BTCC Crazy E-Mag: Issue #2

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PPllaattoo DDoommiinnaatteessaatt BBrraannddss

#2

All the hype about the NGTC and turbo cars and Jason Plato sticks his S2000 Chevrolet on the top of the pile after the first three races. Who would have thought it?

The British Touring Car Championship certainly came back with a bang and it was certainly a lot more entertaining than that series where drivers jet across the globe in multi-million pound machines and race with no overtaking.

We had everything. Crashes, overtakes, punctures. You name it the BTCC had it at Brands Hatch and Donington Park will provide much of the same this weekend.

There was also disappointment to come from Brands Hatch in the name of the NGTC cars. Wrathall and Hughes both encountered problems which put them at the back of the pack for much of the weekend but that was better than Rob Austin Racing and Dave Pinkney managed who failed to make any sessions.

Hopefully we’ll see more of a true performance from the NGTC cars this weekend as the teams roll into Derbyshire for round two.

James MappinHead Editor of BTCCCrazy

Online Editor and ChiefBTCCCrazy Editor :James Mappin

Contributors: Tom Surgay, Craig Jones, Richard Devine, Mike Trusler, Rebecca Mitchell & Pete Mainey

Photographs: Pete Mainey & Jakob Ebrey

E-Mag Designer andEditor: Mike Trusler

Layout and PDF made

in Scribus

BTCCCrazy Logo rights

respected to James

Mappin

All registerd

trademarks rights

reservewd

Straight from the Editor's head

Thanks & Credits

Contents

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Have a complaint? Email:

[email protected]

5-6 - Brands review

9-10 - Plato is a record breaker

13-14 Turbo or not Turbo?

17-18 Weekend awards

19-20 Paul O'Neill Blog

21-22 Support series action

23-26 Formula Renault UK

27-30 Ginetta SuperCup

31-34 Carrera Cup GB

35-38 Clip Cup

39-42 Ginetta Juniors

45-46 Caption comp

www.btcccrazy.co.uk 2

Battered and bruised, but the Honda kept fighting

5

The British Touring Car Championship is back, and boy did it deliver. We’d not even started the first lap before we had our first crash and retirement of the day. Rob Collard slowed on the exit of Paddock Hill Bend in the process of warming up his front tyres catching out newcomer Liam Griffin who hit Collard up the rear breaking the steering column on his Ford Focus and spelling the end to his debut in the BTCC. Jason Plato showed that he’s still got what it takes as he took two race wins over the weekend to top the standings after the first round of the season with Matt Neal taking the third race.

It took just two corners to see our first racing crash and the second retirement of the day as Matt Neal, who started from pole position for race one and undermining the pace that the Honda Civic with the turbo engine has, was punted off at Druids by Alex MacDowall. This gave Jason Plato, who by this time had already moved from 3rd on the grid to 1st, a brilliant opportunity with his main rival already out of the race. Nash took his best ever position in a BTCC race with his 2nd place with a good solid performance in his turbo powered Triple Eight Vauxhall Vectra. Nash started to catch leader Jason Plato during the

latter part of the race but later conceded to the fact that he had to preserve his tyres

and settled for 2nd position. Chilton took the third step on the podium in his new ‘Global’ Touring Car after starting the race from 7th on the grid after failing the ride height check’s during the latter stages of qualifying. Sheddon owes his 6th place finish to the Honda Racing team. Following his big smash in FP1, the team worked around the clock to get his Honda Civic back out on track and in a car that was competitive enough for him to make up 16 positions during the course of the race. Race two was Plato’s from the get-go. Leading from the start

Plato took the second win of the day ahead of Gordon Sheddon and Mat Jackson. Shedden drove yet another brilliant race to come from 6th on the grid to finish on the second spot on the podium. Mat Jackson would have been set for a 2nd place finish but running wide at Druids with 4 laps to go gave Shedden the opportunity which he duely took to move Mat down to 3rd. Mat Neal was the biggest mover of the race. Starting from 21st on the grid Neal was able to come home in 7th after making up 7 places on the opening lap. Further down the grid it was despair for the two Tom’s. A first corner collision between Onslow-Cole and Boardman put an end to their race with both drivers coming to rest at the

exit of Paddock Hill Bend after an ambitious move by Boardman down the inside, and four wheels on the grass, at the first corner. Neals 7th place finish was good enough to give Neal his second pole of the day due to the reverse grid order and this team he didn’t make a mistake taking the second lights-to-flag victory of the day. Jackson made amends for his earlier mistake and took his second podium finish, this time occupying 2nd place. Jackson was able to capitalize on Jordan’s misfortune as Jordan’s Vauxhall Vectra suffered with yet another puncture after running as high as 2nd for much of the race. Paul O’Neill was delighted with his race. 3rd on the grid resulted in a 3rd place finish in

the final race of the day and capped of a brilliant weekend for the Widnes driver who drove the Chevrolet Cruze for the first time in a competitive environment after receiving the car from RML. Sheddon once again proved that he has what it takes and moved up from 7th to 4th with a brilliant overtaking move on championship leader Jason Plato who had a much more difficult race than he had in the first two races. Probably the biggest round of applause of the day was for Dave Pinkney who emerged for the warm-up lap in his Audi A4. However this was short lived with the car that was riddled with problems throughout the weekend suffered a failure and had to be towed back to the pits.

www.btcccrazy.co.uk

6

The British Touring Car Championship is back, and boy did it deliver. We’d not even started the first lap before we had our first crash and retirement of the day. Rob Collard slowed on the exit of Paddock Hill Bend in the process of warming up his front tyres catching out newcomer Liam Griffin who hit Collard up the rear breaking the steering column on his Ford Focus and spelling the end to his debut in the BTCC. Jason Plato showed that he’s still got what it takes as he took two race wins over the weekend to top the standings after the first round of the season with Matt Neal taking the third race.

It took just two corners to see our first racing crash and the second retirement of the day as Matt Neal, who started from pole position for race one and undermining the pace that the Honda Civic with the turbo engine has, was punted off at Druids by Alex MacDowall. This gave Jason Plato, who by this time had already moved from 3rd on the grid to 1st, a brilliant opportunity with his main rival already out of the race. Nash took his best ever position in a BTCC race with his 2nd place with a good solid performance in his turbo powered Triple Eight Vauxhall Vectra. Nash started to catch leader Jason Plato during the

latter part of the race but later conceded to the fact that he had to preserve his tyres

and settled for 2nd position. Chilton took the third step on the podium in his new ‘Global’ Touring Car after starting the race from 7th on the grid after failing the ride height check’s during the latter stages of qualifying. Sheddon owes his 6th place finish to the Honda Racing team. Following his big smash in FP1, the team worked around the clock to get his Honda Civic back out on track and in a car that was competitive enough for him to make up 16 positions during the course of the race. Race two was Plato’s from the get-go. Leading from the start

Plato took the second win of the day ahead of Gordon Sheddon and Mat Jackson. Shedden drove yet another brilliant race to come from 6th on the grid to finish on the second spot on the podium. Mat Jackson would have been set for a 2nd place finish but running wide at Druids with 4 laps to go gave Shedden the opportunity which he duely took to move Mat down to 3rd. Mat Neal was the biggest mover of the race. Starting from 21st on the grid Neal was able to come home in 7th after making up 7 places on the opening lap. Further down the grid it was despair for the two Tom’s. A first corner collision between Onslow-Cole and Boardman put an end to their race with both drivers coming to rest at the

exit of Paddock Hill Bend after an ambitious move by Boardman down the inside, and four wheels on the grass, at the first corner. Neals 7th place finish was good enough to give Neal his second pole of the day due to the reverse grid order and this team he didn’t make a mistake taking the second lights-to-flag victory of the day. Jackson made amends for his earlier mistake and took his second podium finish, this time occupying 2nd place. Jackson was able to capitalize on Jordan’s misfortune as Jordan’s Vauxhall Vectra suffered with yet another puncture after running as high as 2nd for much of the race. Paul O’Neill was delighted with his race. 3rd on the grid resulted in a 3rd place finish in

the final race of the day and capped of a brilliant weekend for the Widnes driver who drove the Chevrolet Cruze for the first time in a competitive environment after receiving the car from RML. Sheddon once again proved that he has what it takes and moved up from 7th to 4th with a brilliant overtaking move on championship leader Jason Plato who had a much more difficult race than he had in the first two races. Probably the biggest round of applause of the day was for Dave Pinkney who emerged for the warm-up lap in his Audi A4. However this was short lived with the car that was riddled with problems throughout the weekend suffered a failure and had to be towed back to the pits.

www.btcccrazy.co.uk


After ending Saturday as fastest in both practice sessions and starting race one from the front row of the grid, Andrew Jordan looked set for a good points haul in the opening round of the 2011 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship but a string of bad luck was there to hamper his weekend.

Jordan, who is driving for Pirtek Racing this season, was well within the point during race one before debris caused the Triple Eight Vauxhall Vectra to develop a puncture on his front left tyre resulting in Jordan going a lap down and finishing outside the points. He started race two from 16th on the grid and showed the pace of the NGTC-turbo engine Vectra as he gained ten places to finish in 6th,

which with the top seven cars reversed promoted him to 2nd on the grid for the final race of the day. Bad luck would hit the 21-year old once again though as he challenged Neal for the lead only to pick up yet another puncture and ruin his race weekend.

“All the hard work we’ve done over the winter has paid off and we’ve shown a great deal of promise. We’ve shown a lot of pace and we’ll be strong at Donington,” said Jordan reflecting on the day.

Talking about race three he went on to say, “I think I had Matt’s number. I was saving my tyres and had the pace on him. That is so disappointing.”Andrew Jordan came away from the Kent circuit with 5

points to leave him in 11th place in the drivers championship and 8th in the Independents Trophy as the teams head to Derbyshire for the second round of the season at Donington Park.


8www.btcccrazy.co.uk

Honda Racing Team’s driving partnership of Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden were left waxing lyrical about the potential of their new NGTC turbo powered Honda after a strong start to the season at Brands Hatch.

Neal’s race one was short lived when at he was hit by Alex MacDowall at turn two, leaving Matt to watch on from the sidelines. Neal bounced back from this disappointment and after a strong top ten finish from the back in race two the reversed grid left him on pole for the final race of the day. The 2-litre turbocharged Civic led from lights-to-flag, leaving Neal fifth in the championship standings.

“The potential in the car and the speed it’s shown straight out of the box has made me really optimistic." Said Neal.

“We have christened the new engine and it’s performed perfectly first time out, which is a testament to the effort we’ve all put in. We aren’t going to stand still now and we will work harder than ever to stay at the front.”

After his accident on Friday, Shedden had it all to do on race day. Starting from the back in race one Shedden managed to haul his Civic into sixth place and picked up Honda’s first podium of the season in race two after finishing second.

“I’m proud of the whole team this weekend because what they did was nothing short of a miracle,” explained the 32-year-old.

“My car was in bits after the incident in qualifying and the guys pulled out all the stops to put it back together.

Everyone’s gone above and beyond the call of duty to give me a car to race in. What is incredible is that I didn’t only have a car to race, I had a quick car and I managed to score a podium.”

After his podium Shedden battled with ballast in race three to finish fourth leaving him fourth in the overall standings.

“The car has got huge potential,” he added. “We have the positives of the turbocharged engine and we will learn more about the handling. We were hopeful, but we didn’t know what to expect until these opening rounds were finished. The Honda has performed better than we could have hoped for and we will move on to Donington Park with a lot of confidence.”


" A hero is born among a hundred, a wise man is found among a thousand, but an accomplished one might not be found even among a hundred thousand men.

" Plato: 428 BC - 348 BC

You are a record breakerJason Plato

First win Snetterton

Williams Renault

1997In his debut season Plato took two wins, his first at Snetterton and his second at Silverstone. The rookie rocked the establishment in his Williams Renault Leguna

1998

In 1998 Jason only managed one win. His victory at Oulton Park would be his sole win that season. Despite taking only 5 podiums he managed to finished 5th overall.

1999Jason and Renault again only took one race win in 1999, finishing 5th in the championship. This would be Jason's last season with Renault.

2000

After moving to Vauxhall, Jason took two wins at Brands Hatch and the Snetterton night race. Once again Jason finished 5th overall.

2001Plato hauled eight wins in his second season with Vauxhall and ultimately his first championship. Wins at Thruxton, Silverstone x2, Donington, Knockhill x2, Croft & Oulton Park sealed the title

After a three year break, Plato returned with SEAT and took seven race wins to finish third overall. It was a great comeback for the Oxfordshire-man

2004

ason Plato headed into the first round of the season tying on 60 all time wins withthe great Andy Rouse and it was always a matter of when and not if Jason wouldbreak that record.And it didn't take the 43-year old long to give us an answer after he stormed tovictory in the first race coming from 3rd on the grid to take the win.Plato started his career in Karting before progressing through the ranks in FormulaThree, Formula Renault and the Renault Spider championship before making his

BTCC debut in 1997 with the Williams-Renault team in the iconic yellow and blueRenault Laguna.It wouldn't take Plato long to stamp his mark on the series taking pole position inthe first three races of the season at Donington Park and Silverstone. Plato wouldgo on to win race 18 of the season at Snetterton and the final race of the year atSilverstone.

