BTCC back with a bang!

With more drivers than you could shake a stick at, freezing conditions and a new soft compound tyre to add into the mix, the start of the 2013 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship was sure to get off to a chaotic start at Brands Hatch.

The action started on Saturday during the first qualifying session of the year, in which Pirtek Racing's Andrew Jordan took pole position. Two minutes into the session and a slight mistake coming out of Druids from returning driver Colin Turkington saw his eBay Motors BMW half spin on the racing line, which caused Jack Goff - Team HARD's debut driver - to hit the car, leaving both of them out of the session.

Snowy conditions put pay to drivers making any last minute lap improvements, but for Frank Wrathall, a failed ride height check minutes before the end saw him dash out on track to attempt another lap, but aborted due to track conditions. Andrew Jordan took pole ahead of 2012 champion Gordon Shedden and Jason Plato in the newly liveried KX Momentum MG.

Goff had an unfortunate start to his BTCC career.
Picture Credit: Marc Waller Motorsport Media

Despite no knowing how the new soft option tyres were going to perform, Rob Austin made a brilliant start in his rear-wheel drive Audi in the first race from seventh on the grid to take second place, before making a move on leading man Andrew Jordan. 

The Honda Yuasa duo Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden had an opening race to forget. Shedden saved a slide going through Paddock Hill bend, which left him fighting back, whilst team mate Neal had acquired some damage to the rear of his car, which resulted in him holding up the field, albeit maintaining fourth. An incident between the two which saw Shedden pushed onto the grass going across the start/finish straight, saw Shedden's radiator filled with grass, forcing him to pit to clear, with Neal also coming in for a new tyre - resulting in the pair rejoining the pack a lap down.

Jason Plato won his seventy-fifth career victory, despite a last lap frenzy as Andrew Jordan attempted a move to lead which put both of them in the gravel for a short time before getting themselves out to hold their respective positions. Rob Austin, who had fallen behind due to the soft tyres not making the distance, also managed to maintain a podium position.

Having not completed a full season in the series since 2006, James Kaye took the first Jack Sears Trophy win of the year on his return with AmDTuning.com, beating the likes of Lea Wood and Liam Griffin.

What a start; Honda Racing didn't have the start
they wanted to their 2013 season.

In the second race of the day, Jason Plato and Andrew Jordan held on to their first race finishing positions, whilst Gordon Shedden came back through the field to take third. However, a failed ride height check after the race excluded him from the results, promoting Pirtek's Jeff Smith to the third podium step. Liam Griffin became the second S2000 winner of the day in his Addison Lee Motorbase Ford Focus.

Rob Austin, despite make another rocket start, didn't have the same amount of luck as in race one, when an incident with Frank Wrathall saw him retire the Audi with damage. Wrathall too retired from the race after ending up in the Druids gravel trap. 

Shedden's exclusion resulted in Airwaves Racing's Mat Jackson - who hadn't had the best start to  his weekend after a mechanical issue in the first race saw him slow on track - promoted to pole position for the third and final race of the day.

Andrew Jordan led a Pirtek Racing 2-3 finish in the second race of the day.
Picture Credit: Marc Waller Motorsport Media

In true Jackson style, he made a storming start to the race, however his lead was shortened when a safety car period was needed after a heavy shunt involving Dave Newsham and Rob Austin, which left considerable damage to to Wix Racing Audi, however both drivers were unharmed.

Having lost the lead at the re-start, Jackson was fighting for fifth with KX Momentum Racing's  newest recruit Sam Tordoff, who had had a fantastic start to his first full season in the championship. Following his race two exclusion, Gordon Shedden was making his way through the field and pressuring team mate Matt Neal in the latter stages of the race for the lead.

