BTCC 2011 - CROFT

[Julie B]

Alex MacDowall set the pace in a wet first Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship practice session at his home circuit of Croft.

After an early spin (pictured) at the Sunny In corner, the young Cumbrian racer went on to set a best time of 1m33.644s in his Silverline Chevrolet Cruze.

Robert Collard was second fastest thanks to some massively brave driving as, sideways and in a ball of spray, he spectacularly tamed his WSR BMW’s wheelspin in fifth gear exiting the Jim Clark Esses. The Hampshireman’s best sector times, had he achieved them all on the same lap, would have put him fastest…

Tom Chilton was third in his Team Aon Ford Focus as series leader Matt Neal’s Honda Racing Civic, MacDowall’s team-mate Jason Plato and Andrew Jordan’s Pirtek Racing Vauxhall Vectra completed the top six.

Neal’s car was the fastest through the first two speed traps and Mat Jackson’s Airwaves Ford Focus through the third.

There were several incidents of note as drivers explored the limits in the tricky conditions. Special Tuning Racing team-mates Tom Boardman and Dave Newsham survived scary high-speed moments exiting the Jim Clark Esses, the former’s car rotating onto the infield, the latter’s spinning down the track and having to be avoided by several following competitors. Boardman was fastest of all in both sectors one and three, Chilton in sector two.

Jordan’s team-mate Jeff Smith was another to spin at Sunny In while James Nash lightly tapped the barriers when he span off backwards at the Complex in his 888 Racing with Collins Contractors Vectra.

Despite an overshoot at Sunny In, Collard’s team-mate Nick Foster continued his strong Oulton Park form with another solid performance in the rain with the ninth fastest time. Having also impressed at Oulton, Rob Austin was another to turn heads with the 12th fastest time in his rear-wheel-drive NGTC-spec Audi A4.

Fourteenth on his return to the Team Aon fold was Tom Onslow-Cole and 20th his former team boss Shaun Hollamby in his AmD Milltek Racing.com team’s VW Golf.

[Rob]

Collard heads dry Croft FP2
Robert Collard was fastest in an exciting and bizarre second Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship practice session at Croft.

The session started in wet conditions but the circuit rapidly started to dry and for the final 20 minutes drivers were able to switch to slick tyres all round.

This meant the order was forever changing as track conditions improved but in the end it was Collard in his WSR BMW who wound up fastest with a best time of 1m26.434s. He later urged caution, however, particularly after three of the top names, Honda’s Matt Neal and Chevrolet team-mates Jason Plato and Alex MacDowall failed to set representative times.

Collard told btcc.net: “If it stays like this for qualifying then pole position is going to be beyond our reach as the others haven’t shown what they’re capable of yet. I’d prefer it to be wet like it was this morning – that will be much better for the BMW around here.”

Gordon Shedden’s Honda Racing Civic was second fastest ahead of Tom Boardman’s Special Tuning Racing SEAT Leon that had been quickest of all at one point during the session.

Mat Jackson (Airwaves Ford Focus), James Nash (888/Collins Vauxhall Vectra) and Andrew Jordan (Pirtek Vectra) completed the top six just ahead of the inspired Rob Austin in his team’s NGTC-spec Audi A4. “It’s getting better all the time but I don’t want to get my hopes up too much,”said. Austin who at one stage had been as high as second fastest.

Tom Onslow-Cole also clearly started to find his way in his first run in Team Aon’s Ford Focus as he set the ninth fastest time just ahead of team-mate Tom Chilton.

The session needed to be stopped just after the mid-way point so marshals could retrieve Frank Wrathall’s stricken Dynojet Toyota Avensis that had come to a halt exiting the chicane. Wrathall had spun over the kerbs and the impact had knocked out the car’s windscreen (see photo)! To add insult to injury, the following Andy Neate spun his Team Aon Ford Focus into the Toyota just as Wrathall was preparing to drive it slowly back to the pit lane!

