2011 British Touring Car Championship

Brand hatch roundup

RE-CAP: RD1, BRANDS INDY
Arch rivals Jason Plato and Matt Neal shared the wins in today’s opening three races of the new Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season held at Kent’s world-famous Brands Hatch circuit.

Oxford’s Plato, the reigning Champion, won twice in his Silverline Chevrolet Cruze to beat Andy Rouse’s 60 wins record in the BTCC and build himself an early championship lead as the title race now heads to the picturesque, high-speed circuit of Donington Park in Leicestershire for its next three races of 2011 in a fortnight’s time (Sunday 19 April). But Neal’s win was also significant for it was the first victory for Honda’s new turbocharged engine built to the BTCC’s latest Next Generation Touring Car technical regulations.

Worcestershire’s Neal had shattered Brands’s BTCC qualifying lap record on Saturday to line up on pole position for the first of today’s races. But within two corners his Honda Racing Team Civic had been spun into retirement as Plato went on to win ahead of impressive youngster James Nash, second in his 888 Racing with Collins Contractors Vauxhall Vectra which is also powered by an NGTC-spec turbo engine. Third, in Team Aon’s new turbocharged ‘Global’ Ford Focus, was Tom Chilton.

Plato, despite his car carrying the maximum success ballast of 45kgs, led all the way to win race two as well ahead of Neal’s team-mate Gordon Shedden and Mat Jackson in the local Airwaves Racing team’s Ford Focus. Shedden’s result came courtesy of a superb drive from last to sixth in race one following a heavy crash in practice on Saturday.

Having set a new race lap record in race two, Neal finally got the win he craved in race three when he led all the way having been drawn on pole position for the reversed starting grid. Warwickshire’s Jackson was again on the podium, this time finishing second ahead of Paul O’Neill, a fine third in the GoMobileUK.com with tech-speed team’s new Chevrolet Cruze.

Plato leaves Brands Hatch with an eight-point lead over Jackson at the top of the Drivers Championship. A surprise third is Nash, the Newport Pagnell driver having gone on to add fourth and sixth place finishes in today’s second and third races. Jackson, meanwhile, leads the Independent Drivers Championship from Nash and O’Neill.

Plato said: “Given the gap to Matt in qualifying I didn’t expect to be leading this early, but the chances came our way and we capitalised. Beating Andy Rouse’s record is also a lovely bonus – he’s one of the legendary names who I used to watch as a kid and it’s actually hard to believe that 14 years have passed since I got my first win when I first came into the BTCC in 1997! But I’m already thinking more about the next meeting at Donington – the circuit lay-out there will make the turbos much harder to beat and I suspect we’re going to be in for more than just a tough weekend.”

Jackson, from Henley-in-Arden, commented: “This is a great start for us. We don’t have the development budgets of Chevrolet or Honda, but we’ve wrung the most from the car every time out today and racked up the points. I believe we can take it to them this season so long as we keep scoring strongly and consistently, but everyone in the team deserves a big pat on the back.”

Nash, aged 25, said: “I’m really chuffed, but the team has done a great job given how little pre-season testing we’ve had. We’re still learning how to get the best out of the car with the new turbo engine and there’s more to come. Plato and Neal are the masters so to be mixing it with them and giving them a bit of pressure is a great feeling, but I’m under no illusions just how difficult it will be to stick with them over the course of the season.”

Elsewhere, Chevrolet/RML lead the Manufacturers/Constructors Championship from Honda/Dynamics, while Silverline Chevrolet and the Honda Racing Team are tied at the top of the HiQ Teams Championship. Airwaves Racing leaves Brands ahead in the Independent Teams Championship, chased by 888 Racing with Collins Contractors and GoMobileUK.com with tech-speed.

Meanwhile, Alex MacDowall was punished for several incidents at Brands Hatch: Race 1, 3 penalty points on his competition licence and fined £1000; Race 3, 20 seconds time penalty and 3 penalty points; Drivers Briefing, 1 penalty point and fined £150 (late attendance).

btcc.net
 
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Timetable not yet available.

