INSIDEBTCC.COM issue 18 : mar 2013
PLUS - WE TRAIN WITH UK’S MOTORSPORT MARSHALS
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BTCC 2013 - THE ULTIMATE GUIDE
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WELCOME... After months of rumours and speculation, it’s finally time for the talking to stop as the BTCC roars back into life at Brands Hatch this weekend.
kick-start a range of features on marshalling to give an insight into the men and women in orange who make racing possible.
A capacity grid is set to do battle on track this season and even though all 32 cars won’t be appearing in the opening races of the year, a bumper field will still be in action in Kent for what should be an enthralling start to 2013.
The season ahead promises to be one of the most closelyfought there has been for a long time, and we value your input as ever as we relaunch for 2013.
In this, the first Inside BTCC of the year, we take a full look at the Class of 2013 ahead of the season opener – with a full rundown of the new-look field. We also catch up with series director Alan Gow to get his thoughts on what the year ahead may hold, get the inside track on Airwaves Racing and eBay Motors as they seek to challenges the works teams from Honda and MG and we
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If you want to get in touch, you can e-mail us on contact@ insidebtcc.com, follow us on Twitter at @InsideBTCC or ‘Like Us’ on Facebook. Don’t forget you can also sign up for the mailing list via the website, and f there is anything you want to see, just give us a shout and we’ll see what we can do! Until next time…
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S T TEN
N O C
IN THIS ISSUE... THE BOSS SPEAKS BTCC Series Director Alan Gow on the season ahead
6-9
THE MOST PROFESSIONAL AMATEURS What it takes to prepare the world’s best marshals...
10 - 13
EBAY JOINS NGTC PARTY Find out more about the new-for-2013 BMW 1 Series
14 - 17
MOTORBASE SEEKS TO ‘KICK IT UP A GEAR’ Biggest season yet for Bartrum’s boys
18 - 21
MG ‘NOT SEEKING TO REINVENT THE WHEEL’ Plato joined by Sam Tordoff at Triple Eight in 2013
22 - 23
BTCC 2013 - WHO’S WHO? Your 34-page guide to the stars of the season ahead
26 - 59
ABOUT INSIDE BTCC... Inside BTCC is an independent publication that is in no way endorsed by, or affiliated to the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship or its organisers.
Photos are credit PSP IMAGES or JAKOB EBREY unless otherwise stated. To get in touch, please email: CONTACT@INSIDEBTCC.COM. Written, produced and edited by Matt Salisbury and Matt Lamprell. Front cover images: Main - 2013 BTCC (jakobebrey.com); Top right - Motorsport marshals. Back cover: MG KX Momentum Racing (jakobebrey.com).
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Inside BTCC
THE BOSS SPEAKS...
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With a capacity grid for the 2013 season and a new TV deal in place, series director Alan Gow is a happy man going into the new campaign...
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The annual BTCC media day at Donington Park saw the announcement of an impressive looking 32strong field for the 2013 season, with no fewer than 26 cars built to the new NGTC rules set to race on track this year. The season launch also saw confirmation of a threeyear extension to ITV deal to provide extensive live coverage of the racing action, meaning series director Alan Gow was understandably upbeat when Inside BTCC caught up with him for a chat… Inside BTCC:
programme and each year, we hit our targets. We have 26 NGTC cars on the grid plus the S2000 cars to hit the 32 car maximum, and you can’t get better than that. What it underlines is that we have got our regulations spot on. The teams and drivers are voting with their feet, there are new cars being built and brought into the championship, and it completely validates the sporting and technical regulations that we have in the series. Inside BTCC:
Alan there is a capacity grid this season and most of the cars we are going to see on the grid will be NGTC spec cars. Did you think we’d be in this position so soon after the rules were introduced?
When you went down the NGTC route, how big was that decision to take when you consider that the different championships around the world were all heading in different directions?
Alan Gow:
Alan Gow:
I think I did if I’m being honest. We expected to have this many cars in NGTC as it was a three-year
If you want the truth, it wasn’t that difficult at all. The BTCC has always done that; don’t forget
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we invented the two-litre formula back in 1991. We have to do what is right for our country and whether our regulations transfer to Sweden, to Kenya, to Japan or wherever, is something that will happen organically. We have to look at what we need to do to race here and to provide teams with the right product. Clearly we have done that, and what happens elsewhere in the world has no impact on the BTCC. Inside BTCC: The entry list has four championship winners on it and all of the leading teams are now running NGTC cars. When you look at the entry that there is, can you ever remember it being so open? Alan Gow: No, I think you’re right. Even in the 1990s, you could probably pick two or three drivers who were going to be head and shoulders above the others. There are so many different elements now, so many
new cars and so many great drivers; you’d be silly to go and put some money on it now as no-one has a clue who will come out on top. Inside BTCC: You have to be impartial but is there one thing you are looking forward to more than anything else this season? Alan Gow: It’s the same every year. All I want to see is good close racing and who comes out on top at the end of the year is immaterial to me. Whether it is Matt Neal, Jason Plato or Liam Griffin, I don’t care who wins the championship as whoever does win it will be a worthy champion. Good close racing is what I want to see; it’s what anyone wants. Inside BTCC: TV is a big part of the BTCC so how pleased does the new deal with ITV make you? Inside BTCC
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Alan Gow: I’m over the moon. We still have a year to run on our contract and normally, we wouldn’t have started to discuss things until later this year, But ITV were keen to get it done which shows their commitment and we did the deal recently to guarantee coverage to the same level we have now through to 2017. That provides a great foundation for the teams, sponsors and supporters. It is by far the biggest TV deal in British domestic racing and its great for ITV to have shown their support for three more years. Inside BTCC: Do you think we would see the grid we have, and see sponsors like Tesco and eBay involved, if we didn’t have that TV deal? Alan Gow: Of course not. Motorsport at this level lives and dies by the reach it has. You Inside BTCC