The pair ultimately went on to take a 1-2 finish for Honda Racing, on what looked to be a bad start to their season. Tordoff took his first podium in the series for KX Momentum, whilst Lea Wood took the S2000 win on track, but was later excluded through a failed ride height check. Liam Griffin capitalised, making Motorbase's home race a little better after some mechanical issues throughout the day.

eBay Motors had a disappointing weekend, with Rob Collard retiring from the three races bringing home no points. Colin Turkington also had a tough weekend back with a couple of race excursions, however did bring home some points for West Surrey Racing, with Nick Foster following suite.

Sam Tordoff impressed onlookers by achieving his first BTCC podium.
Picture Credit: Marc Waller Motorsport Media

With Jason Plato now leading the championship standings going into the second meeting at Donington Park in just under three weeks' time, the battle is well and truly on for the 2013 championship.

It's that time again...

Yes, it's time for the BTCC circus to return to motor racing circuits up and down the UK. Apologies again for not updating the blog as often as I would like, but here is my preview of this weekend's tin top action at Brands Hatch, as seen on girlracer.co.uk...

So this is it. The cars are polished. The drivers are ready. It’s what we’ve all been waiting for.

After a winter break of five months and ten days, the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship roars back into life tomorrow for the start of the 2013 season – set to be one of the best yet.

Despite the somewhat chilly conditions, fans will be flocking to Brands Hatch to see what their favourite teams and drivers can do around the Indy Circuit on the opening race weekend of the year.

An interesting aspect to keep an eye on over the weekend will be how Dunlop’s new soft tyre will perform during race conditions. The tyre, which will be allocated to each driver at every meeting, bar Thruxton, was introduced by the series in November. Strategy will be key, as drivers will have to choose which race out of the three they wish to use the tyre in before Saturday’s qualifying session – with rivals’ unaware of their opponents choices until that race.

One of the biggest talking points ahead of the start of the 2013 season is the fact there will be four champions taking to the grid; 2012 champ Gordon Shedden, Matt Neal, Jason Plato and BTCC returnee Colin Turkington. Challenges will be tough, and each driver will be aiming to add another title to their tally.

But they’ll have to keep on their toes, as the new field of drivers come through the pack aiming for the big one. 2012 Independent’s Champion Andrew Jordan will be hoping to capitalise on his Media Day testing performance over the ten race meetings to clinch the title, whilst Redstone Racing’s Mat Jackson is also setting his sights on the crown.

Having not unveiled their cars at Media Day, Team HARD. will be revealing their 2013 machines to the world this weekend. With returning drivers to the series Tom Onslow-Cole and Howard Fuller alongside BTCC newbies James Cole and Clio Champion Jack Goff under the watchful eyes of team boss Tony Gilham, all eyes will be on their performances over the weekend.

It’s also the inaugural year for the Jack Sears’ Trophy; awarding the top performing driver in a S2000 car with a trophy named after the first ever tin top champion. Six drivers; David Nye (Welch Motorsport with Sopp & Sopp), James Kaye (AmDTuning.com), Warren Scott (Team BMR Restart), Lea Wood (Wheel Heaven/Houseman Racing), Liam Griffin (Addison Lee Motorbase) and Joe Girling (M247 Racing) will all be aiming to get their S2000 car to be the best above the rest and lift the trophy come the end of the season.

It’s clear to see that this is going to be an exciting and unpredictable year for the championship, fraught with the usual twists, turns and unexpected surprises along the way.

The wait is nearly over. Let’s go racing.

Happy New Year!

I apologise for the lack of posts on here recently - what with starting university which, by the way, I am loving every single second, and reporting for GirlRacer, I just don't have the time to update Tales of the Tin Tops as frequently any more.

No matter, I will as often as I can post my latest reports and articles from Girl Racer to here, so that you can see what's going on in the world of British Touring Cars.

So let's get cracking - and kick off with the Autosport International Show, which featured an array of BTCC stars and cars. Here's the report...

So there we have it. The annual Autosport International has come and gone as quick as a flash. 2013 saw a variety of all forms of motorsport on display, ranging from top level motorsport such as Formula One and Rallying, to drag racing and oval racing in the form of stock cars.

