Maximum Motorsport today handed a drive to young Swede Dennis Strandberg as part of its Snetterton tyre test running.

The 22-year-old was one of three fresh faces on the day, the others being Bobby Thompson at Power Maxed Racing and Ant Whorton-Eales at Team HARD.

Strandberg's racing CV includes a spell in 2010 in the Southern Swedish Karting Championship before moving to the Ginetta GT5 Swedish Championship in 2013, winning the series outright. He then moved to the UK series, finishing third in 2014 and fifth in 2015.

Most recently, Strandberg has driven for Academy Motorsport in an Aston Martin GT4; a collaboration that worked really well, yielding third overall. He joined Maximum Motorsport earlier in the season, driving a Volkswagen Scirocco in the Maximumgroup.net VAG Trophy and is lined up to race the same Volkswagen Scirocco in the Milltek Sport Volkswagen Racing Cup at Spa Francorchamps with the team.

Strandberg set in a respectable 1:58.845 in the morning session on Thursday in the Ford Focus despite being most accustomed to rear-wheel drive cars, and he is testing the waters as to a potential foray into the championship next year.

"I did a race with Maximum Motorsport in the VAG Trophy which was my first ever experience in a front-wheel drive car, so this is my second time in a front-wheel drive car," said Strandberg.

"It felt pretty good. They gave me the opportunity to come and test here and I’m pretty pleased about it. I’m hoping to do a bit better than I’ve done so far but I’m just having thirty more minutes this afternoon.

"It’s completely different to anything I’ve ever driven before. I’ve driven a few cars but nothing like this. It’s a good car. It feels like a proper race car. I’m used to rear-wheel drive cars so my driving style is very much rear wheel drive. I’m getting there and I know there is time in the car and in me.

"This year I’m doing races here and there. I did British GT last year and I’m looking to a possible BTCC drive next year as well as GTs or maybe a drive back in Sweden. I have taken today to test everything out to see if I’m good enough so we’ll see and time will tell."

Alan Gow’s exceptional career in global motorsport was recognised by the MIA at its annual House of Lords Summer Reception (28 June), with the presentation of the award for Outstanding Contribution to the Motorsport Industry.

The prestigious accolade was presented by the Rt Hon Anna Soubry MP, Minister of State for Small Business, Industry & Enterprise, and is the highest personal honour bestowed by the MIA. The annual event was attended by 300 leading figures from government, Parliament and the international motorsport industry, including 40 guests from Parliament (including 10 ministers) and 10 UK-based motorsport teams.

Following considerable motorsport success in his home country of Australia, Alan Gow moved to the UK 26 years ago, where he has since led significant growth for the motorsport industry, both in the UK and around the world, creating a wealth of investment and employment opportunities.

Gow currently serves as president of the FIA World Touring Car Commission, Chairman of the Motor Sports Association (MSA) and a chief organiser of both the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and the World Rally Championship in Wales. He is also director of the hugely popular British Touring Car Championship and a long-standing member of the Executive Committee of the Motorsport Industry Association.

Speaking of his award win, Gow said: “I’m truly honoured and humbled to receive this accolade from my fellow MIA members. While I may be an Australian, I am a dyed-in-the-wool supporter of UK motorsport. Indeed, if my work since arriving here in 1990 has benefited the sport of which I’m so proud of in any way, I’m overjoyed to have made that contribution. I’d also like to personally thank the MIA for the great work they continue to do for our sport and industry.”

Chris Aylett, CEO of the MIA, added: “The MIA is delighted to present Alan Gow with the outstanding contribution award. A reliable and knowledgeable advocate of the British motorsport industry, Alan has a well-deserved reputation as the backbone of touring car racing, both here in the UK and worldwide. His dedication and exceptional personal commitment to the business of motorsport epitomises what is needed to be worthy of receiving this coveted award.”

Team HARD has given Renault Clio Cup UK championship leader Ant Whorton-Eales the opportunity of a drive in one of its Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship Toyota Avensis' in testing at Snetterton on Thursday.

