BTCC news.

[Greig]

Unlucky

[Tifosi]

You can see Greig stealing all the airtime whilst I only get a mlilisecond pfffft

you should have followed his lead Julie and done a "wide sweep". The man's a pro

[Greig]

She was too busy looking at drivers I am sure I heard her say "Super Sheds" as Sheddon signed a hat

[Rob]

Brands GP BTCC's next stop www.btcc.net


There is less than a week to go before the stars and cars of the UK’s premier motor racing series – the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – arrive at the world-famous Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit in Kent (Sunday 2 May) for the latest exhilarating round of their 2010 season.

The awesome Brands GP track played host to 2009’s nail-biting final round (last October) and never fails to produce some of the best action of the BTCC season. Furthermore, the atmosphere on BTCC race day at Brands is electric – the circuit hosted the very first BTCC race back in 1958 – and its high-profile touring car events regularly attract tens of thousands of public from across the region.

Tickets for the event cost just £24.00 per adult if booked before midday this Wednesday (28 April) from the www.brandshatch.co.uk website or the hot line 0870 950 9000. Admission for children aged 12 and under is FREE.

Jason Plato ruled the roost in last year’s title-deciding event with wins in all three races on the day and returns to the circuit leading 2010’s points table following a victory yesterday in his Silverline Chevrolet Cruze at the Rockingham circuit in Northamptonshire. However, he is being chased by ‘old foe’ Matt Neal who took a pair of wins at Rockingham to move up to second in the standings behind Plato. Neal and Honda Racing Team team-mate Gordon Shedden are both in electrifying form and will surely be among Plato’s biggest rivals.

Others targeting glory will undoubtedly include Steven Kane and Mat Jackson – both driving for one of two local teams to Brands, Wrotham-based Airwaves BMW. Kane is third in the championship with Jackson – a winner in the past in the BTCC at Brands – not far behind in sixth. Boss David Bartrum also knows a race victory on home ground will help boost his squad’s lead in the HiQ Teams Championship.

Meanwhile, Orpington’s Shaun Hollamby will be keen to make an impression in front of his home audience – the 44-year-old is in his first BTCC season in his VW Golf, prepared by the West Thurrock-based AmD Milltek Racing.com team and improving by the round.

The Team Aon Ford Focuses of Tom Chilton and Tom Onslow-Cole are also certain to be right in the thick of the bumper-to-bumper action. Chilton achieved the first BTCC pole position for an LPG-powered car at Rockingham and many predict his and Onslow-Cole’s turbo-charged machines will be well-suited to the challenging demands of the high-speed Brands GP lay-out.

Robert Collard’s WSR BMW and Paul O’Neill’s Sunshine.co.uk/Tech-Speed Honda Integra are potential race winners as well, while one to watch after three solid points-scoring results at Rockingham could be the ever-improving NGTC turbo-charged Vauxhall Vectra of Pirtek Racing’s Andrew Jordan. With SEAT also represented on the grid, fans will have a choice of up to seven different manufacturers to cheer on this Sunday.

Uniquely in top-line sport these days, the public will also be able to meet the BTCC’s drivers during a specially organised autograph session in the pit lane, while the Brands spectator areas always provides those trackside with some of the closest views of the BTCC all season. Brands Hatch has also confirmed giant TV screens – showing the ITV4 channel’s live feed – will add to the viewing experience.

The BTCC is in action three times on the Brands GP circuit this Sunday (2 May). Adding to the on-track entertainment are seven more races from the supporting Ginetta G50, Ginetta Junior, Porsche Carrera, Renault Clio and Formula Renault categories that provide the very best in one-make sportscar, saloon and single-seater racing in the UK.

Sunday’s on-track action starts at 10.00am with the BTCC’s three headline races scheduled to take place at 11.45am, 2.05pm and 4.55pm.

ITV4’s live coverage of the event is from 11.30am-6.00pm with the event also being live-streamed on the www.itv.com website.

[Rob]

you should have followed his lead Julie and done a "wide sweep". The man's a pro

that was very nice touch Greig i give that ago Snetterton

[Tifosi]

I'll try it at Oulton Park too

...we could start a rage!

[Rob]

TV's Rider praises BTCC
Top TV sports presenter Steve Rider believes 2010’s Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship is shaping up to be an all-time classic.

Although his career has taken him to some of the biggest sporting events around the world, Rider says the UK-based BTCC continues to conjure up some of the most exciting atmospheres he has experienced.

Indeed, his CV includes some 12 summer and winter Olympics, every kind of World Cup (football, cricket, rugby union, rugby league), over 100 Formula 1 grands prix and 15 golf Majors plus a further 200 tournaments.

