Inside BTCC - Issue 12 - Snetterton (August 2012)

INSIDEBTCC.COM issue 12: aug 2012

PLUS - TIM PLATO GIVES US A FATHER’S VIEW...

BACK IN ACTION

ADVANTAGE NEAL AS RACING RESUMES AT SNETTERTON

SNETTERTON PREVIEW / LATEST RESULTS & POINTS / MUCH MORE...

Still/PSP

Inside BTCC

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WELCOME...

After a break that seemed to go on forever, it’s time for the BTCC title battle to resume at Snetterton this weekend with the latest three rounds of the season.

In this latest edition of Inside BTCC, we look back at all the action from the final meeting prior to the summer break at Croft, which ended with Honda pair Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden separated at the top of the standings by just a single point.

Can the chasing pack close up on the Honda duo this weekend in Norfolk? Time will tell as we look ahead to the sixth round of the season and the resumption of a title fight that has plenty of twists and turns still to come...

on the career of double champion Jason Plato from someone who knows him better than most – his father Tim. We also speak to Motorbase boss David Bartrum for his views on NGTC, and find out what former racer Martyn Bell is doing with Frank Wrathall’s Dynojet team.

As per usual, we’ll be on site at Snetterton to catch all the action live and you can follow us on Twitter at @InsideBTCC to get all the updates from each BTCC session over the course of the weekend.

Until next time...

Away from the racing on track, we have some pretty interesting features for you to check out, including an in-depth interview

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Inside BTCC

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Inside BTCC

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S T TEN

N O C

IN THIS ISSUE...

SNETTERTON PREVIEW Looking ahead to rounds 16, 17 & 18

6-7

CROFT REVIEW All the action from rounds 13, 14 & 15

8 - 11

BELL’S NEW ADVENTURE Frank talking with former racer Martyn Bell

12 - 13

A FATHER’S TALE We talk to Jason Plato’s father, Tim

10 - 13

TALKING TURKINGTON Former champ says series has ‘lasting appeal’

14 - 19

MOTORBASE EVALUATES THE FUTURE David Bartrum talks NGTC

20 - 23

NEWS IN BRIEF Latest from inside the BTCC paddock

26 - 27

10 QUICK QUESTIONS Tania Mann

32 - 33

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS Points tables after Thruxton

34 - 35

THE SEASON SO FAR Results at-a-glance

36 - 37

ABOUT INSIDE BTCC...

Inside BTCC is an independent publication that is in no way endorsed by, or affiliated to the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship or its organisers.

Photos are credit PSP IMAGES (www.psp-images. co.uk) or JAKOB EBREY (www.jakobebrey.com) unless otherwise stated.

To get in touch, please email: CONTACT@INSIDEBTCC.COM. Written, produced and edited by Matt Salisbury and Matt Lamprell.

Front cover images: Main - Matt Neal (Still/PSP); Top right - Plato, father & son (jakobebrey.com).

Back cover: Grid girl (jakobebrey.com).

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Inside BTCC

Dzenis/PSP After the traditional summer break, which has actually been the second break in the action this year, the BTCC will burst back into life this weekend with the second meeting to be held on the new-look Snetterton 300 circuit.

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SNETTERTON PREVIEW

With Olympic fever gripping the country, more red-hot action looks assured as the field heads for Norfolk, with an interesting battle developing at the head of the standings in the fight for the title.

Inside BTCC

By contrast, Shedden has taken a victory in each of the past two seasons at Snetterton and will be eager to try and overhaul his partner to ensure that he ends the weekend on top of a standings – something which would then enable him to head for the following event on home soil at Knockhill as the championship leader.

Thus far, the NGTC Honda Civic has been the class of the field and is expected to be right on the pace again, although the chasing pack haven’t been relaxing over the summer break.

Dzenis/PSP

Matt Neal heads the way for Honda but is just a single point ahead of team-mate Gordon Shedden going to a circuit where he hasn’t enjoyed the best of luck in the past. Neal has only two victories to his name at Snetterton in the past, the last of which came back in 2006 when he secured honours in race three. That season was also the one where he was caught up in a controversial clash on the final lap of race two with arch rival Jason Plato.

LOOKING AHEAD TO ROUNDS 16, 17 & 18

Jason Plato for one will be keen to bring the gap to the two Honda men down on the back of his second win of the year with the new MG6 at Croft prior to the summer break, with Triple Eight – the team behind the programme – having been hard at work trying to improve its own NGTC-spec machine.

Plato is the most successful driver on the grid at Snetterton having won on no fewer than nine occasions, www.insidebtcc.com

with three victories in the past two years alone. Given that he secured victory last year with a normallyaspirated car on a circuit that was better suited to the turbo-powered runners, Plato is expected to challenge for honours again this time around on the longest circuit on the schedule as he seeks to main inroads into the 29 point lead Neal has over him in the standings.

Behind the top three, Rob Collard and Andrew Jordan are level pegging on 171

points and have been busy testing ahead of Snetterton, with Collard’s eBay Motors team eager to build on the progress made at both Oulton Park and Croft prior to the summer break. Collard will also seek to continue his run of scoring in every race so far this season.

Mat Jackson rounds out the top six heading to Snetterton and will hope for a strong weekend at the wheel of his Ford Focus at a circuit where he hit the championship top spot for the first time

twelve months ago. Jackson will spearhead a two-car Redstone Racing team this weekend with Liam Griffin missing due to business commitments.

Elsewhere, Tom Onslow-Cole and Rob Austin will hope their outings in the VW Cup last weekend help their BTCC preparations (see News in Brief for more) while at the back of the field, there will be a return this weekend for both Tony Hughes and John Thorne.

Hughes missed Croft due to commitments elsewhere and was replaced by Paul O’Neill, while Thorne will be making his first outing since Donington Park having worked on developing his Vauxhall Insignia away from the circuit.

Snetterton should be an interesting weekend – expect the unexpected.