1998 and '99 would see Jason take a further two wins before making the switch toVauxhall Motorsport for the 2000 season. Jason would

enjoy a fruitful time atVauxhall with the Vauxhall Vectra in 2000 partnering Yvan Muller and VincentRadermacker before the team elected to run the Astra Coupe in 2001 with Mullerplaying team-mate once again. Two wins would come in 2000 and a further eight in2001 which saw Plato take his first British Touring Car Championship title of hiscareer finishing on the podium in 22 of the 26 races that year.

Plato would then take a break out of the BTCC for two years but would later returnin 2004 in the SEAT Sport UK

team. Plato would stay with SEAT for five seasonstaking 32 of his wins with the SEAT team. In that time Jason would drive the SEATToledo Cupra, SEAT Leon and the SEAT Leon TDI finishing runner up in 2006 and2007.

2009 would see the Oxford based driver move to the RML Racing Silverline teamracing a Chevrolet Lacetti for the season taking seven wins and again finishingrunner up in the championship for the third time in four seasons. Jason would alsoset a record for being the only

driver to win all three races in one meeting when hedid so at the season finale at Brands Hath.

Wins number 54 to 60 would come in the Chevrolet Cruze on his way to taking hissecond title of his career. Wins would come at Rockingham, Oulton, Snetterton,Knockhill and a final brace at Brands Hatch where he would secure the title aheadof title contenders Neal, Sheddon, and Onslow-Cole.

That left Plato on a tie with Andy Rouse's record heading into Brands Hatch little

over a week ago. Plato would again take a brace of wins at Brands Hatch, thesame way he left off last season to move ahead of Andy's record with a total of 62wins and counting… and he's not finished yet...

Tenth Win Donington Vauxhall


Pic: Chris Gurton

You are a record breaker

After a three year break, Plato returned with SEAT and took seven race wins to finish third overall. It was a great comeback for the Oxfordshire-man

2004 2005Plato only managed three wins in '05. After a demanding season Plato finished 4th.

Eight wins in '06 gave Plato the runner up spot to Matt Neal. Jason took his twenty fifth career win at Oulton Park.

2006 2007Plato took six wins in 2007 completing a double on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit and Donington Park. Jason finished 2nd again by a mere three points

In what was his last season with SEAT, Jason managed to add a further eight wins to his tally. He finished 3rd in the championship.

2008 2009Moving from SEAT to RML for '09, Jason picked up 7 wins including an impressive hattrick at Brands Hatch.

2010

ason Plato headed into the first round of the season tying on 60 all time wins withthe great Andy Rouse and it was always a matter of when and not if Jason wouldbreak that record.And it didn't take the 43-year old long to give us an answer after he stormed tovictory in the first race coming from 3rd on the grid to take the win.Plato started his career in Karting before progressing through the ranks in FormulaThree, Formula Renault and the Renault Spider championship before making his

BTCC debut in 1997 with the Williams-Renault team in the iconic yellow and blueRenault Laguna.It wouldn't take Plato long to stamp his mark on the series taking pole position inthe first three races of the season at Donington Park and Silverstone. Plato wouldgo on to win race 18 of the season at Snetterton and the final race of the year atSilverstone.

1998 and '99 would see Jason take a further two wins before making the switch toVauxhall Motorsport for the 2000 season. Jason would

enjoy a fruitful time atVauxhall with the Vauxhall Vectra in 2000 partnering Yvan Muller and VincentRadermacker before the team elected to run the Astra Coupe in 2001 with Mullerplaying team-mate once again. Two wins would come in 2000 and a further eight in2001 which saw Plato take his first British Touring Car Championship title of hiscareer finishing on the podium in 22 of the 26 races that year.

Plato would then take a break out of the BTCC for two years but would later returnin 2004 in the SEAT Sport UK

team. Plato would stay with SEAT for five seasonstaking 32 of his wins with the SEAT team. In that time Jason would drive the SEATToledo Cupra, SEAT Leon and the SEAT Leon TDI finishing runner up in 2006 and2007.

2009 would see the Oxford based driver move to the RML Racing Silverline teamracing a Chevrolet Lacetti for the season taking seven wins and again finishingrunner up in the championship for the third time in four seasons. Jason would alsoset a record for being the only

driver to win all three races in one meeting when hedid so at the season finale at Brands Hath.

Wins number 54 to 60 would come in the Chevrolet Cruze on his way to taking hissecond title of his career. Wins would come at Rockingham, Oulton, Snetterton,Knockhill and a final brace at Brands Hatch where he would secure the title aheadof title contenders Neal, Sheddon, and Onslow-Cole.

That left Plato on a tie with Andy Rouse's record heading into Brands Hatch little

over a week ago. Plato would again take a brace of wins at Brands Hatch, thesame way he left off last season to move ahead of Andy's record with a total of 62wins and counting… and he's not finished yet...

Twenty Fifth Oulton Park

SEAT

Fortieth winThruxton

SEAT

Fiftieth winRockingham

RML

2011

Sixty Two Wins

Brands Hatch Indy

RML

Seven wins in '10 pushed Plato level with Andy Rouse. Plato also too his second world title at the same event.


Pic: Mike Evans

Pic: Chris Gurton

Classification

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Jason PlatoJames NashTom ChiltonMat JacksonAlex MacDowallGordon SheddenPaul O'NeillTony GilhamJeff SmithDave NewshamAndy NeateNick FosterTom Onslow-ColeJohn GeorgeChris JamesAndrew JordanRob CollardTom BoardmanTony Hughes Frank WrathallMatt NealLiam Griffin

Silverline Chevrolet888 with Collins ContractorsTeam AonAriwaves RacingSilverline ChevroletHonda Racing TeamGoMobileUk.co.uk888 With Collins ContratorsPirtek RacingGeoff Steel RacingTeam AonWSRAmD Miltek Racing.comGoMobileUk.co.ukTeam ES Racing.comPirtek RacingWSRSpecial Tuning RacingSpeedworks MotorsportDynojetHonda Racing TeamAirwaves Racing

20:31.736+0.709+4.318+4.746+13.078+14.663+15.260+16.259+21.946+23.508+24.798+26.706+28.240+1 lap+1 lap+1 lap+2 lapsDNFDNFDNFDNFDNF

123456789101112131415161718192021

Jason PlatoGordon SheddenMat JacksonJames NashPaul O'NeillAndrew JordanMatt NealTom ChiltonRob CollardTony GilhamDave NewshamAndy NeateAlex MacDowallNick FosterJohn GeorgeJeff SmithChris JamesLiam GriffinTony HughesTom Onslow-ColeTom Boardman

Silverline ChevroletHonda Racing TeamAirwaves Racing888 With Collins ContractorsGoMobileUk.co.ukPirtek RacingHonda Racing TeamTeam AonWSR888 With Collins ContractorsGeoff Steel RacingTeam AonSilverline ChevroletWSRGoMobileUk.co.ukPirtek RacingTeam ES Racing.comAirwaves RacingSpeedworks MotorsportAmD Miltek Racing.comSpecial Tuning Racing

22:21.689+2.128+2.588+3.001+4.232+5.859+6.286+9.868+11.816+16.019+16.526+17.468+22.893+28.476+31.359+31.295+1 lap+1 lap+3 lapsDNFDNF


10

123456789101112131415161718192021

Matt NealMat JacksonPaul O'NeillGordon SheddenJason PlatoJames NashRob CollardTom ChiltonTony GilhamTom BoardmanDave NewshamTom Onslow-ColeJeff SmithNick FosterAndy NeateAlex MacDowallJohn GeorgeLiam GriffinChris JamesAndrew JordanTony Hughes

Honda Racing TeamAirwaves RacingGoMobileUk.co.ukHonda Racing TeamSilverline Chevrolet888 With Collins ContractorsWSRTeam Aon888 With Collins ContractorsSpecial Tuning RacingGeoff Steel RacingAmD Miltek Racing.comPirtekWSRTeam AonSilverline ChevroletGoMobileUk.co.ukAirwaves RacingTeam ES Racing.comPirtekSpeedworks Motorsport

19:50.198+0.189+3.813+6.602+7.150+7.323+7.928+8.307+11.764+13.663+14.026+25.806+25.910+26.427+26.996+28.910+33.353+33.589+1 lap+1 lap+1 lap

12345678910111213141516171819202122

Jason PLATOMat JACKSONJames NASHGordon SHEDDENMatt NEALPaul O'NEILLTom CHILTONAlex MACDOWALLRob COLLARDTony GILHAMAndrew JORDANJeff SMITHDave NEWSHAMTom BOARDMANFrank WRATHALLNick FOSTERJohn GEORGEAndy NEATETony HUGHESLiam GRIFFINChris JAMESTom ONSLOW COLE

Silverline ChevroletAirwaves Racing888 With Collins ContractorsHonda Racing TeamHonda Racing TeamGoMobileUk.co.ukTeam AonSilverline ChevroletWSR888 With Collins ContractorsPirtek RacingPirtek RacingGeoff Steel RacingSpecial Tuning RacingDynojetWSRGoMobileUk.co.ukTeam AonSpeedworks MotorsportAirwaves RacingTeam ES RacingSpecial Tuning Racing

38302625232016666521100000000


Turbo or not turbo?James Mappin investigates the effect of the new turbo engine on BTCC cars

All the talk before Brands Hatch last time out was about the NGTC turbo's and heading into the second round of the season at Donington Park the talk is still about the turbo engines.

Drivers and fans alike have all been commenting on the pace of the turbo engines, especially down the straight, and it was there for all to see at Brands. Now Brands Hatch isn't notorious for it's long straights with there only being two straights on the circuit - the Brabham and Cooper Straight - which even then aren't particularly long but it was still enough for the turbo cars to eek out an advantage.

During Qualifying Matt Neal, who took pole position for race one, managed a speed just shy of 130mph (129.8) over the start/finish line which was 4.4mph faster than the fastest S2000 car of Rob Collard in the BMW who could only manage the 11th fastest speed over the line. With the exception of Tom Onslow-Cole and the two Toyota's of Tony Hughes and Frank Wrathall, who all had problems, the turbo engines were all faster in a straight line over the S2000 spec cars.

The same pattern emerged throughout the day with the speed differential being as high as 6mph throughout the weekend however the same wasn't said about the lap times. During qualifying the turbo cars of Neal and Jordan occupied the top two places on the grid but it was the S2000 Chevrolet Cruze of

Jason Plato who took his place on the second row of the grid highlighting the fact that the turbo cars obviously struggle with the handling of the cars over the S2000 spec machines. MacDowall and O'Neill would all finish qualifying in the top ten making it 3/7 in terms of S2000/Turbo cars in the top ten.

Plato, as you all know, went on to win both race one and two and leads the championship heading into the second round of the season. So why are drivers moaning about the pace of the turbo cars? Their argument is that it's not actually racing if you can just drive past another car on the straight and I can certainly agree where they are coming from. On the other hand with Jason Plato leading the championship and Paul O'Neill coming away with three points finishes I don't think that we're going to see anything change ahead of this weekend.

However, Donington Park should, and I use that word loosely as using one of Murray Walkers quote's "Anything can happen, and it usually does", once again play into the hand of the teams running the turbo cars. Team such as Honda Racing, Pirtek Racing, Triple Eight and Team Aon will benefit, as it's a circuit with long straights where they can really open up the throttle and gain anything from a 5-10mph advantage over the likes of Plato, MacDowall and O'Neill in the S2000 spec cars.

So will the turbo cars run away with it this

weekend? Apparently not. Running a turbo engine does have it's weaknesses over the normally aspirated engines. The cars carrying the turbo will have to have much more weight over the front end of the car. This then effects their braking performance which on a track which has a lot of heavy braking areas could be an issue.

There's also the small factor that teams have to consider of tyre wear. Jordan (twice), Boardman and Onslow-Cole all suffered punctures at Brands Hatch and the same could happen this weekend. Expect to see excessive tyre wear on the Honda's, Vauxhall's, Fords and the other turbo cars during the latter parts of the race where the S2000 Chevrolet's and BMW's will start to come into their own.

Or it could even rain. It is Donington Park after all.


Turbo or not turbo?All the talk before Brands Hatch last time out was about the NGTC turbo's and heading into the second round of the season at Donington Park the talk is still about the turbo engines.

Drivers and fans alike have all been commenting on the pace of the turbo engines, especially down the straight, and it was there for all to see at Brands. Now Brands Hatch isn't notorious for it's long straights with there only being two straights on the circuit - the Brabham and Cooper Straight - which even then aren't particularly long but it was still enough for the turbo cars to eek out an advantage.