Neal, MacDowall (who’d been fastest in this morning’s wet first session) and Plato all chose to sit out the final half of the session, preferring instead to ‘scrub in’ tyres and save them for this afternoon’s qualifying session and tomorrow’s three races. They were therefore classified well out of position in 22nd, 23rd and 24th.

MacDowall was fortunate to have survived a brief off exiting the Sunny Out corner while Chris James was a spinner onto the infield as he rounded the preceding Sunny In bend in his ES Racing.com Chevrolet Lacetti.

[Julie B]

QUALIFYING

Pole for Plato at Croft

Jason Plato has ended Honda’s domination of qualifying in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship with pole position in his Chevrolet at the Croft circuit in North Yorkshire this afternoon.

Reigning champion Plato set the pole time in 1m24.839s in his Silverline Chevrolet Cruze to grab top spot on the starting grid for the first of tomorrow’s three races. Matt Neal who leads the series was second in his Honda Racing Team Civic and Robert Collard third in his WSR BMW – Collard had looked set for the first pole of his BTCC career until his time was beaten by both Plato and Neal late on.

Raised in Newcastle, Plato very much regards Croft a home circuit for him and said: “I gave it the full berries there – just how a proper qualifying lap should be. But I’m aware my car has quite a bit less success ballast in it compared to Matt's so let’s see how things play out tomorrow.

“Matt and I will need to make our cars pretty wide off the line because the BMW’s rear-wheel-drive gives it an advantage at the start and Rob will be feeling punchy.”

Worcestershire racer Neal, like Plato with two BTCC titles already to his name, added: “That was everything we’ve got – I could not have made the car go any quicker in qualifying. I’d prefer it to stay dry tomorrow – in wet conditions our turbo engine will chew up the wet weather tyres more than the normally aspirated cars.”

Collard, from Hampshire, commented: “I’m delighted to be third but still gutted not to get the pole – I really thought we’d got it then. Jason’s right about him and Matt needing wide cars at the start tomorrow – too right I’ll be trying to get past them into the first corner. Rain would be a bit of a saviour for us. I had the car on the ragged edge there in qualifying and can’t do that every lap tomorrow. If it’s wet then the BMW will be much closer to the Hondas and Chevrolets.”

Meanwhile, fourth fastest on his home circuit was Plato’s young Cumbrian team-mate Alex MacDowall. The Vauxhall Vectras of Pirtek Racing’s Andrew Jordan and 888 Racing with Collins Contractors’ James Nash completed the top six. The shock of qualifying was Rob Austin's superb 11th place in his new NGTC-spec Audi A4 run by his own RAR team and just 1.350s from Plato's pace.

Tom Onslow-Cole was 15th fastest in his first qualifying session in Team Aon's Global Ford Focus while 18th, having been third at Oulton Park two weeks ago, was his team-mate Andy Neate. Shaun Hollamby was 21st in his own AmD Milltek Racing.com team's VW Golf that was vacated by Onslow-Cole at Oulton.

Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap
1. Jason Plato Chevrolet 1m24.839s
2. Matt Neal Honda 1m25.211s + 0.372s
3. Rob Collard WSR BMW 1m25.391s + 0.552s
4. Alex MacDowall Chevrolet 1m25.547s + 0.708s
5. Andrew Jordan Eurotech Vauxhall 1m25.575s + 0.736s
6. James Nash Triple 8 Vauxhall 1m25.656s + 0.817s
7. Gordon Shedden Honda 1m25.674s + 0.835s
8. Tom Chilton Arena Ford 1m25.820s + 0.981s
9. Mat Jackson Motorbase Ford 1m25.928s + 1.089s
10. Paul O'Neill Tech-Speed Chevrolet 1m25.991s + 1.152s
11. Rob Austin Austin Audi 1m26.189s + 1.350s
12. Tom Boardman Special Tuning SEAT 1m26.247s + 1.408s
13. Nick Foster WSR BMW 1m26.314s + 1.475s
14. Dave Newsham Special Tuning SEAT 1m26.505s + 1.666s
15. Tom Onslow-Cole Arena Ford 1m26.532s + 1.693s
16. Jeff Smith Eurotech Vauxhall 1m26.624s + 1.785s
17. Frank Wrathall Dynojet Toyota 1m26.963s + 2.124s
18. Andy Neate Arena Ford 1m27.146s + 2.307s
19. Tony Gilham Triple 8 Vauxhall 1m27.192s + 2.353s
20. Lea Wood Central Honda 1m27.632s + 2.793s
21. Shaun Hollamby AmD Volkswagen 1m28.215s + 3.376s
22. Liam Griffin Motorbase Ford 1m28.456s + 3.617s
23. John George Tech-Speed Chevrolet 1m28.732s + 3.893s
24. Chris James ES Chevrolet 1m29.977s + 5.138s

