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• John McGuinness swaps Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP for BTCC Honda Civic Type R
• Gordon Shedden shows off his riding skills aboard Honda Racing’s TT winning machine

What happens when you pit double Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Champion Gordon Shedden against 23-time Isle of Man TT winner John McGuinness, head to head on each other’s race-winning machinery? Dunlop and Honda hosted the unique event at Scotland’s Knockhill circuit on Monday, which saw Gordon swap his race-winning Halfords Yuasa Racing Honda Civic Type R for John’s Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP for 30 laps of the Scottish track. 

The two vehicles are very different – the number of wheels aside – but the similarities are the brand of chassis and tyre manufacturer – Honda and Dunlop. The sportsmen are different too, but both Gordon and John are at the peak of their sport, both capable of using the tyres to their maximum to achieve the best lap times. Whether that’s in a 27 lap race, over 21 miles against 31 other cars on a smooth race track, or a single 37.73-mile lap of the daunting Isle of Man TT Mountain course, held on closed public roads.

Swapping machines is no mean feat – to get competitive lap times, they both needed to learn the car and bike respectively in just a handful of laps. During that time, they also had to adjust to the very different tyres that were the only thing between their vehicle and the tarmac.

Tyre Talk – the differences

• Size matters – the contact patch on a bike is tiny compared to that of the car, just the size of a credit card. At around 3-4 times smaller it has to take a power to weight ratio quite differently (close to 1 for a motorcycle against close 0.25 for a BTCC). And that is just for the rear tyre. The front contact patch on a motorcycle is yet again even smaller and needs to cope with the bike slowing at close to 1G deceleration.
• Wheely important stuff – the BTCC wheel is 18 inches in diameter – an inch bigger than that of the TT rear wheel, although the overall tyre diameter is actually bigger on a motorcycle. This means the tyre mechanics are different.
• A bit on the side – Gordon needed to rely on the side walls of the tyres on the Fireblade, while John’s Civic Type R was (mainly) squarely on the base of the tyres. The motorcycle tyre will deform more in the sidewall and tread area to key into the asphalt and generate grip whereas the BTCC tyre will mainly deform in the sidewall area to withstand the weight and get the support required.
• Under pressure –tyre pressures vary. There’s up to 1.1 bar of difference between the bike and car pressures to get the best performance – double the pressure in the front tyres when cold for the bike compared to the car. A motorcycle tyre will run between 1.5 bar to 1.6 bar hot, whereas a BTCC tyre will be aimed to run at 1.85-1.95 bar hot. It may not seem such a big difference for most people but Gordon or John would have spotted that change of tyre performance with less than 0.1 bar difference!
• The magic ingredients and construction – While some ingredients or at least concepts may be tried in one discipline and transferred into another, the secrets inside the tyres are very different – but they have to stay secret.

John McGuinness: “It was brilliant; I didn’t want to get out of the car to be honest. The first session all happened really fast but then I settled down into a groove. The whole mindset changes when you swap from what you know to something new, and I was a bit nervous, but we’re all racers and just want to go fast.

“It’s hard to see the apex, you’re strapped in tight, and it’s quite warm in there. You’re breathing in engine fumes and there are lots of rattles and bangs, it’s such a different world but I was shocked by how nice and precise it was. Dunlop put on some soft, sticky, amazing grippy tyres on the Honda Civic Type R and they gave me so much confidence to go fast.

“My Honda Fireblade had the same tyres we used at the TT where we did a 132.6mph average lap and we brought it here and did some riding on those same tyres which is testament to Dunlop and how good their product is. You know we put our lives in the hands of a few things, but tyres are such an important part of the package.”

Gordon Shedden: “It was absolutely out of this world, you maybe build a picture of what you think it’s like in your head, but nothing compares to it when you’re out there. It’s phenomenally fast but once you get used to it you learn to relax and get more confident. It was an absolute privilege to have a go.

“It was the first time I’ve ever ridden on a slick tyre and I cannot believe the grip that the contact patch the size of a credit card can actually give you, it’s just absolutely mind blowing. The speed obviously is as you’d expect, the world passes by at a million miles an hour. I can only imagine what it’s like going round the TT course, and John is welcome to stay on that!

“Each stint I started to relax more and get more confidence in the grip that was available. The brakes on the race car are fantastic with four big slick tyres to hold the thing on, so you wouldn’t believe the bike would have the stopping capability that it does.”