Rider told btcc.net: “I think the championship is absolutely fantastic at the moment. The personalities are very definitely there in strength and depth. There are also rivalries and a mutual respect but as we saw at Brands Hatch a couple of weeks ago people are not just going through the motions out there – there are some very serious battles on.

“It’s that level of chemistry that sustains the popularity of the series and of course we’ve now also got a few new technological twists. The BTCC in 2010 is every bit as exciting and entertaining as we saw, say, in the early Nineties.”

Rider says the secret to the BTCC’s popularity among the public is its consistent ability to put on an exhilarating show for its audiences while retaining strong sporting values.

He added: “Good television is good television. I still look back at that day at Donington Park in 1998 with Nigel Mansell in the BTCC as one of the best days I’ve ever been involved with in TV. It doesn’t matter that it’s a national event. The spectacle and the endeavour was of the highest quality and I felt exactly the same way at the final round at Brands Hatch last year.

“The BTCC has great personalities and presentation and is a sport that also has a great deal of respect for its audience. It understands what the people want from their live sporting experience. It’s now enjoyed a long relationship with TV and one feeds off the other. When we started showing it regularly in the late Eighties the trackside numbers instantly increased ten-fold. People realise from watching it on TV that the BTCC is a serious sporting day out.

“I have been fortunate to present from some of the world’s biggest sporting events, but the BTCC is right up there in my affections. A full-on winner-takes-all BTCC day I don’t think can be beaten. And with people like Jason Plato around, you can never quite afford to relax or think that you’ve seen or heard it all before...

“There is nothing worse from a TV point of view where you feel it doesn’t matter or where you might feel the hearts of the competitors aren’t really in it. That is something you never get with the BTCC. There is nothing artificial about what you see. You are witnessing a genuine desire within the event from participants, who are at the peak of their career, to win.”

[Rob]

Free offer for Oulton fans
Fans handing in tickets from a prior event will receive a free programme at Oulton Park’s up-coming Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship round.

Public attending BTCC title sponsor Dunlop’s Great & British Festival race day at Oulton on bank holiday Monday 31 May should keep hold of their ticket stubs.

They can then hand in them in at Oulton’s main paddock gate programme booth during BTCC race weekend in exchange for a free programme worth £5.00 (the offer can only be redeemed at this particular booth).

For more details about this offer click on this link: http://www.motorsportvision.co.uk/ne...sp?NewsID=5658

Tickets for Oulton’s BTCC fixture on 6 June – round four of this year’s ten-round calendar – are priced just £24.00 per adult if booked online at www.oultonpark.co.uk or via the hotline 0870 950 9000. Admission for children is FREE.

Note: the above offer is not open to MSV season pass holders.

[Rob]

Aon targeting gains elsewhere
Team Aon still expects an increase in speed from its Ford Focus despite having its engine’s performance restricted.

British Touring Car Championship organiser TOCA has decided any car running on LPG fuel – such as the Aon Focuses – must now have a 37mm turbo inlet restrictor fitted to its engine.

Aon’s cars, driven by Tom Chilton and Tom Onslow-Cole, won two of Brands Hatch’s three races earlier this month. Chilton also qualified on pole position at both Rockingham and Brands.

But while TOCA’s ruling comes into effect from the Dunlop-backed BTCC’s next round at Oulton Park on 6 June, Aon team boss Mike Earle believes other areas of development on the Focus will outweigh the engine restriction.

He said: “Obviously we do not welcome the reduction in restrictor size, but it is quite within the BTCC regulations for TOCA to do this so we have to take it on the chin and deal with it.

“Whilst any change to our engine’s specification and the resulting reduction in power will surely hurt us, I also feel that the engine is only one part of our overall package and we have worked incredibly hard to make all aspects of the package as strong as possible and will continue to do so.

“I said after Brands Hatch that I felt we were at about 75 per cent of the car’s potential and most of our expected gains will come from work on the chassis.

“A car is presently undergoing some suspension development at Ford’s testing facility at Lommel in Belgium and this is part of our on-going plans. I believe we will still be competitive and look forward to another strong performance at Oulton Park in three weeks time.”

[Rob]

Jordan sets Rockingham pace www.btcc.net

Andrew Jordan set the pace in today’s official Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship test at Rockingham by 1000th of a second from Jason Plato.

Jordan set the pace in this morning’s session with a lap in 1m23.886s in his Pirtek Racing Vauxhall Vectra that is powered by TOCA’s turbocharged NGTC engine.

Joint championship leader Plato was then fastest in this afternoon’s session in his Silverline Chevrolet Cruze with a lap in 1m23.887s to just miss out on the top spot.

