Inside BTCC - May 2021

THIS MONTH… • A LOOK BACK AT THE THRUXTON ACTION • CREESY TAKES ON A NEW CHALLENGE • DAN LLOYD MAKES HIS BTCC RETURN • THE 2021 CHASSIS LIST

MAY 2021 - ROUND ONE

WELCOME TO INSIDE BTCC e’re now underway and

W racing in the 2021 BTCC season, with the opening round at Thruxton having thrown up plenty of action.

Josh Cook and Ash Sutton shared the wins in Hampshire but it was Jake Hill who took early bragging rights for MB Motorsport with a hat-trick of podium finishes, ensuring that he leads the way heading into round two at Snetterton.

This edition of Inside BTCC looks back across everything that happened in the season opener from the first practice session of the weekend right through to race three,

providing you with a timely reminder of how things panned out at the fastest circuit on the calendar.

This month, we also look at the exact make-up of the grid and reveal who is driving what with the 2021 chassis guide.

Alongside the latest BTCC headlines, we caught up with Dan Lloyd to chat about his return to the series with Power Maxed Racing, and - whilst he is no longer a touring car racer - we also managed to grab hold of a busy Michael Crees to recap on how his first weekend racing in the Porsche Supercup went, and to see if

he harbours hopes of a BTCC return.

We’d love to see you check out future (or past) editions of the eMagazine and if there is something you would like to see us feature, please drop us a line through our social channels or email us on contact@insidebtcc.com and let us know.

You can also get in touch if you would be interested in sponsoring an edition of Inside BTCC in future, or would like to get involved in some other way.

his month we want to do our bit to help promote the fundraising efforts of ITV4’s Paul O’Neill and his team.

T

Last year, Paul and a group of friends - including us - cycled

more than 2000 miles to raise well over £20,000 for Halton Haven Hospice.

This year, a planned London to Paris ride has fallen victim to COVID restrictions, with plans

instead for a 125 mile, single day ride from the hospice in Runcorn to Blackpool and back.

You can donate on the link below…

WWW.JUSTGIVING.COM

Ebrey Photography J akob is a multi-award winning agency that specialises in work within the automotive and motorsport industries.

Established back in 1999 as an independent business, JEP has grown year-by-year and is now regarded as the leading national motorsport photography agency in the UK, working with an impressive

portfolio of clients that includes many major manufacturers, teams, drivers and championships.

JEP operates from a base at Silverstone in the heart of motorsport valley and employs a dedicated team of professional photographers who attend events across the globe each season; capturing the very best images to tell the

many stories that develop on track..

Part of the paddock since 1997, JEP has provided official photography for the British Touring Car Championship for a number of years.

Unless stated, any images within Inside BTCC are provided by JEP.

WWW.JAKOBEBREY.COM

NEWS IN BRIEF THE LATEST UPDATES FROM THE BTCC PADDOCK… may have marked T hruxton the start of racing for the 2021 season but there has still been some news away from the track, which we catch up on here…

KWIK FIT LAUNCHES BTCC BOARDGAME Series sponsor Kwik Fit has launched a special BTCC board game that can be downloaded by fans free of charge.

'On the Limit' provides fans with the chance to do battle as their favourite driver from the 2021 season in a three lap 'race' around the board, with a

series of special action cards that can either help or hinder each player as they look to avoid a trip to the pits.

The game can be downloaded by clicking HERE. SPECTATORS TO RETURN FOR SNETTERTON Race fans will be able to watch BTCC action in person for the first time since the 2019 season finale when the series heads to Snetterton for round two of the year.

In line with the latest change to the rules regarding large scale events, a limited number of

fans will be permitted to attend the Norfolk race meeting, with the circuit allowed to grant access to 4,000 paying spectators on each day.

Fans must book tickets in advance, with none available to buy on the day.

Although fan access will be permitted, there will be no access to 'working areas' such as the paddock.

It is expected that there will be no restrictions on crowds by the time of round three at Brands Hatch, although that remains to be seen given the current issues that are being

caused by the new Indian variant of COVID-19 that is being found in different areas of the country.

BTCC EXTENDS FIRE SAFETY DEAL Organisers of the BTCC have extended the long-standing deal with Lifeline Fire & Safety Systems until the end of the 2026 season.

The company will continue to supply its ground breaking onboard Zero 275 fire extinguisher system to all entrants in the series.

Lifeline Fire & Safety Systems has used CFD modelling in the design of the nozzle to ensure that the system - which weighs just 3.5kg - can be mounted with ease on the floor of each car.

“This undoubtedly helped us to achieve a more efficient deployment of suppressant, while reducing the amount used – all contributing to weight loss, lower centre of gravity and an elegant solution to reduce the complexity of packaging," managing director Jim Morris said.

“Our design engineers have for years worked closely with the FIA rule makers, which has enabled us to produce this advanced system which is recommended for all FIA categories but is mandatory for touring cars.”

RORY BUTCHER LAUNCHES TREE PLANTING DRIVE Rory Butcher has announced a new initiative to offset his

carbon footprint during the 2021 season.

The Speedworks driver has worked alongside commercial landscaping company the Grounds Care Group to calculate that he will need to plant at least 72 established trees at the different circuits visited by the BTCC to offset the carbon footprint generated by him travelling from his home in Kirkaldy.

Additional trees will then be planted for each podium finish that Butcher scores over the course of the season.

“As a racing driver who travels all around the country to compete, I inevitably leave a carbon footprint, and with the Grounds Care Group being all about sustainability and

biodiversity, that presented us with an opportunity," he said.

more trees for every podium finish this season.

being linked with a number of teams over the winter.

"Together, we came up with the idea of trying to offset those emissions via a cool project, to help to spread the word about the urgency of tackling what is unquestionably one of the biggest issues of our time – climate change.

“On a personal level, this is tremendously important to me.

I’ve got two kids, and I’m thinking of their future and want to help make sure the world is a better place for them as they grow up.

He will take over the car that was due to be raced by Michael Crees, and which Dan Cammish drove in a one-off outing at Thruxton after being given a late call-up.

“I used to fly to race weekends, but this year I’ll be driving to them all, so Adam [Brindle, Grounds Care Group CEO] and I calculated the carbon footprint of travelling from my home in Scotland to all BTCC races and associated events, meetings and tests, and the equivalent number of trees I will need to plant to counteract that.

"But then I decided I wanted to go even further, by factoring in

"We all have a duty to look for ways to reduce our carbon emissions and try to halt and reverse climate change."

SENNA PROCTOR SECURES BTC RACING DRIVE Senna Proctor will return to the grid for the remainder of the 2021 season after signing a deal with BTC Racing.

Proctor had been missing from the entry list this year after splitting with EXCELR8, despite

"I am over the moon to be joining BTC Racing,” he said.

“The Honda Civic Type R FK8 is a proven race-winning car so this is a fantastic opportunity for me to show what I can do.

"The first time I will drive the car will be Free Practice one at Snetterton so I am in at the deep end, but it is a challenge I look forward to.

"I don’t see any reason why we can't be fighting up the front from the off."

Cammish secured a best finish of second from the season opener and will now revert back to the Porsche Carrera Cup GB for the remainder of the season.

JESSICA HAWKINS RETURNS AT SNETTERTON W Series racer Jessica Hawkins will make an unexpected return to the grid at Snetterton after being called up by Motorbase.

Hawkins will take over at the wheel of the car usually raced

by Andy Neate after he elected to sit out the race weekend, with the 43-year-old planning to return at Brands Hatch.

Neate’s decision comes after he was subjected to widespread abuse on social media for his part in an

accident at the start of race two at Thruxton that also involved Glynn Geddie and Jade Edwards.

“Having known Andy and his family for a good few years, I received a call asking if I was available on the weekend of the next round of the BTCC," Hawkins said.

"I did not expect his response to be ‘I would quite like to sit Snetterton out, and I’d really like to put you in the car’.

Obviously, he didn’t need to ask twice!

"I am humbled to be on the receiving end of Andy’s generosity – I’ll do my best to make the Neates and the team at Motorbase proud."

“Following on from what can only be described as a bitterly

disappointing season opener at Thruxton, and more pertinently the aftermath that has followed; I have personally taken the decision to take a short sabbatical from the BTCC at Snetterton," Neate added.

"However, in avoidance of any doubt, I will be returning behind the wheel of the Motorbase Ford Focus at Brands in June."

The addition of Hawkins to the grid means two female drivers will be racing for overall points for the first time since Louise Aitken-Walker and Nettan Lindgren in 1989.