can’t rely just on spectator numbers, so that fact we reach out to millions on TV both in the UK and elsewhere is vital. Without a strong TV package, teams wouldn’t be able to sell themselves as well to their sponsors. Inside BTCC: Going back to the racing, there is the new soft tyre this season. What was the thinking behind that as there have been fans who have suggested it is a gimmick that isn’t needed. Alan Gow: Well they do it in Formula One and it isn’t seen as a gimmick there. F1 does the same by making drivers use different compounds in a race and that is all we are saying – except our drivers will run it in a full race because we have three in a day. It is a genuine strategic decision they have to take and the beauty of it is that they have to make the
decision before qualifying so they can’t use the tyre to make up for a bad qualifying session. Noone will know what the others are using until they leave the pits and it’ll be fascinating to watch. There will be be the hare and the rabbit in the race and it’ll be great. Our racing doesn’t need spicing up but it adds another element. Inside BTCC: So there is a 32 car grid which is the capacity, but there are teams that have cars that aren’t on the entry. AmD for example have a Ford Focus and are looking at the NGTC Astra. If a team does have a car that isn’t entered, where do we stand with it getting on the grid? Alan Gow: Well AmD, for example, are talking about the NGTC Astra and that would replace the car they have. There are no more entries and no more positions unless a team withdraws
from the season, so if AmD brought out the Astra, they could replace the Golf entry. There are some cars and drivers around where people are trying to put programmes together, but we cant accommodate them. We said 32 was the cut-off and that if you weren’t registered, then that was it. The only time we can do it is if a team withdraws from the championship. Inside BTCC: So we’d never have 35 cars turning up and only 32 being able to qualify… Alan Gow: No, and neither would we have a race where only 29 cars turn up, so we would draft in another three to fill the gaps. Unless a team withdraws its season long entry, I can’t add to the entry.
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Inside BTCC
THE MOST PROFESSIONAL AMATEURS
Inside BTCC speaks to the National Chairman of the British Motorsport Marshals Club to get an insight into life in orange... Inside BTCC 10
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BY MATT SALISBURY Those that follow Inside BTCC on Twitter or who like us on Facebook will no doubt recall that back in February on a cold and miserable Sunday, we headed to Oulton Park to join the Northern brand of the British Motorsport Marshals Club for one of its training days. Going along on the day gave us the opportunity to see some of the work that goes on ‘behind the scenes’ to help the boys and girls in orange who help to ensure that motorsport in the UK goes on as it does, with their involvement being crucial to ensuring that circuits around the country are busy week in, week out with top quality racing action. Over the course of the 2013 season, Inside BTCC will be running a range of regular features on marshals and marshaling, looking behind the scenes at some of the jobs that they carry out. In the first feature, we took the chance to speak with National Chairman Chris Hobson about how he became involved in marshaling and to see how things have changed over the course of his 45 years in orange…
Inside BTCC: Chris, what does your role entail? Chris Hobson: Anything and everything! I’m a marshal like everyone else but I also act as an MSA steward and try to visit as many circuits and venues as I can to see how they carry out their marshaling. Inside BTCC: How did you get into it in the first place and how long have you now been a marshal for? Chris Hobson: I went to a motor show in Leeds in 1968 and saw a stand with some marshals on asking if people wanted to get involved. I thought it looked interesting and a week later, I was marshaling. I’ve been doing it ever since, so a good 45 years now. Inside BTCC: What have been the biggest changes to marshaling that you have seen over the years? Chris Hobson: The safety aspect has
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Chris Hobson (right) changed out of all recognition. When I first started – and there are embarrassing photos to prove it – I was marshaling in shorts and t-shirt and that wouldn’t be allowed now because we all wear protective clothing. The use of barriers and the way in which barriers have come along is phenomenal, as is the way in which cars and circuits have been redesigned to emphasise the safety aspect of thing. The whole point is that everything interacts for improved safety and the way we marshal now is a lot different. We are training people better now. When I started, there was no training and no grading scheme; there was no progression through marshaling, it all came down to who you knew. Now we have the grading and training scheme, which was invented by the marshals club and then passed on to the MSA. Inside BTCC: Marshals get involved because they want to be involved, not for the payment. But the introduction of training and grading schemes makes it all appear more professional than it was
in the past… Chris Hobson: Absolutely. We are the most professional amateurs that there are in the world. All of our people are volunteers, no-one gets paid for marshaling with very few exceptions. While there is no payment, we wanted to look at the work that marshals do and then give them the best training possible so that whatever happens, they can deal with it. Inside BTCC: Is it an indication of the way in which British marshals are viewed that we see so many going abroad to work on events like the Abu Dhabi GP? Is that a sign that British marshals are seen as the best in the world? Chris Hobson: We are, and that isn’t me being big headed. We have had that reputation for many years because to be honest, we were the first country that really started to formalise the way that we trained and graded the marshals. We’ve exported that to a lot of other countries and we now have marshals who go abroad to carry out training. Inside BTCC 11
The Motor Sport Association is now a regional training provider to the other worldwide associations and late last year, I was asked to go out to Madagascar of all places to do some training out there. We have marshals going out training people all over the world. Inside BTCC: There is more and more racing at all levels going on around the UK and its vital to get marshals involved to keep that racing going. How important have you found initiatives like Team Wilson at BTCC events in bringing in fresh blood? Chris Hobson: Peter Wilson’s initiative has been fantastic. As the marshals club, we wanted to start recruiting and Peter volunteered to run some recruitment stands and that has blossomed, so Team Wilson are now at all the BTCC rounds and at other events as well. We have so much motorsport in this country and could have four or five events on in one weekend. Without the marshals, there would be no motorsport, but if I told Inside BTCC 12
you that the average age of marshals in this country is 58, it’s quite scary.
a bit.
We are all getting older and I look around and I see marshals who have been around for a lot of years. We have to bring the new blood in but the trouble is that people have a different idea now of what they expect from their leisure time. The idea of standing on a bank from 8am until 6pm doesn’t appeal to the younger people as much and they are the kind of people who we need to attract.
Is there also an element of the fact that 20 years ago, people would have worked Monday to Friday, 9-5 whereas now they are expected to work on a weekend?
That is why we are now going into schools and colleges to try and encourage people, and it is why we have the cadet scheme for youngsters. Before that, we never had marshals below 18-20 years old and now we are recruiting people from age eleven upwards who can work in the paddock and can act as things like race control runners. We are encouraging youngsters to get involved in the hope that they will want to stay onboard through their teenage years. Perhaps we will lose people as they start to have a family, but they will come back then when their own children have grown up
Inside BTCC:
Chris Hobson: It’s not had a great effect to be honest. We do find it difficult when you have a three-day meeting and need marshals on a Friday – it can be quite worrying as you have to make sure there is the cover on a Friday. Saturday and Sunday tend to be okay. But we did get to the stage in the past where we had to cancel events because we didn’t have enough marshals. We have to have the right numbers for safety reasons and that is what made people really wake up and led to us starting to recruit more. I’m happy to say that the numbers have gone up and we do have a fairly good supply. However, by no means do we have an over-supply and there are a lot of meetings that are still scrabbling for marshals.
If you are a BTCC fan, you can speak to Team Wilson about becoming involved, but how else can people get information about signing up as a marshal? Chris Hobson: Go onto the website, www. marshals.co.uk, and there is a page where you can put in your details and we will contact you. What we do is arrange a taster day where we will bring you along to a circuit to a meeting. You’ll arrive in the morning, get an explanation about the different elements of marshaling and walk around the circuit seeing what jobs people are doing. We then allocate those people to a post and they can see what is going on. If people want to carry on, we give them the forms to apply to the MSA and we will start their training. We’ll give them a personal record card to use and collect signatures on as they improve their training. We’ll provide that training – free of charge – and we’ll do assessment days to see how they are getting along.
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Inside BTCC 13
EBAY JOINS NGTC PARTY
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West Surrey Racing joins its frontrunning rivals in making a switch to NGTC-spec machinery for 2013 – with hopes high of success...
Inside BTCC 14
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BY MATT SALISBURY Having been working behind the scenes for many months evaluating the NGTC concept, West Surrey Racing join the ‘Next Generation’ brigade for the 2013 season; becoming the last of the ‘big’ teams to confirm that they would run a car built to the new regulations. The team’s decision to replace the ageing S2000spec BMW 320si came as no surprise, with it having quickly become apparent last year that the team would have to run an NGTC car if it wanted to have a chance of fighting for championship honours. Initial work on the team’s first NGTC machine actually started mid-way through last year, with WSR’s engineering team taking a detailed look at the concept to help determine what would be the best move for the team if it were to push ahead with an NGTC programme. It was already common knowledge that the team’s favoured choice was to www.insidebtcc.com
run a BMW, as it had done since 2007, although many expected the team to continue running a variant of the 3 Series; the decision to instead switch to the smaller 1 Series being seen as something of a surprise as a result. Again running under the eBay Motors banner for 2013 - and having resigned Colin Turkington to partner Rob Collard and Nick Foster – hopes of high of a successful season, even though the team heads to the first round of the year at Brands Hatch with only limited running thanks to a combination of delays during the build and the weather, which has affected pre-season testing plans for teams up and down the grid. “Even though we started looking at roll cage design back in July/August time, we didn’t start working on the car properly until November when we got the green light from eBay and had confidence that we could raise the money to do it properly,” team boss
Dick Bennetts explained of the progress made by the team over the winter. “It has been hectic and will continue to be right up to the first race.
on track. The second car debuted on Media Day and the third car will be complete on the Thursday before Brands Hatch, so we are ready for a challenge.”
“It’s not been easy to get here, but designing a car for the first time in ten years has been a lot different than it was in the past. The last time we did it, we had 35 people working on the car and had works MG Rover money, whereas this time around we have been doing it with a skeleton staff of between something like seven and eight up to twelve. That makes it more difficult, but everything is driven by finance.
Part of the early evaluation work carried out by the team was undertaken to fully determine whether building a rear-wheel drive NGTC machine would even be feasible, with the only other RWD car built to the rules – the Rob Austin Racing Audi – have been built despite that the fact that the Next Generation Touring Car kit was designed for a front-wheel drive machine.
