Inside BTCC - Issue 4 - Silverstone - October 2011 by Inside BTCC

INSIDEBTCC.COM issue 4 : oct 2011

EXCLUSIVE interview with Dick Bennetts on WSR’s future plans

TITLE DECIDER Brands battle sets up Silverstone showdown

www.insidebtcc.com Inside BTCC MORE... S’STONE PREVIEW / ANDY JORDAN / BEN EDWARDS / MUCH PLUS:

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WELCOME... With the curtain coming down on the 2011 season this weekend, we only felt it was right to serve up arguably the best issue yet of Inside BTCC as we prepare for Finals Days so we hope you’ll enjoy the treats we have in store for you this time around. Last time out at Brands Hatch, the race for the title produced plenty of action as Jason Plato won twice and Matt Neal once to leave them just five points apart going into the final weekend of the season. The old rivals have done battle in a similar position in the past but this time around, they need to be aware of the challenge of Gordon Shedden, who starts the weekend level on points with Plato and with the aim of lifting the crown for the first time. With Mat Jackson and James Nash also still in contention – mathematically at least – a huge weekend of action lies ahead. As well as previewing the final rounds of the season, we take a look back at all the action from the Brands Hatch GP circuit to see how the penultimate meeting of the year panned out – with one of our many features this time around looking at what impact Honda’s decision to swap its drivers round in race three could have on the title race. The outcome may surprise…

discuss Pirtek Racing’s move to an NGTC Honda Civic for 2012 while he also talks us through the art of left-foot braking and reveals why he uses the technique on track. Dick Bennetts reveals what the future may hold for WSR and gives his views on parity in the paddock this season in an exclusive in-depth interview, Ben Edwards tells us how he went from the race track to the commentary box and we catch up with Jonny Adam to find out what he’s been up to since starring for what was then Airwaves BMW back in 2009. With James Nash guiding us through a lap of Silverstone, a catch up on the latest BTCC news and our comprehensive round up of results and points ahead of the weekend, we’re sure that Issue Four of Inside BTCC will keep you as entertained as the action on track will when we arrive at the Home of British Motorsport. As usual, get in touch if you want to air your views on anything you read here and – if you aren’t doing so already – give us a follow on Twitter and ‘like us’ on Facebook, where we’ll give you little snippets and insights into what we’re busy with. Until next time

Andrew Jordan features twice as we catch up with him to

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Inside BTCC

Jakob Ebrey

Inside BTCC

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S T TEN

N O C

IN THIS ISSUE... BRANDS HATCH REVIEW Results and analysis from rounds 25, 26 & 27

6 - 11

WHAT’S THE POINT? The implications of Honda’s race three switch

JORDAN TARGETS TITLE WITH HONDA DEAL Pirtek Racing confirms switch to full NGTC kit for 2012

WHAT NEXT FOR WSR? We talk exclusively to Dick Bennetts

16 - 19

THE VOICE OF THE BTCC Ben Edwards talks BTCC and more

20 - 21

BRAKING THE RULES Andrew Jordan explains left-foot braking

22 - 23

VAUXHALL RETURNS Thorney Motorsport unveils its NGTC Vauxhall Vectra

25 - 26

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? We catch up with Jonathan Adam

27 - 28

CLIO TRIPLE FOR RIVETT Clio Cup champion Paul Rivett on his BTCC desires

29 - 30

A LAP OF SILVERSTONE... ...with Triple Eight’s James Nash

31 - 32

SILVERSTONE PREVIEW We look ahead to the season finale

33 - 34

POINTS STANDINGS

36 - 37

RACE RESULTS

39 - 40

TWITTER DIRECTORY

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 or JAKOB EBREY unless otherwise stated. To get in touch, please email: CONTACT@INSIDEBTCC.COM. Front cover images: Main - Matt Neal, Gordon Shedden & Jason Plato prepare for battle (Jakob Ebrey); Top right - Dick Bennetts (Tozer/PSP). Back cover: Rockingham grid girl (Jakob Ebrey)

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Still/PSP

MATT LAMPRELL REPORTS

PLATO BACK IN THE HUNT It’s a five-way fight for the title after Neal and Shedden struggle at Brands Hatch

Plato had said his championship hopes were over after recent results, but Brands Hatch brought yet another twist in the amazing 2011 BTCC script. Few would have dared to predict that Neal

That left them on the back foot for race two and they could only manage seventh and eighth positions. Meanwhile, Plato was at the front and claimed his seventh and eighth victories of the season, which sensationally put the Silverline Chevrolet driver back on top of

the points standings for the first time since Donington Park back in April.

Jakob Ebrey

and Shedden would pick up just a handful of points from the first two races of the weekend, but that was exactly how it unfolded. Both Honda Racing Civics picked up punctures in the first race and neither finished in the points.