James Nash in his Triple Eight Race Engineering Vauxhall Vectra was third fastest overall, thanks to his morning time of 1m23.957s – the last driver to break the 1m24s barrier.

Jordan, who celebrated his 21st birthday last week, told btcc.net: “We came here with some set-up tweaks in mind, stuff we’ve never tried before, and they’ve transformed the car. The handling is phenomenal through the mid-high speed corners – we’ve got rid of the understeer on turn-in – and that bodes well for the BTCC’s next round at Oulton Park as there are some similar sections there. The changes we’ve made also make the car kinder on its tyres. I’m delighted with today.”

Matt Neal, who is tied on points at the top of the championship with Plato, was fourth in his Honda Racing Team Honda Civic with his morning time of 1m24.050s. Neal’s Team Dynamics-prepared Civic was also shared during the day by team-mate Gordon Shedden and James Thompson, the former double BTCC Champion who won three races for Dynamics in 2009’s BTCC helping with development work on the car. They were eighth and ninth fastest respectively.

A hugely impressive seventh fastest in his first drive in a BTCC car was 18-year-old Daniel Lloyd. The Huddersfield youngster was given a chance in Triple Eight’s second Vectra and wound up just 0.375s off the ultimate pace. He said: “To drive one of these cars is fantastic and the level of professionalism is on another planet. I thought I’d be six or seven tenths off the pace when I got a set of new tyres but the time just came to me. I’d love to race in the championship, even more so now I’ve shown I can be on the pace.”

Elsewhere, fellow 18-year-old Alex MacDowall continued the impressive form he has been displaying in his debut BTCC season with the fifth fastest time in Silverline’s second Cruze. Tom Chilton and Tom Onslow-Cole, the dominant pair at Brands Hatch three weeks ago, were this time sixth and tenth in their Team Aon Ford Focuses. Notably, both tried practice starts at the pit lane exit shortly before the end of the day…

Paul O’Neill set the 11th fastest time as he jumped between his and team-mate John George’s Sunshine.co.uk with Tech-Speed Honda Integras. David Pinkney in his team’s NGTC Vectra was 12th. Forster Motorsport duo Arthur Forster and Martin Depper were 14th and 15th and clearly making progress with their BMWs. Forster was able to get under the 1m26s marker and Depper was not far behind, although did cause a brief stoppage when he span his car into the gravel trap exiting Gracelands.

For full times from today’s test click on this link: http://www.tsl-timing.com/toca/2010/102142trg.pdf

[Rob]

North West BTCC's next stop www.btcc.net


There is now just over a week to wait before Britain’s premier motor racing series – the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – arrives in the North West at the popular Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire (Sunday 6 June) for the latest round of its exhilarating 2010 season.

It’s a fixture that annually attracts a trackside crowd of over 30,000, making it one of the biggest sporting and social events of the year for the North West region – and for many reasons. Oulton enjoys a huge catchment area including the nearby cities of Chester, Liverpool and Manchester. Furthermore, the surrounding motorway network (M6, M62, M53, M56) also provides swift access from Cumbria, Derbyshire, Lancashire, North Wales, Shropshire, Staffordshire, West Midlands and Yorkshire.

In addition, the undulating Oulton circuit is steeped in history and is regarded as arguably the most daunting challenge for drivers on the BTCC calendar. Its picturesque parkland setting also provides terrific views of the track and with the BTCC in bumper-to-bumper action three times on race day the crowds are guaranteed plenty of drama, excitement and unpredictability.

What’s more, the public can also take advantage of the open paddock policy and specially organised Pit Lane Walkabout session to meet the BTCC’s star drivers for autographs, photos and plenty of team giveaways. Admission for children aged 12 and under is FREE while adult tickets are priced from just £24.00 when booked on the www.oultonpark.co.uk website or by calling 0870 950 9000.

“There’s always an electric atmosphere at Oulton,” says current championship leader Matt Neal. “It’s a proper ‘old school’ race circuit where the crowds are still pretty close to the cars and can smell the rubber, oil and brakes from the cars. The drivers love it even though at times things can start to get a bit rough out there. It’s very fast but also quite narrow in places meaning there’s always a bit of push and shove between the cars. It’s definitely one for the crowds to savour.”

Honda Racing Team driver Neal is actually tied for the series lead with arch rival, Silverline Chevrolet’s Jason Plato who adds: “Oulton is one of those ‘ultimate’ circuits that the drivers and fans both love. It’s a great feeling when you head out of the pit lane and see the spectator banks packed with people and colour. All that history also really gives the place soul and winning there is always very special.”