Annie Templeton and Joanna Clarke contested three events together in the Production Class in 2001, but were not able to score towards the overall championship.

JAKE IS KING OF THE HILL MIXED WEATHER AT THRUXTON PRODUCED THREE ACTION PACKED RACES AND LEFT THE FORD MAN ON TOP… Cook stole most of J osh the headlines thanks to an impressive double win at Thruxton, but it was Jake Hill who seized the early advantage as the 2021 British Touring Car Championship season burst into life.

Cook’s love affair with his home circuit was further strengthened thanks to victories in the first and second races of the weekend, although a penalty in race three prevented him from chasing a rare hat-trick.

Instead, it was Ash Sutton who was victorious for Laser Tools

Racing in the finale to salvage points from what looked like being a tough start to his title defence.

However, a hat-trick of top three finishes for Hill in changeable weather conditions ensured that the MB Motorsport man headed into the five-week gap before round two at Snetterton sitting pretty at the head of the standings.

Going into the weekend which was once again run behind closed doors as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic - it was the Honda teams that

were expected to be the ones to beat, thanks in no small part to Gordon Shedden’s pacesetting performance for Team Dynamics in the season launch test at Silverstone.

There was also the fact that the FK8 Civic Type R had taken five wins in twelve starts at Thruxton across the previous three seasons, with the previous generation FK2 having also had a strong record at the fastest circuit on the calendar.

Even with the Honda’s past success, the fact that no-one had been able to test at

Thruxton prior to the event meant there was still an element of stepping into the unknown, particularly given the large number of new cars on the grid.

And then there was the weather conditions that greeted drivers when they arrived at the circuit on Saturday morning, with rain providing an additional challenge when the opening practice session of the weekend got underway.

Whilst the heavy rain that had affected the local area overnight had given way to drizzle by the time the green lights came on, circuit conditions were far from ideal as the field left the pits, with drivers tip-toeing around Thruxton’s sweeping curves in

a bid to see what levels of grip were available.

Through the early stages, it was Hill’s Ford Focus that headed the times but as circuit conditions improved, it was Cook that moved his Honda through into top spot.

improvements, leaving Sutton with early bragging rights in conditions where he has always gone well in the past.

"I’ve only driven Thruxton once in the wet and that was in a Clio so it took a while to gain confidence and you had to hang on," he said.

However it was defending champion Sutton who would eventually end up on top of the times after he edged ahead of Cook by just 0.049s in the Infiniti.

"You saw with Geddie how easy it is to get caught out, so we’ll have to see what happens with the weather later on…"

Sutton’s quickest lap came around 13 minutes before the session was scheduled to finish, and it would prove to be enough when an off for Glynn Geddie’s Cupra saw the action halted three minutes early.

Cook was left to settle for second, with the top two having half a second in hand over Hill in third, with Shedden going fourth quickest as the final driver able to lap within a second of the fastest time.

That incident was enough to prevent any late

Jason Plato and Aiden Moffat followed closely behind to

round out the top six, with Rory Butcher’s Toyota slotting into seventh spot and Tom Oliphant in the leading BMW completing the top eight.

Impressively, that meant half of the top eight was filled by brand new cars in the first competitive session of the season.

Things didn’t go totally to plan elsewhere however as, aside from Geddie, Tom Chilton’s new Ciceley-run BMW encountered a clutch issue that left him unable to set a time.

Second practice would again be run in wet conditions, with the addition of high winds ensuring that lap times would be slower than those seen in the opening session earlier in the day.

This time around, it was Shedden’s Honda that led the way with a best time of 1:20.994s that was set little over ten minutes after the session got underway.

"It wasn’t much fun out there in the conditions we had," Shedden reflected. "It looks like we’re in the lap of the gods when it comes to the weather for qualifying.

Usually, lap times would continue to improve as the session wore on but the changeable conditions, and the fact that drivers elected to venture out on slick rubber in order to scrub tyres, meant the positions would remain largely static after the opening runs.

"We went out to scrub some tyre late on but to be honest, I think it was a waste of time because it was still too wet."

Shedden would end up twotenths of a second clear of Sutton, who set his fastest time on his first lap, with Dan Rowbottom slotting into third spot ahead of his debut in the Team Dynamics Honda having earlier showed top ten pace in FP1.

Dan Cammish - on his one-off return with BTC Racing as replacement for Michael Crees - made it three Hondas in the top four ahead of Oliphant and Plato but there was one notable name missing from the sharp end of the times in the shape of Colin Turkington.

The Northern Irishman had been 14th fastest in the opening practice session but ended FP2 down in 19th spot,

having found himself struggling with a bad back.

By the time qualifying came around on Saturday afternoon, the conditions on track were still wet but crucially, there was the possibility at last that things could dry enough to allow for some serious slick running.

With the whole field on wets, it was Sutton who led the way after the early runs in the session before drivers started to consider the switch to slicks, with Hill’s Focus one of the first to change to dry rubber.

When Hill went below Sutton’s provisional pole time, it was clear that slick rubber was the way to go, with times then tumbling through the final ten minutes as the whole field made the switch.

Oliphant, Butcher and Hill swapped pole position before Butcher broke the 1:19s barrier in the Speedworks Toyota to hold pole as the chequered flag came out.

Others were still on quick laps however, with Tom Ingram going a tenth of a second quicker in the EXCELR8 Hyundai i30 Fastback N only to then see Sutton produce a storming lap some four tenths faster to take provisional pole in the Infiniti.

Vauxhall at the final chicane and saw all of his good work undone as he missed out on what he felt was at least a top three slot on the grid.

Butcher meanwhile had been even quicker through the first two sectors, but an error by the Scot in sector three saw him run wide and cost him dear as he missed out on potentially putting the Toyota Corolla onto pole position at the first time of asking.

Cook and Turkington also got ahead of Ingram as they crossed the line, with Hill and Butcher both on quick laps that looked set to move then back up the order.

The late problems for both Hill and Butcher meant it was Sutton who emerged from the session with pole position ahead of close friend Cook, with the pair split by less than a tenth of a second on the times.

Hill had set personal bests in the opening two sectors but then came across Plato’s

It was particularly pleasing for the defending champion given the changing conditions should

THRUXTON (1) - QUALIFYING TIMES Driver

Team

Car

Time

1

Ash Sutton

Laser Tools Racing

Infiniti Q50

1:18.305

2

Josh Cook

BTC Racing

Honda Civic Type R

+0.053

3

Colin Turkington

West Surrey Racing

BMW 330i M Sport

+0.362

4

Tom Ingram

EXCELR8 Trade Price Cars

Hyundai i30 Fastback N

+0.413

5

Rory Butcher

Speedworks

Toyota Corolla GR Sport

+0.530

6

Tom Oliphant

West Surrey Racing

BMW 330i M Sport

+0.586

7

Jake Hill

MB Motorsport

Ford Focus ST

+0.604

8

Gordon Shedden

Team Dynamics

Honda Civic Type R

+0.810

9

Ollie Jackson

MB Motorsport

Ford Focus ST

+1.641

10

Chris Smiley

EXCELR8 Trade Price Cars

Hyundai i30 Fastback N

+1.740

11

Jason Plato

Power Maxed Racing

Vauxhall Astra

+1.973

12

Dan Cammish

BTC Racing

Honda Civic Type R

+2.088

13

Carl Boardley

Laser Tools Racing

Infiniti Q50

+2.408

14

Adam Morgan

Ciceley Motorsport

BMW 330i M Sport

+2.458

15

Jack Goff

Team HARD

Cupra Leon

+2.630

16

Dan Rowbottom

Team Dynamics

Honda Civic Type R

+2.677

17

Jade Edwards

BTC Racing

Honda Civic Type R

+2.969

18

Stephen Jelley

West Surrey Racing

BMW 330i M Sport

+3.171

19

Aron Taylor-Smith

Team HARD

Cupra Leon

+3.172

20

Tom Chilton

Ciceley Motorsport

BMW 330i M Sport

+3.310

21

Aiden Moffat

Laser Tools Racing

Infiniti Q50

+3.547

22

Dan Lloyd

Power Maxed Racing

Vauxhall Astra

+4.065

23

Sam Osborne

Motorbase Performance

Ford Focus ST

+4.350

24

Andy Neate

Motorbase Performance

Ford Focus ST

+4.574

25

Rick Parfitt

EXCELR8 Trade Price Cars

Hyundai i30 Fastback N

+5.460

26

Sam Smelt

Speedworks

Toyota Corolla GR Sport

+5.547

27

Glynn Geddie

Team HARD

Cupra Leon

+6.152

28

Jack Butel

EXCELR8 Trade Price Cars

Hyundai i30 Fastback N

+6.826

29

Nicolas Hamilton

Team HARD

Cupra Leon

+6.882

have favoured the front-wheel drive runners, with the Infiniti instead on top in the only qualifying session of the season that saw all of the drivers running without ballast onboard.

