Inside BTCC - Issue 21 - BTCC 2013 at Oulton Park

INSIDEBTCC.COM issue 21: june 2013

PLUS - DOING IT THE HARD WAY WITH TOM ONSLOW-COLE...

NEAL IN CHARGE

THRUXTON TREBLE FOR HONDA

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PARK PREVIEW / LAUREN’S COLUMN / SUPPORT RACESInside OULTON

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WELCOME...

After a short early-season break, the BTCC now heads for Oulton Park for the fourth round of the season with the main question being, can the Hondas be stopped?

Three more Honda wins at Thruxton mean that six of the nine races this season have now been won by men driving the Civic, with three of those – Matt Neal, Andy Jordan and Gordon Shedden – sitting in the top four in the championship.

Jason Plato is the odd one out amongst the top four but stayed in contention in Hampshire despite losing a potential win to a puncture, and he’ll be keen to spoil the party in Cheshire.

With the five week gap between rounds three and four giving teams the chance to go testing, it’ll be interesting to see who is able to take steps forwards when the action resumes, with a number of teams hopeful that the resumption of racing will signal an upturn in fortune.

In the latest edition of Inside BTCC, we look back at what happened at Thruxton and also look ahead to what is to come at Oulton Park on what could be one of the most intriguing weekends of the year.

Alongside that, we have features on both Team HARD and Ciceley Racing on the back of impressive starts to the 2013 season, our latest marshaling feature and more from Lauren Taylor as she continues to give us an insight into what life is like behind the scenes in the Airwaves Racing garage.

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As usual, you can follow us on Twitter at @InsideBTCC or give us a like on Facebook at Facebook.com/InsideBTCC. You can also get in touch with us via e-mail on contact@insidebtcc. com if you have any feedback or suggestions you want to send our way.

On a final note, the BTCC will head to Oulton Park without one of its biggest supporters after the tragic death of Les Hayes in an accident on 31 May. Les was a well-known, and much-loved, figure within the paddock who was seen as much more than just a fan. To many, she was a friend, while to some, she was almost part of the family. Her enthusiasm for the sport shone through and she could always be found in the paddock with a smile on her face, even when things hadn’t gone to plan for the teams and drivers she had taken under her wing.

When Inside BTCC was launched back in 2011, Les was one of the first people to congratulate us on the decision to push ahead with the venture, and our condolences go to her family and friends as they come to terms with what has happened.

A number of emotional tributes are expected at Oulton Park, and this issue of Inside BTCC is dedicated to her memory.

Rest in Peace Les.

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S T TEN

N O C

IN THIS ISSUE...

AN UPTURN IN FORTUNES 2013 is looking good for Adam Morgan

6-9

NEWS IN BRIEF Rounding up the news from around the paddock

10 - 11

LEARNING THE ROPES Taking a first step in marshalling

13 - 14

DOING IT THE HARD. WAY On to the podium with Tom Onslow-Cole

16 - 19

THRUXTON ROUND-UP Neal wins twice to take points lead

20 - 25

LAUREN’S COLUMN A unique view on BTCC life

26 - 29

SUPPORT RACES Rounding up the action from the support formulae

32 - 33

OULTON PARK PREVIEW Looking ahead to rounds 10, 11 & 12

34 - 35

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 - Neal at Thruxton (PSP Images); Top right - Tom Onslow-Cole (PSP Images).

Back cover: Grid girls (jakobebrey.com).

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Inside BTCC

AN UPTURN IN FORTUNES...

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With nine races run Adam Morgan has already bettered his 2012 points tally – and now his sights are set on a first BTCC victory before the end of the year…

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By Matt Salisbury As the reigning Ginetta GT Supercup champion, there was little doubt that big things were expected of Adam Morgan when he made the move into the BTCC last season.

turn one, and then after being forced to miss race two as the team worked to fix the damage, race three ended with another hefty accident when he was one of the drivers caught out by the oil dropped by Mat Jackson on the run to Druids.

With backing from Ginetta as part of his prize for winning the title, the Lancashire racer secured a place with Speedworks for his debut campaign and arrived at Brands Hatch for the first round of the year with a solid pre-season testing programme under his belt.

Sadly for Morgan, that opening weekend would prove to be a sign of what was to come, with his speed at the wheel of the Toyota Avensis shown by a strong qualifying average but misfortune on race day limiting him to just 50 points and a 19th place championship finish.

Top ten pace in the opening practice session was a strong start while he would post a time just seven tenths of a second away from pole in his first BTCC qualifying session.

Race day however would be a different story…

This time around however, things couldn’t be more different…

Within 15 seconds of the lights going out, Morgan’s debut race had ended in the barriers at Paddock Hill Bend after contact on the run to

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Now back with the family-run Ciceley Racing team – the same team that carried him to the Ginetta crown – Morgan has emerged as one of the stars of the season so far, with nine points finishes in nine starts having enabled him to already eclipse his points tally for all of last year.

Solid points at Brands Hatch were followed by a hattrick of top five finishes at Donington Park, while he could well have won at Thruxton without a mistake at Church on the opening lap that forced him into the pits.

That error aside, Morgan has been both quick and consistent so far and is now starting to produce the results that many felt he was capable of last year – although the man himself admits he has been surprised by just how well the year to date has gone.

“No, not at all,” he replies when asked if he had expected his season to start so well. “From day one, we said that the aim this year was to be more consistent than last year and so far, we’ve not only been more consistent, but we’ve also been able to bring home some good results.

“Starting the way we did at Brands Hatch was a massive help as it really settled the nerves; if I’d had a weekend

like that last year, then things might have turned out to be very different. The three finishes were got there and the points we scored took some of the pressure off and we knew then that everything was working as it should do with the car and that we were working well as a team. It was a huge boost for us, and then Donington lifted us even more. It gave me the extra confidence in myself to really push in the car although Thruxton was a bit of a mixed weekend.

“In the final race there, there is an element of ‘what might have been’ if I hadn’t pushed too hard and lost the rear at Church but we came away from that weekend having maintained out 100 per cent scoring record. Now we can just look ahead to Oulton Park.”

The increased confidence generated by a strong start has had an impact on the performances on track, but when it comes to putting his finger on the reason why there has been such Inside BTCC

Jakobebrey.com a noticeable improvement in results on track, Morgan admits he is unsure what has been the key factor in his upturn in fortunes.

“I honestly don’t know,” he reflects. “The car does feels a bit more driveable this year and I feel I can push a bit harder, while there is also a bit less pressure on me as I don’t have the Ginetta scholarship onboard like I did last year. However, I can’t tell you the reasons why things have gone so well for me so far; it’s just a case of everything working and coming together.

“I will admit though that having Paul onboard is great as he has a lot of experience and knowledge that is helping us to make steps forwards.

His input is allowing me to have more confidence in the car I think that is reflected in the results.”

The Paul that Morgan refers to is engineer Paul Ridgeway, who returns to the BTCC this season having been involved in Team Aon’s WTCC Inside BTCC

programme last year.

Ridgeway is one of the most experienced engineers around and while that experience is helping push the Ciceley crew on, he too admits there is some surprise at just how well things are going.

“I guess you could say that we are punching above our weight a bit,” he insists, “and maybe we are doing better in terms of results than we thought we would have done at this stage of the season.

Our focus has always been to help Adam move forwards as the potential has been there for some time and it is our job to extract it from him.

Whatever we are doing year seems to be working.

“This season, we have been consistent on track and Adam has attacked when it is right to do so and has consolidated his position when it isn’t.