This year’s BTCC is turning out to be one of the closest on record – the season’s opening nine races have been won by seven different drivers* in five different makes of car*. Just 17 points – equivalent in effect to one race win – cover the top six arriving at Oulton which could play a pivotal role in the outcome of this year’s title race.

Fourth overall is one of two local stars to Oulton, Widnes’s Paul O’Neill. The 30-year-old has so far taken third and second place finishes in 2010 in his Sunshine.co.uk with Tech-Speed Honda Integra and Oulton would be the perfect place to open his victory account – it was at Oulton in 2002 that he achieved an emotional first race win in the BTCC. O’Neill will also arrive at Oulton jointly leading the Independents’ table for drivers competing with privately-run teams.

Hoping for a big result as well on home ground will be Tom Boardman who races a SEAT Leon for his family-run Special Tuning UK team based in Preston. Boardman, aged 26, led briefly at Brands Hatch in early May and has impressed many with in his first full season in the BTCC with a number of top six finishes.

Oulton Park’s big BTCC race day (Sun 6 June) includes nine races in total. While the BTCC’s three showdowns headline the bill, there will be a further six races from the high-profile supporting Ginetta Junior, Ginetta G50, Porsche Carrera, Renault Clio Cup and Formula Renault categories that offer the very best in single-seater, saloon and sportscar action.

Acitivity begins with the Pit Lane autograph session (10.35am-11.10am) followed by a BTCC Drivers Parade around the circuit in front of the crowds. The BTCC then kicks off the race action with the first of its three races on the day at 12.15pm. Its second and third races are scheduled for 2.30pm and 5.10pm respectively.

ITV4's live coverage of the event is from 12.00pm-6.30pm and will also be live-streamed on the www.itv.com website.

[Rob]

Jordan confident of strong Oulton
Rockingham test pace-setter Andrew Jordan says he’s more confident than ever of challenging for his first win in the Dunlop MSA British Car Championship at Oulton Park this Sunday…

Jordan and his single-car Pirtek Racing team pipped the factory Chevrolet outfit’s driver Jason Plato by one thousandth of a second to be fastest in last week’s official BTCC test at Rockingham.

The 21-year-old says a change in direction on car set up has transformed the behaviour of his Vauxhall Vectra that uses BTCC organiser TOCA’s new-for-2010 turbocharged NGTC engine.

He’ll go into this weekend's event lying 11th in the Drivers’ standings and although a race win has so far eluded him in the BTCC – he’s twice finished second before and it was Oulton in 2008 he achieved his first podium result with a third – he clearly fancies his chances this weekend.

The Lichfield youngster said: “The aim for Oulton is to qualify well and focus on three strong scores in the races. I’m definitely aiming for the top three and after the development we made at the Rockingham test I’m confident we’ll be able to do it.

“I’d say there are a good few cars who could win this weekend and so it is going to be tough. The track will suit the BMWs with its long straights and uphill drags and you can’t discount Jason (Plato) and Matt (Neal) from being at the front.

"We’re still working hard with the new package of the TOCA NGTC engine and the Vectra but we made huge leaps forward at the test and we’re in the best shape we have been all season.”

[Rob]

Shedden aims for four in a row

Gordon Shedden believes he can keep up his ‘100 per cent’ winning record in the British Touring Car Championship at Oulton Park this weekend.

The Scot has won at least one race in all three BTCC events he’s contested at Oulton – each of them in a Team Dynamics-prepared Honda (the Integra in 2006 and the Civic in both 2007 and 2008).

While he missed 2009’s event, he’s hoping to add a fourth win on his return to the Cheshire circuit this weekend with the Honda Racing Team squad.

He’ll go into this weekend’s round there lying sixth in the Dunlop-backed series, but it’s a close sixth – he’s only 17 points off team-mate Matt Neal who leads the series.

Furthermore, due to being just outside the top five, Shedden will have the luxury of starting the weekend – qualifying and race one – without having to carry success ballast in his Civic.

“I have won at Oulton in every season I have raced a touring car there and it has always been in a Honda! Talk about putting the pressure on...” joked the 31-year-old from Dalgety Bay.

“I love the place because it is a real classic circuit and it gives the driver an adrenaline rush to nail a quick lap. Unlike Matt, I don’t have any extra weight on the car so I will be gunning for pole position to start the weekend off right.

“I want three big scores to push me to the front of the championship and given the developments we have made on the car I am confident we will be right at the front.”

[Julie B]

Turkington seals three-round deal

From Autosport

Colin Turkington will race in three rounds of the World Touring Car Championship this season with the WSR BMW squad.

Turkington, 28, has not raced since winning the British Touring Car title with WSR last year, but will make his return to Bennetts' squad at the Algarve circuit on July 4.