Behind Cook, Turkington ended up in P3 ahead of Ingram and Butcher, with Oliphant capping a solid day in his BMW to round out the top six and put WSR in a strong position going into race day.

“We were strong in the wet early on but when I heard people were going to slicks – and particularly the Hondas – I knew we had to make the change," he said.

Seventh for Hill was a frustrating result considering that he could have been right up inside the top three, with Shedden, Ollie Jackson and Chris Smiley rounding out the top ten.

"It was then all about driving round to get heat into the tyres, and when they switched on, I had to keep it clean and not make any mistakes.

"It was more of a challenge for us to get the tyres to work compared to the front-wheel drive cars, but things came good in the end."

Turkington unsurprisingly getting the jump on Cook off the line to slot into second spot as the field headed up towards the complex for the first time.

There, Cook tried to retake second from Turkington by going around the outside into the right-hander and as the BMW tried to cover off the Honda, Turkington was caught out by Sutton braking ahead.

Come Sunday morning, conditions had improved noticeably and the circuit was now dry - although the temperatures certainly didn’t feel like early May.

Slight contact with the rear of the Infiniti was enough to tip Sutton into a spin that dropped him to the back of the field, whilst Cook was able to complete the move on Turkington heading out onto the fastest part of the circuit.

When the lights went out to start the opening race, it was Sutton who maintained the lead going into Allard, with

The opening lap drama wasn’t done however, with Cook having a moment on cold tyres going through Goodwood,

allowing both Turkington and third placed Ingram to get a run heading through Village and on to Church.

Whilst Turkington couldn’t make the move stick, Ingram was carrying more speed and he slipped through ahead of the BMW into second on the entrance to Church.

Turkington then ran wide on the exit of the corner and went across the grass, and as he rejoined, team-mate Oliphant who had made up places off the line - was forced off onto the infield and spun to the back of the pack.

That allowed Hill to get ahead of both BMWs into third place after a stellar opening lap in the Focus, but the safety car was then called after a hefty off

for Shedden and Smiley at Noble.

Cook’s love affair with his home circuit continued.

Going through the sweeping left-hander, Shedden seemed to get caught out when Ollie Jackson checked up ahead whilst battling Butcher’s Toyota for position, and ended up on the grass on the right hand side before coming back across the circuit.

By the flag, the margin between the two sat at little more than two seconds, with a similar margin splitting Ingram and third placed Hill.

The luckless Smiley was left with nowhere to go; the end result being both cars buried in the tyre wall and five laps under caution as the damage was repaired.

On the restart, Cook came under pressure from Ingram but the Hyundai was unable to find a way through and from that point on, the Honda would ease away at the front as

"We needed to try and convert the result from yesterday and that was the first chance to run in properly dry conditions," Cook said.

"It’s great to get a win in the opening race and we showed strong pace, but this is only one race and there is a long way still to go…"

Hill's run to third place came despite the fact that he was under constant pressure from behind from Turkington; the WSR man now suffering less with his back trouble after a

THRUXTON (1) - RACE ONE RESULT Driver

Team

Car

Time

1

Josh Cook

BTC Racing

Honda Civic Type R

19 laps

2

Tom Ingram

EXCELR8 Trade Price Cars

Hyundai i30 Fastback N

+2.298

3

Jake Hill

MB Motorsport

Ford Focus ST

+4.227

4

Dan Cammish

BTC Racing

Honda Civic Type R

+9.323

5

Rory Butcher

Speedworks

Toyota Corolla GR Sport

+11.758

6

Jason Plato

Power Maxed Racing

Vauxhall Astra

+12.046

7

Dan Rowbottom

Team Dynamics

Honda Civic Type R

+12.607

8

Adam Morgan

Ciceley Motorsport

BMW 330i M Sport

+19.612

9

Ash Sutton

Laser Tools Racing

Infiniti Q50

+21.259

10

Colin Turkington

West Surrey Racing

BMW 330i M Sport

+21.825

11

Aiden Moffat

Laser Tools Racing

Infiniti Q50

+22.760

12

Carl Boardley

Laser Tools Racing

Infiniti Q50

+26.391

13

Jack Goff

Team HARD

Cupra Leon

+26.720

14

Tom Chilton

Ciceley Motorsport

BMW 330i M Sport

+27.138

15

Tom Oliphant

West Surrey Racing

BMW 330i M Sport

+27.448

16

Dan Lloyd

Power Maxed Racing

Vauxhall Astra

+27.791

17

Sam Osborne

Motorbase Performance

Ford Focus ST

+29.846

18

Aron Taylor-Smith

Team HARD

Cupra Leon

+31.038

19

Ollie Jackson

MB Motorsport

Ford Focus ST

+33.636

20

Jade Edwards

BTC Racing

Honda Civic Type R

+38.774

21

Jack Butel

EXCELR8 Trade Price Cars

Hyundai i30 Fastback N

+41.015

22

Glynn Geddie

Team HARD

Cupra Leon

+41.932

23

Sam Smelt

Speedworks

Toyota Corolla GR Sport

+42.886

24

Andy Neate

Motorbase Performance

Ford Focus ST

+45.545

25

Rick Parfitt

EXCELR8 Trade Price Cars

Hyundai i30 Fastback N

+45.928

26

Nicolas Hamilton

Team HARD

Cupra Leon

+2 laps

DNF

Stephen Jelley

West Surrey Racing

BMW 330i M Sport

10 laps

DNF

Gordon Shedden

Team Dynamics

Honda Civic Type R

0 laps

DNF

Chris Smiley

EXCELR8 Trade Price Cars

Hyundai i30 Fastback N

0 laps

FL: Josh Cook, 1:16.500

visit to a chiropractor on Saturday night.

Turkington would shadow Hill throughout but couldn’t find a way ahead, and things would get worse for the the BMW racer after the chequered flag when officials elected to penalise him for the contact with Sutton on lap one.

The resultant time penalty would drop him down the order to ensure that he was behind Sutton in the end results, and promoted Cammish up into fourth spot.

The former series runner-up had been running in seventh spot behind Butcher and Plato after the safety car but was able to nip ahead of both in the closing stages as they fought for what was then fifth place.

Plato had briefly managed to get ahead of Butcher at Campbell but the Scot then fought back by taking the outside line at Cobb to ensure he was on the inside going through the sweeping righthander at Seagrave.

Although that allowed him to reclaim the place, both drivers saw their pace compromised whilst Cammish was able to maintain momentum and glided by on the run to Noble.

Cammish quickly gapped the pair to take the flag in fifth before Turkington’s penalty was applied, with Butcher able to keep Plato behind right through to the finish.

Rowbottom closed in on the pair as the laps counted down and would be classified in seventh ahead of Adam

Morgan, who endured a somewhat lonely race once the early battles had died down to finish eighth.

A fine recovery drive from Sutton saw him come through the field to cross the line in tenth spot, with Turkington’s post-race penalty then promoting the defending champion up into ninth place.

Elsewhere, Team HARD was able to celebrate points with the new Cupra thanks to Jack Goff in 13th spot, with the only other retirement - aside from Shedden and Smiley - being Stephen Jelley after he suffered a transmission issue on his first outing back with WSR after more than a decade.

If the opening lap of race one had been dramatic, it was nothing compared to what was

to follow when the second race of the weekend kicked off a few hours later.

race was underway and the opening skirmishes had played out.

At the head of the field, it was Cook who found himself on pole thanks to his earlier victory and he managed to keep the lead from Ingram going through Allard for the first time despite the additional weight now being carried on the BTC Racing Honda.

Neate’s Motorbase-run Focus tagged the rear of Geddie’s Cupra and spun the car sideways, with both going right into the path of Edwards in her BTC Racing Honda.

However, further back down the order there was chaos unfolding after a huge incident at turn one involving Andy Neate, Geddie and Jade Edwards.

Heading into turn one, Neate appeared to get caught out by Geddie ahead tapping the brakes going into the first righthander; a corner that would usually be taken flat once the

Geddie and Neate made heavy contact with the tyre wall, with the Cupra getting briefly airborne just as the innocent Edwards followed the pair into the barriers.

to work on replacing the front end of the Civic to allow Edwards to take part in race three.