During Qualifying Matt Neal, who took pole position for race one, managed a speed just shy of 130mph (129.8) over the start/finish line which was 4.4mph faster than the fastest S2000 car of Rob Collard in the BMW who could only manage the 11th fastest speed over the line. With the exception of Tom Onslow-Cole and the two Toyota's of Tony Hughes and Frank Wrathall, who all had problems, the turbo engines were all faster in a straight line over the S2000 spec cars.

The same pattern emerged throughout the day with the speed differential being as high as 6mph throughout the weekend however the same wasn't said about the lap times. During qualifying the turbo cars of Neal and Jordan occupied the top two places on the grid but it was the S2000 Chevrolet Cruze of

Jason Plato who took his place on the second row of the grid highlighting the fact that the turbo cars obviously struggle with the handling of the cars over the S2000 spec machines. MacDowall and O'Neill would all finish qualifying in the top ten making it 3/7 in terms of S2000/Turbo cars in the top ten.

Plato, as you all know, went on to win both race one and two and leads the championship heading into the second round of the season. So why are drivers moaning about the pace of the turbo cars? Their argument is that it's not actually racing if you can just drive past another car on the straight and I can certainly agree where they are coming from. On the other hand with Jason Plato leading the championship and Paul O'Neill coming away with three points finishes I don't think that we're going to see anything change ahead of this weekend.

However, Donington Park should, and I use that word loosely as using one of Murray Walkers quote's "Anything can happen, and it usually does", once again play into the hand of the teams running the turbo cars. Team such as Honda Racing, Pirtek Racing, Triple Eight and Team Aon will benefit, as it's a circuit with long straights where they can really open up the throttle and gain anything from a 5-10mph advantage over the likes of Plato, MacDowall and O'Neill in the S2000 spec cars.

So will the turbo cars run away with it this

weekend? Apparently not. Running a turbo engine does have it's weaknesses over the normally aspirated engines. The cars carrying the turbo will have to have much more weight over the front end of the car. This then effects their braking performance which on a track which has a lot of heavy braking areas could be an issue.

There's also the small factor that teams have to consider of tyre wear. Jordan (twice), Boardman and Onslow-Cole all suffered punctures at Brands Hatch and the same could happen this weekend. Expect to see excessive tyre wear on the Honda's, Vauxhall's, Fords and the other turbo cars during the latter parts of the race where the S2000 Chevrolet's and BMW's will start to come into their own.

Or it could even rain. It is Donington Park after all.

Brand Hatch Speed Trap (MPH)

Matt Neal Andy NeateTom BoardmanMat JacksonTom ChiltonLiam GriffinJames NashTony GilhamAndrew JordanJeff SmithRob CollardNick FosterJason PlatoAlex MacDowallPaul O'NeillTom Onslow-ColeJohn GeorgeDave NewshamChris JamesTony HughesFrank Wrathall

129.8129.8129.3129.1128.6127.6127.3127.3126.6126.4125.4124.5124.0123.8123.6122.9122.7122.5121.6120.1116.3

1st10th8th6th7th14th4th11th2nd13th12th17th3rd5th9th16th18th15th19th21st20th

Name Speed Grid

Speeds recorded from the start/finish during qualifying

Low aspirations: Normally aspirated cars suffer on long strights

Top Turbos: Honda have the fastest car, with the Team Aon Ford close behind



Win!A signed Tony Gilham T-shirt!

Tony Gilham made his BTCC debut at Brands Hatch in his Triple Eight Engineered Vauxhall, but what series did the former cage fighter graduate from?

A) Clio CupB) Ginetta G50 CupC) Porsche Carrera Cup UK

Email your answer to [email protected] by the Friday 22nd of April and you could win!

After his impressive BTCC debut at Brands Hatch you could get your hands on a SIGNED Gilham T-shirt! The former Carrera Cup man managed three top ten finishes and impressed many with his driving prowess. Now it's your chance to win this exclusive prize from BTCC Crazy. Just answer the following question:


Plato looks ominous, but don't count Honda just yet...You can’t deny that the double world champion dominated the opening weekend of the British Touring Car Championship, but will Plato simply cruse too his third title?

Based on pure racing facts, Plato took two wins from a possible three. But that is merely half the story.

The Cruze looks a formidable force this season despite its normally aspirated engine, which was over 5mph slower through the speed trap than that of Matt Neal’s 2.0l turbo in qualifying. But even with its improved WTCC update, the Cruze seems to be trailing in the vast wake of the Civic, and many other turbo cars.

Had Plato’s team mate Alex MacDowall not made contact with Neal in race one, we could have seen a very different outcome from that weekend. Neal eventually took a win in race three after battling his way through the field in race two and he faced a challenging weekend like team mate Gordon Shedden.

Shedden, who was the fastest man through the speed traps in race one, was impressive, if not imperious, managing points in every round despite his disastrous start to the weekend after his huge shunt in qualifying.

Despite the clear speed advantage on a relatively small circuit, Honda and Shedden only managed a best lap time of 49.068, compared to that of 48.802 Plato in race one, indicating that speed isn’t everything. It was notable that Plato managed to get a better exit from the final corner of Brands Hatch to nullify the threat from the turbo charged car of Nash in race one, despite Nash having a 3mph advantage on the start/finish straight.

If Brands Hatch is anything to go by, the normally aspirated cars are in for a torrid time on tracks such as Rockingham and the newly revamped Snetterton, reguardless of his early lead Plato looks venerable from the chasing turbo charged pack.

Andrew JordanWhat a weekend. The car felt really good n quick til the punctures. In the last race I thought I had the pace to take Matt. Donington next.

Shaun HollambyWell done to Tony Gilham on a great debut weekend in the BTCC! Us Kent boys have got to stick together!

Dave NewshamJust crossed the boarder into bonny Scotland. Only 240 miles to go, home at 5am...

Tom Onslow-ColeWow that was a rush, first autograph session of the year and it was rammed! Great to meet everyone, loving the support!!! #ThankYou

TThhee BBTTCCCC CCrraazzyy WWeeeekkeenndd AAwwaarrddss


Driver of the weekend:

GORDON SHEDDEN Many thought that after his accident in FP1, Shedden would be no longer taking any part in the weekend. But after the Honda Racing team worked around the clock to get the car in a fit state to race, Gordon was able to go from 22nd on the grid to finish the race 6th and then take a podium in the 2nd race of the day. A great drive and a drive worthy of ‘Driver of the Weekend’.


Team of the weekendHonda Racing

The work involved to even get Flash back in a race car for race one was supreme after the extensive damaged sustained during free practice on Saturday. The team mechanics took was was an effectively a written off

car and rebuilt it to a car that was able to take second place in race 2.

Have your say:Do you have an award you think we should run? Do you want to nominate a driver for future awards? Then get in touch! Tweet us @BTCCCrazy with your award and/or nomination after every race weekend and you could get your name in this e-magazine!


Airwaves racing are looking to mount a serious title challenge after a solid start at Brands Hatch. “We have started well and we can only get better." said Jackson

Despite taking a podium finish in race one, Team Aon still believe that the car has a lot more to give. The team debuted the new ‘Global’ Touring Car Ford Focus at Brands Hatch and Aon believe that the data the team received will stand them in good stead for the upcoming races. We are still developing this car and now we’ve got a much better idea now of where we stand." said Chilton

Rob Austin will take to the wheel of the NGTC Audi A4 at Donington after missing the opening rounds at Brands Hatch. The car only managed half an installation lap during the opening round of the season with fuel pressure problems after missing all of Saturday’s sessions due to a missing injector.

Former Renault Clio Cup racer Dave Newsham is looking for more points after opening his account at Brands Hatch. Newsham managed to finish 10th in race one followed by two 11th place finishes in the other two races “I think we can be a little more aggressive at Donington, now that our first meeting is under our belts, and I will be pushing for three top ten finishes.” said Newsham

Paul O'NeillGoing into the pre-season I tested John George’s Chevrolet at both Brands Hatch and Snetterton which he had bought but it was always going to be the one car effort this season. When I got the call just two days before Media Day to say that the sponsor, GoMobile.co.uk, was prepared to help me out then that’s when it came apparent that I’d be on the grid. I was only there to help John [George] out initially but then ended up with a seat myself which was always my plan but I didn’t think it would come off, so it was a bit of a late one.

It’s been hard to get it together, everyones worked hard. Susnhine.co.uk have worked flat out to buy the car and the weekend was so emotional for me as I know how hard everyone has worked and how much sleep people haven’t had because of the deal looking like it might not happen and then it did which was good.

Going into the race weekend because of my experience I knew that I probably wouldn’t be at the very sharp end early on in the weekend

because I’d not done many new tyre runs. I’d only used two sets of tyres and only done three laps on them each in testing so I knew it would be a bit steady so I worked on just trying to be fast over a race distance in free practice, which went well. I did a new tyre run in the last practice and really, if I’d done my time properly, then I would have finished 6th which would have been a good result. I had a couple of moments in the different sectors so I never really got a good lap together but in the end we qualified 9th which to be honest was a bit of a miserable effort. The same happened as did in free practice. I didn’t get my sector times together and didn’t get the best out of the tyres and overdrove really. It felt that I had let people down with the sponsors and with how hard they’ve worked so I made sure that in the races I picked my way through what I could.

Race one went to plan. I got my way up to seventh with a few things happening infront but the the car wasn’t handling very well but my engineer for race two and I thought right, I’ll stick

around 6th and 5th and try and pick up some more points and find out what changes we can make with the car. That was good.

Then the reverse grid came and I thought that if I made a good start I should really be on the back end of the podium and maybe get on the

podium. I was most relieved and absolutely over-the-moon when we get that third place. There was a lot more to come out of the car but it would have meant me taking big big risks which would have put me in danger of not finishing on the podium. I could have been fast and the car could have been a bit better but it would have meant me taking big risks so I just stuck to my guns and made sure that I pulled away from Jason and just ran my own race. I was a bit quicker

than Jason, which was good, and I was able to pull away from him. I was getting good runs out of the corners so I made sure that where I was stronger I made use of it and it seemed to work. It was a bit touch and go when Shedden got past Plato a bit earlier I think I would have been stuffed but all in all I think my experience shone through but I’m pleased that we’ve got points on the door that I can actually make some use as theres no use sat in the gravel trap for all three races.The podium was everything that the team deserved and I just tried to steer it through.

We’re going to go to Donington with good confidence. The turbo cars will be in a class of their own but that’s not something for me to talk about. My race will be against the other S2000 cars on the grid which are the BMW’s and obviously I’ll be using Jason as a benchmark and I need to be as quick as him and Alex MacDowall. I’ll just be concentrating on what they’re [S2000] doing. I’m not too bothered with what the turbo’s are doing as they’ll just come into their

own when they do and I’ll just try to beat them when I can to try and get Independent wins and points.I’m absolutely made up with what I’ve got and I think we can take our confidence and good fortune to Donington and go from there really and give it our best shot.

Jason did a mega job at Brands Hatch and I’ve got arms and legs and the same body temperature as him so I don’t see why I can’t do it myself.

Thanks for reading,

Owy #29Frank Wrathall with Dynojet, and Tony Hughes with Speedworks Motorsport both enjoyed successful test sessions on Tuesday. Wrathall who tested at Rockingham, and Hughes who tested at Donington Park ahead of the second round of the season had special dispensation from Series Director, Alan Gow to test following their problems at Brands Hatch after only having the car a few weeks before the first race.


Paul O'NeillGoing into the pre-season I tested John George’s Chevrolet at both Brands Hatch and Snetterton which he had bought but it was always going to be the one car effort this season. When I got the call just two days before Media Day to say that the sponsor, GoMobile.co.uk, was prepared to help me out then that’s when it came apparent that I’d be on the grid. I was only there to help John [George] out initially but then ended up with a seat myself which was always my plan but I didn’t think it would come off, so it was a bit of a late one.

It’s been hard to get it together, everyones worked hard. Susnhine.co.uk have worked flat out to buy the car and the weekend was so emotional for me as I know how hard everyone has worked and how much sleep people haven’t had because of the deal looking like it might not happen and then it did which was good.

Going into the race weekend because of my experience I knew that I probably wouldn’t be at the very sharp end early on in the weekend

because I’d not done many new tyre runs. I’d only used two sets of tyres and only done three laps on them each in testing so I knew it would be a bit steady so I worked on just trying to be fast over a race distance in free practice, which went well. I did a new tyre run in the last practice and really, if I’d done my time properly, then I would have finished 6th which would have been a good result. I had a couple of moments in the different sectors so I never really got a good lap together but in the end we qualified 9th which to be honest was a bit of a miserable effort. The same happened as did in free practice. I didn’t get my sector times together and didn’t get the best out of the tyres and overdrove really. It felt that I had let people down with the sponsors and with how hard they’ve worked so I made sure that in the races I picked my way through what I could.