Hopefully not any clash with F1 being in china at the same time
http://www.btcc.net/pdf/ci_1.pdf
 
Donington, just off the M1 and M42/A42 motorways on the Derbyshire-Leicestershire border near East Midlands Airport, is gearing up for its biggest motor racing event of 2011 with three BTCC races in store for Sunday’s crowds. Eight more races from the high-profile Ginetta Junior, Ginetta GT Supercup, Porsche Carrera Cup, Formula Renault and Renault Clio categories will add to the exhilarating bill of action that starts at 09.00am. Admission for children aged 15 and under is free while race day tickets for adults are priced from as little as £25. That includes open access to the BTCC paddock and pit lane autograph session with the BTCC’s star names.

btcclogo.jpgReigning Champion Plato got his BTCC title defence off to a flying start with two wins in the season’s opening three races at Brands Hatch earlier this month. But the Oxford ace, now the most successful driver in BTCC history in terms of race wins, believes staying ahead of his turbocharged rivals around Donington’s much faster and more open circuit lay-out will be difficult.

Plato said: “I suspect I’m in for more than just a tough time at Donington. At Brands Hatch I was able to get in front, then stick out my elbows a bit and hold them back – it’s that kind of circuit. But Donington is very different. It’s wider and there are longer straights and several uphill sections where the turbos will really stretch their legs. It’s not a whinge, it’s just fact – Donington along with Silverstone are the two places we’re going to be most up against it compared to the turbo cars, so our strategy is simply to wring the car’s neck and take the most that is possible from each race.”

Plato, in his Silverline Chevrolet Cruze, will arrive at Donington protecting an eight-point championship lead. Among those chasing him hardest are two locals – Henley in Arden’s Mat Jackson in his Airwaves Racing Ford Focus ST and Droitwich’s Matt Neal in his Honda Racing Team’s Civic. Jackson was twice on the podium at Brands Hatch while Neal picked up a win in the day’s third race.

Neal, like Plato with two BTCC titles to his name, commented: “I see where Jason’s coming from when he talks of the turbos having an advantage on raw pace at Donington. Certainly up the hills we’ll be looking good, but over a race distance he will be somewhere in the mix – he always is. These turbo engines are still new to a lot of the teams so we’re all still figuring out how to keep down the extra tyre wear they bring. Also we don’t have the engine braking that he has with a normally aspirated engine and Donington is a very hard place on brakes – in a pre-season test we did there we were cooking our brakes within three laps, so we might have to play it a bit conservatively whereas Jason and the other Chevrolets will be able to push from start to finish.”

Although results didn’t go his way at Brands, another who demonstrated he will be a major force at Donington was Lichfield’s Andrew Jordan in his Pirtek Racing Vauxhall Vectra. Fellow youngster James Nash, also in a Vectra but prepared by the 888 Racing with Collins Contractors squad, will go into Donington’s three races lying third in the standings after the best showing of his career to date at Brands, while Neal’s Scottish team-mate Gordon Shedden is also among those capable of winning – indeed, in the four BTCC events he has previously contested at Donington he has won four times.

But with no less than nine drivers on the grid with proven race-winning credentials and at least a further six having shown they are capable of challenging for victories and podium results, this Sunday’s three headline BTCC races are sure to be full of unpredictability. Combined, Donington’s high-speed swooping lay-out and the BTCC’s reputation for bumper-to-bumper, doorhandle-to-doorhandle racing have produced some of the championship’s most exciting and controversial moments down the years.

RD's Nick Deeley will be photographing the event, so expect some reports and photos from Donington soon after the action has finished.
 
Matt Neal shattered the qualifying lap record to secure pole position for round two of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at the Donington Park circuit in Leicestershire.

Worcestershire’s Neal (pictured) knocked more than a second off the previous record as he set a best time of 1m10.129s in his new turbocharged Honda Civic for his second pole in a row.

btcc1.jpg

Second fastest, just 0.043s behind, was his Honda Racing Team team-mate Gordon Shedden while rising star James Nash was third in his turbo-powered 888 Racing with Collins Contractors Vauxhall Vectra.