After a lengthy delay to allow barrier damage to be repaired, the race got back underway over a shortened twelve lap distance, with Cook once again holding onto the lead ahead of Ingram when the lights went out.

Coming down onto the bonnet of the Honda, Geddie’s car was then tipped into a roll before coming to rest upside down.

Ingram saw his chance to try and get into the lead at the complex but was unable to make a move stick and instead ran wide, which allowed Cammish - who had made a good start from row two - to move up into second spot.

The damage to the Focus and the Cupra would be too great to repair at the circuit, whilst BTC Racing would quickly get

Ingram then found himself running side-by-side with Hill and Butcher going into Noble and as the trio went through

THRUXTON (1) - RACE TWO RESULT Driver

Team

Car

Time

1

Josh Cook

BTC Racing

Honda Civic Type R

15 laps

2

Dan Cammish

BTC Racing

Honda Civic Type R

+0.234

3

Jake Hill

MB Motorsport

Ford Focus ST

+1.625

4

Dan Rowbottom

Team Dynamics

Honda Civic Type R

+4.655

5

Jason Plato

Power Maxed Racing

Vauxhall Astra

+4.976

6

Tom Ingram

EXCELR8 Trade Price Cars

Hyundai i30 Fastback N

+6.961

7

Colin Turkington

West Surrey Racing

BMW 330i M Sport

+7.303

8

Aiden Moffat

Laser Tools Racing

Infiniti Q50

+9.291

9

Ash Sutton

Laser Tools Racing

Infiniti Q50

+10.055

10

Tom Oliphant

West Surrey Racing

BMW 330i M Sport

+11.411

11

Stephen Jelley

West Surrey Racing

BMW 330i M Sport

+13.259

12

Jack Goff

Team HARD

Cupra Leon

+13.759

13

Ollie Jackson

MB Motorsport

Ford Focus ST

+15.311

14

Dan Lloyd

Power Maxed Racing

Vauxhall Astra

+15.826

15

Aron Taylor-Smith

Team HARD

Cupra Leon

+16.944

16

Sam Osborne

Motorbase Performance

Ford Focus ST

+17.540

17

Carl Boardley

Laser Tools Racing

Infiniti Q50

+19.551

18

Gordon Shedden

Team Dynamics

Honda Civic Type R

+19.914

19

Jack Butel

EXCELR8 Trade Price Cars

Hyundai i30 Fastback N

+26.245

20

Sam Smelt

Speedworks

Toyota Corolla GR Sport

+26.623

21

Adam Morgan

Ciceley Motorsport

BMW 330i M Sport

+32.085

22

Nicolas Hamilton

Team HARD

Cupra Leon

+35.391

DNF

Chris Smiley

EXCELR8 Trade Price Cars

Hyundai i30 Fastback N

14 laps

DNF

Rick Parfitt

EXCELR8 Trade Price Cars

Hyundai i30 Fastback N

8 laps

DNF

Rory Butcher

Speedworks

Toyota Corolla GR Sport

0 laps

DNF

Tom Chilton

Ciceley Motorsport

BMW 330i M Sport

0 laps

DNF

Jade Edwards

BTC Racing

Honda Civic Type R

0 laps

DNF

Glynn Geddie

Team HARD

Cupra Leon

0 laps

DNF

Andy Neate

Motorbase Performance

Ford Focus ST

0 laps

FL: Josh Cook, 1:16.453

the high-speed left-hander, the rear of Butcher’s Toyota suddenly stepped out and sent him into a lurid slide.

The end result was heavy contact with the barriers and the deployment of the safety car as the car was recovered and the barriers repaired once again.

Once the action resumed, Cook found himself in the ideal position at the front, with Cammish playing the team game to perfection as he acted as rear-gunner to the leader; the pair running in formation right through to the finish as BTC Racing secured a 1-2 finish.

"The car was mega with ballast and did what we expected after the changes we made," Cook said. "Dan did a great job

behind and it’s a great result for the team to get a 1-2 finish.

"The red flag actually helped because there was a small issue on my engine at the first start which Swindon were able to sort out before the restart.

"It just shows that in the BTCC, you need to things to fall in your favour."

Hill was able to keep pace with Cammish after the restart before gradually slipping away from the leading pair, but he had time in hand over the battle for fourth place behind as he wrapped up a second podium finish of the weekend.

Fourth had been held by Plato’s Vauxhall after the restart, but he found himself under pressure from the Honda of Rowbottom, which

had cleared Ingram’s Hyundai just after the race went back to green.

When Rowbottom made his move to take the place going into the final chicane, Plato made a small error that saw him lose momentum and that allowed the Honda to then nip up the inside on the exit of the corner on the run across the start/finish straight.

Completing the move into Allard, Rowbottom then eased away from Plato behind to secure his best BTCC result to date, with Plato and Ingram rounding out the top six ahead of Turkington and Aiden Moffat.

As in race one, Sutton was forced to come through the field from the back, this time as a result of a pit stop behind the

safety car to allow the Laser Tools Racing team to resolve an engine issue on the Infiniti.

The defending champion would battle his way back up to ninth place by the finish with Oliphant and Jelley following behind.

Jelley would then be drawn on pole position for the final race of the weekend, but there was drama before the start when the rain that had affected Saturday’s running made its return.

Teams were left to make a call over whether to go with wet tyres or stick with slicks in the hope that conditions would improve, with the field almost split down the middle in terms of who went with what option.

When the lights went out, Jelley was able to keep the lead from Sutton, with Oliphant amongst those to plummet down the order in the early stages having taken the decision to start on slicks.

It would only take a lap before Sutton was able to make it through into the lead however, making his move on Jelley at the complex to hit the front, with Turkington following him through to run in second spot.

As Sutton eased away from the BMW behind, all eyes were on the slick-shod cars further down the order as it quickly became apparent that the circuit was starting to dry.

By the end of lap four, Hill who had gone with slicks - was the fastest man on track and he soon started to make his

way through the field towards the front, shadowed by a recovering Oliphant in the BMW. Having fallen as low as 20th, Hill was up into the top four by lap eight.

A lap later and the Focus was ahead as Hill was able to pass Sutton with ease, with Oliphant following him through a lap later.

Before Hill could storm away to victory however, the rain started to fall again and the conditions once more started to favour the wet shod runners.

Despite putting up a good fight, Hill was ultimately powerless to prevent Sutton from reclaiming the lead of the race and the defending champion would go on to

secure his first Thruxton win by a margin of nearly five seconds - a victory that appeared way more comfortable on paper than it had been in reality.

"It’s been a tough day for us but we got what we deserved in that one," he said. "We should have been higher up in races one and two but they were the cards we were dealt today.

"On the grid we made the right call to go with wet tyres as we would have been vulnerable on slicks when it was wet, and when the rain returned towards the end, the race came back to us again.

"It’s nice that we can end the weekend with a win and can go to Snetterton with our heads held high as we know that we have a strong car, as

we showed to come through the field in the first two."

Despite the increasingly tricky track conditions, Hill somehow managed to keep his Focus in second spot right through to the final lap, before he finally lost the place to Plato on the run to the line; the Vauxhall man running in the top six throughout on his wet tyres.

Hill however held on to third spot and with it, secured the points lead as Cook finished down in 20th thanks to a drive through penalty for not having his tyres fitted on the grid by the time permitted.

Ingram’s Hyundai would also earn a similar penalty, with the pair then pitting to change tyres mid-way through the race but failing to benefit.

Off the podium, Shedden was able to score his first points of the season by coming through the field to fourth spot from 18th on the grid.

His hopes of race two points had been hurt by contact with Morgan’s BMW in the closing stages, but the Scot recovered well to salvage something from what had proved to be tough first weekend back after his WTCR adventure.

Oliphant crossed the line in fifth on the road, but a time penalty for being out of position at the start would cost him two places in the end results - with an additional five seconds being added to his time.

