• Volvo’s famous 850 Estate added to special 60^th anniversary celebrations
• Touring car legend Rickard Rydell reunited with nineties tin top icon
• Twenty years on: Swedish star to race his title winning Volvo S40
• Silverstone celebrations a warm-up to BTCC Snetterton race weekend

Hailed as one of the most iconic touring cars of all times, the Volvo 850 Estate is the latest addition to the special BTCC Diamond Jubilee Parade at this summer’s Silverstone Classic (20-22 July), that will feature 60 great cars to celebrate the 60^th anniversary of the ever-popular MSA British Touring Car Championship.

Adding to the sense of occasion, the truly whacky Volvo wagon will be reunited with Rickard Rydell who, along with team-mate Jan Lammers, raced the pair of idolised headline grabbers back in 1994.

Moreover, Rydell will be marking another key tin-top milestone at the Classic. Exactly 20 years after winning the BTCC title, the Swedish touring car legend will be coming out of retirement to race the very same Volvo S40 which took him to the coveted crown back in 1998.

The title winning S40 – originally built by the legendary TWR team – was subsequently raced by privateers in various Scandinavian championships. In 2014, however, it was purchased by experienced historic racer Jason Minshaw and painstakingly restored before returning to the track to win one of the spectacular JET Super Touring Car Trophy races at last year’s Silverstone Classic.

Now, however, Minshaw has graciously stepped aside and invited Rydell to contest both spectacular Super Touring showdowns on this summer’s packed Classic race-card.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” confirmed the personable Swede who became a fans’ favourite during a super-successful seven-year spell in the BTCC during which he won 21 races, a winning record only topped by Alain Menu in the hallowed Super Touring era.

“I retired from being a professional racer a few years ago but I’m always happy to do some more races for fun and this, for all the obvious reasons, will be a very special occasion for me. We are hoping to get some of the 1998 TWR team back together for a reunion, too.”

With fellow BTCC stars from the nineties such as John Cleland and Patrick Watts also reliving their glory days on the rekindled Super Touring grid, Rydell will find plenty of familiar faces with whom to share some great memories at Silverstone in July.

While the super-Swede’s crowning moment came with the S40, his BTCC introduction came five years earlier racing one of the two zany 850 Estates.

“It was a pretty unique step,” recalled Rydell now aged 50. “I went straight from having dreams of being a Formula One driver to racing an estate car! When I signed up around Christmas 1993, I had no idea about these secret plans to use the estate – had they told me, I might have thought twice about making the switch. I’d never driven anything quite so big.”

Somewhat predictably, the cumbersome beast proved to be quite a handful, though Rydell did qualify third at Snetterton and posted a top five finish at Oulton Park. But, while never a victor on track, the decision to race an 850 cargo carrier was certainly a big winner when it came to grabbing the headlines.

“Publicity-wise it was an incredible stunt by Volvo,” recalls Rydell. “Indeed, people still talk to me today about racing the 850 estate. It was pretty scary at first as we had done virtually no pre-season testing, but we made it more driveable and somewhat more competitive as the season progressed.”

More importantly, joining Volvo turned out to be a career defining moment and Rydell stayed with the TWR-run team for a further five seasons peaking with in his title-winning campaign in 1998.

“Those Super Touring years were, without a doubt, the highlight of my career,” he admitted. “We had big budgets, lots of testing, the cars were great to drive and it was a fantastic championship. One year I did 38 return flights from Sweden.”

And now Rydell will be retracing those footsteps with another flight to the UK come July – this time to race the S40 and to join the amazing line-up of past and present BTCC stars and cars gathering for the special BTCC Diamond Jubilee Parade on Tin Top Sunday at the world’s biggest classic motor racing festival.  

The Silverstone Classic parade is part of the BTCC's 60th Anniversary celebrations and falls just a week before the highly-anticipated 2018 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship event at Snetterton (28/29 July), which will include the exciting Diamond Double race.

Tickets for the Silverstone Classic must be purchased in advance. As has proved so popular in the past, all admission provides free access to both Silverstone racing paddocks, all open trackside grandstands, live music concerts on Friday and Saturday evenings (topped by Soul II Soul and UB40 respectively), air shows, Drive Live test drives, funfair rides and the vast majority of the family entertainment on offer. Options for camping and hospitality are also available. Full details of all 2018 ticket prices are detailed on the silverstoneclassic.com website.