SNETTERTON

RECENT HISTORY 2011 Pole

Jason Plato, Chevrolet Cruze

Race One

Jason Plato, Chevrolet Cruze

Race Two

Gordon Shedden, Honda Civic

Race Three

Mat Jackson, Ford Focus ST

2010 Pole

Alex MacDowall, Chevrolet Cruze

Race One

Jason Plato, Chevrolet Cruze

Race Two

Jason Plato, Chevrolet Cruze

Race Three

Gordon Shedden, Honda Civic

2009 Pole

Jason Plato, Chevrolet Lacetti

Race One

Fabrizio Giovanardi, Vauxhall Vectra

Race Two

Fabrizio Giovanardi, Vauxhall Vectra

Race Three

Colin Turkington, BMW 320si

Pole

Jason Plato, SEAT Leon TDi

Race One

Jason Plato, SEAT Leon TDi

Race Two

Jason Plato, SEAT Leon TDi

Race Three

Mat Jackson, BMW 320si

Pics: PSP Images

2008

2007 Pole

Colin Turkington, BMW 302si

Race One

Gordon Shedden, Honda Civic

Race Two

Fabrizio Giovanardi, Vauxhall Vectra

Race Three

Tom Onslow-Cole, BMW 320si

2006

SNETTERTON STATS LENGTH

2.99 miles

2012 RACE LAPS

12

RACE DISTANCE

35.88 miles

Pole

Jason Plato, SEAT Leon

LAP RECORD (QUALIFYING)

1m 58.691s (Jason Plato, 2011)

Race One

Jason Plato, SEAT Leon

LAP RECORD (RACE)

Race Two

Jason Plato, SEAT Leon

1m 59.113s (Jason Plato, 2011)

Race Three

Matt Neal, Honda Integra

MOST WINS (1991-)

9 – Jason Plato

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Inside BTCC

TOP THREE WIN AT CROFT

Still/PSP

NEAL, SHEDDEN AND PLATO WIN IN YORKSHIRE BUT IT’S ADVANTAGE HONDA...

Inside BTCC

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MATT LAMPRELL REPORTS

SLENDER LEAD FOR MATT NEAL SINGLE POINT ADVANTAGE FOR NEAL AS HONDA YUASA RACING DUO DRAW CLEAR AT FRONT

Neal leads the championship standings, but it’s Shedden who now has six wins to his name, with Neal on four.

Newsham and Nick Foster off the line – all of whom ended up out of the race. It was enough to bring the safety car out at the end of the first lap.

It was Andrew Jordan who made the quickest getaway, but Shedden held on to lead through the first corner.

Rob Collard, in the first of the eBay Motors BMWs, made it up to fourth at the start and was soon challenging Matt Neal for third following the restart. Neal in turn started to apply the pressure to second placed Jordan, while Collard had to defend from Redstone Racing’s Mat Jackson.

Further down the order, there was contact between Dan Welch, Dave

The Honda 1-2-3 at the front continued, although Neal passed Jordan at the hairpin at the end

RACE ONE

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of lap six. Collard also managed to get the better of the Pirtek Racing driver.

Collard’s teammate Tom Onslow-Cole dropped down the order when he spun at Tower on lap eight.

In the second half of the race, Neal started to put the pressure on Shedden for the lead, first making a lunge down the inside towards the end of lap 11.

The Honda pair had Collard hot on their heels, so it was perhaps no surprise when Neal made an even more robust move to take the lead next time around at Tower.

Inside BTCC

Pics: Still/PSP

The 2012 BTCC season reached its halfway point at Croft and there were victories for Gordon Shedden, Matt Neal and Jason Plato.

RACE TWO Neal started race two from pole position after his first race victory, but it was Collard who led through turn one. Neal slotted into second, with Shedden third and defending from

Andrew Jordan.

It was a Honda 1-2 by the end of the first lap, with Neal ahead of Shedden.

Jordan moved up to third on the next lap and set about chasing the front pair. Shedden put Neal under pressure and got a run on his teammate to lead at Tower on lap three.

Behind them, Collard battled with Rob Austin for fourth, with the Audi claiming the spot.

Having failed to make the grid for race one with a throttle problem, MG KX Momentum Racing’s Jason Plato started the second race from the back

of the grid, but made rapid progress through the pack.

In the final few laps, Jordan struggled for pace in third and could do nothing to prevent Austin from taking the final podium place away from him. He then had to defend from both Collard and Onslow-Cole, with the two eBay Motors BMWs fighting hard.

1 Matt Neal (NGTC) 28:55.451; 2 Rob Collard (S2000) +0.401; 3 Gordon Shedden (S2000) +4.923; 4 Andrew Jordan (NGTC) +12.910; 5 Rob Austin (NGTC) +22.538; 6 Andy Neate (NGTC) + 27.387; 7 Tom Onslow-Cole (S2000) +30.369; 8 Mat Jackson (S2000) +30.972; 9 Will Bratt (NGTC) +37.738; 10 Aron Smith (S2000) +50.725.

Independent winner: Rob Collard.

Fastest lap: Tom Onslow-Cole (1:25.927).

RACE TWO TOP TEN: 1 Gordon Shedden (NGTC) 21:55.113; 2 Matt Neal (NGTC) +4.448; 3 Rob Austin (NGTC) +10.863; 4 Andrew Jordan (NGTC) +14.864; 5 Rob Collard (S2000) +14.961; 6 Tom OnslowCole (S2000) +15.280; 7

RACE THREE Pole position in race three went to Nick Foster, with Neate alongside him on the front row. Foster led, with Collard getting a great start to make it a BMW

1-2 at the end of the straight.

Tony Gilham landed in the gravel on the outside of turn one, which was enough to bring the safety car out at the end of the opening lap. Collard lost second to Andy Neate on the restart.

Frank Wrathall was fourth, ahead of Onslow-Cole and Jason Plato.

At the chequered flag, it was victory for Shedden. Neal claimed second despite slowing on the run to the line.

Austin finished third, ahead of Jordan in fourth. Collard claimed fifth, ahead of Onslow-Cole in sixth and Plato in

RACE RESULTS - TOP 10s RACE ONE TOP TEN:

seventh. Eighth went to Frank Wrathall, with Andy Neate ninth and Nick Foster in 10th.

Jason Plato (NGTC) +22.814; 8 Frank Wrathall (NGTC) +32.312; 9 Andy Neate (NGTC) +33.109; 10 Nick Foster (S2000) +39.335.

Independent winner: Rob Austin.

Fastest lap: Andrew Jordan (1:26.098) RACE THREE TOP TEN: 1 Jason Plato (NGTC) 29:53.281; 2 Tom OnslowCole (S2000) +2.595; 3 Andrew Jordan (NGTC) +5.703; 4 Matt Neal (NGTC) +5.951; 5 Rob Collard (S2000) +6.164; 6 Gordon Shedden (NGTC) +7.048; 7 Rob Austin (NGTC) +8.241; 8 Nick Foster (S2000) +11.056; 9 Andy Neate (NGTC) +14.133; 10 Daniel Welch (NGTC) +14.582.

Independent winner: Tom Onslow-Cole.

Fastest lap: Jason Plato (1:26.026).

jakobebrey.com

Collard chased Neal over the last few laps, but the Honda driver held on take his fourth win of the year. Shedden finished third behind the lead pair, with Jordan in fourth.

Rob Austin crossed the line in fifth, with Andy Neate sixth.

Tom Onslow-Cole beat Mat Jackson into seventh, despite broken steering on his BMW.