The British Touring Car Championship featured heavily throughout the four action-packed days, with an iconic stand – complete with the infamous Dunlop Bridge displaying some of the starring cars from the 2012 season, including the Championship winning Honda Civic of Gordon Shedden and Cancer Research charity liveried MG6 of Jason Plato.

Also located on the BTCC stand were some of the newly uncovered cars that will be seen on the grid in 2013. These included Dan Welch’s Proton Persona, Rob Austin’s www.wixracing.co.uk Audi A4 and Dave Newsham’s Speedworks Toyota Avensis. Away from the Dunlop Stand, Andrew Jordan’s 2012 Independent Championship winning Pirtek Honda Civic was being displayed on the Autoglym stand - from which visitors could purchase some of the company’s well-known vehicle cleaning products.

Two of the big news stories surrounding the weekend came from two Independent outlets – AmD Tuning and Rob Austin Racing. Shaun Hollamby confirmed before the show that his team would be running an NGTC-spec Vauxhall during the second half of 2013, whilst Rob Austin confirmed a title-sponsor in Wix Filters – and the return of 2012-debutant Will Bratt for a full-season. Both of these stories can be found by clicking on the following links; http://www.girlracer.co.uk/motorsport/14191-btcc-amd-reveal-ngtc-astra-for-2013-season.html  / http://www.girlracer.co.uk/motorsport/14201-btcc-rob-austin-racing-confirm-2013-plans.html

It wasn’t just the modern day era of the BTCC making headlines during the show; stars and cars from the past also made their presence known. Thursday saw the announcement from the Historic Sports Car Club that 2013 would see a new series featuring four rounds for both historic and super-touring cars. The races will take places during historic events over the year at the following circuits;

·         Thruxton – 30^th/31^st March

·         Brands Hatch – 13^th/14^th July

·         Silverstone – 26^th/27^th/28^th July

·         Outlon Park – 24^th/25^th/26^th August

Following the announcement, Friday saw the coming together of an assembly of legendary tin top stars including the first ever champion Jack Sears – who recently had the new Independent Trophy named after him, 1989 and 1995 champion John Cleland, the first ever triple-champion Bill McGovern and 1992 champion and current ITV4 commentator Tim Harvey.

Fans were also treated to a stand dedicated to the type of cars that will be featured in the new series, including the 1995 title winning super-touring Vauxhall Cavalier of John Cleland, the BMW 318 of Steve Soper and the 1998 Dynamic’s Nissan Primera of Matt Neal.

Back to 2013, and some tin top rookies joined in the action on the Dunlop stand, including Team HARD’s newest recruits Jack Goff and James Cole, who took part in driver-signings and interviews allowing fans to get to know the new faces on the grid. A gathering of touring car stars also took part in the allocated driver signings and main stage interviews over the weekend, some of which included; Gordon Shedden, Matt Neal, Jason Plato, Andrew Jordan, Dave Newsham, Rob Austin, Dan Welch, Will Bratt and Adam Morgan. American Robb Holland, who made his BTCC debut with Team HARD. last year also made an appearance.

World Touring Car stars Andy Prialux and 2012 Champion Rob Huff were also present at the show, and featured on the main stage giving sharing stories about their previous twelve months of racing.

Jason Plato’s KX Academy was another one of the big highlights from the show. Jason and the successful KX applicants – Tom Ingram, Stefan Hodgets, Daniel Lloyd, Sam Tordoff, Rob Boston, Luke Herbert and Anthony Whorton-Eales all appeared on the KX sponsored Autosport stage on Thursday to talk about the scheme and why it’s important for racing drivers in today’s current climate to get the support from an association like KX.

Sticking with Jason Plato, his success after a late last-minute deal with MG in 2012 brought more fans and enthusiasts to the MG stand on display at the Autosport International. With two MG6s on display, MG also put on The Racing Bug – a remote control race where visitors could take on each other on a short circuit – with all the thrills and spills of a standard touring car race!