"I feel this is a natural progression for me after last year's championship," said Turkington.

"Obviously I know the WSR guys very well. They're a top team and have been a big part of my success in recent years. I'm also indebted to because he's been working so hard over the past few months to make this a reality."

Following the Algarve round, Turkington will also take part in the Brands Hatch and Brno events.

WSR's initial three-round deal could be expanded to include further races before the end of the season, and Turkington hopes to take in a full campaign in 2011.

Turkington took part in two WTCC rounds in 2007, finishing on the podium at Brands Hatch and later racing at Macau, each time also with WSR.

WSR's BTCC programme with Rob Collard and Andy Neate will not be affected by Turkington's signing.

Whoooooooohooooooooooooooooooo but a shame it's not British Touring cars

[Rob]

Jackson fan of 'gladiator' Plato
Mat Jackson has likened Jason Plato’s fighting spirit to that of a Roman gladiator…

The two former team-mates clashed in the Dunlop British Touring Car Championship most recent round at Oulton Park.

Both were later reprimanded by officials for being too robust in their actions, but despite their contact on-track Jackson says Plato’s refusal to give in is a trait he admires.

Jackson’s Airwaves BMW knocked Plato’s Chevrolet off the track during an overtaking attempt in race one at Oulton. In race two Plato returned the compliment, shoving Jackson wide to gain another place as he came through from tenth on the grid to record the 55th win of his BTCC career.

Jackson, who'll reach 100 BTCC races at Croft this weekend, told btcc.net: “Jason is a hardened pro and did not give an inch. I’ve done that move (in race one) many times before with other drivers and always pulled it off, but Jason never flinched and did not yield.

“I was disappointed to see him on the grass as that was not my intention to do that, but he showed that he will fight to the very last and you have to respect that. His race pace was slowing and I will never stop pushing and I will use any chance I spot to move forward. That’s what the fans want; it’s why they turn up in the thousands.”

And added Jackson: “In race two he was perhaps showing me how I should have done it. I wouldn’t be surprised to look in the history books to find a few Roman gladiators with the name of Plato!"

Jackson goes into this weekend’s fifth round of the season at Croft a strong fifth in the standings, but knows he can ill afford to lose further ground to the Honda Racing Team’s Matt Neal and Silverline Chevrolet’s Plato who lead the table.

“I don’t want that gap getting much bigger otherwise they will be difficult to catch, even with half the season still to go,” said Jackson. “I know it can’t really go any worse there than it did last year when I spent the morning on a medical drip and crashed out in race one before being sent home by the BTCC doctor.

"I still don’t know if a curry in Darlington on the Friday night was to blame but I might just ask my mum to pack me some sandwiches this time to be safe!”

[Rob]

Airwaves looks to stay ahead
Airwaves BMW hopes to go into the mid-season break still holding the lead in three of the BTCC’s points tables…

In Steven Kane and Mat Jackson, David Bartrum’s squad has one of the strongest driver line-ups on the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship grid.

Indeed, since round one they have helped Airwaves BMW stay ahead in the outright HiQ Teams championship but it’s a close-run thing – it holds just a two-point lead over nearest challenger Honda Racing Team arriving at Croft this weekend. Team Aon and Silverline Chevrolet are also not afar adrift in what is shaping up to be a captivating title race.

Airwaves holds a bigger, 17-point advantage over Team Aon in the battle for Independent teams honours as well. Kane and Jackson also currently lie 1-2 at the top of the Independent drivers’ standings. Both, though, need to watch their backs as ‘man on form’, Team Aon’s Tom Onslow-Cole, is up to third and closing and Sunshine.co.uk with Tech-Speed’s Paul O’Neill has also shown himself capable of fighting for silverware – indeed, he jointly led the standings with Kane until losing ground last time out at Oulton Park.

Croft this weekend then is a crunch event for Airwaves BMW if it wants to maintain its hold on those three trophies heading into the seven-week summer break. Mathematically of course it could even leave the North Yorks track heading four championships with Kane, third, and Jackson, fifth, both within striking distance of the top of the outright drivers’ table.

Ulsterman Kane, whose BMW will start the weekend with 27kgs of success ballast, said: “I love Croft and I have some experience there. In 2008 I had an excellent weekend and secured a fourth place finish, but this year the car is so much quicker and I should be able to push it even harder. I’m hopeful that will translate into points and I can continue to lead the Independent drivers’ championship. I would also like to move up a position or two in the outright drivers’ championship and challenge for the title.”