[Greig]

RACE 1 - RESULTS

Matt Neal held on against a rapidly closing Mat Jackson to win Croft’s first Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship race today.
Neal led every lap in his Honda Racing Team Civic, resisting constant pressure from Robert Collard’s WSR BMW and Jason Plato’s Silverline Chevrolet Cruze on a wet but drying

track.


Plato had started from pole position but a half-spin at the very first bend had dropped him behind both Neal and Collard.
Jackson, meanwhile, had chosen a mixture of slick front and treaded rear tyres. At first he struggled and fell to 12th, more than 20 seconds off the lead. But as the track started to dry his gamble began paying off and he quickly picked off the drivers ahead of him – including driving around the outside of BOTH the squabbling Tom Boardman and Alex MacDowall at the hairpin.


Starting the final lap he was up to fourth and within range of the leaders. He passed Plato exiting Tower Bend and Collard entering the Sunny In corner, their cars briefly scraping panels. Rounding the final hairpin he was right behind Neal and at the line their cars were separated by just 0.055s.


“That was very hard, maximum concentration all the way,” said Neal. “I had Rob right behind me. One slip and he’d have been through and I don’t think I’d have been able to pass him after that. Then the team told me on the radio how quickly Mat was coming up and at the hairpin I really thought he’d get me before the line as he had better traction. Luckily that was the last lap.”


Jackson, who set the race’s fastest lap, added: “I’m very happy with that but second again – it’s exactly the same as 2008 when I came through and couldn’t quite get Colin Turkington. I had the advantage over the closing laps but it was still very hard to choose the right moment to make the move on people as it was still very slippery off-line.”
Collard commented: “I was quicker than Matt (Neal) in some places but in others he was just gone. I needed him to make a mistake but he didn’t put a wheel wrong. Congratulations to Mat (Jackson). He drove like a legend.”


Completing the top six were Neal’s team-mate Gordon Shedden and Andrew Jordan in his Pirtek Vauxhall Vectra.


As a result, Neal has stretched out a ten-point lead at the top of the standings over Jackson who is now second ahead of Shedden and Plato.


Unsurprisingly on a greasy track surface today’s first race was high in incident elsewhere. John George and Tony Gilham both ended up in the gravel trap at Clervaux corner, the latter’s 888/Collins Vauxhall Vectra becoming stranded which led to a two-lap safety car period. Others in the wars included Collard’s team-mate Nick Foster who slithered off the track and bounced off the tyre barriers – miraculously he recovered to finish 13th – as well as Dave Newsham who lost a lap as a punctured tyre was replaced in the pit lane.
On his return to Team Aon, Tom Onslow-Cole took 11th with considerable damage to the side of his Ford Focus after hitting a tyre stack at the complex on the final lap. A late bid to pass Boardman’s Special Tuning SEAT exiting the hairpin resulted in him crossing the line while still on the grass! Alex MacDowall's bid to wrest tenth from Boardman earlier on the final lap entering the chicane also ended in tears with a wild ride across the grass in his Silverline Chevrolet.


Rob Austin had starred early on his RAR team’s NGTC-spec Audi but retired with suspension and steering damage.


Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Matt Neal Honda 28m27.486s
2. Mat Jackson Motorbase Ford + 0.055s
3. Rob Collard WSR BMW + 1.668s
4. Jason Plato Chevrolet + 2.547s
5. Gordon Shedden Honda + 7.854s
6. Andrew Jordan Eurotech Vauxhall + 10.324s
7. Tom Chilton Arena Ford + 13.044s
8. James Nash Triple 8 Vauxhall + 13.239s
9. Paul O'Neill Tech-Speed Chevrolet + 14.016s
10. Tom Boardman Special Tuning SEAT + 18.675s
11. Tom Onslow-Cole Arena Ford + 19.356s
12. Frank Wrathall Dynojet Toyota + 19.506s
13. Nick Foster WSR BMW + 21.639s
14. Alex MacDowall Chevrolet + 26.845s
15. Jeff Smith Eurotech Vauxhall + 27.139s
16. Lea Wood Central Honda + 29.556s
17. Shaun Hollamby AmD Volkswagen + 38.710s
18. Liam Griffin Motorbase Ford + 49.523s
19. Dave Newsham Special Tuning SEAT + 1 lap

Retirements:

Andy Neate Arena Ford 16 laps
Tony Gilham Triple 8 Vauxhall 7 laps
John George Tech-Speed Chevrolet 3 laps
Rob Austin Austin Audi 3 laps
Chris James ES Chevrolet 2 laps

[Rob]

Jackson wins, rookie Foster stars
Mat Jackson has won today’s third Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship race at Croft ahead of Nick Foster in a best ever second.

Jackson led every lap in his Airwaves Racing Ford Focus but was under huge pressure throughout from Foster and his WSR BMW team-mate Robert Collard.

Foster, who led through the first few bends having started from the reversed grid pole position, later allowed the more experienced Collard past at the midway stage to see if he could crack Jackson but to no avail.

Exiting the final bend, Collard then sportingly backed off and allowed Foster back into second before they crossed the finish line for the first podium result of his BTCC career.

Jackson said: “Boy that was hard. Those BMWs are mighty around here and I had to nurse the tyres for the last half of the race. Luckily there were yellow flags on the last lap at the hairpin where they were strongest so I could breathe a bit easier. It’s a great result to go into the summer break with and gets us right back on to Matt Neal’s tail.”

Foster said: “I’m having a great time. Three points results at Oulton Park two weeks ago and a seventh and second today. I never thought I’d be on the podium this quickly in my BTCC career but the BMW is terrific around here. I heard on the team radio Rob might hand me the place back – it was very sporting of him.”

Collard added: “It’s been a great day for me, on the podium in all three races in wet and dry conditions. We knew the BMW would be strong here and have made the most of it. But what a drive from Nick in only his fifth BTCC event – to beat the names he has is a massive achievement and he’s the talk of the pit lane.”

Andrew Jordan finished the race in fourth in his Pirtek Vauxhall Vectra, followed by 888/Collins driver James Nash’s similar car after he’d found a way past Honda team-mates Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal who took sixth and seventh. Alex MacDowall had also briefly got ahead of Neal only to be re-passed on the last lap so had to settle for eighth in his Silverline Chevrolet Cruze having come through from 16th on the grid. It was a frustrating race for his team-mate Jason Plato who started from the rear of the grid and finished 11th, outside the points.

Leaving Croft and heading into the seven-week summer break in the calendar, Neal leads the championship by nine points from Jackson. Shedden is third, Jordan fourth, Plato fifth and Nash sixth while Collard’s results today – third, second and third – have catapulted him up to seventh.

Incidents of note included Paul O’Neill’s exit at the hairpin on the penultimate lap – in a near repeat of his race two retirement, he spun with broken suspension on his GoMobileUK.com with tech-speed Chevrolet, this time after contact with Shaun Hollamby’s AmD Milltek Racing.com VW Golf. Frank Wrathall also retired spectacularly, his Toyota hurtling off the track into a crop field at high speed.

[Rob]

nice of Collard to let Foster pass near line to get his first ever 2nd position. Not good race for my fantasy team

[Julie B]

RACE 2 - RESULTS

Matt Neal made it two out of two with victory in today’s second Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship race at Croft.

As in race one, Neal led every lap in his Honda Racing Team Civic but this time was shadowed all the way by Robert Collard’s WSR BMW.