That is why we are where we are in the standings with nine points finishes from nine races.”

While he admits to some

frustration at the missed opportunity in race three at Thruxton, Ridgeway says the pace shown so far this year leaves him in no doubt as to what can be achieved before the season is over.

“That final race at Thruxton was the first mistake Adam has made this year and you don’t want to know the language I used when he went off!” he says. “Everyone was disappointed at what happened, but the first five corners were mega as he was two seconds down the road from the rest and was flying…

“If I’m being honest, I’d be disappointed if we get to the end of the season and we haven’t won a race. Adam has shown he has good pace and he just needs to take the positives from the results we’ve picked up and develop them in the same way he has done so far this year.”

Morgan too now admits that he is thinking about the possibility of being a BTCC winner before the season is out, although a home win at

Oulton Park may be out of the equation given a lack of luck at the Cheshire circuit in the past.

“Oulton Park has always been a bit of a bogey circuit for me and I’ve never had fantastic results there,” he says. “I’m just going to go there with the same mentality I’ve had so far this year and we’ll have worked on the car to make improvements so we’ll see how we go.

“I do think that winning a race before the end of the year is now a reasonably realistic goal. We’ve had some promising races and some encouraging results, and while it is difficult to race against manufacturer teams and teams with a lot more experience than we have, we have stuck with them so far and taken the challenge to them. I don’t think its out of the question that we could get a win before the year is out.”

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Inside BTCC

NEWS IN BRIEF NEWS IN BRIEF NEWS IN BRIEF NEWS IN BRIEF Neate’s Team Club 44 Cruze breaks cover Andy Neate’s new NGTC specification Chevrolet Cruze (above) has been revealed ahead of its debut at Oulton Park.

The recently completed car has been built by Neate’s new-for-2013 team IP Tech Race Engineering and features backing from iconic music brand Marshall Amplification.

Snetterton.

Onslow-Cole joined the factory team for the test, where it was continuing preparations for the Le Mans 24 Hours – where it will field no fewer than five cars in the two GTE classes. Former SEAT BTCC racer Darren Turner is amongst the driver lineup.

Aston Martin test for Onslow-Cole

Alongside the factory cars, a number of AMR customer teams were also present, with OnslowCole given the chance to sample the Beechdean Motorsport Vantage V12 campaigned in the British GT Championship by Jonathan Adam, another man with touring car experience in recent seasons.

On the back of his double podium finish at Thruxton, Tom OnslowCole was given the chance to sample Aston Martin Racing’s GT3-spec V12 Vantage during testing at

“Considering I only did a handful of laps, the Vantage GT3 was incredibly easy to drive,” Onslow-Cole said. “There is so much grip and you get plenty of information

Neate has also added National Blood Week logos to his car - a cause close to Neate’s heart after his 2008 accident at Silverstone.

Inside BTCC 10

back as a driver – it’s incredibly satisfying.

Thanks to Aston Martin Racing for the fantastic opportunity.”

AMR team principal John Gaw meanwhile was impressed by OnslowCole’s performance on track.

“I was impressed when I first met Tom with his attitude and approach and his clear understanding of how the commercial side of motorsport works,” he said. “He has also impressed recently on the track and did so again at the test. We look forward to seeing him in a GT car soon.”

New team looks at 2014 debut A new team has already expressed an interest in joining the grid for the 2014 BTCC season.

RGM Motorsport has signaled its intention to

field a currently unknown NGTC-spec machine for former single-seater racer Aaron Steele, who would be making the move into touring cars for the first time.

Steele, who raced on the BTCC package while in Formula BMW, is set to compete in two rounds of the European Touring Car Cup later this year in a Vuik Racing-run Mercedes C2000 to gain more tintop experience.

“I know being part of the debut season for the RGM Motorsport team in the BTCC could provide some unique challenges, but I also know it will provide an excellent opportunity to demonstrate what I can do as a racer,” Steele said. “There have been some tough weekends and tough years, but every time I have taken to the track I have learned something and taken a step forward.

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NEWS IN BRIEF NEWS IN BRIEF NEWS IN BRIEF NEWS IN BRIEF “I believe the 2014 season will see me develop even further as a racer, and I will take my experience into the 2014 season, where I will show what I can really do.”

Stars reunited at Silverstone Classic media day Stars of the BTCC from years gone by were reunited with their old machinery at Silverstone on the launch event for this year’s Silverstone classic.

John Cleland, Tim Harvey and Patrick Watts all had the chance to drive cars they raced in during the 1990s on the Media Day ahead of the big event in July.

The Classic will play host to the third event of four this season for the new Touring Car Trophy, while it will also be the event where former BTCC racer Steve Soper makes www.insidebtcc.com

his return to action for the first time since he called time on his career following an accident in the 2001 BTCC season finale at Brands Hatch – which left him with an injured neck.

Soper will share a Ford GT40 with David Cuff in the World Sportscar Masters, which features a full 58-car grid of Le Mans-style sportscars from the 1962-1974 era.

“After the accident I was told to totally change my lifestyle, so that’s what I did. I totally stopped racing and concentrated on my BMW dealership in Lincoln,” Soper said. “But last year I started getting pins and needles in my fingers, so I went back to see the specialist. To cut a long story short, he insisted I had an operation on my damaged neck which, thanks to today’s technology, has replaced three of my discs and two vertebrae with carbon

cages.

“The surgeon tells me that, after the three and half hour operation in January, my neck is now as strong as it was when I was 21 and therefore has cleared me to start competing again.”

Third NGTC Ford breaks cover The third NGTC-spec Ford Focus set to be entered by Motorbase into the 2013 BTCC has broken cover following a test session at Snetterton.

Michael Caine was at the wheel of the car for the test, where he was joined on track by both Aron Smith and Mat Jackson as they put more mileage on the cars that have raced in the opening three rounds of the year.

I’m the crash test dummy of the team so they were happy to get me out there for the first test! As I say though, the car ran great so from a build point of view the team has again done a fantastic job.”

Caine was due to race the car this season as team-mate to Liam Griffin under the Addison Lee Motorbase but is now unlikely to compete due to his commitments in the British GT Championship and elsewhere.

Talks are ongoing regarding who could therefore take up the driver role when the car joins the grid.

The likes of MG, Honda, eBay Motors, Speedworks and Ciceley Racing have also been busy testing over the break.

“It was just a shakedown but in truth the car ran pretty faultlessly all day long,” said Caine. “I think Inside BTCC 11

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Inside BTCC 12

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LEARNING THE ROPES

BY MATT SALISBURY When someone decides they fancy giving marshaling a go, it could be a somewhat daunting experience given the responsibility involved in the various roles carried out at a race track.

Luckily, trainee marshals both young and old are given step-by-step training here in the UK to help guide them through their marshaling careers – starting at the very bottom when prospective marshals have the opportunity to head to a circuit for a taster day to gain an insight into life in orange.

Nadine Lewis is one of the first points of contact for new marshals in the North West, and is one of the Training Instructors who help to provide advice and pointers to those who want to embark on a marshaling career.

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The latest insight into the world of marshaling as Inside BTCC continues to explore what makes the boys and girls in orange tick

Ahead of her home event at Oulton Park, Inside BTCC spoke to Nadine about what she does…

that they want to become a marshal and can set them on the path to doing it on a regular basis.

How did you become involved in marshaling?

Inside BTCC:

It was on a taster day actually, at Oulton Park back in 1997. I found out what it was all about, fell over in front of a crowd of people, which was a bit embarrassing, but still decided to come back to do it all again!

