Young star Tom Ingram has taken his first ever Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship victory after producing an impressive lights-to-flag performance at Brands Hatch.

While the opening race of the season was frenetic further down the order, the top three contenders in Ingram, Honda's Gordon Shedden and his team-mate Matt Neal remained steady throughout. A slowing backmarker and a mid-race safety car spell proved to be the only issues for Ingram, but the Speedworks Motorsport racer dealt with both interruptions with consummate ease.

The bumper-to-bumper action kicked off as soon as the lights went out on the 2016 BTCC campaign, with a number of incidents influencing the latter half of the points-paying positions.

The Subaru of Colin Turkington was in the wars early on, as was the BMW of Sam Tordoff after contact with his West Surrey Racing team-mate Rob Collard. Motorbase duo Mat Jackson and Andrew Jordan went side-by-side across the line on lap three, narrowly avoiding each other, but the major moment came later on the same lap.

Power Maxed Racing's Hunter Abbott lost control on the run through to Surtees, and Alex Martin spun wildly while trying to avoid contact with the Chevrolet ahead of him. Although the Dextra Racing driver succeeded in that respect, his striking yellow machine went on to make heavy contact with the barrier.

A short safety car intervention followed, which ultimately led to dramas for two particular BTCC race winners. Adam Morgan was the first car to be shuffled down the order, as his WIX Racing Mercedes dropped to ninth in the blink of an eye. Team IHG Rewards Club's Jack Goff was next to fall foul of the chasing pack as he attacked Ashley Sutton's MG for fifth. Goff's failed attempt left the BMW running wide at Paddock Hill Bend, and he found himself down in tenth by the end of the race.

Back to the front and Ingram crossed the line to the rapturous applause of both his team and the filled spectator banks and grandstands of Brands Hatch, whilst the two Halfords Yuasa Racing cars completed the podium positions.

MG's young duo continue to belie their relative inexperience by finishing fourth and fifth, with debutant Ashley Sutton getting the better of stablemate Josh Cook. Collard took a top six finish while Aron Smith produced an impressive BTCC bow for BKR by bringing his VW CC home in seventh.

Jackson eventually got the better of his Ford Focus team-mate to finish eighth ahead of the fading Morgan and Goff, whilst Pirterk-backed Jordan had to settle for 11th.

Subaru's introduction to the BTCC was a difficult one as Turkington got caught up in an incident in the early running while team boss Warren Scott was unable to make the start. Both Jason Plato and James Cole reached the finish, although some way down the order as the Team BMR-run outfit continues to develop its quartet of Levorgs in racing conditions.

Tom Ingram said: “This is what all the hard work over the winter was for. With the way we finished last season, we knew we had a good package underneath us, and Speedworks Motorsport are such a fantastic bunch of guys – this result is for all of them. When I saw the team celebrating as I climbed out of the car afterwards, it brought a tear to my eye, and the emotion just goes to show how much this first victory means to us. It’s unbelievable.”

Gordon Shedden said: “Second place represents good points to start the season. We didn’t take any risks and perhaps went a little bit too soft on the set-up. I think I would have had the pace to run in front of Tom [Ingram], but I’m not sure I had the pace to pass him because we were so equally-matched – and in any case, when you get too close round here, the aerodynamic effect takes over. Congratulations to Tom on his first win – he drove a faultless race.”

Matt Neal said: “I’ve got to be happy with a podium finish and a pot. The car felt solid and I focused on looking after my tyres and being careful over the kerbs during the first few laps. When the safety car came out, I got on the team radio to say ‘we need to get the hammer down now, so tell ‘Flash’ to pull his finger out’, and when the race got going again, he did that and I sat still! We probably went a bit too safe with the car due to the conditions, so we’ll make some changes for race two.”

Race two will take place at 14:10 and you can see all of the action live and exclusively on ITV4.

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship - Round 1 - Brands Hatch Indy:

1 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport (27 laps) 23m 44.664s
2 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +2.284s
3 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +3.925s
4 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +6.070s
5 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +6.423
6 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +7.908s
7 Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR +10.314s
8 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +11.720s
9 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +13.495s
10 Jack GOFF (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club +13.615s
11 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +14.596s
12 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +18.504s
13 Jake HILL (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +18.769s
14 Jeff SMITH (GBR) Eurotech Racing +22.825s
15 Daniel WELCH (GBR) Goodstone Racing +24.456s
16 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +24.640s
17 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +24.953s
18 Andy NEATE (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +25.157s
19 Martin DEPPER (GBR) Eurotech Racing +28.708s
20 Michael EPPS (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +29.142s
21 Jason PLATO (GBR) Subaru Team BMR +30.142s
22 Stewart LINES (GBR) Maximum Motorsport +44.497s
23 Mark HOWARD (GBR) BKR +49.253s
24 Chris SMILEY (GBR) TLC Racing +1 lap
25 James COLE (GBR) Subaru Team BMR +2 laps
26 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Subaru Team BMR +7 laps
27 Kelvin FLETCHER (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +10 laps
28 Hunter ABBOTT (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +13 laps
29 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) AmD Tuning +14 laps
30 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport +24 laps
31 Alex MARTIN (GBR) Dextra Racing +25 laps
32 Warren SCOTT (GBR) Subaru Team BMR DNS

Click here for the final classification.

Ashley Sutton is bullish about his prospects of a successful first race day in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch today (3 April), following a starring performance in qualifying.

After turning heads with an excellent second-fastest lap time at the Season Launch test at Donington Park last week, Sutton reprised his impressive form in practice around Brands’ 1.2-mile Indy Circuit, featuring up towards the sharp end throughout despite grappling with set-up issues in his MG Racing RCIB Insurance MG6GT.

The 22-year-old – who clinched the Renault UK Clio Cup crown last year during his maiden campaign – then shone again in qualifying, annexing fifth position on the record race one starting grid ahead of more experienced team-mate Josh Cook. Whilst looking forward to the challenge ahead, he acknowledges that he still has plenty to learn about the cut-and-thrust nature of touring car competition.

“Coming into this weekend, I would have been happy with the top ten, so I’m made up with top five,” Sutton commented. “We obviously showed some pace at Season Launch, and then again in FP1. We had a few set-up issues in FP2, but I knew we had the potential and the team gave me a great car in qualifying so then the rest of it was down to me.

“I put my best sectors together on the same lap, although it was a shame we didn’t get another shot after that due to the weather, because I felt there was a bit more time left in it.

“The race will be interesting. Obviously we can smell the podium from where we are, but I’m sure I’ll be taught a few of the tricks of touring car racing! I’ve always been a better racer than qualifier, though, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Speedworks Motorsport’s Tom Ingram secured his first ever BTCC pole position after setting an impressive lap record in an exhilarating opening qualifying session of the new tin-top season at Brands Hatch. 

The top three – Ingram and the two Halfords Yuasa Racing Hondas of Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal – spoke to btcc.net after an exciting opening taste of BTCC action on the first Saturday of the season.

Speedworks Motorsport’s Tom Ingram secured his first ever BTCC pole position after setting an impressive lap record in the opening qualifying session of the new tin-top season at Brands Hatch. The result was also a maiden pole for the Speedworks squad and the first for a Toyota in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship since 2012.

Clear blue skies made way for a drizzly qualifying contest, although the early exchanges were run in prime conditions.

Ingram completed his benchmark lap after ten minutes of the session and became the first ever BTCC driver to set a time inside the 47 seconds bracket around the 1.2-mile Indy Circuit. Spots of rain fell before anyone could respond, leading to a greasy track and a flurry of cars heading for the pit lane. Conditions subsided almost as quickly as they had arisen, but the thin layer of moisture on the surface had seemingly put paid to further improvements at the top of the timesheets.

This left reigning champion Gordon Shedden – who was himself looking for a first pole position since Donington Park in 2013 – in second. The Scotsman couldn’t improve late on but his Halfords Yuasa Racing team-mate Matt Neal made every attempt as the circuit dried out.

Triple champion Neal produced a rapid effort in his Honda Civic Type R but still had to settle for third at the finish, whilst FP2 pace-setter Sam Tordoff was another to leave it late as he completed the second row order.

MG’s young gun duo of Josh Cook and Ashley Sutton continue to turn heads, with the latter pipping his team-mate to take fifth. Sutton starred in the official pre-season test at Donington Park last week and the reigning UK Clio Cup champion backed up that potential with a stellar lap in his first ever BTCC qualifying session.

Adam Morgan took seventh for WIX Racing while Team IHG Rewards Club’s Jack Goff deserves special praise in eighth. Although by no means his highest qualifying result, Goff was languishing down in 31st when the mid-session rain fell. Undeterred by the setback, Goff went on to complete a series of representative times under intense pressure as he rose to 24th, to 18th, to 11th and then eighth, ensuring that it was damage limitation for the BMW 1-Series driver.