Adjacent to MG was the artist Ian Cook, who on Saturday was undertaking another ‘PopBangColour’ challenge by creating Gordon Shedden’s Championship winning Honda Civic with remote control cars and tyres.

ITV4 pit-lane reporter Louise Goodman took to the stage throughout the weekend with Paul Mussell acting as sidekick to present the live show in the Live Action Arena. The show saw a selection of racing, from motorcycle stunts, Robin Reliant Racing and monster trucks.

The Autosport International show kicks off the start of the motorsport calendar for many competitors and fans. Next stop for the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship is Media Day on Thursday 21^st March at Donington Park – with free access for fans after 12pm.

Girls in BTCC...

It’s one of the biggest debates of all time – which sex are better behind the wheel - the girls or the boys?

    If you look at some of the top motor racing championships in the world, the majority of the competitors are male, but that hasn't stopped certain “girl racers” from showing the boys how it’s done, whether it be in the top championships, or the supporting races.
     In this feature article, I'm going to be looking at female competitors in the British Touring Car Championship. I’ll be looking into what they achieved, how they have inspired others, and asking the question of why there are no female drivers in the BTCC today.

Digging back into the BTCC history book, it looks to be that the first female competitors in the championship raced in the 1989 Esso RAC sponsored championship.
     Louise Aitken-Walker competed in 1989 with Vauxhall Motorsport in a Vauxhall Astra GTE 16, alongside fellow team mates John Cleland and Jeremy Rossiter. In previous years, there would be four separate classes formatting the championship, and although 1989 was no different, it would be the last season that would see four separate classes. Aitken-Walker and company were racing in the Class C category for 1601-2000cc spec machines. Having been the Class C winner at Thruxton, and then again at Silverstone, Aitken-Walker racked up the points to finish fourth overall in the championship standings with a total of 72 points, with team mate Cleland winning the title.
     1989 also saw Swedish racer Nettan Lindgren-Jansson join the championship. For her first season in the championship, she raced a BMW M3 in the Class B category (for 2001-3000cc spec vehicles) on her own in her own team. Lindgren-Jansson only raced at seven out of the thirteen rounds, and achieved her best finish of the year at the Brands Hatch GP meeting, where she finished thirteenth overall. The end of the season saw her finish sixth in the Championship standings in Class B with twelve points.
     Nettan raced again in the Essa RAC 1990 BTCC season, this time with BMW Team Sweden, but still in an M3. 1990 saw the introduction of two classes as opposed to the four class categories seen in previous years. Class A (over 3000cc) cars would go against two-litre touring cars in the Class B category.
     She achieved her best finish at Thruxton, winning her class in fifth position overall, and went on to finish fifth in the Class B championship standings come the end of the season, having raced at ten out of the thirteen races that year.
     Lindgren-Jansson’s third and final appearance in the BTCC, was the 1991 Esso RAC season, racing again with BMW Team Sweden in a BMW M3, alongside fellow Swedish racer Peggen Andersson as her team mate.
     Racing in seven out of the thirteen races that season again, her best result came at Donington Park, where she finished tenth. 1991 saw the start of the new “Super-Touring” era of the sport, of which some people, including today’s drivers, hail as one of the best eras of all time. Will Hoy became the season champion, with Nettan finishing in a lowly twenty-fourth with only one point.
     Her best known moment whilst racing in the championship came in 1991, when on-board footage caught her giving Jonathan Palmer a stern ticking off after taking her and her BMW out during the race at Snetterton - something that can be seen in the video below. Skip to 4:30 to see the incident build up...

After a seven year gap, the next female racer to join the grid was Paula Cook in 1998 for rounds twelve and thirteen of the championship – held at Oulton Park and Silverstone. Cook arrived on the scene in the Cook family run team DC Cook Motorsport, who ran a Honda Accord for the two meetings. Cook’s best finish in the two rounds she competed in was at Silverstone, where she brought the Accord home in twelfth.