Race one went to plan. I got my way up to seventh with a few things happening infront but the the car wasn’t handling very well but my engineer for race two and I thought right, I’ll stick

around 6th and 5th and try and pick up some more points and find out what changes we can make with the car. That was good.

Then the reverse grid came and I thought that if I made a good start I should really be on the back end of the podium and maybe get on the

podium. I was most relieved and absolutely over-the-moon when we get that third place. There was a lot more to come out of the car but it would have meant me taking big big risks which would have put me in danger of not finishing on the podium. I could have been fast and the car could have been a bit better but it would have meant me taking big risks so I just stuck to my guns and made sure that I pulled away from Jason and just ran my own race. I was a bit quicker

than Jason, which was good, and I was able to pull away from him. I was getting good runs out of the corners so I made sure that where I was stronger I made use of it and it seemed to work. It was a bit touch and go when Shedden got past Plato a bit earlier I think I would have been stuffed but all in all I think my experience shone through but I’m pleased that we’ve got points on the door that I can actually make some use as theres no use sat in the gravel trap for all three races.The podium was everything that the team deserved and I just tried to steer it through.

We’re going to go to Donington with good confidence. The turbo cars will be in a class of their own but that’s not something for me to talk about. My race will be against the other S2000 cars on the grid which are the BMW’s and obviously I’ll be using Jason as a benchmark and I need to be as quick as him and Alex MacDowall. I’ll just be concentrating on what they’re [S2000] doing. I’m not too bothered with what the turbo’s are doing as they’ll just come into their

own when they do and I’ll just try to beat them when I can to try and get Independent wins and points.I’m absolutely made up with what I’ve got and I think we can take our confidence and good fortune to Donington and go from there really and give it our best shot.

Jason did a mega job at Brands Hatch and I’ve got arms and legs and the same body temperature as him so I don’t see why I can’t do it myself.

Thanks for reading,

Owy #29

" I’m absolutely made up with what I’ve got and I think we can take our confidence and good fortune to Donington"Paul O'Neill


Welcome to the support paddock

Air Asia Clio Cup

Ginetta Supercup

Porsche Carrera Cup GB


Welcome to the support paddock

Formula Renault UK

Ginetta Supercup

Ginetta Juniors


In race one pole-man Lynn made the most of his position, and launched into an impressive early lead, which was over a second by the end of the first lap. Lynn drove faultlessly and managed to maintain his lead throughout the race.

“I was confident I could get a good start from pole position, and when I came round Paddock Hill bend I could see there was a gap behind, so I was able to push and knew I didn’t need to worry about defending.” Said Lynn after race one.

In the pursuing pack, guest driver Will Stevens, also driving for Fotec Motorsport, was kept busy by Atech Reid GP’s Tio Ellinas.

“I didn’t make the best of starts, and I knew that was my best chance to get the lead,” said Stevens. “I tried to keep up with Alex, but also had to focus on keeping Tio behind.”

Ellinas made a good start, and battled commenced with Stevens from lap one, despite pressure from the charging Ollie Millroy behind. That man Millroy would later set the fastest lap of the race with a time of 43.803.

Despite a fourteen car strong grid, the race saw little incident of note. However, Antel Motorsport’s Dan Wells was lucky not to collect anyone after a spin at Graham Hill bend saw cars diving all over to escape his path. Wells ended up beached on the grass and soon re-joined.

Oliver Rowland was the graduate cup winner after a solid race in which he finished in fifth place overall, just 3.5secs behind race winner Lynn.

“The pace was good, but its difficult to overtake, I held fourth place at the start of the race, but then got backed up at druids and dropped to fifth. Will doesn’t score; so fourth in the points is a good start to the year,” said Rowland.

As rumour rumbled of a possible rain shower before the race, the weather couldn’t have been better for race two. Lynn again showed early season title credentials to take another lights to flag victory from Tio Ellinas.

The victory was almost a repeat of the first race. However, Lynn didn’t have it all his own way when in the closing stages Ellinas chased hard and cut the Romford-born drivers lead. Despite the closing Ellinas, Lynn never looked like losing, always looking comfortable and setting consistent lap times under unrelenting pressure.

“It’s been a fantastic weekend I can’t complain at all,” said Lynn. “I’m glad to have got the victory as Tio put me under a lot of pressure. I’m really pleased with how it’s gone.”

Cypriot Ellinas impressed in both races today, and was very happy with his debut weekend. “My first weekend has been really good; I’d like to thank the whole team for giving me a great car.”“Alex built quite a lead at the start and I worked hard to close it. But, the car got better as the race went on and I closed the gap, but I just couldn’t get past. This is all new for me so I’m happy with a third and second.” He said.

Joining Lynn and Ellinas on the podium was Jack Hawksworth in his Mark Burdett Motorsport car. The Bradford-based youngster battled with illness to take a notable podium.

“Half of me is disappointed because you always want to finish P1, but it’s a good result,” said Hawksworth. “The competition is strong this year and I hope we’ll be there when it matters. This is only the first weekend and you can’t win the championship here, but you can certainly damage your chances by doing something silly.”

Hawksworth was followed by Ollie Millroy and Graduate Cup driver Oliver Rowland for a majority of the race. Rowland made a strong start and it looked like he’d found more pace from his car following round one. However, his challenge to Millroy would not last long though, as on lap seventeen he spun off the right of the track at McLaren, beaching on the grass near the pit entrance, handing race one runner-up Will Stevens a respectable fifth place.

Benefiting from Rowland’s mistake was Mitchell Gilbert. Gilbert won the Graduate Cup class on his way to an impressive sixth place overall.

“The team did a great job to get the car out after the first race,” said Gilbert. “I wasn’t quite as quick as I hoped to be though. It was good to fight near the front. I hope to get a good result in the graduate cup this season, but, I also want to be just as quick as the front-runners,” said after the race.

Now the championship moved towards the East Midlands and Donington Park on April 16th -17th with Lynn in a commanding 13 point lead. “Donington should be another good weekend for me as I like the circuit and I’ll keep trying for more strong results and podiums,” said the point’s leader.

Alex Lynn and Fortec Motorsport completed an impressive double at Brands Hatch to take a commanding lead at the top of the championship.


In race one pole-man Lynn made the most of his position, and launched into an impressive early lead, which was over a second by the end of the first lap. Lynn drove faultlessly and managed to maintain his lead throughout the race.

“I was confident I could get a good start from pole position, and when I came round Paddock Hill bend I could see there was a gap behind, so I was able to push and knew I didn’t need to worry about defending.” Said Lynn after race one.

In the pursuing pack, guest driver Will Stevens, also driving for Fotec Motorsport, was kept busy by Atech Reid GP’s Tio Ellinas.

“I didn’t make the best of starts, and I knew that was my best chance to get the lead,” said Stevens. “I tried to keep up with Alex, but also had to focus on keeping Tio behind.”

Ellinas made a good start, and battled commenced with Stevens from lap one, despite pressure from the charging Ollie Millroy behind. That man Millroy would later set the fastest lap of the race with a time of 43.803.

Despite a fourteen car strong grid, the race saw little incident of note. However, Antel Motorsport’s Dan Wells was lucky not to collect anyone after a spin at Graham Hill bend saw cars diving all over to escape his path. Wells ended up beached on the grass and soon re-joined.

Oliver Rowland was the graduate cup winner after a solid race in which he finished in fifth place overall, just 3.5secs behind race winner Lynn.

“The pace was good, but its difficult to overtake, I held fourth place at the start of the race, but then got backed up at druids and dropped to fifth. Will doesn’t score; so fourth in the points is a good start to the year,” said Rowland.

As rumour rumbled of a possible rain shower before the race, the weather couldn’t have been better for race two. Lynn again showed early season title credentials to take another lights to flag victory from Tio Ellinas.

The victory was almost a repeat of the first race. However, Lynn didn’t have it all his own way when in the closing stages Ellinas chased hard and cut the Romford-born drivers lead. Despite the closing Ellinas, Lynn never looked like losing, always looking comfortable and setting consistent lap times under unrelenting pressure.

“It’s been a fantastic weekend I can’t complain at all,” said Lynn. “I’m glad to have got the victory as Tio put me under a lot of pressure. I’m really pleased with how it’s gone.”

Cypriot Ellinas impressed in both races today, and was very happy with his debut weekend. “My first weekend has been really good; I’d like to thank the whole team for giving me a great car.”“Alex built quite a lead at the start and I worked hard to close it. But, the car got better as the race went on and I closed the gap, but I just couldn’t get past. This is all new for me so I’m happy with a third and second.” He said.

Joining Lynn and Ellinas on the podium was Jack Hawksworth in his Mark Burdett Motorsport car. The Bradford-based youngster battled with illness to take a notable podium.

“Half of me is disappointed because you always want to finish P1, but it’s a good result,” said Hawksworth. “The competition is strong this year and I hope we’ll be there when it matters. This is only the first weekend and you can’t win the championship here, but you can certainly damage your chances by doing something silly.”

Hawksworth was followed by Ollie Millroy and Graduate Cup driver Oliver Rowland for a majority of the race. Rowland made a strong start and it looked like he’d found more pace from his car following round one. However, his challenge to Millroy would not last long though, as on lap seventeen he spun off the right of the track at McLaren, beaching on the grass near the pit entrance, handing race one runner-up Will Stevens a respectable fifth place.

Benefiting from Rowland’s mistake was Mitchell Gilbert. Gilbert won the Graduate Cup class on his way to an impressive sixth place overall.

“The team did a great job to get the car out after the first race,” said Gilbert. “I wasn’t quite as quick as I hoped to be though. It was good to fight near the front. I hope to get a good result in the graduate cup this season, but, I also want to be just as quick as the front-runners,” said after the race.

Now the championship moved towards the East Midlands and Donington Park on April 16th -17th with Lynn in a commanding 13 point lead. “Donington should be another good weekend for me as I like the circuit and I’ll keep trying for more strong results and podiums,” said the point’s leader.

www.btcccrazy.co.uk

So here is my second blog of the year, and plenty has happened since last time. I’d love to say Formula Renault UK 2011 exploded into action at Brands Hatch, but unfortunately it didn’t – it started with a boring parade, mainly due to the nature of the Indy Circuit making it very difficult to overtake.

Despite this, it was still interesting to get a good gauge of who will be quick and likely challenging for the championship this season.

Pre-season testing hadn’t been great for us, as we had been plagued with problems on the car which had slowed our progress up to the first round. Fortunately – and thanks to a lot of hard work by the Mark Burdett Motorsport team – we were able to rectify these problems during Friday practice.

The only big downside to my weekend was the fact that I was ill for all of it and – combined with a consequent lack of sleep – I certainly wasn’t anywhere near my best!

Qualifying wasn’t great, as we only managed P6 and P3 respectively, and the following day we finished P6 and P3 in the races, too.

A podium in the circumstances was not a terrible result, but at the same time I was disappointed, as we came to win. Still, with the illness and the car trouble, to get third, I think we played our get-out-of-jail card quite well.

It was a shame I couldn’t really enjoy my first BTCC meeting as much as I had hoped due to the fact that I spent most of the time blagged-out in the back of the truck, but at Donington Park I’ll be looking to enjoy the racing and take in the atmosphere a bit more, as well as going all-out attack in qualifying and in the races, unlike at Brands where I was struggling just to keep it on the black stuff!

In my next blog after Donington, I’ll try and fill you in on the meeting in more detail; like I said before, I was spaced-out all weekend at Brands, so I don’t want to hold an opinion on anything until the next round is over.

The most positive thing from my point-of-view is that we will be much quicker in the next few races, and the only target is to win. I’m looking forward to the challenge!

