The three West Surrey Racing BMWs head to Donington Park this weekend hoping to build on a promising Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season opener at Brands Hatch.

Donington Park holds a special place in the history of the Sunbury-on-Thames WSR outfit, as the team made their BTCC debut at the East Midlands venue in 1996. They will be chasing a sixth win to add to their tally at the former European Grand Prix venue as the campaign rolls into Leicestershire.

Heading into this weekend, Team IHG Rewards Club's Jack Goff, finds himself sixth in the BTCC Drivers' Championship – the highest placed driver in the WSR stable.

Goff kicked off his 2016 campaign with a podium finish in what was his first event competing in a rear-wheel drive car and also notched the fastest racing lap of the weekend, going some way to proving the underlying pace of the WSR-prepared BMW 125i M Sport.

The 25-year-old is hoping to augment what was an impressive Brands Hatch opener at what is a 'special' circuit for him, having won there on his car racing debut back in 2009.

“Brands Hatch provided us with some great highs in terms of the podium and the fastest lap of anybody on race day," said Goff. "There was also a feeling that we could have done even better if I hadn’t made the move in Race One and lost a few spots, or if it hadn’t rained in qualifying and compromised our strategy.

"What was important was that the race pace was definitely there, and there’s no reason why we can’t show similar speed this weekend. Donington is a special track for me as it’s where I won on my car racing debut in 2009, and I also won there during my championship-winning campaign in the Clio Cup.

"I’ve never been on the podium there in the BTCC, but that’s certainly the aim this time, as well as bagging some good championship points.”

Over the other side of the WSR garage, the Team JCT600 with GardX line-up lie third in the HiQ Teams' Championship, leaving WSR in second spot in the Manufacturers' table.

Sam Tordoff finished second in the final race of the day at Brands – right under the rear bumper of eventual winner Adam Morgan for the duration; while Rob Collard secured a brace of top six spots – battling through from 16th to sixth in race three in the best of his action.

With Tordoff and Collard eighth and 10th in the drivers' standings respectively, both will be hoping to have pushed on come the end of the weekend.

“Donington is a circuit at which I’ve won before and as Croft is the only circuit closer to my home, it feels pretty local," said Tordoff.

"I’m not quite sure what to expect from this weekend; at Brands Hatch we went faster than anyone had ever gone in practice, but then weren’t quite in a position to capitalise on that speed for one reason or another.

"We’ll carry ballast into the weekend, which will slow us down a little, but others will be even heavier, so it may turn out to be an advantage. Race 3 at Brands Hatch was great and we nearly won it, so if we can have three clean races, who knows what might be possible?”

Rob Collard said: “I enjoy Donington as it’s a real challenge for a driver. The Craner Curves are among the very best sequences of corners in the BTCC, and the track is wide enough that you can have great, close racing and good overtaking opportunities.

"I scored my first BTCC podium at Donington with WSR in 2005 and have won there too, so I’m sure we can achieve some strong results this weekend and move up from our current 10th place in the championship.”

 

 

RCIB Insurance Racing driver relishing Donington Park weekend after promising pace shown at Brands Hatch

Jake Hill experienced the highs and lows of the BTCC during the opening weekend of the season at Brands Hatch, as the Kent-based racer mixed it with the big boys on his return to the series.

The Team HARD-run racer qualified 19^th – well within a second of Tom Ingram’s lap record set in the same session – but Hill was confident of moving further forward on race day.

That plan was on schedule at the start of race one as the Toyota Avensis surged up the order after a stellar getaway. Hill passed a trio of Honda Civic Type Rs on his way to finishing 13^th and securing a solid points finish – the best result from Team HARD’s Toyota trio.

The RCIB Insurance Racing driver then looked set for his first top ten finish of the season after again showing his speed in the second bout. Hill went wheel-to-wheel with BTCC race winner Sam Tordoff in the West Surrey Racing BMW and looked to have at least tenth under control, until a mechanical problem ended his challenge.

