So, what did Brands Hatch tell us then? Erm, well, it told us that we need Rounds 4, 5 and 6 at Donington Park this weekend before we can properly consider form! The rain and cold weather hid some of the truth and yet, as wet weather and tyre gambles often do, it allowed others to shine.

In some ways it was a weekend for the underdogs. Okay, Josh Cook and BTC Racing have won in the past but to leave Kent as championship leaders was a surprise. Take Josh first: a move to a new team and a new challenge for him once again, and yet there he was winning race one – grinning from ear-to-ear. Bert Taylor, too, couldn’t believe it: a win in the opening race and leading just about every points table going. Remember, BTC has undergone a winter of change: there are new premises, new cars and new engines, a new investor and co-owner in Bert’s old mate Steve Dudman (himself a racer in National Hot Rods and Pickups) and a new driver in Cook. Yet, it has all gelled very quickly and the BTC Racing you see now is leaps and bounds on from the days Chevrolet and Chris Stockton.

More wins? Certainly. Chris Smiley has a tough weekend but won’t want to play second fiddle to Cook and a he took his first podium at Donington Park last year, expect him to be on his toes this year.

There was also a big cheer for Stuart Parker and his guys at Team Parker Racing. Since he came into the BTCC, Stuart has had more than his fair share of tough race weekends, where every time things seemed to improve, a huge banana skin was dropped ready to catch them all out. Take Knockhill last year, where Stephen Jelley qualified well but clashed with Colin Turkington, with the weekend unravelling thereafter. Mind you, it looked as though Jelley’s Brands Hatch weekend had taken a dive when the car failed the ride height check after qualifying but inspired tyre choice and good race-craft brought Stephen and the team back into the game and the outfit took its first podium in race three.

The team also made the right call by telling Jelley to give back his place gained over Matt Neal, which would otherwise have seen Stephen on the wrong side of a penalty. It makes one wonder why the same call didn't appear to come at Motorbase with Tom Chilton. You could argue that the team saw nothing wrong so didn’t feel it was necessary but clearly officialdom disagreed with the move and the penalty came post-race. Let’s see what happens this weekend with those marginal moves, and how exactly drivers and teams will continue to deal with this year's new driving standards regulations.

The sadness of race three, in addition to Tom Chilton’s boundless irrepressibility being slayed, was that the first win for Rory Butcher and Shaun Hollamby’s AmD team went largely unnoticed. Most people would have left Brands or turned off their televisions safe in the knowledge that Chilton was the winner, so poor Rory never got to take the flag nor feel like a race winner. A win is a win and history will keep the fact, but one can’t help feeling that all involved would like a 'proper' win this weekend.

And now for Donington Park. Some drivers are telling me that the season starts here, but weather forecasters are saying that we could have more wet weather again. Whatever happens, we are in for plenty of drama...

This weekend, Donington Park will welcome 4,500 supporters comprised of members and their families from Toyota Manufacturing UK (TMUK), based at nearby Burnaston. They will be out in force, cheering on Team Toyota GB with Ginsters, with the Japanese marque back in the BTCC this year as a Manufacturer for the first time in more than two decades.

Driver Tom Ingram is delighted to be able to count on such backing, and is hopeful he’ll be able to produce the goods in the new Corolla to send the hordes home happy.

“It’s going to end up being our adopted home circuit really!” said Ingram. “Speedworks Motorsport has historically counted Oulton Park as its ‘home ground’, but with our Toyota backing and 4,500 employees and their families coming to support us from TMUK, that’s all about to change!

“It’s an unbelievable feeling to have that many people coming out to back us and it’ll be an invaluable help over the weekend, I’m sure. I can’t recall anything on quite this scale and it’s an absolute honour and a privilege for me and all the guys that’ll be working away in the pit garage all weekend. It does add a little ratchet of pressure, but it’s more exciting than anything else.

“We tested at Donington Park last month and I have to say, that was probably the best the car had felt of any of the tests we completed. Donington suits the strengths of this new Corolla. It’s incredible on the brakes, which is a key attribute there, and it’s fantastically balanced through the mid-speed corners which are both attributes that should play into our hands next weekend.