“It took time to get the car scanned to give us CAD data and then do things like the drawings and models, and then we have had delays with some of the parts along the way. It’s frustrating that we are a little behind schedule but we had some targets along the way and we have hit some of those, like getting a car on the four post rig and getting the first car
The introduction of a new kit – also being used by RAR – allowed the team to push ahead with its plans, with Bennetts admitting that it working out how to make a competitive rear-wheel drive car had been one of the biggest challenges faced along the way. “The biggest challenge we have faced was how to make it a competitive rearInside BTCC 15
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wheel drive car as all of the cars have been front-wheel drive apart from the Audi,” he said. “However, that was built early on and I can safely say that I have lot more respect for Rob Austin having now seen what he has been driving for the past few years. “He has now opted for the same option as us with is the Mark II rear-wheel drive kit and the fact is that we wouldn’t have built the BMW with the earlier kit as that isn’t how a rear-wheel drive car should work. The fact that that 1 Series has a short overhang means we couldn’t have made it like the Audi anyway, as the engine wouldn’t have fit in the position it would have had to be in.” While none of the three drivers signed to race with the team this season have experience of running in NGTC machinery, something Bennetts admits will be ‘tough’, all three will benefit from the experience of Kevin Berry, who joins WSR from Triple Eight where he worked on the race-winning Inside BTCC 16
MG6 GT last year.
new machine.
The knowledge he could bring is seen within WSR as key to its chances of success with the 1 Series, with Turkington – the man who won the 2009 title with the team – under no illusions of how important he could prove to be.
“The important thing for us is to get comfortable in the new car,” he said. “It takes time to get the maximum from any car and I had three seasons in the old BMW before I won the championship in it. It will be hard to come out of the box at 100 per cent, but if I feel comfortable driving the car then we can really push on with the development.
“For me, Kevin has been the signing of the season,” he said. “There has been a lot of hype around me returning to the championship, but I think Kevin signing with WSR is bigger news. He brings year of experience from working on the MG along with his other projects and he will be able to give us a good direction alongside the other engineers. He is going to be a huge asset.” When he hits the track at Brands Hatch for the opening round of the year, Turkington will be competing in the BTCC for the first time since wrapping up his championship title at the same venue, with the 31-year-old hoping for a solid start to life with his
“I go into Brands Hatch feeling open minded as you only have to look at what happened with Jason Plato and the MG last year. The opposition have moved forwards, but this isn’t like developing a new S2000 car as the NGTC BMW has components that we are already familiar with. Of course we can’t predict where we will be, but I’d be disappointed if we weren’t in the top half of the top ten.” Team-mate’s Foster and Collard will also hope to impress during the year ahead, with Collard in particular under no illusions
about the potential there is with the new car. “I believe this car can give us an equal playing field to fight on,” he said. “Quite often last year we got done under braking and as the races went on, the tyre degradation on the S2000 cars was also worse than for the NGTC cars. Tyre wear was a major issue, especially in the wet, but with the NGTC car it will be a lot fairer to race and will give me the best opportunity that I have had for years. “I think getting a podium at Brands will be a tough call and you have to look at cars like the Hondas, MGs and Toyotas that have been out there and have done a lot of laps. It will be tough but I have faith in WSR to develop a good car and I do believe we can be in the top ten. If we can get into the top five of six, I’ll be very pleased.”
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Inside BTCC 17
MOTORBASE SEEKS TO ‘KICK IT UP A GEAR’
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Expanded four-car line-up and return of former title sponsor shows a sign of intent from Ford team heading into 2013...
Inside BTCC 18
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WORDS: MATT SALISBURY PHOTOS: PSP IMAGES The Motorbase team has high hopes for success in the 2013 BTCC season having revealed its expanded programme for the year ahead. David Bartrum’s squad will field no fewer than three NGTC-spec Ford Focus models in 2013, with Mat Jackson and Aron Smith returning to lead the team’s challenge – now back under the Airwaves Racing banner after a title sponsorship agreement was confirmed with Wrigley’s Airwaves. Alongside them, Michael Caine is set to make his return to the championship in a third NGTC-spec car that will run alongside the S2000 Ford of Liam Griffin in Motorbase’s ‘second team’, which will run under the Addison Lee Motorbase banner. The expanded line-up marks the next step for the Wrotham-based team, which became a constructor for the first www.insidebtcc.com
time last year when it rolled out the NGTC Focus for a surprise debut at Snetterton. The car went on to become a race winner before the year was out despite the second half of the 2012 campaign becoming little more than a hugely public testing programme, as the team focused on gaining as much information as it could ahead of the 2013 season. The new look Ford – complete with its striking Airwaves Racing livery – was revealed in a series of events earlier this month and is expected to be one of the frontrunning machines when the real action kicks off at Brands Hatch. That is when Motorbase expects to fully see the benefit of the running it completed with the NGTC-spec car last year, as it seeks to take the challenge to the likes of Honda and MG during the
year ahead. “I think the benefit of those five rounds is going to be massive,” team boss Bartrum told Inside BTCC. “Even though they are a good team and have a good car, I wouldn’t want to be where WSR [eBay Motors] are now; just starting out with a new NGTC car.
that teams can now do their cars in an attempt to find more performance and make improvements, Bartrum added that he was sure that the Focus that hits the track at Brands Hatch will be much improved over the one that raced on the longer Grand Prix layout in the final meeting of 2012.
“If you look at the other major players like Dynamics, Triple Eight, Pirtek and us, we all have some inside knowledge of NGTC cars and I think our decision to switch at Snetterton last year will really pay off. As you know, I was unsure about it at the time because of the financial commitment that was involved but the whole team was fantastic to make it happen. Richard Townsend in particular put a lot of work into it all, and we are now going to benefit from it.”
“When we finished last season, I said to David Potter our engineer, ‘Where are with this car David?’ and he replied that we were probably at about 70 per cent,” he said. “We then did various tests and some rig work which revealed a number of things, and he then pulled me to once side and said we were actually closer to 50 per cent there and gave me a list of things we could do. We’ve worked on those things over the winter and now we need to see what the end result of that work is.