British Touring Car Championship icon Jack Sears is to be laid to rest today in Norfolk following his passing last week.

'Gentleman Jack’ has been a popular and important part of the BTCC right throughout its near 60 year history, having seen it evolve from the British Saloon Car Championship which he won in its inaugural year of 1958 and again in 1963.

In recent seasons MSA British Touring Car Championship rookies have challenged for the 'Jack Sears Trophy', with which Jack helped to nurture and support the next crop of BTCC stars.

The entire British Touring Car Championship community paused this past weekend at Knockhill for a minute's silence to mark the passing of the series' inaugural champion.

Everyone in the BTCC sends their condolences, thoughts and prayers to Jack’s family and friends.

It was a positive weekend north of the border for Maximum Motorsport as Stewart Lines achieved the team's best result in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship with 17th in round 20 from Fife's Knockhill circuit.

The green-and-black liveried Ford Focus qualified 29th on Saturday, leaving Lines with a quite the task on his hands at what is a notoriously tight and tricky circuit to make progress on. Despite this, the Midlander did manage to move forward.

In race one, Lines held station as Ollie Jackson in the AmD Tuning.com looked to make a move after the S3 had dispatched Mark Howards VW CC off the line.

The Focus was demoted by Jackson after a four-lap battle before contact for Aron Smith handed a spot back and Lines jumped Matt Simpson on lap five to find his eventual finishing spot – 25th for race one.

Further progress came in race two with the Sutton Coldfield outfit electing to use the soft compound tyre. Contact with Jeff Smith into turn one demoted the Maximum machine down to 28th, sparking a spirited fightback.

Lines took advantage of scuffling up ahead as Martin Depper and Warren Scott tripped and found themselves in the gravel in two separate incidents before the safety car was deployed.

On the restart, Howard was caught napping by Lines with a well-timed move and defended the BKR man's advances as he tried to retaliate. With a near full race distance still to come, Lines got his head down and focussed on the cars ahead. Ash Sutton, Ollie Jackson, Matt Simpson, Hunter Abbott and Alex Martin were reeled in and eventually in his sights. By lap twenty, he'd passed all but the latter.

In the closing stages, Lines did make it past the Dextra Racing man and ended a strong showing 17th – passing Dan Welch on track and making up more places through drama for Tom Ingram and a pair of cars in contact up ahead.

Race three, and a P17 grid slot, offered up the opportunity of maiden points but contact with Alex Martin put pay to those hopes, a recovery drive to 22nd was scant consolation.

Lines was pleased with steps made over the Knockhill weekend, and is aiming to score points over the final three events of the season in what is an improving Ford Focus.

"I do like Knockhill and the linkup with Welch Motorsport and a new number one mechanic coming in, in Les White, it's been a breath of fresh air recently," said Lines.

"I've felt like I've driven well at Croft and Snetterton and I was on it all weekend barring qualifying – I felt quite racy.

"I was up there on pace with a fair few guys who have normally been just a little bit ahead of us, like Team HARD and the couple of Subarus in and around us, so that was a big plus and I was pleased with that. We think we've got the car working a bit better in the past few.

"Race two was fantastic for us and heading into race three, but for contact with Alex Martin, we were looking like we had a chance of points and that was definitely our aim.

"The signs are good. We're getting towards the edge of what this kit can do ahead of us switching to the new RML parts for next season. We're not looking at finding big chunks of time anymore, it's just little bits that we can try and look for that can hopefully add up.

"I like Rockingham, Silverstone and Brands Hatch GP. The're all places I've been to and won at each in club racing. Hopefully over those last three weekends we can get a few points on the board.

"For the size of operation we're running we're happy. We've had success in the VW Cup and we feel we can bring some of knowhow into the BTCC effort. People underestimate the challenge and the balance you need to have in terms of quick machinery as well as a quick driver but we're improving.

"It was a three-year deal for us so we're making progress that I'm happy with and we're getting better every week."

Ollie Jackson topped Knockhill's Dunlop #ForeverForward running with 17 places gained over the weekend but West Surrey Racing’s Rob Collard retained his overall lead despite a mixed three rounds in Scotland.

The weekend started well for AmD Tuning.com with Jackson’s Audi S3 showing pace through free practice, but his hopes of converting that into a strong qualifying performance were ended by an off into the gravel at the Arnold Clark Chicane; an off that left him at the back of the grid for race one.

