Colin Turkington led home team-mate Jason Plato in the BTCC opener at Croft to score the first ever one-two finish for Silverline Subaru BMR Racing. It was a podium of firsts as Ashley Sutton took his maiden rostrum for MG Racing RCIB Insurance.

Turkington was in command for the duration although he had to contend with the attentions of Plato, plus three safety car interruptions and an early attack from fellow front-row starter Daniel Lloyd.

Lloyd's Eurotech Honda made a great getaway off the line, which left him on the outside of Turkington going into turn one. The young BTCC rookie turned in to early, however, and inevitable contact followed. The Civic Type R was fired off into the gravel and out of the race, whilst Sam Tordoff's BMW also fell down the order with his own off-track excursion.

"That's the highs and lows of motorsport," said Lloyd. "I'm kicking myself as I wasn't expecting to get off the line so well. It was the best start I've ever had but it forced me to take the outside line. It's horrible out there as you have two options; go for it or stay wide and then let everyone fly past down your inside. In hindsight I should have taken the latter choice. It was just one of those things."

Championship leader Tordoff was able to fight his way back up the order although the lap one incident would eventually catch up with him. An oil leak – caused by his early trip through the gravel – forced him out of top-level contention, although he scored minor points to remain at the top of the table alongside Matt Neal.

Hunter Abbott's top ten challenge didn't last long unfortunately after his slid wide and collected Adam Morgan's Mercedes on the opening lap. Abbott's Power Maxed Racing Chevrolet retired on the spot while the WIX Racing Mercedes endured more contact later in the contest – a hit from behind by Mat Jackson's Ford, after he had received his own nudge, ultimately ended Morgan's race.

An off for Mark Howard's VW and retirement for the Laser Tools Racing Mercedes of Aiden Moffat were two further reasons for safety car interventions, which leader Turkington dealt with in his stride.

Plato kept him honest, after getting his own stellar start, but the Ulsterman held him off at arms length to take his second victory of the season.

"They certainly didn’t make that one easy for me," said Turkington. "It was the kind of race where you need to remain 100 per cent focused right to the end. To have three safety car periods is quite unusual, and with the tyre pressures dropping at the lower speeds, I had to carefully manage all the re-starts which was tricky. With Jason not far behind either, there was absolutely no margin for error, but the team gave us both a fantastic car so massive credit to them all.

"The Subaru Levorg package is getting stronger and we’re not a million miles away with it now. Of course, I’ll have an extra 75kg on-board in race two – which is effectively another me plus all my shopping – so that will obviously take some speed off, but the chassis is working really well so we should still be in good shape."

Sutton produced arguably the defensive drive of his career as Jack Goff's Team IHG Rewards Club BMW searched for a way past for the entire 18-lap battle. Goff looked to have secured the deal on a number of occasions but Sutton would not be denied his first BTCC podium.

"That's a great result," beamed Sutton. "It was really hard out there. I was expecting to get squeezed out at turn one, but we hung on and I knew the Subarus would be off into the distance after that. It was then all about keeping Jack behind me while looking after the car and tyres – I am delighted and it's a great result for the team."

Andrew Jordan's Ford was fifth with arguably 'driver of the race' Jake Hill close behind. The Team HARD-run Toyota did not look out of place fighting in more illustrious company and Hill remained on the attack throughout. Eventually he had to settle for an impressive sixth, his best ever finish in the BTCC.

Rob Collard made steady progress up the order from 13th on the grid to take seventh, becoming the highest finisher of the hard-shod tyre cars, whilst Jackson's Ford rallied to a hard fought eighth. Tom Ingram and Aron Smith completed the top ten order.

Both Halfords Yuasa Racing drivers scored points, but Neal and team-mate Gordon Shedden showed a distinct lack of pace – both Hondas eventually finishing outside the top ten.