While the nature of the NGTC regulations means there is only so much
“The fact we have an unchanged driver lineup is also a luxury that Inside BTCC 19
I haven’t had before at this level. We unearthed a real talent in Aron last year and although he had a tough start, the kick up the arse he got from Jason [Plato] really helped him. From that point onwards, he just seemed to get on with it and got quicker and quicker. He won his first race and it puts him on solid ground for this year. “As for Mat, he needs no introduction. He’s a proven race winner who we know will be in the mix, and we are lucky to have two drivers who work so well together.” While young Irish racer Smith is expected to challenge for further wins over the course of the year, it is Jackson who is seen as Motorbase’s best hope when it comes to the title as he heads into his seventh season in the championship – discounting his year in the Production Class back in 2001. Amongst the class of Inside BTCC 20
2013, only Jason Plato, Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden have won more races than the 31-yearold and having previously finished as runner-up, there is little doubt on his target for the year ahead. “We sacrificed our season last year, knowing that we could get a jump for 2013,” he says. “The date and information we collected last year has put us in good shape for what is to come. “It was a worthwhile decision to take because in our eyes, there is no
better way to go testing than with the guys we are racing against in the championship – and racing was the only way for us to do that last year because of the testing ban. It wasn’t always ideal and there were times when we faced mechanical issues, but lap-times don’t lie and we knew we had to produce. “If we’d gone off testing on our own, we wouldn’t have known where we were compared to our rivals. The fact we got some good results and took a victory was the
icing on the cake. “Of course, the BTCC never stands still and the likes of Triple Eight and Dynamics will have made gains in the same way we have. We need to see where we stand when we get to Brands Hatch but the boys in the team have worked so hard to produce the car and I’m sure we can use it to get the results on track.” When the season gets underway at Brands Hatch, the two Airwaves cars will be joined by Griffin’s S2000-spec Focus – complete in its own, striking, black Addison Lee livery. The fact that Griffin will be on track at all comes as something of a surprise given he had previously announced he would retire from the championship after a difficult 2012 season, which featured a heavy crash at Croft that would ultimately prove to the catalyst for Motorbase bringing forward its NGTC www.insidebtcc.com
plans. The introduction of the Jack Sears Trophy for those drivers running S2000 machines was however enough to persuade Griffin to return, with his programme being overseen by Andrew Dean – who helped to run Dave Newsham to two wins with ES Racing last year. “This is such a hard championship to leave,” Griffin admits. “Motorsport in general is hard to leave and I had a look around in the off season as I still wanted to do something but when I weighed it up, it was just too hard to talk away. For me, a lot of the fun on a race weekend comes off the circuit and I enjoy being part of the team and being in the paddock. The Jack Sears Trophy coming along was at the right moment for me. “There is a lot of pressure being in a car with sponsors that you have a commitment to and I www.insidebtcc.com
don’t have that this year. I’m not being measured against the front boys any more and there’ll be half a dozen S2000 cars out there for me to race against on the grid. It’s given people like me something to race for whereas previously, we wouldn’t have been able to consider getting on the podium to pick up a trophy.” Griffin’s return to the grid this season will also provide him with the opportunity to show he is worthy of a place in the field following criticism
from some quarters of his involvement in the past – criticism he feels is far from fair. “At the end of the day, the championship needs support,” he says. “Not many of the drivers are paid drivers and the teams need to have cars on the grid; it’s what the fans want to see. “There has been criticism of some drivers, myself included, being on the grid and I have always said that that is unfair. The support I have brought to the team has helped
them to develop and it’s been the same for other drivers as well. They have brought money to help teams evolve and develop, and to help teams to develop their NGTC-spec cars. “Last year, what happened at Croft and then missing three rounds allowed the team to build up the NGTC car and sometimes these things are lost on people. The Jack Sears Trophy had created a way for the person who wants to be on the grid, and who can contribute to teams and to the championship, to be there and to compete for something on track.” While Jackson, Smith and Griffin will all start their seasons at Brands Hatch, Caine – who is set to defend his British GT Championship title with the team this season - is slated to join the field at Donington Park.
Inside BTCC 21
MG ‘NOT SEEKING TO REINVENT THE WHEEL’
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Triple Eight-run team eager to challenge for the 2013 championship crown with newlook driver line-up...
Inside BTCC 22
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While much has been said about the likes of Airwaves Racing and eBay Motors during the off-season, the Triple Eight-run MG KX Momentum Racing team has stayed away from the headlines as it works towards the start of its second season in the BTCC. Last year, the team came close to lifting the drivers title with Jason Plato despite a mixed campaign with the MG6 GT that saw him win six times and take pole position at half the meetings, but also saw him fail to start a number of races after component failures that were nothing to do with the team forced him out before the action even got underway. Having only finished the cars shortly before the team 2012 season opener, and with only limited testing during the team, the team readily admitted at the end of last year that there was still plenty to be unlocked in the car, with team boss Ian Harrison stating that he felt the team was ‘only 30 per cent’ there with the car. Over the course of the www.insidebtcc.com
winter, the team has worked to try and unlock more of the potential within the MG although, like a number of its rivals, the poor weather conditions that have hit the UK in recent months haven’t helped with preparations for 2013 as Plato and new team-mate Sam Tordoff seek to put as many miles on the car as possible.
have now, and hope it is enough. Until then, I really don’t know.”
“The car is a development of the one that we used last year and the way NGTC is, you aren’t going to reinvent the wheel every season,” Harrison said. “You have to develop what you have, which is what we have been doing over the winter. We have been hampered a lot by the weather, which is a shame for Sam in particular as he could do with more chance to drive the car in the dry.