“I made a great start in both races and had a mega first lap in race one, passing four cars, and was on for a top-ten finish in race two,” said Hill. “In fact on lap times I think we may have been able to make a couple more places up which would have put us well up on the grid for race three. As frustrating as it was to retire at least it showed we have some real potential and the pace is there.”

The competitiveness of Britain’s best series was there for all to see in the final encounter as Hill and fellow gun Tom Ingram fought hard and long to make their way through the field. Initially the duo made good progress before turning their attentions to each other. A thrilling scrap ensued, which led to a high-speed spin for Hill and a fine from the stewards for Ingram as both ultimately failed to reach the points.

“It was a really good battle with Tom,” continued Jake. “We were fighting for position and obviously Tom wanted to get past and unfortunately there was contact. It was a pretty wild ride - I spun through 720 degrees pretty close to the barriers - but fortunately didn’t hit anything and managed to finish.

“I know the BTCC is always pretty crazy which is why the drivers and the fans love it. I’m just focussing on Donington and getting more points and making more progress.”

Hill hasn’t raced at the sweeping Leicestershire circuit since taking victory in Ginetta G50 back in 2011, but enjoyed a promising performance at the Season Launch last month, running in the top ten for much of the session before finishing the day in 14th place.

“Donington is one of my favourite circuits,” he concluded. “I did a lot of testing here when I started racing in Ginetta Juniors back in 2009, and have won here in both Juniors and G50s. The Season Launch went really well and I think our Toyota Avensis should be well suited here.”

Hill will certainly be one to watch as the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship unfolds and as he’s already proven on a number of occasions, he’s certainly capable of challenging and beating more experienced competition.

Andrew Jordan made a solid start to his Pirtek Racing career with a hat-trick of points-scoring finishes at Brands Hatch, the first encounter of the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, leaving him looking for more at Donington Park this weekend (16/17 April).

Round one at Brands Hatch yielded 11th place after changeable conditions during Saturday's qualifying session left the 2013 BTCC champion down in 14th. Round two, though, saw Jordan finish an impressive fourth, right on the pace as he notched the fastest lap of the race – narrowly missing out on a podium.

Round three was the most dramatic encounter of the weekend for the Pirtek man as firstly, he pulled off a big save at Paddock Hill Bend to prevent his Ford Focus spinning off the curbs and across the bunched pack. Again on the pace, he then set off after Matt Neal in the closing stages, leaving it right until the last to out-drag the Honda to another fourth by just 0.037s right on the start/finish line.

With solid points under his belt, and two impressive fourth-placed finishes leaving him fifth in the championship standings, Jordan is optimistic ahead of Donington Park, his home event, having settled into his new team.

“Whenever you move to a new team, you take time to get used to how things work, but I feel I’ve settled in well with the guys at Motorbase and I would have loved to reward them with a trophy in a first weekend together.

"Had things gone differently earlier in the weekend at Brands, then that might have been possible, but we scored good points when we could and that is what matters when it comes to the season as a whole.

“We know we haven’t quite got the ultimate pace in the car at the moment but we aren’t far away, and I’m confident that we’ll be able to challenge when we head to Donington Park for round two.

“I’m looking forward to it. I’ve won there in the past and it’s my home event so I always get a lot of local support there. It’s a great old school circuit, really fast and flowing and it always makes for great racing.

“It was nice to get Brands out of the way in one respect and to get some points in the bag, but I want to step it up a gear in terms of outright pace and I think we can do that this weekend.”

Following an enthralling opening weekend of the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch, the bandwagon rolls into Donington Park and there are more ways than ever before to keep up with the action.

The tens of thousands of fans trackside this weekend can compliment their viewing with the LIVE section of the BTCC website, where you can access circuit commentary and live timing, whilst the ITV Hub App will broadcast live coverage throughout Sunday to selected mobile and tablet devices.

