Young gun Dennis Strandberg secured the vacant Maximum Motorsport drive ahead of the Croft race weekend, and the official BTCC website caught up with the Swedish star as he prepares to make his debut in Britain's biggest and best championship:

Ashley Sutton made the best of challenging conditions at Croft by topping the opening Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship free practice session at the North Yorkshire venue.

Heavy rain fell before, during and after the scheduled 40-minutes of running, which was eventually cut short by a few moments when a fire broke out in Tom Ingram's Toyota.

Sutton's Subaru set the pace early on and with the track surface getting wetter and wetter it seemed like that initial lap time would remain the benchmark until the finish. As it happened, it was Sutton himself who bettered the effort late on with another stellar lap on the Dunlop BluResponse wet tyres.

"I always drive it on the absolute limit when required," said Sutton. "We're not here to mess around, and to drive the car to the absolute maximum with opposite lock on is what it's all about.

"I get in my comfort zone after living on the edge a bit to begin with. When I get to that limit and get uncomfortable in the car then I calm down a bit and find that level. Sometimes the mistakes tend to come when you drive under that maximum, within yourself.

As mentioned, it was a tough session for championship contender Ingram. The former standings leader set a time good enough for tenth, but a late off led to a fire in his Toyota. His Speedworks Motorsport squad are now working tirelessly to try and ready his Avensis in time for FP2.

Ingram wasn't the only driver in the wars with a number of cars spinning off in the challenging conditions. Most, however, were able to recover without damage and will be ready for the next session at 12:00.

2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – FP1 – Croft

1 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing 1m31.657s (83.46 mph)
2 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Simpson Racing +0.429s
3 Jason PLATO (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +0.444s
4 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport +0.620s
5 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.688s
6 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +0.718s
7 Jack GOFF (GBR) Eurotech Racing +0.911s
8 Aron TAYLOR-SMITH (IRL) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +0.948s
9 Josh PRICE (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +1.167s
10 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +1.185s
11 Chris SMILEY (GBR) BTC Norlin Racing +1.277s
12 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +1.290s
13 Tom CHILTON (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +1.313s
14 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Duo +1.319s
15 Michael EPPS (GBR) Autoaid/RCIB Insurance Racing +1.343s
16 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +1.391s
17 Dave NEWSHAM (GBR) BTC Norlin Racing +1.408s
18 Rob COLLARD (GBR) Team BMW +1.463s
19 James COLE (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +1.563s
20 Jeff SMITH (GBR) Eurotech Racing +1.621s
21 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) BMW Pirtek Racing +1.636s
22 Ant WHORTON-EALES (GBR) AmDtuning.com with Cobra Exhausts +1.668s
23 Jake HILL (GBR) TAG Racing +1.936s
24 Dennis STRANDBERG (SWE) Team Parker with Maximum Motorsport +2.037s
25 Senna PROCTOR (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +2.048s
26 Adam MORGAN (GBR) Ciceley Motorsport +2.053s
27 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +2.151s
28 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) AmDtuning.com with Cobra Exhausts +2.163s
29 Will BURNS (GBR) Autoaid/RCIB Insurance Racing +2.468s
30 Martin DEPPER (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Duo +2.505s
31 Luke DAVENPORT (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Duo +2.516s
32 Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team Parker with Maximum Motorsport +2.520s

BTC Norlin Racing's Chris Smiley and Dave Newsham are looking to get things back on track this weekend after a minor blip in form back at Oulton Park last month.

The team has been a consistent points-finisher this campaign, currently standing seventh in the Independents' chart, and Newsham sealed the outfit's best result so far at Donington Park with fourth. As it was, he narrowly missed out on a podium place – a three-car final corner tussle denying the fledgling squad maiden silverware. All concerned are striving to recapture that high.

Croft Circuit is known as a technical challenge, one relished by BTCC drivers up and down the grid, and is up there amongst the toughest of tests offered up by the championship's 10-race calendar of events. Newsham believes Norlin can bag a result.

“It’s a top venue to race at and it's an exciting prospect for a driver," said Newsham. "I know that if we drive as well as we did in the season’s opening handful or rounds, we can be right up there in the mix. We've shown flashes and we're looking to get back to scoring good points.”

That Donington promise leads Newsham to believe the team have a solid base to build from in the hunt for a top-ten spot in the Teams' running, as he looks to build on seventh in the Independent Drivers' championship.

“There is no reason why we shouldn’t be hunting for podiums and certainly strong results from the reversed-grid races over the latter part of the season. The pace is there in the car, as we saw back in Leicestershire. We'll be working hard to unlock it.”