Jakob Ebrey

It was a weekend that might have seen Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden out of sight and fighting among themselves for the BTCC title – but that couldn’t have been further from reality as the Honda pair endured a tough weekend and Jason Plato brought himself right back into contention.

The reverse grid helped the Hondas in race three and they were able to salvage their weekend with a one-two, which leaves Matt Neal with a five point advantage over Shedden and Plato ahead of the final three races of the season. Despite a tough weekend, Honda has provisionally claimed the Manufacturers/ Constructors title and the HiQ Teams’ Trophy. However, the Drivers’ title will go down to

Good weekend: Jason Plato Could have been down and out but with two wins, is now right back in the title fight.

Inside BTCC

Mat Jackson His last couple of outings have been terrible so it wasn’t going to take much to improve things this time around.

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Still/PSP the wire at Silverstone, with a record five drivers still in with a chance of claiming the championship. As well as Neal, Shedden and Plato, Mat Jackson and James Nash could still emerge from Silverstone with the crown, but for that to happen, it would take the top three to have a disastrous weekend.

hitting the self-destruct button would probably have been quite high up the list, but even Plato could not have predicted quite how spectacularly things would go wrong for the championship leading duo.

At Brands Hatch, Plato got his weekend off to the best possible start with a maximum score in the first race. As well as 15 for the win, he picked up bonus points for pole position, leading the race and the fastest lap.

Neal was running third in the early stages, with Shedden in sixth. The Scot was the first to struggle as he chased fifth-placed Mat Jackson. After putting the Airwaves Racing driver under pressure for a few laps, the strain started to show. Shedden ran wide at Graham Hill Bend on lap seven, dropping him down the order to ninth.

What more could the reigning champion ask for from the first race? Well, the Hondas

The following lap saw Neal suffer a puncture. He was running ahead of Nash and Jackson

at the time and his sudden reduction in pace handed Jackson the overtaking opportunity he had been looking out for. Jackson spotted that it was a left-front puncture for Neal and gambled that the Honda driver would go to the left of the track. He did and Jackson gained enough ground to leapfrog Nash into third place. Plato was home and dry at the front, but the same was not true for his teammate Alex MacDowall. A vibration late on in the race meant he opted to nurse the car around the final lap, allowing Mat Jackson through into second position. For Jackson, it was a result that brought a welcome end to a run

of poor form that has seen him plummet from the championship summit – he led the points ahead of Knockhill, but picked up just one point from the six races prior to Brands Hatch. MacDowall held on

to the final podium spot, with James Nash crossing the line in fourth and Tom Onslow-Cole, fifth. Plato’s super Sunday continued into the second race. Starting from pole position again, he led from

RED FLAGS HIT QUALIFYING ONCE AGAIN Qualifying at Brands Hatch was the third consecutive session to have been brought to a halt by red flags – one caused by Chris James and the other by Frank Wrathall. At Rockingham two weeks earlier, the 30-minute qualifying session was stopped to allow the recovery of Liam Griffin’s Airwaves Racing Ford

Focus. Before that, Knockhill’s twisty track combined with slippery conditions to claim John George, Andy Neate and Paul O’Neill as its victims. Along with Donington Park earlier in the year, that’s four of this year’s nine qualifying sessions that have so far been hit with stoppages.

Bad weekend: Andy Neate Could have been a great weekend if he hadn’t lost control of his car when running third in race three.

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NGTC runners Little sign of the impressive pace they’ve shown at recent rounds.

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As it happened, the top ten finishers from race two were reversed to form the grid – the second meeting in a row that the number 10 has been drawn. Also for the second

That was ‘job done’ for the Hondas, who went on to take a relatively straightforward victory, which went some way to making up for an otherwise disappointing weekend. There was time in the closing stages for Shedden to take the lead for a lap and pick up an extra bonus point for doing so. (See page 12.)

Nash took third place to keep his title challenge alive, in mathematical terms at least. It also ensures that the Triple Eight driver heads into the final rounds leading the Independents’ Championship. Following the final race, Matt Neal said, “The car was great – as it has been all day long! We really needed that result. Not just for Flash and me, but as

POLE POSITION SETS THE WEEKEND UP FOR PLATO It was first blood to Jason Plato at Brands Hatch as the Silverline Chevrolet star claimed his fourth pole position of the season. Plato took an early advantage over his title rivals, with Shedden and Neal down in fifth and sixth respectively. Between Plato and the Hondas were Andrew Jordan, James Nash and Alex MacDowall in the second Chevrolet. Following the session, Plato said, “The Silverline Chevrolet has been spot on from the moment we went out on track this morning. It’s not often you get a car exactly where you want it, but that’s where we are at the moment. “We were in the same position here back in 2009 when I won all three races and we’ve done a lot of work to get to this point again. You just have to look at the Chevrolet Cruze to see that Inside BTCC

Jakob Ebrey

Foster led away from the line and around the first lap, but he soon started to struggle. Andy Neate was second off the line, but the Team Aon driver was passed by both Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden as they exited Westfield for the first time. The Honda pair went on to blast past Foster as they went along the start-finish straight at the start of lap two.