Jackson worked his way forwards from 31^st on the grid to take the flag in 23^rd spot in the opener and was hopeful of building on that in race two before being forced to retire with an exhaust issue – forcing retirement on safety grounds and leaving him to battle his way through the field again in race three.

With the issue fixed for race three and a series of revisions made to the car, the Audi was at its most competitive and, avoiding some chaos around him, Ollie fought his way forwards into the top 20 but fell just short of a points finish.

“I have to hold my hands up in qualifying as I made a stupid mistake and have been kicking myself for it ever since,” he said. “I’ve never gone off in qualifying before but I was just pushing too hard on cold tyres, and I felt so bad for the team after the work they had put in in recent weeks.

“Ultimately, that played a big part in how race day panned out and having made up places in race one, I was hoping to do the same in race two until I was forced to retire. Unfortunately it meant we were too far back to really make the most of the improvements we found for race three, when the car was at its best and we had some good pace.

“That’s reflected in the fact that we came from the back to finish inside the top 20 but unfortunately, it’s a weekend where we’ve not been able to secure the end result we deserved.”

With seven events completed, the results and standings are as follows – Drivers’ Championship leader Rob Collard still heads the pack:

Dunlop #ForeverForward drivers of the weekend

1 Ollie Jackson 17
2 Martin Depper 16
3 Adam Morgan 15

Dunlop #ForeverForward overall standings

1 Rob Collard 107
2 Martin Depper 97
3 Rob Austin 81

Plato, Neal and Jackson take win apiece as Tordoff extends advantage

Mat Jackson produced a memorable defensive drive in the final BTCC encounter at Knockhill, as the Motorbase Performance driver fended off a gaggle of cars to claim his fourth win of the season.

It was status quo in the opening laps as initially Jackson led the squabbling duo of Rob Collard and Colin Turkington. That scrap spilled over on lap eight as Turkington's Subaru tapped Collard's BMW into a lurid slide. As the damaged Team JCT600 with GardX car straightened out further contact ensued and both cars were fired onto the grass and out of contention.

This brought Sam Tordoff, Jason Plato and Gordon Shedden into play as Ford battled BMW, Subaru and Honda. The quartet remained inseparable throughout the remainder of the race, but all attempts to make a pass were rebuffed by the car ahead.

The quartet were covered by just 1.2 seconds as the chequered flag fell, but it was Jackson punching the air as he roared by his delighted team members on the pit wall. Tordoff and Plato completed the podium, with the Halfords Yuasa Racing duo of Shedden and Matt Neal finishing fourth and fifth respectively.

"That was mega," said Jackson. "He wasn’t going to get that win off me! I was determined it would be ours. A rear-wheel drive car around Knockhill is hard to beat so when I saw Rob (Collard) go, I thought ‘great’. Then young Sam (Tordoff) came at us but I managed to hold him off.

"It was fantastic really. He wasn’t going to get past me! It was a tough battle. We had the legs in sector one but he was quicker with traction through the back straight, Clarke and out of the hairpin. He drove a good race and fair play to him for the way he went about it."

Rob Austin scored another impressive top six – at a circuit where he often excels – as the upward trend in form continues for Handy Motorsport.

Mercedes pair Adam Morgan and Aiden Moffat fought throughout with the WIX Racing man eventually getting the better of his younger Laser Tools Racing stablemate. Andrew Jordan and Jack Goff rounded out the top ten.

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Round 21 – Knockhill:

1 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance 25:19.259 (81.05 mph)
2 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +0.236s
3 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +0.804s
4 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +1.297s
5 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +2.256s
6 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport +3.933s
7 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +4.326s
8 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +8.875s
9 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +9.316s
10 Jack GOFF (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club +10.196s
11 Dave NEWSHAM (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +11.386s
12 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +11.590s
13 James COLE (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +11.896s
14 Dan WELCH (GBR) Goodestone Racing +12.758s
15 Jake HILL (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +16.117s
16 Martin DEPPER (GBR) Eurotech Racing +17.215s
17 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +21.381s
18 Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR +24.587s
19 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) AmD Tuning.com +27.894s
20 Michael EPPS (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +30.503s
21 Alex MARTIN (GBR) Dextra Racing +31.271s
22 Stewart LINES (GBR) Maximum Motorsport +31.513s
23 Mark HOWARD (GBR) BKR +47.219s
24 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +47.847s
25 Warren SCOTT (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +1 lap
DNF Hunter ABBOTT (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +13 laps
DNF Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +19 laps
DNF Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +19 laps
DNF Jeff SMITH (GBR) Eurotech Racing +21 laps
DNF Ash SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance

Triple champion Matt Neal clinched a Knockhill classic as the Halfords Yuasa Racing driver stormed through from eighth on the grid to win race two of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship event at the Fife track.