QUALIFYING REPORT Matt Neal claimed his first pole position of the year at Croft. It also marked the first pole position for Honda, with the Japanese marque having three of its Civic models filling the first three spots on the grid for Sunday’s first race.

Neal’s best time in qualifying was 1:24.900, which put him more than a tenth of a second ahead of Andrew Jordan in second.

With the threat of rain looming, there was an early burst of activity in the 30-minute session that saw Jason Plato on provisional pole. There was the chance of a surprise when Rob Austin, returning after skipping the Oulton Park rounds, went to the top of the times. However, Plato had

soon gone even quicker to displace the Audi driver.

Gordon Shedden was next to hit the front, only for Neal to blow him away with his pole-clinching time.

While the rain stayed away until after the session, noone could go quicker than Neal in the time that was remaining.

Behind the three Hondas, Frank Wrathall claimed an impressive fourth in the Dynojet Toyota Avensis, ahead of Jason Plato.

Rob Collard took sixth, with Rob Austin seventh and Mat Jackson eighth.

Andy Neate and Tom Onslow-Cole rounded out the top ten on the grid.

Good weekend: Matt Neal Another victory and leading the championship at the halfway point in the season.

Inside BTCC 10

Rob Austin Three top tens and an independent victory for the NGTC Audi driver.

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jakobebrey.com

A determined Plato was bidding to continue his record of visiting the podium at every meeting. First on his hit-list was OnslowCole’s BMW. Andy Neate made a lunge down the inside of Foster to lead on the fifth lap.

In fact, Foster found himself dropping from first to fifth in just a handful of corners.

As ever, Jason Plato was in the right place to make the most of what was going around him and was soon up to fourth.

A second safety car period followed after Liam Griffin and Lea Wood hit the tyre barriers.

Griffin’s Ford caught fire as its fuel ignited following the contact.

The safety car closed up the pack and Plato capitalised to go third ahead of Wrathall. Next up for Plato was the BMW of Collard. In the end, it was easy for Plato, as Collard locked up.

That left Plato in second, with just his teammate ahead of him and five laps remaining. While the double champion challenged for the

lead, he also had to defend from OnslowCole. However, Plato claimed the lead at Tower on lap 15.

Leaving Neate to fend off the train of cars behind him.

to race for, there is plenty of action still to come in the second half of the season.

As Plato led, Neate dropped down the NGTC STARS DOMINANT order, not helped by SEASON MID-POINT a nudge off the track If there were doubts second half. from Matt Neal.

It was victory for Plato, with OnslowCole second and Jordan third. Fourth position went to Neal, ahead of Collard, Shedden and Austin. Foster Neate and Welch completed the top ten.

That leaves Neal

Bad weekend: Jason Plato May have won race three, but another DNS in race one put MG star on the back foot from the start.

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in the lead of the championship, but just by a single point from teammate Shedden. Plato sits third, a further 28 points behind.

However, with more than 300 points still

at the start of the year about whether NGTC or S2000 would come out on top, we have our answer as the season heads into its

AT

Three times as many wins, double the fastest laps and four times more poles - it’s NGTC all the way.

NGTC S2000 Races won

9

3

Fastest laps

10

5

4

1

171

102

1161

852

Pole positions Laps led Points scored

Liam Griffin Ended the weekend with his Ford Focus on fire after heavy contact with the tyre barrier.

Inside BTCC 11

jakobebrey.com

BELL’S NEW ADVENTURE

Martyn Bell is back in the BTCC paddock this season with Dynojet – and has high hopes for the team’s young star…

Inside BTCC 12

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BELL TALKS FRANK

BY MATT SALISBURY

elsewhere.

At the end of the 2009 season, popular privateer Martyn Bell was faced with a difficult decision over his future in the BTCC.

It also left Bell free to take up a role elsewhere in the paddock, with the popular Lincolnshire racer taking up an offer to join Frank Wrathall’s Dynojet team, where he has taken on a front of house role looking after sponsors and corporate guests on a race weekend, making the most of the knowledge gained from running his own racing programmes for a number of years.

A fall while on holiday during the summer break had left Bell with an injured hip, and with a long-standing back complaint thrown into the mix, it was with a heavy heart that Bell – who had previously raced for both Geoff Steel Racing and TechSpeed – was forced to stand down from his drive for the 2010 season.

The aim had been to return to action for 2011 although it was in a non-competitive role that Bell made his comeback, working alongside Steel on a new BTCC running a BMW 320si. Things started well when Dave Newsham, moving into touring cars as the Clio Cup champion, picked up points on his debut at Brands Hatch, but a more difficult weekend at Donington proved to be his final outing in GSR colours before jumping ship to rivals Special Tuning.

Although the team managed to get back on track for the final two rounds of the season with Tony Gilham at the wheel – the final round with a turbo engine in the BMW – no deals could be struck for the 2012 season, leaving the team to focus on its commitments www.insidebtcc.com

“I’ve been drafted in to help this season with the hospitality side of things and looking after sponsors,” he said, “some of the mechanics that are involved in running a top line touring car team nowadays, It isn’t a case of just turning up with a van and a trailer, it is a huge task to make sure that a team is presentable and puts on a good show for its sponsors.

Dynojet are a friendly, family run team and when I was asked to join them - and it became apparent that Geoff wasn’t going to be out - I decided to give it a go and help out.”

Anyone who has been a fan of the BTCC in recent years will be well aware of Bell’s ‘gift of the gab’ – something which has made him he ideal figure to meet and greet guests over the course of the weekend.

However, entertaining corporate sponsors off track is only a small part of the experience, with Wrathall – a man who Bell sees very much as a champion of the future – then given the task of delivering the goods on track.

“When I raced, we needed every penny that we could to get the car on the grid so you learn how to treat sponsors right to make sure they get as much value as possible from their money,” he said. “It’s a case of under-promising and then over delivering. If they come to the circuit and go away having enjoyed themselves and got more out of the weekend than they expected, then it’s beneficial to everyone.

“You’ve also got to deliver on track and in Frank, we have a young, up-and-coming driver who I really do believe will be a champion if we can keep him on track. The lad is very talented and he is starting to show that talent. He had a difficult spell when he first came into the BTCC at the start of last year but the team knuckled down to overcome the early teething problems it had and never gave up. Now, the Toyota is starting to work for him and I have to admit that I’ve never seen as much effort put into a programme as I have from this bunch, who are the most dedicated

to the cause that I’ve ever seen from my time in racing.

“That’s what I like about being involved with the team.

I’m very passionate about my racing as is everyone in the team, and I feel like I’ve settled in well.”

However, although enjoying his new role within the Dynojet squad, Bell admitted that he does miss being behind the wheel himself having now not raced since being forced to retire from the final round of the 2009 campaign at Brands Hatch.

