Michael Epps will return to the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship grid in 2017 after signing a deal to remain with Team HARD.

Epps continues his partnership with the Kent-based squad into a third successive season following campaigns in the Volkswagen Racing Cup and then the BTCC. The Hemel Hempstead racer is now set to return to VW machinery in one Team HARD’s newly acquired CCs, which the outfit will run in Britain’s premier motor sport series.

Epps impressed in his rookie BTCC season, scoring no fewer than seven outright points finishes and taking runner-up spoils in the Jack Sears Trophy.

Team boss Tony Gilham has already confirmed that his fleet of VWs will upgraded to running RML specification parts and the new TOCA engine, with Epps now setting his sights on points and podium finishes in his second campaign.

Alongside his racing, Epps will also be providing some exciting opportunities for Team HARD sponsors and fans throughout 2017, with plans in place to run track experiences in both the touring car and VW Cup racers, as well as simulator events at Simply Race in Milton Keynes.

The 24-year-old’s return to the pinnacle of UK motorsport comes thanks to the support of Anytime Fitness and Simply Race, and other backers that are to be announced in the near future.

“You know, I was a little concerned about being a one season wonder in the BTCC, especially being such a tough season, but I’m glad I was able to make an impression and create a 2017 campaign out of it," said Epps.

“Tony (Gilham) has essentially opened the door for me to race in a championship I once never really considered as a possibility. Now we are set for year number two and I think we have a good chance to make a real impact.

“As anyone would expect, with a small budget and as part of one of the younger teams on the grid in my rookie season, there have been many challenges and I’m expecting there to be plenty more ahead too. The ingredients are there though; with the new cars and more people on-board I think we should be properly in the mix this time. We definitely outdid our equipment this year.”

“The deal is the right one for us at the end of the day. The team are passionate, they’re loud, and they want success. I have a great relationship with them and I think we’ve got what it takes, this will be the first time I’ve done a second season in any championship too.”

Tony Gilham (Team HARD principal) said: “We are very proud to have been able to put a package together to retain Mike for 2017. It is important for us to try to keep as much consistency with the team as possible and we have a great foundation on which to build on. He had a great season and we believe that next year will be very interesting to see how far up the grid Mike can get. His pace was outstanding last year and got nowhere near enough credit for his consistent front running lap times each weekend.”

The 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship Season Review DVD is now on sale and pre-sales have already seen the non-stop thriller top the charts!

Duke has today confirmed that the BTCC DVD has been the #1 best seller over the last two months, beating the Season Reviews from Formula 1, Moto GP and the World Rally Championship. You can purchase your copy here for just £16.99.

In terms of consistently close and exciting racing there’s nothing really that comes close to BTCC - as its loyal fans are well aware. Every year the thirty round series produces a start-to-finish thriller which sees stars like Jason Plato, Gordon Shedden, Sam Tordoff, Matt Neal and Mat Jackson go head-to-head.

2016 has proved no exception and, as the Official Review shows, this was another bumper-bending, fender-crunching, no-holds-barred season-long campaign that has provided no end of entertainment. With cameras in the cockpits of leading contenders, as well as on multiple points around each track you get a real sense of being there in the moment! It’s all here on the two disc Official Review to provide over seven hours of thrills and spills as only BTCC can!

COMPETITION
To celebrate the launch of the 2016 BTCC Season Review DVD we're giving away five copies of the #1 best seller. To be in with a chance of winning simply like, share our competition post and comment on our Official BTCC Facebook Page to let us know you’ve entered! You may also enter by Twitter by liking the Official BTCC Twitter Account and RT’ing our competition post.

The competition closes at 4pm on Monday 5 December. For full terms and conditions see below!

Good luck!

*Terms and conditions:
1x Like+Comment+Share = 1 entry. 1x Retweet+Like on Twitter = 1 entry. 1 entry per platform per person. Five winners will be picked at random from all the entries. The competition will close 4pm on Monday 5 December 2016. The winner will be announced by Facebook post and Tweet shortly after. The winner will have 24 hours from the announcement to come forward – it is the responsibility of entrants to check the winner’s announcement. If this does not happen another winner will be selected. The prize is non-transferrable.

The curtain came down on a superb season in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship in fine style at the annual TOCA Night of Champions this past weekend (26 November).

ITV Sport front-man Steve Rider hosted, while Louise Goodman was on hand to interview the winners as the BTCC's stars were recognised for their achievements throughout 2016.