Neal gradually made his way up the order while the Subarus battled the BMWs for supremacy at the head of the pack.

Long-time leader Jason Plato began to struggle late on as he took turns on baulking up Sam Tordoff and Colin Turkington behind him. Tordoff and Turkington swapped positions on several occasions but neither could make a move by Plato's Levorg, as the race one winner produced a brilliant defensive drive.

Neal nipped by both Turkington and Team IHG Rewards Club's Jack Goff after the pair made contact on the exit of the final hairpin, and when Plato strategically held up Tordoff again on the penultimate lap Neal eyed his opportunity to blast by both.

You could throw a blanket over all three cars as they shot across the line to start the final lap, but when the dust settled it was Neal from Tordoff and Plato taking the podium positions.

Turkington had to settle for fourth while title contender Rob Collard delivered his own standout performance to take fifth, having started from 17th on the grid. Mat Jackson shuffled Goff's BMW further down the order to claim sixth, with the sister Ford of Andrew Jordan looking rather second hand in eighth.

Scottish duo Gordon Shedden and Aiden Moffat completed the top ten classification.

Matt Neal said: "I don’t know what to say. I thought we’d have a chance one minute then I thought we’d have absolutely no chance. We got bottled up behind Andy Jordan early on but once we got past it was different. I got up behind Jason (Plato) and he was playing with Sam (Tordoff), then Jason really seemed to start to struggle with tyres. That gave me the opportunity to pounce. Sam’s been fast all weekend. When he cleared Jason, I thought that would be it. Our car was monstrous right through to the end. It bodes well for the last one with Flash on the soft tyres.

Sam Tordoff said: "It was chaos at times – we were all going for it! For a lot of it I just didn’t know where to go! We made a few tweaks to the car after race one and it was a different beast. Jason (Plato) started to struggle with his tyres and it gave me the chance. I was right with him until Matt Neal made his move then I followed him through at the hairpin – he stuck his nose in where it hurts. There’s a long way to go in the championship so we’re not thinking about the future and we’re not too worried about the long term right now. We keep scoring points and what will be will be."

Jason Plato said: "Everything was going okay. For some reason I then had a big moment at the hairpin. The oversteer was getting worse and worse. It took me a while to recalibrate. When Colin (Turkington) tried to pass me early on, I got a knock and wondered if I got a slow puncture. It was great fun and as much as I tried, I just couldn’t quite hang on. Before the race, the target was the podium and I was fairly confident that if the balance stayed the same I could work out what to do. A podium’s a podium so I’ve got to be pleased with that. I’m starting to understand the car a bit more and Colin’s probably half-a-tenth quicker still. His intel’s a bit better than mine on these cars at the moment but we’re coming!"

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Round 20 – Knockhill:

1 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing 25:42.020 (79.86 mph)
2 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +1.249s
3 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +2.340s
4 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +2.830s
5 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +2.836s
6 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +3.640s
7 Jack GOFF (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club +4.175s
8 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +4.756s
9 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +5.554s
10 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +6.706s
11 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +10.914s
12 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport +13.192s
13 Jake HILL (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +15.079s
14 Dave NEWSHAM (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +18.559s
15 Jeff SMITH (GBR) Eurotech Racing +19.576s
16 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +25.630s
17 Stewart LINES (GBR) Maximum Motorsport +32.399s
18 Alex MARTIN (GBR) Dextra Racing +33.788s
19 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +34.434s
20 Dan WELCH (GBR) Goodestone Racing +35.408s
21 James COLE (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +35.538s
22 Hunter ABBOTT (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +1 lap
23 Mark HOWARD (GBR) BKR +1 lap
DNF Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR +2 laps
DNF Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +2 laps
DNF Michael EPPS (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +3 laps
DNF Warren SCOTT (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +7 laps
DNF Ollie JACKSON (GBR) AmD Tuning.com+12 laps
DNF Martin DEPPER (GBR) Eurotech Racing +18 laps

Jason Plato celebrated his 500th BTCC race in style by taking a commanding lights-to-flag victory at Knockhill, becoming the 11th different winner in this incredible season so far.