Fifth instead went to Dan Lloyd after a fine drive capped a mixed return to the series, with

THRUXTON (1) - RACE THREE RESULT Driver

Team

Car

Time

1

Ash Sutton

Laser Tools Racing

Infiniti Q50

16 laps

2

Jason Plato

Power Maxed Racing

Vauxhall Astra

+4.789

3

Jake Hill

MB Motorsport

Ford Focus ST

+4.859

4

Gordon Shedden

Team Dynamics

Honda Civic Type R

+5.025

5

Dan Lloyd

Power Maxed Racing

Vauxhall Astra

+9.927

6

Colin Turkington

West Surrey Racing

BMW 330i M Sport

+10.105

7

Tom Oliphant

West Surrey Racing

BMW 330i M Sport

+13.212

8

Jack Goff

Team HARD

Cupra Leon

+14.014

9

Ollie Jackson

MB Motorsport

Ford Focus ST

+16.377

10

Stephen Jelley

West Surrey Racing

BMW 330i M Sport

+18.713

11

Aron Taylor-Smith

Team HARD

Cupra Leon

+21.321

12

Sam Osborne

Motorbase Performance

Ford Focus ST

+24.962

13

Tom Chilton

Ciceley Motorsport

BMW 330i M Sport

+25.188

14

Sam Smelt

Speedworks

Toyota Corolla GR Sport

+25.722

15

Chris Smiley

EXCELR8 Trade Price Cars

Hyundai i30 Fastback N

+38.847

16

Rick Parfitt

EXCELR8 Trade Price Cars

Hyundai i30 Fastback N

+40.064

17

Nicolas Hamilton

Team HARD

Cupra Leon

+52.655

18

Adam Morgan

Ciceley Motorsport

BMW 330i M Sport

+55.339

19

Jack Butel

EXCELR8 Trade Price Cars

Hyundai i30 Fastback N

+1:04.841

20

Josh Cook

BTC Racing

Honda Civic Type R

+1 lap

21

Dan Rowbottom

Team Dynamics

Honda Civic Type R

+1 lap

22

Tom Ingram

EXCELR8 Trade Price Cars

Hyundai i30 Fastback N

+1 lap

23

Dan Cammish

BTC Racing

Honda Civic Type R

+1 lap

DNF

Carl Boardley

Laser Tools Racing

Infiniti Q50

14 laps

DNF

Rory Butcher

Speedworks

Toyota Corolla GR Sport

14 laps

DNF

Aiden Moffat

Laser Tools Racing

Infiniti Q50

9 laps

DNF

Jade Edwards

BTC Racing

Honda Civic Type R

3 laps

DNS

Glynn Geddie

Team HARD

Cupra Leon

0 laps

DNS

Andy Neate

Motorbase Performance

Ford Focus ST

0 laps

FL: Josh Cook, 1:18.594

Turkington rounding out the top six.

Behind Oliphant, there was a solid eighth for the Cupra thanks to Goff, with Jackson and Jelley completing the top ten finishers.

Heading away from Hampshire, Hill’s 46 point haul - the best of his career to date means he holds a single point lead over Cook in the standings, with Plato a further seven points back in third.

That means Hill will be the man to beat going to Snetterton and the second round of the campaign.

"I’m proud of everyone involved this weekend," Hill said, "and that final race was a great way to end it.

"The car came alive when it started to dry out and we did well to hold on to third in the final laps when the car was sliding around all over the place.

"We can’t afford to relax, and I’ll be working hard with my engineer to make sure we are in the best position possible when we get to round two."

Hill’s strong performance ensured that Motorbase ended the weekend heading the Manufacturers/Constructors standings at the first time of asking.

BMW sit second, 17 points in arrears, with Toyota back in third and with work to do to make up ground after Butcher was again forced to retire from race three after contact with Carl Boardley’s Infiniti as he

tried to come through the pack.

Even though the team failed to score in race three, BTC Racing hold the early advantage in the BTCC Teams’ Championship thanks to the strong results in races one and two, with a lead of 13 points over MB Motorsport, whilst Cook leads the Independents’ Trophy by virtue of having more class wins than Plato; the locked together on 43 points.

Plato’s Power Maxed Racing team head the Independent Teams’ Championship by a single point ahead of BTC Racing, with Team Dynamics another point behind, whilst Sam Osborne is the early leader in the Jack Sears Trophy with an advantage of two points over Rowbottom.

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS After Round Three of 30 DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP 1

Jake Hill

MB Motorsport

Ford Focus ST

46

2

Josh Cook

BTC Racing

Honda Civic Type R

45

3

Jason Plato

Power Maxed Racing

Vauxhall Astra

38

4

Ash Sutton

Laser Tools Racing

Infiniti Q50

36

5

Dan Cammish

BTC Racing

Honda Civic Type R

30

6

Tom Ingram

EXCELR8 Trade Price Cars

Hyundai i30 Fastback N

27

7

Colin Turkington

West Surrey Racing

BMW 330i M Sport

25

8

Dan Rowbottom

Team Dynamics

Honda Civic Type R

22

INDEPENDENT DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP 1

Josh Cook

BTC Racing

Honda Civic Type R

43

2

Jason Plato

Power Maxed Racing

Vauxhall Astra

43

3

Ash Sutton

Laser Tools Racing

Infiniti Q50

38

4

Dan Cammish

BTC Racing

Honda Civic Type R

32

5

Tom Ingram

EXCELR8 Trade Price Cars

Hyundai i30 Fastback N

29

6

Dan Rowbottom

Team Dynamics

Honda Civic Type R

28

7

Jack Goff

Team HARD

Cupra Leon

25

8

Dan Lloyd

Power Maxed Racing

Vauxhall Astra

24

JACK SEARS TROPHY 1

Sam Osborne

Motorbase Performance

Ford Focus ST

52

2

Dan Rowbottom

Team Dynamics

Honda Civic Type R

50

3

Sam Smelt

Speedworks

Toyota Corolla GR Sport

37

4

Jack Butel

EXCELR8 Trade Price Cars

Hyundai i30 Fastback N

35

5

Carl Boardley

Laser Tools Racing

Infiniti Q50

32

6

Nicolas Hamilton

Team HARD

Cupra Leon

29

7

Rick Parfitt

EXCELR8 Trade Price Cars

Hyundai i30 Fastback N

22

8

Jade Edwards

BTC Racing

Honda Civic Type R

13

DAN’S DELIGHT AT BTCC RETURN AFTER A FEW YEARS AWAY IN TCR, DAN LLOYD MADE HIS RETURN TO THE GRID AT THRUXTON… hen Dan Lloyd made his

W BTCC debut back in 2010 with Triple Eight, only six of the current field had previously competed in the series.

As he returns to the grid this year with Power Maxed Racing, only six drivers have made fewer starts, such has been the stop/start nature of his BTCC career to date.

However, the deal with PMR is set to provide the 29-year-old with the chance to complete a full season in the series for the first time after a successful spell racing overseas in TCR. That means Lloyd brings a wealth of touring car experience; even if he wasn’t a name many had linked as being a potential new teammate for Jason Plato.

"I think it's a deal that was out of the blue for a lot of people," Lloyd told Inside BTCC. "However, the truth is that we started talks with Adam [Weaver - team owner] back in December to see what could be possible. I’ve always got on well with Adam, and at first, the conversations were quite chilled and laid back.

"I didn’t think that the BTCC was a realistic goal at first but then the situation changed with sponsors and things developed, and it got to the point where the deal fell into place."

Prior the announcement of his BTCC return, Lloyd's plans for 2021 had been very much up in the air after it became apparent that he wouldn’t be

part of the Brutal Fish Racing driver line-up in TCR Europe.

Lloyd had spent two years with the Slovakian team in the European series - winning three races - and had also been at the wheel of its Honda Civic Type R when he narrowly lost out on the TCR Malaysia crown to Luca Engstler last year.

Lloyd had hoped to follow Engstler into WTCR but no deal was forthcoming, whilst his role with Brutal Fish was set to be off-track - continuing in the position of driver coach and taking up ‘additional management duties’.

"I've enjoyed the last few years racing in Europe, but the goal was always to try and make it to WTCR and that didn’t happen," he said.

"It would have been tough to stay in TCR Europe again so I’m delighted that the opportunity has come along to return to the BTCC - it just shows that you never know what could be round the corner.

"It hasn’t been easy because it was almost a case of starting from scratch again with the hunt for sponsors, and although it is difficult to find the partners you need for the BTCC, it is easier than trying to find them for a programme overseas."

The sponsorship hunt has been helped by the experience Lloyd was able to gain from being part of the KX Academy led by his now team-mate Plato back in 2013 - which allowed him to enhance his skills when

it comes to the work required off track.

"I always looked at motorsport in the same way as they [Plato and the people behind programme] did, as I know that driving is only a small part of being involved in motorsport," he said.

"Getting the sponsors and partners onboard, and then developing a relationship with them, is crucial ,and being part of the KX Academy helped to teach me a lot.

"I’ve seen lots of sponsorship proposal and presentations from drivers through the years, but if you were to compare them to what Jason does, they are totally different.