“I really do miss it,” he said, “especially in the run-up to the start when the revs are up and the lights are coming on. They always say that you should never say never, but I have to accept that I’m now 48 and have put on a few pounds since I stopped racing – plus the bottom line is that I need a new hip but can’t get one yet as they tell me I’m too young.

“I don’t like to say that I’m retiring but as the months go on, the chances of ever getting back behind the wheel of a touring car are getting slimmer. Realistically, while I will never write it off, I think the kind of role I’m now carrying out with Dynojet is where my future lies.”

Inside BTCC 13

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A FATHER’S TALE...

Inside BTCC 14

‘We can well remember a day when we almost broke down going past Silverstone with the caravan and we parked up in the car park. Jason’s mother said to me ‘I wonder if we’ll ever race here’. That was back in around 1983. Little did we know…’ www.insidebtcc.com

jakobebrey.com

BY MATT SALISBURY A father and son relationship is nothing new as far as the BTCC is concerned, with various examples through the years of families working together to go racing.

The 2012 season is a prime example, with Steve and Matt Neal at Honda, Mike and Andrew Jordan at Pirtek Racing, John and Dan Welch at Welch Motorsport and Frank Sr and Frank Wrathall at Dynojet.

However, elsewhere in the paddock there is one other father and son relationship that has been hugely successful for a number of years, albeit not in a working sense as far as the on-track action is concerned.

Whenever double champion Jason Plato is seen climbing from his car after winning a race, one of the first people he turns to – and someone always near the head of the queue of people waiting to congratulate him – is father Tim. From an early age, Tim helped to guide Jason’s www.insidebtcc.com

career and did so until he made the move into touring cars with Williams back in 1997, when he elected to take on more of a watching brief.

It all all started when Jason was just a youngster and Tim was dealing in cars.

Having taken in a go-kart as a part exchange, Tim had left the garage on business and when he returned to work, he was greeted by the sight of his son whizzing around the forecourt on that very go-kart.

It’s at that point that the story begins…

Tim Plato: When I pulled up, Jason was there going sideways round the forecourt in this go-kart and after me telling him off, which didn’t do any good, I thought it was probably a good idea to do something with it as Jason seemed to have natural balance and talent. We took the kart home and we used to go to the big tarmac car park of a local bakery to have a play around on a night. I knew the owner so it wasn’t a problem. We

then went out and bought a new kart and joined a local club and within twelve months Jason was British champion.

Inside BTCC: You say you took the kart in a part exchange so discovering the talent that Jason had…

Tim Plato: …was an accident, absolutely an accident.

My only background in motorsport was that my brother-in-law was Jan of Janspeed Engineering.

As a child myself I used to go to races when they were competing so I had the bug, but I had never done anything myself. So discovering Jason’s talent was a complete accident.

At the time he was, and indeed still is, very interested in music and I’d bought him an organ. It was quite an expensive one and he was very good, but he couldn’t do both. I gave him the option that he could have music lessons or he could do karting and there was no competition; he chose karting – which was

the more expensive option of the two! A year later he was British champion as I said, then we went into the European championship and it just went on from there.

That was in his formative years before he went to Newcastle College of Engineering.

Nine months later he said ‘I don’t want to do this. I want to go and work for a race team as the tea boy’ and he went off to work for TWR. He stayed with my parents in Oxford and we carried on karting before he decided he wanted to go to Formula Renault - missing out Formula Ford in the process. I was paying for it all then and he won the European Championship in that. I started to run out of money and we went to Formula Vauxhall with Martin Donnelly and by then, Jason had taken up work at Silverstone and Brands Hatch doing instructing as a lot of drivers do.

Tim Jackson persuaded him to join the new Renault Spider Championship and I have to admit that I wasn’t Inside BTCC 15

Up until 1996, I was totally involved with Jason both financially and also working with him. In karting, he and I would do everything.

We would build the karts, rebuild the engines, I would drive the van and tow the caravan as we went around Europe and it was a wonderful time. His mother was equally involved in the journey so its fair to say that the house had no carpet or new furniture as it all went on karting!

Inside BTCC: In those formative years, when you gave him the option of music or karting, what was your initial thought when he made the decision? While you want your child to be successful, you must also have been aware it was going to end up costing you a fortune…

Tim Plato: In those days, I was doing quite well so it didn’t really bother me and frankly, I didn’t see further than karting at the start. Karting for me, although it was very expensive, was still affordable and there were a lot of people who supported us, like the late Martin Hines. Jason was a works Zip driver so things like tyres and chassis didn’t cost us anything and it was a case of buying and maintaining the engine and sorting out the logistics.

That was affordable, as Formula Renault was relatively affordable as the start.

When you start getting to Formula Three – and in 1992 it was £300,000 for a season, which is an awful lot of money – it came to the point where we needed a big sponsor and they weren’t forthcoming so I sat Jason down for a chat. This was towards the end of my tenure with him, in terms of running and guiding him.

You have to be honest with your kids if it is getting hard and I said to him that he had to go out and start doing it for himself, and he did it beyond all my expectations. He is an exceptional marketer and very good salesman, he is very busy and aggressive and he has what all the top people have; a burning desire. He won’t let anything go. Yes, he has a lot of natural ability and is an exceptional racer, which comes from karting, but I do watch dads now and think they are going about things the wrong way.

They want to be a racing driver themselves and are doing it through their sons, which is wrong. Their sons are individuals and have to learn for themselves and the minute it becomes obvious that you have to let go, you have to let go.

In terms of what I do with Jason now, I do very little.

I advise him when he asks me and occasionally he does, but with his age, experience and his business acumen, he doesn’t need my help now.

Inside BTCC:

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very keen on that. However, Jason thought it was a good idea as the prize was a touring car test with Williams. Needless to say, he blew the championship apart in 1996, got the test with Williams, and blew Jean-Christophe Boullion away to get the drive.

He got the drive with Williams in the BTCC and really fell on his feet to secure a role with a top team. At the time, he was joining the grid when it was at its peak with bigname stars and a lot of manufacturer teams. What did you honestly expect when he entered touring cars and where did you think he was going to end up?

Tim Plato: I thought he was going to blow everyone away, honestly I did. Frankly he did in the first three races to get the first three poles.

That blew me away and it blew the paddock away as people didn’t expect it. I have to say that that - a guy coming in like Jason did from the lower formula rather than from F3000 or who was already a ‘name’ - was impressive.