Putting aside what was a disappointing Oulton Park three weeks ago, Smiley is looking to continue progress in the Independent Drivers' standings – the Northern Irishman currently harbours 15th place.

Despite that Oulton low, Smiley remains upbeat, given good progress made through the field up to 20th spot come the final round in Cheshire, after race one technical issues left him moored to the rear of the grid for race two.

“I’m really looking forward to taking on Croft, its always a challenge," said Smiley. "I’m a personal fan – it was the first ever circuit I secured a pole position at, so I’m hoping it’s as kind to me again.

"Things could have gone better at Oulton. We had a fuel pressure issue with the car and we had to work away from the back of the grid but we did make good progress.

“Teams will be looking to build up a little haul of points ahead of the mid-season break, so it's important Dave (Newsham) and I score as best we can."

Team Owner, Stephen Symington, added: “We are continuing to learn and develop the cars at each round, and we're hopeful that Croft can provide us with a few more opportunities to show what we can do.”

Team Shredded Wheat Racing with DUO is looking to carry its recent form into this coming weekend as the 2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship reaches the mid-way point at North Yorkshire’s Croft Circuit.

A trio of top tens for the Motorbase-run outfit at Oulton Park three weeks ago saw Mat Jackson claim season-best results of sixth and seventh in the weekend’s opening races before an engine issue cruelly ended the Warwickshire man’s chances of challenging the podium in the finale.

With a pre-Croft test session under his belt, Jackson – who turns 36 on Saturday - is confident that the Focus has turned a corner and has his eyes firmly set on a return to the rostrum.

“We’ve put a lot of work in since Oulton Park and have definitely taken a step forward with the car," added Jackson. "We had a really productive test last week, worked through a number of changes on the Focus and I feel that we’re in a good place going into this weekend.

“Obviously the real test will be how we compare against the others at Croft, which favours the rear wheel drive, but the plan is to get back onto the podium this weekend; that’s what we need.”

BTCC rookie Luke Davenport looks to continue his upward curve after breaking into the top ten and claiming his maiden podium and Jack Sears Trophy triumph at Oulton Park. The 24-year-old is keen to build on his performance and move up the standings before the BTCC heads into its traditional summer break.

“We haven’t had a weekend yet where we’ve been consistently happy with the results on both days so that’s what we’re looking for at Croft," said Davenport. "We’ve got the capability, the car is improving all the time and we’re gaining more experience each weekend.

“It’s just about tying it all together now - qualifying well on Saturday and then consistently staying in and around that top ten. That would be brilliant.”

Team-mate Martin Depper is hoping for a change of fortunes at the North Yorkshire circuit after enduring a tough start to his 2017 campaign, with the Midlands-based driver looking for a consistent, incident free weekend as he settles in to his first season in the Ford.

“I'm looking forward to Croft," said Depper. "We feel we've made a good step forward recently and I'm hoping this translates to a good lap time. Croft is a great circuit which has a bit of everything. It’s quite challenging and with high tyre wear you need to have a car which can be both fast and look after its tyres. Qualifying will be key, as it has been all season, and it’s an area we've been looking at.”

“We’re all looking forward to Croft this weekend,” added Team Manager Oly Collins. “We saw an improved performance for the Focus last time out at Oulton Park. Qualifying in particular was a step forward which is proving more important than ever this year, so being able to get that one fast lap out of the tyres is key to us having a successful weekend.

“We've been out testing since Oulton Park and we’re confident that we’ve made further improvements to the cars;” added Collins. “Hopefully those improvements will translate into results on the track this weekend.”

Senna Proctor might be the only Yorkshireman on the 2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship grid as the UK’s biggest and best motor sport series speeds into Croft this weekend 10/11 June, but the rapid rookie is ready to put on a sparkling show for fans.
 
Proctor has stepped up to the BTCC this year from the Renault UK Clio Cup, and the Driffield-based teenager has made steady progress to-date behind the wheel of his Power Maxed Racing Vauxhall Astra, comparing well against experienced team-mate Tom Chilton, a multiple race-winner in both the BTCC and FIA World Touring Car Championship.
 
Following his maiden top ten finish at Donington Park, last time out at Oulton Park, Proctor cracked the top ten in qualifying for the first time too, only to then find himself demoted by a yellow flag penalty and lose out somewhat in the heat of battle on race day. As the BTCC heads to his home circuit for its sole north-eastern jaunt of the year, the 18-year-old Jack Sears Trophy pace-setter is fired-up to convert his potential into on-track results.
 