Notably, Scotsman Shedden had set the pace during the early part of the session, but was unable to respond to Neal’s time when his car’s front suspension broke.

btcc2.jpg
Former double champion Neal, currently fifth in the standings, said: “‘Lively’ is the best way to describe that lap - it was like riding a lap of the Grand National.

“But while we’ve clearly got great pace over a single flying lap, we know we cannot sustain that over a race distance tomorrow. We are going to have a real struggle on our hands to keep the tyres and brakes.”

Fife racer Shedden commented: “It’s slightly frustrating I couldn’t have a crack at Matt’s time but, hey, at Brands Hatch two weeks ago I was starting from the back of the grid after a crash so I can’t complain too much. But Matt is right – we know it’s going to be marginal on tyres and brakes tomorrow. The last laps of each race could be squeaky bum time.”

Newport Pagnell youngster Nash, currently third in the standings just ahead of Shedden and Neal, added: “I think that’s about as much as I could have got out of the car, but the Hondas were always out of reach on a flying lap. I think in race trim we should be able to hang on to them, but beating them is going to be a big ask. Won’t stop me trying, though.”

Andrew Jordan’s Pirtek Racing Vectra and Tom Chilton’s Team Aon Ford Focus completed the top five in qualifying. A surprise, best-ever sixth was Jordan’s team-mate Jeff Smith.

Championship leader Jason Plato, his Chevrolet handicapped with the maximum success ballast of 45kgs, was eighth fastest.

Starting just ahead of Plato on tomorrow’s race one grid will be his current closest championship rival Mat Jackson. He set what would stand as the seventh fastest time before spinning off the track at high speed - one of a number of incidents that caused no fewer than three red flag stoppages during the session.

Tomorrow's BTCC action from Donington will receive seven hours of live TV coverage (11.00am-6.00pm) on the ITV4 and ITV4 HD channels as well as being live-streamed on the itv.com website.

Leading BTCC qualifying times, Donington Park, Sat 16 Apr (provisional):
1. Matt Neal (GBR), Honda Racing Team/Honda Civic, 1m10.129s (101.59mph)
2. Gordon Shedden (GBR), Honda Racing Team/Honda Civic, +0.043s
3. James Nash (GBR), 888 Racing with Collins Contractors/Vauxhall Vectra, +0.348s
4. Andrew Jordan (GBR), Pirtek Racing/Vauxhall Vectra, +0.427s
5. Tom Chilton (GBR), Team Aon/Ford Focus, +0.608s
6. Jeff Smith (GBR), Pirtek Racing/Vauxhall Vectra, +0.945s
7. Mat Jackson (GBR), Airwaves Racing/Ford Focus, +1.180s
8. Jason Plato (GBR), Silverline Chevrolet/Chevrolet Cruze, +1.233s
9. Alex MacDowall (GBR), Silverline Chevrolet/Chevrolet Cruze, +1.296s
10. Robert Collard (GBR), WSR/BMW 320si, +1.311s
 
Neal on pole as red flags fly...


Matt Neal shattered the qualifying lap record to secure pole position for round two of the Dunlop British Touring Car Championship at Donington Park.

Neal set a best time of 1m10.129s in his Honda Civic for his second pole in a row in what was an incident-filled session, disrupted by three red flag stoppages.

Second fastest, just 0.043s behind Neal, was his Honda Racing Team team-mate Gordon Shedden while rising star James Nash was third in his 888 Racing with Collins Contractors Vauxhall Vectra.

Shedden had set the pace during the early part of the session but was unable to respond to Neal’s time when his car’s front suspension broke.

Former double champion Neal, currently fifth in the standings, said: “‘Lively’ is the best way to describe that lap – it was like riding a lap of the Grand National.

“But while we’ve clearly got great pace over a single flying lap, we know we cannot sustain that over a race distance tomorrow. We are going to have a real struggle on our hands to keep the tyres and brakes.”