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Round 13 – Croft

1 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing 29m56.374s
2 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +1.353s
3 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +2.305s
4 Jack GOFF (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club +2.689s
5 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +6.429s
6 Jake HILL (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +7.136s
7 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +7.306s
8 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +8.025s
9 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +8.279s
10 Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR +9.191s
11 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport +9.343s
12 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +10.208s
13 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +12.409s
14 Michael EPPS (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +12.903s
15 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +13.969s
16 Warren SCOTT (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing+14.453s
17 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +14.895s
18 Martin DEPPER (GBR) Eurotech Racing +15.471s
19 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) AmD Tuning.com +16.124s
20 Jeff SMITH (GBR) Eurotech Racing +17.269s
21 Alex MARTIN (GBR) Dextra Racing with Team Parker +18.927s
22 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +19.299s
23 Stewart LINES (GBR) Maximum Motorsport +19.720s
24 Chris SMILEY (GBR) TLC/RCIB Insurance Racing +20.407s
DNF Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +6 laps
DNF James COLE (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +9 laps
DNF Daniel WELCH (GBR) Goodstone Racing +9 laps
DNF Kelvin FLETCHER (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +9 laps
DNF Mark HOWARD (GBR) BKR +11 laps
DNF Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +12s
DNF Dan LLOYD (GBR) Eurotech Racing
DNF Hunter ABBOTT (GBR) Power Maxed Racing

Ashley Sutton bounced back from a troubled start to Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship qualifying at Croft this weekend to split the rear-wheel drive cars in third place on the grid – in so doing becoming the season’s best qualifier to date.

Having already displayed a scintillating turn of speed during his rookie campaign in the UK’s premier motor sport series, Sutton again starred in qualifying at Croft – but a couple of early errors left him languishing well down the timesheets as the clock ticked down.

The MG driver pulled it all together later on, however, to vault up to third position, narrowly being pipped to front-wheel drive honours around a circuit that has traditionally favoured RWD machinery. That also saw Sutton overtake Tom Ingram to become the fastest average qualifier over the first half of 2016, as the only competitor to line up inside the top ten in every meeting so far.

“If someone had told me before the weekend that I would qualify third at a predominantly rear-wheel drive track, I would definitely have taken it!” the 22-year-old acknowledged. “I’m over the moon.

“We didn’t use new tyres in practice, so I had never run them around here before qualifying and I was caught out by how responsive the car was on them at the chicane on my first ‘flyer’.

“We then put on another new set of tyres and went back out. I was on a really good lap, which was two tenths faster than the one that eventually put me third, but I lost the car again at the Complex. I had to make quite a big save, which hurt the tyres a little bit and then the next lap was the one that got me the grid position.

“It’s incredibly close and it was a shame not to be the fastest front-wheel drive car, but hats off to Dan. It will be an interesting race day and I’m definitely happier starting on the inside line, so we’ll see what happens...”

Polesitter Colin Turkington, and the West Surrey Racing duo of Rob Collard and Jack Goff speak to btcc.net on a qualifying session at North Yorkshire's Croft Circuit having encountered differing fortunes. Here what they had to say:

Colin Turkington set an impressive qualifying pace at Croft to claim his second successive Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship pole position for Silverline Subaru BMR Racing.

Turkington – dubbed the 'King of Croft' during his West Surrey Racing days – will be looking to add to his tally of ten victories at the North Yorkshire circuit tomorrow, and he'll be quietly confident of doing so after producing a commanding performance in qualifying.

The double BTCC champion controlled the session, continuing to raise the bar throughout the 30 minutes of running. Turkington kept his rivals at arm's length for the most part, and was able to extend the advantage whenever his supremacy looked in doubt.

His first benchmark lap time was a 1:24.291s, as Halfords Yuasa Racing's Matt Neal initially slipped into second. Sam Tordoff, Tom Ingram and the talented youngster Jake Hill then took turns to relegate Neal slightly down the order, but considerably worse was to follow for the Honda driver.