The 23-year-old has some touring car experience having taken part in a single round with Triple Eight back in 2010, and Harrison said he felt the youngster would be a strong addition to the team this year – and would benefit from running alongside double champion Plato, who starts the season amongst the favourites for the title.
“It’s all about developing what you have already and working to improve it. It’s impossible to sat where we stand until we get to the first qualifying session because you don’t know what people are doing in testing. All we can do it look at what we had last year and, compare it to what we
Hopes are high within the team of a strong season from newcomer Tordoff, who steps into the BTCC for his maiden campaign on the back of a solid season in the supporting Porsche Carrera Cup last year.
“Sam is a young lad with good potential and has a good attitude and approach,” Harrison continued. “He is very professional and just needs to get his head around the car but he won’t get a lot of pressure from me and the team, the pressure will come from him.
Brands Hatch in the Vectra, he was quick but in the BTCC, you need to learn to race the car quickly and do it over a race distance – it isn’t just about being quick over one lap. You need to learn the tyres, learn the car and learn who you are racing against. There are people who will give you room and others who can’t as they don’t have the talent, so he has to learn that. “Having Jason onboard as his team-mate will be very important for him, and it gives us hope of being there or thereabouts every weekend. Last year we had four DNS, which was crucial at the end of the year. In this game, you have to be finishing races and scoring points every time, as we proved in 2011 with James Nash. “We suffered last year with mechanical hiccups which is something we have worked to solve over the winter. Now we have to be more consistent in the year ahead.”
“When he drove for us at Inside BTCC 23
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Inside BTCC 24
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Inside BTCC 25
BTCC 2013
THE ENTRY LIST Jakob Ebrey
No. Driver
Team
Car
Spec
M/I
1
Gordon Shedden
Honda Yuasa Racing Team
Honda Civic
NGTC
M
2
Matt Neal
Honda Yuasa Racing Team
Honda Civic
NGTC
M
4
Michael Caine
Addison Lee Motorbase
Ford Focus
NGTC
I
5
Rob Collard
eBay Motors
BMW 125i M Sport
NGTC
I
6
Tom Onslow-Cole
PPCGB.com/Kraftwerk Racing
Volkswagen Passat CC
NGTC
I
7
Mat Jackson
Airwaves Racing
Ford Focus
NGTC
I
8
Aron Smith
Airwaves Racing
Ford Focus
NGTC
I
10
Daniel Welch
Welch Motorsport w/ Sopp + Sopp
Proton Gen-2
NGTC
I
11
Frank Wrathall
Dynojet
Toyota Avensis
NGTC
I
12
David Nye
Welch Motorsport w/ Sopp + Sopp
Ford Focus
S2000
I
13
Rob Austin
WIX Racing
Audi A4
NGTC
I
14
Will Bratt
WIX Racing
Audi A4
NGTC
I
15
James Kaye
AmDTuning.com
Volkswagen Golf
S2000
I
17
Dave Newsham
Speedworks Motorsport
Toyota Avensis
NGTC
I
18
Nick Foster
eBay Motors
BMW 125i M Sport
NGTC
I
20
James Cole
RCIB Insurance Racing
Vauxhall Insignia
NGTC
I
22
Howard Fuller
PPBGB.com/Kraftwerk Racing
Volkswagen Passat CC
NGTC
I
28
Chris Stockton
BTC Racing
Chevrolet Cruze
NGTC
I
29
Colin Turkington
eBay Motors
BMW 125i M Sport
NGTC
I
31
Jack Goff
RCIB Insurance Racing
Vauxhall Insignia
NGTC
I
33
Adam Morgan
Ciceley Racing
Toyota Avensis
NGTC
I
39
Warren Scott
Team BMR Restart
SEAT Leon
S2000
I
43
Lea Wood
Wheel Heaven/Houseman Racing
Vauxhall Vectra
S2000
I
44
Andy Neate
Team Club 44
Chevrolet Cruze
NGTC
I
48
Oliver Jackson
Speedworks Motorsport
Toyota Avensis
NGTC
I
55
Jeff Smith
Pirtek Racing
Honda Civic
NGTC
I
66
Liam Griffin
Addison Lee Motorbase
Ford Focus
S2000
I
77
Andrew Jordan
Pirtek Racing
Honda Civic
NGTC
I
88
Sam Tordoff
MG KX Momentum Racing
MG 6
NGTC
M
90
Joe Girling
M247 Racing
Chevrolet Cruze
S2000
I
99
Jason Plato
MG KX Momentum Racing
MG 6
NGTC
M
Team Club 44
Chevrolet Cruze
NGTC
I
TBC TBC
Inside BTCC 26
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INSIDE BTCC’S GUIDE TO THE 2013 BTCC SEASON
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HERE’S YOUR GUIDE TO THE STARS OF THE 2013 DUNLOP MSA BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP...