Back then, teams were spending £5 million on a car per year and budgets were £10 million, which was huge money. I think Jason did touring cars a lot of good in terms of showing drivers from the lower formula that it could be done, as you didn’t get drivers coming up the ranks and making such an impression. I had every confidence that he would do well in touring cars, even though I was a singleseater man and I thought that single-seaters would be his route as he was exceptional in them.

jakobebrey.com

In those days, karting wasn’t as influential as it is in F1 now, thanks to people like Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen who came specifically from karting and had big backers. We Inside BTCC 16

all know what karting is to motorsport now, as people look it closely and someone like Lewis was picked up from karting at a very early age. Kimi came from karting and did a year of Formula Renault before being picked up by Sauber and everyone said it was too early. We know now that that was wrong.

In our day, unfortunately that wasn’t the case and you had to take money.

To be a test driver with Williams back then, you had to give Frank Williams close to £1 million – just to be a test driver. I didn’t have that and Jason made the decision himself – purely himself – that he wasn’t going to make it into Formula One because we didn’t have the money.

But there was a living to be made in touring cars.

As a parent, you have to say ‘Go with it boy. If you want to make a living out of motorsport, do what is good for you. You can’t just keep dreaming’. There are some kids in motorsport who, one has to say, are probably quite fortunate to have multi-millionaire fathers who are prepared to pay the money but very few of those reach the top.

One exception is Ayrton Senna, but the rest of the guys have done it the hard way. I respect Jason for his achievements and letting go in 1996 is one of the hardest things I’ve had to do.

As a parent, you want to be involved. You want to wrap them up and guide them because you think you know better and most of the time, you don’t. Even when they www.insidebtcc.com

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are young kids, they know better than you what is happening on the track. So I let go.

Inside BTCC: Do you think that split was a good thing for your relationship at the track?

You now have that watching brief and aren’t on top of each other all the time…

Tim Plato: Absolutely. The relationship from that moment on became one where I wasn’t Jason’s dad and picking fault or advising him as there were other people better suited to do that than me at both Williams and also with Mardi Gras when he was in the Spiders, as I’d started to let go then. Our relationship as two guys started then and the parent thing ended. It is a hard change and it is difficult to let go, but you have to do it.

The relationship changed to what we are today, which is great mates. I respect him enormously and being proud doesn’t come into it; you are proud when they are kids. I respect www.insidebtcc.com

him as a racing driver, as a businessman and as a dad who is doing extremely well. What his mother and I did for him in karting and in Formula Renault put him on a road, but his achievements today come from him. He is the one who has done it.

Okay, he isn’t perfect, but from the start in karting, I always told him to be himself and not to become a cardboard cut-out. I told him to sell himself and to be controversial as drivers are often told by marketing people to be the cardboard cut-outs like you see in F1.

That bores me and the fans don’t want that – they want to see characters and a bit of argy-bargy, which is what the BTCC is all about. Jason had done it in shed loads and he is a bit ‘marmitey’ in that you either love him or hate him, but his following outweighs the haters by a huge amount.

Like I’ve said, as a parent you have to let go and someone like Matt Neal must be in a very difficult position because it is his dad’s business and his dad

was a racer, and Matt has had to be in that position all the time, Has Steve ever let go? I doubt it, as I know the animal and Steve doesn’t let go. But it works for them. Tony Jackson is probably the other father who I involve myself with in terms of having a chat and he has let go as well I think – he has had to.

It had been a long and interesting journey and for his mum Linda and I, to see the little boy we used to take karting turn into what he is today has been a revelation. We spoke recently about Jason helping to set up the KX Akademy and becoming a board member of the BRDC last year and we can well remember a day when we almost broke down with the caravan going past Silverstone and we parked up in the car park. His mother said to me ‘I wonder if we’ll ever race here’. that was back in around 1983.

Little did we know he would one day, he would be a director of the BRDC and would have won so many races there.

The journey has been full of hardship, both financial and in the low-times, but there has been so much joy as well. He’s a top geezer as far as I am concerned.

Inside BTCC: Even after making it at Williams, there have plenty of highs and lows. He has more wins than anyone else and two championship titles to his name, but even that first title was tinged with disappointment because of the way his relationship with the team fell apart…

Tim Plato: The Vauxhall championship was very unpleasant at the time, but it was also part of the learning curve. As you well know, there are a lot of politics in this game, both external and also internally within the teams. He had signed up to be the number two driver in the first year (2000) but in the second year, the manufacturer told him he could race for the win. There were all sorts of internal politics but he eventually won the title and it was a learning curve for him, and for me on the outside looking in. It was Inside BTCC 17

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quite fraught mentally but he learnt a lot from it and he also learnt a lot from Alain Menu when the pair were together at Renault.

He was at the top of his game and Jason learnt a lot about how to operate within a professional team and how to build a team around him as Alain had done himself.

He eventually did it with Vauxhall, he certainly did it with SEAT, did it with RML and has done it again now with MG and Triple Eight. Through the years he has been improving and I actually think he is driving better now than he ever has done. He should have won – and he will tell you – at least another two championships, but Jason has never been a percentage driver. He doesn’t play the long game, he loves winning races and who am I to tell him otherwise? He is a down and out racer and I don’t think he regrets not playing the percentage game. ‘I’ll settle for second place’ – that just isn’t him.

Inside BTCC 18

Inside BTCC: What for you would be the highlights of Jason’s time in the BTCC? Is it the wins?

Is it the championships? Is it the way he has moulded some of these teams into what they have become?

Tim Plato: No. What has always stuck in my mind is getting that first pole with Williams as I couldn’t believe it. Then to do it again, and then do it again – that would have been a highlight.

Another highlight would have been overcoming the mental stress of his first championship. I can’t explain the mental pressure he was under there and he had to overcome that and learn from it.

I suppose the second championship with RML was quite refreshing because him and his engineer worked so closely together and built something that was quite special. The team did it together. Jason, his engineer and his number one mechanic worked very closely to get things right, and you could see it at

Brands Hatch GP where they were just sublime.

Even last year against the turbos, they couldn’t get near him when they should have done, and it was all down to chassis work. They are all highlights really. It’s just a continuing process for me.

Inside BTCC: He’s gone from being Jason Plato the son, to Jason Plato the racer and now we almost have Jason Plato the brand through his racing, his TV work and through his company Brandpilot.

So what do you think the future will hold for him?

Tim Plato: That’s a very good question.

I think, as Arthur Daley would say, ‘The world is your lobster’.

I think Brandpilot is going to explode; it’s doing it now. Heidi Johnson-Cash, his business partner, is probably the most astute businesswoman I have ever met – and I’ve met a few – but she is also a great mate of Jason’s and they work well together.

Most people see Brandpilot as just being motorsport related but it isn’t, and some of the contracts they have are more towards the motor trade and they are expanding into other areas.

I can see that become quite enormous.

How long will he stay in racing, which is probably your next question? I think Jason will surprise some people. I think he is driving better now than he has in the past as I already said, and he is as quick as he ever has been. I think people will be surprised.