Jack HawksworthBTCCCrazy Blogger & Formula Renault UK Racer

25

Jack Hawksworth


Classification

1234567891011121314

Alex LYNNWill STEVENSTio ELLINASOllie MILLROYOliver ROWLANDJack HAWKSWORTHAlice POWELLJordan KINGJosh HILLFelix SERRALLESOscar KINGPedro Pablo CALBIMONTEDan WellsMitchel GILBERT

GBRGBRCYPGBRGBRGBRGBRGBRGBRPURGBRBOLGBRGBR

Fortec MotorsportFortec CompAtech Reid GPManor CompFortec MotorsportMark Burdett MotorsportManor CompManor CompManor CompFortec CompAtech Reid GPFortec MotorsportAntel MotorsportFortec Motorsport

17:45.898+1.979+2.176+3.037+3.595+8.028+8.438+12.025+12.413+12.938+16.223+31.320+39.186DNF

1234567891011121314

Alex LYNNTio ELLINASJack HAWKSWORTHOllie MILLROYWill STEVENSMitchell GILBERTJosh HILLOscar KINGJordan KINGFelix SERRALLESDan WellsAlice POWELLPedro Pablo CALBIMONTEOliver ROWLAND

GBRCYPGBRGBRGBRGBRGBRGBRGBRPURGBRGBRBOLGBR

Fortec MotorsportAtech Reid GPMark Burdett MotorsportManor CompFortec CompFortec MotorsportManor CompAtech Reid GPManor CompFortec CompAntel MotorsportManor CompFortec MotorsportFortec Motorsport

17:38.637+0.293+8.732+9.092+9.554+13.112+13.443+14.172+14.554+18.407+27.244+27.432+35.177DNF

1234567891011121314

Alex LYNNTio ELLINASWill STEVENSOllie MILLROYJack HAWKSWORTHJosh HILLJordan KINGAlice POWELLOscar KINGOliver ROWLANDDan WellsPedro Pablo CALBIMONTEMitchell GILBERTFelix SURRALLES

GBRCYPGBRGBRGBRGBRGBRGBRGBRGBRGBRPURGBRBOL

Fortec MotorsportAtech Reid GPFortec CompManor CompMark Burdett MotorsportManor CompManor CompManor CompAtech Reid GPFortec MotorsportAntel MotorsportFortec MotorsportFortec MotorsportFortec Comp

665348464328262625202019180

Graduate Cup racers in bold

Jack Hawksworth

Jordan King

Alex Lynn

Dan Wells


The revamped Ginetta GT Supercup series kicked off at Brands Hatch last weekend with a clutch of 3 wins for Surrey teenager Tom Sharp in the brand-new for 2011 Ginetta G55 class, the weekend also saw the return of 2009 Ginetta G50 Cup champion Nathan Freke (owner of Century Motorsport) who spent very little time in re-ingiting his front running form and rivalry with Carl Breeze, who also had an action packed weekend.

“We had two tests to shake down the new car and luckily they were here at Brands so that’s been a help, plus it’s a track I love and I set the lap record last year in the G50. I feel I deserved these results today, it’s been a great start to the year for everyone at IDL.” Tom Sharp comments on the G55

Meanwhile in the G50 Class BTCC Crazy Blogger Jody Fannin scored a maiden victory first time out (read all about his weekend from the driver’s point of view in the exclusive to www.BTCCCrazy.co.uk blog) starting his season as he means to go on. 2010 Ginetta Challenge vice-champion Andrew Richardson (who is also racing for the first time with his sister Louise Richardson) also scored a win first time out in the G50.

Race one kicked off to a flyer when all the cars made it clean around the first corner, with Carl Breeze making an impressive start by gaining 4 positions on the opening lap after a disappointing qualifying session left him down on power due to an engine issue meaning he started from 8th on the grid.

The 2011 season saw its first drama at the end of the second lap when pole-sitter Sharp had a moment coming out of McLaren, caused by cement dust from an earlier oil spin. Freke saw this an opportunity to get along side Sharp into

Paddock Hill bend, there was contact between the two cars causing Freke to run into the gravel trap, even though he managed to recover the car he finished two laps down.

On lap 12 there was a collision between The G55 of Jordan Skinner and the G50 of Ginetta Junior runner-up Jake Hill causing the safety car to come out. This meant all the hard work the class leaders had done building up gaps had been undone, calm and collected Sharp was on the button come the re-start and managed to win by a margin of 1.5 seconds.

Race two happened later on Saturday afternoon with the finishing positions of race one making up the grid. Meaning the pole sitters for each class were the winners from the first race.

Needing a new gearbox after the first race, Breeze didn’t manage to get on track until the field completed half a lap, although Breeze maximized the opportunity caused by a couple of safety car periods to salvage an incredible 7th in G55.

The win was more straightforward of Sharp second time round with a gap of 2.4 seconds being built up by the end of the race between him and 2nd place Adam Morgan and George Murrells clinching the final slot on the podium.

“I’m pretty pleased with that, to get a podium on my first weekend is great. I’m fairly happy with how I’m driving the G55, this weekend is the first time I’ve raced on slicks so I’m getting used to getting the most out of the tyres. All in all I’m really pleased.” George Murrells on getting used to the tyres.

Race three came on Sunday afternoon and Tom Sharp finished the weekend exactly how he

started it – by winning the third race meaning he had scored a massive 108 points, 30 more than anybody else. The grid from the first race took the top 4 finishers and reversing there positions, with everyone else taking the positions they finished race two on.

2010 Ginetta Junior Champion Tom Ingram took a win in the G50 class (racing in championship winner Frank Wrathall’s G50), after only finding out he was actually racing at Brands Hatch on the Thursday morning before the race weekend, having not driven the car since the Ginetta Media Day.

“I’ve had limited testing, my first time in the car was at the Media Day and I didn’t actually find out I’d be racing here this weekend until Thursday morning! I must say a huge thank you to the guys at Plans Motorsport for giving me a great car.” Tom Ingram on his impressive weekend.

The race started with Adam Morgan and Clint Barwell stalling on the starting line, luckily everybody managed to get past them and White had a clean getaway into Paddock Hill bend with Tom Sharp 2nd and George Murrells in 3rd after the first corner.Carl Breeze had another impressive start charging through the field from 9th on the grid to 3rd in G55’s by the end of the first lap taking the fastest lap. Tom Ingram was the top G50 in a 8th position with Rob Gaffney 2nd and Aaron Williamson in 3rd.

Lap seven saw the G50 of a Jake Hill taking a spin out of McLaren and being hit by a charging Adam Morgan knocking both of them out of the race and brining out the safety car to clean up the debris. Freke made a fantastic move on Murrell’s on the restart clearly displaying his championship-winning experience. Freke managed to get right up to the bumper of Colin White but couldn’t find a way past him.

Lap 17 saw another safety car after Ritter lost the back end of his car coming out of Clearways landing backwards in the gravel trap, beaching the car. Looking at the replay there was potentially contact causing the back to unload, causing a massive loss of grip and the front to swing round causing a spin.

Speaking in the commentary box Lawrence Tomlinson, Owner of Ginetta Cars/LNT Group, to make it easier to distinguish the difference at a glance the G55 cars will be having an orange sun-strip and also commented that Ginetta managed to build 12 G55’s in the last 5 weeks, delivering the cars at the Media event at Silverstone Circuit.

The last lap saw disappointment for Colin White as a last lap spin saw him go from 1st to a DNF handing the win over to Tom Sharp. With the podium for race three in the G55′s Tom Sharp 1st, Carl Breeze 2nd and Nathan Freke taking 3rd and for the G50′s Tom Ingram took 1st Rob Gaffney 2nd and Aaron Williamson 3rd (placing BTCC Crazy blogger Jody Fannin 4th).

Sharpe has the edge at Brands


The revamped Ginetta GT Supercup series kicked off at Brands Hatch last weekend with a clutch of 3 wins for Surrey teenager Tom Sharp in the brand-new for 2011 Ginetta G55 class, the weekend also saw the return of 2009 Ginetta G50 Cup champion Nathan Freke (owner of Century Motorsport) who spent very little time in re-ingiting his front running form and rivalry with Carl Breeze, who also had an action packed weekend.

“We had two tests to shake down the new car and luckily they were here at Brands so that’s been a help, plus it’s a track I love and I set the lap record last year in the G50. I feel I deserved these results today, it’s been a great start to the year for everyone at IDL.” Tom Sharp comments on the G55

Meanwhile in the G50 Class BTCC Crazy Blogger Jody Fannin scored a maiden victory first time out (read all about his weekend from the driver’s point of view in the exclusive to www.BTCCCrazy.co.uk blog) starting his season as he means to go on. 2010 Ginetta Challenge vice-champion Andrew Richardson (who is also racing for the first time with his sister Louise Richardson) also scored a win first time out in the G50.

Race one kicked off to a flyer when all the cars made it clean around the first corner, with Carl Breeze making an impressive start by gaining 4 positions on the opening lap after a disappointing qualifying session left him down on power due to an engine issue meaning he started from 8th on the grid.

The 2011 season saw its first drama at the end of the second lap when pole-sitter Sharp had a moment coming out of McLaren, caused by cement dust from an earlier oil spin. Freke saw this an opportunity to get along side Sharp into

Paddock Hill bend, there was contact between the two cars causing Freke to run into the gravel trap, even though he managed to recover the car he finished two laps down.

On lap 12 there was a collision between The G55 of Jordan Skinner and the G50 of Ginetta Junior runner-up Jake Hill causing the safety car to come out. This meant all the hard work the class leaders had done building up gaps had been undone, calm and collected Sharp was on the button come the re-start and managed to win by a margin of 1.5 seconds.

Race two happened later on Saturday afternoon with the finishing positions of race one making up the grid. Meaning the pole sitters for each class were the winners from the first race.

Needing a new gearbox after the first race, Breeze didn’t manage to get on track until the field completed half a lap, although Breeze maximized the opportunity caused by a couple of safety car periods to salvage an incredible 7th in G55.

The win was more straightforward of Sharp second time round with a gap of 2.4 seconds being built up by the end of the race between him and 2nd place Adam Morgan and George Murrells clinching the final slot on the podium.

“I’m pretty pleased with that, to get a podium on my first weekend is great. I’m fairly happy with how I’m driving the G55, this weekend is the first time I’ve raced on slicks so I’m getting used to getting the most out of the tyres. All in all I’m really pleased.” George Murrells on getting used to the tyres.

Race three came on Sunday afternoon and Tom Sharp finished the weekend exactly how he

started it – by winning the third race meaning he had scored a massive 108 points, 30 more than anybody else. The grid from the first race took the top 4 finishers and reversing there positions, with everyone else taking the positions they finished race two on.

2010 Ginetta Junior Champion Tom Ingram took a win in the G50 class (racing in championship winner Frank Wrathall’s G50), after only finding out he was actually racing at Brands Hatch on the Thursday morning before the race weekend, having not driven the car since the Ginetta Media Day.

“I’ve had limited testing, my first time in the car was at the Media Day and I didn’t actually find out I’d be racing here this weekend until Thursday morning! I must say a huge thank you to the guys at Plans Motorsport for giving me a great car.” Tom Ingram on his impressive weekend.

The race started with Adam Morgan and Clint Barwell stalling on the starting line, luckily everybody managed to get past them and White had a clean getaway into Paddock Hill bend with Tom Sharp 2nd and George Murrells in 3rd after the first corner.Carl Breeze had another impressive start charging through the field from 9th on the grid to 3rd in G55’s by the end of the first lap taking the fastest lap. Tom Ingram was the top G50 in a 8th position with Rob Gaffney 2nd and Aaron Williamson in 3rd.

Lap seven saw the G50 of a Jake Hill taking a spin out of McLaren and being hit by a charging Adam Morgan knocking both of them out of the race and brining out the safety car to clean up the debris. Freke made a fantastic move on Murrell’s on the restart clearly displaying his championship-winning experience. Freke managed to get right up to the bumper of Colin White but couldn’t find a way past him.

Lap 17 saw another safety car after Ritter lost the back end of his car coming out of Clearways landing backwards in the gravel trap, beaching the car. Looking at the replay there was potentially contact causing the back to unload, causing a massive loss of grip and the front to swing round causing a spin.

Speaking in the commentary box Lawrence Tomlinson, Owner of Ginetta Cars/LNT Group, to make it easier to distinguish the difference at a glance the G55 cars will be having an orange sun-strip and also commented that Ginetta managed to build 12 G55’s in the last 5 weeks, delivering the cars at the Media event at Silverstone Circuit.

The last lap saw disappointment for Colin White as a last lap spin saw him go from 1st to a DNF handing the win over to Tom Sharp. With the podium for race three in the G55′s Tom Sharp 1st, Carl Breeze 2nd and Nathan Freke taking 3rd and for the G50′s Tom Ingram took 1st Rob Gaffney 2nd and Aaron Williamson 3rd (placing BTCC Crazy blogger Jody Fannin 4th).

Sharpe has the edge at Brands


1) Who is your racing hero?

Allan McNish because of his ability to wring the neck of a sportscar and scythe his way effortlessly through traffic – this is the kind of arena I would like to race in the future.

2) Who is your sporting hero?

Valentino Rossi because of his talent, winning 9 World Championships and also because after having been at the top and won so many championships, he still has that burning desire to win and doesn’t ever rest on his laurels.

3) What is your ultimate Motorsport goal?

Race at the Le Mans 24 hours, and win it!

4) 3 words to describe yourself...

Motivated, hard-working, focused

5) Best piece of advice given?

Never, ever give up!

6) Aim for the season?

To win the G50 class in the Ginetta GT SuperCup

7) Best race?

My first win in car racing while still on novice plates - Brands Hatch on the GP layout last year. I had to defend for the majority of the race and managed to just about hold on to the flag. The top 3 were covered by 0.213seconds!

8) Worst race?

Probably the race the very next day! I had never driven around Brands in the wet - there was torrential rain and it was like driving on ice. I ended up in the gravel on lap one while running second. It was our only race of the day, so I only got half a lap’s racing, then I had to wait with the marshals under the trees on the GP loop until the end of the race. It was very cold!

9) Reason you wanted to go racing...