“I think we can be in the mix. We’re light on ballast which will help in qualifying and in the opening round. I’m hopeful a strong result is on the cards, especially with all eyes on me and the Toyota flags flying!”

The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship threw up a storming opening weekend at Brands Hatch a fortnight ago, and the battle to wrest control of the early-season formbook will continue next weekend at Donington Park (27-28 April).

Three rounds in Kent yielded three different winners, with a victory apiece for Josh Cook, Andrew Jordan and Rory Butcher after Ash Sutton had taken pole position the previous day. It wasn't just the top step of the podium, but the whole rostrum that proved to be a hard-fought battleground, as eight drivers climbed the steps over the course of a frenetic race day.

Anybody's game...
With conditions ever-changing at Brands Hatch, it's still to be seen where the balance of power lies as teams and drivers fell foul or took advantage of varying levels of grip from lap-to-lap. Those that gambled on the famous venue drying out in the opener and took to Dunlop Sport Maxx slicks were rewarded with a big points haul and a strong platform for the following two encounters.

Cook gutsily rolled the dice and, as a result, he leads the way in BTC Racing's newly-built current generation Honda Civic Type R (FK8), topping the Drivers' Championship heading to Leicestershire with his team profiting to lead the Teams' and Independent Teams' running, while BMW and Honda find themselves deadlocked at the summit of the Manufacturers' table.

Seven different marques are represented in the Drivers' standings top ten, with the first Manufacturer-backed entrant – Subaru's Ash Sutton – lying in seventh, illustrating just how competitive a championship the BTCC continues to be. Picking the race-winners at Donington Park will be as difficult as ever, and quite which combination of car and driver looks strongest is anybody's guess. Current leader Cook notched a maiden BTCC victory at the circuit in 2018 after securing pole, while the Honda he now drives performed capably there in just its second outing last year – an indicator, perhaps, that he may be harbouring a quiet confidence ahead of Rounds 4, 5 and 6.

"To head to Donington Park as leaders is pretty good, I’d say!" enthused Cook. "We've not had a lot of running and the guys at BTC Racing have done a great job of putting the new car together over the winter.

"It was a fact-finding mission at Brands Hatch to try and see what worked and what didn't. The first race was a gamble that paid off and to score two more points finishes was great. We have a data share with Team Dynamics (preparation partner for Honda's factory BTCC team) and they've given us a platform to work from. It's great to have a partnership with such a strong outfit, but all credit to the guys back at base – they've drawn it all together.

"Arriving at Donington Park with maximum ballast will make things a lot more difficult, but we know what our strengths are and we'll play to those. There's a long way to go but we just need to keep scoring points and see where we are at the end of the season."

Donington Park is a fans' favourite, as well as a favourite of many of the championship's drivers and it's a circuit that rarely disappoints in terms of on-track action. Circuit owner MotorSport Vision continues to ring the changes in a bid to improve the fan experience following its acquisition of the world-renowned venue a couple of years ago. For 2018, huge crowds enjoyed new grandstands, a restaurant and additional facilities accompanying the spectacle offered up by the BTCC and accompanying TOCA package and they can expect more welcome improvements to spectator areas – including a brand new spectator entrance to the paddock on this visit.

As is the case for each of the BTCC's ten events, everything is broadcast live and free-to-air by the championship's longstanding partner ITV on ITV4, the ITV Hub and online at itv.com/btcc.

Local heroes
BMW Pirtek Racing's Andrew Jordan secured the new 3 Series' first victory in the BTCC on its debut weekend back at Brands Hatch and he's been a man exuding an air of confidence and excitement ever since he first turned the wheel of the 330i M Sport a month or so ago.

“I think we’re looking in strong shape," said Jordan. "We don’t carry much weight going to Donington and I think we should be particularly quick in race trim. I felt confident in the 3 Series from the get-go – it really feels like my car – and in a championship as close and competitive as the BTCC, you can never underestimate the importance of that. I felt really comfortable in the car in race two at Brands – and that was reflected in the result.

"My philosophy is just to drive every lap in a brilliant new car flat-out – not to worry about winning races or championships. I want to enjoy it and it's a different mindset for me this year."