Those unable to attend Donington Park may also choose to use the ITV Hub App (download from App Store, Google Play, Amazon etc) in order to watch the live action while on the move, or you can watch from a desktop computer via www.itv.com. Saturday’s qualifying session will be streamed live online at www.itv.com/btcc.

ITV4 will broadcast an incredible eight hours of live coverage on Sunday with each and every BTCC race, plus a magnitude of support contests, being shown from 10:30am.

The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship enjoys unrivalled and unprecedented television coverage in the UK thanks to its long-standing partnership with the ITV television network, which will continue to screen the BTCC live and free-to-air until at least 2022. The BTCC also enjoys extensive coverage overseas, which includes CBS Sports Network’s highlights programme in North America.

To get yourself in the mood you can catch up with ITV's 90-minute highlights programme from Brands Hatch on the ITV Hub here.

The following programme schedules are provided by ITV (UK only) and CBS Sports Network (North America) for the Donington Park weekend, while schedules for future events can be found via the BTCC on TV page. Viewers in other regions should check local listings:

Donington Park

Saturday 16 April
itv.com/btcc: 1530-1615

Sunday 17 April
ITV4: 1030-1815 (LIVE)
itv.com: 1030-1815 (LIVE)
ITV Hub: 1030-1815 (LIVE)
ITV4 +1: 1130-1930

Saturday 16 April
ITV4: 1530-1615
ITV4 +1: 1630-1715

Sunday 17 April
ITV4: TBC
ITV4 +1: TBC

Saturday 23 April
ITV4: 1230-1400
ITV Hub: 1230-1400
ITV4+1: 1330-1500

Sunday 24 April
ITV4: 0645-0815
ITV Hub:  0645-0815
ITV4+1:  0745-0915

Wednesday 27 April
ITV1: 2345-0100

Thursday 28 April
CBS Sports Network: 1900 (ET)

Britain’s premier motor sport series ready for a party in the Park

The 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship will speed into Donington Park for high-octane thrills ‘n’ spills next weekend (16/17 April).

A record-breaking 32 cars took to the starting grid at Brands Hatch for the recent season-opener, delivering three breathless races around the short Indy loop that augured well for an exciting campaign ahead. Indeed, with the introduction of new technical components and teams still getting to grips with their 2016 cars, the form guide has been thrown out of the window this year – meaning fans are in for a real treat.

The eagerly-anticipated arrival of Subaru means the field features no fewer than 11 marques, and the fact that three different cars – run by three different teams – took the chequered flag first at Brands Hatch serves to underscore the unpredictable nature of this season’s contest.

All the action is broadcast live and extensively throughout the UK on the free-to-air ITV4 channel, meaning whether you are in the grandstand, on the spectator banks or relaxing in the comfort of your own armchair in front of the box, you won’t miss a moment of the drama – and make no mistake, drama is guaranteed!

Talking point: Who will take the fight to Honda?
Halfords Yuasa Racing duo Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal starred at Brands Hatch, with the former winning race two and the latter leaving the Kent circuit at the top of the points table as they proved the potential of the newly-liveried Honda Civic Type R.

That means the experienced team-mates – who count five Drivers’ titles between them – head to Donington in the pound seats, but they will need to work harder than ever in qualifying and the first race by having to carry significant success ballast. That offers their rivals the perfect opportunity to pounce – and there is no shortage of pretenders snapping at their heels.

West Surrey Racing’s trio of rear-wheel drive BMWs all enjoyed their time in the spotlight at Brands, with Sam Tordoff and Jack Goff both reaching the rostrum in race three and Rob Collard vying for the lead following a meteoric getaway in race two before contact scuppered his charge. Both Tordoff and Collard are former winners in Leicestershire, and are sure to be in the thick of it again next weekend.

One of the most impressive aspects of the Kent curtain-raiser was the pace and performance of MG Racing RCIB Insurance young guns Ashley Sutton and Josh Cook. Both ran at the front throughout and Sutton in particular caught the eye, as he rapidly finds his feet in the BTCC after lifting the Renault UK Clio Cup laurels last year. The rookie similarly turned heads at the Season Launch at Donington by nearly topping the timesheets at the end of the afternoon test, so he clearly knows his way around the Midlands circuit.

Having been the BTCC benchmark over the second half of 2015, Motorbase Performance’s Brands Hatch weekend was a slightly subdued affair, but the Ford Focuses of 2013 champion Andrew Jordan and team-mate Mat Jackson worked their way progressively up the order and indulged in a fair bit of entertaining internecine tussles. Both men are more than capable of opening their 2016 victory account at Donington.

There was joy for Tom Ingram and Speedworks Motorsport at Brands Hatch as they celebrated their maiden BTCC triumph in the opener, with the Toyota driver controlling the pace from the front. Following incidents in races two and three, the 22-year-old will be light on ballast going into Donington’s qualifying session, making him a contender for a second consecutive pole position.

On the subject of dark horses, another Independent outfit to shine at Brands Hatch was WIX Racing, with Adam Morgan staving off a two-pronged BMW assault for race three glory. Aron Smith also enjoyed a strong weekend behind the wheel of the Volkswagen CC, stealing a podium finish for new entrant BKR less than two weeks after the team’s announcement that it would be joining the fray. The Irishman made headlines at Donington last year with a lively scrap for the lead with Cook, so he will undoubtedly be one to watch again 12 months on.

And what, finally, of former multiple champions Jason Plato and Colin Turkington? Having barely turned a wheel before heading out in practice at Brands Hatch, the Silverline Subaru BMR Racing Levorg GTs inevitably took some time to get up-to-speed, but progress was palpable over the course of the weekend, with Turkington very nearly cracking the top ten in qualifying and both he and Plato scoring points on race day. The team has been working feverishly ever since to further fettle and fine-tune the rear-wheel drive machines, so don’t discount them from contention at Donington.

Local Heroes: Neal returns to happy hunting ground
Hailing from Stourbridge, Matt Neal counts Donington Park as his home circuit and it is a venue that holds happy memories for him – never more so than in 1999, when he became the first Independent driver in the modern era to win a BTCC race outright, receiving a £250,000 cheque for his troubles. Now in his 26^th campaign in the series, the 49-year-old remains at the top of his game, and he heads to Leicestershire as the man that everybody else is chasing.

Fellow title-winner Andrew Jordan (Lichfield) is similarly a Donington ‘local’, and as he continues to gel with Motorbase Performance’s Ford Focus – sporting a striking Pirtek Racing livery – the 2013 champion is sure to be right up at the sharp end this weekend.

MG can also consider Donington as its home event with the British manufacturer based in nearby Longbridge. New MG signing Josh Cook led last year in a Chevrolet until contact with Aron Smith sent them both skating wildly across the grass at the Craner Curves.

Eurotech Racing is another local entrant, fielding Honda Civic Type Rs for Jeff Smith and Martin Depper, whilst Sutton Coldfield’s Stewart Lines will be aiming to bounce back from a challenging season-opener as he eyes his first career points in his Maximum Motorsport Ford Focus.

Timetable and tickets 
The second race day of the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship takes place on Sunday 17 April, with all three BTCC encounters – and many of the day’s other races – broadcast live and in high-definition on ITV4. Those in attendance at the circuit can stay in touch with the commentary and live timing from every session, available on the btcc.net Live Zone throughout the weekend.

In addition to the BTCC, the support series on the TOCA package are set to bring even more action to Donington Park. Sportscar racing fans will get their fix with races from the Michelin Ginetta GT4 SuperCup and Simpson Race Products Ginetta Junior Championship. The Renault UK Clio Cup – often seen as a stepping-stone to reaching the BTCC – will also feature on the huge bill of British racing, as will the MSA Formula Championship, the single-seater launchpad for the next generation of aspiring Formula One world champions.

Tickets for the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship’s annual visit to Donington Park on 16/17 April are available in advance from just £11.25, with free entry for children aged 13 and under. For more information, visit www.donington-park.co.uk. All admission includes access to Sunday morning’s 09:15am autograph session with the BTCC drivers in the pit lane (limited spaces) and the racing paddocks, as well as free parking and giant TV screens on Sunday. Racing starts at 10:05am on Sunday with the final BTCC showdown scheduled for 17:15pm.

MG RCIB Insurance Racing pairing Ashley Sutton and Josh Cook are both looking to the podium after enjoying an outstanding weekend at the Brands Hatch season-opener last weekend, having first turned a wheel in the MG6GT just two weeks prior at the Donington Park Season Launch.

The youngsters caught the eye with strong pace at that Season Launch test session, with Sutton notching the second fastest time of the day – pipped marginally at the end of the session by experienced head Matt Neal, as the Honda man turned up the wick for his final run.

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. He was right on the pace from Free Practice 1, with a time just a tenth shy of quickest, despite those problems. In qualifying, both Sutton and Cook followed through on their promise shown in 'non-competitive' running by securing 5th and 6th place on the grid.

Sutton, 22 and reigning Renault UK Clio Cup champion, sees no reason why the Triple Eight Racing backed MG squad shouldn't be looking to the rostrum given their showing so far.

"Well there you go, I have my first BTCC weekend under my belt! I personally set some targets to aim for and we definitely achieved them," said Sutton. "Getting three top ten finishes was fantastic and to qualify fifth topped it off! I feel now we can move forward at Donington, we have a very quick car under us thanks to Triple Eight Racing considering the small amount of laps we have actually done.

"The platform is there so we can now build on this and move forward in the right direction and get the MG6 on the podium! I am also learning the craft of British Touring Cars so there is still more to come from me!"

On the other side of the team's garage, Sutton's slightly more experienced stablemate Cook echoed the same sentiments, bemoaning a couple of circumstances beyond his control that took the sheen off his weekend.

"I was really pleased with the pace of the car throughout the weekend, in comparison to a lot of the cars on the grid we had very little time in the car pre-season so we went into the weekend on the back foot. Qualifying and Race one was a glimpse of what the MG6 has to offer.

"Race two was purely unlucky for me with the oil on the track, a bit gutting but that’s the way it goes sometimes. It could happen to anyone. As a result we started from the back for Race three, midway through when I reached P14, we encountered a fault which halted my progress or I’m confident we could have recovered with a top 10 finish.

"The guys behind the scenes at MG RCIB Insurance Racing do a really great job. We’ve learned a lot this weekend, and Ash and I are doing well together as a team, hopefully we can soon get up on that top step. There is no question that we’re going to be giving it everything we’ve got."

New Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship outfit BKR did not exist in its current guise as a BTCC squad until less than a month ago, when it took two ex-Team BMR Volkswagen CCs out of storage with the aim of competing in 2016 – a campaign that was looming ominously in the near-distance.

With a little help from Warren Scott, three weeks later BKR was on the grid at Brands Hatch – notching up a stunning podium and two top eight finishes with Aron Smith in the process.

“I’m over the moon with the way the weekend went," reflected Smith. "Three weeks ago, these cars were sat in a shed not going racing. The work that both BKR and Team BMR have put in to get us to this point has just been phenomenal.

"I really can’t thank everyone enough – particularly Warren. It’s no exaggeration to say that without him, we would not be here. He’s done an amazing job. Everybody at BKR is so enthusiastic, and that excitement is infectious.

“The Brands Hatch podium is for all the lads – I’m delighted for them. They’ve effectively had to perform a full winter rebuild in the space of just a couple of days, so it’s great to come straight out of the box and pick up a trophy to give something back.”