Behind the lead pair, Nick Foster dropped rapidly down the order over the course of the first few laps. Andy Neate inherited third position and was on course to make his first visit to the BTCC podium. However, with just a couple of laps left, the Team Aon driver lost control of his Ford coming through Sheene Curve and slid off the track, surrendering his position to James Nash. Neate was fortunate not to be collected by Plato or Boardman as he rejoined, but the damage to his race was done and he ended the lap in the pits.

Jakob Ebrey

Neal and Shedden started 17th and 18th respectively in race two, so it was always going to be a case of damage limitation and that’s exactly what they managed. The bulk of their progress was made in the first couple of laps, with both drivers into the top ten by the end of lap three. Ending the race in seventh and eighth, they were left hoping that the reverse grid would come to their rescue in race three.

consecutive weekend, it was a West Surrey Racing driver who benefitted from the reverse grid pole position. At Rockingham it was Rob Collard and this time it was Nick Foster.

Dzenis/PSP

Jackson throughout and the pair went on to finish in same positions that they started. They were joined on the podium this time by Tom Onslow-Cole – his first top three finish since his return to Team Aon and only the third podium of the year for the Arena Motorsport team.

this is probably the best handling touring car in the world.” Plato was on top for much of the session – only really being challenged in the early stages, when Shedden briefly hit the top of the times. However the Chevrolet driver improved several times over and was so comfortable at the end that he was able to sit out the final few minutes in the pitlane. QUALIFYING TOP TEN: 1 Plato 1:31.874 (S2000 chassis/S2000 engine); 2 Jordan +0.265 (S2000/ NGTC); 3 Nash +0.442 (S2000/NGTC); 4 MacDowall +0.544 (S2000/S2000); 5 Shedden +0.568 (S2000/ NGTC); 6 Neal +0.570 (S2000/NGTC); 7 Jackson +0.723 (S2000/NGTC); 8 O’Neill +0.776 (S2000/ S2000); 9 Onslow-Cole + 0.817 (S2000/NGTC); 10 Chilton +0.830 (S2000/ NGTC).

RACE RESULTS - TOP 10s RACE ONE TOP TEN: 1 Plato 23:34.527 (S2000 /S2000); 2 Jackson +2.121 (S2000/NGTC); 3 MacDowall +3.091 (S2000/S2000); 4 Nash +3.818 (S2000/NGTC); 5 Onslow-Cole +4.574 (S2000/NGTC); 6 O’Neill +5.019 (S2000/S2000); 7 Chilton +5.841 (S2000/ NGTC); 8 Collard +12.720 (S2000/S2000); 9 Neate +13.174 (S2000/NGTC); 10 Foster +22.015 (S2000/ S2000). Fastest lap: Jason Plato – 1:32.832 (lap 3). Independent winner: Mat Jackson. RACE TWO TOP TEN: 1 Plato 23:34.540 (S2000/ S2000); 2 Jackson +1.791 (S2000/NGTC); 3 OnslowCole +2.565 (S2000/NGTC); 4 O’Neill +3.087 (S2000/ S2000); 5 Chilton +5.709 (S2000/NGTC); 6 Nash +6.916 (S2000/NGTC); 7 Neal +9.760 (S2000/NGTC);

8 Shedden +10.994 (S2000/ NGTC); 9 Neate +11.153 (S2000/NGTC); 10 Foster +11.584 (S2000/S2000). Fastest lap: Jason Plato – 1:32.619 (lap 3). Independent winner: Mat Jackson. RACE THREE TOP TEN: 1 Neal 23:35.856 (S2000/ NGTC); 2 Shedden +0.186 (S2000/NGTC); 3 Nash +4.033 (S2000/NGTC); 4 Chilton +4.291 (S2000/ NGTC); 5 Jackson +11.720 (S2000/NGTC); 6 Plato +13.555 (S2000/S2000); 7 Onslow-Cole +14.820 (S2000/NGTC); 8 Jordan +17.414 (S2000/NGTC); 9 Boardman +19.750 (S2000/ NGTC); 10 Foster +20.129 (S2000/S2000). Fastest lap: Matt Neal – 1:32.750 (lap 4). Independent winner: James Nash.