BTCC legend, triple champion Matt Neal, hails from Stourbridge so counts Donington Park as home soil and it's a seminal circuit for him. As the now well-known story goes, he prised £250,000 from the pocket of BTCC Chief Executive Alan Gow when he became the first Independent driver to win a race outright in the modern era in 1999.

It's not only Neal's back yard but Team Dynamics' too. The outfit runs the Halfords Yuasa Racing operation and is itself an iconic name in the series' history.

Stephen Jelley comes into the weekend off the back of a best-yet for Team Parker Racing in the BTCC, with the Leicestershire racer scoring the outfit's maiden championship podium in the finale at Brands Hatch Indy. Team Parker, also Leicester-based, has fitted the current BMW powerplant into its 125i M Sport and it appears to be paying immediate dividends – the squad outscoring the cumulative points haul of its previous four seasons in one outing in Kent two weeks ago.

"The result at Brands Hatch was just perfect," said Jelley. "The podium for Team Parker Racing was by far the most important thing – I wasn't thinking of risking it for the race win.

"The car was great all weekend. The team asked for three solid points finishes and that’s what we came out with, and a first trip to the rostrum for the team as well – it was absolutely mega."

"I think we outscored what we’d done in four years in race one alone, and we head to Donington Park third in the championship having had three top ten results at Brands," added Team Manager Stuart Parker. "It was absolutely outstanding and fair play to all the lads who work so hard on the car and to Stephen, they all did a fantastic job.”

Toyota's turf
Next weekend, Donington Park will welcome 4,500 supporters comprised of members and their families from Toyota Manufacturing UK (TMUK), based at nearby Burnaston. They will be out in force, cheering on Team Toyota GB with Ginsters, with the Japanese marque back in the BTCC this year as a Manufacturer for the first time in more than two decades.

Driver Tom Ingram is delighted to be able to count on such backing, and is hopeful he'll be able to produce the goods in the new Corolla to send the hordes home happy.

"It's going to end up being our adopted home circuit really!" said Ingram. "Speedworks Motorsport has historically counted Oulton Park as its 'home ground', but with our Toyota backing and 4,500 employees and their families coming to support us from TMUK, that's all about to change!

"It's an unbelievable feeling to have that many people coming out to back us and it'll be an invaluable help over the weekend, I'm sure. I can't recall anything on quite this scale and it's an absolute honour and a privilege for me and all the guys that'll be working away in the pit garage all weekend. It does add a little ratchet of pressure, but it's more exciting than anything else.

"We tested at Donington Park last month and I have to say, that was probably the best the car had felt of any of the tests we completed. Donington suits the strengths of this new Corolla. It's incredible on the brakes, which is a key attribute there, and it's fantastically balanced through the mid-speed corners which are both attributes that should play into our hands next weekend.

"I think we can be in the mix. We're light on ballast which will help in qualifying and in the opening round. I'm hopeful a strong result is on the cards, especially with all eyes on me and the Toyota flags flying!"

Testing times
Between the Brands Hatch curtain-raiser and the upcoming visit to Donington Park, the BTCC field completed a comprehensive test day at Thruxton in Hampshire on Wednesday (17 April), as drivers and teams look to dial in their 2019 machines at this embryonic stage of the season.

Honda's Dan Cammish topped the timesheets on the day, with the fellow Civic Type R (FK8) of Chris Smiley in close company. A good sign for the pair, but not necessarily an indicator of where they will be come Donington Park given Thruxton's unique nature.

Timetable and tickets 
The second race day of the 2019 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship takes place on Sunday 28 April, with all three BTCC encounters – and many of the day’s other races to be broadcast live and in high-definition on ITV4. Those in attendance at the circuit can stay in touch with the commentary and live timing from every session, available at btcc.net/live throughout the weekend.
 
In addition to the BTCC, the support series on the TOCA package are set to bring even more action to Donington Park. Sportscar racing fans will get their fix with races from the Porsche Carrera Cup GB, Michelin Ginetta GT4 SuperCup and Simpson Race Products Ginetta Junior Championship. The Renault UK Clio Cup – often seen as a stepping-stone to reaching the BTCC – will also feature on the huge bill of top-line British racing, as will the F4 British Championship, the single-seater launchpad for the next generation of aspiring Formula One world champions.
 