Motorbase Performance racer Mat Jackson claimed ninth while Aron Smith recovered from an off-track excursion to round out the top ten. A number of others had minor moments, with both Stewart Lines and rookie Kelvin Fletcher running onto the grass in separate incidents.

The session proved incredibly close, with the top 22 drivers in the record 32-car line-up blanketed by less than a second. With success ballast not applicable until the second race of the campaign, this session was run under base weight conditions – the only time that it will be all season – and the ultra-competitiveness was there for everyone to see in Britain’s biggest and best motor racing series.

Subaru made its long-awaited BTCC debut after the Team BMR-run squad produced a herculean effort to ready four Levorg GTs in time for the Brands Hatch weekend. Without any representative testing behind them it was always going to be a tough challenge in qualifying, but the outfit responded with an impressive effort. Colin Turkington set the team’s fastest lap to take 11th, less than half a second behind Ingram’s pole position time.

Tom Ingram said: “We stressed all the way through the winter that we would only see everybody’s true pace in qualifying here, and it’s quite mental to think I’ve just taken my first touring car pole! I saw it was going overcast, so I knew we needed to put a ‘banker’ lap in early to be safe. All the guys at Speedworks have done an amazing job with the Avensis, and this is an absolutely superb result.”

Gordon Shedden said: “I’m very happy. It was a tricky session with the weather, but I’m over the moon to be starting from the front row of the grid. I think pole was probably within reach, but we couldn’t quite put it all together at the right time. It’s fantastic to have Matt [Neal – team-mate] right up at the front too, so hopefully we can hustle and race well as a pair tomorrow.”

Matt Neal said: “In a glass half-full way, I guess I should be pleased but it really didn’t quite work out given the combination of traffic, rain and other factors. The Honda was definitely capable of pole and I don’t like to miss out on such opportunities. Sitting in the car before the session started I thought anything but pole would be a disappointment, but we’ve got two cars in the top three and there are plenty of positives there.”

Sam Tordoff said: “Fourth is okay – I can live with that. We reproduced the same time as we did when we went quickest in second practice, but we probably came into the pits just as the track was at its fastest in the changeable conditions. Overall, though, it’s pretty good. We have put ourselves in a really good position on row two of the grid and we should be able to score some good points tomorrow.”

Colin Turkington said: “I’m a bit surprised to be so high up and I’m not sure that’s a true reflection of the car’s pace at this stage in its development. I really put my neck on the line doing that lap and I certainly couldn’t do 24 laps like that! The guys have done a great job simply to get all four cars out and running, so to be just outside the top ten is a great result for them. We’ve learned quite a bit today already; the car is reactive to changes. Now hopefully we can make it even better for tomorrow.”

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship - Qualifying - Brands Hatch:

1 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport 47.990s
2 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.063s
3 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.111s
4 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +0.112s
5 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +0.141s
6 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +0.339s
7 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +0.368s
8 Jack GOFF (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club +0.391s
9 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +0.406s
10 Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR +0.452s
11 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Subaru Team BMR +0.463s
12 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +0.483s
13 Jeff SMITH (GBR) Eurotech Racing +0.526s
14 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +0.566s
15 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport +0.577s
16 Martin DEPPER (GBR) Eurotech Racing +0.630s
17 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +0.663s
18 Andy NEATE (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.683s
19 Jake HILL (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +0.782s
20 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) AmD Tuning +0.894s
21 Hunter ABBOTT (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +0.902s
22 Alex MARTIN (GBR) Dextra Racing +0.962s
23 Jason PLATO (GBR) Subaru Team BMR +1.075s
24 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +1.088s
25 Daniel WELCH (GBR) Goodstone Racing +1.181s
26 Michael EPPS (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +1.252s
27 Warren SCOTT (GBR) Subaru Team BMR +1.328s
28 Chris SMILEY (GBR) TLC Racing +1.338s
29 James COLE (GBR) Subaru Team BMR +1.413s
30 Stewart LINES (GBR) Maximum Motorsport +2.002s
31 Mark HOWARD (GBR) BKR +2.129s
32 Kelvin FLETCHER (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +2.578s

For full qualifying classification, click here.

After dark horse Tom Ingram stole the honours with a pace-setting performance in the morning’s opening Free Practice session, it was West Surrey Racing’s Sam Tordoff who topped the standings in FP2 – and with an even faster record lap time.

Multiple BTCC champion Matt Neal and subsequently Ingram led the way over the early stages before times tumbled during the final ten minutes, as teams began to focus on their qualifying simulations.

Aron Smith was first to show his hand, leaping to the top of the pile for series newcomer BKR before Tordoff underlined the competitiveness of the rear-wheel drive BMW around the short Brands Indy Circuit.

The impressive Ingram held onto third with Speedworks Motorsport, whilst a last-gasp effort from defending champion Gordon Shedden saw the Scot grab fourth spot for Halfords Yuasa Racing. Adam Morgan made it five different cars inside the top five with his WIX Racing Mercedes A-Class, with Neal in a second works Honda Civic Type R winding up sixth.

Colin Turkington was again the best-placed of the Subaru Team BMR quartet, lapping 19th-quickest, just over a second adrift of Tordoff’s benchmark. Setting another BTCC record, meanwhile, the full-capacity 32-car entry all took to the track, with rookie Michael Epps’ repaired RCIB Insurance Racing Toyota Avensis joining the morning’s already impressive tally of 31 challengers.

With both Free Practice sessions now completed, teams are gearing up for the season’s first no-holds-barred qualifying shoot-out – the only time all year when the entire BTCC field will run without success ballast. You can follow the action on www.itv.com/btcc at 15.40.

Free Practice 2

1 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX 48.132s
2 Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR +0.164s
3 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +0.217s
4 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.277s
5 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +0.352s
6 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.367s
7 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +0.407s
8 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +0.480s
9 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +0.515s
10 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +0.537s
11 Jack GOFF (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club +0.550s
12 Hunter ABBOTT (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +0.655s
13 Martin DEPPER (GBR) Eurotech Racing +0.672s
14 Jeff SMITH (GBR) Eurotech Racing +0.707s
15 Andy NEATE (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.727s
16 Jake HILL (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +0.809s
17 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +0.848s
18 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport +0.997s
19 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Subaru Team BMR +1.028s
20 Alex MARTIN (GBR) Dextra Racing +1.041s
21 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) AmDTuning.com +1.135s
22 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +1.252s
23 Jason PLATO (GBR) Subaru Team BMR +1.351s
24 Chris SMILEY (GBR) TLC Racing +1.359s
25 Michael EPPS (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +1.503s
26 Daniel WELCH (GBR) Goodstone Racing +1.532s
27 Warren SCOTT (GBR) Subaru Team BMR +1.537s
28 James COLE (GBR) Subaru Team BMR +1.581s
29 Stewart LINES (GBR) Maximum Motorsport +2.081s
30 Mark HOWARD (GBR) BKR +2.270s
31 Kelvin FLETCHER (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +2.443s
32 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +4.478s

For all the times from Free Practice 2, click here.

Just as he did last year, Tom Ingram topped the timesheets as the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship hit the track under bright blue skies at Brands Hatch today.

It was a mixed opening Free Practice for the 22-year-old, though, whose season didn’t get off to the best of starts. Less than 15 minutes into the 40-minute session, Ingram’s Toyota Avensis pulled off the track with a hub issue, prompting the first red flag of the year.

His Speedworks Motorsport team rapidly fixed the problem, however, allowing Ingram to return to action to set the fastest ever touring car lap around the short 1.2-mile Indy Circuit.

“We’d rather have a problem now than in qualifying when it really counts,” he admitted. “It was a good start, but we’re not getting too excited just yet because everyone is still putting miles on their cars. Besides, we were fastest in this session last year! That said, the car felt good and the balance was strong, which is very encouraging.”

In total, six cars lapped under last year’s pole position time, with no fewer than 18 drivers posting efforts within a second of the pace-setting Avensis.

Matt Neal ran Ingram closest in the quickest of the newly orange and black-liveried Honda Civic Type Rs, with last year’s round one winner Rob Collard third in the leading BMW.

Ashley Sutton placed an impressive fourth in his MG6, despite missing the closing part of the session after stopping on-track. Defending champion Gordon Shedden wound up fifth for Halfords Yuasa Racing, ahead of Jack Goff on his rear-wheel drive debut in the Team IHG Rewards Club BMW.

All four Subaru Team BMR cars took to the circuit to clock up vital miles, with two-time title-winner Colin Turkington the fastest of the quartet in 17^th, nine tenths-of-a-second adrift of the outright benchmark. The only driver not to leave the pit-lane was BTCC newcomer Michael Epps in the RCIB Insurance Racing Toyota Avensis.

Free Practice 2 gets underway at 12.45, followed by Qualifying – which can be watched live on www.itv.com/btcc – at 15.40.

Free Practice 1

1 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport 48.230s
2 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.087s
3 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +0.115s
4 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +0.132s
5 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +0.141s
6 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.158s
7 Jack GOFF (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club +0.277s
8 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +0.311s
9 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +0.348s
10 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +0.365s
11 Jeff SMITH (GBR) Eurotech Racing +0.502s
12 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +0.581s
13 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport +0.681s
14 Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR +0.713s
15 Jake HILL (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +0.790s
16 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +0.884s
17 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Subaru Team BMR +0.903s
18 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +0.955s
19 Andy NEATE (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +1.049s
20 Alex MARTIN (GBR) Dextra Racing +1.089s
21 Hunter ABBOTT (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +1.109s
22 Martin DEPPER (GBR) Eurotech Racing +1.129s
23 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) AmDTuning.com +1.170s
24 Chris SMILEY (GBR) TLC Racing +1.435s
25 James COLE (GBR) Subaru Team BMR +1.579s
26 Stewart LINES (GBR) Maximum Motorsport +2.152s
27 Jason PLATO (GBR) Subaru Team BMR +2.267s
28 Mark HOWARD (GBR) BKR +2.604s
29 Kelvin FLETCHER (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +5.140s
30 Daniel WELCH (GBR) Goodstone Racing +11.895s
31 Warren SCOTT (GBR) Subaru Team BMR +12.482s

For full FP1 classification click here.

Emmerdale TV star Kelvin Fletcher is looking forward to making his Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship debut in the Power Maxed Racing Chevrolet Cruze at Brands Hatch this weekend.

Fletcher will partner Hunter Abbott at the independent outfit, and there is much anticipation to see how the drivers will fare as they both embark on their maiden campaign in a front-wheel drive touring car.

“I cannot wait to get behind the wheel of the Power Maxed Chevy this weekend,” enthused former Porsche ace Fletcher. “[Team principal] Adam Weaver and the team have all worked very hard to make this drive a reality. The BTCC is the pinnacle of British motor sport and I’m eager to see how I will stack up against some of the greatest drivers of our generation.

“My hectic filming schedule means today will be the first time I’ve taken to the track in the Power Maxed Chevy, and I must admit I am itching to get going!”

“I’m looking forward to my first race meeting in a front-wheel drive touring car,” echoed Abbott, who has raced a rear-wheel drive Audi for the past two years. “I had a good afternoon at the Season Launch test and a decent test day despite suffering a little battle damage. I’m still getting used to front-wheel drive, but the car feels good and it won’t take me long to adapt.”

The exciting new Subaru Levorg has hit the race circuit for the very first time.

All four of the Team BMR built newcomers successfully completed a short shakedown test during a special session on Friday evening at Brands Hatch… and their intriguing ‘boxer’ engines certainly sounded distinctly different to the others on the BTCC grid.

The 15-minute session was organised primarily to let all the BTCC teams practice their starts ahead of this weekend’s season-opener. With no previous on-track running, it was an opportunity all four Subaru drivers – Jason Plato, Colin Turkington, Warren Scott and James Cole – weren’t going to miss.

Indeed, it was the first time three of the Subarus had ever turned a wheel – just one of the cars had conducted a straightline shakedown at Millbrook at few days early.

“The team has done an amazing job,” enthused Plato. “We are sure to encounter some curve balls in the next couple of days but it’s already an immensely proud moment to see all four cars on the track.”

The hard work isn’t completed yet, though, as the Levorgs now need their racing liveries applied overnight.

On the eve of the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season, preparation is almost complete and the wait is almost over.

The teams were in the garages on Friday, putting the finishing touches on their new machines with the drivers prepped and ready for the new campaign to launch into life tomorrow.

Hear from Jason Plato, Jack Goff, Jeff Smith, Ashley Sutton, Josh Cook and Kelvin Fletcher, after they spoke to btcc.net earlier on  Friday afternoon.

The country's premier motor sport series is back as the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship returns at Brands Hatch this weekend.

In our first newsletter of the year we recap all the news from the off season and testing and give you the info on where to get tickets for what's sure to be another spectacular season for the BTCC...

Head over to btcc.net/fanzone to subscribe and get your hands on newsletter number one of the season. There will be special offers and promotions for BTCC fans from Dunlop and IHG Rewards Club throughout the season and our first issue is no exception – another reason to hit the subscribe button!

Keep up to date with all the latest news on btcc.net and all 30 races will once again be shown live and in HD on ITV Sport.

Don't forget too that we're all over social media with in-depth coverage throughout the season and live over race weekends – twitter.com/DunlopBTCC, facebook.com/OfficialBTCC and instagram.com/OfficialBTCC.