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While the results at the front leave the championship on a knife edge, there was action all the way down

the order and with the addition of newcomers Ollie Jackson (Triple Eight Vauxhall Vectra) and Chris Swanwick (Rob Austin Racing Audi A4 NGTC) it was a bumper 29-car grid. The last time that many cars competed in the series was back in 1993. The scene is set for a remarkable final weekend at Silverstone on 15/16 October.

Jakob Ebrey

Gordon Shedden commented, “After everything else that’s gone on today, we needed that. We needed to do everything we could to maximise our chances for Silverstone. It’s nice to finish the weekend on a high.”

Jason Plato said, “I’m really pleased with how the Silverline Chevrolet has been this weekend and to get two wins is a great result. We’re going to really struggle to get in the top ten at Silverstone, but it’s not over yet. If it rains, it might just be a different story.”

Jakob Ebrey

a team. The car was a dream to drive. It’s nice to be leading the championship, but that just means I get to carry more weight at Silverstone!”

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Dzenis/PSP

LAP BY LAP - HOW THE ACTION UNFOLDED

RACE ONE Lap 1: Plato turns pole into race lead, ahead of MacDowall, Neal, Nash, Jackson. Jackson challenges Nash for fourth, but the Triple Eight driver holds on. Lap 2: Boardman challenges Collard for 10th at Stirling’s. Michael Caine runs wide at Graham Hill Bend. RACE TWO Lap 1: Plato leads from pole, ahead of Jackson, MacDowall. Collard suffers rear end damage at Druids. Lap 2: Neal and Shedden up to 10th and 12th after starting 18th and 19th respectively. Shedden passes Foster for 11th. Neal passes Collard for ninth. Lap 3: Neate RACE THREE Lap 1: Polesitter Nick Foster leads off the line. Tony Hughes in the gravel at Paddock. Neate closes on Foster at the front. Shedden jumps Neal at the start. Both Hondas pass Neate out of Westfield. Lap 2: Neal and Shedden pass Foster along the straight to go first and second. Neate follows them through into third. Chilton and O’Neill fight for sixth. Nash and O’Neill pass Foster at Westfield. Inside BTCC 10

Lap 3: Collard and Wrathall battle over 12th position. Jeff Smith pits with a broken gear lever. Lap 4: Wrathall passes Collard for 12th into Surtees. Lap 5: Shedden closes on fifth-placed Jackson Lap 6: Jackson, Shedden and O’Neill all running together in fight for fifth. Martin Byford (spark plug)

and Dan Welch (wheel damage) into pits. Lap 7: Shedden sideways at Graham Hill Bend, dropping to ninth as a result. Lap 10: Neal slows with left front puncture. Jackson passes Nash as they negotiate the slow Honda. Neal slowly returns to pits, rejoining down the order. Newsham stops

with smoke coming from his STR SEAT. Lea Wood pulls off. Lap 11: Onslow-Cole passes O’Neill for fifth along straight. Lap 12: O’Neill back on Onslow-Cole along Cooper Straight. Lap 13: Gap from MacDowall (2nd) to Jackson (3rd) is three seconds. Collard closes on Boardman for 11th position.

Lap 14: Shedden slows with puncture. Contact between Wrathall and Collard sees the Toyota driver retire with rearend damage. Jackson passes MacDowall for second. Lap 15: Plato wins from Jackson and MacDowall. Boardman drops from eighth with a puncture.

challenges Chilton for seventh. Shedden passes Collard for 10th. Lap 4: Boardman passes Caine for 13th as they head onto lap five. Lap 5: Collard receives black and orange flag for damaged rear bumper. Wrathall passes Austin for 15th. Black and white flag for Swanwick for exceeding track limits.

Lap 6: Neal closes on Neate and passes into Druids for eighth. Collard pits for damaged bumper to be removed. Lap 8: Onslow-Cole challenges Jackson for second. Lap 9: Jordan, Gilham, Byford and Austin all shown the black and white flag for exceeding track limits. Lap 10: Plato’s advantage over

Jackson is two seconds. O’Neill challenges MacDowall for fourth, but the Cruze goes up in smoke, dropping fluid and parking on the infield. O’Neill inherits fourth. Lap 12: Dave Newsham and Daniel Welch battling over 17th position. Lap 13: OnslowCole on Jackson for second. Swanwick

handed drive-through penalty for repeatedly exceeding track limits. Lap 14: Jeff Smith into gravel at Paddock Hill Bend. Welch slows before pulling off. Lap 15: Chilton passes Nash for fifth at Druids. O’Neill closes on Onslow-Cole in third. Plato wins from Jackson, with OnslowCole third.