Despite the lack of preparation, the former Britcar and Renault UK Clio Cup team knew they had capable machinery in their hands – the car that took Jason Plato to the runner-up spoils in the Drivers' standings last year.

After a rush to ready the cars for the Season Launch at Donington Park, both Smith and team-mate Mark Howard squeezed in some running during the afternoon test session – impressive running, in fact, totalling 26 and 41 laps respectively.

Smith feels with more miles on the clock and after an extremely positive opening weekend, the team can now push the car further – as he relishes the novel position of being lead driver.

“The Volkswagen CC is a known quantity for us,” he acknowledged. “I’m comfortable in the car, and I have quite a bit of experience with it now. This is also the first time I’ve ever led a team, and that’s a special feeling in itself.

“The Season Launch test was a baptism of fire for all of us to say the least, but now the guys have the opportunity to strip the car and put in the work we need to do on it – and that will hopefully allow us to come back even stronger.”

On his first weekend in a front-wheel drive touring car, Rob Austin took opening honours in Dunlop’s 2016 #ForeverForward contest, by gaining a total of 19 positions across the course of the three Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship races at Brands Hatch.

Overtaking is always something of a skill around Brands’ short 1.2-mile Indy Circuit, but Austin made short work of many of his rivals in race two as he scythed through the field from 30^th to finish 14^th. The three additional spots he improved in the finale earned the Handy Motorsport ace the highest #ForeverForward score of the record-breaking 32 contenders in Kent.

Rob Collard and Josh Cook were Austin’s closest challengers, each advancing 16 places on Sunday, although the former’s collision with Tom Ingram as the pair disputed the lead of race two arguably cost the BMW man a shot at #ForeverForward glory. On his maiden outing for MG Racing RCIB Insurance, Cook impressed in race three by vaulting from 29^th on the starting grid to 14^th at the chequered flag.

Dan Welch, meanwhile, enjoyed a much stronger start to the season than of late behind the wheel of his new Proton as he annexed points in two of the three encounters. Other major movers over the weekend included Power Maxed Racing’s Hunter Abbott and Team BMR Subaru’s Warren Scott in race two – the latter making his competitive debut in the new Levorg having missed the opener – as well as Speedworks Motorsport’s Ingram with a stirring race three recovery.

Amongst the contenders for overtake of the weekend, finally, was Andrew Jordan’s move on Motorbase Performance team-mate Mat Jackson in race two, as the two Ford Focuses ran flat-out and side-by-side down the main straight in close proximity to the pit wall.

The #ForeverForward leaderboard is below, with one point attributed for every position gained. Points are not removed if places are lost.

Rob Austin 19

Rob Collard 16

Josh Cook 16

Hunter Abbott 15

Tom Ingram 14

Colin Turkington 14

Jake Hill 13

Warren Scott 13

Dan Welch 13

Andrew Jordan 12

Stewart Lines 12

James Cole 11

Jason Plato 10

Matt Simpson 10

Michael Epps 9

Mark Howard 8

Aiden Moffat 8

Kelvin Fletcher 7

Ollie Jackson 7

Alex Martin 7

Aron Smith 7

Jeff Smith 7

Sam Tordoff 7

Mat Jackson 4

Matt Neal 4

Chris Smiley 4

Jack Goff 3

Adam Morgan 2

Gordon Shedden 1

Ashley Sutton 1

Martin Depper 0

Andy Neate 0

Speedworks Motorsport joined the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship winners’ club in style, after Tom Ingram raced to a commanding maiden victory in the 2016 curtain-raiser at Brands Hatch this past weekend.

The outfit was keen to build upon an impressive end to the 2015 campaign that had seen Ingram clinch the independent outfit’s breakthrough podium finish at Rockingham before adding to it with another in the Brands Hatch GP finale.

The talented young Bucks ace lapped fastest of all in opening practice after his crew had swiftly rectified a minor mechanical issue. Ingram topped the timesheets for the majority of the second session, too, producing a series of consistent laps in the #80 Toyota Avensis.