"It’s not a case of simply going to people and saying 'you can

have a sticker on the car and some tickets to come along and watch', it's a case of going to a potential sponsor or partner and showing them how they can make money from being involved with you, and how they can benefit."

Lloyd’s time on the Academy programme came three years after his one-off outing in Triple Eight’s Vauxhall Vectra kicked off his BTCC career, although it would be 2016 before he returned to the grid for a three round stint with Eurotech when it briefly expanded to run a third car.

Impressive pace at the wheel of a Honda Civic Type R opened the door for a return to Triple Eight the following year in the MG6 GT but - like teammate Aron Taylor-Smith - it

would prove to be a challenging experience.

Four rounds into the season, with the car off the pace and with only two points finishes on the board, Lloyd split with the team and instead moved over to the new TCR International Series with Craft-Bamboo Racing.

"My history in the BTCC has always been affected by budget, and I've never been able to commit to a full championship before," he reflects.

"It’s always been a case of taking any opportunity that came along and giving it my best shot - going right back to the first weekend in the Vectra.

"I’d had a successful test in the car at Rockingham and I felt we

needed to do a race. The weekend went well with two top eight finishes but it doesn’t matter how successful you are, you don’t suddenly just go and get a big money contract to race in the BTCC - it takes a lot of hard work.

"It wasn’t the ideal situation for anyone involved and it was a real shame because it could have been such a good year and unfortunately, that wasn’t the case at all."

"I had a few rounds with Eurotech and then the deal came along with MG for 2017 and like Aron, I felt mega excited about joining up with a works team.

From there however, came the first step into TCR competition, with Lloyd signing up to replace Frenchman Hugo Valente in Craft-Bamboo’s three-car International programme alongside Pepe Oriola and James Nash.

"In theory, it should have been a good year but when things started, it became clear that we were nowhere and it didn’t matter what we tried, things just didn’t improve. It got to the stage where we were losing sponsors and we had to act as people were putting a lot of money into it and it wasn’t working.

In only his third meeting, he scored a podium finish in Germany and would end the season 15th in the standings.

The TCR UK title followed in 2018 alongside a part campaign with BTC Racing in the BTCC - which included scoring a first win for team and

Pic: TCR Series

driver at Croft - before Lloyd teamed up with Brutal Fish for programmes in TCR Europe and TCR Malaysia.

The Malaysian series saw him lose the title to Engstler by virtue of scoring fewer race wins, whilst an outing in TCR China with the Mac Pro Racing team saw him finish second to Huang Chu Han by two points; an exclusion at Zhejiang ultimately proving to be crucial.

The time had now come however for something new…

"I remember when I first moved to TCR, I scored the podium finish at Oschersleben and was stood there with Gianni Morbidelli and Rob Huff," he said.

"Considering how things had gone with the MG, it was like

going from one extreme to the other as suddenly I was sharing a podium with a guy who had raced in Formula 1, and a guy who had won the World Touring Car Championship title.

"It was a nice feeling and I really enjoyed my whole TCR experience. It was great to be able to travel to different parts of the world, and the ultimate goal was to try and get to WTCR. "Had that chance come along then I might well have ended up there this season, but when it became clear that it wasn’t going to happen, I think the time was right for me to do something different.

"I’m pleased with how things have panned out, and to now have to chance to race in the

BTCC with Power Maxed provides me with what I feel is my first opportunity to have a proper go at it."

Having sampled the Astra in testing at Donington Park, Croft and Silverstone - where he was ninth quickest during the season launch - Lloyd headed for Thruxton for round one hoping to impress on track.

It would prove to be something of a baptism of fire however, with the changeable weather conditions not helping matters on what was his first outing at the high-speed Hampshire circuit since 2017.

"From testing, I knew that the Astra is a good all round package that doesn’t really have a weakness anywhere," he said.

"I was also feeling comfortable in the team right away as there are quite a few people involved who I know from the first outing I did with Triple Eight back in 2010, including Martin Broadhurst who is now my engineer.

"There was a good working relationship there immediately, but when we then went to Thruxton for round one, it was tough for a number of reasons.

"It was always going to be a challenge when I hadn’t been there for so long, but I also hadn’t driven the car in the wet before either. We also didn’t quite get the set-up right for me, and it all combined to make it a tricky weekend.

"Fair play to Jason because he had a great weekend and put

some good points on the board, but on my side I know there is still a lot more to come."

Practice saw Lloyd lose some track time to an off at Church in FP2 but he remained optimistic about qualifying, only to end up down in 22nd thanks to the changeable conditions.

Just missing out on the points in race one, Lloyd opened his account with 14th in race two before the lottery that was race three after the arrival of rain left teams - and drivers - in a quandary over which tyres to choose.

"Even with the off in practice, we weren’t in a bad place going into qualifying but we went a certain way with the set-up of the car to provide

more grip at the front in the wet conditions," he said.

"When it then dried out, the rear was really loose and I just didn’t have the confidence you need in those changeable conditions.

"It meant we were out of position going into race day, but I feel I raced well and made the most of the situation.

"In the past there have been times where I was in the pack and I would make the wrong decision or put the car in the wrong place because I’ve felt the pressure of knowing I’m only in a car for a round or two and I have to try and impress.

"This time around, I felt more relaxed and I was pleased with how I raced as we moved forwards across Sunday. In the

opening race we got up as high as 14th before the tyres dropped away and we slipped back a few places, but we then managed to get into the points in race two which was good.

"Ahead of race three it was touch and go over which way to go with the tyres and it is only after watching it back on TV that I realised just how much things changed around on track; I think I swapped places with Jack Goff about six times!"

A strong drive on wet rubber saw Lloyd rewarded with fifth spot thanks to a last lap move on former champion Colin Turkington, ensuring that he would end the weekend on something of a high.

"The guys on slick tyres came through as the circuit dried and

I had to nurse the tyres as much as possible," he said.

"When it then started to rain again, I felt the benefit and was able to climb back up the order in the final laps. Passing Colin on the last lap was a nice feeling, and a good way to end the day.

"I’m pleased to have kept my nose clean and picked up a decent result as I’m looking at the long game this season, and not worrying about the fact that each race might be my last because my deal is only for a few rounds.

"Of course I want to be up the front sooner rather than later, but I’m confident that that will happen, particularly considering the strength of the team I have around me."

Fighting towards the front will also provide Lloyd with the chance to extend his stay with the team beyond 2021, with both parties keen to make it a long-term arrangement.

"I need to perform on track as I know there are people who will want this seat," he said, "but I also have to work on getting the commercial partners onboard.

"Adam wants a driver who will do the job on track but it also has to work financially so there is plenty to do over the course of the season.

"Hopefully I can deliver results as the year goes on, and I’m looking forward to a time when we can get sponsors - and fans - back trackside as well, as that is something that is hugely important."

WHO IS DRIVING WHAT? WITH THE 2021 SEASON NOW UNDERWAY, HERE IS YOUR GUIDE TO WHO IS DRIVING EACH CHASSIS IN 2021… the lead up to the D uring opening rounds of the new season at Thruxton - and over the course of the weekend itself - there was plenty of talk about the fact that twelve new cars for racing for the first time.

As part of the many stats that are featured on the Inside BTCC website, we’ve worked alongside the Touring Car Register to keep track of each NGTC-spec chassis that has competed in the series since the first cars hit the track back in 2011.

Our detailed stats cover everything from race starts to laps led, and it means we can keep track of exactly who has driven each car.

It also means that we can see which individual machines

have enjoyed the greatest levels of success on track through the years…

Having now been granted access to the chassis list for 2021, we can now reveal the exact make-up of the grid this season, which shows just how much change there has been in recent years as teams invest in the latest generation of NGTC machinery in the quest for success on track.

So from the top, here is a brief rundown of who is driving what this season…

for Adam Morgan and Tom Chilton.

Of those two new cars, Morgan is driving the first chassis that Ciceley acquired from West Surrey Racing, G20-023-04, with Chilton in the second car that was delivered G20-023-05.

The three cars being run by West Surrey Racing are the three cars that were originally built for the 2019 season, with Colin Turkington and Tom Oliphant entering their third seasons in their respective cars.

BMW In total, five BMW 330i M Sports are featured on the grid this season thanks to the addition of the two new builds entered by Ciceley Motorsport

Turkington continues in G20-023-01, with Oliphant once again at the wheel of G20-023-03.