Tony Gilham pits. Boardman passes Onslow-Cole to take ninth. Lap 3: Neal leads from Shedden and Neate. Jackson and Chilton pass Foster. Lap 4: Wrathall in the gravel at Graham Hill Bend. Jordan challenges Plato for 11th. Lap 5: Plato, OnslowCole and Plato close on Foster. John George off at Surtees before rejoining. Boardman and Onslow-Cole pass Foster; contact between Boardman

and Foster. MacDowall retires. Lap 6: Plato challenges Foster. Jordan tails Plato. Lap 7: Michael Caine and Rob Collard join the Plato/Foster/ Chilton/Boardman battle ahead. Lap 8: Plato defends from Jordan while continuing to challenge Foster. Both Plato and Jordan finally pass Foster as they head onto lap nine. Lap 9: Caine runs through the gravel at Paddock, dropping from 10th to 13th.

Black and white flag for Nash (exceeding track limits). Lap 10: O’Neill runs wide at Graham Hill Bend before retiring with broken driveshaft. Lap 11: Plato passes Onslow-Cole for eighth through Surtees. Lap 12: Shedden passes Neal at Surtees to take the lead, handing Shedden a bonus point for leading the race. Lap 13: Neal repasses Shedden at Surtees to move back into the lead. Andy Neate loses third place

after running wide at Sheene Curve. Neate rejoins in ninth, right in front of Boardman and Plato, who manage to avoid the Focus. Neate heads into the pits. Collard off into the gravel at Clark Curve and retires. Lap 14: Neal and Shedden comfortable at the front. Lap 15: Victory for Matt Neal gives him the championship lead back. Shedden finishes second, with Nash third.

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Jakob Ebrey www.insidebtcc.com

Inside BTCC 11

Still/PSP

WHAT’S THE POINT? WHY THIRD RACE SWITCH COULD COST HONDA AT SILVERSTONE... BY MATT SALISBURY The fight for the 2011 title took an interesting twist in the third race of the weekend at Brands Hatch, with the end result that the top three will be covered by just five points when the field arrives at Silverstone for the final meeting of the campaign. As we now know, Matt Neal heads the standings by virtue of his victory in the final race of the weekend, while Jason Plato and Gordon Shedden sit five points further back. The fact that Shedden is level on points with Plato came after the Honda drivers elected to swap places briefly during the final race at Brands Hatch in order to ensure that Shedden – who would take second behind Neal – was able to pick up the bonus point on offer for leading a lap. It’s a switch that teams have carried out numerous times in the past, and is a move that will no doubt take place again in the future. At the time, it appeared to be a wise decision on Honda’s part given that that additional point could make all the difference in the final reckoning once three races

Inside BTCC 12

around the short Silverstone National circuit have come to an end this weekend. However, at the same time, the decision to swap the drivers round to secure the bonus point could in fact give Plato an unexpected boost. As is well known, the BTCC employs a system of success ballast throughout the season, with the ballast carried in the opening race of the weekend at Silverstone this weekend being determined through the current championship positions. The top five in the championship, all of whom can still mathematically take the title, will therefore carry extra ballast into the Silverstone weekend in line with the championship regulations, with Article 1.11.1.b making reference to the way in which success ballast is handed out.

Meeting based on the order in the Drivers Championship published by the official timekeepers as authorised by the BTCC Clerk prior to any judicial action in respect of any Sporting or Technical issue. The Championship success ballast will not be applicable for Meeting No.1 of the Championship. “The Championship success ballast weight awarded after the Third Race of a Meeting will be effective for the Free Practice sessions, Official Qualifying session and the First Race at the following Championship Meeting. “Should two or more drivers be tied on points, those drivers shall be awarded equal Championship success ballast equivalent to that of the lowest position that has been removed due to the tie.”

And in regards to the championship fight, one line stands out above the rest…

Effectively therefore, while the decision to swap drivers round handed Shedden an extra championship point, it also helped Plato in his own quest to take the title for a second straight year.

Article 1.11.1.b “A system of “Championship success ballast” weight handicap will be applied to the top 5 drivers in the BTCC by the BTCC Clerk at the end of the third Race at each

At the point at which the Honda drivers switched places, Plato was down in eighth place and therefore would have picked up three championship points but Andy Neate’s lurid slide and trip

into the gravel at Stirlings and the fact Tom Boardman was forced to then take avoiding action and run off track promoted him up into sixth place. The five points taken as a result moved the Chevrolet man up to 220 points, which would have been one ahead of Shedden had it not been for the bonus point the Scot claimed for being first over the line at the end of lap twelve. That in turn would have meant Plato carrying 36kg of success ballast into Silverstone, and a circuit layout where he expects a tough fight against the turbo cars in his normally aspirated Cruze, but Shedden’s bonus point means the pair will now carry the ballast for being third in the championship; some 27kg. In short, what seemed like a good idea at the time has in fact left Plato 9kg lighter than he could have been for the opening race of the weekend at Silverstone. On such things can championship battles be decided and if anything, it serves as a warning as to how quickly things could change over the course of the final race day of the season.

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JORDAN TARGETS TITLE WITH HONDA DEAL

PIRTEK RACING SWITCHES TO FULL NGTC-SPEC CIVICS IN 2012

BY MATT SALISBURY Andrew Jordan has his sights firmly set on fighting for the 2012 BTCC title after the Pirtek Racing team revealed its weapon of choice for next season. Having announced it would switch to NGTC for the new campaign, the team confirmed last week that it will run two Honda Civics next year with Pirtek also agreeing to stay onboard as primary sponsor of the Eurotech-run outfit for at least two more years. The decision to run the same cars as the factory Honda Racing Team will see Pirtek work closely alongside Team Dynamics – the team developing and running the car on behalf of Honda – with the two parties having previously worked together when Eurotech first moved into the BTCC with an exDynamics Honda Integra. Jordan had looked like being a contender for the title this season in his Vauxhall Vectra after bouncing back from a tough start to the campaign to take seven podium finishes – including a win at Donington – through the first half of the year.

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A tough run of form since the summer break, which had yielded a best finish of just eighth since racing resumed at Snetterton, has ended his title challenge this year but the targets with the new Civic are clear, and are the main reason why the decision has been taken to invest in the new Honda for the year ahead. “The main thing is that we think the Civic is going to be the best car on the grid,” Jordan told Inside BTCC. “We looked at what was going to give us the best chance for next year and it was the Honda and Team Dynamics. We are going to be running it as almost a satellite independent team alongside

their works team and we are going to get a lot of help and support from them. I’m looking forward to it. “We showed at the start of this season that we can be consistent, quick and can win races but for whatever reason, our challenge tailed off again this season. But at Brands Hatch we qualified second and it would have been a good day for us if we’d not had the problem before race one. I’d like to think next year that we can be consistently at the front and fighting for wins and podiums, then we’ll need to see where that leaves us at the end of the year.” Matt Neal has previously told Inside BTCC that the works

team hoped to have a car on track before the end of 2011 and Jordan said he was likely to be involved in some of the initial testing before Pirtek receives its own cars in the new year. “Realistically, I think our cars will be a couple of months into the new year, but they’ve said I can go and test their car when they have it running so I will get some mileage,” he said. “That might not be the ideal situation, but equally, we think the car will be good enough that we can hit the ground running and do as much testing as possible in the time we have. We trust them enough to know they will give us the best setup they find in testing and hopefully we can bolt it on and be up there. “I’d like to think we’ll have at least a month before the first race with our car but I think they’ll be open with us about things like set-up because its in their best interests to have two extra cars right up there. I think we’ll work together.” Jordan will again be joined by current team-mate Jeff Smith for 2012.

Inside BTCC 13

IN THE SHADES THE SUN WAS SHINING AT BRANDS HATCH...

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Inside BTCC 15

WHAT NEXT FOR WSR?

Tozer/PSP

DICK BENNETTS TALKS TO MATT SALISBURY

Inside BTCC 16

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Tozer/PSP The issue of parity between turbo and normally-aspirated cars has been one of the hot topics of conversation within the paddock this season, with Jason Plato in particular having been vocal with his opinions on the matter on a number of occasions over the course of the year. However, the defending champion isn’t the only man who has struggled to take the fight to turbo cars this year and can at least console himself in the fact that he goes into the Silverstone finale with a chance of taking the championship title; having managed to win more races than anyone else this year. Others haven’t been so lucky… This season, Plato is the only driver to have a won a race in a normally-aspirated car, with former champions West Surrey Racing amongst those heading towards the end of the season having failed to take to the top step of the podium.

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It’s been a far from easy campaign for WSR, who last tasted victory back in 2009, with Rob Collard and rookie team-mate Nick Foster having shown flashes of speed but struggling to take the fight to the turbo cars on a consistent basis. Qualifying in particular has shown the challenge they have faced, with Collard only once qualifying higher than tenth and Foster yet to make it into the top ten at all in his first season in the series.

hard year.

For a team that won the championship just two years ago, it’s been difficult to stomach the fact that the eBay Motors-backed BMWs have invariably been left fighting for scraps in the midfield and team boss Dick Bennetts admits that the 2011 season hasn’t been an easy one for his team.

it should have been done on speed because the turbo cars have more power. At the start of the year, there were all these stories that said they only had 20 or 30 horsepower but we’ve done a lot of research and have visited engine builders – both normally-aspirated and turbo – and they have 350-360 horsepower. Our BMW has 285.