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Inside BTCC 27
#1 GORDON SHEDDEN
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HONDA YUASA RACING 2012 BTCC CHAMPION
“The Honda Civic was absolutely superb last year and I know we’ve spent the guts of the winter working really hard to try and improve it. There are a lot of new cars on the grid, but I fully intend to be right up at the sharp end.” Inside BTCC 28
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#2 MATT NEAL
HONDA YUASA RACING
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TRIPLE BTCC CHAMPION
“I want the title back. I’ve told Flash he’s got it for one year on loan. We’ve done a lot of work over the winter, but you never quite know what’s going to come at you. It will be interesting to see what happens when we start racing.” www.insidebtcc.com
Inside BTCC 29
#4 MICHAEL ADDISON LEE MOTORBASE
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CAINE
Caine is entered in Motorbase Performance’s third NGTCspec Ford Focus, under the ‘Addison Lee Motorbase’ banner, alongside Liam Griffin. The car will join the grid later in the season. Inside BTCC 30
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#5 ROB
COLLARD
EBAY MOTORS
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FORMER INDY CHAMPION
“I think we’re in good shape to push for a top three championship finish with the new car. The 1 Series will be a good car and we know how strong the engine is from last year and there is no reason why we cant expect to impress when the real action gets underway. We have three drivers who work together well and that will be key to developing the car and pushing it on.” www.insidebtcc.com
Inside BTCC 31
#6 TOM
ONSLOW-COLE PPCGB.COM KRAFTWERK RACING
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2006 CLIO CUP CHAMPION
“I’ll always give 110 per cent behind the wheel no matter how competitive we are to start with, but the build of the car has gone well and the team has done a lovely job with it. I think we’ll be reliable out of the box and we have engineered a car that will be a good starting point, and it is down to me to get the performance from it. It’s difficult to predict where we’ll be and we might go to Brands and pull something out of the bag rightaway – we just need to wait and see.” Inside BTCC 32
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#7 MAT
JACKSON
AIRWAVES RACING
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2006 SEAT CUPRA CHAMPION
“We sacrificed the second half of last year knowing that it could get us the jump for 2013 and the data and information we gathered puts us in a good position for what is to come. The boys have worked hard to produce a good car, and I’m sure that we can produce the results on track.” www.insidebtcc.com
Inside BTCC 33
#8 ARON SMITH
AIRWAVES RACING
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DEBUT SEASON RACE WINNER
“I got the monkey off my back last year with the first win and now I’ve stepped up to the ‘big car’, so to speak, with the NGTC Ford Focus. It’s time to try and make a bigger name for myself and see what I can do.” Inside BTCC 34
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#10 DANIEL
WELCH WELCH
MOTORSPORT WITH SOPP + SOPP
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15TH IN 2012 BTCC
“I’m hoping that the new season will be much better than last year and getting onto the podium in 2013 has got to be our aim. We came close last year and have to take a step forward towards the podium. If we were able to get a win, then it would be awesome.” www.insidebtcc.com
Inside BTCC 35
#11 FRANK
WRATHALL
DYNOJET
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2010 GINETTA G50 CHAMPION
“I’m under no illusions how difficult it was to win at Brands Hatch last year and I know how tough it is to get into the podium in the BTCC. We don’t expect instant success but I’m calm and relaxed about the season ahead. I’m happy that we have a good car and will be capable of running towards the front during 2013.” Inside BTCC 36
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#12 DAVID
NYE
WELCH MOTORSPORT WITH SOPP + SOPP
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BTCC DEBUTANT
“My aim is to win the Jack Sears Trophy. I’ve always wanted to race in the BTCC and for a driver like me, this is as good as it gets. The competition has a lot of experience and I don’t underestimate the challenge, but the car feels good and I just need to find my feet and get up to speed.” www.insidebtcc.com
Inside BTCC 37
#13 ROB
AUSTIN
WIX RACING
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FILM STAR
“I feel really good about the season ahead. We could do with some wet track time to see how we perform in those conditions, but I think we are going to have a quick car. We’ve not shown our hand yet and when you consider that fact, I’m really pleased with what we’ve done so far. You never know what people are doing in testing, so we’ll see where we stand when we get to Brands Hatch.” Inside BTCC 38
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#14 WILL BRATT
WIX RACING
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SINGLE SEATER CONVERT
“I think it should be a good season and we just need to get stuck in. Last year, where didn’t have the chance to go and test things on the car but we have made changes for 2013 and have been able to get out on track so I think we are starting 2013 ahead of the game.” www.insidebtcc.com
Inside BTCC 39
#15 JAMES
KAYE
AMD TUNING .COM
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2002 PRODUCTION CLASS CHAMPION
“The team has done an exceptionally good job with the car. Everything has been done properly and I feel confident about the season ahead. My first run in the car went well and I think there is more to come, so it’s been a good start. The Jack Sears Trophy is my aim, but we have to wait and see what happens when we get to Brands Hatch and not get too carried away.” Inside BTCC 40
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#17 DAVE
NEWSHAM
SPEEDWORKS MOTORSPORT
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2010 CLIO CUP CHAMPION
“2012 was great. I just clicked with the car and we made good progress. We’ve been out to Portimao over the winter for testing and the Avensis is sorted. I can’t wait to get going.” www.insidebtcc.com
Inside BTCC 41
#18 NICK
FOSTER
EBAY MOTORS
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ROOKIE TURNED RACER
“I’ve come into touring cars with realistic ambitions and this year I want to raise the bar. I hope that will happen naturally with the package we have but I want to raise my game and go for it a bit more. In previous seasons I have played the safe card sometimes but I need to push a bit more. My goal is to finish in the top ten in the standings and I would like some podium finishes along the way.”
Inside BTCC 42
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#20 JAMES
COLE
RCIB INSURANCE RACING
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2009 F.FORD CHAMPION
“There’s going to be an element of damage limitation to start with and my initial focus has to be on finishing the races as the season is long and there is nothing to be gained from sitting on the sidelines after retiring. If the car is quick, then I will be too and as a team, we are all working hard to make sure that we have a package that will allow us to run towards the front.”