     The DC Cook Motorsport outlet returned again in 1999, with Paula running the Honda Accord in eight of that year’s thirteen rounds. One of these rounds was a night race – something that was making its first appearance in the championship. 1999 was a special year for the championship, with TOCA putting up a prize of £250,000 for the first Independent driver to win a race in the modern era of the BTCC. That driver was Matt Neal, who shocked and surprised fans by claiming the victory in his family run Nissan Primera.
      Paula achieved her best finish of ninth in the Silverstone feature race, in which she was the Independent winner. Cook finished the season, and her BTCC career fifth overall in the Michelin Cup for Independents, having racked up 91 points over the season.

   Two years down the line – a new millennium – and another female driver to add to the touring car mix. Joanna Clark entered the season for one year in 2001 with Team B&Q and TalkSport Radio, running a Honda Integra Type-R for three rounds. Clark made her debut at Knockhill where she finished sixteenth and fourteenth respectively. Unfortunately, Clark’s fourteenth place was to be her best finish in the BTCC, with her next two rounds at Snetterton and Croft resulting in an eighteenth, two retirements and non-start.

2001 saw the end of the super-touring era of the BTCC, and also saw the debut of another girl racer to the paddock. Annie Templeton teamed up with Paul O’Neill in the Tech-Speed Motorsport Peugeot 306 GTI for all rounds of the 2001 season. Her best race finish was at Donington Park, where she brought the Peugeot home in eleventh place overall during the second race. Come the end of 2001, Templeton finished nineteenth overall in the Production Class with a total of twenty one points.

Returning again in 2002, Annie competed with Tech-Speed Motorsport in the Peugeot 306 GTI – however this year with Lotus Elise champion Mark Fullalove replacing O’Neill as her team mate. Improving on her debut season results, Templeton’s best finish in the 2002 season was thirteenth in the first race at Brands Hatch and ended the year  thirteenth overall in the Production Class with a total of twenty six points.

The final and possibly most recognised female driver that has driven in the British Touring Car Championship to date is Fiona Leggate. Fiona entered the championship in 2005 – starting her racing career only two years prior to her tin top debut.

Leggate signing autographs in 2006.
Picture Credit: Marc Waller 

Fiona made her debut halfway through the 2005 season, starting at Croft in the team Tech-Speed Motorsport run Vauxhall Astra Coupe – converted to run on bioethanol fuel. Her first half season saw her achieve her best ever BTCC result of fifth at Silverstone and score twelve points in total come the finale.

Fiona returned again in 2006 with the same team and the same car, bringing along anew sponsor in Vauxhall dealer Thurlby Motors. The Tech-Speed outlet continued to be supported by EEMS (Energy Efficient Motorsport Scheme) in the quest to show that bioethanol fuel could be used in competitive motorsport situations. 2006 saw Leggate have a trio of tenth place finishes; the first coming from the third race at Brands Hatch and two from the first and third races at Thruxton. Fiona had to unfortunately withdraw from the sixth round of the championship at Donington Park, where the Astra suffered from a cracked engine cylinder. She did return for round seven at Snetterton, where she finished twelfth and thirteenth in the respective first two races and then disappointingly retired from the final race of the day. This retirement saw Fiona decide to pull out of the remainder of the season having missed the following meeting at Knockhill and was replaced by Paul O’Neill for the two remaining rounds of the 2006 season.

Fiona Leggate in the Thurlby Motors and
Tech-Speed Vauxhall Astra in 2006.
Picture Credit: Marc Waller

Fiona made her final BTCC appearance in 2007, where she teamed up with Jason Hughes in the Kartworld Racing team MG Z5 – again fuelled with bioethanol fuel. Competing in all ten rounds of the championship, her best finish was in race two at the final race meeting of the year at Thruxton.