Turkington’s car is the most successful on the grid this

2021 ENTRIES Car

Chassis

First Race

Driver

Team

BMW

G20-023-01

Brands Hatch, 2019

Colin Turkington

West Surrey Racing

BMW

G20-023-02

Brands Hatch, 2019

Stephen Jelley

West Surrey Racing

BMW

G20-023-03

Brands Hatch, 2019

Tom Oliphant

West Surrey Racing

BMW

G20-023-04

Thruxton, 2021

Adam Morgan

Ciceley Motorsport

BMW

G20-023-05

Thruxton, 2021

Tom Chilton

Ciceley Motorsport

CUPRA

WPMS-NGTC-075

Thruxton, 2021

Jack Goff

Team HARD

CUPRA

WPMS-NGTC-076

Thruxton, 2021

Nicolas Hamilton

Team HARD

CUPRA

WPMS-NGTC-077

Thruxton, 2021

Aron Taylor-Smith

Team HARD

CUPRA

WPMS-NGTC-082

Thruxton, 2021

Glynn Geddie

Team HARD

Ford

MBP-2020-007

Donington Park, 2020

Ollie Jackson

MB Motorsport

Ford

MBP-2020-008

Donington Park, 2020

Sam Osborne

Motorbase

Ford

MBP-2020-009

Donington Park, 2020

Andy Neate

Motorbase

Ford

MBP-2020-010

Thruxton, 2021

Jake Hill

MB Motorsport

Honda

NGTC-18-001

Brands Hatch, 2018

Gordon Shedden

Team Dynamics

Honda

NGTC-18-002

Brands Hatch, 2018

Dan Rowbottom

Team Dynamics

Honda

NGTC-18-003

Brands Hatch, 2019

Senna Proctor

BTC Racing

Honda

NGTC-18-004

Brands Hatch, 2019

Josh Cook

BTC Racing

Honda

NGTC-18-005

Brands Hatch, 2020

Jade Edwards

BTC Racing

Hyundai

WPMS-NGTC-070

Donington Park, 2020

Jack Butel

EXCELR8 TPC

Hyundai

WPMS-NGTC-071

Donington Park, 2020

Chris Smiley

EXCELR8 TPC

Hyundai

WPMS-NGTC-079

Thruxton, 2021

Tom Ingram

EXCELR8 TPC

Hyundai

WPMS-NGTC-080

Thruxton, 2021

Rick Parfitt

EXCELR8 TPC

Infiniti

WPMS-NGTC-068

Donington Park, 2020

Carl Boardley

Laser Tools Racing

Infiniti

WPMS-NGTC-069

Donington Park, 2020

Ash Sutton

Laser Tools Racing

Infiniti

WPMS-NGTC-081

Thruxton, 2021

Aiden Moffat

Laser Tools Racing

Toyota

SWM-002

Brands Hatch, 2019

Sam Smelt

Speedworks

Toyota

SWM-004

Thruxton, 2021

Rory Butcher

Speedworks

Vauxhall

PMR 17-01

Brands Hatch, 2017

Dan Lloyd

Power Maxed Racing

Vauxhall

PMR 17-02

Thruxton, 2021

Jason Plato

Power Maxed Racing

season in terms of race wins, having scored ten in total prior across the previous two seasons. The car also has more pole positions than any other active car.

new cars - WPMS-NGTC-075 was assigned to Jack Goff, with Nic Hamilton taking over WPMS-NGTC-076 and Aron Taylor-Smith in WPMSNGTC-077.

Stephen Jelley therefore steps into the car that was previously raced by Andrew Jordan, G20-023-02, which didn’t compete last year after Jordan’s COVID-enforced departure on the eve of the season.

Glynn Geddie drives the fourth car to have been completed, using chassis number WPMSNGTC-082.

CUPRA All four Cupra Leons that are being run this season by Team HARD are new builds, meaning there is no prior history to discuss in terms of what the cars have done before.

The chassis numbers however reveal that the first of the four

The use of WPMS in the chassis name is in reference to Willie Poole Motorsport, the company responsible for the shell work on a number of cars on the grid.

FORD The MK4 version of the Ford Focus was a new car for last season, meaning that three of the cars that are competing this season are in their second

year of competition alongside one newly-built machine.

Now running under the MB Motorsport banner, Ollie Jackson remains at the wheel of the first car that was built MBP-2020-007 - whilst Motorbase-entered Andy Neate continues in MBP-2020-009.

Of the two newcomers to the expanded Motorbase line-up, Sam Osborne has taken over at the wheel of MBP-2020-008 from Rory Butcher, with Jake Hill’s MB Motorsport-entered car being the new chassis that was built up over the winter for this year - MBP-2020-010.

HONDA It’s been a winter of change in the Honda camp, with only one

driver continuing in the same car that they raced last year.

In the Team Dynamics line-up, Gordon Shedden has taken over NGTC-18-001, which was the first FK8 Civic Type R to be built, and has been driven for the past three seasons by Matt Neal.

As a result, Dan Rowbottom is at the wheel of the ex-Dan Cammish car, which is chassis number NGTC-18-002.

This chassis has scored the highest number of points of any active cars going into the season and also has more podium finishes - ten clear of any other car.

At BTC Racing, chassis NGTC-18-003 is the car that was due to be raced by Michael Crees, with Cammish

stepping in to replace him at Thruxton and Senna Proctor then taking over the car for the rest of the year.

last season, with the expansion for 2021 alongside Trade Price Cars meaning two new cars join the two that raced in 2020.

This is the car that was originally raced by Chris Smiley back in 2019.

Jack Butel is now at the wheel of WPMS-NGTC-070, which is the car that was driven last year by Senna Proctor, meaning that Chris Smiley continues in WPMS-NGTC-071 for a second season.

Josh Cook continues for a third season in NGTC-18-004 and after the Thruxton weekend, this car has now led more laps than any other active NGTC machine and shares the record for most fastest laps.

Jade Edwards makes her full season debut in NGTC-18-005, which was a new car last season and raced by Tom Chilton.

HYUNDAI The Hyundai i30 Fastback N was introduced by EXCELR8

Tom Ingram is at the wheel of the first of the two new cars that were build for this season, WPMS-NGTC-079 with the second new car - WPMSNGTC-80 - being driven by series newcomer Rick Parfitt.

INFINITI Although the Infiniti Q50 originally entered the series back in 2015 with Support Our Paras Racing, two all-new cars

were introduced into the series at the start of 2020 by Laser Tools Racing.

The first of the new build cars, WPMS-NGTC-068, was raced last season by Aiden Moffat but has been taken over this year by Carl Boardley.

Ash Sutton meanwhile remains at the wheel of his title-winning chassis, WPMS-NGTC-069, which shares the record for most fastest laps amongst the active cars alongside Josh Cook’s Honda.

For this season, Moffat steps into the the brand new chassis, which runs as chassis number WPMS-NGTC-081.

TOYOTA The Toyota Corolla will be entering its third year in the

series this year, with three cars having been built thus far.

Sam Smelt takes over at the wheel of SWM-002, which is the original car that had been raced for two years by Tom Ingram.

The new car built for this season, chassis SWM-004, is in the hands of Rory Butcher after his move over from Motorbase Performance.

SWM-003 has never raced, and is the hybrid test car being used by TOCA ahead of the 2022 season.

On his return to the championship, Dan Lloyd takes over at the wheel of PMR 17-01, which was the first Astra to be raced by the team.

Driven previously by Tom Chilton, Rob Huff, Josh Cook and Jason Plato, the car was unused last year when the team downscaled to a single car but still has more three more starts than any other active chassis from its years in service to date.

With Lloyd taking over his old car and PMR 17-02 now being sidelined, Jason Plato moves over to PMR 17-03 for 2021.

VAUXHALL The Vauxhall Astra is now the 'oldest' car on the grid, having first appeared in the series back in 2017.

The chassis was originally used as a spare shell by the team before being built up over the winter, and scored a podium first time out at Thruxton.

Pic: Porsche Motorsport

CREESY’S NEW ADVENTURE HIS BTCC DEPARTURE WAS UNEXPECTED, WITH MICHAEL CREES NOW OFF TO EXPLORE EUROPE… only been H epartmayofhave the BTCC grid for

Pic: Formula One World Championship Ltd

two seasons, but it’s no exaggeration to say that Michael Crees quickly cemented his place as a favourite with race fans.

Despite only making his racing debut in 2017 in the Ginetta Racing Drivers Club, winning the title in his debut season, Crees joined the BTCC package when he stepped up to the Ginetta GT4 Supercup a year later - winning the Am class title at the first attempt.