I grew up watching racing and went to my first Le Mans aged 7 – I’ve loved sportscar racing ever since. I tried my hand at karting one day and absolutely loved it! I knew it was what I wanted to do. Before that I played cricket, but that soon took a back seat!

10) Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?

Making a career out of being a professional racing driver, whatever it may be - ideally racing at Le Mans.

Jody FanninBTCCCrazy Blogger & Ginetta Supercup driver

Focused: Fannin will never give up!


Classification

123456789101112131415161718192021

Tom SharpAdam MorganCarl BreezeGeorge MurrellsColin WhiteJoachim RitterClint BardwellAlistair JamesJody FanninAndrew RichardsonRobert GaffneyLouise RichardsonTom IngramConnaire FinnMartin ThomasPaul McClughanNathan FrekeAaron WilliamsonJake HillJordan SkinnerMark Steward

IDLCicely RacingTCROptimum Motorsport / Poor Boys

CWSTCRCenturyPlans MotorsportPyroRichardson RacingMeridian MotorsportRichardson RacingPlans MotorsportBeacon RacingCWSKenvin Jones MotorsportCenturyFMLOptimum Motorsport / Poor Boys

Brookland Speed RacingCentury

123456789101112131415161718192021

Tom SharpAdam MorganGeorge MurrellsColin WhiteJoachim RitterClint BardwellAndrew RichardsonTom IngramCarl BreezeNathan FrekeJake HillAlistair JamesAaron WilliamsonConnaire FinnMark StewardJody FanninRobert GaffneyLouise RichardsonMartin ThomasPaul McClighanJordan Skinner

IDLCiceley Racing Optimum Motorsport / Poor Boys

CWSTCRCenturyRichardson RacingPlans MotorsportTCRCenturyOptimum Motorsport / Poor Boys

Plans MotorsportFMLBeacon RacingCenturyPyroMeridian MotorsportRichardson RacingCWSKelvin Jones MotorsportBrookland Speed Racing

123456789101112131415161718

Tom SharpCarl BreezeNathan FrekeGeorge MurrellsClint BardwellTom IngramAlistair JamesRobert GaffneyAaron WilliamsonJody FanninMartin ThomasMark StewardColin WhiteConnaire FinnJordan SkinnerJoachim RitterJake HillAdam Morgan

IDLTCRCenturyOptimum Motorsport / Poor Boys

CenturyPlans MotorsportPlans MotorsportMeridian MotorsportFMLPyroCWSCenturyCWSBeacon RacingBrookland Speed RacingTCROptimum Motorsport / Poor Boys

Cicely Racing

1234567891011

Tom SHARPCarl BREEZEGeorge MURRELLSAdam MORGANClint BARDWELLNathan FREKEColin WHITEJoachim RITTERAlister JAMESMark STEWARDJordan SKINNER

IDLTCROptimum Motorsport / Poor Boys

Cloley RacingCenturytheplayer.co.ukCWSTCRPlans MotorsportCentury MotorsportBrookland Speed Racing

17:10.909+1.497+1.874+2.968+5.303+5.607+6.043+7.950+8.744+9.134+11.999+12.218+12.276+16.268+24.328+1 lap+2 lapsDNFDNFDNFDNF

24:11.279+1.237+4.437+12.918+14.403+14.847+16.492+18.693+19.469+23.004+36.713+1 lapDNFDNFDNFDNFDNFDNF

25:03.474+2.408+6.091+7.673+7.889+8.910+12.402+12.583+14.768+14.918+18.708+21.450+26.944+27.614+27.932+28.430DNFDNFDNFDNFDNF

1234567891011

Tom INGRAMJody FANNINAndrew RICHARDSONRobert GAFFNEYAaron WILLIAMSONMartin THOMASConnaire FINNLousie RICHARDSONJack HILLPaul MCCLUGHANFergus WILKINSHAW

Plans MotorsportPyroRichardson RacingMeridian MotorsportFMLCWSBeacon RacingRichardson RacingOptimum Motorsport/ Poor Boys

Kelvin Jones MotorsportTollbar Racing with WIRED

1087370605452423838270

877666564836322220140


The Parker with Juta Racing team hogged the top step of the podium at Brands Hatch during the opening round of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB with a win each for their drivers Euan Hankey and Stephen Jelley.

Hankey won the opening race of the weekend from second on the grid. He started alongside pole sitter and team mate Jelley who bossed the early stages of the race. However, just after the midway point, Jelley made an error at Druids and ran wide over the kerbs. This led to a soft brake pedal at Graham Hill Bend and he ran wide onto the grass. Hankey capitalised on this error to slip past and take the lead of the race which he never relinquished. Jelley’s error cost him second as well with James Sutton also taking advantage and diving past. After the mistake, the pole sitter had to settle for the final podium position despite pressuring Sutton considerably in the closing stages.

Of his win, Hankey said: “I’m so pleased; I thought all my Christmases had come at once. As the tyres got older I could hold the times.”

Michael Meadows was fourth in the second SAS/Redline machine. Debutants Sam Tordoff and Richard Plant were fifth and seventh respectively for Team Parker Racing, split by the experienced Michael Caine. Caine’s team mate and the defending champion, Tim Harvey got his 2011 campaign off to the worst possible start after failing to score. A rear puncture whilst running in fourth was a cruel blow and after making a pit stop for the tyre change, he crossed the line in 23rd position.

In the second race, Jelley made amends for his earlier error and delivered a commanding performance to claim a lights to flag victory. This time it was Hankey who would make a costly error. Although he crossed the line second he was later demoted to eleventh for persistently

running too wide at Graham Hill Bend. This promoted Sutton to second. The former champion had a quiet race until the closing stages when he felt vibrations from the rear of the car and was forced to ease up his pace slightly to minimise the risk of a puncture.

Tim Harvey’s fortunes drastically improved as he took the final spot on the podium and was even at one point, in with a chance of catching the coasting Sutton. Sam Tordoff, Michael Meadows and Richard Plant all followed Harvey closely over the line, in fourth, fifth and sixth respectively. Harvey’s team mate Michael Caine ended the race seventh in a car that handled poorly throughout the day.

Jelley’s results of a win and a third mean he leads the championship by four points from James Sutton going into the meeting at Donington which will be held on the 16th/17th April. Jelley said: “It’s really good to go out of the weekend with a win and a points’ lead.”

Elsewhere, in Pro-Am 1 Rory Butcher took victory in the opening race ahead of Ahmad Al Harthy and Jonas Gelzinis but the top two from the first race were involved in a first corner collision in the second which ended Butcher’s race and severely compromised Al Harthy’s leaving Gelzinis to take the victory from a hard charging Derek Peirce and Parr Motorsport’s Michael Leonard.

In Pro-Am 2 George Brewster secured a double victory for the Celtic Speed Team, holding off the close attentions of Steve Parish in the opener before cruising to the flag in the second when most of his rivals were delayed by the first corner accident. Andrew Shelley was second with Tautvydas Barstys third. Parish failed to repeat his good result from the first race after spinning into the gravel at Paddock Hill Bend in the latter stages of the race.


The Parker with Juta Racing team hogged the top step of the podium at Brands Hatch during the opening round of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB with a win each for their drivers Euan Hankey and Stephen Jelley.

Hankey won the opening race of the weekend from second on the grid. He started alongside pole sitter and team mate Jelley who bossed the early stages of the race. However, just after the midway point, Jelley made an error at Druids and ran wide over the kerbs. This led to a soft brake pedal at Graham Hill Bend and he ran wide onto the grass. Hankey capitalised on this error to slip past and take the lead of the race which he never relinquished. Jelley’s error cost him second as well with James Sutton also taking advantage and diving past. After the mistake, the pole sitter had to settle for the final podium position despite pressuring Sutton considerably in the closing stages.

Of his win, Hankey said: “I’m so pleased; I thought all my Christmases had come at once. As the tyres got older I could hold the times.”

Michael Meadows was fourth in the second SAS/Redline machine. Debutants Sam Tordoff and Richard Plant were fifth and seventh respectively for Team Parker Racing, split by the experienced Michael Caine. Caine’s team mate and the defending champion, Tim Harvey got his 2011 campaign off to the worst possible start after failing to score. A rear puncture whilst running in fourth was a cruel blow and after making a pit stop for the tyre change, he crossed the line in 23rd position.

In the second race, Jelley made amends for his earlier error and delivered a commanding performance to claim a lights to flag victory. This time it was Hankey who would make a costly error. Although he crossed the line second he was later demoted to eleventh for persistently

running too wide at Graham Hill Bend. This promoted Sutton to second. The former champion had a quiet race until the closing stages when he felt vibrations from the rear of the car and was forced to ease up his pace slightly to minimise the risk of a puncture.

Tim Harvey’s fortunes drastically improved as he took the final spot on the podium and was even at one point, in with a chance of catching the coasting Sutton. Sam Tordoff, Michael Meadows and Richard Plant all followed Harvey closely over the line, in fourth, fifth and sixth respectively. Harvey’s team mate Michael Caine ended the race seventh in a car that handled poorly throughout the day.

Jelley’s results of a win and a third mean he leads the championship by four points from James Sutton going into the meeting at Donington which will be held on the 16th/17th April. Jelley said: “It’s really good to go out of the weekend with a win and a points’ lead.”

Elsewhere, in Pro-Am 1 Rory Butcher took victory in the opening race ahead of Ahmad Al Harthy and Jonas Gelzinis but the top two from the first race were involved in a first corner collision in the second which ended Butcher’s race and severely compromised Al Harthy’s leaving Gelzinis to take the victory from a hard charging Derek Peirce and Parr Motorsport’s Michael Leonard.

In Pro-Am 2 George Brewster secured a double victory for the Celtic Speed Team, holding off the close attentions of Steve Parish in the opener before cruising to the flag in the second when most of his rivals were delayed by the first corner accident. Andrew Shelley was second with Tautvydas Barstys third. Parish failed to repeat his good result from the first race after spinning into the gravel at Paddock Hill Bend in the latter stages of the race.

Tom INGRAMJody FANNINAndrew RICHARDSONRobert GAFFNEYAaron WILLIAMSONMartin THOMASConnaire FINNLousie RICHARDSONJack HILLPaul MCCLUGHANFergus WILKINSHAW

Brands Hatch played host to the opening rounds of the Porsche Carrera Cup this weekend and I arrived high with confidence. After showing strong pace at the Official Media Day at Snetterton only the week before, I believed a strong weekend could be on the cards providing I kept out of trouble.

After Friday’s two test sessions I found myself in 10th position on the combined classification. I had struggled with understeer throughout the day and it later transpired that a trip through the paddock hill’s gravel trap in the first session had damaged the car unbeknown to us. Luckily this was spotted on friday night and with the car now fully repaired for qualifying, hopes had grown once more.

Immediately in qualifying our pace had improved and I managed to find some space on a rather crowded brands hatch indy circuit to produce two near identical laps of 46.397 and 46.415 to go P6. As I pitted for the second set of new tyres, Stuart my engineer informed me the order was that tight that I only needed to improve by 7-100ths of a second to go P3! With that in mind, I set off back out to try find something extra but nobody seemed to go any quicker on their second set of tyres – perhaps the track had been quicker at the beginning of the session. Nevetheless I was thrilled to have qualified P6 for Round 1 and P4 for Round 2 thanks to my almost identical second-fastest lap!

Round 1 was all about learning as much as I could. I had not done any practice starts so to get off the line as well as I did without wheelspin and get across to the inside was a relief. From then on I hung onto Michael Meadows whilst defending from a determined Michael Caine behind. Tim Harvey, last years champion, was forced to retire with a puncture at around half-race distance and that allowed me to move up to 5th. The second half of the race was all about managing the tyre wear as the 34 lap race was the longest I had ever done around Brands Hatch!

With some experience of a porsche race under my belt, I was more confident for the second race on Sunday. Whilst i got off the line well from P4, it wasnt as well as Harvey who had started from fifth. As i came across to the inside to defend him, he was already alongside and so I had to slot in behind him at turn 1. The race was then stopped twice for the safety car before being resumed. Our race pace was good and I pushed Harvey round for the whole race whilst keeping Meadows and my teammate Richard Plant at bay. I crossed the line in fifth place but then was promoted to fourth as Euan Hankey who finished second was given a 15 second time penalty for going off the track.

With two top 5 finishes it has put me equal third in the championship. This is a dream start for me and whilst I had high hopes to be on the pace of the frontrunners by mid-season, I had not expected to start the season this well! This is hugely promising for the future and who knows a place on the top step of the podium might come a little quicker than I had anticipated. A massive thanks must be said to Stuart, my mechanic James and everyone else at Team Parker for doing a great job of the winter and welcoming me into their team.