Tickets are available in advance from just £28 for race day and £38 for the full weekend's action, with free entry for children aged 13 and under.

For more information, visit www.donington-park.co.uk. All admission includes access to Sunday morning’s Pit Lane Walkabout and autograph session with the BTCC's stars (limited spaces) and the racing paddocks, as well as free parking and giant TV screens on Sunday.

Chris Smiley secured the quickest time of the afternoon at the TOCA Test Day from Thruxton with an effort narrowly shy of Dan Cammish's morning benchmark.

Both the factory Honda Civic Type R (FK8) of Cammish and BTC Racing's new-for-2019 FK8 lapped beneath the official qualifying lap record (1m15.612s) set by Matt Neal last year with the same machinery in its debut BTCC campaign.

"This morning was the first time I'd driven at this circuit in this car before and around real high speed corners," said Smiley. "So, the first session was about trying not to cause any damage - driving the car to where I thought was safe. Despite losing the tyres towards the end, I was matching the times we were doing early on so that's a good sign.

"This is a track that you have to treat with respect and in the second session we'd looked back through the data and got a feel of things and had a better idea of what we had to do."

Rory Butcher in the Cobra Sport AmD AutoAid/RCIB Insurance Honda Civic Type R (FK2) rounded off a top-three lockout for the Japanese marque in the combined classification. The Scot was encouraged to follow a maiden BTCC win back at Brands Hatch with more positive progress.

"We're quick," said Butcher. "It's a really demanding circuit here and it takes a lot to hook up a qualifying run. It's intense because it's just so fast.

"We went through a few changes on the car and they were positive. Looking towards the Thruxton race weekend, we're feeling strong. One change in particular has given me a lot more confidence and after five, six, seven lap runs we were hitting good pace."

On the whole, the second session saw drivers outperforming their morning efforts, though, of course, all times in testing are to be taken with a pinch of salt as teams work their way through packed schedules with varying priorities. The 29 cars out there racked up some 1200 laps over the course of the day.

The Adrian Flux Subaru Racing Levorg of Ash Sutton and Colin Turkington in the Team BMW 3 Series could again be found at the sharp end, with third and fifth respectively - sandwiching Aiden Moffat, who managed the fourth fastest time of the afternoon.

Cammish tallied the sixth quickest lap in Free Practice 2 to go along with his standout time set in the morning's running.

2019 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Testing – Afternoon, Thruxton Circuit

1 Chris SMILEY (GBR) BTC Racing 1m15.534s
2 Rory BUTCHER (GBR) Cobra Sport AmD AutoAid/RCIB Insurance +0.167s
3 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +0.238s
4 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +0.251s
5 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +0.282s
6 Dan CAMMISH (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.330s
7 Josh COOK (GBR) BTC Racing +0.403s
8 Adam MORGAN (GBR) Mac Tools with Ciceley Motorsport +0.437s
9 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Cobra Sport AmD AutoAid/RCIB Insurance +0.484s
10 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Team Toyota GB with Ginsters +0.495s
11 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) BMW Pirtek Racing +0.644s
12 Rob COLLARD (GBR) Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed Racing +0.767s
13 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Simpson Racing +0.801s
14 Tom CHILTON (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher +0.938s
15 Senna PROCTOR (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +0.993s
16 Tom OLIPHANT (GBR) Team BMW +1.028s
17 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher +1.040s
18 Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team Parker Racing +1.162s
19 Daniel ROWBOTTOM (GBR) Cataclean Racing with Ciceley Motorsport +1.218s
20 Jason PLATO (GBR) Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed Racing +1.225s
21 Jake HILL (GBR) TradePriceCars.com +1.376s
22 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +1.491s
23 Jack GOFF (GBR) RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport +1.761s
24 Nicolas HAMILTON (GBR) ROKiT Racing with Motorbase +2.104s
25 Bobby THOMPSON (GBR) GKR Scaffolding with Autobrite Direct +2.134s
26 Rob SMITH (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +3.024s
27 Sam OSBORNE (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +3.100s
28 Mark BLUNDELL (GBR) TradePriceCars.com +3.216s
29 Michael CREES (GBR) GKR Scaffolding with Autobrite Direct +4.837s

Honda's Dan Cammish topped the timesheets in the morning session from Thruxton, with 29 of the 30-car Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship contingent working through comprehensive testing programmes.