     So that’s six female drivers that have raced in the British Touring Car Championship – so the question now is; why have there not been more. There are many factors that can halt any driver - whether they are male or female – in their quest for a drive in the series. One of the biggest issues that many drivers face, especially in today’s current climate, is budget – and getting together a string of sponsors that are willing to help push a driver in the right direction.

     There are many examples of females that have made it in the world of motorsport. Possibly one of the most successful drivers in 2012 is Alice Powell, currently racing in the GP3 series all over the world. Starting her car racing career in the Ginetta Junior Championship that runs alongside the BTCC, Powell soon stepped up to the Formula Renault BARC championship in 2010, where she not only became the first female to win a race in the series, but the first female to win the championship.

Charlotte Eyre, currently a kart racer from Stafford, aims to one day be involved and race within the BTCC.

     “The fact that the BTCC is fair racing and always offers close racing makes me want to race in the series. The first race that I watched was Silverstone in 2009, and since then I’ve fallen in love with all the close racing!

     “Alice Powell and my mum have inspired me to want to compete in motor racing. My mum was a rally driver when she was my age, but also did karting, so knows how to help me when I’m sat in the kart about to go out on track. Alice Powell has shown me that nothing will stop her from racing despite people saying that female drivers are not as good as male drivers. We’re all there to prove them wrong!”

     Determined to get onto the saloon car racing ladder, Charlotte has been offered a drive for 2013 in a Ford Escort XR3i, but may however have to put this offer aside for a year as she is struggling to raise the funds to compete in the series.

     To keep up to date with Charlotte and her 2013 racing plans, you can follower her on Twitter @CharlotteEyre18 – where you’ll be kept updated with all the latest news.

Brands Hatch - Finale re-cap

Brands Hatch was the battle ground for the final round of the 2012 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season – with Gordon Shedden, Matt Neal and Jason Plato all fighting for the overall crown.

eBay Motor’s Tom Onslow-Cole shone in the final qualifying session of the year and took pole position for the team however couldn’t hold on to his lead during the first race of the day. Matt Neal fought back from a torrid weekend at Silverstone to take the first win, with championship contenders Shedden and Plato finishing fifth and eighth respectively.

The new liveried KX Momentum MG wasn’t performing to its highest standard in the damp conditions that at made their presence for the finale, and struggled to make up places through the field.

Andrew Jordan clinched second place ahead of Tom Onslow-Cole, with the Pirtek driver closing in on the Independent’s Championship. A new driver making his debut with Team HARD at Brands Hatch was Aaron Williamson, who in his first tin-top race, finished in fourteenth place having had a good run through the field, staying out of trouble where it mattered.

Aron Smith sails to his first BTCC victory in race two.
Picture Credit: Marc Waller

The second race of the day saw Gordon Shedden clinch the 2012 British Touring Car title – becoming the first Scotsman to take the title since John Cleland in 1995. Andrew Jordan also wrapped up the Independent Championship after Rob Collard retired after contact on the first lap, but was aware that he needed to stay focussed to claim the Independent’s team title for Pirtek Racing.

Not set on setting his stamp on the BTCC podium at Silverstone, Redstone Racing’s Aron Smith had a spectacular race to claim his first ever win in the championship.

At last: Gordon Shedden finally claims the Dunlop MSA
British Touring Car Championship crown.
Picture Credit: Marc Waller

Retirements from the race included Dan Welch, who suffered from heavy damage after contact with Nick Foster. Dave Newsham was lucky to escape terminal damage after a big shunt with the tyre wall coming out of Druids. In an attempt to recover after a slide, Andy Neate collected Adam Morgan during the race, with Tom Onslow-Cole and Aaron Williamson also becoming innocent victims after trying to avoid the incident.