Sam Tordoff

Dream start: Tordoff happy with debut weekend



Classification

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425

Euan HankeyJames SuttonStephen JeleyMichael MeadowsSam TordoffMichael CaineRichard PlantRory ButcherAhmed Al HarthyJonas GelzinisAlex MartinBen HetheringtonDerek PierceMichael LeanardGeorge BrewsterSteve ParishGeorge RichardsonDaniele PerfettiRichard DennyAndrew ShelleyKeith WebsterTautvydas BarstysTim HarveyJohn TaylorTommy Dreelan

Parker with JutaSAS Redline RacingParker with JutaSAS Redline RacingTeam Parker RacingNationwide MotorbaseTeam Parker RacingCeltic SpeedRedline Oman AirJuta RacingDextra by Team ParkerRedline Oman AirDextra by Team ParkerParr MotorsportCeltic SpeedMotorbase PerformanceMotorbase PerformanceMotorbase PerformanceParr MotorsportRedline RacingRedline RacingJuta RacingNationwide MotorbaseTeam Parker Racing Celtic Racing

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425

Stephen JelleyJames SuttonTim HarveySam TordoffMichael MeadowsRichard PlantMichael CaineJonas GelzinisDerek PierceBen HetheringtonEuan HankeyMichael LeanordGeorge RichardsonGeorge BrewsterAndrew ShelleyTautvydas BarstysKeith WebsterTommy DreelanJohn TaylorAhmad Al HarthySteve ParishDaniele PerfettiRichard DennyRory ButcherAlex Martin

Parker with JutaSAS Redline RacingNationwide MotorbaseTeam Parker RacingSAS Redline RacingTeam Parker RacingNationwide MotorbaseJuta RacingDextra by Team ParkerRedline Oman AirParker with JutaParr MotorsportMotorbase PerformanceCeltic SpeedRedline RacingJuta Racing Redline RacingCeltic SpeedTeam Parker RacingRedline Oman AirMotorbase PerformanceMotorbase PerformanceParr MotorsportCeltic SpeedDextra by Team Parker

123456789101112131415161718

Stephen JELLYJames SUTTONMichael MEADOWSSam TORDOFFEuan HANKEYMichael CAINERichard PLANTTim HARVEYJonas GELZINSBen HEATHERINGTONDerek PIERCEAhemd AL HARTHHEYMichael LEONARDRory BUCTHERAlex MARTINGeorge RICHARDSONGeorge BREWSTERAndrew SHELLEY

Parker with JutaSAS Redline RacingSAS Redline RacingTeam Parker RacingParker with JutaNationwide/ MotorbaseTeam Parker RacingNationwide/ MotorbaseJuta RacingRedline Oman AirDextra J D Pierce by ParkerRedline Oman AirParr MotorsportCeltic SpeedDextra J D Pierce by ParkerMotorbase PerformanceCeltic SpeedRedline Racing

19202122232425

Tuutvydas BARSTYSJohn TAYLORTommy DREELAMDaniele PERFETTISteve PARISHRichard DENNYKeith WEBSTER

Juta RacingTeam Parker RacingCeltic SpeedMotorbase PerformanceMotorbase PerformanceParr MotorsportRedline Racing

26:48.901+4.930+5.195+12.719+13.836+14.050+14.796+18.405+22.600+24.922+25.760+33.545+35.300+41.177+46.929+47.391+47.682+48.108+1 lap+1 lap+1 lap+1 lap+1 lap+2 laps+2laps

30:45.321+7.561+8.195+8.496+8.826+9.022+12.424+13.241+13.803+16.366+16.554+26.202+29.822+36.438+41.114+49.507+1 lap+1 lap+1 lap+5 lapsDNFDNFDNFDNFDNF

Key Red - Pro Yellow - ProAm1Blue - PromAm240

362626251919161410107655331

000000-2


The opening rounds of the 2011 AirAsia Renault Clio Cup UK are now under our belts, with James Dixon and Paul Rivett taking a win each this weekend around the Indy Circuit at Brands Hatch.

Qualifying took place on Saturday, seeing Jake Packun take Pole by 0.021 seconds from TCR’s James Dixon. Double Champion Paul Rivett qualified 3rd, alongside debutant Luke Wright, with Tom Grice and Jack Goff rounding out the top six. Just over 1/10th of a second in fact separated the top six drivers. BTCC Crazy Blog Writer Jack Goff was pretty happy with his performance in qualifying; “We’re only a tenth off which is findable. It’s anybody’s race.”

In the first race on Saturday, it was James Dixon who took the lead from the start and then drove away to take a difficult but well fought victory. Jake Packun pushed him all the way, but Dixon did not put a wheel wrong as he managed to maintain a gap of just 0.193 seconds to take the checkered flag. Paul Rivett kept the two of them on their toes back in third, finishing just 0.2 seconds behind Packun, claiming another podium spot for the former double Champion.

TCR team principal Lee Brookes said after the race; “It’s fantastic to win the first race of the year, we’re all absolutely delighted. James did a fantastic job, he was a bit unfortunate to miss out on pole but his start was spot-on and he drove a really good, calm race.”

James said; ”We got an absolutely mega start, limited wheelspin and got into the lead early on into the first corner. I had mega amounts of pressure all the way through the race, i had Packun and Rivett both on my tail all the way through but i kept my cool and come home to take the win.”

Behind the leaders, early contact between Jack Goff and Scuderia Vittoria’s Luke Wright, caused all kinds of chaos at Druids leading to a safety car period to clear it all off the track. Goff retired, as did Matt Allison, Darren Wilson and Mark Proctor.

Proctors TCR team-mate Tom Grice also suffered as a result of a collision, coming into contact with Adam Bonham at Graham Hill Bend which demoted him from 6th place to an eventual 10th following a battle with Josh Files and Craig Currie.

Nicolas Hamilton on his racing debut finished in 12th, and team boss Lee Brookes was pleased with his performance; “Everyone was very pleased with the progress Nicolas made, he did a very solid job and is getting closer and closer to the others every time he’s in the car.”

Nicolas qualified just 1.2 seconds off the pole position time, and by the end of the race he was lapping just a second down on his teammate James Dixon.

The TCR garage was also subject to intense popularity away from the track as Nicolas’ brother, F1

World Champion Lewis Hamilton was at the circuit to watch his brother make his debut. He was also present on Sunday, and was causing quite a stir when he went out with Nicolas to sign autographs for the fans.

The grid for race 2 on Sunday saw Paul Rivett on Pole this time, with James Dixon alongside him. Jake Packun was 3rd this time out, with the Scuderia Vittoria of Luke Wright alongside him. His teammate Matt Allison, and Jack Goff were 5th and 6th respectively. As with the first race the top six were all within a couple of tenths of each other.

It was Paul Rivett who took the lead from the start, getting into Paddock Hill Bend first, and from there he didn’t look back. Jake Packun and Luke Wright also got away well, but race one winner Dixon was the subject of some first corner contact which caused him to spin and collide with Jack Goff. Aron Smith just managed to avoid ploughing into both of them.

It was Dixon who came off worst though, as he ended up at the back of the field. A second spin later in the race saw him record 13th place this time out.

Rivett continued to lead, with Packun second and Goff third when Jake Packun had a big off at Paddock Hill Bend on lap 15 which resulted in his retirement. This promoted Aron Smith into a podium place, and this was the top three at the end.

Elsewhere in the field, Tom Grice had a much better result in the second race, finishing sixth but it was not so fortunate for his teammates Hamilton and Proctor. Both were involved in contact with each other which resulted in Proctor’s retirement from the race. Hamilton recovered but finished well down the field in 15th, 5.6 seconds adrift of Darren Wilson.

After the race, third placed Aron Smith said; “Yesterday was our worst nightmare come true really. Damage on the first lap was never a great way to start the championship, so i went to bed last night knowing i had to finish on the podium to keep the points with Paul (Rivett).”

Second placed Jack Goff said of his first podium; “What a difference compared to yesterday. The turnaround from yesterday, the team did a great job to get the car back on track and i’ve got to thank them and my sponsors really they made it happen.”

“It’s great to come away with a podium, it’s my first podium anyway and i’ve also got the graduate cup win. Theres always room for improvement, and we know that we’ve got room to improve still and to finish behind somebody like Paul with his experience, he knows how to win races so i’m happy.”


The opening rounds of the 2011 AirAsia Renault Clio Cup UK are now under our belts, with James Dixon and Paul Rivett taking a win each this weekend around the Indy Circuit at Brands Hatch.

Qualifying took place on Saturday, seeing Jake Packun take Pole by 0.021 seconds from TCR’s James Dixon. Double Champion Paul Rivett qualified 3rd, alongside debutant Luke Wright, with Tom Grice and Jack Goff rounding out the top six. Just over 1/10th of a second in fact separated the top six drivers. BTCC Crazy Blog Writer Jack Goff was pretty happy with his performance in qualifying; “We’re only a tenth off which is findable. It’s anybody’s race.”

In the first race on Saturday, it was James Dixon who took the lead from the start and then drove away to take a difficult but well fought victory. Jake Packun pushed him all the way, but Dixon did not put a wheel wrong as he managed to maintain a gap of just 0.193 seconds to take the checkered flag. Paul Rivett kept the two of them on their toes back in third, finishing just 0.2 seconds behind Packun, claiming another podium spot for the former double Champion.

TCR team principal Lee Brookes said after the race; “It’s fantastic to win the first race of the year, we’re all absolutely delighted. James did a fantastic job, he was a bit unfortunate to miss out on pole but his start was spot-on and he drove a really good, calm race.”

James said; ”We got an absolutely mega start, limited wheelspin and got into the lead early on into the first corner. I had mega amounts of pressure all the way through the race, i had Packun and Rivett both on my tail all the way through but i kept my cool and come home to take the win.”

Behind the leaders, early contact between Jack Goff and Scuderia Vittoria’s Luke Wright, caused all kinds of chaos at Druids leading to a safety car period to clear it all off the track. Goff retired, as did Matt Allison, Darren Wilson and Mark Proctor.

Proctors TCR team-mate Tom Grice also suffered as a result of a collision, coming into contact with Adam Bonham at Graham Hill Bend which demoted him from 6th place to an eventual 10th following a battle with Josh Files and Craig Currie.

Nicolas Hamilton on his racing debut finished in 12th, and team boss Lee Brookes was pleased with his performance; “Everyone was very pleased with the progress Nicolas made, he did a very solid job and is getting closer and closer to the others every time he’s in the car.”

Nicolas qualified just 1.2 seconds off the pole position time, and by the end of the race he was lapping just a second down on his teammate James Dixon.

The TCR garage was also subject to intense popularity away from the track as Nicolas’ brother, F1

World Champion Lewis Hamilton was at the circuit to watch his brother make his debut. He was also present on Sunday, and was causing quite a stir when he went out with Nicolas to sign autographs for the fans.

The grid for race 2 on Sunday saw Paul Rivett on Pole this time, with James Dixon alongside him. Jake Packun was 3rd this time out, with the Scuderia Vittoria of Luke Wright alongside him. His teammate Matt Allison, and Jack Goff were 5th and 6th respectively. As with the first race the top six were all within a couple of tenths of each other.

It was Paul Rivett who took the lead from the start, getting into Paddock Hill Bend first, and from there he didn’t look back. Jake Packun and Luke Wright also got away well, but race one winner Dixon was the subject of some first corner contact which caused him to spin and collide with Jack Goff. Aron Smith just managed to avoid ploughing into both of them.

It was Dixon who came off worst though, as he ended up at the back of the field. A second spin later in the race saw him record 13th place this time out.

Rivett continued to lead, with Packun second and Goff third when Jake Packun had a big off at Paddock Hill Bend on lap 15 which resulted in his retirement. This promoted Aron Smith into a podium place, and this was the top three at the end.

Elsewhere in the field, Tom Grice had a much better result in the second race, finishing sixth but it was not so fortunate for his teammates Hamilton and Proctor. Both were involved in contact with each other which resulted in Proctor’s retirement from the race. Hamilton recovered but finished well down the field in 15th, 5.6 seconds adrift of Darren Wilson.

After the race, third placed Aron Smith said; “Yesterday was our worst nightmare come true really. Damage on the first lap was never a great way to start the championship, so i went to bed last night knowing i had to finish on the podium to keep the points with Paul (Rivett).”

Second placed Jack Goff said of his first podium; “What a difference compared to yesterday. The turnaround from yesterday, the team did a great job to get the car back on track and i’ve got to thank them and my sponsors really they made it happen.”

“It’s great to come away with a podium, it’s my first podium anyway and i’ve also got the graduate cup win. Theres always room for improvement, and we know that we’ve got room to improve still and to finish behind somebody like Paul with his experience, he knows how to win races so i’m happy.”

www.btcccrazy.co.uk

Well this is my first Blog of the 2011 Air Asia Clio Cup Championship, as I said before I will be reporting back to you all with my views and the behind the scenes gossip after every race weekend.

So the First 2 rounds came around quite quickly in the end and I couldn’t wait to get back into the car after our successful pre season testing.

I arrived at Brands Hatch Thursday afternoon on set up day and got an early night ready for the Free Practice sessions on Friday.

Friday morning I had to be up fairly early for a track walk with my driver coach and the rest of the team, after this it was down to me to deliver the performance we had hoped for.