Warwickshire-based Jackson, whose BMW will be slightly lighter with only 9kg of extra weight, added: “Going in with only a 9kg success ballast will help us and this weekend we need to capitalise on our opportunity. I think we’ve had a little bit of bad luck so far – we’ve been taken out in one race and blown a differential in another. We have the pace, and Croft is a mega circuit. If it’s dry I think we can be confident of a solid points haul and podiums too.”

The Airwaves crew can justifiably feel confident of pulling off a title or three in 2010. Its team manager is Oliver Collins who held the same position with, ironically, nearest challenger in the HiQ Teams' battle, Team Dynamics – now re-named Honda Racing Team – when it won back-to-back BTCC crowns in 2005 and 2006.

Collins commented: “We’re really looking forward to Croft, it’s a great venue, the circuit is fantastic and the locals are extremely passionate about their motor sport. We’re arriving as leaders of the both the outright and Independent teams championships and we dearly want to leave in the same position, though it will be tough. The championship is extremely competitive at the moment and it’s tough to finish in the top ten, let alone on the podium. All our fans can be rest assured though that everyone has been working hard at Airwaves BMW.”

[Rob]

17/Jun/2010 Shedden hoping bad luck is over www.btcc.net


Gordon Shedden is among the favourites for race wins at Croft this weekend.

The Scot has always been among the very strongest performers at Croft – having qualified on pole position and won a race there in the past – although he’s suffered his fair share of bad luck at the North Yorks track as well.

And it’s bad luck that also accounts for much of the current deficit Shedden needs to make up if he’s to challenge for the 2010 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship title.

Indeed, on three out of four occasions so far this season (Thruxton, Brands Hatch and Oulton Park) he’s qualified on the front row of the grid yet a victory is still to come his way. He goes into Croft lying sixth in the standings, some 33 points – equivalent to two race wins – behind Honda Racing Team team-mate Matt Neal who tops the table.

It means he will at least go into qualifying still free of any success ballast in his Honda Civic giving him a great opportunity to make it four front rows out of five and another crack at eating into the gap to the leaders.

“I have had some bad luck which has kept me off the top step,” said ‘Flash’. “But the thing that keeps me going is that I know the car is fast and that I am fast. I have been on the front row of the starting grid more times than not this year and I have set a number of fastest laps (including a BTCC race lap record at Oulton). That shows it is all there.”

“Croft is a great circuit and it will play to our strengths – but the field is so competitive this season it will be hard to get to the front,” he added. “I need three solid finishes but I have every chance here. It is a track I like because you have to be aggressive and the racing is always close. It creates a great atmosphere too and for me, being from Scotland, it is almost like a local circuit.”

[Rob]

TV promo for Snett BTCC
Snetterton is promoting its up-coming Dunlop British Touring Car Championship fixture (Sunday 8 August) on national and regional TV.

The advertising campaign will ultimately be shown six times on ITV4 between 18-31 July (the channel, which broadcasts each BTCC race event live, reaches some 96 per cent of the UK population).

Between 24 July-3 August the ad will receive a further 20 slots on regional ITV outlet Anglia which reaches living rooms as far west as Northampton (some 100 miles-plus from Snetterton).

Click here to take a look at the ad: http://www.youtube.com/btccdotnet

To remind fans, race day tickets can be bought for as little as £24.00 if booked in advance online at www.snetterton.co.uk while kids aged 12 and under will be admitted for FREE.

As well as the three latest BTCC showdowns of 2010, there will be nine more races for Ginetta Juniors, Ginetta G50s, Porsche Carreras, Formula Renaults, Renault Clios and Heritage Grand Touring Cars.

The on-track action begins at 9.00am with the big three BTCC races at 11.40am, 2.00pm and 4.40pm.

[Rob]

got mine coming!!!! cannt wait

[Greig]

have a great day, can't wait for Knockhill, its a great day out and some fab racing

[Rob]

Chilton dominant at Snetterton www.btcc.net

Tom Chilton left the rest in his wake as he headed Snetterton’s official Dunlop British Touring Car Championship test by more than half a second.

Chilton, driving his LPG-powered Team Aon Ford Focus ST, set a best time of 1m11.408s around the high-speed Norfolk circuit. It came on an almost fully dry circuit and, dramatically, against a series of lightning bolts in the distance following rain which severely restricted running during this afternoon’s session.

His time, well inside the race lap record, was a staggering 0.550s clear of the rest who were headed by Alex MacDowall. The Cumbrian youngster had set a best time of 1m11.958s to lead the way during the morning but his day then ended early when his Silverline Chevrolet Cruze suffered an engine failure during the afternoon.