Ant Whorton-Eales (Renault UK Clio Cup), Dan Cammish (Porsche Carrera Cup GB), Max Fewtrell (British F4 Championship), Tom Wrigley (Ginetta GT4 Supercup), Will Tregurtha (Ginetta Juniors) were those crowned champions from the TOCA support series and were first to make their way up on stage at Crowne Plaza Heythrop Park to collect their silverware.

The BTCC celebrations started with the Jack Sears Trophy – a particularly poignant prize-giving as outgoing champion Josh Cook handed the honours over to Ash Sutton in place of the late Jack Sears.

One of the loudest cheers of the night came as Motorbase Performance received their first award in the championship for topping the Independent Teams' tally while Andrew Jordan took Independent Drivers' honours.

Legendary BTCC team boss Dick Bennetts then took to the stage to pick up West Surrey Racing's Manufacturers' – Constructors' gong while its stable – Team JCT600 with GardX was presented with its Teams' Trophy.

Team Dynamics stalwart Eddie Hinckley won the inaugural BTCC Engineer of the Year award for his work on Gordon Shedden's title winning Honda Civic Type R.

To round the prize-giving off, Gordon Shedden received the plaudits as he held the coveted Drivers' Trophy aloft for the third time in his career.

Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Champions WSR have enjoyed an excellent three days of testing this week with new signing Andrew Jordan completing over 450 miles of important winter running.

Andrew, who will race for WSR in the BTCC for the next two seasons, got behind the wheel of his BMW 125i M Sport for the first time at Brands Hatch on Tuesday and the 2013 series champion completed further running at Donington Park on Thursday and at Silverstone on Friday.

With the BMW running in an interim livery this week, Andrew – who has never raced a rear-wheel-drive touring car – gained valuable experience of the machine that guided WSR to the BTCC teams’ and constructors’ titles in 2016.

After completing 119 laps in tricky and changeable track conditions at Brands Hatch – the venue for the opening round of the 2017 BTCC – on Tuesday, WSR then chalked up a further 86 laps at Donington and 93 at Silverstone as a variety of set-up options were evaluated.

The 2013 BTCC champion driver sampled Dunlop’s new-specification tyres, which will become mandatory in next year’s series.

Andrew Jordan said: “I’m really pleased with how it’s gone this week with WSR and the BMW. From day one at Brands Hatch it felt very user-friendly and it didn’t take me very long to feel at home – despite some changeable weather. You can really feel the level of engineering that’s gone into the 125i M Sport and that’s made things much easier to adapt to – especially as I’m also learning a rear-wheel-drive touring car after spending my entire BTCC race career with front-wheel-drive. It’s also been great to start working with the engineers and mechanics and start building relationships with everybody in the team.”

Dick Bennetts, Team Principal, said: “It will hopefully pay off when you can start your winter testing programme before Christmas, so to have three days of solid running this week and give Andrew some experience at three different circuits with the BMW is definitely going to benefit him and the team. The car is still in 2016 trim, as we still have to convert it to use all of the mandatory components for next season, but we’re not far off and this week has helped us to see where we are and given us lots of very useful data to analyse.”

We caught up with BTCC Series Director, Alan Gow, to get his thoughts on Vauxhall's return to the BTCC with Power Maxed Racing:

 

AmDTuning.com has re-signed Ollie Jackson to spearhead its assault on the 2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

Jackson rejoined the West Thurrock-based team this year - having earlier raced in AmDTuning.com colours back in 2012 - and enjoyed a solid campaign at the wheel of an Audi S3, ending the year as a regular contender for points scoring finishes in an ultra-competitive field.

The new deal with Jackson marks the first time that AmDTuning.com has entered into a second successive season with a driver, providing vital continuity ahead of a busy off-season that will see the Audi undergo extensive work back at base.

Having been one of a handful of cars to run older-specification control parts this year, the Audi will be fully updated to run new RML spec parts, with delivery of those parts expected in the coming weeks.

The team will then embark on a pre-season testing programme to ensure it is ready to hit the ground running when the new season begins at Brands Hatch in early April.

“I really enjoyed this season with the team so I’m delighted that we’ve been able to get the deal done to early to allow us to start working on 2017,” Jackson said. "I’m really excited about what next year could hold for us, and I have no doubt that this deal gives me the best chance I’ve ever had in the BTCC.