Matt Neal is a few years older than Jason and he is still bloody quick, so as long as Jason is wanted and is getting paid, he will do it.

But the minute he decides, that will be it. There will be no delay.

You know the animal and if he feels he is losing some of his pace or he feels he isn’t enjoying it, then it will be a very sharp decision.

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MOTORBASE EVALUATES THE FUTURE

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Motorbase looks at its options when it comes to the 2013 season with a decision needing to be taken about putting together a full-blown NGTC programme for the new campaign

Inside BTCC 20

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Motorbase Performance, the team behind the Redstone Racing programme, will evaluate its future plans before making a decision about whether it will commit to an NGTC programme for the 2013 BTCC season.

Like rivals West Surrey Racing, Motorbase elected to stick with an S2000based car this year in the shape of the Ford Focus STs it raced last season rather than switching to a Next Generation Touring Car – as was the case with rivals Honda, Triple Eight and Pirtek Racing.

So far this season, the team has taken victories thanks to Mat Jackson but has also struggled to match the pace of the NGTC cars, which have won the majority of races so far in 2012.

The general consensus is that teams will need to make the switch to NGTC if they want to challenge for the title next year but, www.insidebtcc.com

in a frank and honest chat with Inside BTCC during the Croft race weekend prior to the summer break, Motorbase chief David Bartrum admitted that committing to Next Generation Touring Carspec machinery for 2013 was a big decision to make.

“We’re very much in the evaluation process at the moment,” he said, “and what we decide to do, I don’t know. It will be what is right financially as it is a big expenditure to become a constructor, which would be a new direction for us. We’ve always been a team that has bought cars and improved then if we could, as we did with the BMW and the Ford we have now – I prefer to forget the SEATs we had as they were just horrible!

Becoming a constructor is be a big decision to make and it is one I have to think about because there are other areas in motorsport where we are working and where we

want to be bigger. It’s whether it all fits in with the financial structure of what we are doing as a whole.

“In the past there was a world championship with people building cars so you could go to BMW, you could go to RML for a Chevrolet, could go to SEAT or could go to Dynamics in the UK for a Honda. That choice has gone and is partly why NGTC has come in. We need a system where we can get cars, but the reality is that the costs involved are quite frightening in the modern day.

“It is a tough world.

Sponsors are hard to find and keep at the moment, and they are driving a hard deal. They aren’t particularly interested in what you will spend to build a car - they want to talk about a running budget once you have built it. They want to be entertained and to get

the exposure they need; they aren’t going to pay us to go and build cars.

We have to find that money from our financial structure and it has to be right in the modern day.”

A key part of the NGTC rules has been a reduction in costs, with the initial announcement back in June 2009 stating that that the regulations would ‘dramatically reduce the design, build and running costs of the cars and engines’ and would ‘reduce reliance on WTCC/S2000 equipment, due to increasing costs/complexity and concerns as to its future sustainability/direction’.

At that point, the target was to have a target price of £100,000 per car ‘ready to race’ with engine costs on top of that, although Bartrum insists that the costs involved had already increased.

“The costs have crept up, and have crept up quite a Inside BTCC 21

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BY MATT SALISBURY

jakobebrey.com

lot,” he said. “I think the most sensible man in the paddock is Mike Jordan, as he managed to do a deal with Dynamics for two cars, and even though it was a bit of a unknown as the cars hadn’t run, you know you are going to get a good car from someone like Dynamics.

He quantified his costs and he knew how much each car would be, how much his spares would be and was able to work out how much it would cost to have everything in his truck for this season.

“Mr Jordan is the clever man in the paddock and I’m envious of him at the moment because I can’t do that, as I’d have to build cars and don’t know how much they will come to. I know they have set a price for NGTC cars, but in reality, the first one or two will cost more because you have all the initial tooling and design work to carry out. We have people in the team who can do it Inside BTCC 22

and isn’t unfamiliar to us, its just whether I want to finance it or not.

“It’s all about finding the money in winter to do it and build the cars.

But even then, you need all the spare parts, the wheels, the tyres, the gear ratios. Once it is running, it will be a cheaper series in terms of running, but when you take the initial costs of building the car and lay it over the budget for three years, it doesn’t change much initially.”

Aside from running the Redstone Racing programme in the BTCC this season, Motorbase has also made its return to the British GT Championship, running a pair of Porsche 997s in the headline GT3 class.

It has already been a successful return to GT competition for the team despite the late nature of the deal and Bartrum insisted that GT racing

would play a big part of the team’s future.

“As a business, I am responsible for the wages of a lot of people and have obligations,” he said, “Moving into GTs allowed me to make sure things were sound. I’m not saying touring cars isn’t, but GT racing works in a different way when it comes to financing things.

It is very much financed by drivers and what they can afford, so you don’t have to worry about bringing in sponsors as much as in the BTCC. It is a good way of keeping the lights on if you don’t get on with something else.

“It’s been a challenge to run two programmes but we have two good crews to run the two programmes. With the GTs, we got one new car six weeks before the first round and did minimal testing with that as we were busy tearing the car apart and then building it

up again to learn as much as we could. Porsche were brilliant with us.

We got a second hand car two days before the first round and had to rebuild that to get it to Oulton Park; Porsche even sent over the parts truck from Germany to help as they knew we were on the back foot and I was really impressed with that kind of commitment from them.

“We’ve hit the ground running very much.

Danielle [Perfetti] and Michael [Caine] in one car are a good pairing, Steve [Parish] was kind of left on his own in the second car so we took the decision to bring in Nick Tandy to help calm him down and teach the car. We took Nick to the Nurburgring as well and have been bang on the pace. Going forwards, GT racing is going to be a big part of Motorbase.”

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Inside BTCC 24

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Inside BTCC 25

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NEWS IN BRIEF | NEWS IN BRIEF | NEWS IN BRIEF

Redstone down to two Redstone Racing will only run two cars at Snetterton this weekend after work commitments ruled Liam Griffin out of the event.

The ongoing London 2012 Olympic Games have led to plenty of business for Addison Lee, the taxi company he is managing director with.

Griffin will return to action later in the season, leaving Mat Jackson and Aron Smith to fly the flag for the team in Norfolk this weekend.

“Unfortunately due to unavoidable work and family commitments I’ll be taking a short sabbatical from the BTCC,” Griffin said. “All being well, I hope to be back on track before the end of the season. It’s a real shame I’m missing this weekend as I was looking forward to getting another shot Inside BTCC 26

of the new 300 layout, but hopefully I’ll be able to make it along at some point over the weekend to cheer the boys on from the pit lane.”