The Clio’s first free practice was at 11:15 and would last for 45 mins. In this session we concentrated mainly on scrubbing in tyres for race day so didn’t have much time to set a competitive lap time, although we still managed to end the session in P5 and only 0.3 off P1 so I was pretty happy with this.

The second session for the Clio Cup started at 15:55 and again would last for 45 mins, this session was all about setting a proper time and seeing where we stood against everyone else. We were consistently in the top 6 the whole session, we ended up in P6 at the flag and only 0.14 off of P1.

After the session had been completed we had a chance to go back to the truck and have a look through our data and see where we were losing that last tenth of a second so we were ready for qualifying. As per usual in the Clio’s especially at Brands Hatch the times were incredibly close and 0.2 covered the top 9 drivers in practice (all to play for in Qualifying.)

So after looking through our data on Friday night i was feeling confident of a good performance in qualifying and the races.

Qualifying started at 11:15 and this time I only had 30 mins to set my times that would decide where I started in the 2 races.

For the majority of qualifying I was in p2 but a late charge by a few rivals dropped me down to p6, still only 0.15 off of pole position again. I was a bit disappointed by my position but I knew I was in a good position on the grid to make up some places and challenge for a podium.

Race 1 started at 16:25 on Saturday afternoon and would last for 20 laps. As I lined up on the grid I was feeling confident that I would be able to make a good start and work my way up the grid.

I made a good start but unfortunately got boxed in between Luke Wright and Paul Rivett which meant I actually lost a place at the start. I managed to get back past Tom Grice at Paddock Hill Bend and get back to the inside for the way up to Druids.

Unfortunately my race wouldn’t last much longer than this as contact between Aron Smith and Luke Wright going into Druids meant that Wright was sideways in the middle of the track and the only way i could go was left. As I went left me and Matt Allison made contact which resulted in damage for both of us, with neither of us being able to finish the race.

This wasn’t how I was hoping to start the season, but after sitting down that night and picking myself back up from a disappointing start to the season I realised that there is plenty more races to go and in Clio’s anything can happen. I just had to take each race as it comes now and chip away at the points I had lost in that race.

In the driving seat: Goff looking to be at the sharpe end this season

37


Sunday morning we were all greeted with sunshine and a great crowd for the second of the Clio races and after Saturdays disappointment I was even more determined to have a good race.

I made another good start from P6 and managed to beat Allison away and get to the inside before Paddock Hill, as James Dixon struggled to get back across after a slow start me and him made contact on the exit of Paddock Hill which resulted in Dixon falling down the order to 13th.

This put me up into P4 with my team mate Aron Smith behind me in P5. The top 4 managed to pull slightly clear of the rest of the field on the first few laps, until a safety car because of Nic Hamilton and Mark Proctor ending up in the Gravel at the exit of the last corner bunched us all back up again.

After a few laps behind the safety car I made a good start and held p4. Again the top 4 managed to pull a slight gap and I could focus on putting pressure on Luke Wright in 3rd. After a few laps Wright dropped a wheel on the dirt on the exit of Clearways and that allowed me to take P3 away from him. This then allowed me to try and chase down Jake Packun in P2. He also made a mistake this time into Paddock Hill resulting in him ending up in the gravel and out of the race.

With the experienced Paul Rivett ahead of me now I tried to stay consistent and not to make any mistakes as I counted down the laps and at the flag I crossed the line in P2 and I also won the Graduate cup.

This was a much better result for me and it has set me up nicely for the next 2 rounds at Donington Park in a few weeks time where I will be hoping to improve on my P2 from Brands.

I would just like to say a huge thanks to all my sponsors, supporters and family who made this weekend possible.

Cheers Guys,

Jack Goff

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The opening round of the Ginetta Junior Championship was packed with action from start to finish, with young Seb Morris taking the chequered flag.

As soon as the lights went out and the cars left the grid, Morris stormed passed Jake Giddings and gained the lead.

Unfortunately some of the other drivers weren’t so lucky. At the first corner there was contact between Niall Murray and Myles Collins, causing Collins to spin and hit the barrier head on, causing severe damage to his car. Others who got collected in the incident were Struan Moore, Eric Morris, Michael Day and Sennan Fielding.

Due to the extent of the debris on the track from Collins’ car, the race was red flagged, which was lucky for Giddings who spun off the track when the cars were behind the safety car.

At the re-start, Morris didn’t get off the line as well as the first time, leaving Giddings to remain in the lead, and get a good run into Paddock Hill Bend. Morris then found himself being put under

pressure by William Foster, who then lost out on position to Brad Bailey while trying to have a go at passing Morris for second place.

Once Morris had shaken off Foster, he found a bit of extra speed to challenge Giddings at McLaren to take the lead. During the fight for third position, Bailey spun at McLaren, after he and Foster came into contact.

Due to the incident, it meant that Tom Howard could set his sights on a podium finish as he moved up to third position.

As for Niall Murray, who was running well, took it too wide at Clearways, dropping him to eighth position, but this played to Charlie Robertson’s advantage as he managed to get his car up into the top six.

Morris crossed the line to finish the first race of the championship with ease, as he gained over a three second lead on Giddings, and Howard crossed the line in third. Fourth place went to George Gamble, but unfortunately he received a post-race time penalty for passing under yellow flags earlier on in the race.

Speaking to Seb Morris after the first race, he said: “It was really good. We had to do it [the start] twice, but the first time was better than the second. We managed to get to Jake at the first corner so we were really happy. It all went fairly well. There was some debris dropped on the track which made it quite hard for us all, but we managed to get through and pull about a three second gap by the end.

“We just need to carry it onto the second race and I’ll be even happier. A podium finish would be nice and we’ll try and do the best we can to try and get away by the first corner.”

BTCC Crazy also managed to get a quick word with a very pleased Charlie Robertson, after the first race. He said: “It’s been good so far. The first race went really well. I started sixth and got to fifth by the end of the race.

“Pace has definitely improved from yesterday. The car seems to be set up really well, and hopefully we can get a podium in the next one.”

Morris Takes Win In Chaotic Opening Race


Another dominant performance from Seb Morris, as he wins the second race of the Ginetta Junior Championship at Brands Hatch.

Although Morris was on pole for the start of the race, Jake Giddings got a better start off the line and headed straight into the lead, but not without a fight from Morris who was constantly on his tail. Tom Howard also got a flying start from third row on the grid to third position.

Behind the front-runners, an incident at Paddock Hill Bend involving Struan Moore, Eric Morris, Declan Jones and Sennan Fielding meant that the safety car was released out onto the track. This meant that William Foster, Max Coates, Charlie Robertson and George Gamble were able to bunch up and catch up with Morris and Giddings.

For the restart, Giddings managed to hold on to his position from Morris until Lap 10 at Surtees when Morris made a move and made it stick, putting him into first position. Giddings made sure he didn’t make it easy for the Hillspeed driver, as by the start of Lap 11 Giddings was pushing to get his position back.

It was looking like an identical one two finish from the previous race, but this wasn’t to be the case as unfortunately for Giddings, he was pushing a little too hard and put it in the gravel at Paddock Hill Bend.

The race finished with Morris taking the flag for the second win of the day, Howard gaining a position from Giddings’ misfortune finishing second, and third going to Foster.

Fourth was to be had by Coates, followed by Gamble in fifth and Robertson, the youngest driver in the championship taking sixth place.

As for Myles Collins, who had a massive crash in race one, surprised many drivers and spectators as his team of mechanics worked so hard on the car to get him lined up on the grid for race two. Unfortunately for Collins, just as things were going his way, he received a drive-through penalty, which saw any chance of a position in the points slip from his grasp.

The next round of the Ginetta Junior Championship will be at Donington Park, Derbyshire on the 17th April.

Morris Moves Clear In Championship With Second

Win


New car, new team and new tracks all combine together to make 2011 an interesting season for me and the Westbourne Motorsport – little did we know when we arrived at Brands Hatch on Thursday evening for the first race of the season that it would be this “interesting”!

Friday morning we arrived and the car was ready for the free practice – I went out and for the first few laps was running in P2 – things were looking good but then as the session went on, the car was suffering under steer and brake balance problems – the car’s performance seemed to drop off a cliff. Session 2 came and went and a similar situation despite making some changes – this is what learning a new car is all about.

Saturday came and the team made some fairly brave changes to the car but unfortunately, we went too far the other way which meant the car was even less driveable and never came on. P12 was not really in the plan but a good start could change all that – how ironic was that statement?

Sunday race day came and the team had the car in pristine condition and believed that they had the car in a good place in terms of set up to suit my style. The cars all lined up on the grid – I seemed to get a reasonable start and very quickly went around the outside of the three cars in front of me preparing to take Paddock Hill Bend from in front having moved from P12 to P9 in 200 yards.

Unfortunately, I was tagged from behind twice as I took the corner – the second tag being the fateful one sending me headfirst into the barrier at Paddock with a massive impact that could be heard as far away as Druids. The car disintegrated and ended up back on the track with the severity of the impact only to be collected by another car. The Doctors and Paramedics were on the scene within seconds and attended to me. I was in severe pain in my chest, neck, legs and back from the massive impact – boy that hurt!

After being checked and given the OK to be removed from the car, the crowd applauded me as I managed to walk to the ambulance which took me off for more in-depth checks. The car (now looking severely damaged) was delivered back to the Westbourne team on temporary wheely jacks – seemingly looking as though it would have to be taken back to base for some work.

This apparently was a different plan to that which the Westbourne guys had in mind who set about repairing the car which was badly damaged – they had just over 4 hours to get the car ready (assuming my injuries allowed me to continue).

The whole front end crash structure was replaced, wishbones, steering arms, wheels, tyres, bonnet, rear crash structure, steering wheel, exhaust manifold (need we go on) were replaced and despite a last minute panic with a blown fuse which meant the car wouldnt start, I was on the grid for race 2 (with 2 minutes to spare).

The race started and at Paddock, the car stopped as my throttle stuck on FULL! I pulled over, undid my belts and despite the pain, mended the throttle cable and drove to catch the pack – I made the mistake of joining back in position which caused the clerk to issue a drive through penalty (not having a good day then?) – I was also having to drive the race on half throttle as anything more would cause the throttle to stick wide open. The cockpit was also full of smoke which was from some damage from the accident but I opened the window and battled on.


My mission was to prove that I wanted to race and to deliver home some points to the team which I did finishing 11th overall.

Overall whilst a disaster for me and the team in terms of the start of the season, it was a Herculean effort by the boys from Westbourne to repair the car in such a short period of time. I didn’t want to let them down by not finishing (despite the fact the pain was by this time unbearable).

Since the weekend, I have been having treatment from a specialist chiropractor in Harrogate and accupuncture to deal with the trauma injuries in my back after the accident. More treatment Monday, test Tuesday then rest before rounds 3 and 4 at Donington next weekend.

Thanks to all who sent their best wishes to me and to the guys at Ginetta and of course Westbourne who defied all logic by getting that G40 repaired and (nearly) driveable for race 2.

The car has been back to Ginetta in Garforth and checked over, fully repaired and should be ready to go for next week.

We just need to make sure that I have a clean race and that I can show what I can actually do with a car which is on form!

Watch this space…………….

Myles Collins

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TThhee CCooooll WWaallll

The brain child of the late Tom Walkinshaw, the 850 saloon surprised many in 1995 when Rickard Rydell and Tim Harvey won five races and took thirteen pole positions.

Under the Tom Walkinshaw Racing banner the 850 saloon was highly scuccessful. It came off the back of a much criticised, yet strangely successful 850 estate which TWR entered in 1994 and with is Q8 Oils inspired livery the car raced in a 'golden age' of Touring Car racing.

In 1996 the 850 boasted eight wins in the hands of Rydell and Kelvin Burt and took third in the championship.

This car holds pride of place on the BTCC Crazy Cool Wall.


Selected

Snaps

Left: Grid gears up for curtain raiser

Right: Neal's Honda is pushed away

Left: Jordan's Dunlops give way

Right: Paul O'Neill does his best Vettel finger impression!

www.btcccrazy.co.uk45�

Tweet @BTCCCrazy with your caption to this picture. We'll post it throught the week and be sure to reply! Best ones will be RT'd and maybe get in next weeks mag!

www.btcccrazy.co.uk 46�

@AlsiB: "And for my next trick I shall escape from my racesuit without using my hands and produce a bunny from my helmet!"

@projectzip: Louis Spence had worked wonders over the winter on Matt's dance stance and posture!

@shellk1985: In a effort to calm down after being punted off, Matt engaged in a bit of on track yoga.

@thedanshires: Look, I can race, overtake and win championships, but no one said anything about being good at parking.

@Ian_67: "You've got your team mate doing your dirty work this season then Jason"

@nicklovell1982: "Damn it. I forgot to pack the bucket and spade!"

Thanks for reading!

Documents

BTCC Crazy E-Mag: Issue #2