As the session reached mid-distance Neal's Honda Civic Type R approached Rob Collard's BMW at speed, with the latter having just left the pit lane on cold tyres. Although Collard looked to give Neal room to pass on the inside at Hawthorn's, the two cars made contact, ending both of their challenges on the spot.

"I thought there was enough space but unfortunately we just touched wheels," was Neal's take on proceedings.

"Matt misjudged the gap," claimed Collard. "I was on cold tyres and left a gap. He’s apologised, he got it wrong, but it doesn’t bring qualifying back for me. I’d shown good pace and we were looking for a potential top five – it’s very frustrating."

The Clerk of the Course adjudged that Neal was in the wrong as he was handed a post-qualifying reprimand and two penalty points on his licence for his part in the incident.

Turkington was into the 1:23s bracket before the stoppage to retrieve Neal and Collard's stricken cars, but the pace quickened further after the restart.

Jeff Smith, Adam Morgan and Jason Plato were among those to recover from spins, whilst Ashley Sutton slid wildly on two separate occasions, but critically without any lasting damage to his MG6.

Incredibly the young MG Racing RCIB Insurance driver bounced back brilliantly from his double setback, as he and another BTCC rookie – Daniel Lloyd – produced late heroics. Sutton blasted into second, only to be immediately pipped by Lloyd's Eurotech Honda. The 24-year-old Yorkshireman had already performed admirably during practice, and he astonishingly backed that up by scoring his second front row start in succession.

Turkington had lowered the target further still before the finish, as Lloyd and Sutton wedged themselves between the Ulsterman and the sister Subaru of Plato.

Championship leader Tordoff had to settle for fifth, but it was still a great effort for the Team JCT600 with GardX driver in his maximum ballast-laden BMW. Jack Goff left it late to grab sixth in the Team IHG Rewards Club BMW, whilst Hunter Abbott was later still in securing his best qualifying result of seventh.

It was an encouraging display from Power Maxed Racing's Abbott, who had earlier signalled his intent to score solid points at Croft this weekend.

The Motorbase Performance pairing of Andrew Jordan and Mat Jackson were next on the timesheets, whilst WIX Racing's Adam Morgan did well to recover from ride height failure and an earlier spin to claim tenth.

Colin Turkington said: "I’ve always really enjoyed driving at Croft, no matter what the car. I usually go well here. Like at Oulton Park, we gradually improved the Subaru throughout the day, and qualifying was the first time we bolted on fresh rubber. I need to say a big ‘thank you’ to the boys for giving me a great car again, and it’s fantastic to be able to reward them with another pole position."

Daniel Lloyd said: "We took a bit of a risk at the end of the session and we only really had one lap to move up the order. It was great to really make that lap count. It’s mega to be on the front row for the second weekend on the bounce, particularly now that I’ve got a bit of experience of competing at the front in the BTCC. Racing is obviously another kettle of fish and I got caught out on a couple of occasions at Oulton, but I won’t be letting that happen again!"

Ashley Sutton said: "I made a mistake on my first lap. We then put on another new set of tyres and went back out. I was on a really good lap, which was two tenths faster than the one that eventually put me third, but I lost the car again at turn 12. I had to make quite a big save, which hurt the tyres a little bit, and then the next lap was the one that got me the grid position. That said if someone would have told me before the weekend that I would qualify third at a predominantly rear-wheel drive track I would definitely have taken it. I’m over the moon."

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Qualifying – Croft Circuit:

1 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing 1m23.608s (91.49mph)
2 Daniel LLOYD (GBR) Eurotech Racing +0.397s
3 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +0.400s
4 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +0.412s
5 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +0.445s
6 Jack GOFF (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club +0.460s
7 Hunter ABBOTT (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +0.463s
8 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +0.576s
9 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +0.621s
10 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +0.645s
11 Jake HILL (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +0.681s
12 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +0.703s
13 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +0.724s
14 Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR +0.773s
15 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.825s
16 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport +0.849s
17 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.915s
18 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +1.055s
19 Michael EPPS (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +1.061s
20 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +1.113s
21 Warren SCOTT (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +1.219s
22 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) AmD Tuning.com+1.251s
23 Martin DEPPER (GBR) Eurotech Racing +1.322s
24 Daniel WELCH (GBR) Goodstone Racing +1.442s
25 James COLE (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +1.452s
26 Jeff SMITH (GBR) Eurotech Racing +1.473s
27 Alex MARTIN (GBR) Dextra Racing +1.517s
28 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +1.742s
29 Kelvin FLETCHER (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +2.016s
30 Chris SMILEY (GBR) TLC/RCIB Insurance Racing +2.301s
31 Stewart LINES (GBR) Maximum Motorsport +3.146s
32 Mark HOWARD (GBR) BKR +3.327s

Eurotech Racing's Daniel Lloyd has set the fastest time of the weekend so far after clocking a late lap in the final practice session at Croft.

The BTCC rookie has shown impressive one-lap pace since joining the series at Thruxton, and the young Yorkshireman has starred again here at Croft. With seconds ticking away in the 40 minute session, Lloyd hauled his Honda Civic Type R to the fastest first sector overall, before setting personal bests in the second and third segments – resulting in a 1:24.511s benchmark.

"It was a good run and we were able to put a decent lap down at the end," enthused Lloyd. "I knew we had good overall pace, but we spent most of the session playing around with a few things with a view to race set-up. I’m sure everybody will find a bit more speed before qualifying, but this is a good start and it’s mega to be quickest.

"Racing is obviously another kettle of fish and I got caught out on a couple of occasions at Oulton Park, but I won’t be letting that happen again. I finished FP2 here with one of my wing mirrors missing, so I’m definitely getting stuck in!"

Tom Ingram looked to have topped the times with his own fine effort in the final five minutes, before settling into second. The Speedworks Toyota driver does however, keep up his impressive record of finishing in the top three in nine of the 14 timed practice and qualifying sessions so far this season.

It was Sam Tordoff who came out of the blocks to fire his Team JCT600 with GardX BMW to top spot in the early running, later becoming the first driver to dip into the 1:24s. WSR briefly held a 1-2-3 before Team HARD drivers Michael Epps and Jake Hill briefly starred at the head of the field.

Tordoff then set his improved time and he was joined by Ingram, Jason Plato and Colin Turkington in the 1:24s bracket – the quartet separated by just 0.080s. In fact for much of the running the top 20 drivers were covered by less than a second.

Ingram jumped to the top and improved further still on his second tour of a final run, but Lloyd would not be denied as he flew through the order to snatch P1. Ingram withstood a late charge from the Motorbase Ford of Andrew Jordan, as the latter backed up his encouraging morning practice run with another stellar effort in FP2.

Tordoff eventually settled for fourth although he too will be buoyed by his performance in the maximum ballast carrying BMW.

Silverline Subaru BMR Racing held fifth, sixth and seventh but few could have predicted the order as team boss Warren Scott leaped over Jason Plato and Colin Turkington in the last few moments.

"I was actually struggling a little bit until we put a new set of tyres on," said Scott. "The guys have done a great job with this car – it’s the most enjoyable one I’ve ever driven. I’m loving it! It’ll be a bit strange going into the debrief now – the fastest driver in the team always speaks first and I’ve never been in that situation before!"

Rob Austin and Hunter Abbott enjoyed solid runs to eighth and ninth respectively, whilst the Team IHG Reward Club BMW of Jack Goff rounded out the top ten.