Rob Austin steered his brand-new DUO Motorsport with HMS Racing Alfa Romeo Giulietta to a podium finish on the opening weekend of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship back at Brands Hatch, sealing third spot in Round 3.

Added to a storming sixth place finish, from 29th on the grid, in the preceding wet-but-drying race where an inspired gamble on slick Dunlop tyres paid dividends, the Evesham racer departed Kent fourth in the outright BTCC championship standings.

Marking a strong start to life in the BTCC for the team’s Alfa Romeo, the result at the 1.2-mile Indy Circuit sparked emotional celebrations with Austin dedicating the performance to the memory of late team mechanic Shane Stokes.

“It’s for Shane,” said an emotional Austin immediately after the final race, “It’s very mixed emotions to be here [on the podium], we miss him a lot – a lot – and this is for him. He’s looking over us and gave us that luck in race two with the reverse grid draw.

“We didn’t have the front tyres to win it, this is the first time we’ve put soft tyres on it, so we’ve still got a huge amount to learn with this car but it’ll come. It’s a great base car, the engineering that’s gone into this is the best I’ve seen on this grid.”

“We just need to figure out how to get it to work, we need a couple of test days and a bit of development to do that. We’ve got great support from DUO, Northgate, Close Brothers, and with their help I’m sure we’ll get it there.”

“The early laps in race two were very difficult on slicks,” explained Austin, “When I saw [Senna] Proctor and [Matt] Simpson go past me I wondered what was going on as I knew they were on slicks as well, but I didn’t realise they were on the soft slicks so they were massively beneficial in those conditions. The Alfa did a good job and I was just gutted I ran out of cars to overtake – it was very enjoyable!”

Reflecting on an impressive start to 2018, DUO Motorsport with HMS Racing Team Principal Simon Belcher said: “I’m obviously super proud of the whole team, everyone has done an incredible job with the Alfa and there have been a lot of late nights to get us to this position – and this is only the start. 

“To see Rob on the podium on our first weekend with a brand new car, which only had three days of running prior to coming to Brands, is more than we could have dreamed of. Obviously, we’re all thinking of Shane (Stokes) this weekend who is so dearly missed by everyone at the team. This result is for him, he’ll always be a massive part of whatever DUO Motorsport with HMS Racing achieves.”

Testing and development

Following a successful TOCA Support Test day at Thruxton for the outfit, Austin sounded more than happy with how things are progressing with his new Italian steed and feels there's far more to come, starting at Donington Park in a week-and-a-half's time.

"Last year when we came here we had to make a lot of changes to our car to get things balanced out but we’ve got a good baseline here. We’re not there yet with balance yet and it’s very different to the Toyota.

"We’ve not even scratched the surface of the potential in the car yet. To leave Brands with the results we had we were over the moon, fourth in the championship, with a car that’s three days old effectively.

"We thought we may have gone the wrong way a little bit in qualifying but you can’t moan too much about being 0.2s off the pole time and lap record in a car that’s as new as it is. I thought it would be much easier to translate setup from the Toyota to the Alfa Romeo as there are a lot of common components but it’s surprised me how different this car is.

"We were quick at Donington Park at Season Launch, I gel well there too – I’ve always gone well there throughout my career and it just flows. It will be a bit of a learning experience qualifying with ballast on-board. We know we’ll get there though and I feel confident we’ll be winning races this year."

Bobby Thompson hailed his maiden Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship weekend a 'truly unforgettable experience' as he and Team HARD with Trade Price Cars rode a rollercoaster of emotions throughout the opening Brands Hatch Indy weekend.

Whilst, by his own admission, a best finish of 19th wasn't something the 2018 BRDC Rising Star would ordinarily be pleased with, in the overall context of the day, making a dream debut in a series he's always aspired to reach, Thompson saw numerous positives.

“I won both Volkswagen Cup races and set a new lap record in the process at Brands last year," said Thompson. “I knew I wouldn’t be in a position to repeat those results on my first BTCC weekend and although not everything went exactly as planned, the day as a whole was truly unforgettable.”

Starting 27th for the opening race of the season, Thompson was able to navigate his way through the pack and pick off several rivals, including multiple champion Jason Plato, as he moved into the top 20.