The 22-year-old is set to link up with Tony Gilham’s outfit as part of a tie-in with JamSport Racing aimed at nurturing young talent in British motor sport.

Gilham has been a major proponent of blooding some of the sport’s prospects, with the likes of Michael Epps, Jake Hill and Chris Smiley the immediate evidence of that as current drivers in the Team HARD stable. Providing opportunities for up and coming drivers is something the team principal is undoubtedly passionate about.

“The Clio Cup is a very good, proven feeder series and Ant’s long term ambition is to be in a touring car,” said Gilham.

“We’re always looking to expand and grow and to recognise talent coming through motor sport. It is nice to give people the opportunity.

“It’s Ant's first shot in a touring car – one that’s had a top six, and several top-ten finishes and just today at Snetterton we’ve placed second with Michael Epps so we’re a team that’s on the up at the moment.”

Whorton-Eales shares Gilham’s enthusiasm, and is looking forward to a maiden drive in BTCC machinery.

“I can’t wait to be honest, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do and I’m really looking forward to it,” said Whorton-Eales.

“I’ve no idea what a BTCC car feels like and obviously they’re big step from what I’m used to in the Clio Cup but I’ll get in the car and hopefully we’ll see just what I can do.

“You’ve just got to look as far as Ash Sutton really. He was the main man in Clios last year and there’s no reason why I can’t do a similar sort of thing.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity and massive thanks to Tony (Gilham) and Team HARD for sorting it out. The tie-in between Team HARD and JamSport is great for young drivers and to be fair, I think Tony is as interested to see how I’ll get on as I am!”

Tom Ingram mastered all weathers to top both a dry morning and a sodden afternoon session on the first of Snetterton’s two-day Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship tyre test.

The test gives teams an opportunity to experiment with a number of different tyre compounds ahead of the 2017 campaign, while gathering data and feedback for the championship’s title sponsor and tyre supplier Dunlop. Drivers also seized upon a rare opportunity outside of the time pressures of a race weekend to tinker with setup options and fine tune their cars.

Ingram set an impressive pace, besting last year’s pole benchmark and thus the lap record around the Norfolk circuit in the process of recording the morning’s best time at a then dry Snetterton.

The Speedworks Motorsport man was near half a second clear of the Pirtek Racing Ford Focus of Andrew Jordan while Dan Lloyd continued a fine vein of form to place third with team-mate Jeff Smith adding to the positivity at Eurotech Racing with the fourth fastest time. Meanwhile, a bolt from the blue saw Ollie Jackson fire his AmD Tuning.com Audi S3 into sixth.

It was a morning for the front-wheel drive runners too, with the first rear-driven car, championship leader Sam Tordoff’s BMW 125i M Sport, landing 10th spot.

Over the course of the lunch break, the heavens began to open and the Dunlop Blu Response wets were prepared – not long since their last action out in race three at Croft.

The weather didn’t affect Ingram, who stole a march on the rest to the tune of three quarters of a second to top the timesheets once more in the Toyota Avensis – a car that was clearly dialed in to the demands of Snetterton throughout the day.

Adam Morgan had headed the times for the first half of the session before further running for Ingram saw him pushed down to third, with Michael Epps in the Team HARD-backed RCIB Insurance Racing Toyota pipping the WIX Racing man to second by a tenth – further encouragement for Tony Gilham’s squad after a positive Croft weekend.

Ingram said: “The car has felt really strong and we’ve just been playing around with different setups all day really. We’ve come up with a bit of a plan that we’ve been running through and we’ve just been trying to stick to it.

“On the Friday or Saturday of a race meeting you don’t get a lot of time to tinker with the car and setups, the geometry and differentials. It’s been nice to have a morning where you can come up with some ideas.

“We had a couple of runs on new tyres to see what the car does and obviously the car was quick enough for a very good time.”

There is more to come from testing at Snetterton, which is set to get underway in drier conditions from 9am on Thursday morning with a two-hour lunch break before an afternoon session which will end at 5pm. For coverage as it happens, follow the action on BTCC.net and across social media.

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Testing – Snetterton, Wednesday AM:

1 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport 1m55.932s
2 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Pirtek Racing +0.484s
3 Daniel LLOYD (GBR) Eurotech Racing +0.699s
4 Jeff SMITH (GBR) Eurotech Racing +1.049s
5 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport +1.161s
6 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) AmD Tuning.com +1.236s
7 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +1.317s
8 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +1.341s
9 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +1.391s
10 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 with GardX +1.405s

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Testing – Snetterton, Wednesday PM:

1 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport 2m14.990s
2 Michael EPPS (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +0.733s
3 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +0.828s
4 Aron SMITH (GBR) BKR +0.919s
5 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +1.261s
6 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +1.853s
7 Hunter ABBOTT (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +2.220s
8 James COLE (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +2.230s
9 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Pirtek Racing +2.358s
10 Dan LLOYD (GBR) Eurotech Racing +2.472s

Snetterton will be holding a major Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship tyre test on Wednesday 29 June and Thursday 30 June.

All 32-cars are expected to participate, with some of the teams running new larger-dimension Dunlop tyre compounds at different stages over the course of the two days, which are currently being assessed for the 2017 season.

For many the test will also provide an opportunity to lap the circuit ahead of the BTCC rounds at the Norfolk circuit on 30/31 July. It's also a chance for the drivers to get some laps in during the championship's summer break, and for spectators to see the cars in action, with entry to the venue free of charge.

The sessions will run from 9:00am to 5:00pm. Tyrrell's restaurant and bar will be open from 7:30am until 5:00pm, serving food and drink throughout the day.

The BTCC Media Team will provide updates during the test, so please ensure you're following our social media feeds by clicking on the links above.

Tickets for the BTCC at Snetterton on 30/31 July are available online from £27, with free entry for under-13s. For more information call 0843 453 9000 or click here.

A number of tin-top drivers took to the famous Goodwood Hill at the weekend (24-26 June), with Andrew Jordan winning the Festival of Speed’s BTCC shootout.

Sam Tordoff led the way on Friday morning in his Team JCT600 with GardX BMW, as the Yorkshireman signalled his intentions on topping the bill.

“The event is part of BMW’s centenary celebrations so I really want to win it,” he said.

Jordan began to take control as the weekend progressed, however, and he was more than three seconds faster than his nearest BTCC rival in wet conditions.

The surface began to dry ahead of Sunday’s main Shootout run, as Matt Neal looked to have gambled successfully with a switch to dry tyres.

His time of 56.30s edged out the young trio of Tordoff, Josh Cook’s MG and Adam Morgan’s Mercedes, with the likes of Jason Plato’s Subaru and Kelvin Fletcher’s Chevrolet well out of contention.

It wasn’t enough to stop Jordan’s Pirtek Racing Ford, however, as the Motorbase Performance man blasted his Focus up the hill in just 55.50s to take the honours.

“Everyone said it was just a bit of fun, but of course you want to win it once you’re there,” he said. “The first few runs were just about scrubbing tyres but then we went three seconds quicker than the rest on wets.

“The only concern was the tyre choice for the Shootout. Matt chose slicks and we stuck with wets – I was pleased with the outcome.

“It’s a great event and fun to drive; the tyre temperatures are so low and you go into it a little blind. I’ve always liked driving on feel though rather than by numbers, so it’s enjoyable. Of course the weekend was about having fun but it’s still great to win for the team and all our sponsors.”

No fewer than nine BTCC drivers are taking on the Goodwood Hill at this weekend’s (24-26 June) famous Festival of Speed, with the tin-top shootout getting underway earlier today.

Honda, MG, Subaru, BMW, Ford, Chevrolet and Mercedes BTCC cars are all represented and it was WSR’s Sam Tordoff earning bragging rights on the morning run – the Yorkshireman’s BMW 125i M Sport was fastest of the 2016 BTCC crop and seventh overall from nearly 50 competitors.

“I am really excited,” said Sam. “It was a cagey lap to be honest and I’m sure the pace will get faster as the weekend progresses. It’ll be competitive too. The event is part of BMW’s centenary celebrations so I really want to win it.”