“I can’t wait for the weekend!” he enthused. “It will be great to have so many friends, family and sponsors at Croft supporting me, and I really want to reward them with my best finish of the season. It’s one of my favourite tracks on the calendar, although I’ve never seemed to have much luck there, so hopefully this will be the weekend when we finally string it all together.
 
“Croft is a great spectator circuit and generates brilliant racing. The first two sectors are high-speed and you can really hang the car out on the edge, and then you have to rein it all back in again for the tight and technical final sector and be as clean and patient as possible. It’s very much a lap of two halves in that respect, which makes it extremely rewarding to drive – not to mention tough for the engineers to strike the perfect set-up.
 
“We’ve been consistently progressing the Astra over the opening rounds, and hopefully at Croft, we can really concretise the promise we showed at Oulton Park. After driving quite conservatively earlier in the season, my dad [former BTCC racer Mark Proctor] let me off the leash a bit at Oulton and I took a few more risks – some of which paid off, some of which didn’t. The target has to be to qualify inside the top ten again at Croft and then convert that into three strong race finishes, which is something we didn’t do last time.
 
“Competing in the BTCC has been a fantastic experience so far, and it really is incredibly hard-fought all the way up and down the field – the best series in Britain without a doubt. The closeness of the racing has been quite an eye-opener for me, but that’s a challenge that I relish and I’m planning to stick around for quite some time.”

Team BMW is aiming to top the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship this weekend as the series reaches its halfway point at the demanding Croft Circuit.

Three wins so far in 2017 from Rob Collard and Colin Turkington have placed the West Surrey Racing-backed outfit second in the Teams’ standings while BMW lead the Manufacturers’ tally.

Hampshireman Rob Collard is the only driver to have finished on the podium at every race weekend this year and was victorious on his past two visits to Croft in 2015 and ‘16.

He heads to North Yorkshire second in the Drivers’ Championship as the only driver to have scored points in every race, but will carry 66kg success ballast into the weekend, making his BMW the second-heaviest car in the field.

With 11 wins at Croft, Collard’s team-mate Turkington has twice as many BTCC victories at the 2.1-mile circuit near Darlington as any other driver in the series.

His 19 podiums – including his first in the BTCC, achieved with WSR in 2002 – five pole positions and nine fastest laps at Croft, indicate he'll be among the front-runners once more.

The Ulsterman, who lies fourth in the BTCC points, has won twice in 2017 and heads to Croft with 48kg success ballast in his BMW.

BMW Pirtek Racing's Andrew Jordan delivered a superb second win of the year last time out at Oulton Park to move up to seventh in the Drivers’ Championship. The driver from Lichfield, Staffordshire, has a special link to Croft as it was the scene of his maiden BTCC victory in 2010. He will attempt to add more success while carrying 27kg success ballast into the weekend.

WSR, who run the trio of BMW 125i M Sports from their Sunbury-on-Thames headquarters, is the most successful team in BTCC history at Croft with 16 race wins, including a treble victory and a lock-out of the podium in 2015. Their next race win will be the team's 75th in the BTCC and their 50th with BMW machinery.

Rob Collard said: “It’s been a very strong season so far and we’re second in the championship with a lot more points than at this stage of the 2016 season. I’m the only driver to score a podium at every event so far and we’ve tended to have two very good finishes each weekend, which has served us very well. It’s important to score big this weekend as Croft is a track where WSR have been very strong in the past and where I’ve won in each of the past two years, but we seem to be closer than ever before at the non-BMW circuits, so I genuinely think we can win anywhere.”

Colin Turkington said: “Croft has some very special memories for me, like my first podium in the BTCC and double wins in each of my title-winning seasons, and the BMW has traditionally been so good around here that I always enjoy coming back. Oulton Park didn’t quite go to plan, so it’s doubly important to score big points at Croft before we start going to the circuits that aren’t usually so good for us. Fourth is a strong place to be in the points and if we can score well, we’re pretty likely to be higher up by the end of the weekend.”

Andrew Jordan said: “My championship challenge re-started at Oulton Park. From the moment I got into the car at in first practice, I just knew I was going to be fast, and it couldn’t have gone much better. Like Oulton, Croft is a circuit that’s always been good for the rear-wheel-drive BMW because of the number of slow corners that reward a car that’s strong in the traction zones. Although I’ll be going in with more success ballast than I did at Oulton, I’m confident of another big points haul to help me continue to close the gap to the top of the points table.”

