is in third, ahead of Tordoff and Shedden, with 20 points covering the top five drivers.

2013 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Donington Park – Race 2

1 Colin Turkington (eBay Motors) +0.000
2 Gordon Shedden (Honda Yuasa Racing) +4.414
3 Matt Neal (Honda Yuasa Racing) +4.699
4 Sam Tordoff (MG KX Momentum Racing) +4.886
5 Adam Morgan (Ciceley Racing) +5.377
6 Tom Onslow-Cole (PPCGB / Kraftwerk Racing) 16 +7.290
7 Aron Smith (Airwaves Racing) +7.744
8 Jason Plato (MG KX Momentum Racing) +8.550
9 Mat Jackson (Airwaves Racing) +9.066
10 Jeff Smith (Pirtek Racing) +9.604
11 Daniel Welch (Welch Motorsport with Sopp + Sopp) +19.769
12 Robert Collard (eBay Motors) +26.398
13 Andrew Jordan (Pirtek Racing) +32.864
14 Will Bratt (WIX Racing) +33.729
15 Nick Foster (eBay Motors) +34.136
16 Jack Goff (RCIB Insurance Racing) +34.409
17 James Cole (RCIB Insurance Racing) +39.788
18 Joe Girling (M247 Racing with Tech-Speed Motorsport) +40.009
19 Warren Scott (Team BMR Restart) +50.248


Not Classified
- Ollie Jackson (Speedworks Motorsport) +5 laps
- James Kaye (AmDTuning) +9 laps
- Dave Newsham (Speedworks Motorsport) +10 laps
- Liam Griffin (Addison Lee Motorbase) +14 laps --
- Lea Wood (Wheel Heaven / Houseman Racing) +15 laps --
- Frank Wrathall (Dynojet) -- --