Inside BTCC: Nadine, what is your role within marshaling?

How important is that hands on experience and the chance to have a go before making a decision?

Nadine Lewis: Nadine Lewis: I’m involved with people from the start of their marshaling career. I get them involved in taster days that we run at the circuit when events are taking place so they can come along and see what it is all about. We’ll walk round the circuit in the morning while practice sessions are going on to show people around, and then they get out on posts in the afternoon to have a try and see if they like it. I’ll give them advice on how they can move forwards if they decide

It is the best thing people can do. We find that maybe 75 to 80 per cent of the people who do a taster day come back and want to do it again. Even for those who don’t, it is the best way for them to find that out, as they haven’t spent any money on overalls or getting kitted out. They’ve been able to make the decision early on before making any kind of investment.

Inside BTCC:

Nadine Lewis:

Inside BTCC: What attracted you to marshaling in the first place?

Nadine Lewis: It was a love of motorsport. I always watched on TV but hadn’t spectated much with my family. A friend of mine heard someone on the radio talking about marshals but I had no idea they were all

Inside BTCC 13

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volunteers. I thought they were paid and you had to commit to doing a lot of events each year, and didn’t think I could make that commitment. Having heard it was voluntary, and having heard that you could commit to as many or as few events as possible, I thought I’d give it a go.

Inside BTCC: How important is the structure that new marshals have as they embark on their marshaling careers?

Nadine Lewis: I see the new marshals every week and I think its good for them to see a friendly face when they come to the circuit. I do the allocation of the incidents marshals when they come to Oulton Park, so I get to see them

Inside BTCC 14

every week and I get to make sure they are on a different post so they get to deal with different things, see different things and met different people. At the end of the day, you will always learn from spending time with different people as they pass on their knowledge. Having that structure of being able to allocate people and them being able to see me is beneficial, and quite often I’ll get e-mails from people asking if I can help point them in the right direction when they’ve moved on and gained a lot more experience.

Inside BTCC: So you oversee things on a weekend rather than being out on a post yourself?

Nadine Lewis:

I get to go out and play as well! When I’m doing the taster days, I hand the prospective marshals over in the afternoon so I can go out and get involved.

I’m graded as an incident officer so if I’m out for a full day I’ll do that. If it’s a taster day and I’ve had my commitments there in the morning, then I’ll act as a Post Chief in the afternoon as that is something that I’m currently working towards.

I try and make sure I’m out marshaling as much as possible.

back to race control, but I’ll be in charge of the group of people dealing with incidents as they happen on the ground – moving cars, putting out fires and helping with the rescue unit if needed.

Basically I’ll be guiding the team of marshals to get an incident cleared and to keep them safe.

Inside BTCC:

Nadine Lewis:

So what do you do in your role as an Incident Officer?

Come and do a taster day and see what it is all about. Until you’ve tried it, you don’t know how good it is, and when you’ve got the bug, you’ll come back!

Nadine Lewis:

Inside BTCC: So what advice would you give to someone considering becoming a marshal?

I’ll be in charge of a group of incident marshals. The post chief is in charge of the post and relaying info

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DOING IT THE HARD. WAY Inside BTCC 16

Having taken on a massive challenge for the 2013 BTCC season, Team HARD. celebrates podium success in just the third round of the year www.insidebtcc.com

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The announcement that Tom Onslow-Cole was to leave West Surrey Racing to join Tony Gilham’s Team HARD. outfit was one of the surprises of the off-season in the BTCC. The 25-year-old had finished sixth in the standings with the WSR-run eBay Motors team in 2012 but revealed shortly before Christmas that he was to take up a new challenge in joining Gilham’s team to drive one of two new Volkswagen Passat CCs being built up alongside the Vauxhall Insignias already purchased from Thorney Motorsport.

For a team that had only been in the BTCC for a season, and which had only run a single car up until the season finale, it was a massive challenge – with no shortage of doubters that the cars would be ready for the first meeting of the year at Brands Hatch.

However, the two Insignias – being driven by rookies Jack Goff and James Cole – were both ready to take their place on the grid for www.insidebtcc.com

the season opener, with Onslow-Cole’s Passat also arriving at the circuit shortly before the first practice session of the campaign kicked off.

It was a far from ideal way to start life with his new team for the former Vauxhall and Team Aon man as he embarked on a very public shakedown of the new car, although Brands Hatch would yield a points finish first time out and saw the Passat make huge strides forwards across the three races.

There was more progress at Donington Park with a pair of top ten finishes before the field arrived at Thruxton – and a circuit that would play to the strengths of the long-wheel base VW. Having broken into the top ten in qualifying for the first time, Onslow-Cole would enjoy easily his best weekend of the campaign to date – taking third in race one following Andy Jordan’s last lap puncture and then battling ahead of the MG of double champion Jason Plato to take second in race

two.

Fourth place in race three made him one of the highest scorers from the weekend and showed the potential there is in the Passat, even if the team was aided somewhat by the unique nature of the highspeed Hampshire circuit.

“We probably couldn’t have done this at somewhere like Oulton Park with the car as it is,” he admitted to Inside BTCC. “We have an advantage in the highspeed corners where the car is very settled and very strong, and we know there is work to do in the tighter and twistier stuff.

Somewhere like Oulton will be harder for us, but then again, we have time before then to work on making further improvements to the car and to make it stronger.

“To be in a position to get onto the podium at this stage is fantastic for us. The car is only something like eight weeks old and is very much in its infancy, so we are doing a good job when you look at the cars that are around us. We were able

to hustle the car around Thruxton and even though it isn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, it was good enough to allow us to do a great job on track.”

Onslow-Cole insisted that he was surprised at the progress made by his new team so far, but admitted that the hardest part of the job is what still lies ahead.

“I’ve said a few times that we are five months into the year, but that the boys in the team have already worked six!” he said. “To get the car out in the first place was very tight and they pulled all sorts of hours to make that happen, and it hasn’t really backed off. I’ve been fairly demanding in what I want to get from the car and Tony and the team have been trying to provide it.

“There is a lot that we want to do but the big challenge will come when we are looking for the final parts and are just chasing tenths of a second. At the moment we are doing simple little things to make sure that Inside BTCC 17

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we don’t lose ourselves, so we are only scratching the surface.

“Our focus at the moment is on not doing anything complicated and on making sure we improve what we have. I have experience on the engineering side of things and am enjoying the challenge of helping the team to move forwards with the car. I’m a bit of a geek away from the circuit and enjoy the engineering and mathematical side of things – so this is right up my street.

“I’m feeding back as much information to the team as I can and am enjoying the development work. We’ll keep pushing until we have a winning car.”

wrong, he insisted he was pleased with the progress made by his team so far this season as it embarks on its first NGTC programme.

Onslow-Cole’s double podium, alongside a first top ten finish for Goff, capped a fine weekend for team boss Gilham, who had faced his fair share of questions over the offseason as to whether he would be able to pull his ambitious programme together.

“We had a lot of doubters from day one when it came to getting the cars ready, but without sounding over confident, if I say I’m going to do something, then I go ahead and do it,” he said.

“We had to move mountains to get to Brands Hatch and we didn’t have everything in place as early as we expected, but when the goal posts move, you just have to get over the new obstacles that have been put in your way. Hopefully we proved some of the doubters wrong by getting out on track in the first place, and now proving them wrong even more by showing them how good the cars are.

Now proving the doubters

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“To be on the podium at this stage is a massive achievement. Okay, we benefitted from Jordan’s puncture in race one, but Tom was quicker than the MG and he showed that by getting past it in race Inside BTCC 18

two. We split the Hondas in the second race and they probably have the best chassis on the grid at the moment, so the results have put the team on the map. However, the job isn’t complete and we still want more.”

Indeed, Gilham added that the team was already aware of where it can make further improvements to the Passat but wouldn’t get carried away with its Thruxton success.

“We’re probably at about 80 per cent with the car and the good thing is that we know where about 15 per cent is,” he said. “We have a big chunk of time to come and know where there are improvements to make, we just need approval to do it.

We’re on the pace which is encouraging but we are up against some proven teams and even though I’ll celebrate these podium finishes as much as anyone else, we have to keep our feet on the ground.”

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Inside BTCC 19

DOUBLE FOR NEAL AT THRUXTON HONDAS DOMINATE NEAL LEADS POINTS STANDINGS

Inside BTCC 20

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Pics: PSP Images

MATT LAMPRELL REPORTS

NEAL LEADS JORDAN IN CHAMPIONSHIP THREE OUT OF THREE FOR HONDA YUASA RACING AS PUNCTURES PLAY THEIR PART Two wins at Thruxton have put Matt Neal in the driving seat of the 2013 BTCC a third of the way through the season.

It was another dominant perfromance from Honda in Hampshire, as Gordon Shedden made sure the works team claimed a hattrick.

RACE ONE Andrew Jordan looked set to claim his second win of the year in the first race at Thruxton - only to suffer a puncture on the final

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lap.

Pirtek’s Jordan had led since the opening lap and was almost in sight of the chequered flag when his front left tyre burst, sending him off onto the grass on one of the fastest parts of the circuit.

Matt Neal was on hand to benefit and in turn picked up his second victory of 2013. Jordan managed to drag his Honda across the line in 11th place.

Jordan had started the race from pole position but was

carrying more ballast than anyone other than Jason Plato. Perhaps that was why Gordon Shedden was able to get the jump at the start, moving through to lead at the Complex.

However, Shedden’s hopes of victory were shortlived.

As he tussled with Plato, there was contact between the pair that ended with Shedden sliding across the grass and into the barrier.

Jordan emerged at the front, ahead of Neal and Plato.

Shedden rejoined but was a long way

Inside BTCC 21

down the order and subsequently made a visit to the pits.

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Jordan and Neal looked comfortable at the front until the final lap incident.

Neal continued to push Jordan hard, which won’t have helped the heavier Honda manage its tyres at the front.

After the race, Neal said, “I knew I was 9kg lighter and Thruxton always throws up a curve ball, so you never know. It’s the hottest day of the year so far and I kept the pressure on. I feel a bit sorry

for Andy and the Pirtek guys, but it’s great to have Yuasa at the front again.”

Behind Neal, Jason Plato had plenty on his plate, defending from a rapid Tom Onslow-Cole in the leading Team HARD Volkswagen Passat CC. Having passed Plato’s teammate Tordoff earlier in the race, Onslow-Cole climbed all over the back of Plato’s MG – but without success.

Jordan’s demise meant that Plato crossed the line second, with Onslow-Cole

third. Tordoff took fourth, ahead of Jeff Smith in fifth.

Colin Turkington claimed sixth for eBay Motors, with Airwaves Racing’s Mat Jackson in seventh. Dave Newsham, Aron Smith and Adam Morgan completed the top ten.

1 Gordon Shedden (NGTC) 16 1 Matt Neal (NGTC) 16 Laps / 21:14.471; 2 Jason Plato (NGTC) +6.663; 3 Tom Onslow-Cole (NGTC) +7.522; 4 Sam Tordoff (NGTC) +9.579; 5 Jeff Smith (NGTC) +10.205; 6 Colin Turkington (NGTC) +14.803; 7 Mat Jackson (NGTC) +15.454; 8 Dave Newsham (NGTC) +15.899; 9 Aron Smith (NGTC) +16.104; 10 Adam Morgan (NGTC) +16.735.

Independent winner: Tom Onslow-Cole Fastest lap: Andrew Jordan (1:17.876).

RACE TWO Matt Neal (NGTC) 19 Laps / 27:46.053; 2 Tom OnslowCole (NGTC) +1.468; 3 Gordon Shedden (NGTC) +1.676; 4 Andrew Jordan (NGTC) +1.891; 5 Jason Plato (NGTC) +3.560; 6 Jeff Smith (NGTC) +4.949; 7 Sam Tordoff (NGTC) +13.072;

of the whole pack on two occasions.

Fortunately, the oncoming traffic avoided the Focus.

There was a scary slide for Airwaves Racing’s Aron Smith on the opening lap. The two-part slide saw Smith sideways across the track in front

In fourth place, Colin Turkington was causing a queue behind him, headed

by Mat Jackson. The pair were also joined

by Jeff Smith and Sam Tordoff.

RACE TWO Matt Neal took a second consecutive victory in race two at Thruxton, ahead of Tom OnslowCole and Gordon Shedden.

Neal got the best start from pole

RACE RESULTS - TOP 10s RACE ONE

position and led through Allard for the first time, ahead of Jason Plato and Tom Onslow-Cole.

8 Adam Morgan (NGTC) +14.410; 9 Jack Goff (NGTC) +20.433; 10 Aron Smith (NGTC) +22.457.

Independent winner: Tom Onslow-Cole Fastest lap: Andrew Jordan (1:17.999).

RACE THREE Gordon Shedden (NGTC) 16 Laps / 21:14.790; 2 Matt Neal (NGTC) +0.643; 3 Andrew Jordan (NGTC) +0.692; 4 Tom Onslow-Cole (NGTC) +6.646; 5 Aron Smith (NGTC) +8.202; 6 Jeff Smith (NGTC) +9.167; 7 Mat Jackson (NGTC) +9.506; 8 Sam Tordoff (NGTC) +13.600; 9 Dave Newsham (NGTC) +13.962; 10 Colin Turkington (NGTC) +17.289.

Independent winner: Andrew Jordan Fastest lap: Gordon Shedden (1:17.849)

JORDAN TAKES POLE AS HONDAS DOMINATE Andrew Jordan claimed his second pole position of the season at Thruxton.

Jordan left it late to set his fastest lap time of 1:16.527. With just a minute of the session remaining, Honda Yuasa Racing’s Gordon Shedden held provisional pole position, however, Jordan had other ideas.

Having lapped quick enough for third earlier in the session, Jordan set off on his final run just minutes before the chequered flag was due out. Despite a sizeable slide on the fastest part of the Thruxton track, Jordan went on to claim pole.

Shedden was sat in his Civic in the pitlane as Jordan crossed the line,

so there was no time for the reigning champion to respond, leaving him to settle for second.

Matt Neal was third quickest, making it a Honda 1-2-3, while MG pair Jason Plato and Sam Tordoff will start fourth and fifth respectively on the grid for tomorrow’s first race.

Jeff Smith was sixth fastest in the second Pirtek Racing Honda, however, he ended the session off the track.

Seventh went to Tom Onslow-Cole, ahead of Frank Wrathall and Dave Newsham.Colin Turkington was the top BMW driver in tenth position.

Good weekend: Matt Neal Two wins. Points lead.

Inside BTCC 22

Tom Onslow-Cole First podium for Team HARD.

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The safety car was deployed on lap five after Dan Welch hit the tyre barrier at the chicane.

At this point, Neal was leading from Plato, Onslow-Col, Jeff Smith and Mat Jackson.