“To be honest with you, it’s been very challenging,” he tells Inside BTCC in an in-depth and exclusive interview. “I knew from the outset that this was going to be a tough season, and I said to Alan Gow before it started that he was going to have a

“One of the big problems has been how do they sort equivalency between the turbo and normallyaspirated cars? Is it done on lap times or is it done on speed? Personally, I believe

front and then drive away on the straight. It’s the reason why Jason has said that he can win from the front as he can carry speed and momentum through a corner. However, if he has a turbo car slowing him up, he doesn’t have the torque to

“I knew from the outset that this was going to be a tough season, and I said to Alan Gow before it started that he was going to have a hard year.”

“It’s also been seen that it is hard for a normally-aspirated car to fight against the turbo cars unless you are in front. The turbo cars have the extra torque that means they can back a car up if they are in

then challenge on the straight – which is the problem all of the drivers in normallyaspirated cars have faced. “It’s a different style of racing when you have turbo cars racing against normallyaspirated cars, and it gives teams on both sides – and TOCA – a headache.” The issue of parity and equalisation is one that has been discussed since the season kicked off back in spring, and Bennetts admits that TOCA’s job hasn’t been made easy as team’s fight for any advantage they can find to try and secure

Inside BTCC 17

Still/PSP championship honours. “It’s a difficult job for TOCA to do if people don’t show their true hand to start with and I suspect some people did that,” he says. “You run with weight in testing, you turn the turbo down, you tell the drivers to just push hard enough to do a good job. Then as the season goes on, you can show your hand. It’s hard for TOCA to pick up on someone who isn’t cheating, but is just using their head. It’s all about strategy and how you go racing, but it is so competitive now that I suspect there is some of that going on.

- shouldn’t suffer the same tyre degradation as a turbo. However, what we’ve seen this year is the turbo cars can still go quickly in a straight line when their tyres are going off – they just have to brake a bit earlier. But then they start to drive defensively and you can’t get past them. “Getting parity for everyone is difficult and then you throw the NGTC cars into the mix. People say they are heavier, but they also have a bigger tyre. They have an inchwider footprint on the tyre for braking and accelerating and they have bigger brakes. They might be 1230 kilos but an S2000 car with full ballast

is 1225 anyway, so what is the difference?”

WSR are now facing a tough decision over the next step to take.

For the likes of WSR, and fellow Independent teams such as Tech-Speed, the fight against the turbos has brought with it added pressure because of the need to keep sponsors happy; sponsors who have put the money in to allow racing programmes to take place. Keeping partners happy while trying to fight against turbo-powered machinery hasn’t been an easy task and at a time when finding the backers to simply fund a racing programme is far from an easy task, teams like

“But you need to look at other things too. A normallyaspirated car that is set up properly – be it front-wheel drive or rear-wheel drive

Inside BTCC 18

Still/PSP

“I get frustrated but it must be equally frustrating for the turbo teams who look at the results and say ‘Jason is quick’. Okay, the Chevrolet Cruze is a quick car through corners but it isn’t that quick on the straights – and it’s the same as us. But like I said, if Jason has a clear run, then he is hard to beat.

“It is tough to keep sponsors happy,” Bennetts reflects. “One of our main sponsors, eBay Motors, have been very happy with a lot of the results, but they follow the racing closely and get frustrated when they see a turbo car drive past us like we are standing still. They get frustrated, we as a team get frustrated and the poor guys behind the wheel get frustrated. It isn’t the ideal way to go racing and it is now a matter of trying to work out the best way to move forwards for everyone – not just us at WSR. “At the end of the day, if you can’t beat them, you have to join them – the question is, what do you join them with? Do you go S2000 with turbo or do you go NGTC. If you go NGTC, which you should do by 2013, where do you find the money to design and build a car? It’s hard enough at the moment to find sponsors to run a car, never mind to design and build one from scratch.

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Jakob Ebrey One option would be to push ahead with fitting a turbo to the current cars – with a number of engine options being available to the team – but the team could also start work on a NGTC programme if the funding can be found.

“A decision won’t be too far away as the annual meeting is coming up soon and hopefully that will bring more clarity on parity.” qualifying at Brands Hatch, there was a turbo Vectra in second and third on the grid and those cars are as old as our BMW. It isn’t down to the age of the car if you have a good base car and prepare it properly and rebuild it with new parts, it is the turbo that is making it quick. So where do we go? Do we run a BMW with a turbo or will we then be penalised next year? We have to bring this up with TOCA.” Whatever route WSR elect to take, a decision will need to be taken sooner rather than later so plans can be put in place for 2012; especially when those plans are likely to have a direct impact in the seasons that follow.