The annual official TOCA Test Day at the Hampshire circuit yields the opportunity for teams and drivers to acclimatise themselves to Thruxton's unique characteristics ahead of the calendared race weekends in May and August.

It was Halfords Yuasa Racing that hit the ground running with Cammish setting a time 0.685 seconds quicker than the next fastest driver - BMW's Colin Turkington.

"It's always nice to be quickest. We went very well here last year and did a good job. Matt (Neal) was on pole. Out of the box this morning, the car felt very strong.

"We're working through our programme and there were a few laps in there that would have been good enough for pole.

"Shame about the little bit of damage. Matt had an issue with his car and jumped into mine and I think he got caught in traffic there before a little off. It's fine, though, just a small prang!

"As a driver, I've come long way since this time last year and so has the car. We've made improvements over the winter and we'll see a bit more from it here.

"As a package we should be strong. Right now I'd have to say I'm glad we're coming here twice."

Tom Ingram notched the third quickest time in the new Toyota Corolla, expertly catching a major moment through Church - the fastest corner at the fastest circuit in the country - in the process.

Ash Sutton rounded in fourth with Rory Butcher and Tom Oliphant completing the top six.

The afternoon's running is set to get under way at 1510 and all of the timing can be found at btcc.net/live. 

2019 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Testing – Morning, Thruxton Circuit

1 Dan CAMMISH (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing 1m15.292s
2 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +0.685s
3 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Team Toyota GB with Ginsters +0.870s
4 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +0.913s
5 Rory BUTCHER (GBR) Cobra Sport AmD AutoAid/RCIB Insurance +1.011s
6 Tom OLIPHANT (GBR) Team BMW +1.058s
7 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) BMW Pirtek Racing +1.193s
8 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +1.228s
9 Jason PLATO (GBR) Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed Racing +1.275s
10 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Cobra Sport AmD AutoAid/RCIB Insurance +1.295s
11 Jake HILL (GBR) TradePriceCars.com +1.383s
12 Rob COLLARD (GBR) Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed Racing +1.460s
13 Josh COOK (GBR) BTC Racing +1.632s
14 Adam MORGAN (GBR) Mac Tools with Ciceley Motorsport +1.641s
15 Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team Parker Racing +1.665s
16 Senna PROCTOR (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +1.727s
17 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher +1.764s
18 Tom CHILTON (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher +1.775s
19 Chris SMILEY (GBR) BTC Racing +1.792s
20 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Simpson Racing +2.161s
21 Daniel ROWBOTTOM (GBR) Cataclean Racing with Ciceley Motorsport +2.253s
22 Bobby THOMPSON (GBR) GKR Scaffolding with Autobrite Direct +2.409s
23 Jack GOFF (GBR) RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport +2.448s
24 Nicolas HAMILTON (GBR) ROKiT Racing with Motorbase +3.352s
25 Mark BLUNDELL (GBR) TradePriceCars.com +3.860s
26 Sam OSBORNE (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +4.051s
27 Rob SMITH (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +4.122s
28 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing NO TIME
29 Michael CREES (GBR) GKR Scaffolding with Autobrite Direct NO TIME

Honda sits atop the BTCC Manufacturers' standings alongside BMW following the season-opening Brands Hatch Indy weekend, with Matt Neal narrowly missing out on a podium for Halfords Yuasa Racing on the final lap of the last race of the day

Changeable weather was the order of the weekend, as has proven to be the case on multiple occasions over the last few years at the Kent circuit. The FK8 Honda Civic Type Rs of Neal and team-mate Dan Cammish secured sixth and seventh on the grid after a challenging qualifying session in which the track steadily became more damp.

Race one saw half the grid gambling on Sport Maxx slick rubber with conditions drying. Both Halfords Yuasa Racing cars stuck to BluResponse wets, as did the majority of the first half of the 30-car field. As it transpired, the rain eased considerably and those who'd bolted on the Dunlop dry tyre reaped the rewards, scything through the pack.