When racing resumed, the first change was for fifth place. Mat Jackson

slid off the track and ended up running across the grass and dropping right down the order.

There was plenty more action to come and it started with Andrew Jordan taking fourth place away from Pirtek Racing teammate Jeff Smith. In front of the two Hondas, Tom OnslowCole’s strong run continued, as he passed Jason Plato for second.

Plato didn’t have the pace of the front runners and he also

lost out to Gordon Shedden and Andrew Jordan in the closing stages.

At the chequered flag, it was another win for Matt Neal, ahead of Tom Onslow-Cole, Gordon Shedden and Andrew Jordan.

Plato took fifth place, in front of Jeff Smith, Sam Tordoff, Adam Morgan and Jack Goff. Aron Smith completed the top ten.

RACE THREE Gordon Shedden

led a Honda 1-2-3 in the final race of the day at Thruxton, while it was Jason Plato’s turn to suffer a puncture while in the lead.

Jack Goff started the race from pole position for RCIB Insurance Racing,

Race winner Matt Neal said, “That just shows how good the little Civic is today.

Bad weekend: Andrew Jordan Could have been worse, but puncture prevented first race victory.

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Before the safety car Jason [Plato] was just so quick, but it was ok as the race went on. It’s a good result for Honda with Flash in third, too.”

PSP Images

Jackson found a way past Turkington on lap four, only for Jeff Smith to edge ahead of both of them as they squabbled.

Frank Wrathall Just a disappointing solitary point scored.

Inside BTCC 23

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but it was a tough start to the race for the BTCC newcomer. He found himself flying across the grass at the Complex on the opening lap, which was enough to allow Adam Morgan through into the lead and Jeff Smith into second. Another off second time around saw Goff drop further down the order.

Having inherited the race lead, there was also a scary moment for Morgan on the first lap. The Toyota ran wide on to the grass at Church, but managed to rejoin in the lead.

However, the damage was done and he was forced to pit next time around to clear the grass out of the Avensis’ air intakes.

Morgan’s misfortune left Jeff Smith in the lead, but with Jason Plato hot on his heels. Indeed, they were also being chased Inside BTCC 24

by Sam Tordoff and Gordon Shedden. It took Plato until just lap seven to find a way past the less experienced Smith.

A couple of laps later, Shedden took third place away from Tordoff and then set about chasing down Smith.

With five laps remaining, Shedden claimed second.

Over the next couple of laps, he closed the gap on race leader Plato, however his task became a whole lot easier when Plato’s MG suffered a puncture.

Just as for Andrew Jordan in the first race, it was the front left tyre that succumbed, leaving Plato with no option but to try and crawl back to the pits.

Shedden now led from Jeff Smith, Matt Neal and Andrew Jordan.

Having already won

twice earlier in the day, Neal looked to be in with a shot of achieving a remarkable hattrick.

However, it wasn’t to be.

Approaching the chicane on the penultimate lap, Neal challenged Smith for second. The Pirtek driver defended, but contact between the two left Smith spinning and dropping down the order.

Neal claimed second and had just over a lap to catch and pass teammate Shedden if he was to make it three out of three.

As it turned out, he had to focus on his mirrors, with Andrew Jordan chasing him all the way to the line.

At the chequered flag, it was a Honda 1-2-3, headed by Shedden.

Neal finished second and Jordan, third. Tom Onslow-Cole capped a strong weekend with fourth place, ahead of

Aron Smith in fifth. Jeff Smith finished sixth. Mat Jackson claimed seventh for Airwaves Racing, with Sam Tordoff, Dave Newsham and Colin Turkington rounding out the top ten.

Gordon Shedden said, “It’s fantastic to go into the break ahead of Oulton with a win. This weekend didn’t start well for me, but it’s great to come back with a podium and a win.

Thruxton is notoriously hard on tyres, but it’s testament to the handling of the Honda Civic that we’ve done so well today.”

Matt Neal leads the 2013 BTCC points standings after 9 of 30 races, on 137 points. Andrew Jordan is second on 124, Jason Plato third (121), Gordon Shedden fourth (109) and Sam Tordoff fifth (103).

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Inside BTCC 25

LAUREN’S COLUMN...

In her latest column for Inside BTCC, Lauren Taylor looks back at the Thruxton weekend and another challenging weekend for the Airwaves Racing crew Inside BTCC 26

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The purpose of my latest blog isn’t to paint a perfect picture of the exciting and glamorous side of the BTCC that is portrayed so well in that heavy base prelude to the ITV4 coverage. Instead, it is to highlight the hard - but appealing - reality that both teams and drivers face by choosing to be a part of this championship.

Waking up on Saturday is always a mixed bag of emotions for me. At Thruxton, there were a few more nervous notions thrown in off the back of a disappointing weekend at Donington. Always armed with less sleep than Aron, I wake to an early alarm relative to his. Having put on my war paint and usually after a stubbed toe or two, I then wake Aron 30 minutes before we are due to leave. www.insidebtcc.com

It’s in this half hour that I can really tell his thoughts before he puts on his mask of optimism for everyone to see. In other areas of life, when the nerves set in, it’s easy to give a few ‘thatta boys’ and declare that once you try your best, it’ll all work out. With motorsport, this isn’t the case. I’ve learnt that this overly optimistic encouragement only goes so far, and I’ve said it all to him at this stage.

If Aron’s first year in touring cars taught me anything, it’s that it’s okay to be disappointed, angry and frustrated, just as much as it is to be happy. I believe it’s important for Aron to have people around him that he can vent his frustration to, without it being taken too seriously or taken the wrong way.

While it’s important to have the encouragement, he knows that when I say something, I mean it - and I’m not just saying it because it sounds good.

For me, arriving at the track

on Saturday is definitely one of the nicest parts of the weekend. You get to catch up with people you haven’t seen since the last race meeting and the team are relatively calm. Better still, Aron acknowledges my existence - a rare novelty that really only takes place in times of extreme happiness or upset during a race weekend.

At Thruxton, free practice one was bit of a write off due to rain and FP2 was spent making a few tweaks and gauging the pace that the car had. As always, it was qualifying that left a lasting impression.

Aron made it exciting for us by making sure he spent the first 15 minutes outside of the top 20, which only meant we couldn’t watch his times on the screen. Then BOOM, just as you start to question the reliability of the transponder, he politely placed his car in the top ten. From there, the team got to really show their hand by getting involved in this pantomime, allowing for three minute bursts of excitement with endless tyre changes.

With 60 seconds to go, Aron lay in twelfth. Taking a deep breath, I mentally prepared myself to deal with disappointment. I looked around at the end of the session and noticed a distinct lack of reaction from everyone on the team; only highlighting further that this is not where everyone wants to be. With the amount of time, passion and money that has gone into what I feel to be the most incredible team in the paddock, it really hit home that something wasn’t right.

With qualifying over at 4pm, Aron then proceeded to lock himself in a room with his engineer and the data guys.

Small tweaks were no longer the objective.

They sat in that room for six hours until 10pm, breaking shortly to eat. As other teams wrapped up and went home, it was the guys at Airwaves that continued to keep their heads down. I can assure you, that if every single member of the team didn’t know the intense potential of the cars, they wouldn’t have

Pics: PSP Images

I write my third column from the comforts of a three hour-long train journey.

Feeling rather thoughtful, I will excuse myself for the emotionally led piece that follows, as the weekend past has reminded me once more what is really at stake here.

Inside BTCC 27

all been so eager to stay.