“Greasy conditions like we had when the track isn’t fully wet are the type of conditions I like the most and it felt really good to be able to attack with confidence,” he said. “I knew I was faster than Tom (Boardman) but he was defending well and I could feel my tyres starting to go off.

"I was a bit worried that Jason (Plato) would catch us but I had enough of a gap to hold him off in the end. There was no point trying a risky move on the last lap and I’m really pleased for the whole team.”

For race two, a dry line started to appear for the first time during the day on circuit with several drivers gambling on slick tyres – Thompson opted for wets.

“It’s such a lottery when the track looks like it could dry out,” added Thompson, who had made it as far as 14th position.

The track continued to dry and it wasn’t long before those who had gambled on slicks suddenly found themselves in a class of their own, going four to five seconds per lap faster than those on wets.

“I thought wets were the way to go but on my out lap I could already see that a dry line was starting to appear. It was a big decision to make and maybe if I was a bit more experienced I would have made a different call but we decided to stay on wets as most of the drivers starting around me were also on wets.

“I was able to make up a couple of places on lap one and just like the first race it was just intense all the way round. The crew told me I was in the points but I knew that it was only a matter of time before the tyres started to go off. When they did there was nothing I could do.”

With his chances of a points scoring finish gone, Thompson was trying to secure the best possible starting spot for the third and final race when his battery cried enough.

The final round in Kent would prove to be another learning experience, as Thompson found himself following team-mate Michael Caine and he did, briefly, make a move stick.

“I could see where I was faster than Cainey but as he is being a real mentor to me this year the last thing I wanted to do was put us both off,” said Thompson, who slipped-up at Graham Hill Bend, allowing Caine and several others back ahead, leaving him to cross the line in 26th position.

Thompson admitted to being mentally exhausted by the rigours of a BTCC weekend.

“Physically, I am fine as I train in the gym two hours a night but nobody can really make you understand how demanding the BTCC is until you experience it. Apart from the three races you have the autograph session, the drivers parade and the team’s own Q&A session in their hospitality unit for all our sponsors Tony (Gilham, Team HARD Team Principal) makes sure that as many fans and supporters can see inside the garage there are always lots of well-wishers and fans who want to chat and wish you luck.”

“For my first weekend it has been incredible. I have had so much support from the fans and I know that I will be a lot stronger at Donington Park for the next three races just because I have had the whole BTCC race weekend experience under my belt.

"I know that the team have a really good package that is capable of being on the podium as we proved with Jake (Hill) and I’ll be pushing harder than ever for stronger results next time.”

Thruxton welcomed the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship to Hampshire yesterday as the majority of the grid took the opportunity to rack up the miles ahead of their competitive return to the UK’s fastest race circuit, 19-20 May.
 
The BTCC celebrates its 60^th, Diamond Jubilee, anniversary this year and the country’s premier motor racing series has already shown signs that it will be another vintage, and fiercely competitive campaign after a storming opening race weekend at Brands Hatch – with nine different drivers making the podium, three different winners and 10 marques represented in the standings’ top ten.
 
Thruxton itself celebrates its 50^thAnniversary, and the beloved circuit, affectionately referred to as the Hampshire Speedbowl, always yields an unparalleled weekend’s action. Its flat-out characteristics are so unique that TOCA runs an annual test-day for the BTCC and its support series – Renault UK Clio Cup, the Ginetta championships and the F4 British Championship – ensuring all involved are up to speed ahead of their return in five weeks’ time.
 
Twenty-five of the BTCC’s finest drivers jumped at the chance to rack up the laps (over 1,100 in all on the day), among those, incumbent champion Ashley Sutton (Adrian Flux Subaru Racing) and his team-mate – BTCC legend Jason Plato, Halfords Yuasa Racing’s triple title-winner Matt Neal and Dan Cammish, plus past champs Colin Turkington and Andrew Jordan in the West Surrey Racing BMWs.
 
At the end of the day it was Sutton atop the timesheets, commenting later that evening that his heart rate had finally returned to normal levels after the high-speed Hampshire test!
 
“That was unexpected, I’ll be honest,” said Sutton. “It’s been a fast day in general and everyone’s been quick. We’ve come here looking for track time and I think we’ve found a few key things. It’s been a general test, not just a Thruxton test.
 
“We hadn’t done mileage prior to Season Launch at Donington Park, then Brands Hatch later that week but that was rained off. We’ve come to make up time on the others and we’ve achieved some key things and we hope some of those will carry over to Donington.”
 
Between the two sessions, eight drivers ran inside 2017’s BTCC qualifying lap record time set by the Honda Civic Type R of Matt Neal, so all signs are pointing to a fastest-ever race weekend come May.
 
Parts of Thruxton’s stunning new £2 million state-of-the-art hospitality facility, The Thruxton Centre, will be open for business by the time the BTCC makes its entry ahead of an official opening at 12:00 midday on Sunday 3 June amid a weekend of 50^thAnniversary celebrations. Highlights there include 15 special races as well as high-speed demonstrations from Williams’ 1983 FW08C and other iconic racing cars and bikes. There will be appearances, too, from a number of high-profile guests including Murray Walker and Nigel Mansell.
 
“It’s always a delight to welcome Britain’s biggest championship on four wheels back to Thruxton,” said Thruxton Group Managing Director, Bill Coombs. “It's a series that continually produces a fantastic weekend’s racing, with 32 cars and some of the best tin-top protagonists around throwing up a real treat. The test yesterday gave us a little glimpse of what’s to come – it’s going to be a quick one this year, that’s for sure. 
 
“Having had a keen eye on its opening race weekend a fortnight ago, it looks like it’ll be an even more fascinating prospect around the quick stuff here come May. I wouldn’t dare try and pick a winner!
 
“The track itself is a favourite of many of the drivers, it’s a fast and flowing test of balance, bravery and poise plus a healthy dollop of slipstreaming!
 
“For 2018, in our 50^thAnniversary year, we’re extremely proud to be able to open The Thruxton Centre – our brand-new, top-of-the-line facility comprises a restaurant and bar, exhibition spaces, function rooms, hosting and hospitality suites and a spectacular viewing terrace. 
 
“Parts of the centre will be open for use at the BTCC race weekend but its official opening takes place over the weekend of 2/3 June – as part of a special meeting commemorating our golden anniversary.”

Advance tickets for the BTCC’s visit, 19-20 May, are available from £12, with weekend passes with paddock access running to just £40. Saturday grandstand seats are an additional £5. Accompanied children aged 15 and under will be admitted free of charge. 
 
For further information or to buy tickets, see https://thruxtonracing.co.uk/racing/btcc or call 01264 882200 and select Option 1. For details on ticketing for Thruxton’s 50^th Anniversary meeting, head to https://thruxtonracing.co.uk/racing/50th-anniversary.
 
For more information on Thruxton’s race meetings and driving experiences, visit: www.thruxtonracing.co.uk/
 
For season or individual race meeting accreditation, please e-mail: press@barc.net

As I type, I am en route from Oman to Malaysia. A nice lady from Oman Air has brought me a large gin and tonic and there are all sorts of movies to occupy me for the next seven hours.
 
Sadly, there isn’t a channel showing me race two from Brands Hatch which I need to watch again to try to piece together who did what! It’s a bit like some complicated crime drama where the culprit is unveiled and then you have to watch it again to spot all the clues… What a race!
 
Thankfully, Tim Harvey and I don’t have to nominate a driver of the day, as there were several candidates for that mantle on Sunday. Take Jack Goff as one: that opening race drive was fantastic – error-free despite the pressure of a greasy track, a safety car restart and having Colin Turkington behind him all race long.

Jack has always looked a smooth driver, but on occasions I admit to being frustrated that he doesn’t (or didn’t) get stuck in more. Easy for me to say but when a driver has to pay his own reparations it is understandable.

On Sunday, for me, there came that tipping point where Goff delivered what he has always been capable of and while he deserves a big cheer, so does WIX Racing with Eurotech which was on it all weekend, across all three cars, repaying Jeff Smith’s and Marvin Humphries’ efforts in style. There is nothing to suggest that Goff won’t be a factor all season and the wasp-liveried Honda looks set to be a regular front-runner, as the young guns start to take over at the top.
 
We’ve had Andrew Jordan and Ash Sutton winning championships in the last five years and more young guns winning races, with Tom Ingram again looking impressive in race three as he battled up from 11th. Tom’s race-craft has stepped up a gear in the last 18 months and he looked the 'real deal' on Sunday, whilst Adam Morgan looked good in race three as well.
 