Fife racer Shedden commented: “It’s slightly frustrating I couldn’t have a crack at Matt’s time but, hey, at Brands Hatch two weeks ago I was starting from the back of the grid after a crash so I can’t complain too much. But Matt is right – we know it’s going to be marginal on tyres and brakes tomorrow. The last laps of each race could be squeaky bum time.”

Newport Pagnell youngster Nash, currently third in the standings just ahead of Shedden and Neal, added: “I think that’s about as much as I could have got out of the car, but the Hondas were always out of reach on a flying lap. I think in race trim we should be able to hang on to them, but beating them is going to be a big ask. Won’t stop me trying, though.”

Andrew Jordan’s Pirtek Vectra - late onto track after his crew fixed a suspension problem - and Tom Chilton's Team Aon Ford Focus completed the top five. A surprise but delighted best-ever sixth was relative newcomer, Jordan's team-mate Jeff Smith.

Championship leader Jason Plato, his Silverline Chevrolet Cruze handicapped with the maximum success ballast of 45kgs, was eighth fastest.

But the session was full of incident. Firstly Mat Jackson, currently second in the standings to Plato, spun his Airwaves Ford Focus at high speed into the Old Hairpin gravel trap as he took avoiding action to miss a slower car on line. However, his time was still good enough for seventh overall.

Soon after the restart, Andy Neate's Aon Ford Focus spun at the Craner Curves and knocked an advertising board onto the track forcing another red flag stoppage.

Within seconds of the second restart Tom Boardman’s Special Tuning SEAT Leon and Chris James’s ES Racing Chevrolet Lacetti were damaged in a collision exiting Redgate Corner, although both managed to struggle back to the pit lane.

Then came a third red flag, this time to retrieve Tony Hughes’s Speedworks Toyota that had spun into the gravel trap at McLeans after a brush with Nash’s Vectra.

But at least there was good news for Audi fans as Rob Austin Racing's new NGTC-spec A4 - with Austin himself at the wheel - circulated reliably on its debut to qualify 21st out of the 23 runners. Just ahead of him in 20th and despite a hairy spin (see Fans image gallery), Frank Wrathall's ever-developing NGTC Toyota Avensis also ran trouble-free. Significantly, the upbeat Lancastrian was within striking distance of at least four cars directly ahead of him which augers well for tomorrow's three races.

For full times click on this link http:/www.btcc.net/html/raceresults_detail.php?race_id=79&season_id=54
btcc.net
 
Just love the regulations in BTCC at times. An increase of 0.08 of boost on Shedden's turbo for one instance, for a few tenths in race one makes you get dis-qualified. How does something like that lead to someone being dis-qualified?!

Just like when your front bumper gets damaged and drops the ride height by half a mm. Just silly, can we just see racing and not worry about stupid things like this.
 
Shedden = Dirt. Does he not understand that he can use "brakes" rather than running into people? That could've been a very serious accident indeed. Plato will be lucky to make race 3
 
Jason Plato, the double BTCC champion and current series champion crashed at high speed at the infamous Craner Curves at Donington Park in the Race 2 of the BTCC at the circuit.

Contact at the top of the Craners, caused Lee Griffin in the Ford Focus to go off too, but it was Jason Plato that suffered the most with 2 barrell rolls after hitting the grass verge.

platocrash.jpg

Direct link to full size photo: http://www.surrealillusions.co.uk/RD-BTCC/platocrash.jpg

The RML team though worked wonders, and with the help of their rival Honda mechanics in the garage next door, they got the car back on track for the 3rd and final race of the day, recieving rounds of applause from the crowd as he made his way round to the grid.

"The guys have done an amazing job," said Plato after after a bruising final encounter. "We had tears in our eyes after the race.

"They wanted to so badly to get the car out. It wasn't the usually perfectly set-up machine and it looked like a 'Transformer' toy, but it wasn't too bad!

"The points could be useful."

Highlights of the BTCC from Donington will be shown on ITV and ITV4 in the coming week.

Photos: By Nick Deeley, Surreal Illusions. Sorry about the watermark and small size, but its not possible to add 10 higher res photos and get them in the right order! without making the page stupidly big and long to load.

Update:
 

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