The fact of the matter is, we are almost there - ready to snap at the heels of the formidable Hondas. After all, we couldn’t have the Honda’s being the new Chevys, with the BTCC becoming the new WTCC. Snore…

In these six hours I was kept amused by some of the best company in the paddock, which consisted of the ever funny Jade Edwards, Jack Goff and Tom OC – a dynamite combination if ever you need time to fly.

They say you don’t have friends in motorsport, which in part is true, yet its hard not to when you spend so much time with one another.

At the end of the day, it is every man for themselves when you’re out on track, and it’s inevitable this leads to some awkward situations, especially if friendships are at play.

After each race there are always a handful of apologies that need to be made. These apologies only ever happen if there is a certain level of respect that already exists between two drivers. Often,

Inside BTCC 28

incidents will be ignored with each party having a little bitch to themselves.

However, if that respect is there, it’s always funny to watch the walk of shame into what seems like the unknown battlefield.

Alternatively, you can make expected outlandish statements to any media source that will listen and then cowardly say nothing to the driver in question when you realise you have in fact behaved like a walking contradiction and quite frankly a bit of a clown…

Talking to the likes of Jack and Tom makes you realise we are all here for one purpose. While everyone has a unique path to get to the BTCC, there is no doubt that endless amounts of hard work has got each driver to where they are. With a sport like motorsport, not everyone will reach his or her goals; after all, there is only one winner’s trophy. Jack and Tom had both done well in qualifying, but knowing Aron was back racking his brains for answers, I soon had to impose an embargo of verbal sorts.

There was to be no talk of Team HARD success; I was far too bitter to deal with that.

I finally got the call from Aron at 10pm to tell me he was ready to leave the track. He seemed tired, drained and optimistic all at the same time. Having been with Aron for nearly six years, I’ve learnt how to read him pretty well. He simply did not want to talk about it anymore, he just needed to switch his brain off and be left be. So that’s what happened.

With the clock striking 6.30am, race day arrived.

Aron was finally ready to fill my brain on what exact changes were going to be made to the car. I listen with interest, but sometimes wonder if he forgets that I don’t have an honours degree in mechanical engineering.

Nonetheless, I could tell that the impending races where either going to go great, or there was going to be some serious heartache.

When race one was about to start I took a leap of faith and ventured away from the comforts of the team and onto the banks to watch

the start - something I later regretted considering I have little or no filter during the race. For once in his life, Aron didn’t get a great start.

Aron is the bomb at many things and when it comes to the starts and the first lap, I’m quite sanguine. A similar sentiment can be felt toward Aron and wet races. After all, a good driver shines in the wet, as they can’t rely on racing repetition.

Having dropped to 15th, I felt sick. It’s not his safety I worry about, it’s his mental state that runs around in my head for the following 20 minutes of a race. As he slowly picked off positions, I analysed what he must be thinking with respect to who’s around him at that time. I’d be confident in my summary of every drivers racing style that I could write a column on that information alone and rest on the fact it would be pretty accurate.

Having finished in ninth, I was disappointed for him, but proud all the same for his ability to continue to race hard regardless of the position he was fighting for.

Of the whole weekend it was race two that stood out for

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That moment reminded me of Aron’s first race with Motorbase back in 2012. We were so excited that he’d finally got his chance to race in the BTCC. His first race ended in the wall. It was that feeling all over again, but magnified. It’s not like he hasn’t had hardship since then, but for some reason, this time was different.

I grit my teeth and retreated behind the trucks, where I didn’t have to see anybody.

I rang my Dad back home in Ireland to vent, knowing he’d be thinking the exact same thing and then proceeded to pace around the back of the garages. You’d swear something extreme and horrible had just happened

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with the mood I was in.

I have no doubt that some of you reading this will question and doubt the sincerity of the emotions that go along with this championship, especially from someone in my position.

After all, we are just ‘dolly birds’ or ‘racer chasers’ who are clueless about what goes on and what’s at stake.

Wrong. The partners, family and friends of the guys out there go through every single bit of emotion that the drivers do. By supporting and accepting that this is their dream, those around them make sacrifices too.

Aron, for one, has worked tirelessly to commit to getting his university degree in Structural Engineering.

Racing has forced him to do this part time; something he is more than happy to do if it means he gets to be behind the wheel of a racing car. In every conversation surrounding our future, there is an underlying assumption that he will be racing. To do racing properly means that 9-5 is not an option for him, and I’m okay with that. For now, it puts things a little on hold for us, but if I’m honest, Aron is a whole new level

of happy when he’s racing, which is always lovely to see and is worth the sacrifices made.

It was all of these thoughts that ran through my head as I watched him bounce across the grass. Everything was wrong with the world at that moment. It finally dawned on me that Aron was still out there racing. I poked my head into eBay’s garage and realised the jammy beggar was back up to 16th already.

I ran back into the team and watched with some serious excitement as he picked away at everyone in front of him.

Not a lap went by that he didn’t overtake someone. I could have watched that race forever as I was reminded that, while luck is part of the game, so is skill.

Aron went from being eight, to last, all the way back up to tenth having passed 17 cars - proving once more that he deserved to be out on that grid.

As expected the reverse grid pulled the top nine to be reversed. Textbook.

Nonetheless, Aron drove a stormer and brought the Airwaves Racing car home in

fifth, the highest result of the season for Airwaves Racing.

Throughout the weekend I was continuously loved up by all the support the team get.

It’s lovely watching the reruns of the race and hearing the amount of support the Airwaves team have from commentators and fans alike.

I can’t wait for the weekend that podiums become the new norm and Airwaves Racing become the team to beat.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t grateful for the few weeks break but now I’m ready for it to come to an end. More importantly, I’m looking forward to watching our fellow Irishman and one of Arons ‘besties’ making his debut in a Ginetta G50. If there is anyone I like more than Aron, it is our David Dickenson.

Here’s hoping for some silverware for Aron and David so we can really cause some more chaos for our Ryanair flight home…

Pics: PSP Images

me. Aron had the moment of all moments on lap one sending him across the grass and seeing him narrowly missed by Frank Wrathall. I heard the murmurs from the mechanics that confirmed that the blue flash was Aron and my heart sank. I ran out to the pits to see where he had rejoined. I watched as the entire grid zoomed past the entrance and seconds later there he was, in last place.

Until next time!

X n e r u a L Inside BTCC 29

jakobebrey.com

Inside BTCC 30

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Inside BTCC 31

SUPPORT RACE ROUND-UP We look back at all the action from the support race paddock at Thruxton...

Consistent approach puts Gelzinis top Lithuanian racer Jonas Gelzinis will take a single point lead into the latest rounds of the Porsche Carrera Cup, having moved to the head of the standings last time out at Thruxton.

Gelzinis maintained his record of finishing on the podium in every race this season at the Hampshire circuit five weeks ago, taking second spot in race one and third in race two to put him a point clear of Michael Meadows – who took his third win of the campaign.

Despite a first nonscore of the season in the second Thruxton race, early points leader Dean Stoneman retains a top three championship position Inside BTCC 32

while Dan Lloyds’ first win of the year in race one at Thruxton means he is now fourth as he seeks to rebound from a tough start to the new campaign.

In Pro-Am1, Victor Jimenez continues to lead the way having been the first man home in both races at Thruxton, although the Spaniard will face more of a challenge at Oulton as the field expands from the three that raced at Thruxton. Karl and Michael Leonard are both slated to return, while Keith Webster is also expected to appear having missed the early races of the year with a broken arm.