Andrew Jordan finished a distant third in his Pirtek Racing Vauxhall Vectra after first picking off Mat Jackson’s Airwaves Ford Focus and then, in the closing stages, Neal’s team-mate Gordon Shedden.

Notably, it was Jackson’s team-mate Liam Griffin who perhaps caused the most excitement during the race – his car veering left behind the barriers at high speed before coming to rest some 200 yards further on in a farmer’s crop field in what was a truly bizarre incident.

Meanwhile Neal, who also set the race’s fastest lap en route to his second win of the day, has now stretched out a commanding 21-point lead in the championship ahead of Jackson and Shedden. Jordan is up to fourth, ahead of Jason Plato who retired his Silverline Chevrolet Cruze from the race with a CV joint failure.

Neal said: “I never thought we’d win today so to get two is quite unexpected. That was a real game of cat and mouse with Rob and it was a case of pushing at some points of the race and then just winding it back to nurse the tyres and brakes.”

Collard added: “Safety cars don’t play into my hands and just as I was right up with Matt we got one. The BMW loses more temperature in its tyres than the rest when we’re bunched up and going slowly behind the safety car and at the re-start Matt was gone.”

Both Shedden and Jackson struggled for pace in the race’s closing stages. The Honda had damage to a front wing and was splattered in mud following light contact with a barrier at the chicane, while the Ford was proving a handful for Jackson due to an incorrect decision on damper set-up.

This resulted in a queue of cars bunching up behind them by the finish. Tom Chilton in his Team Aon Ford Focus took sixth just ahead of Collard’s team-mate Nick Foster who was seventh thanks to a daredevil move around the outside of Dave Newsham’s Special Tuning SEAT at the penultimate bend. Newsham still took a career-best eighth ahead of Andy Neate and Tom Onslow-Cole who ensured all three Aon cars finished in the top ten.

James Nash, one of the six drivers in the title hunt arriving at Croft, finished 11th and outside the points after a first lap spin in his 888/Collins Vectra. He is now sixth in the standings, some 36 points behind leader Neal…

But at least he finished. In addition to Plato and Griffin, other retirements included Alex MacDowall and Paul O’Neill who stopped in the pit lane with engine problems and broken suspension respectively, the latter after a tangle with Chilton. Tom Boardman caused the safety car period to which Collard referred when his SEAT stopped on the edge of the track with broken steering after a spin and Frank Wrathall’s Toyota also needed to be retrieved by marshals after his Toyota stopped in the gravel trap at Clervaux Corner after a component failure.

Jeff Smith crashed out of the race when, after a tangle with Nash, his Pirtek Vectra ran straight on at the Complex and slewed sideways into the barriers.


Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Matt Neal Honda 28m57.344s
2. Rob Collard WSR BMW + 0.991s
3. Andrew Jordan Eurotech Vauxhall + 17.643s
4. Gordon Shedden Honda + 19.712s
5. Mat Jackson Motorbase Ford + 20.367s
6. Tom Chilton Arena Ford + 20.597s
7. Nick Foster WSR BMW + 20.876s
8. Dave Newsham Special Tuning SEAT + 21.648s
9. Andy Neate Arena Ford + 27.238s
10. Tom Onslow-Cole Arena Ford + 32.428s
11. James Nash Triple 8 Vauxhall + 32.825s
12. Tony Gilham Triple 8 Vauxhall + 39.956s
13. Shaun Hollamby AmD Volkswagen + 45.256s
14. John George Tech-Speed Chevrolet + 51.231s
15. Lea Wood Central Honda + 1m07.463s

Retirements:

Alex MacDowall Chevrolet 15 laps
Jeff Smith Eurotech Vauxhall 14 laps
Chris James ES Chevrolet 14 laps
Rob Austin Austin Audi 13 laps
Jason Plato Chevrolet 11 laps
Paul O'Neill Tech-Speed Chevrolet 10 laps
Frank Wrathall Dynojet Toyota 9 laps
Tom Boardman Special Tuning SEAT 3 laps
Liam Griffin Motorbase Ford 2 laps

[Julie B]

RACE 3 - RESULTS

Mat Jackson has won today’s third Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship race at Croft ahead of Nick Foster in a best ever second.