Delight: Frank Wrathall takes a maiden win for the
family-run Dynojet team in race three.
Picture Credit: Marc Waller

Race three saw another brand new winner to the championship, with Dynojet’s Frank Wrathall taking to the top step of the podium. Anguish for Mat Jackson saw him troubled with the same throttle issue that haunted him at Silverstone, forcing him to pull over and retire from the race.

With Jason Plato still struggling in the wet conditions that continued at Brands Hatch, Matt Neal took the second place spot in the standings, with Plato having to settle for third – a great result for a team that started the year with only a fifteen minute shakedown session under their belts.

Pirtek Racing secured the Independent’s Team’s Championship, making it a good year all round for Honda. Honda Racing stomped to victory in not only the driver’s championship, but also the manufacturers and team’s championships.

Honda Yuasa Racing celebrate their fantastic string of results.
Photo Credit: Marc Waller

After such an exciting season, the countdown now starts for the 2013 season, which is shaping up to be bigger and better than ever before. 

A catch-up from Silverstone...

The home of British motorsport was the battle ground for the penultimate three rounds of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship. Jason Plato took his KX Momentum M6 to two wins, to put him second in the championship standings going into the final round at Brands Hatch. The Honda duo, who had predicted that their Civic wouldn’t run well at Silverstone, couldn’t believe their luck, as reigning champion Neal ended the day without earning a single point.

     Qualifying saw Jason Plato take pole position, whilst the Hondas languished down the field. Neal could only manage tenth, with team mate and championship leader Gordon Shedden in nineteenth.
     The fog lifted in perfect time ready for the first of the day’s three races to get underway, in which Jason Plato led the race from the start, before Mat Jackson took the lead mid-way through the race. The Redstone Racing NGTC Focus looked set to take its ever on-track victory, but heartache for the team saw Mat pull over on the track with a throttle problem, handing the lead back to Plato with only a handful of laps remaining. It wasn’t all bad news for the Motorbase outlet, with Aron Smith taking his first ever BTCC podium in third place, with Dave Newsham adding another second place podium to the ES Racing’s 2012 tally.

Plato came up trumps in the first race of the day, with Newsham
and Smith - stepping onto the podium for the first time by his side.
Picture Credit: Marc Waller

The first race wasn’t all plain sailing; Tom Onslow-Cole didn’t make it to his eighth place grid slot due to a driveshaft failure. However, a hasty change from the eBay Motors team allowed Onslow-Cole to start from the pit lane – he recovered well from this to cross the line in tenth. There was drama on the opening laps too, as Chris James had a coming together with Team HARD’s Howard Fuller – back out for the penultimate round with the independent team – forcing James to retire from the race with suspension damage. More casualties included Andrew Jordan, who had a tangle with Triple Eight racer Andy Neate, leaving Jordan furiously lingering in the Becketts gravel trap. Having served a drive through penalty for a false start moments before, Tony Gilham also spun off the track whilst trying to catch up with the safety car. Matt Neal was also forced to retire from the race with a turbo problem with his Honda Racing civic.
     Race two brought more dramas to the track at Silverstone, as the afternoon sun shone down. Having won the first race of the day, Jason Plato made another storming start and led for the majority of the race. Mat Jackson, who started seventeenth after his disappointing retirement in the first race, was storming through the field, and looking to make it to the front of the grid. Disaster for Plato saw him slow on the circuit and with Jackson relieving eBay driver Rob Collard for second, took the lead with the race drawing to a close. Another disastrous race for Matt Neal saw him hastily retreat from his Honda, after a fire broke out on the passenger side. Neal was able to get out of the car safely, and helped the marshals in their attempt to put out the flames.

Up in flames - Matt Neal escaped without injury from this fiery incident.
Picture Credit: Marc Waller

But the glory of race two went to Mat Jackson, who crossed the line ahead of his rivals for the first ever time in the Redstone Racing NGTC Ford Focus. Designed and built by hand by the Motorbase team, the victory was well received throughout, with the team celebrating their achievement for all to see. Dave Newsham took a second podium of the day by finishing in third, with the eBay Motors BMW of Rob Collard in second.