BTCC men enjoy classic outings

Jackson took fourth place in the Alan Mann Trophy for under 2-litre touring cars at the wheel of a Ford Lotus Cortina, sharing driving duties with Henry Mann – the son for the former team owner who passed away earlier this year.

Mat Jackson and Frank Wrathall both impressed during the summer break when they took part in the annual Silverstone Classic event.

Jackson also teamed up with Mann to win in a 1960s Ford Mustang at Donington Park a week before the Silverstone event.

Wrathll meanwhile finished second in both races for the Fujifilm Touring Car Trophy for cars that raced in the BTCC from 1970 to 2000 driving a Vauxhall Cavalier from the Super Touring era of the 1990s.

Speedworks team boss Christian Dick meanwhile failed to finish the World Sports Car Masters race at the wheel of a Chevrolet Corvette.

O’Neill continues Speedworks partnership Paul O’Neill extended his relationship with the Speedworks team beyond the Croft race weekend to help the Toyota team during some summer testing at Pembrey.

O’Neill took part in a two-day test at the Welsh circuit alongside Adam www.insidebtcc.com

Still/PSP

NEWS IN BRIEF | NEWS IN BRIEF | NEWS IN BRIEF

MG, Pirtek Racing, eBay Motors and Redstone Racing are amongst the rival teams to have also been out testing in the summer period.

Extra Snetterton practice for BTCC pair Tom Onslow-Cole and Rob Austin took the chance to gain some extra practice ahead of the Snetterton race weekend with outings in the British GTsupporting Volkswagen Racing Cup. A week before the BTCC event, the pair joined the grid for the ninth and tenth rounds of the season – albeit it with mixed results. www.insidebtcc.com

Onslow-Cole qualified second on the grid driving a VW Scirocco R for the KPM Racing team and then took victory in the opening race of the weekend; following it up with a fifth place in race two.

Austin meanwhile joined the team run by BTCC rival Tony Gilham and qualified tenth in his VW Golf Mk5 GTI. However, he would fail to finish either race.

HARD signs American racer Holland Team HARD will introduce the first American driver into the BTCC since the 1970s after signing Robb Holland for the events at Snetterton and Knockhill.

Holland will drive the Honda Civic raced by Tony Gilham so far this season in the two events as he makes his move into the

series having previously raced in the SCCA World Challenge series back in the USA. The 44-year-old tested the Civic at Snetterton last month to get his first taste of the car prior to his debut.

Holland’s debut weekend will be featured in the next edition of Inside BTCC.

Gilham to drive Thorney Vauxhall Gilham may have given up his Honda Civic, but the Dartford racer will still be out on track this week.

Gilham will get behind the wheel of the Thorney Motorsport Vauxhall Insignia.

missed the last three events on the calendar.

The team missed the events at Thruxton, Oulton Park and Croft to work on development of its NGTC car, which was tested at Brands Hatch last week.

Thorne has also revealed that the team is set to introduce a new ‘bluechip’ sponsor for the race weekend in Norfolk, although the deal is currently only for the sixth meeting of the season.

Away from the track, Thorne made an appearance on hit Channel 4 show ‘Come Dine With Me’ during the summer break, winning £1,000 after beating three fellow amateur chefs with his kitchen skills.

Thorney boss John Thorne started the season in the NGTC machine, but has Inside BTCC 27

Jakob Ebrey

Morgan and Tony Hughes as the team looks to find more performance from its NGTC-spec cars after the mid-term break.

jakobebrey.com

Inside BTCC 28

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get involved!

SEND US YOUR: •PHOTOS •QUESTIONS •SUGGESTIONS

@InsideBTCC facebook.com/insidebtcc contact@insidebtcc.com www.insidebtcc.com

Inside BTCC 29

directory a who’s who of btcc on twitter...

BTCC DRIVERS Matt Neal Mat Jackson Aron Smith Rob Collard Frank Wrathall Dan Welch Rob Austin Dave Newsham Adam Morgan Tony Gilham Tom Onslow-Cole Lea Wood Andy Neate Tony Hughes Gordon Shedden Andrew Jordan Chris James Jason Plato

@MattNealRacing @mat_jackson @AronSmith_ @CollardRob @FrankWrathall @BTCCDanWelch @RobertoAustini @NewshamRacing @AdamMorgan33 @TonyGilham @TomOnslowCole @TeamWoodRacing @AndyNeate @TonyHughesBTCC @GordonShedden @AndrewJordan77 @ChrisJamesBTCC @JasonPlato

AND A FEW MORE...

Official BTCC Inside BTCC Tin Top Tuesday Alan Hyde Not Alan Gow Talking Point ITV Toby Moody Richard John Neill Tim Harvey YourRacingCar Unlap Brands Hatch Oulton Park Snetterton Silverstone Rockingham Knockhill Croft Thruxton Donington Park

@DunlopBTCC @InsideBTCC @TinTopTuesday @AlanHydeStudio @alan_gow_btcc @TPBroadcasting @ITVtouringcars @TobyMoody @richardjneil @TimHarvey7 @YourRacingCar @unlap @Brands_Hatch @Oulton_Park @SnettertonMSV @SilverstoneUK @RockinghamUK @krcircuit @CroftSupporters @thruxtonracing @DoningtonParkUK

BTCC TEAMS Honda Yuasa Racing MG KX Momentum Racing Redstone Racing eBay Motors Welch Motorsport ES Racing Rob Austin Racing Speedworks BINZ Racing AmDTuning.com Pirtek Racing Thorney Motorsport Toyota

Inside BTCC 30

@HondaRacingBTCC @official888race @RedstoneRacing @ebaymotorsbtcc @WelchMotorsport @teamESracing @RobAustinRacing @SpeedworksMS @CentralGroupRacing @AmDessex @andyjordanBTCC @ThorneyMS @ToyotaBTCC

www.insidebtcc.com

Jakob Ebrey

31 March-1 April, Brands Hatch Indy 14-15 April, Donington Park National 28-29 April, Thruxton 9-10 June, Oulton Park Island 23-24 June, Croft 11-12 August, Snetterton 300 25-26 August, Knockhill 22-23 September, Rockingham 6-7 October, Silverstone 20-21 October, Brands Hatch GP

www.insidebtcc.com

Inside BTCC 31

jakobebrey.com

2012 BTCC CALENDAR

10 QUICK QUESTIONS TANIA MANN

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Next up in our ten quick questions with drivers from the support package is Tania Mann, competing this season with the Sibsport team in the Porsche Carrera Cup.

Inside BTCC 32

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TANIA MANN What is your favourite circuit?

Spa Francorchamps but in the UK, Brands GP Who is your racing hero?

John Surtees is amazing for what he has achieved. But I also have a huge amount of praise for Mark Webber. I think he’s done an amazing job to succeed the way he has.