Then there was Senna Proctor’s astonishing win from 27th on the grid in race two. Let’s just ponder that for a moment. The 14th row is so far back he was nearly delayed at the main gate paying to get back in. I can’t recall anyone coming from so far back to win a race, which was impressive in itself. Plus, it was the first win for Power Maxed TAG Racing, which proves as Speedworks has done, that the longer you stay in the championship, the more you learn and the better you get. Adam Weaver and his team deserved the success. Oh, and Proctor is still only 17…
 
One thing we missed was the chance to see what would have been an epic scrap between Aiden Moffat and Proctor for another lap and a half. Moffat is a very good defender and his oval racing roots means he has impressive car control, which he needed after a day in which contact found him more than once.
 
Ah, Mike Bushell. Another young gun up the front. Yes, I accept that the weather and tyre choice helped, but he looked far more suited to the BTCC than when we first saw him two seasons ago. Mike admits it too, and will only get better.
 
And what of Dan Cammish? Much was written and broadcast beforehand and expectations were high. You don’t come into the BTCC with a CV like his and expect not to be noticed, especially in a drive like the one he has secured at Halfords Yuasa Racing, but after having a quick car in qualifying, neither Dan nor Matt Neal’s car quite looked at the races on Sunday.

Clearly, Dan expected more given his frustrations on Sunday, though they were nothing compared to his mood on Saturday after he lost his best qualifying lap. He wanted to shine on his debut, understandably, and in a way he did because he proved what he is capable of, when it all clicks together. The wins will come, surely, and that will add yet another young gun up at the front. Then there was Jake Hill coming oh-so close to a maiden win and Ollie Jackson’s maiden podium and… the list of impressive drives goes on.
 
So where does this leave Jason Plato and Matt Neal? Their BTCC careers span three decades and still both are capable of winning. The answer to where this leaves them is… we don’t know. Given the pace of the Hondas in qualifying, I can’t believe that Matt won’t win races this year, and the Jason Plato story doesn’t end here, does it? Look at the way he races, the way that he has historically over-delivered in cars that had no business being near the podium. I don’t know, genuinely, what it is that has hampered JP since the start of last season as one hears so many conflicting stories, but one thing is for sure – he hasn't forgotten how to drive.
 
We know Jason wants to win, it is what makes him tick. He isn’t a go-for-points man, he goes for wins and he will want to go from the BTCC, whenever that may be, with wins, not midfield placings. I can’t believe he won’t bounce back, but with every weekend that he struggles, so the spotlight begins to shift to others.
 
Now, teams. Bravo BTC Norlin Racing. Its new Honda Civic Type Rs looked increasingly impressive and Chris Smiley is becoming more of a factor as he is given the machinery with which to do the job. James Nash will be up there too, once he has a handle on NGTC equipment.
 
Disappointments? One could possibly argue West Surrey Racing's weekend wasn’t as good as it should have been as Rob Collard struggled and Colin Turkington had his limp-home moment at the start of race two. His car did suffer the odd electrical hiccup last season and in the current climate, you cannot afford a bad race. You have to score. That, perhaps is why stringing together a championship-winning season is so difficult now.
 
If we were shown one thing at Brands, it is that we are in for another epic season. When I stood at Old Hall Corner on Good Friday 1978 and watched my first Tricentrol British Saloon Car Championship race, I fell in love with noisy, sideways saloons. The racing, though, wasn’t a patch on what we saw on Sunday and with a few, no, a lot of drivers hoping to bounce back at Donington Park, we are in for another storming weekend.
 
Now, how do I access the ITV Hub at 35,000 feet….?

Matt Simpson enjoyed his best start to a Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season to date back at Brands Hatch, leaving the Berkshire racer brimming with confidence heading to Donington Park.

Simpson Racing now sits inside the WIX Racing with Eurotech stable, with Jeff Smith's outfit now running a third Honda Civic Type R. Simpson feels everything has fallen into place nicely for him this off-season, and his results over the Brands weekend – a pair of highest-ever seventh place finishes – have only bolstered his optimism.

"We set ourselves a goal this year with the new team at Eurotech to try and qualify and finish in the top ten positions over the course of the season," said Simpson. "Obviously, that wasn’t necessarily expected to be the case right from the off at Brands Hatch but it was a fantastic weekend.