Both Peter Smallword and Will Goff are set to return to ProAm2 having missed Thruxton.

Cammish still the class of the field Dan Cammish remains the man to beat in the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain, with the JTR man heading to Oulton Park with a perfect record of nine wins in nine races so far.

Another triple success at Thruxton means he leads the championship by 87 points over Harrison Scott – a gap equivalent to almost three race wins.

Second place Scott heads the Scholarship class standings and clinched another two podium finishes last time out in Hampshire to keep him ahead of Nico Maranzana in the standings, with Juan Rosso – Maranzana’s Jamun Racing team-mate – fourth after another strong weekend where he also took a brace of podium finishes.

His fourth place in the championship comes despite the fact he was forced to miss the opening rounds of the year at Brands Hatch.

Amongst those eager to challenge the front-runners at Oulton Park will be Richardson Racing’s Andy Richardson, who secured his best results to date in singleseaters with two podiums at Thruxton, while the likes of George Blundell and Camren Kaminsky will hope to add to their podium tallys.

Formula Ford will welcome a new addition to the field at Oulton, with South African champion Jayde Kruger joining Jamun Racing for his series debut, while James Abbott will hope for an upturn in fortunes after switching his Sinter chassis for a Mygale, as used by the majority of the field.

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Slender lead for Rivett Paul Rivett retains a slender lead in the Renault UK Clio Cup Championship standings heading to Oulton Park, despite a tough weekend at Thruxton last time out.

Rivett saw his lead brought down to just three points by Josh Files after he took a brace of podium finishes in Hampshire, maintaining a run of form that has seen him take four top three finishes in the opening six races.

Files goes to Oulton with confidence on a high following a successful start to Clio

Woodhead continues domination In the same way that Dan Cammish has dominated Formula Ford, Harry Woodhead maintained his 100 per cent record in the Ginetta Junior Championship at Thruxton to further extend his lead in the championship standings.

A dominant win in race one ahead of Keith Donegan was followed by a more closely-run affair in race two, where the HHC man beat Ollie Chadwick to victory by less than a second having been pushed hard from start-to-finish.

Woodhead’s lead in the

Eurocup campaign, with victory at Imola and a podium at Spa leaving him second in the standings in that series as well.

Alex Morgan sits third in the UK standings heading to Oulton despite, like Rivett, enduring a tough weekend at Thruxton, with James Colburn, Mike Bushell and Josh Cook rounding out the top six. Bushell will switch to KX Racing with Scuderia Vitoria at Oulton Park.

Away from the main championship, Files holds a 20 point lead over Colburn, while Simon Belcher is four points up on Graham Field in the Masters Cup.

standings is now 72 points over team-mate William Palmer, who took a podium in race one in Hampshire despite dropping to the back of the field after a spin on the opening lap.

An on-clash track played a part in him only managing fifth in race two.

Following his podium in race two, Chadwick heads to Oulton Park third in the standings, and is now eleven points behind Palmer. Tom Jackson’s second podium of the year meanwhile has seen him move up to fourth in the championship standings, with James Kellett and Donegan rounding out the top six.

Ingram out front Tom Ingram continues to lead the way in the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup having taken his second win of the season last time out at Thruxton.

Ingram took victory in the reverse grid final race to give him a 32 point championship lead, although it was defending champion Carl Breeze who was the big winner in Hampshire – picking up two more victories to make it five in nine starts.

However, bad luck for the TCR man in the opening two rounds of the year means he continues to play catch up going into the fourth meeting of the

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season, with Matt NicollJones seeking to bounce back to form having failed to make it onto the podium at Thruxton.

Nicoll-Jones sits third in the standings but is just eight points clear of Pepe Massot; the Spaniard being the only man other than Ingram and Breeze to win the season. Behind the top four, a close battle is also developing between Jamie Orton, Rob Boston and Mark Davies; the trio covered by just four points.

In the G50 class, Sean Huyton’s lead over Dan Norris-Jones is now 73 points after Huyton took his win tally to seven at Thruxton.

Inside BTCC 33

OULTON PARK PREVIEW

After an early season break, the BTCC will burst back into life at Oulton Park with the fourth round of the year – and with Honda hoping to maintain its solid start to the season at a circuit where the Civic was strong last year.

Pics: PSP Images

On the back of his double win last time out at Thruxton, triple champion Matt Neal tops the championship standings making the trip to Cheshire, with a lead of 13 points over Andy Jordan.

Neal’s Honda team is amongst those to have been out testing in the gap between races and he’ll now hope for a repeat of the results he gained at Oulton last year; where he made amends for his high-profile mistake in

Inside BTCC 34

2011 by taking a brace of race wins.

Victory in the other race on a chaotic weekend of action on track went to team-mate Gordon Shedden as the factory Honda crew completed a clean-sweep on race day – giving them a combined record of no fewer than eleven wins at the Cheshire circuit.

Neal will hope to make the

most of the undoubted pace in the Civic to try and extend his lead, while Shedden will be keen to try and move up from his current fourth place in the standings; three no scores in the opening nine races of the year having hit his title defence thus far.

The two Dynamics men won’t have it all their own way however, with the two drivers between them also chasing a strong weekend.

Second placed Jordan endured a tough end to his Oulton Park weekend last year when a clash with Rob Collard saw him go off into the barriers, but the Pirtek Racing man has raised his game this year and arguably should be closer to Neal in the standings. After all, Jordan was only a matter of miles from winning the opening race at Thruxton before suffering a puncture – which handed victory on a plate to Neal.

Jason Plato will also hope to spoil the Honda party at a circuit where he has won more times than any of his current rivals, with seven wins to his name dating back to 1998.

Plato stormed to pole in record-breaking fashion

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last year but then failed to take the start of race one due to a mechanical issue, although he recovered well to take two podium finishes later in the day.

Like Jordan, Plato lost an almost certain win last time out at Thruxton but he’ll hope that Oulton is a circuit where the MG will be able to really take the challenge to the Hondas – which have now won six of the nine races run so far.

Behind the top four, Sam Tordoff and Jeff Smith

will be seek to maintain their places in the top six, although Smith in particular could come under pressure from the two men directly behind him in the standings.

Adam Morgan missed out on a potential win with his error early on in race three at Thruxton but heads into his home event seeking to maintain his strong start to the year in the Ciceley Racing Toyota, while former champion Colin Turkington will aim to benefit from the testing

OULTON PARK RECENT HISTORY 2012 Pole

Jason Plato, MG6 GT

Race One

Matt Neal, Honda Civic

Race Two

Gordon Shedden, Honda Civic

Race Three

Matt Neal, Honda Civic

2011 Pole

Gordon Shedden, Honda Civic

Race One

Gordon Shedden, Honda Civic

Race Two

Jason Plato, Chevrolet Cruze

Race Three

Mat Jackson, Ford Focus ST

carried out by eBay Motors over the break to improve on his eighth place.

Tom Onslow-Cole heads north sitting ninth in the championship, although it remains to be seen if his VW Passat will be as well suited to the undulations of Oulton Park as it was to the high-speed, full-throttle layout at Thruxton, while Aron Smith will be keen to improve on tenth in the Airwaves Racing Ford Focus; the Motorbaserun team being another to go testing during the break in an effort to find more performance after a difficult start to the year.

With the likes of Mat Jackson, Dave Newsham, Frank Wrathall, Rob Austin and Rob Collard hoping for a good showing in order to improve on their current championship positions, a fascinating weekend lies ahead amongst the NGTC runners at the head of the pack.

battle for outright honours, with Liam Griffin and Lea Wood sharing top spot with three wins apiece. Griffin won race one at Thruxton for his third success of the season, while Wood then won the remaining two to join his Addison Lee Motorbase rival at the top of the standings.