If you could race any car, what would it be?

I actually love Porsches so am pretty fortunate to be racing such an amazing car already.

If you could pick any driver as your team-mate on a race weekend, who would you pick?

Mark Webber What is your day job?

At the moment when I’m not at the track racing or testing or at the gym training I’m in my office working on my sponsorship acquisition and tending to my existing sponsors. But prior to doing this full time, I used to be an FX Swaps trader for 4 years before I started contracting for investment banks based in London.

What do you drive on the road?

An Audi A4 station wagon. A slow car I know but I feel it helps prevent me from losing my license and it’s also practical. My car before this was a 997 turbo but I struggled to fit my racing gear into it on race weekends!

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given in your racing career?

It would be difficult to say as I have been and am constantly given great advice.

I’m fortunate to have some incredible drivers coaching and supporting me and I’m extremely grateful for their tips and advice.

What is your ultimate career goal?

I would love to race in the Porsche Supercup one day. I’d also love to race around the world, such as the Porsche Carrera Cup series in Australia, the US and Europe.

After going to Le Mans recently for the 24 hour race I realised that it would also be a phenomenal race to participate in. To be honest I live for racing, and it wouldn’t matter which series, car or where in the world, because if I could do it full time I would be incredibly satisfied!

Who do you think will be BTCC champion at the end of the season?

This is really hard to say as the top 5 are all strong contenders right now. But if I had to pick one, I would say Neal. www.insidebtcc.com

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Do you have any pre-race rituals?

I know some bike and car racers are superstitious are have interesting routines but I’m not at all that way. My rituals are more steps which I perform so that prior to a race I am in the right frame of mind. I find repetition and routine are important for ensuring you get into the zone before a race.

RACE FOR

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING

DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Matt Neal Gordon Shedden Jason Plato Rob Collard Andrew Jordan Mat Jackson Tom Onslow-Cole Dave Newsham Frank Wrathall Jeff Smith Nick Foster Rob Austin Tony Gilham Lea Wood Aron Smith Dan Welch Andy Neate Ollie Jackson Liam Griffin Will Bratt Chris James Tony Hughes Adam Morgan Paul O’Neill John Thorne

Inside BTCC 34

221 220 192 171 171 139 125 84 80 79 70 68 68 68 53 46 46 30 29 20 15 11 7 3 0

MANUFACTURER/CONSTRUCTOR 1 2

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Honda/Dynamics MG/Triple Eight

483 360

TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP Honda Yuasa Racing eBay Motors Pirtek Racing MG KX Momentum Racing Redstone Racing Team ES Racing.com Rob Austin Racing Dynojet Team HARD BINZ Racing Welch Motorsport AmDTuning.com Speedworks Thorney Motorsport

422 299 251 235 218 105 90 83 70 70 48 37 32 0

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THE TITLE

GS AFTER 15 OF 30 RACES INDEPENDENT DRIVERS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

Andrew Jordan Rob Collard Mat Jackson Tom Onslow-Cole Frank Wrathall Jeff Smith Dave Newsham Nick Foster Lea Wood Tony Gilham Rob Austin Aron Smith Dan Welch Ollie Jackson Liam Griffin Chris James Tony Hughes Will Bratt Adam Morgan Paul O’Neill John Thorne

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215 208 172 160 116 116 110 107 106 102 95 76 70 61 55 47 39 31 20 9 5

INDEPENDENT TEAMS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

eBay Motors Pirtek Racing Redstone Racing Team ES Racing.com Dynojet BINZ Racing Rob Austin Racing Team HARD Speedworks AmDTuning.com Welch Motorsport Thorney Motorsport

Inside BTCC 35

239 237 221 156 140 132 131 127 95 88 87 11

THE SEASON

RACE-BY-RACE RESULTS FOR THE 2012 DUNLOP

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Matt Neal

2

Mat Jackson

7

Aron Smith

1

7

3

2

DNF

10

5

2

4

DNF

1

3

EXC

1

3

6

DNF

DNF

8

8

9

11

7

8

Liam Griffin

14

12

11

DNF

DNF

14

DNF

Rob Collard

1

6

6

10

8

4

4

Frank Wrathall

11

12

13

14

15

1

5

1

1

2

4

5

DNF

7

8

DNF

12

14

DNF

16

DNF

10

DNF

DNF

17

12

DNF

8

DNF

14

14

DNF

7

7

3

14

6

2

5

5

DNF

DNS

13

9

14

7

5

4

3

12

17

9

DNF

8

15

Dan Welch

17

11

DNF

12

DNF

8

DNF

DNS

DNS

6

4

DNF

DNF

17

10

Rob Austin

8

5

5

DNF

DNS

DNS

DNF

18

13

/

/

/

5

3

7

Will Bratt

/

/

/

/

/

/

/

/

/

8

DNF

11

9

18

DNF

Dave Newsham Nick Foster Paul O’Neill

DNF

9

3

7

4

DNF

2

6

18

DNF

10

DNF

DNF

12

16

9

DNF

DNS

11

11

12

14

14

11

9

6

8

18

10

8

/

/

/

/

/

/

/

/

/

/

/

/

17

DNF

13

DNF

DNS

DNF

15

13

DNF

DNF

DNC

DNF

DNF

DNF

DNF

15

20

14

18

13

10

14

7

3

11

9

DNF

DNF

11

10

12

11

DNF

3

10

DNF

5

10

9

8

13

10

DNF

9

3

7

6

2

Lea Wood

11

15

9

DNF

15

10

9

12

8

10

7

5

13

19

DNF

Andy Neate

12

14

14

16

12

DNF

16

16

DNF

7

DNF

DNF

6

9

9

Ollie Jackson

13

8

DNF

DNC

DNS

DNS

12

15

15

11

15

15

11

15

DNF

Tony Hughes

16

16

15

DNF

16

15

DNC

19

16

13

12

14

/

/

/

5

DNF

EXC

2

1

1

6

1

1

4

1

4

3

1

6

Adam Morgan Tony Gilham Tom Onslow-Cole

Gordon Shedden Jeff Smith John Thorne Andrew Jordan

10

7

4

13

6

5

13

11

9

DNF

DNS

12

DNF

13

11

DNF

17

16

DNS

DNS

DNS

/

/

/

/

/

/

/

/

/

6

2

2

6

5

6

DNF

10

5

2

2

DNF

4

4

3

Chris James

15

DNF

12

17

DNF

13

15

DNS

17

DNF

13

13

16

16

17

Jason Plato

4

3

1

4

DNC

2

3

2

4

DNC

3

2

DNC

7

1

Inside BTCC 36

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SO FAR

P MSA BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP

16

17

18

19

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Inside BTCC 37

Hubbleday/Jakob Ebrey