That opened the door for the lifelong racing fan to then join the touring car grid with Team

HARD, and after a year learning the ropes, he switched to BTC Racing last year - making it three titles in four seasons with success in the Jack Sears Trophy.

Retained by the Honda team for 2021, Crees was hoping to take a step forward to fight for silverware on track, before the surprise announcement shortly after the season launch at Silverstone of a parting of the ways.

With no shortage of offers on the table, it wouldn’t be long before a new deal was confirmed for the 37-year-old, who suddenly finds himself

racing on the F1 support package in the Porsche Supercup with Parker Revs Motorsport - swapping the likes of Thruxton, Croft and Snetterton for Monte Carlo, Monza and Spa. It’s certainly not where he expected to be in such a short space of time…

"Getting to the BTCC was always the pinnacle for me; it was where I wanted to be," he told Inside BTCC. "I had two good seasons in the series and having won the Jack Sears Trophy last year, I was confident about what I

could achieve in 2021; particularly after we went so well during the season launch.

"I felt that this could be my year with BTC Racing and I could be in a position to maybe fight for a podium or a win and show what I could do, but then circumstances changed and my commercial team made the decision not to continue.

"Suddenly however, I have the chance to take a big step forward in my career, and I’ve now got the opportunity to compete on the world stage in the biggest single-make series there is, which is all a bit surreal."

Crees’ move to the Porsche Supercup came about in somewhat unfortunate circumstances after Josh Webster was forced to give up

his drive as a result of a family illness.

Eager to find someone to come in alongside current Porsche Carrera Cup GB champion Harry King, Parker Revs - formed over the winter after Team Parker and Revs Motorsport joined forces for the Supercup programme turned to Crees, who jumped at the chance to get behind the wheel of the new 992generation Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. "I was lucky to have a few different options on the table when the deal with BTC Racing came to an end," he said.

"I’m not blinkered to the fact that I could be classed as a pretty quick bronze rated driver for GT racing given my ages and experience, and that

I also have some good budget behind me thanks to my commercial partners. That’s a bit of a golden egg for teams at the moment, particularly with the whole situation around COVID. "I had a few offers in British GT in both GT3 and GT4 but I don’t feel ready to share a car with someone else yet, and I could have returned to the Ginetta Supercup or done Porsche Carrera Cup GB - but I’d have been looking over at the BTCC thinking that was where I wanted to be.

"When the chance came along to join up with Stuart [Parker] and Parker Revs Motorsport, there was only one way forwards for me and that was to do the deal and make the move into the Supercup. It provides me with a chance to

prove to myself what I can do on such a big stage.

"It’s going to be a real experience to travel around Europe with my family and to race a Porsche on some of the most famous circuits in the world."

With the deal signed with Parker Revs, Crees was able to sample the Porsche for the first time at Silverstone before heading for Monte Carlo and the opening round of the campaign in support of the Monaco Grand Prix.

With plenty of attention back home, Crees then prepared to hit the track for the first practice session on one of the grandest stages of them all.

Pic: Formula One World Championship

"I didn’t realise that moving to the Supercup was going to be

such a big thing, and the interest when the deal was announced went through the roof," he said.

we popped out onto the circuit at Anthony Noghes [the final corner] and had to drive a lap round to the pits.

"Getting to the circuit and going out to do the track walk and bumping into Valtteri Bottas - and seeing people like George Russell and Antonio Giovinazzi - was amazing, and I almost had to pinch myself about what was happening.

"On that first lap, I was just taking it easy, waving to all the marshals and taking it all in before the session got underway.

"Because it’s a street circuit and there isn’t much space, we were based in a circus tent about a mile outside Monaco itself, so when it came to going out for our session, we had to drive into the circuit through the streets with a police escort.

"It was such a surreal experience with people hanging out of windows filming and waving, and then suddenly

"Then it was a case of trying to forget where I was and just focusing on doing the best job I could."

Crees ended up posting the third best time amongst the Pro-Am class runners in the sole practice session with a best lap of 1:38.701s, and then secured third in class in qualifying where he improved his best time to a 1:36.591.

That left him little over a second behind Roar Lindland,

Pic: Porsche Motorsport

the multiple Pro-Am champion and the man to beat in the class during the season ahead.

"I was surprised how well it went to be honest, given my lack of time in the car before the weekend and the fact it was Monaco," he said.

"The problem with the Supercup is the track time is so limited; it isn’t like the BTCC where we have two free practice sessions to dial the car in and get it where you want it to be.

"There was just one 40 minute session so there was a lot to cram in from learning the circuit to getting the car set up, and continuing to learn all about it as I still didn’t know where all the buttons were on the steering wheel.

"I knew there was more time to come after practice and I could see in the debrief where I was losing time compared to Harry.

I was braking later into the corners and carrying more speed because I was still driving the car like a touring car, whereas Harry was stopping the car earlier and then getting on the power better on the exit.

"I felt confident going into qualifying but I didn’t realise just how much of a step forward everyone would take.

"On my first run, I found more than a second but it was only good enough for P5, and then it was time to put on another set of tyres, hang on tight and head out for the second run. I messed up one lap and then got traffic on the second, but

on the third lap I managed to get the time in.

"To only be a second off Lindland with the experience he has is something I was over the moon with. It’s just a shame that it turned out to be the highlight of the weekend…"

Race day would see Crees lining up third in class in 20th place overall, with the first job being to ensure that he made it through the tight opening corner at Sainte Devote.

Making up places through turn one, Crees then came up Beau Rivage to suddenly find himself faced with the car of JeanBaptiste Simmenauer broadside across the circuit after he slammed into the barriers and spun back across the track in front of the field.

Sticking to the right-hand side of the circuit, Crees was able to squeeze through an everdecreasing gap to escape getting caught up in an incident that would leave the track blocked and caused a lengthy red-flag period.

"About five minutes before the start, I was sat in the car thinking about what might happen and I was conscious of the fact that people were having problems stalling the car," he said.

Pic: Porsche Motorsport

"These cars are tricky to get off the line and in the Benelux meeting a week earlier there had been two cars that had stalled on the grid, so I made sure I was aware of my surroundings in case it happened in front of me.

"We got away well and made it through turn one but then going up the hill, I suddenly saw the BWT car hit the wall on the right and a wheel come flying off it.

"Although I made it through, I did clip the wheel which caused some damage to the splitter and it might have contributed to what happened on the restart."

"Everyone else was diving to the left hand side to try and avoid it but I stayed right and figured if I aimed for the wheel and car then it would have bounced out of the way by the time I got there.

After a lengthy stoppage to allow the damaged cars to be recovered, the race resumed with a lap under the safety car but as he headed into turn one, Crees locked a brake and was powerless to keep the car out of the barriers.

"My wing mirror was scraping against the wall so there was nowhere else for me to go and the gap was closing when the car started to come back towards me again; I even lifted my bum out of the seat to try and help me ease through the gap!

The resultant contact caused damage that was enough to put him out of the race, pulling off in the shadow of the famous Monte Carlo casino before trudging back to the pits.

"Going into turn one, I wasn’t over-pushing by any means

"The problem with the 992 Porsche is that to get the wheel rotating again, you have to come fully off the brake and then get back on it again, and I was just carrying too much speed.

"Catching the kerb really finished me off and the next thing I was into the wall. It was tough to go out like that whilst leading, but I wasn’t the only one to have problems."

Clément Mateu and Philipp Sager would be the only drivers in the seven-strong ProAm field to score, meaning Crees didn’t lose too much ground to his main rivals going into round two at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.

Before then comes the chance to potentially take a step back in time and return trackside to take in the next round of the BTCC season at Snetterton as a fan.

That’s not to say however that Crees won’t one day be back racing in a touring car in the future…

"Thruxton was tough to watch as I hadn’t driven the Porsche then, but I think it’ll be a little bit easier now I have a race weekend under my belt," he said.

"I might come along to Snetterton with the kids, crack open some beers and fire up the barbecue and enjoy myself as a fan like in the old days.

"It would be great to be trackside again, and to spend

some time in the campsite catching up with everyone as the BTCC fans have always been great with me.

"I’m hopeful that one day they’ll be able to cheer me on again in a touring car as I’d love to return at some point further down the line.

"I think I have unfinished business as far as the BTCC goes but if I was to come back at some point in the future, I’d want to do it knowing that I had a chance to be successful and that I had the right tools.

"I was coming to terms with front-wheel drive in the Honda and am now getting experience with a totally different animal in the Porsche, so I think I’d be well placed to jump in any car and do a good job."

Pic: Porsche Motorsport

but I snatched a brake and locked up," he said.

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