Cammish endured a difficult race one, taking the chequered flag in 15th position, his Civic Type R caught at one point by a spinning rival. Neal, meanwhile, finished the best of the 'wet-weather' runners in eighth spot, overtaking five cars that had started in front of him.

The second encounter proved a frustrating one for both Honda drivers as they fought to overcome the frenetic midfield battle on the tight Indy circuit. Neal lost ground off the line but recovered to take 11th while Cammish staged a recovery to finish just behind his team-mate.

Neal was drawn as the reverse-grid pole-sitter but lost ground at lights out. Stephen Jelley in the Team Parker Racing BMW stole a march and fired into an early lead, but by lap seven, Neal had overthrown the 1 Series to take the race lead. The Honda's soft 'Option' Dunlop rubber began to fall out of favour as the laps rolled on, though, and Neal found himself in a scrap, falling into the clutches of Tom Chilton and Rory Butcher – as well as Jelley.

Contact occurred with the latter and just as Neal looked to have manfully held onto a podium position, his rear suspension gave way under load at the bottom of Paddock Hill Bend following that coming-together. He dragged his crippled machine across the line to salvage eighth place – enough to put Honda at the head of the Manufacturers' Championship at the end of the weekend.

Cammish endured a frustrating race three. Also on the soft option tyre, he was caught up mid-pack, finishing 14th.

"Brands Hatch turned into a frustrating weekend through no fault of our own," said Matt Neal – Halfords Yuasa Racing driver and Team Dynamics Director. "The soft tyre did make things more challenging in the final race but I think I could have defended my position. However, after I suffered contact I could feel the damage immediately, and unfortunately the suspension gave way just one lap too early. On to Donington Park!"

"I was pleased to play my part in securing Honda the manufacturer award in race one," added Cammish. "But the conditions beat us. Once I was shuffled into the midfield pack it was so hard to pass on the tight Indy circuit. We clearly have a lot of speed in the car and that's a positive to take out of a frustrating weekend."

BMW's new 3 Series BTCC challenger made quite an impression on debut at Brands Hatch, with Andrew Jordan scything through to victory from 15th on the grid in the second race of the 2019 season.
 
Built by BMW UK’s long-time BTCC preparation partner West Surrey Racing, the new 3 Series only turned its first wheel the day before Season Launch late last month following a tireless race against the clock over the off-season.
 
Quick out-of-the-box in testing, Jordan topped the timesheets in the BMW Pirtek Racing entry in FP1, before Tom Oliphant led a commanding BMW one-two-three in FP2 ahead of Jordan and Team BMW stablemate Colin Turkington. The trio starred again in a mixed-conditions qualifying session to secure third (Turkington), fourth (Jordan) and fifth (Oliphant).
 
On a damp track in race one, Jordan vaulted into second place at lights-out at the head of a BMW triumvirate, but as the circuit dried out, the Dunlop BluResponse wet tyres on his 3 Series faded and the 2013 title-winner had to fight hard to fend off a gaggle of Sport Maxx dry-shod competitors, hanging on to secure a points-paying finish in 15^th.
 
Fired-up by that disappointment, the 28-year-old leapt off the line at the start of race two and gained eight positions on the opening lap alone. Going on to scythe his way past rival after rival, he grabbed the lead with a decisive move at two-thirds distance and never looked back, registering the new 3 Series’ maiden triumph in only its second race. With maximum success ballast on-board and the less-favourable soft-compound tyres, race three was more of a struggle but Jordan had already made his mark.

Reigning champion Turkington endured a more difficult start to his title defence, suffering like Jordan in race one as he crossed the finish line a frustrated 19^th, and then grappling with the soft 'Option' tyres in race two en route to 14^th at the chequered flag. Back on the harder-compound rubber for race three, the Northern Irishman fought to fifth place – posting fastest lap for a bonus point.
 
Turkington was followed across the line by Oliphant in the sister car, with the Team BMW newcomer rapidly getting to grips with the 3 Series as he ably kept pace with his two high-profile team-mates. Sixth position in the finale added to 22^nd in the opener and 15^th in race two, with the 28-year-old struggling in much the same way as Turkington on the wets and soft-compound tyres.
 