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Free Practice 2 – Croft Circuit:

1 Daniel LLOYD (GBR) Eurotech Racing 1m24.511s
2 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +0.009s
3 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +0.013s
4 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +0.342s
5 Warren SCOTT (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +0.379s
6 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +0.407s
7 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +0.422s
8 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport +0.428s
9 Hunter ABBOTT (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +0.438s
10 Jack GOFF (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club +0.507s
11 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +0.510s
12 Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR +0.511s
13 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.584s
14 Michael EPPS (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +0.624s
15 Jake HILL (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +0.644s
16 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +0.749s
17 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.296s
18 Martin DEPPER (GBR) Eurotech Racing +0.849s
19 Jeff SMITH (GBR) Eurotech Racing +0.852s
20 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +0.929s
21 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing 0.959s
22 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +0.977s
23 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) AmD Tuning.com+1.015s
24 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +1.140s
25 James COLE (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +1.250s
26 Daniel WELCH (GBR) Goodstone Racing +1.407s
27 Kelvin FLETCHER (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +1.495s
28 Alex MARTIN (GBR) Dextra Racing +1.566s
29 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +1.685s
30 Stewart LINES (GBR) Maximum Motorsport +2.126s
31 Chris SMILEY (GBR) TLC/RCIB Insurance Racing +2.189s
32 Mark HOWARD (GBR) BKR +4.238s

Hunter Abbott is keen to confirm the progress he and Power Maxed Racing made at Oulton Park last time out in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, as he targets a solid points haul at Croft this weekend (18/19 June).

Having switched from a rear-wheel drive Audi A4 to the front-wheel drive Chevrolet Cruze this year, Abbott has spent the first few race meetings finding his feet in his new surroundings, but a breakthrough weekend at Oulton a fortnight ago saw the 35-year-old narrowly miss the top ten in qualifying – lining up a season-best 11^th – and then bag a brace of points-scoring finishes.

Along the way, he lapped fifth-fastest in race one – topping the timing screens through the first sector – and third-quickest in race two, the best of the Independent runners and even outpacing race-winner Sam Tordoff. Abbott’s #54 car will sport the logo of new team sponsor CCTVKits.co.uk at Croft, and its driver is keen to consolidate his and PMR’s improving form.

“Over the last couple of meetings, my understanding of front-wheel drive has started to click and that has shown in our pace,” he reflected. “At Thruxton, we were third-quickest in race two, whilst at Oulton we topped the sector times at points throughout the weekend and were the second-fastest front-wheel drive car in race two. The results were solid if not quite as good as our pace, but everything is moving in the right direction.

“I like Croft and I’ve had good results here before touring cars. It’s a great circuit with some really ballsy corners which – mixed with the technicalities of the Complex – produces some brilliant racing. Tyre wear and performance drop-off is always an issue and I'm looking forward to learning more about managing the Dunlops in a front-wheel drive car, which uses its tyres more aggressively than the RWD format I’m used to. That will be the key to our results this weekend.”

 

Laser Tools Racing’s Aiden Moffat set the pace in a relatively sedate Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship free practice session at Croft, with the teenager’s last gasp flyer providing late excitement in the session.

Andrew Jordan, Colin Turkington, Aron Smith and Tom Ingram filled the places at the top of the timesheets in the opening 20 minutes of running, highlighting the potential in Ford, Subaru, VW and Toyota's respective machinery.

It wasn't long before BMW joined the party, however, as championship leader Sam Tordoff blasted into second. Croft has been a happy hunting ground for West Surrey Racing's fleet of BMWs over the last few years, and Tordoff's effort in the ballast-laden Team JCT600 with GardX 125i M Sport again proved the rear-wheel drive car's value at the North Yorkshire venue.

A number of changes took place in the closing moments and it was the impressive Scotsman Moffat who claimed top spot with a 1:25.038s lap time, while the #77 car of Jordan held off Tordoff by just 0.077s to take second.

"It's nice to put Oulton Park behind us and show that we're in the ball park here straight out of the box," said Moffat. "It's very early days of course so we're not getting carried away, but we've made a lot of changes to the car and it's always good to immediately feel the improvements."

Ingram was fourth while WIX Racing's Adam Morgan moved into fifth, rounding off an encouraging start to the weekend for the two Ciceley-run Mercedes'.