Celebration: Motorbase team principal David Bartrum was
over the moon with Jackson's victory!
Picture Credit: Marc Waller

Race three began with Nick Foster in pole position, and after his race two woes, Jason Plato sat in twentieth looking to make is way through the field. Heartbreak for the independent drivers Rob Austin and Dan Welch, who were battling for second place early on in the race – as they made contact with each other at Copse corner, which made them both lose a lot of time. They came together again at Luffield, with Welch having to settle for fifteenth and Rob, who finished on track in ninth, excluded from the race after investigations had taken place. Matt Neal and Lea Wood also made contact with each other coming out of Brooklands, which left the Honda with nowhere to go but the barriers – leaving the weekend, and possibly his championship, in tatters.
     The star of the show was undoubtedly Jason Plato, who crossed the line ahead of Mat Jackson – who drove from tenth with 45k of ballast on board to take a second podium for the team.  A great weekend for Rob Collard saw him also take his second podium – ending the day in third.
     With the championship going down the wire in two weeks’ time at Brands Hatch, Gordon Shedden currently still holds the lead by fifteen points with Jason Plato looming in second place. Matt Neal will go into Brands Hatch third in the standings – and thirty-one points behind his team mate. Although, with sixty points up for grabs at Brands, it’s all to play for as the season draws to a close…

BTCC: Rockingham Round-Up...

Rockingham Motor Speedway was the setting for rounds twenty two, twenty three and twenty four of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – where Jason Plato and Gordon Shedden shared the wins between them.

     Jason Plato started on pole position and dominated the day’s first race, as the rain clouds loomed over head. Despite the first race being a somewhat quiet affair, there were incidents on track that led to penalties post-occurrence. Jeff Smith was handed a £500 along with three penalty points on his license after an incident with Redstone Racing’s Aron Smith saw the Irishman left stranded in the gravel at the Tarzan hairpin. Plato dominated the field in his KX Momentum MG6, and took the win for the Triple Eight team, followed by Pirtek’s Andrew Jordan and Scotsman Gordon Shedden.

Jason Plato celebrating his race one with the Haribo bear!
Picture Credit: Marc Waller

The heavens opened on the circuit before the second race of the day, which saw the Hondas revel in the wet conditions, with Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal taking a 1-2 finish for the Honda Racing team. The damp environment was unkind to the MGs, with Andy Neate retiring early on in the session after a tangle with Dave Newsham and Jeff Smith.  Jason Plato managed to hold on third, but was unable to rule the race as was seen earlier on in the day. Mat Jackson was the first of the independent winners in the NGTC Redstone Racing Focus, taking fourth despite no wet running data on the car.
     Adam Morgan took advantage of the reverse grid draw and started the third and final race of the day at Rockingham on pole position. A dramatic start to the race saw Jeff Smith catch some standing water at the first corner, resulting in a heavy impact with the wall – bringing out the safety car as the track was cleared. Leader Adam Morgan, Mat Jackson and eBay Motors racer Tom Onslow-Cole were too caught out by the conditions, and spun during the early stages of the race.
     A heart-stopping moment for Gordon Shedden saw him take his Honda Racing Civic into a slide going into the first turn banking. Luckily for the Scotsman, Shedden was able to save the Civic from incident, and continued his battle for the lead.
     A mirror-image result in the final race saw Shedden, Neal and Plato all sharing the podium, as the championship standings were altered. Scotsman Shedden would lead the championship by three points to team mate Neal going into the penultimate round at Silverstone, with Plato catching the duo in third.
     Elsewhere on the grid, Howard Fuller – the debutant BTCC racer with Team HARD at Rockingham – had a brilliant start to his tin top career, bringing the HARD Honda home in three point scoring positions throughout the day.

Two out of three: Shedden goes into Silverstone
leading the championship standings.
Picture credit: Marc Waller