"I was some six-tenths quicker in the car in places over the off-season than through last year, and around Brands Hatch in practice, I was quicker than I ever had been there before. In qualifying I tend to over-drive and that tends to make you slower but we managed eighth, which was a strong starting point.

"It was a shame about the first race really. I was in the right place at the right time around the outside of Tom Chilton and Sam Tordoff but contact unfortunately ended the chance of what I think could have been a top five finish – my wet pace has been really good."

Yesterday, at the TOCA Support Test, Simpson toured Thruxton Circuit for the first time in a Eurotech-engineered Honda. The learning process, for him, continues in what he sees as the perfect environment with buckets of support from his stablemates as well as his engineers.

"I’d never driven the Eurotech-engineered Honda around Thruxton before, so I was a little apprehensive and didn’t know how the car might feel," he continued. "I got my eye in though and it was a productive day with setup changes and some good things learned.

"Every team sets the car up in different ways, so although it’s the same package, the engineering and setup side of things has been a dramatic change.

"I really feel at home with these guys and I’m brimming with confidence. I get on with my engineer Richard Owen really well, he’s been great, so hopefully we can push on, try and improve and set ourselves some new goals.

"I’m learning a lot from Jack (Goff) and Brett (Smith) as well as Jeff (Smith) with all of his experience. We have debriefs together and we’re all as one. It’s great – they’ve definitely got this Civic ticking, that’s for sure.

As far as Donington Park is concerned, Simpson wants to build some momentum, and carry on where he left off in Kent.

"Media day was really good at Donington Park in the damp conditions but I didn’t get a new tyre run when it dried out in the afternoon.

"I’m hoping for more of the same – just to keep building on my confidence and get myself some more top ten finishes. Hopefully then, the rest will fall into place. It’d be nice to come into Thruxton with a bit of ballast on-board, you never know! That would be mega."

Adrian Flux Subaru Racing's Ashley Sutton set the quickest time of the day in this afternoon's Free Practice session, with more than two-thirds of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship field taking part in the annual TOCA Support test day at Thruxton Circuit.

Sutton headed Mike Bushell, whose late lap fired him second and just 0.026s shy of the Subaru man. Halfords Yuasa Racing's Matt Neal lapped third quickest – recovering from throttle issues in the morning's running to reveal a little more of the new Honda's potential.

"That was unexpected, I'll be honest," said Sutton. "It's been a fast day in general and everyone's been quick. We've come here looking for track time and I think we've found a few key things. It's been a general test, not just a Thruxton test.

"We hadn’t done mileage prior to Season Launch at Donington Park, then Brands Hatch later that week but that was rained off. We've come to make up time on the others and we've achieved some key things and we hope some of those will carry over to Donington."

Jack Goff, Sam Tordoff, Josh Cook and Dan Cammish rounded out the top seven – with each setting times beneath Matt Neal's qualifying lap record around the Hampshire circuit. Though as is always the case with testing, it's more about the time out on circuit than outright pace as teams and drivers work through their programmes in what is a learning process early on in the season.

More than 1,100 laps were completed across the day, with a focus on Dunlop's Thruxton-specific rubber as well as chassis and setup development for the forthcoming campaign.

2018 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Free Practice 2 – TOCA Support Test – Thruxton Circuit

1 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing 1m15.717s
2 Mike BUSHELL (GBR) Trade Price Cars with Brisky Racing +0.026s
3 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.094s
4 Jack GOFF (GBR) WIX Racing with Eurotech +0.143s
5 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team GardX Racing with Motorbase +0.245s
6 Josh COOK (GBR) Power Maxed TAG Racing +0.264s
7 Dan CAMMISH (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.280s
8 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +0.326s
9 Tom CHILTON (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher +0.371s
10 Brett SMITH (GBR) WIX Racing with Eurotech +0.470s
11 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +0.484s
12 Adam MORGAN (GBR) Mac Tools with Ciceley Motorsport +0.522s
13 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) BMW Pirtek Racing +0.524s
14 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Simpson Racing +0.695s
15 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) DUO Motorsport with HMS Racing +0.774s
16 James COLE (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher +0.945s
17 Bobby THOMPSON (GBR) Team HARD with Trade Price Cars +1.101s
18 Rob COLLARD (GBR) Team BMW +1.211s
19 Senna PROCTOR (GBR) Power Maxed TAG Racing +1.234s
20 Tom OLIPHANT (GBR) Ciceley Motorsport +1.267s
21 Jason PLATO (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +1.420s
22 Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team Parker Racing +1.544s
23 Michael CAINE (GBR) Team HARD with Trade Price Cars +1.641s
24 Josh PRICE (GBR) Autoglym Academy Racing +1.657s
25 Sam SMELT (GBR) AmD with Cobra Exhausts +2.807s

Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher's Tom Chilton headed the way in the opening Free Practice session from Thruxton Circuit this morning.

Twenty-three of the 32-car field made the trip to Hampshire for the annual TOCA Support Test and it was the Ford Focus RS leading the early running as teams began to work through their busy programmes for the day. Chilton's 1m15.979s was inside Matt Neal's pole time, and lap record, set in qualifying here last year. 

"Thruxton's one of my favourite circuits, along with Brands Hatch. I do love it here." said Chilton. "I used to be an instructor here, so I know it very well. We worked through some qualifying runs this morning and we may use some newer Dunlops this afternoon to see where we can go.

"You've got the combination today where the track's warm enough for the tyre to work well but it's cool enough for the engine. I was pushing quite hard, and we'll change the set up to see if there's any more time to gain this afternoon."

Senna Proctor continued where he left off at Brands Hatch with the second fastest time of the morning, just a tenth-of-a-second shy of Chilton's timesheet-topper, with his Power Maxed with TAG Racing team-mate Josh Cook making it two Vauxhall Astras in the top three.

The new-generation FK8 Honda Civic Type R, in the hands of Dan Cammish, rounded in fourth spot with reigning champ Ash Sutton and Trade Price Cars with Brisky Racing's Mike Bushell completing the top six.

As is always the case in testing, however, pace is not always the immediate priority – especially during the opening throes of the campaign. Teams and drivers are continuing the learning process as they look to unlock their 2018 machinery and evaluate the Dunlop SportMaxx compound for the Thruxton race weekend, 19-20 May.

2018 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Free Practice 1 – TOCA Support Test – Thruxton Circuit

1 Tom CHILTON (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher 1m15.979s
2 Senna PROCTOR (GBR) Power Maxed TAG Racing +0.130s
3 Josh COOK (GBR) Power Maxed TAG Racing +0.168s
4 Dan CAMMISH (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.240s
5 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +0.396s
6 Mike BUSHELL (GBR) Trade Price Cars with Brisky Racing +0.538s
7 Adam MORGAN (GBR) Mac Tools with Ciceley Motorsport +0.584s
8 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) BMW Pirtek Racing +0.686s
9 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +0.709s
10 Brett SMITH (GBR) WIX Racing with Eurotech +0.792s
11 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +0.860s
12 James COLE (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher +0.960s
13 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) DUO Motorsport with HMS Racing +0.972s
14 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team GardX Racing with Motorbase +0.998s
15 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +1.106s
16 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Simpson Racing +1.162s
17 Tom OLIPHANT (GBR) Ciceley Motorsport +1.483s
18 Jack GOFF (GBR) WIX Racing with Eurotech +1.604s
19 Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team Parker Racing +1.810s
20 Rob COLLARD (GBR) Team BMW +1.829s
21 Jason PLATO (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +1.985s
22 Josh PRICE (GBR) Autoglym Academy Racing +2.335s
23 Sam SMELT (GBR) AmD with Cobra Exhausts +2.826s

BTC Norlin Racing made good progress at Brands Hatch as it starts life with a newly-aquired pair of Honda Civic Type Rs but the team are hungry for more next time around.

Qualifying proved frustrating, with Chris Smiley and James Nash lining up 16th and 26th respectively but the outfit were confident of their ability to make progress come raceday. Duly, after an early safety car period, the two were up to tenth and 17th come the chequered flag in the opener – some typically touring car scrapping doing the business. Having briefly caught Team Boss Bert Taylor prior to the weekend's action getting underway, he would be satisfied with that as a start for what are two freshly-built Hondas.