“This year we showed that we had a competitive package with the Audi, even though the fact we didn’t have the upgraded suspension worked against us at some circuits. With the upgrades that will now be carried out, and the knowledge and experience we have, I’m hopeful that we can be in a strong position when the season starts and be able to challenge for points from round one, with the ultimate goal being to push for the top ten. That won’t be easy as everyone is working on developments and improvements, but there is a huge amount of potential in the Audi that we were unlocking throughout 2016.

“The fact we’ll be able to do some proper pre-season testing is going to be key, and is something I haven’t been able to do before as my deals have always been quite last minute. Now the deal is done, I can’t wait to get back behind the wheel and get started.”

Team boss Shaun Hollamby was also pleased to be able to confirm the new agreement with Ollie for 2017, with the team hopeful of one of its strongest seasons since joining the series back in 2010.

“The continuity of sticking with Ollie is something we felt was key after a strong second half of the year, and it’s great to have the deal done,” he said. "Given the way this season ended, we are keen to make sure we hit the ground running when the 2017 campaign comes around and try to build on what we achieved together this year.

"Making the move to the RML kit is something we knew we had to do for next season and those upgrades will soon be carried out before we start testing and the real work begins. Of course it wouldn’t be possible without the support of our sponsors, and we’re thankful that that ongoing support has allowed us to commit the resources required to upgrade the Audi and give us the best chance of success on track.

“There is still the possibility that we may be able to run a second car alongside Ollie if certain things fall into place but it is out of our hands at the moment and very much a case of wait and see.”

The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship is delighted to announce their continued media partnership with Haymarket Consumer Media for a further two years.

Automotive Brands, owners of Power Maxed Racing are delighted to announce their commercial partnership with Vauxhall Motors. The agreement will see the return of the Vauxhall Astra to the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship from 2017 onwards.

As an integral part of this agreement Power Maxed Racing will run two new Vauxhall Astras – 2016 European Car of the Year ­­­­­­­– in the BTCC as a Manufacturer entry.

Automotive Brands supply products such as Steel Seal – a head gasket fix in a bottle and Power Maxed Car Care Products to over 2,500 UK Motor factors and Motor Stores including Euro Car Parts, Motor Parts Direct, GroupAuto, A1 and Halfords.

This landmark deal will see Automotive Brands run a fleet of Vauxhall vehicles as well as leverage its relationships with commercial partners who operate fleets totalling over 25,000 light commercial vehicles. The deal will enable Vauxhall to increase its share of this highly valued market.

Automotive Brands’ trade customers will have access to FREE use of a Power Maxed branded Vauxhall Combo 1.3 CDTI, returning incredible MPG with low maintenance costs and strong residual values ; all key factors when specifying light commercial vehicles completing up to 200,000 miles over the average 4-year term.

Adam Weaver Managing Director of Automotive Brands, Team Principal of Power Maxed Racing commented “We are incredibly pleased and proud to be working with Vauxhall and to be the team that brings this iconic and highly successful brand back to the BTCC. The all new Astra is a fantastic car and it is no surprise that it was voted 2016 European Car of the Year – it will make a show-stopping BTCC challenger."

Shells have now been supplied and work is well advanced in turning the new Astra into a highly competitive BTCC car. We are aiming to announce a talented and exciting driver line-up in the near future ; which will further motivate and inspire everyone involved in this exciting project.

Power Maxed and Vauxhall brand values are perfectly aligned ;  both partners committed to UK manufacturing, product excellence and sector-leading customer service.

Alan Gow, BTCC Series Director, commented “It is fantastic to be welcoming Vauxhall back to the BTCC as a manufacturer entry. Its history and pedigree is there for all to see and I have no doubt that the highly professional and experienced team at Power Maxed Racing will be great partners.”

More reaction, plus news on the build, testing programme and driver line-up will follow over the coming days and weeks.

Andrew Jordan has completed his first laps in WSR's BMW 125i M Sport this morning (Tuesday) as the former BTCC champion enjoys a full test day at Brands Hatch.

The Pirtek-backed racer's switch to WSR was announced last week and Jordan is immediately getting down to business as he prepares for a renewed title assault in 2017. Jordan will be testing in the JCT600 with GardX livery pre-Christmas before the full 2017 Pirtek Racing car is unveiled in the New Year.

Before the 27-year-old hit the track the official BTCC website caught up with him... Click below to hear our extended interview: