Honda BTCC team takes home trophies - before the 2013 starts!

Gordon Shedden celebrates with the rest of the Honda BTCC team

Technical Director, Barry Plowman, recieves the MIA Teamwork Award

The Honda Yuasa Racing team have kick-started 2013 in a winning fashion by adding four more top achievements to their awards cabinet.

Hot off dominating the 2012 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship by claiming all three titles on offer, the Honda Yuasa Racing Team has been named as the winner of the ‘Teamwork’ Award at the prestigious Motorsport Industry Association (MIA) Business Excellence Awards.

Jayne Thomas from the MIA commented; “The MIA Awards are for business excellence and the Teamwork Award recognises the significant and varied management issues which must be overcome, throughout the season to win any major motorsport Championship.

“Honda Yuasa/Team Dynamics showed stunning teamwork throughout 2012 – with a clean sweep of both the drivers’ and team titles in the Dunlop MSA BTCC Championship.”

Barry Plowman, Technical Director at Team Dynamics, who collected the trophy at the Awards ceremony which took place at the 2013 Autosport Show added; “To be nominated for this award against high-profile competition such as Red Bull Racing, Silverstone Circuits, and the RML/Chevrolet WTCC team was a great achievement in itself, but to go and win is a fantastic accolade and one which everybody involved in our 2012 BTCC programme should share.

“The MIA award is very special in that it is voted for by industry peers who really understand the scale of what it takes to succeed at this level, it’s an incredibly proud occasion for us”
Not only were the team recognised by industry peers, the fans have also spoken. The readers of TouringCarTimes have voted the Honda Civic the best car of the 2012 British Touring Car Championship and Honda Yuasa Racing as the best team, while Gordon ‘Flash’ Shedden topped the driver vote by a landslide.

These accolades are a great finish to a fantastic year which saw the Honda Yuasa Racing team and drivers Flash and Matt Neal behind the wheel of the NGTC specification Civic dominating the 2012 season by claiming a total of 13 victories throughout the year.

The season ended on a high at Brands Hatch in October with Flash claiming his first Drivers title and the team collecting the Manufacturers/Constructors title and HiQ Team’s trophy.

Peter Crolla, Team Manager, Team Dynamics, concluded; “It’s great to receive recognition from the readers of TouringCarTimes for these three awards and it adds to the team’s motivation in the build-up to the start of the 2013 season.

“Everybody at Honda Yuasa Racing worked incredibly hard to hit the ground running with the new Civic at the start of 2012 and to deliver the results we did in the first year of a new car, built to new regulations was a fantastic achievement. We’ve continued to develop the car during the winter so we’re looking forward to starting our testing programme in the coming weeks and doing it all again!”

The Honda Yuasa Racing team will once again be lining up on the grid when the 2013 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship kicks off with qualifying at Brands Hatch on 30 March.
Fans can follow all the Honda Yuasa Racing Team’s exploits on Facebook and Twitter - www.facebook.com/HondaRacingBTCC and www.twitter.com/hondaracingbtcc

Pop Bang Colour artist paints Gordon Shedden's BTCC Honda

This weekend racing fans got a real treat at Europe’s largest dedicated motorsport exhibition, The Autosport Show, as drivers from all areas of motorsport came together to celebrate racing on four wheels.

This year’s Autosport Show illustrated a real celebration of the Honda Yuasa Racing team and current British Touring Car Champion Gordon ‘Flash’ Shedden. Contemporary British artist Ian Cook, known as PopbangColour, paints using only radio controlled cars, car tyres and toy car wheels and as the Honda Civic Type R was the first car Ian painted in this unique way, he felt right at home tackling a Honda again.

Gordon Shedden’s 2012 BTCC winning Honda Civic was a natural choice for this year's Autosport Show. While working on a project in Europe during the final round of the 2012 BTCC season, Ian used the Popbangcolour Twitter feed to announce that he would create the car that won the championship as an artwork at Autosport. With Flash crowned champion, Ian arranged to create the artwork live on the Popbangcolour.com stand on the public days of the event.

Painting in front of a live audience and to a deadline, with the world watching on social media channels, adds its own challenges. When asked about how he feels about performing with an audience, Ian commented, “I love the pressure of people watching an artwork being created, whether they are attending the event in person or watching the artwork unfold online.” Ian continued to say “The Autosport Show offers the perfect event to produce such an artwork, as there are many BTCC and race fans there to watch and share my progress across social media platforms.”

Ian’s work of the BTCC Civic unfolding was shown live on the @HondaRacingBTCC Twitter feed as well as the @Popbangcolour Twitter feed throughout the event, with further images uploaded to www.facebook.com/HondaRacingBTCC.

We met Ian Cook last year - and we'll be bringing you an update from the paint splattered one from this year's show soon - meanwhile, here he is painting a very special art work at the 2012 Autosport show

Honda Retains Shedden and Neal for 2013

Matt Neal leads the BTCC Pack at Silverstone - Number 1 passes to team mate Gordon Shedden next season.

Honda Yuasa Racing has announced that Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal will once again spearhead the team's challenge in the 2013 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship after coming first and second in the Driver's titles and scooping both the Manufacturers and Team prizes in the new Civic this year.

2012 brought Team Dynamics many challenges in the BTCC with new regulations and a new car. Operating out of Pershore, Worcestershire, Dynamics under the leadership of Steve Neal and Team Manager Pete Crolla, built and tested the Civic to the new NGTC rules in record time with Matt winning at the Brands Hatch opener at the season start. Matt has now won three championships with Honda and Gordon scooping his first title win in 2012.

Commenting on the year's success both Gordon and Matt had a special thanks for all the fans who they said gave them the strength to fight every step of the way. Gordon said, "It's been a long road for both of us and without the fans who have endured some very wet races this year, we could not have achieved this success. Their support has been amazing."
Honda UK and title sponsor Yuasa Battery Sales (UK) Ltd will continue their winning partnership next year.

Take a look at Honda's YouTube channel for a short video from the driver's announcing their continued partnership and spreading a little holiday cheer http://bit.ly/UXicID
To see an overview of everything that happened this season go to http://www.honda.co.uk/cars/btcc/ 

The title race goes to the line after Silverstone suprises

                                

                                  PLATO & JACKSON SHARE WINS AT SILVERSTONE TO
                                   SET UP FOUR-WAY BRANDS HATCH TITLE-DECIDER

Jason Plato, with two wins, and Mat Jackson shared the victories in three astonishing Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship races in front of a mammoth 30,000 crowd at the Silverstone circuit in Northamptonshire today. Ultimately four drivers – Gordon Shedden, Plato, Matt Neal and Andrew Jordan – will go into the 2012 season’s final three races, on Brands Hatch’s legendary Grand Prix circuit in a fortnight (20/21 October), with a chance of being crowned Champion of Britain’s premier motor racing series.

After achieving his fifth pole position of the year – also his third in a row – with a qualifying lap record on Saturday, Oxford’s Plato went on to win today’s first race in his MG KX Momentum Racing MG6, but only after Jackson’s Redstone Racing Ford Focus cruelly retired from the lead with just a few laps to go.

Finishing second and third were Inverness’s Dave Newsham in his Team ES Racing.com Vauxhall Vectra and, with his first podium result, Jackson’s team-mate Aron Smith from Dublin. Fife’s Shedden took seventh in his Honda Yuasa Racing Team Honda Civic but Worcestershire team-mate Neal and Lichfield’s Jordan, in his Pirtek Racing Civic, both retired.

Warwickshire's Jackson then won race two ahead of Hook’s Robert Collard (eBay Motors BMW) and Newsham with a quite incredible drive from 17th on the grid, this time after Plato retired from the lead. Jackson also set a new race lap record as he notched up the first victory for his squad’s NGTC-spec Focus. Shedden was again seventh with Jordan ninth while Neal suffered another retirement when his car spectacularly caught fire.

It was then Plato’s turn to wow the crowds as he came through from 20th to win race three ahead of Jackson and Collard. Shedden was sixth and Jordan seventh but, almost unbelievably, reigning Champion Neal retired again, this time after being forced off the track into a barrier.

As a result, Shedden still leads the table by 15 points from Plato who has moved past Neal into second overall. Neal is 31 behind Shedden and Jordan 61 adrift with a possible maximum of 67 still available from ‘Finals Day’.

An ecstatic Plato commented: “Despite the retirement in race two this is still one of the best days in my BTCC career. We’ve made more progress with our MG6 – in fact it’s a rocketship – and our tails are well and truly in the air. For MG to go into the final round with a chance of lifting the title in its first year back in the championship is fantastic and I really believe we’ve got the Honda boys worried.”

Shedden, from Dalgety Bay and who is aiming to become Scotland's first BTCC Champion since John Cleland in 1995, said: “We knew this was going to be our bogey circuit so today was about picking up what crumbs we could – I don’t think we could have wrung any more out of the car. I expect us to be fully back on song at Brands Hatch which has got lots of high-speed corners where our Civic comes into its own. I’d take points in the bag any day and I’m feeling good about our chances.”
Neal added: “Today has been a shocker but I’m not out of it yet – there are still a lot of points to be won at Brands and I’ll be going there with all guns blazing. Jason’s MG will be strong there and our main objective is to get a Honda over the line in first. Gordon is obviously better placed to do that so is the priority…”

Jordan will also go to Brands still with a healthy lead in the Independent Drivers Championship, although can still be caught by Collard, Jackson and eBay Motors’ Tom Onslow-Cole. He admitted: “Let’s be realistic. There’s no way the outright championship is possible so my focus will be to stay ahead of my Independent rivals. Rob has effectively halved the gap to 28 points but there are only 60 left at Brands and our car will be much stronger there.”

Jackson was delighted with his results today which marked his return to the podium since Thruxton in April. “A win from 17th, a second and a new lap record in a car that is still only two months old and it could have been two wins… I couldn’t be happier for everyone in my team,” he said.

Elsewhere Honda/Dynamics is all but assured the coveted Manufacturers/Constructors title. Similarly the Honda Yuasa Racing Team is a red hot favourite to retain the outright HiQ Teams Championship although can still be caught by eBay Motors. But it will be a three-way fight for the Independent Teams Trophy at Brands between new leader eBay Motors, Pirtek Racing and Redstone Racing – just ten points cover the trio with a potential 60 up for grabs in the finale.

Meanwhile a number of drivers were punished today by BTCC officials for on-track indiscretions. Race 1: Andy Neate, fined £500 and three penalty points on his competition licence for an incident with Andrew Jordan; Tony Gilham, official reprimand and two penalty points for an incident during a safety car period; Lea Wood, fined £500 and three penalty points for an incident with Liam Griffin. Race 3: Lea Wood, fined £500 and three penalty points for an incident with Matt Neal; Rob Austin, excluded from the results and four penalty points for an incident with Daniel Welch; Frank Wrathall, fined £500 and three penalty points for an incident with Dave Newsham; Andrew Jordan, received a verbal warning for making contact with another car.

Plato storms to Silverstone Pole

PLATO ON POLE AT SILVERSTONE
AS HONDA RIVALS STRUGGLE

 

Jason Plato has taken pole position in this afternoon’s Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship qualifying session at Silverstone as points leader Gordon Shedden struggled in a lowly 19th.

Oxford’s Plato took his fifth pole of the season – also his third in a row – with a best lap of 58.717s in his KX Momentum Racing MG6. That is a new BTCC qualifying lap record around Silverstone’s 1.64-mile National circuit.

Warwickshire’s Mat Jackson was second fastest in his Redstone Racing Ford Focus which had been repaired following a practice session prang and Lancashire’s Frank Wrathall third in his Dynojet Toyota Avensis.

Robert Collard’s eBay Motors BMW, Dave Newsham’s Team ES Racing.com Vauxhall Vectra and Daniel Welch’s Welch Motorsport Proton Persona were next up to make it six different makes of car in the top six.

But the two championship leaders Shedden and Matt Neal in their factory Honda Yuasa Racing Team Honda Civics were in major trouble. Neal, the reigning Champion, was only tenth and Shedden a disastrous 19th on a circuit that both had already hinted would be difficult for them because of their car’s lack of straightline speed.

Fife’s Shedden will go into tomorrow’s three races three points ahead of Neal with Plato a further 29 back and a possible maximum of 67 available. Andrew Jordan, 11th in his Pirtek Racing Honda, Collard and his team-mate Tom Onslow-Cole who was eighth in qualifying plus Jackson all still have a chance of winning this year’s title as well.

Plato commented: “Gordon only 19th – that’s a shame, isn’t it? You shouldn’t wish ill on your rivals… but I do. Hopefully the conditions will stay dry for tomorrow because clearly we’re in great shape and a good points haul will really make this championship come alive for us. Things have a way of evening themselves out and maybe here it’s our turn after some bad luck.”

A dejected Shedden, from Dalegty Bay, added: “We knew this was going to be our bogey circuit but we didn’t expect it to be this bad – the pace simply isn’t there. As the championship leader I’ve also got to start the first race tomorrow carrying maximum success ballast in my car. The only positive from that session is that it’s over.”

Meanwhile Jackson was delighted with not only his best qualifying performance so far in 2012 but also the best yet for his squad’s new NGTC-spec Focus. He enthused: “It’s going really well this weekend despite the off earlier in practice. The gap to Jason is quite large when you look at how close it is behind but the Focus is the only other car to get into the 58-seconds bracket and we’re learning all the time. I’m feeling good about tomorrow.”

Wrathall, who turned 26 earlier in the week, said: “I’m delighted with third. It’s such a tight lap with each place decided by the tiniest fractions so it’s important we qualified well.”

SILVERSTONE The countdown begins

 The countdown begins. 

Little more than a week remains before Northamptonshire’s world-famous Silverstone circuit (Sat 6/Sun 7 Oct) hosts the crucial penultimate round of this year’s Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship. The three races at Silverstone will decide who will then still be in with a chance of winning the UK’s most prestigious motor racing title on Finals Day at Brands Hatch in Kent a fortnight later.

Seven drivers can mathematically still be crowned BTCC Champion in 2012, namely Honda Yuasa Racing Team team-mates Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal who lead the way, MG KX Momentum Racing’s Jason Plato, Pirtek Racing’s Andrew Jordan, eBay Motors pair Robert Collard and Tom Onslow-Cole and Redstone Racing’s Mat Jackson.

Arriving at Silverstone it is Hampshire’s Collard, Surrey’s Onslow-Cole and Warwickshire’s Jackson who will be most under pressure to perform if they are to keep their fading title hopes alive. All are presently more than 67 points adrift of leader Shedden with that then being the maximum available when the cars take to the legendary Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit for the season finale on the weekend of 20/21 October.

Of the four ahead, two wins for Scotsman Shedden last weekend at Rockingham, also in Northamptonshire, have moved him into the championship lead by three points from Worcestershire’s Neal. Shedden has never won the BTCC before while Neal is looking to retain his crown from last season – achieved when he defeated Shedden at Silverstone – and make it four titles to his name.

For Oxford’s Plato, himself a double BTCC Champion, Silverstone is very much his home event as it is for Lichfield youngster Jordan who, like Shedden and Neal, races a Honda Civic. All three Honda drivers, though, are expecting to struggle around Silverstone’s high-speed National circuit and Plato, in his MG6, will be hoping they are right.

Plato is currently 32 points behind Shedden with a maximum of 67 available from Silverstone’s three races. What’s more his MG team-mate Andy Neate, another local from nearby Aylesbury, will surely be out to aid Plato’s chances by stealing vital points away from his Honda rivals…

Silverstone’s short lap and long, wide straights never fail to deliver plenty of doorhandle-to-doorhandle entertainment for fans. Indeed the view from Woodcote corner of cars slipstreaming and fanning out five abreast along the Wellington Straight is one of the most evocative of the season.

As ever ‘the home of British motor sport’, easily accessible from across the Midlands just off the A43 dual carriageway between the M40 and M1 motorways, is making its big BTCC weekend hugely popular among audiences both young and old. Adult tickets for race day (Sunday) start from just £29 if booked in advance with admission for accompanied children aged 15 and under FREE all weekend. All admission includes access to grandstands, the main central BTCC teams’ paddock and Sunday’s specially organised autograph session with the star touring car drivers.

To book in advance visit www.silverstone.co.uk or call the ticket hotline 0844 3750 740.

In addition to the BTCC’s three penultimate races of 2012 which headline the event a further 12 races for the Ginetta GT Supercup, Ginetta Junior Championship, Porsche Carrera Cup, Renault Clio Cup and guesting Formula Renault BARC categories are also in store during the weekend.

Honda Dominates Rockingham

Neal's Civic leaves Plato's MG in it's wake - despite Matt's broken hand!

The Honda Yuasa Racing Team returned to winning ways in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship with two victories at Rockingham last weekend.

Gordon ‘Flash’ Shedden took his seventh and eighth wins of 2012 to take the lead in the drivers’ table, while Matt Neal overcame a hand injury to score two podium finishes.

After qualifying second, Shedden chased home the similar NGTC Honda Civic of Andrew Jordan to finish third in the first dry race, three places ahead of Neal, who was involved in several close battles.

When the rain arrived ahead of race two, things got even better as the Civic’s chassis came into its own.

After a careful start, Shedden worked his way up to second and took the lead when Jordan made a mistake at Deene after a restart.

Neal also made progress through the field, reaching second on lap eight of 18.

Gordon Shedden takes his place at the lead

Such was the dominance of the Civics that Shedden was able to slow down and allow Neal to overtake him to score an extra point for leading a lap before Neal slotted back in behind.

Starting eighth and ninth for the reversed-grid race, and with 45kg and 36kg of success ballast respectively, Shedden and Neal had a lot of work to do. But a fantastic opening lap by Neal got him to second, while Shedden soon fought his way through the field too.

They moved into first and second before battling for the win, and running side-by-side on the high-speed banking. Flash it was who won out, heading another Honda Yuasa Racing one-two.

“That was a much better weekend than we expected,” said Shedden. “If you get two one-twos it’s a good weekend!

“As soon as it rains we can show we have a great chassis.”

Gordon Shedden lifts his (slightly wet) trophy

Shedden also pointed out that his race three battle with Neal demonstrated how much each respects the other. “We went side-by-side through Turn 1 at Rockingham in the wet!” he added. “That shows how much we trust each other.”

Neal was also happy with his performances while driving with a strapped right hand. “After qualifying it looked ominous and I thought we would really lose a chunk of our points lead,” he said.

“The MG was strong all day, but the wet plays to our strengths.

“We had three very strong finishes for the manufacturers’ and teams’ championships, and it hasn’t done me or Gordon any harm either.”

Shedden now leads Neal by just three points in the drivers’ standings and is 32 clear of the best non-Honda driver, while the squad comfortably heads the manufacturers’ and teams’ tables.

The Honda Yuasa Racing Team’s next outing takes them to Silverstone, scene of the climax to their successful 2011 campaign, on October 6-7.
Fans can follow the Honda Yuasa Racing Team’s exploits on Facebook and Twitter - www.facebook.com/HondaRacingBTCC and http://www.twitter.com/hondaracingbtcc 

STUNNING SHEDDEN SHINES

Gordon Shedden celebrates victory at Rockingham

Jason Plato and Gordon Shedden shared the wins in today’s three exhilarating Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship races at Northamptonshire’s Rockingham circuit. Two of the wins went the way of Scotsman Shedden who has now taken over the championship lead as the title race stays in the county for its penultimate three races of the season at Silverstone in a fortnight (6/7 October). Plato had taken pole position with a new qualifying lap record on Saturday in his MG KX Momentum Racing MG6. He duly went on to dominate today’s first race, held in dry conditions, and set a new race lap record en route. Pirtek Racing’s Andrew Jordan and Honda Yuasa Racing Team star Shedden were second and third in their Honda Civics. But then conditions changed dramatically as heavy rain settled in for the rest of the day, this enabling Shedden and Neal to take a pair of dream 1-2 results for their team in both the second and third races. Plato finished behind them on each occasion in third. As a result Shedden leaves Rockingham with a three-point lead over Neal. Plato is a further 29 behind with a maximum of 134 still available from the season’s final six races – three each at Silverstone in two weeks and Brands Hatch, Kent a fortnight later (Sun 21 Oct). Dalgety Bay’s Shedden, who has now won eight times in 2012, commented: “I’m delighted – it seems ages since we won a race so to score a pair of 1-2s is just great for everyone in our team. The rain certainly helped us today as Jason had been looking very strong if it had stayed dry. Importantly we’ve maintained a decent gap to him as we’re expecting him to have the upper hand at Silverstone.” Worcestershire’s Neal, the reigning Champion who has driven this weekend in pain from a broken hand, said: “I’m just pleased to get through the weekend. Gordon was unstoppable in those conditions but a pair of seconds and a sixth are probably better than I thought was possible. We’re expecting Silverstone to be tough but this really helps thinking ahead to Brands Hatch.” Oxford’s Plato added: “We’ve managed to hold the gap to the Honda drivers, even take a little nibble out of them, at what is one of the strongest circuits for their car so I’m satisfied with that. Silverstone is going to be all-important, though – ultimately I want us to go to the final round so there’s a proper showdown for the people watching.” Meanwhile Honda/Dynamics and the Honda Yuasa Racing Team continue to dominate the Manufacturer/Constructor and outright HiQ Teams championships respectively. Jordan has moved further clear at the top of the Independent Drivers Championship. And his Pirtek Racing squad has also regained the Independent Teams Trophy lead. Elsewhere several drivers were punished by officials for on-track indiscretions today. Race 1: Jeff Smith, fined £500 and three penalty points on his competition licence following an incident with Aron Smith. Race 1: Matt Neal, verbal warning following an incident with Rob Austin. Race 2, Jason Plato, verbal warning for performing practice starts. 2012 Dunlop BTCC Drivers’ Points after Rockingham (round 8 of 10): 1. Gordon Shedden, 336 2. Matt Neal, 333 3. Jason Plato, 304 4. Andrew Jordan, 287 5. Robert Collard, 247 6. Tom Onslow-Cole, 228 Manufacturers/Constructors’ Points: 1. Honda/Dynamics, 767 2. MG/888, 579 HiQ Teams’ Points: 1. Honda Yuasa Racing Team, 644 2. eBay Motors, 490 3. Pirtek Racing, 414 4. Redstone Racing, 374 5. MG KX Momentum Racing, 367 6. Team ES Racing.com, 182 Independent Drivers’ Points: 1. Andrew Jordan, 352 2. Robert Collard, 294 3. Mat Jackson, 285 4. Tom Onslow-Cole, 281 5. Frank Wrathall, 196 6. Nick Foster, 189 Independent Teams’ Points: 1. Pirtek Racing, 385 2. eBay Motors, 377 3. Redstone Racing, 359 4. Team ES Racing.com, 247 5. Dynojet, 125 6. Speedworks Motorsport, 203 *All points remain provisional

BTCC heads north to Knockhill

Gordon Shedden (pictured leading) will be hoping for a win or two in front of his home BTCC crowd at Knockhill this weekend when the Fife circuit celebrates 20 years of touring car action.

There is now less than a week to go before the UK’s premier motor racing championship – the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – makes its annual trip to Scotland and one of the most spectacular circuits on its calendar, Knockhill in Fife which hosts the series’ latest three races this weekend (Sat 25/Sun 26 August).

 

With its off-camber corners and blind brows, Knockhill is rated by many as one of the toughest driving challenges of the BTCC season. Furthermore its trackside crowd is among the most passionate of the year as tens of thousands of people turn out to cheer on their home heroes, namely, in 2012, Dalgety Bay’s Gordon Shedden and Inverness-based Dave Newsham.

 

Shedden, vying to become the first Scotsman since John Cleland in 1995 to win the BTCC title, will arrive lying second in the standings to his Honda Yuasa Racing Team team-mate Matt Neal who pipped him to last year’s crown. Meanwhile Newsham, driving a Team ES Racing.com Vauxhall Vectra, will go into the event truly on a confidence high following his first race win in the BTCC just over a week ago at Snetterton in Norfolk.

 

Making 2012’s event extra special is the fact that this year Knockhill is celebrating 20 years of BTCC action. Almost every living Scottish driver to have graced the BTCC grid at Knockhill during the past two decades will be present, including Cleland who will be reunited with his famous Vauxhall Cavalier for several demonstration laps. A number of iconic BTCC cars will also be present, including a Honda Accord once raced by the much missed David Leslie.

 

Shedden is now the most successful Scottish driver in the BTCC in terms of race wins and also boasts an unrivalled six victories to date in 2012.

Three of his 27 career wins have come in front of his home fans at Knockhill and he commented: “It is just going to be a phenomenal weekend for Scottish sport. The BTCC is always spectacular, particularly so at Knockhill because of the nature of the circuit and the fact it falls at such a crucial time in the calendar. After this weekend we start to get a picture of who are the men most likely to be in with a shout as we get to the business end of the season.

“I was a kid watching the likes of John Cleland from the spectator banks when the BTCC first came here 20 years ago and this year’s event is going to be a hugely important landmark in both Knockhill’s and Scottish motor sport’s history.”

 

While Shedden hopes to close down the gap to leader Neal in Sunday’s three races – he is eight points adrift with 20 awarded per win – he will also be wary of his pursuers. Jason Plato, with two titles and a record 71 race wins to his name, is just two points further back in his MG KX Momentum Racing MG6. Plato has also achieved an unrivalled eight career wins to date at Knockhill…

 

In all seven drivers – Neal, Shedden, Plato, Newsham, Andrew Jordan (Pirtek Racing Honda), Robert Collard (eBay Motors BMW) and Mat Jackson (Redstone Racing Ford Focus) – have won races so far this season. Others, including Frank Wrathall (Dynojet Toyota Avensis) who took a career-first pole position in qualifying at Snetterton last weekend, have shown they are more than capable of mixing it with the title protagonists as well.

 

Keeping the BTCC crowds at Knockhill this weekend (25/26 Aug) further entertained will be an additional 11 races for the supporting Porsche Carrera Cup GB, Ginetta Junior and Ginetta GT Supercup categories as well as the ‘guesting’ Celtic Speed Mini Cooper Cup and Scottish Classic Sports & Saloons series.

 

Rory Butcher (Kirkcaldy) and Glyn Geddie (Aberdeen) are among the front-runners in the Carrera Cup – indeed Butcher still has a realistic chance of winning the crown. Charlie Robertson (Aberfoyle), aged 15, is also a title contender in Ginetta Juniors while Fergus Walkinshaw (Edinburgh), son of the late, great Scottish touring race winner and team boss Tom Walkinshaw, is one to watch in the GT Supercup.

 

Admission to the event is FREE all weekend for accompanied children aged 12 and under. Tickets for adults will remain on sale at special advance rates until Saturday (25 Aug) via the www.knockhill.com website or by calling 01383 723337.

Apologies for the interruption to posts. This is due to technical difficulties to do with our RSS feeds.

Wrathall beats Plato to take his first Pole Position

Frank Wrathall narrowly beat Jason Plato to achieve his first BTCC pole position at Snetterton Norfolk.

Frank Wrathall has spectacularly taken the first pole position of his Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship career at the Snetterton circuit in Norfolk.

 

The 25-year-old from Preston achieved pole in a time of 1m57.595s in his Dynojet Toyota Avensis to pip former double Champion, Oxford’s Jason Plato in his MG KX Momentum Racing MG6 by just 0.015s.

Motorbase debured the new Focus ST

 

Wrathall’s pole is the first for a Toyota driver in the BTCC since 1993 and also a qualifying record for the championship around the Snetterton track.

 

Inverness’s Dave Newsham was also close to pole, just 0.054s away from Wrathall in third in his Team ES Racing.com Vauxhall Vectra.

 

An elated Wrathall said: “That was very close as Jason and I were trading fastest times but in the end I came out on top. I’d come back into the pit lane and knew he was out there giving it one final go, but it seems he made a mistake and went off the track – when the team told me I was shouting a lot in the car! To beat a driver of his stature makes it all the more rewarding and I’m delighted.”

 

Plato replied: “Congratulations to Frank – it’s always nice to see a young driver doing well, even if it is at my expense! The important thing is I’m ahead of the two drivers I’m chasing for the title and from here can start thinking about taking points back off them.”

 

And added Newsham: “Finally the Vectra feels like it did back at the start of the season when I had three really strong opening events. From what we’ve seen in the earlier practice sessions our tyre wear rate is also excellent so I’m hoping for three very strong races tomorrow.”

 

Marshals rush to put out Gordon Shedden's burning Honda

There were career-best qualifying results, too, for Preston's Adam Morgan and Fleet's Daniel Welch – a fine fifth and sixth fastest in their Speedworks Motorsport Toyota and Welch Motorsport Proton respectively.

 

That'll polish out. The mechanics had the car out later on.

But there were major frustrations for the two championship leaders, Honda Yuasa Racing Team team-mates Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden. Worcestershire's Neal was a lowly seventh by his standards and Fife's Shedden 22nd and last after on-going problems with his Civic – which had suffered a major fire in practice this morning – prevented him from setting a time.

 

Elsewhere Warwickshire's Mat Jackson, another of the championship’s top names, qualified the Redstone Racing team’s all-new Ford Focus ST an encouraging 16th fastest on its debut. The Focus, only completed at 7.00am, becomes the seventh different make of car to be built to the BTCC’s new and much-applauded NGTC regulations…

 

Meanwhile Neal will go into tomorrow’s three BTCC races at Snetterton leading the standings by a point from Shedden. Plato is a further 28 back with 20 awarded for a race win. All the action will be shown live on the ITV4 and ITV4 HD channels plus www.itv.com in a seven-hour show from 11.00am-6.00pm.

 

Top positions, Dunlop BTCC qualifying, Snetterton, Sat 11 Aug 2012

1. Frank Wrathall (GBR), Dynojet/Toyota Avensis, 1m57.595s
2. Jason Plato (GBR), MG KX Momentum Racing/MG6, +0.015s
3. Dave Newsham (GBR), ES Racing.com/Vauxhall Vectra, +0.054s
4. Andrew Jordan (GBR), Pirtek Racing/Honda Civic, +0.538s
5. Adam Morgan (GBR), Speedworks/Toyota Avensis, +0.610s
6. Daniel Welch (GBR), Welch Motorsport/Proton Persona, +0.668s
7. Matt Neal (GBR), Honda Yuasa Racing Team/Honda Civic, +0.957s
8. Lea Wood (GBR), BINZ Racing/Vauxhall Vectra, +1.104s
9. Tom Onslow-Cole (GBR), eBay Motors/BMW 320si, +1.286s
10. Jeff Smith (GBR), Pirtek Racing/Honda Civic, +1.620s

Pictures courtesy of BTCC.net

Teams prepare for Snetterton : Honda

The two Hondas squabble for position at Croft. Can they bring home success at Snetterton?

Matt Neal and Gordon ‘Flash’ Shedden will be defending their lead in the MSA Dunlop British Touring Car Championship as the Honda Yuasa Racing Team heads to Snetterton this weekend.

After a long summer break, the duo will be making its second race visit to the 300 version of the Norfolk circuit, this time with the title-leading NGTC Honda Civics.

Despite being at the top of the table, the squad has been working hard over the break so that it can continue its fine run. Work has been ongoing with the chassis as the boost restrictions in the series are still limiting the Civic’s straightline speed.

“Our engines have been away for a check over and we’ve been tweaking bits and bobs,” says points leader and reigning champion Neal. “Everyone’s learning the NGTC package and we’ve had the best grip of it so far, and we’ve got a few new bits to try.”

The triple champion had a difficult time at Snetterton last year on his way to the title, but he still likes the new layout, which was used for the first time in the BTCC in 2011.

“We’ll get left on the straights at Snetterton, so we’ll have to work in the corners,” he said. “[MG driver and rival] Jason Plato will be there, and so will the Fords, but we should be in the mix again.

“The 300 circuit still has long straights, but it’s more technical than the old layout, which should help us. I enjoy it – I loved the old circuit, but I like the new one even better. It’s challenging.”

Shedden, who is just one point behind Neal in the drivers’ table, did win a race at Snetterton last year and is not worried about the lack of testing he has had since the last BTCC round at Croft.

“We had quite a few things we needed to make changes too and we focused on those rather than running,” he said.

“There are a lot of corners at Snetterton, but there are a lot of straights too. You’re flat in sixth on the start/finish straight, again on the straight behind the pits, and again on the Bentley Straight. It’ll make it a bit tricky, but we’ll have to make the most of the corners.

“It’ll be the usual suspects and I can see the Fords and BMWs being quick. The racing was quite good last year, but it’s quite easy to defend.”

As well as leading the drivers’ table with its two stars, the Honda Yuasa Racing Team leads the team’s table and the manufacturers’ championship heading into the weekend.

The Snetterton action gets under way at 09:35am on Saturday with free practice. Qualifying is at 3:15pm, and the first of three races on Sunday is scheduled for 12:00.

In addition to heading to the circuit or watching ITV4’s live BTCC TV coverage, fans can also follow Honda Yuasa Racing’s exploits on Facebook and Twitter for news and race results as the action happens - www.facebook.com/HondaRacingBTCC and www.twitter.com/hondaracingbtcc

BTCC : Shedden and Jackson share wins at Thruxton

Shedden leads Jackson at a soaking wet Thruxton

Warwickshire’s Mat Jackson and Fife’s Gordon Shedden, the latter with a victory double, shared the wins in today’s three rain-soaked Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship races at the high-speed Thruxton circuit in Hampshire.

Oxford’s Jason Plato continues to lead the points table but only just from new second-placed man Shedden as Britain’s premier motor racing championship now heads to the spectacular Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire for its next three races on the weekend of 9/10 June.

Staffordshire’s Andrew Jordan had headed Saturday’s qualifying session to line up on pole position for the first of today’s races. But it all went wrong for the Pirtek Racing driver at the first bend as his Honda Civic tangled with Plato’s MG KX Momentum Racing MG6 and crashed.

This left the way clear for Jackson to reel off his second win of the season in his Redstone Racing Ford Focus ahead of Inverness’s Dave Newsham in his Team ES Racing.com Vauxhall Vectra and Plato. Newsham’s second place was the best of his career so far. Having started from lowly 18th and 19th spots after a disastrous qualifying session, Shedden and team-mate Matt Neal, the reigning Champion, were sixth and tenth.

Shedden was unstoppable in race two as he quickly made up positions to pass Jackson for the lead and a comfortable win. Plato took second ahead of Jackson in third. Neal was fifth. In race three Shedden and Neal then simply romped clear of the opposition to give Honda a dream 1-2 result. Third, adding to earlier fifth and fourth place results, was the impressive Frank Wrathall in his Dynojet Toyota Avensis. Plato was fourth.

 

As a result, Plato leaves Thruxton holding a four-point lead from the charging Shedden. Next up are Neal, Jackson and Hampshire’s Robert Collard who, on his home track, took a fourth and two seventh places today in his eBay Motors BMW.

 

Plato enthused: “We’ve had zero running in the wet before with the MG so to take away a big points haul on a rainy day is very pleasing. We’ve got a big test programme planned between now and Oulton which should really enable us to make big gains with the car.”

Dalgety Bay’s Shedden, who also set the fastest lap in all three races at Thruxton, added: “Two wins at Donington a fortnight ago and another two wins today… it’s been a mega weekend, even if qualifying didn’t go our way. The Civic’s chassis really came into its own today in the wet and round the fast corners but it’s still early days.”

And commented Droitwich Spa’s Neal: “It’s been a bit of a scruffy day for me so to get on the podium in the third race was a good way to finish – and of course it’s another great result for Honda. The main thing is I’ve come away still in the hunt but it’s extremely competitive out there.”

Jackson, from Henley in Arden, said: “The conditions today haven’t been ideal for the Focus which runs a slightly smaller tyre compared to the Honda and MG so I’m delighted by what we’ve achieved today. It’s all about consistent scoring and not letting the others escape at this stage.”

Meanwhile, Honda/Dynamics and the Honda Yuasa Racing Team have extended their respective leads in the Manufacturers/Constructors and HiQ Teams championships respectively. Jackson and Redstone Racing have taken over at the top of the Independent Drivers and Teams standings.

 

Elsewhere, two drivers were today penalised for on-track incidents. Redstone Racing’s Liam Griffin was handed a time penalty in race three which relegated him from 11th to 12th place while team-mate Aron Smith was officially reprimanded and had two penalty points added to his competition licence for an incident in the previous round at Donington Park.

Honda returns to Thruxton

Shedden was victorious last time out at Donington Park

 Honda Yuasa Racing Team stars Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden will be looking to continue their strong start to the 2012 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship as the series moves to Thruxton this weekend.

Neal and Shedden have already taken victories in the first season of the NGTC Honda Civic, and Thruxton provided a great weekend for them in 2011. Shedden led a Honda one-two in race one last year, while Neal returned the favour in the second encounter.

Thruxton is a test of speed over handling - Dunlop has even made special tyres!

Shedden, who currently lies fifth in the standings while Neal sits in second, is certainly a Thruxton fan. “I’ve had some great results there and some terrible times with punctures,” he said. “It’s always been exciting!

“Thruxton is a unique challenge. You either take to it or you don’t and I love it.”

Despite BTCC rules limiting the Honda’s turbo boost and restricting their straightline speed, many other cars have been allowed more boost for Thruxton under the championship’s lap-time equalisation regulations. Shedden hopes the Civic’s fine chassis will help negate the disadvantage.

“You need a good, balanced chassis, but it’s the fastest track in the UK so you need straightline speed as well,” said Shedden, who will also run with 9kg of success ballast compared to Neal’s 36kg. “The target is to score as many points as possible. I’m reasonably light so hopefully that will help in qualifying, then we’ll see how it pans out.”

The high-speed Hampshire circuit is notoriously hard on tyres too, and Dunlop has produced special rubber for the event. Despite suffering no problems last year, Shedden believes the switch to the NGTC Civic creates an unknown. “It’s a completely different beast, so it’s a clean sheet of paper really,” he said. “It’s a different tyre and we don’t know how the set-up will work with it.

“The first two practice sessions will be crucial, but Matt and I will work together to find the right set-up for qualifying.”

Reigning champion Neal, who is just four points behind the points leader, also believes tyres will be key. “The 18-inch NGTC tyre is meant to be more bulletproof than the old one, but no-one has run the new tyre at the speed and with the weight we’ll have,” he said. “On paper it should be better.”

Despite a mixed history with the circuit, Neal also likes racing at Thruxton. “It’s never been a happy hunting ground for me, but I love it,” he added. “It’s unspoiled and is a big-commitment circuit.

“They’ve flattened the chicane this year so it will be a learning curve to see how much speed you can take through there, but apart from that I don’t think it’s changed since I first raced there in the BTCC in the early 1990s.”

The Thruxton action gets under way at 09:30am on Saturday with free practice. Qualifying is at 3:20pm, and the first of three races on Sunday is scheduled for 11:37am.

As well as heading to the circuit or watching ITV4’s live BTCC TV coverage, fans can also follow Honda Yuasa Racing’s exploits on Facebook and Twitter for news and race results as the action happens - www.facebook.com/HondaRacingBTCC and www.twitter.com/hondaracingbtcc

Honda top of table after successful Donington Park Meeting

Gordon Shedden scored a pair of victories - one after a penalty for Jason Plato demoted the MG driver.

Matt Neal had some bad luck at Donington Park

The Honda Yuasa Racing Team moved to the top of the manufacturers’ and teams’ tables in the 2012 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship with an impressive performance at Donington Park last weekend.

Despite only being in its second race meeting with the new NGTC Civic, the squad took two wins and five podium finishes across the three races.

Last season’s championship runner-up Gordon Shedden overcame the bad luck he experienced at Brands Hatch earlier in the month to finish a fine second in the first race, just 0.229 seconds behind winner Mat Jackson, before winning races two and three to record his best ever weekend in the championship.

“I think at the end of first practice I’d done more laps than I had during the whole weekend at Brands!” he said. “I was trying everything just to get some points – it was critical for me after Brands – and there were some shenanigans with other drivers in race three.

Shedden’s three podiums move him up to fifth in the driver standings, 15 points behind leader Jason Plato, and he is now ready for a championship fight.

“We’re six races in and you can see how quickly the tide can change – just look at what happened to Matt in race three – but it was crucial for me to have such a good weekend,” he added. “The car was good and consistent all weekend but the game is moving on and there’s a whole lot happening with other teams.”

Shedden’s team-mate, reigning champion Matt Neal, also scored good points at Donington. He followed Shedden home in the first two races – helping the Honda Yuasa Racing Team to its first one-two of the season in the second encounter – and believed a podium was possible in the reversed-grid finale. However, a multi-car incident. triggered by Rob Collard’s BMW, resulted in Neal being spun into the McLeans gravel.

“In race three the car was feeling great,” confirmed Neal. “It was just a catalogue of events and I ended up the worst off, but that’s life.”