"Seeing Adam up in fifth is also encouraging," continued Aiden. "When one of you goes quickly you're never quite sure, but both of us being up there hopefully means that we've collectively found something in the car. I haven't spoken to him yet but we'll look at the data as I'm sure there's more time to find."

Turkington held on to sixth with Gordon Shedden next up in the first of the Hondas. Smith could only manage eighth at the finish in his BKR VW, whilst Eurotech duo – Martin Depper and Daniel Lloyd – completed the top ten order.

All 32-cars took part in the session, although the Team HARD-run Toyota of Chris Smiley stopped out on track and had to be retrieved after the chequered flag fell.

Free practice two takes place at midday, which you can keep in touch with via the BTCC's Live Zone and social media accounts. Qualifying commences at 16:00, with the entire session being streamed live via www.itv.com/btcc.

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Free Practice 1 – Croft:

1 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing 1m25.038s
2 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +0.026s
3 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +0.103s
4 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +0.113s
5 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +0.145s
6 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +0.154s
7 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.296s
8 Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR +0.363s
9 Martin DEPPER (GBR) Eurotech Racing +0.431s
10 Daniel LLOYD (GBR) Eurotech Racing +0.457s
11 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +0.490s
12 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +0.497s
13 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.713s
14 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +0.726s
15 Jack GOFF (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club +0.772s
16 Jeff SMITH (GBR) Eurotech Racing +0.802s
17 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport +0.806s
18 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +0.903s
19 Warren SCOTT (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +0.942s
20 James COLE (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +0.965s
21 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +1.094s
22 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) AmD Tuning.com+1.179s
23 Jake HILL (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +1.571s
24 Michael EPPS (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +1.590s
25 Daniel WELCH (GBR) Goodstone Racing +2.145s
26 Alex MARTIN (GBR) Dextra Racing +2.231s
27 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +2.246s
28 Hunter ABBOTT (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +2.347s
29 Stewart LINES (GBR) Maximum Motorsport +2.969s
30 Mark HOWARD (GBR) BKR +3.419s
31 Kelvin FLETCHER (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +3.745s
32 Chris SMILEY (GBR) TLC/RCIB Insurance Racing +3.842s

Team JCT600 with GardX driver Sam Tordoff’s car will take on a different look at Croft this weekend (June 18-19) as he runs a special anniversary livery at the fifth round of the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

Marking the 70^th anniversary of title sponsor JCT600 on June 20, the championship leader’s BMW 125i M Sport will celebrate the occasion by running in a platinum livery with black lettering.

The 27-year-old Leeds driver will be hoping his new colour scheme will bring him additional good fortune in North Yorkshire on what is home turf.

Bradford firm JCT600 has been a main partner of WSR in the BTCC since 2015. The Team JCT600 with GardX cars of Tordoff and Rob Collard currently lead the teams’ championship.

Sam Tordoff said: “It’s an honour to celebrate the platinum anniversary of JCT600 with a special livery at Croft. When I saw the first designs of the livery, I thought ‘that’s pretty cool’ and then when I saw the car in person, it looked even better. JCT600 started in Yorkshire, so for a local boy like me to be able to mark the 70^th year of the family business in this way – and at the only Yorkshire circuit in the BTCC - makes me feel very proud.”

Dick Bennetts, WSR Team Principal, said: “It’s great to be able to celebrate the platinum anniversary of JCT600 in this way. JCT600 has been a terrific supporter of WSR since the start of 2015 and we’ve taken Sam and Team JCT600 with GardX to the top of the drivers’ and teams’ championships heading into Croft. We’re aiming for strong results from both Sam and from Rob in the sister car. I thought the current two JCT600/Gardx cars looked great, but this 70^th anniversary livery looks even better!”

Series organiser TOCA has today (15 June) confirmed its calendar of events for the 2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

The current hugely successful format and order of its ten events will continue for a sixth successive season.

“With the BTCC’s enormous and ever-increasing popularity, this format has continually proven to be a real winner," said Series Director Alan Gow.