Jackson led every lap in his Airwaves Racing Ford Focus but was under huge pressure throughout from Foster and his WSR BMW team-mate Robert Collard.

Foster, who led through the first few bends having started from the reversed grid pole position, later allowed the more experienced Collard past at the midway stage to see if he could crack Jackson but to no avail.

Exiting the final bend, Collard then sportingly backed off and allowed Foster back into second before they crossed the finish line for the first podium result of his BTCC career.

Jackson said: “Boy that was hard. Those BMWs are mighty around here and I had to nurse the tyres for the last half of the race. Luckily there were yellow flags on the last lap at the hairpin where they were strongest so I could breathe a bit easier. It’s a great result to go into the summer break with and gets us right back on to Matt Neal’s tail.”

Foster said: “I’m having a great time. Three points results at Oulton Park two weeks ago and a seventh and second today. I never thought I’d be on the podium this quickly in my BTCC career but the BMW is terrific around here. I heard on the team radio Rob might hand me the place back – it was very sporting of him.”

Collard added: “It’s been a great day for me, on the podium in all three races in wet and dry conditions. We knew the BMW would be strong here and have made the most of it. But what a drive from Nick in only his fifth BTCC event – to beat the names he has is a massive achievement and he’s the talk of the pit lane.”

Andrew Jordan finished the race in fourth in his Pirtek Vauxhall Vectra, followed by 888/Collins driver James Nash’s similar car after he’d found a way past Honda team-mates Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal who took sixth and seventh. Alex MacDowall had also briefly got ahead of Neal only to be re-passed on the last lap so had to settle for eighth in his Silverline Chevrolet Cruze having come through from 16th on the grid. It was a frustrating race for his team-mate Jason Plato who started from the rear of the grid and finished 11th, outside the points.

Leaving Croft and heading into the seven-week summer break in the calendar, Neal leads the championship by nine points from Jackson. Shedden is third, Jordan fourth, Plato fifth and Nash sixth while Collard’s results today – third, second and third – have catapulted him up to seventh.

Incidents of note included Paul O’Neill’s exit at the hairpin on the penultimate lap – in a near repeat of his race two retirement, he spun with broken suspension on his GoMobileUK.com with tech-speed Chevrolet, this time after contact with Shaun Hollamby’s AmD Milltek Racing.com VW Golf. Frank Wrathall also retired spectacularly, his Toyota hurtling off the track into a crop field at high speed.

Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Mat Jackson Motorbase Ford 22m10.663s
2. Nick Foster WSR BMW + 0.638s
3. Rob Collard WSR BMW + 0.922s
4. Andrew Jordan Eurotech Vauxhall + 10.909s
5. James Nash Triple 8 Vauxhall + 12.269s
6. Gordon Shedden Honda + 14.866s
7. Matt Neal Honda + 15.915s
8. Alex MacDowall Chevrolet + 16.512s
9. Tom Chilton Arena Ford + 21.112s
10. Dave Newsham Special Tuning SEAT + 21.855s
11. Jason Plato Chevrolet + 31.066s
12. Tony Gilham Triple 8 Vauxhall + 34.691s
13. Tom Onslow-Cole Arena Ford + 38.211s
14. Jeff Smith Eurotech Vauxhall + 38.359s
15. Shaun Hollamby AmD Volkswagen + 45.095s
16. Liam Griffin Motorbase Ford + 54.858s
17. John George Tech-Speed Chevrolet + 1m01.548s
18. Chris James ES Chevrolet + 1m02.209s
19. Lea Wood Central Honda + 1m19.308s

Retirements:

Paul O'Neill Tech-Speed Chevrolet 13 laps
Tom Boardman Special Tuning SEAT 10 laps
Rob Austin Austin Audi 5 laps
Andy Neate Arena Ford 5 laps
Frank Wrathall Dynojet Toyota 1 laps