Tordoff, Ash Sutton, Josh Cook, Jason Plato, Matt Neal, Gordon Shedden, Andrew Jordan, Kelvin Fletcher and Adam Morgan will all get timed opportunities over the weekend with Sunday being the main event, but not all of them are in competitive mood.

“I’m just trying to decide how many of my BTCC rivals I can wipe out,” joked reigning champion Gordon Shedden. “We’ll have some fun over the weekend. It’s all about the crowd and it’s a great event.”

Jordan eventually topped the times on Friday as he edged out Tordoff by just three tenths of a second. The 2013 BTCC champion starred in his Pirtek Racing Ford Focus, but also wowed the crowds in a World Rallycross car later in the day.

“I’ve been warned that I can’t get a scratch on the car as we take it straight to the Snetterton test from here,” said Adam Morgan, who was third behind Jordan and Tordoff. “But I’ve been told there’s a nice watch on offer to the winner so that changes everything!”

You can keep up with live timing and results of the event at http://www.tsl-timing.com/event/162522 and the official BTCC website will feature a review early next week.

A huge crowd enjoyed two days of high-octane entertainment as the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship sped into Croft last weekend (18/19 June), with doorhandle-to-doorhandle duels aplenty, a new name in the winners’ circle and lots of local cheer.

The BTCC is invariably a popular fixture when it arrives in North Yorkshire, and this year was no exception, as some 30,700 fans poured through the circuit’s gates to be rewarded with a full weekend of flat-out, wheel-to-wheel action.

The UK’s premier motor sport series is in rude health right now, and Croft duly delivered three different winners. Silverline Subaru BMR Racing’s Colin Turkington claimed the curtain-raiser, before Team JCT600 with GardX star Rob Collard took opportunistic advantage of a tangle between Turkington and team-mate Jason Plato in race two to tally his second victory of the campaign.

The heavens opened before the finale, setting the scene for a palpitating encounter. Having already reached the rostrum for the first time in his BTCC career earlier in the day, MG Racing RCIB Insurance ace Ashley Sutton fairly scythed through the spray and past his rivals to make his maiden appearance on the top step of the podium, bringing the thousands of fans thronging the grandstand and grass banking to their collective feet.

Yorkshireman Sam Tordoff, meanwhile, arrived at his home circuit leading the championship by a single point and left again 12 points clear of his nearest pursuer, but he had to work hard for it along the way. On the weekend that team sponsor JCT600 celebrated its 70th anniversary, the West Surrey Racing star battled back from early engine issues and pulled off some stunning overtaking manoeuvres before concluding his challenge with a second-place finish.

Fans were similarly enthralled by the performance of Scorton’s Max Coates, who sped to his breakthrough triumph in the Renault UK Clio Cup following a spellbinding scrap with former champion Mike Bushell, in so doing vaulting himself into title contention in his rookie campaign in the series. Fellow support categories the Ginetta Junior Championship, Porsche Carrera Cup GB, F4 British Championship and Ginetta GT5 Challenge generated similar thrills ‘n’ spills.

Emmerdale actor Kelvin Fletcher – competing in his first BTCC season with Power Maxed Racing – was understandably the focus of plenty of attention, but he was far from the only celebrity in attendance, with cameo appearances from co-star Nick Miles, TT motorcycling legend John McGuinness, Geordie Shore’s James Tindale and former British long jump record-holder Chris Tomlinson.

“The BTCC is always a crowd-puller when it comes to Croft, and this year was no different,” commented circuit manager Mike Cantelo. “It was great to see so many people here enjoying the fantastic action on-track, and there were plenty of happy faces following the popular Pit-Lane Walkabout which provided the opportunity for selfies and autographs.

“It was a very successful weekend, and now that the dust has settled and the team trucks have departed, we are already busily and eagerly preparing for the Croft Nostalgia Festival in August. With an irresistible blend of retro racing, period fashion and music and military might, it’s shaping up to be the biggest and best yet!”