Poole-based Chilton told btcc.net: “I was struggling for pace this morning but we’ve worked hard on our brakes and front geometry settings and it’s turned it around for us. It’s a shame it rained as that’s meant yet again I’ve missed out on doing a race run so I’m still a little nervous about our form in actual race trim. Maybe it’s something I’ll have to focus on during free practice back here in a couple of weeks for the race weekend.”

Track conditions this morning, as is often the way at Snetterton, proved generally quicker on the whole and it came as no surprise that the next six drivers all set their best times before the lunchbreak.

A hugely impressive third was Paul O’Neill in his Sunshine.co.uk with Tech-Speed Honda Integra (his team choosing to call it a day shortly after lunch). Silverline’s Jason Plato was fourth and with chief title rival Matt Neal’s Honda Racing Team absent today may well have stolen an advantage in terms of ‘hitting the ground running’ when the BTCC returns to Snetterton in a fortnight for its latest round (Sunday 8 August).

James Nash, a winner on the road here 12 months ago before being excluded, was fifth in Triple Eight’s Vauxhall Vectra ahead of Croft winner Andrew Jordan’s Pirtek Racing Vectra.

Chilton’s team-mate Tom Onslow-Cole, very much a man on form in recent rounds, was back in seventh – he was left playing catch-up after damaging the front end of his car in a rough ride off the circuit early this morning, the incident also playing havoc with his planned test programme. Eighth was Airwaves’ Mat Jackson, the fastest of the BMW runners.

Onslow-Cole aside, the only other incidents of note were a similar ‘bouncey-bouncey’ moment for Arthur Forster’s Forster Motorsport BMW and a brief red flag period to recover Shaun Hollamby’s AmD Milltek racing.com VW Golf which stopped with an electrics failure (a second stoppage was required later to tow back MacDowall’s broken Chevrolet).

[Rob]

have a great day, can't wait for Knockhill, its a great day out and some fab racing

its been along wait. I be at the esses end of revett straight (again) great action. Will get loads of pictures and post them that evening.

Oh yeah, and try to get some camera time aswell

[Greig]

Stalk Louise

[Rob]

Stalk Louise

mission accepted

[Rob]

Nash stays with Triple Eight

James Nash has confirmed he’ll race for multiple title-winning Triple Eight Race Engineering for the remainder of the 2010 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

The news comes just in time for the start of the second half of the BTCC season at Snetterton, Norfolk (Sunday 8 August) where Nash will be looking to achieve the first win of his career in the UK’s premier motor racing series.

Last year at Snetterton in only his third BTCC event the 24-year-old crossed the line in first place only to be later excluded for a driving infringement.

The Newport Pagnell ace has raced for Triple Eight in four of this season’s opening five rounds, at the wheel of the Banbury outfit’s ultra-successful Vauxhall Vectra. And there have been some very promising showings, notably third in qualifying at Brands Hatch and a podium result with a third place outright at Oulton Park.

That strong form continued in recent testing at Snetterton where Nash was fifth fastest overall (and second only during the afternoon session to Tom Chilton).

However, only last night was it confirmed by Nash’s manager Justin Keen that the budget required to see out the rest of the season had been secured. Keen said: “We have been working hard with James’s backers in securing the remainder of the season. In these challenging times it is great to have this opportunity in place so James and the team can build on what they have learnt so far in working together in what is a relatively new partnership compared to other teams and drivers in the series.


"With the working relationship of the team and driver now on a solid footing James is mentally and physically prepared to challenge consistently for podiums during the remainder of the season.”

Keen added: "The pressure is on James and the team to dig deep and unlock the potential that has been shown in previous races. James works well under pressure and I am certain that he will deliver. We are all confident that the team will also respond now that we are secured for the year.”

[Rob]

whoooop!!! my tickets for Snetterton arrived today. . Just checked weather, looks little rain.

[Rob]

Hollamby buoyed by Golf tweaks

Shaun Hollamby hopes to be much closer to his mid-field target in Snetterton's Dunlop British Touring Car Championship round even though it’s not his VW Golf’s best track.

Hollamby believes his AmD Milltek racing.com team has made significant improvements with its lone Golf in the seven weeks since the previous round at Croft.

Significantly in recent testing at Snetterton he matched the pace of fellow newcomer Forster Motorsport’s pair of BMWs and Boulevard Team Racing’s Vauxhall Astra. That in part was thanks to an engine rebuild at specialist company Lehmann's factory in the alpine microstate of Liechtenstein which helped restore power to pre-Croft levels.

“On the Tuesday after Croft, we ran the car on the rolling road at AmD’s Thurrock base”, explained Hollamby. “The figures showed us running 245bhp, compared to 300bhp of the leaders! Considering we were two seconds a lap off the pace at Croft but were losing 8-10mph down the straights means that with similar power to the leaders we will be getting much closer to our mid-field target.”