The Silverline Subaru BMR Racing driver made a quick getaway off the line, building a strong gap over the first half of the race. He was being reeled in by the BMW of Jack Goff in the latter stages, and also had to contend with a safety car period, but the BTCC legend held on to claim his 95th race win.

The race began in steady fashion with the top six drivers – all running the Dunlop SportMaxx soft tyre – holding station on the opening lap. Matt Neal's Honda nudged Adam Morgan's Mercedes into a spin further down the order, shortly before Andrew Jordan traded positions with Colin Turkington for fifth at the start of the second tour.

Turkington's race was compromised by the move as it was clear his Subaru Levorg was quicker Jordan's Ford for much of the contest. The duo ran side-by-side during lap eight but Turkington had to wait until lap 14 before he could finally snatch back fifth place.

Goff had passed team-mate Sam Tordoff and Tom Ingram's Toyota by that point, and now up to second, began carving into Plato's lead.

The safety car was deployed on lap 20 after Dan Welch tipped Warren Scott's Subaru into the gravel, which ironically threatened to derail team-mate Plato's chances of victory. Scott's Levorg was retrieved by the marshals and the race was soon underway, with Plato managing the remaining laps with consummate ease as a late challenge from Goff failed to materialise.

"Before this weekend I wasn’t getting caught up in any of the numbers," said Plato. "You cast your mind back to where it all started – struggling in single-seaters with no money, and doorstepping Sir Frank Williams. 500 races later and we’re still winning. Whilst we all wanted to get that first win at Subaru, did it matter too much to me? It was just great to see the cars winning come what may out of the car. In the car, I was obviously disappointed! The ball was just yet to roll my way."

"Everybody’s been fantastic with me this year," revealed WSR's Goff, after scoring his best result of 2016. "They’ve given me a great car and it was about time I repaid them with a bit of silverware for this side of the garage. The tyres drifted towards the end there but before the safety car I was really closing in on (Jason) so it came at a bad time for us. I spoke to my engineer about having a go but I’d got past before I’d finished asking!"

The excitement in the closing laps came from Turkington as he carved his way past Tordoff with a sensational move at the restart. He then grabbed the final podium position with an expert late move by Ingram at the hairpin on the penultimate lap.

"I really enjoyed that," enthused Turkington. "The car was obviously strong. I lost a positon to Andy (Jordan) on the inside of the hairpin early on. I got bunched up the inside and he outdragged me down the straight. It was just about being patient though. I knew the race would come to me and my pace was electric once I got past AJ. I’m really pleased for the team – another double podium, so it’s great."

Jordan eventually claimed a lonely sixth, ahead of the impressive Dave Newsham. The series returnee starred throughout for Power Maxed Racing, rewarding the squad with its best result of the season.

Halfords Yuasa Racing duo Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden claimed eight and ninth respectively, whilst Handy Motorsport's Rob Austin rounded out the top ten.

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Round 19 – Knockhill:

1 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing 25:30.213 (80.47 mph)
2 Jack GOFF (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club +0.503s
3 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +1.003s
4 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +2.375s
5 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +2.781s
6 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +4.034s
7 Dave NEWSHAM (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +5.265s
8 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +7.605s
9 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +8.143s
10 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport +8.357s
11 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +9.206s
12 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +10.160s
13 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +11.295s
14 Martin DEPPER (GBR) Eurotech Racing +11.346s
15 James COLE (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +11.495s
16 Jake HILL (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +12.307s
17 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +12.581s
18 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +13.652s
19 Michael EPPS (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +14.484s
20 Hunter ABBOTT (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +14.863s
21 Dan WELCH (GBR) Goodestone Racing +15.114s
22 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +15.991s
23 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) AmD Tuning.com+16.868s
24 Michael CAINE (GBR) TLC/RCIB Insurance Racing +18.868s
25 Stewart LINES (GBR) Maximum Motorsport +19.479s
26 Mark HOWARD (GBR) BKR +21.057s
27 Alex MARTIN (GBR) Dextra Racing +1 laps
DNF Jeff SMITH (GBR) Eurotech Racing +8 laps
DNF Warren SCOTT (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +10 laps
DNF Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR +14 laps
DNF Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +18 laps