The debate over tyre choice was the talk of the grid prior to race two, with Norlin electing to run wets. With the Dunlop Sportmaxx shod runners flying on the drying track, Smiley and Nash battled as high as sixth and seventh respectively before the BluResponse wets started to suffer. Nash would bring his Type R home in 14th – more points for the team and his first of the season, while Smiley took the chequered flag 17th. Race three yielded 16th for Smiley, though terminal damage put paid to Nash's efforts.

“It’s unbelievable to finish in the top ten at the opening race of the season," said Smiley. "This was my aim for the day and I’m delighted to have made up six positions.”

“The rest of the day was frustrating, running sixth for much of race two, until the track dried and we were caught on the wrong tyre. Race three looked as though ninth was possible, until I was caught up in someone else’s incident at Druids on the last lap, but that is touring car racing.

"I can’t wait to get to Donington Park with the awesome guys and girls from BTC Norlin Racing.”

“For various reasons we were only able to do minimal running before this weekend and so today has been pretty much a very public test session for us," said an optimistic Nash.

"The most important thing is that we’ve sorted the handling problem that had handicapped us through qualifying and the opening race. I’m confident we’ll do well at Donington Park.”

Winter has been flat out for Bert Taylor's outfit, now into the second year of its BTCC return, having put together a pair of new cars and welcoming aboard several key partners including The Range and Hampton by Hilton.

“As a minimum this weekend, we wanted to have both cars within the top 15 during the three races,” said Team Manager Bert Taylor.

“Whilst we didn’t quite get the results that we wanted, we have seen that we are comfortable racing towards the front and have shown that we have the tools to get the job done this season.”

“We wanted to be leaving the circuit with a better haul of points, but we're happy that we have understood the cars better and moved closer during each race to where we know we should be.

"We're now focusing on Donington Park, so expect more passion and determination than ever before from BTC Norlin Racing, we want more!”

WIX Racing with Eurotech's 2018 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship got underway in fine style at Brands Hatch this past weekend, with the outfit leaving Kent atop the Teams' Championship with a race win in the bag.

The outfit's Honda Civic Type Rs were potent throughout 2017 and a one-two in the opening Free Practice session of the season, Goff from team-mate Brett Smith, set the tone once again.

That pace was evident throughout the remainder of Saturday's action, reaching a crescendo with Goff's scorching qualifying time – enough to seal a third pole on the bounce for the 27-year-old and Eurotech, as well as a Brands Hatch Indy double following Jeff Smith's pole last year. Smith Jr. set a time good enough for 10th, while Matt Simpson, in the Eurotech-backed Simpson Racing Type R made it a hat-trick of top tens for the stable with eighth spot.

Goff was able to covert his start-line advantage into a maiden race win of 2018, fending off Team BMW's Colin Turkington in difficult wet conditions. Smith meanwhile, brought his Honda home in 11th.

https://www.facebook.com/OfficialBTCC/videos/1920019784706129/

 

Changing conditions in race two, however didn't favour the pair, who had opted for the Dunlop BluResponse wet tyres. The drying track surface favoured those who had gambled on fitting slick rubber prior to lights-out and Goff clung manfully onto 10th, with the maximum allotted 75kgs of success ballast aboard his Type R. Smith rounded in 20th, but it was Simpson in the sister Civic who really impressed. He was one of the drivers to take the risk on dry rubber and fired his Type R to seventh – a best-ever result in the series, and right from the back of the grid to boot following his opening race DNF.

The weather held off for Round 3 and an elbows-out performance from Goff yielded eighth, with Simpson able to swashbuckle his way to another seventh placed finish. Smith, meanwhile, found himself in the midst of the action but was shuffled down the order to 22nd after contact.

"It couldn't have gone much better than that," said Goff. "You never really know what to expect when it rains like it did overnight but to come away with a win from Round 1, it's taken a lot less time than it did last year, so I'm chuffed with that. It's all thanks to the fantastic guys here at WIX Racing with Eurotech who've given me a fantastic car. We've shown we're quick and we want to show it more in races – we've done that here. Credit to Colin (Turkington). He's a fair racer and I like to think I am too. We didn't give each other much room but just enough!"

Team Principal Jeff Smith said: "What an amazing way to start our 2018 campaign, pole positon and all three cars in the top ten for qualifying, followed by a great win by Jack Goff in the opener. We have clearly given Matt a car he can put up the sharp end, too, and we are looking to continue scoring results like this with all three cars under our banner.’