Hollamby says the signs that his team had already started to improve the Golf’s competitiveness – as well as its own performance in the high-pressure world of the BTCC – were clear at Croft.

He added: “Croft was our best weekend of the year so far. The feeling amongst the whole team to go away from Croft with a straight car, two race finishes, much improved pace and doubling our points tally in the Independent teams championship was brilliant!”

Now during the season’s second half he’s hoping to build on that following the promise shown in testing at Snetterton. There his squad also tried a more integrated front bumper to aid the Golf’s aerodynamics plus concentrated on fine-tuning its new KW suspension – the Germany company have flown in renowned engineer Lutz Passon to work with the team's technical boss Stuart Beaton on set-up.

Hollamby continued: "The testing restrictions in the BTCC mean that this was our first test session of the year and we made a myriad of set-up changes to which the Golf responded well and which allowed us to set times ahead of cars that we normally struggle to match on outright pace.

“We ended the morning session just over 2 seconds off the front running pace of the works Chevrolet and, more importantly, ahead of the Forster BMWs and Boulevard’s Vauxhall, which bodes well for the rest of the season”. Heavy rain during the afternoon session prevented any further improvement in lap times.

"Snetterton was always going to be our least competitive circuit due to its high speed nature, which favours cars with the most horsepower. But we’ve improved our speed trap figures and our other developments will become more apparent on circuits where horsepower isn't such an important factor".

[Rob]

Neal: we're playing catch-up www.btcc.net

Series leader Matt Neal is hopeful his Honda Racing Team’s absence from testing at Snetterton won’t prove too harmful to its form in the Dunlop British Touring Car Championship’s latest round there this weekend.

Neal and team-mate Gordon Shedden were both highly notable absentees from the official BTCC test a fortnight ago, whereas title rivals like Jason Plato and Tom Onslow-Cole were able to use the day to fine-tune their cars to the Norfolk circuit’s high-speed lay-out.

But Neal, the most experienced driver on the grid and with two previous titles to his name, doesn’t necessarily believe it’s all doom and gloom.

He told btcc.net: “Sure we wanted to do the test and it’s not ideal that we weren’t there, but it’s what we got and I’m still confident in my car (the Team Dynamics-prepared Honda Civic) and its capabilities.

“Some bits of the circuit have changed slightly. There’s some new kerbing and some corners you can’t cut as much and others which have opened up a bit. There are also a few bits of the track which have a new surface which may alter grip levels in both wet and dry conditions.

“We’re playing catch-up slightly but at least we’re not facing anything too radical.”

[Rob]

Plato cranks up the pressure
Jason Plato has joined fellow former champion Matt Neal in cranking up the pressure on Team Aon’s drivers ahead of Snetterton’s Dunlop British Touring Car Championship round this weekend.

Plato says the extra grunt produced by the LPG-turbo engines in the Aon Ford Focuses should put drivers Tom Onslow-Cole and Tom Chilton out of reach down Snetterton’s two long straights.

The Silverline Chevrolet driver goes into the event lying second in the standings just eight points behind current leader Neal who yesterday – along with third-placed Honda Racing Team team-mate Gordon Shedden – said the Fords could prove unstoppable at Snetterton and also the next event, Silverstone.

Oxford’s Plato, aged 42, said: “If they (Team Aon) don’t destroy the opposition this weekend then they need to look very hard at themselves, their drivers and their engineers. My target is to be the first non-gas car.”

Plato, who won the BTCC in 2001 and whose wins tally of 55 is now just five shy of Andy Rouse’s record of 60, believes tweaks to his Chevrolet Cruze in recent testing at Snetterton will pay dividends in the season’s second half and keep him right in the frame for a second title.

He added: “We’ve certainly improved our car, particularly its stability at the rear which has been its Achilles Heel. Until now we’ve had to work to stop the car biting us at corner entry.

“You want the rear of the car to move a bit but we’ve just had this bit of snappiness at the rear and so needed to sort that out because that has a bearing on how you set the car up for corner entry.

“Now I think we’re in a position where we will almost certainly be able to push harder and attack corners more. It’s not necessarily going to give us a big leap in qualifying pace, but I think race-wise it will give us the opportunity of a slightly better overall balance.

“It’s now just that bit easier to drive and operate with when you’re wringing every last bit of performance and hopefully that means we can look after tyres a bit better.”

[Tifosi]

Rob, didn't Alan Gow do summat to limit the advantage of the Gas powered AON's earlier in the season or is it just that they are STILL too fast?