"It provides our teams, partners, venues, huge TV audience and of course our hundreds of thousands of fans with a consistent and proven calendar that always delivers a great championship".

“We have defined our 2017 calendar as early as possible with this unprecedented mid-June announcement to help other UK motor sport events in reducing the amount of clashes that can inevitably occur”.

Britain's biggest championship will visit each of the nation's top venues, starting the first weekend in April on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit layout. It's then on to Donington Park, Thruxton, Oulton Park and Croft. The traditional summer break takes up its usual slot in the weeks between the North Yorkshire event and Snetterton, before the series' annual pilgrimage to Knockhill in Scotland. A double in Northamptonshire at Rockingham and Silverstone follows, ahead of the season finale back in Kent on the legendary Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit.

Each of the scheduled weekends on the calendar comprise three races of equal distance, totalling 30 rounds over ten events. The location and date for the annual Season Launch event is to be confirmed in the coming months.

All of Britain's major circuits are ports of call for the BTCC and its support series, providing an enviable geographical spread which ensures that hundreds of thousands of fans will be able to experience first-hand the UK's biggest motor racing package over the course of 2017.

ITV4 will continue to broadcast every BTCC race-day live, free-to-air and in high definition in 2017, as well as streaming live via the ITV Sport website and the ITV Hub app. Regular highlights programmes will be screened on ITV4 following each event and are also available via their ITV Hub catch-up service.

2017 BTCC Calendar:

Rounds           Date                                                      Circuit, County
1,2,3                Sat 1/Sun 2 April                               Brands Hatch (Indy), Kent
4,5,6                Sat 15/Sun 16 April                          Donington Park, Leics
7,8,9                Sat 6/Sun 7 May                               Thruxton, Hampshire
10,11,12         Sat 20/Sun 21 May                          Oulton Park, Cheshire
13,14,15         Sat 10/Sun 11 June                          Croft, North Yorkshire
16,17,18         Sat 29/Sun 30 July                           Snetterton, Norfolk
19,20,21         Sat 12/Sun 13 August                     Knockhill, Fife
22,23,24         Sat 26/Sun 27 August                     Rockingham, Northants
25,26,27         Sat 16/Sun 17 September              Silverstone, Northants
28,29,30         Sat 30 Sept/Sun 1 October             Brands Hatch (Grand Prix), Kent

By nature, most racing drivers are adrenaline junkies and Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) race-winners Rob Austin, Jack Goff and Árón Smith are no exception – that’s why they will be participating in a special pre-Croft charity skydive this Friday (17 June) to raise vital funds for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Well accustomed to white-knuckle rides at speeds of up to 160mph in the no-holds-barred BTCC, ahead of this weekend’s fifth outing of the 2016 season at popular North Yorkshire circuit Croft (18/19 June), the intrepid trio will take to the skies above Durham Tees Valley Airport for a different kind of thrill.

Their aim is to raise £3,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support, the official charity partner of BTCC title sponsor Dunlop. Macmillan offers information, practical advice and support to those diagnosed with cancer and their loved ones before, during and beyond the treatment phase.

There are some 2.5 million people in the UK currently living with cancer, and that figure is set to rise to an alarming four million by 2030, making the work that Macmillan Cancer Support does absolutely essential.

Between them, Handy Motorsport fans’ favourite Austin, IHG® Rewards Club-backed Goff and BKR ace Smith are aiming to raise at least £3,000 to bolster Macmillan’s efforts, and a JustGiving page has been set up with this purpose at: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/CroftBTCCSkydive

As soon as their feet touch the ground again from their high-flying adventure, the three tin-top stars will hot-foot it back to Croft to continue their preparations for the BTCC race weekend.

Tickets are available on the gate priced at just £14 for Saturday, 18 June and £28 for Sunday, 19 June, with weekend passes a steal at only £36. Accompanied children aged 15 and under are admitted free of charge – even more reason to make it a family date for Father’s Day.

For further information, visit http://www.croftcircuit.co.uk/racing/btcc or call 01325 721815.