“It was a really positive weekend for the team – three podiums for Gordon and two for me. We’ve overhauled MG in the manufacturers’ and teams’ table.”

Despite the race-three disappointment, Neal is only four points away from the championship lead in second. “It’s early days, but it’s always nice to have big points in the bag,” he added. “Every time we go out we understand the NGTC Civic more.”

The squad’s next outing at the end of the month will be at the high-speed Thruxton circuit in Hampshire, where Neal and Shedden each took wins last season.

Fans can follow the Honda Yuasa Racing Team’s exploits on Facebook and Twitter for news and race results as the action happens - www.facebook.com/HondaRacingBTCC and www.twitter.com/hondaracingbtcc

Shedden's success moves Honda into the lead of the BTCC Constructor's championship.

BTCC : Crashes and Controversy at Donington Park

Shedden (52) leads the pack to victory, meanwhile Plato and Collard fall foul of each other.

Mat Jackson and Gordon Shedden shared the wins in today’s three highly-charged Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship races at Leicestershire’s Donington Park circuit. But it is Jason Plato who, despite a crash, still leads the points table as Britain’s premier motor racing series heads south for its next three races at the fastest circuit on the calendar, Thruxton in Hampshire, on the weekend of 28/29 April.

 

Plato had given his MG KX Momentum Racing MG6 a first-ever pole position in Saturday’s qualifying session. But he could only finish fourth in today’s first race behind Jackson’s Redstone Racing Ford Focus ST and the Honda Yuasa Racing Team Honda Civics of Shedden and team-mate Matt Neal.

 

Shedden then led home Neal in race two for a dream 1-2 result for the factory Honda squad with Jackson following in third. It also meant the season’s first five races had each been won by a different driver, while Neal now took over the championship lead after Plato crashed out in a tangle with Robert Collard’s eBay Motors BMW.

 

In race three Jackson crossed the line in first ahead of Plato and Shedden. But officials then demoted Plato to third with a time penalty after they judged he had unfairly bumped Shedden off the track at the final bend. Officials also later excluded Jackson from the results after it was discovered his car had exceeded the permitted turbo boost limits, meaning the Warwickshire driver had to be content with just the one win on home ground.

 

His exclusion also meant Shedden inherited the victory ahead of Plato and a jubilant Tony Gilham who, in his Team HARD. Honda Civic, had achieved a maiden top three result as well as his first maximum score in the Independent Drivers Trophy. Plato also moved back to the top of the standings as Neal, the reigning Champion, span out of the race in a clash with Pirtek Racing Honda driver Andrew Jordan.

 

Oxford racer Plato, aiming for a third BTCC title in 2012, commented: “It’s been a very topsy-turvy day for me. The speed of the MG was clear for all to see with that brilliant pole position lap but then things just didn’t go our way in the races. My crash was just a racing incident but then to drive through from 17th to finish on the podium in race three again underlined just how special the MG is and I believe it will fly at Thruxton.”

Worcestershire’s Neal said: “Everything was going great until race three – a third in race one and then a great result for Honda in race two. But race three showed just how quickly it can all change in the BTCC and now I find myself chasing Jason again as we go to Thruxton. But the main thing is we’re still right in the hunt and my Honda won’t have quite so much success ballast to deal with as his MG around there.”

Following a torrid opening round two weeks ago at Brands Hatch, Fife ace Shedden, who becomes the first driver to win twice in 2012, has vaulted to sixth in the championship. He said: “I feel we’ve got our just rewards today despite Jason’s best efforts! The Honda has been fantastic all weekend around Donington and that’s a great sign for Thruxton where again having a good car in high speed corners counts for a lot. It’s the perfect way to bounce back after Brands Hatch and my championship is now back on track.”

Jackson was left to rue what might have been, saying: “Losing the win in race three is a big blow but a win and a third in the first two races are still two very good results. It’s shown we’re capable of taking it to factory teams and I’m going to Thruxton fully intent on rattling their cages again.”

 

Meanwhile Honda/Dynamics and the Honda Yuasa Racing Team respectively have moved to the top of both the Manufacturers/Constructors and HiQ Teams championships. Jordan and his Pirtek squad have also increased their leads in the Independent Drivers and Teams title races.

 

Elsewhere a number of teams and drivers were penalised by officials at Donington Park. MG KX Momentum Racing, Rob Austin Racing and Thorney Motorsport all received verbal warnings for moving their cars into their pit garages without permission before the session had ended. Chris James received an official reprimand and 2 penalty points on his competition licence for an on-track incident in race one plus, later, a further 3 penalty points and a £1000 fine for using abusive language and behaviour within the venue. Jeff Smith, Dave Newsham and Andrew Jordan received verbal warnings for on-track incidents. Jason Plato received a 2-second penalty for gaining an unfair advantage on-track. Mat Jackson was excluded from the results of race three for a technical infringement.

 

2012 Dunlop BTCC Drivers’ Points after Donington Park (round 2 of 10):

1. Jason Plato, 84 points

2. Matt Neal, 80

3. Andrew Jordan, 76
4. Robert Collard, 71

5. Gordon Shedden, 69
6. Mat Jackson, 60

 

Manufacturers/Constructors’ Points:

1. Honda/Dynamics, 168

2. MG/888, 160

HiQ Teams’ Points:

1. Honda Yuasa Racing Team, 146

2. Pirtek Racing, 129

3. eBay Motors, 112
4. Redstone Racing, 104

5. MG KX Momentum Racing, 93

6. Team ES Racing.com 54

Independent Drivers’ Points:
1. Andrew Jordan, 98

2. Robert Collard, 80

3. Mat Jackson, 70
4. Jeff Smith, 69
5. Tom Onslow-Cole, 59

6. Dave Newsham, 56

 

Independent Teams’ Points:

1. Pirtek Racing, 102

2. Redstone Racing, 92
3. eBay Motors, 91

4. Team ES Racing.com, 75

5. Team HARD., 65

=6. Speedworks Motorsport & BINZ Racing, 46

*All points remain provisional