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Inside BTCC 43
#22 HOWARD
FULLER
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PPCGB.COM KRAFTWERK RACING
“It’s great to be back racing in British Touring Cars and in the new NGTC car. I’m really looking forward to the new team this year with a very competitive team, and as you can imagine, very competitive drivers.” Inside BTCC 44
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#28 CHRIS
STOCKTON
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BTC RACING
Stockton’s BTC Racing team is building its own NGTC-spec Chevrolet Cruze, which it hopes to race later in the season.
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Inside BTCC 45
#29 COLIN
TURKINGTON EBAY MOTORS
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2009 BTCC CHAMPION
“The opposition have moved forwards, but this isn’t like developing a new S2000 car as the NGTC BMW has components that we are already familiar with. Of course we can’t predict where we will be, but I’d be disappointed if we weren’t in the top half of the top ten [at Brands Hatch].” Inside BTCC 46
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#31 JACK
GOFF
RCIB INSURANCE RACING
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2012 CLIO CUP CHAMPION
“I’m ambitious but also realistic about the season ahead. We have a lot of development to do on the Insignia but the team has worked really hard on the car over the winter to improve it. The first half of the year will be all about making sure we are reliable and competitive and then we can push on to get the results that the team deserves.” www.insidebtcc.com
Inside BTCC 47
#33 ADAM
MORGAN
CICELEY RACING
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2011 GINETTA G55 CHAMPION
“The main aim has to be consistency this season. I believe that I have the pace and that the car has the pace, and it’s great for me to have Paul Ridgway involved to help engineer the car. We’ve got a good team behind us and I need to get rid of the some of the DNFs that we suffered last year and turn them into results.” Inside BTCC 48
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#39 WARREN
SCOTT
TEAM BMR RESTART
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BIKER TURNED BTCC RACER
“The BTCC reminds me of the kind of excitement I had when racing on bikes. It’s a big jump from the Lotus Cup and there have been some issues we have faced in testing so far, but the car feels good. We’ve got to just get to Brands Hatch, see what happens and see where we end up.” www.insidebtcc.com
Inside BTCC 49
#43 LEA
WOOD
WHEEL HEAVEN / HOUSEMAN RACING
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S2000 STALWART
“It’s fantastic to have enough loyal sponsors to run again. We were only going to do it if we could do it properly – I know the car and the circuits inside out so we’re aiming to win the [Jack Sears] trophy.” Inside BTCC 50
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#44 ANDY
NEATE
TEAM CLUB 44
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DETERMINED RACER
Neate has set up his own IP Tech Race Engineering team for 2013, and is aiming to field a pair of self-built Chevrolets later in the season.
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Inside BTCC 51
#48 OLLIE
JACKSON
SPEEDWORKS MOTORSPORT
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2010 PORSCHE PRO-AM1 CHAMPION
“Speedworks approached when news broke that James Kaye was in the Golf and the whole deal has come together really quickly. It was great last year with AmD to have the whole team around me and I was able to learn a lot, but this season I’ll be able to benefit from having Dave as a team-mate – he is the benchmark I need to measure myself against. I aim to be more competitive this year and it would be great to be inside the top ten.” Inside BTCC 52
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#55 JEFF PIRTEK RACING 2012 PODIUM FINISHER
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SMITH
“Getting my first podium at Knockhill last year was brilliant. It would be great to get more of the same. We’ve made progress with the car over the winter and there’s no reason why we can’t be up there!” www.insidebtcc.com
Inside BTCC 53
#66 LIAM
GRIFFIN
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ADDISON LEE MOTORBASE SEARS TROPHY CHARGER
“Although I retired from the BTCC at the end of 2012, this is a difficult championship to leave and the Jack Sears Trophy came along at the right time for me. There is no denying that last year was a hard year for me but time is a great healer and I’m glad to be back.” Inside BTCC 54
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#77 ANDREW
JORDAN
PIRTEK RACING
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TITLE CONTENDER
“I’m really excited about the season ahead. Testing has gone well and we are hoping to build on what was a very good 2012 season. We want to start well in what is a big year for us and I want to go out there and try and make a bid for the title. I’m really up for the challenge of the year ahead but I’m under no illusions of how hard it will be.” www.insidebtcc.com
Inside BTCC 55
#88 SAM
TORDOFF
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MG KX MOMENTUM RACING FIRST FULL SEASON
“I’m in the perfect position really. I’m with a fantastic team in Triple Eight, the MG is a fantastic car, and then I’ve got Jason [Plato] as a teammate. There are no excuses for not being right up there this year.” Inside BTCC 56
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#90 JOE
GIRLING
M247 RACING
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BTCC DEBUTANT
“It’s a big step for me but I’m hoping that we can do well in the Jack Sears Trophy and my target is to go for wins amongst the S2000 cars. The first thing to do is to make sure I keep the car in once piece and on track as I’ll not be able to learn if I’m sitting on the sidelines, and then see what happens.” www.insidebtcc.com
Inside BTCC 57
#99 JASON
PLATO
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MG KX MOMENTUM RACING DOUBLE BTCC CHAMPION
“It’s going to be a very competitive year. Honda will have improved over the winter. We’ve got the new BMWs with WSR and the eBay team. We’ve also got the Ford Focuses with Motorbase and there’s a whole host of other cars. But I’d be surprised if it’s not the usual suspects knocking lumps out of each other at the front.” Inside BTCC 58
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Inside BTCC 59
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30-31 March, Brands Hatch Indy 20-21 April, Donington Park National 4-5 May, Thruxton 8-9 June, Oulton Park Island 22-23 June, Croft 3-4 August, Snetterton 300 24-25 August, Knockhill 14-15 September, Rockingham 28-29 September, Silverstone 12-13 October, Brands Hatch GP
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Inside BTCC 61
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2012 BTCC CALENDAR
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