Behind them, James Kaye has two wins despite a run of bad luck, with Joe Girling the fourth of the six drivers to have a win to his name – leaving only David Nye and Warren Scott still to taste victory champagne.

Who wins amongst the S2000 runners at Oulton Park could be largely down to who stays out of trouble, with the different drivers having all endured their fair share of bad luck through the nine races run so far.

Tom Onslow-Cole, Ford Focus ST

Race One

Tom Onslow-Cole, Ford Focus ST

Race Two

Jason Plato, Chevrolet Cruze

Race Three

Matt Neal, Honda Civic

Pole

Jason Plato, Chevrolet Lacetti

Race One

Colin Turkington, BMW 320si

The Jack Sears Trophy meanwhile is just as closely-fought at the

Race Two

Colin Turkington, BMW 320si

OULTON PARK STATS

Race Three

James Thompson, Honda Civic

LENGTH

2.26 miles

2013 RACE LAPS

15

RACE DISTANCE

33.9 miles

LAP RECORD (QUALIFYING)

1min 26.872secs (Jason Plato – 2012)

LAP RECORD (RACE)

1min 27.690secs (Gordon Shedden - 2012

MOST WINS (1991-)

Alain Menu – 9

2009

2008 Pole

Jason Plato, SEAT Leon TDi

Race One

Jason Plato, SEAT Leon TDi

Race Two

Colin Turkington, BMW 320si

Race Three

Gordon Shedden, Honda Civic

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Pole

Numbers are also set to increase at Oulton Park, with the first appearance of Andy Neate’s new IP Tech Race Engineering Chevrolet Cruze.

2010

Inside BTCC 35

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Inside BTCC 36

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2013 BTCC CALENDAR 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 39

2013 BTCC POINTS STANDINGS DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

Inside BTCC 40

MANUFACTURER/CONSTRUCTOR

1

Matt Neal

137

1

Honda/Dynamics

295

2

Andrew Jordan

124

2

MG/Triple Eight

277

3

Jason Plato

121

4

Gordon Shedden

109

5

Sam Tordoff

103

1

Honda Yuasa Racing

237

6

Jeff Smith

85

2

MG KX Momentum Racing

219

7

Adam Morgan

85

3

Pirtek Racing

200

8

Colin Turkington

80

4

eBay Motors

106

9

Tom Onslow-Cole

66

5

Airwaves Racing

106

10

Aron Smith

58

6

Ciceley Racing

83

11

Mat Jackson

49

7

PPCGB.com/Kraftwerk Racing

66

12

Dave Newsham

42

8

Speedworks

48

13

Frank Wrathall

28

9

Dynojet

28

14

Dan Welch

24

10

WIX Racing

25

15

Rob Austin

19

11

RCIB Insurance Racing

24

16

Rob Collard

16

12

Welch Motorsport

24

17

Jack Goff

16

13

Addison Lee Motorbase

6

18

Nick Foster

13

14

AmDTuning.com

5

19

Will Bratt

8

15

Team BMR Restart

1

20

James Cole

7

16

Wheel Heaven/Houseman

1

21

Ollie Jackson

6

17

BTC Racing

0

22

Liam Griffin

6

18

IP Tech Race Engineering

0

23

James Kaye

5

19

M247 Racing

0

24

Warren Scott

1

25

Lea Wood

0

26

Michael Caine

0

27

David Nye

0

28

Howard Fuller

0

29

Chris Stockton

0

30

Andy Neate

0

31

Joe Girling

0

TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP

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2013 BTCC POINTS STANDINGS INDEPENDENT DRIVERS

INDEPENDENT TEAMS

1

Andrew Jordan

149

1

Pirtek Racing

162

2

Adam Morgan

126

2

Ciceley Racing

135

3

Jeff Smith

121

3

eBay Motors

117

4

Colin Turkington

109

4

Airwaves Racing

111

5

Tom Onslow-Cole

97

5

PPCGB.com/Kraftwerk Racing

104

6

Aron Smith

88

6

Speedworks

79

7

Mat Jackson

78

7

WIX Racing

69

8

Dave Newsham

65

8

RCIB Insurance Racing

69

9

Dan Welch

47

9

Welch Motorsport

69

10

Frank Wrathall

46

10

Dynojet

59

11

Nick Foster

38

11

Addison Lee Motorbase

31

12

Rob Collard

38

12

Wheel Heaven/Houseman

30

13

Jack Goff

35

13

AmDTuning.com

25

14

Rob Austin

25

14

M247 Racing

24

15

James Cole

24

15

Team BMR Restart

18

16

Will Bratt

22

16

BTC Racing

0

17

Ollie Jackson

18

17

IP Tech Race Engineering

0

18

Liam Griffin

14

19

James Kaye

11

20

Lea Wood

8

1

Liam Griffin

3

21

Warren Scott

4

2

Lea Wood

3

22

Joe Girling

4

3

James Kaye

2

23

David Nye

4

4

Joe Girling

1

24

Michael Caine

0

5

David Nye

0

25

Chris Stockton

0

6

Warren Scott

0

26

Howard Fuller

0

27

Andy Neate

0

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JACK SEARS TROPHY

Inside BTCC 41

2013 BTCC RACE RESULTS 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Gordon Shedden

19

DSQ

2

1

3

2

25

3

1

Matt Neal

21

4

1

3

4

3

1

1

2

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

DNF

DNF

DNF

15

12

12

13

13

15

Tom Onslow-Cole

14

DNF

16

13

10

6

3

2

4

Mat Jackson

20

7

10

12

13

9

7

15

7

Aron Smith

9

DNF

11

11

8

7

9

10

5

Dan Welch

11

14

12

NC

15

11

14

DNF

11

6

DNF

8

7

DNF

DNF

15

19

DNF

David Nye

18

DNF

17

23

DNF

DNS

22

21

18

Rob Austin

3

DNF

DNF

14

DNF

DNS

19

18

DNF

Will Bratt

12

DNS

14

25

19

14

18

22

17

James Kaye

15

12

DNS

19

DNF

DNF

DNF

DNF

19

DNF

9

DNF

9

7

DNF

8

12

9

Nick Foster

NC

10

13

17

16

15

24

16

13

James Cole

DNF

13

DNF

22

18

17

17

14

14

Howard Fuller

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Chris Stockton

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Colin Turkington

8

8

9

8

9

1

6

11

10

13

DNS

NC

18

14

16

12

9

DNF

Adam Morgan

7

6

4

5

5

5

10

8

12

Warren Scott

22

15

DNF

26

DNF

19

DNF

DNF

21

Lea Wood

16

DNS

DSQ

24

17

DNF

21

20

16

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

10

DNF

DNS

16

NC

DNF

16

17

DNF

5

3

7

10

11

10

5

6

6

17

11

15

20

DNF

DNF

20

DNF

DNF

Andrew Jordan

2

2

6

2

1

13

11

4

3

Sam Tordoff

4

5

3

6

6

4

4

7

8

Joe Girling

DNS

DNS

18

21

DNF

18

23

DNF

20

Jason Plato

1

1

5

4

2

8

2

5

22

Michael Caine Rob Collard

Frank Wrathall

Dave Newsham

Jack Goff

Andy Neate Ollie Jackson Jeff Smith Liam Griffin

Inside BTCC 42

10

11

12

13

14

15

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