The combined results see BMW leaving Brands Hatch in the joint lead of the Manufacturers’ championship heading to Donington Park, 27/28 April.

Team Parker Racing enjoyed its best weekend to-date in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, with Stephen Jelley securing a first-ever podium finish for the team as the 2019 season got underway at a foggy Brands Hatch Indy circuit.
 
The weekend could so easily have gone a different way after Stephen’s eighth-place qualifying performance was ruled out as the car failed its post-qualifying ride height checks after a trip across the grass bent the exhaust as he re-joined the track.
 
Starting race one from the back of the grid, the team took a gamble and fitted soft 'Option' Dunlop SportMaxx tyres to its BMW 125i M Sport – running the new BMW engine for this season – and it paid immediate dividends with Jelley overtaking four cars off the line and setting him up for a remarkable 24 laps. He reeled in rival after rival and fought his way inside the top ten before eventually finishing in seventh position, having made it by 23 cars.
 
In race two, he fell back to ninth on the opening lap, but quickly climbed back up to sixth and was part of a close battle for the final podium position. On the penultimate lap he made his move for third but ran wide on a damp part of the circuit, finishing in sixth – the team’s best ever finish to that point – just 0.295 seconds shy of second place.
 
The best was yet to come, however, as he set off like a rocket from the grid in race three, moving from sixth on the grid to the race lead after just two corners. With drivers on softer tyres fighting back, Jelley was in a fight for second and third places and kept the pressure on, taking an historic first podium finish for Team Parker Racing.

“It’s fantastic, the car was great all weekend," said Jelley. "The team asked for three solid points finishes and that’s what we’ve come out with, and a first podium for the team as well – it’s absolutely mega.
 
“We had to start the first race in 30th. Fortunately, the weather was a bit sketchy and we made the right choice on tyres, so I managed to carve through from last to seventh and that’s what set the weekend up. Arguably, I could have put a move on earlier in race two, but it would have been too risky and we bagged a good amount of points.
 
“The start of race three was great! We were just on a slight crest of the hill so I knew if we got it right, we could use that downhill run to just reduce the wheelspin. It worked a treat and I just carved through. We were nearly in the lead in turn one and managed to do the switchback and slide up the inside into Druids. It was a bit of a sketchy move, but I just thought ‘this is going, I’m sending this.’
 
“The balance of our car wasn’t as good in the final race as it had been all weekend and I could see there was a good gap to fourth, so I didn’t want to fight too much and have the whole pack come back to us. Matt’s [Neal] tyres then went off and I got stuck behind him and Rory [Butcher] caught up. We had a bit of a coming together with Matt, so I had to give the place back which meant I had to concede third to Rory but then Matt got a puncture on the last lap. It’ was a very good weekend. We can build from here.”

Stuart Parker, Team Manager, added: “We felt we’d let Stephen down [in qualifying]. For him to come back from last on the grid to a podium in race three is absolutely fantastic. There is barely a mark on the car.
 
“I think we outscored what we’d done in four years in race one and we leave Brands Hatch third in the championship having had three top ten results. It’s absolutely outstanding and fair play to all the lads who work on the car and to Stephen, they’ve all done a fantastic job and all the credit is due to them.”

TOCA is now inviting expressions of interest from companies to supply the hybrid system for the British Touring Car Championship - originally planned for a 2022 introduction, but with the previously stated goal of being brought forward to 2021 if key parameters are met.

Over the last 9 months, TOCA has heavily engaged with industry experts to clearly define the technical, performance, system specification, servicing and commercial requirements. This comprehensive document is now available to those parties interested in tendering.

The winning contractor will be required to produce a light, cost effective, low-voltage hybrid system with proven durability. This hybrid system will be incorporated into the current specification BTCC cars – additional to their 2-litre turbocharged engines.

The BTCC is believed to be the first major touring car championship in the world to have committed to a firm pathway for the integration of hybrid power.

It is envisaged that the contract will be awarded in the next three months.

Expressions of interest should be directed to;

Peter Riches
BTCC Technical Director 
E:  richesst@aol.com
T:  01953 797169