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.