Dick Bennetts, Team Principal, said: “We’ve had a lot of success at Croft in the past with 16 wins and even a one-two-three finish in 2015, so it’s certainly a circuit at which we’ve been able to use the strengths of the BMW to the best possible effect. But that’s history and this weekend is now; and everybody at WSR will work extremely hard to make sure we can fight at the front. This year, with 32 cars on the grid, and a very competitive top-15 cars, it won’t be easy. Both Team BMW cars will carry a lot of success ballast, but if you’re going to fight for a championship, that’s the way it has to be and we’re used to it.”

“The thing that’s impressed me most about Andrew this year is his ability to do what true champions do and not dwell on a bad weekend. He showed at Oulton Park that he’s not affected by what happened earlier in the season and drove very well. Like Oulton, Croft is a track at which we’ve done well in the past with the BMW and we’ve continued to work hard on the car this year to make sure it remains a contender at every circuit. The plan is to score big and enhance our position in the championship.”

Triple Eight Racing Press Release

Triple Eight Racing is now delighted to confirm the replacement driver for the remainder of the 2017 BTCC season. The entire team, MG and all our partners are thrilled to welcome back Josh Cook. 

Josh enjoyed working with Triple Eight Racing during 2016 in which he achieved an excellent season both on and off the circuit. Highlights included front row qualifying results and podiums. Josh also notched an impressive 14 ‘top ten’ finishes during his maiden year in the MG6.

Together with Josh and his engineer, who accompanies him on this move, the team hope to pick up the momentum of 2016 and continue to enjoy further success together.  

Newly appointed Team Principal Nico Ferrari expresses his delight at the new signing.

"It’s a shame things didn’t work out with Dan (Daniel Lloyd) but now we’re in a great position to continue improving the MG6 and we can start to prove the capability of the car. The team have gone through a huge shake up in recent weeks and this is only adding to the strength of the new look Triple Eight Racing."

Ferrari went on to comment on how he believes the two drivers will work well together as a team and accelerate the performance of the MG6.

"Josh’s experience in the MG last year will be a huge boost for our engineering team. Árón (Árón Taylor-­‐Smith) is a superb driver and has done an exceptional job developing the car, these two will work great together both racing but also promoting our partners MG. Josh was excellent last year, as is Árón this year so we’re now in a position to really capitalise on two brilliant drivers."

Josh Cook who has already competed in the first four rounds of the 2017 BTCC season for Maximum Motorsport describes his thoughts on the move.

"Firstly I would like to thank all those at Team Parker with Maximum Motorsport for the opportunity at the start of the season and for all of their  hard  work.  I  wish them further success and now look forward to building on my 2016 season with MG in the MG6."

Team Manager Micky Sergeant added, "Fantastic to have Josh back in the team. A great ambassador for Triple Eight, MG and the sport in general both on and off track. There was always unfinished business from my point of view and I relish the chance to work with him once again."

Josh Cook will be competing at rounds 13,14 and 15 this weekend at Croft with Triple Eight Racing.  

Power Maxed Racing's Tom Chilton took Dunlop's #ForeverForward award at Oulton Park, gaining a total of 24 positions over the course of the weekend.

Chilton made up a string of positions after qualifying down in a frustrating 30th spot on Saturday and was also forced into recovery mode after an infringement saw him placed at the rear of the grid for race two. 

Team BMW's Colin Turkington had encountered gremlins in his 125i M Sport on Saturday, but overcame them to fire his machine into a last-ditch fourth in qualifying. Come Sunday, however, the gremlins reappeared and scuppered his race one chances, leaving him marooned down in 29th.

His team rectified the problems ahead of races two and three though and Turkington battled his way up to fifth by the final chequered flag of the day. The Ulsterman jumped back to the top of the overall standings as a result.

Matt Simpson in the Simpson Racing Honda Civic Type R enjoyed strong forward momentum over the weekend, fighting back with aplomb from a race one non-finish to score points in the finale – encouraging for the Londoner.

Fans voted in their droves over on Dunlop's Facebook page to decide who provided the best of the overtaking action across each of the three races.

It was swashbuckling Ashley Sutton who took on that particular mantle in races one and two with passes on Aiden Moffat and Andrew Jordan respectively – despite a heavy load of ballast on board.

Sutton was an eye-catching mover on the way to his best haul of the season with a podium, a victory and fourth spot from the three encounters in Cheshire.

#ForeverForward – Oulton Park:

1) Tom Chilton 24
2) Colin Turkington 23
3) Matt Simpson 17

#ForeverForward – Overall Standings:

1) Colin Turkington 65
2) Ollie Jackson 60
3) Jake Hill 57