In qualifying, Ingram delivered on his practice promise, posting the best lap ever recorded by a touring car around Brands Hatch’s short 1.2-mile Indy layout to take his and Speedworks’ first BTCC pole position.

On a track still greasy and slippery in parts from overnight rain, Ingram made a super getaway when the starting lights went out in race one and managed an early safety car period after an incident further down the order. He then found himself under pressure from Honda duo Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal but Ingram didn’t put so much as a wheel out-of-place.

As he flashed across the finish line more than two seconds clear, Ingram was met by a rapturous reception from the Speedworks pit wall and the capacity crowd, who acknowledged an outstanding lights-to-flag performance and tremendously popular triumph.

Beginning the second outing from pole once again, the three-time Ginetta Champion and former British Karting Champion remained in front until a forceful overtaking attempt by Rob Collard resulted in contact that consigned his damaged Toyota to an early bath.

Following a rapid repair job by his Speedworks mechanics, Ingram scythed his way through from the back row of the grid in the finale. Repeatedly setting lap times faster than the leaders as he showcased both the Avensis’ raw pace and his ability to make a pass stick. He ultimately wound up half-a-second shy of sneaking into the points.

Nevertheless, that fleeting frustration could not take the gloss off a weekend to remember for the Northwich, Cheshire-based squad, which sits eighth out of 19 in the Teams’ standings and a challenging fourth in the Independents’ Team Trophy, with Ingram ninth in the overall Drivers’ classification and seventh in the Independents’ table.

“I still don’t think the magnitude of what we have achieved has sunk in yet,” reflected Speedworks Team Principal Christian Dick. “This has been our strongest start to a BTCC campaign by a country mile. We knew the Avensis was quick from pre-season testing, but you can never be sure exactly where you’re going to shake out in the pecking-order because we’re up against some very high-calibre opposition – including manufacturer teams with far greater resources than us.

“Tom was under pressure throughout race one, but he led flawlessly from the front like a seasoned pro and controlled it beautifully; he never gave Shedden a look-in, and he even had a little extra pace left in his pocket had he needed it. It was a superb drive.

“I’m immensely proud of the entire team; we’ve finally proved what I’ve been saying we are capable of for a long time, and this result means so much to us all. Everybody is hugely excited moving forwards, and the key will be to sustain this level of performance. We head to the next round with very little ballast and an extremely fast car, and we need to make sure we exploit that opportunity.”

“I was able to control the pace quite comfortably in race one," said Ingram. "I felt like I had the legs on Gordon and could hold a half-second margin without too much trouble, and when I needed to push to open up a gap, I could do so.

“All the way around the last lap, I was listening for even the tiniest of vibrations, and when I saw the boys hanging over the pit wall as the chequered flag came out, I just screamed down the radio. Hearing the team’s reaction was such a special moment, because they have waited so long for this result and thoroughly deserve it for all the effort they put in both on and off the track.

“There’s no question that on paper, we shouldn’t be doing what we are doing. At the end of the day, Speedworks is only a small, family-run operation, but the awesome thing about the BTCC is that it gives teams like us the chance to shine and pull off some giant-killing exploits – and now David has beaten Goliath once, we want to do it again and again.”

The 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship commenced in fine style at Brands Hatch with a trio of different drivers celebrating victory from the three fast and furious races. Tom Ingram, Gordon Shedden and Adam Morgan all tasted champagne on the top step of the podium – Matt Neal who left the Kent circuit with the championship lead.

The top three from each of the opening three rounds spoke to btcc.net back in the pitlane after the podium celebrations had died down...

Race 1 – Tom Ingram, Gordon Shedden, Matt Neal

Race 2 – Gordon Shedden, Matt Neal, Aron Smith

Race 3 – Adam Morgan, Matt Neal, Aron Smith