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It’s clear to see however, that the decision isn’t an easy one for Bennetts and WSR to make. “A decision wont be too far away as the annual meeting is coming up soon and

hopefully that will bring more clarity on parity,” he says. “We’ll know more at the end of the month. It wouldn’t take too long to turbo the current cars and although that costs money, it is an investment as long as that could be carried over to an NGTC car. But then it becomes more cloudy because what car do you then choose? “If we spend money on the current car and turbo it for next year then we’d have to go with RWD because we’d buy diffs and gearboxes for a rear-wheel drive which limits our choice. There is an Audi that has been built already or we could go with a BMW?

Dzenis/PSP

“Until the regulations come out on what the rules are with engines for NGTC going forwards, we aren’t spending a penny. Our original plan in the summer break was to turbo our BMW. People say its an old car, but if you look at

There is a new 3 Series BMW coming out, but it’s in the middle of next year so we couldn’t start the season with that because it isn’t available to buy. “So do we take a year out and come back in 2013? “We have a good bunch of guys but it is all about finding the sponsorship and the money to build a car, which is what we are working on now. We are in dialogue with a couple of manufacturers but that is mainly for 2013. “We could do it like we did in the early MG days and start mid-way through next year as to do an NGTC car properly is starting to get late. You could do it, but the shorter time scale in which you do things, the more expensive it becomes, as you have to rush round and buy everything quickly. “If you plan it carefully, you can do a more cost effective job. There isn’t an easy solution and at the moment, We’re sitting on the fence.”

Inside BTCC 19

THE VOICE OF THE BTCC MATT SALISBURY CATCHES UP WITH BEN EDWARDS

Jakob Ebrey

As the voice of the BTCC’s TV coverage in recent years, Ben Edwards has firmly established himself as one of the most popular commentators

What a generation of younger fans probably don’t know however, is that that enthusiasm is largely down to the fact that Edwards himself is a former racer who enjoyed success on track before heading behind the microphone – where he has since commentated on everything from F1 and Champ Car down to speedway and powerboats. It was perhaps apt that Brands Hatch was the location for a chat between Inside BTCC and Edwards about his career, given that the Kent circuit is the place where his initial interest in motorsport emerged. “Brands Hatch is where my career in motorsport began,” he reflects. “I suppose my initial interest started after coming to an event here with my brother. We came to a classic car meeting and there happened to be a racing school event going on at the same time. We paid to have a few laps in one of the racing school cars and that was the first moment at which I thought ‘Wow, this is

Inside BTCC 20

something’. I did a couple of days with the racing school as a pupil to try and get into it and learn more about it, but it was literally a few days as I didn’t have the money to go through the whole school. “From there, I was very lucky in that a guy who lived near to me used to run Formula Fords and competed in the Champion of Brands series. I was still at school and asked if I could do anything, so that was how I started out really; as a gopher who would help out with guys like Andy Ackerley - who won the Champion of Brands way back in 1982 – and people like Karl Jones, who was a star here, and Chris Ringrose who was another champion in 1984. So I really got into it as a mechanic and from there, I started to get involved in driving myself.” Initially in single-seaters, Edwards picked up championship titles and raced against drivers who would go on to be household names, but – in a story that will be a familiar to numerous youngsters looking to make

their mark on the sport in the present day – he failed to make the next step in his career and instead found himself moving away from racing to a new role. “At first, I did a bit of pre-74 Formula Ford and then did a bit of Formula First, which was created at Brands Hatch and was a new introductory formula,” he recalls. “I won the first ever championship in 1987 and there was me, Kelvin Burt and Eugene O’Brien who were the main front-runners - Chris Goodwin was also there as well. I then moved into Formula Vauxhall Lotus, which I suppose was equivalent to Formula Renault now, and did a few years of that both in the UK and Europe. It was a support race to some of the F1 events which was an amazing experience but I wasn’t fully competitive in that for a number of reasons, partly because of budget and partly because of talent – or lack thereof! But it was a brilliant experience. Mika Hakkinen was doing it then, Allan McNish, David Brabham, Justin Bell, Gil de Ferran

around, with his enthusiastic approach reflecting the action-packed nature of the racing action he often finds himself describing.

– some fantastic drivers, and it to be part of that was just awesome. “At that time, I still had high hopes of making a career as a driver but really, during those years in Formula Vauxhall Lotus, I didn’t break through and I didn’t make that next step into F3. After that, I was instructing at Brands Hatch and I’d lost a bit of my enthusiasm and my momentum and I went off to race Caterhams for a year in 1992. I won the Caterham Vauxhall series and while it was at a different level, it was a good year as there were guest drivers in the celebrity car – which was part of the reason why I did it. Warren Hughes did a race, Justin Bell, Jason Elliott – I was inspired to take these guys on and see what I could do. I ended up winning the championship but at that point, I’d already started to commentate quite a lot.” Seeing a former driver take on a different role within the sport isn’t uncommon, although the vast majority tend to be

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Still/PSP found in engineering or team management roles, with figures like Steve Neal being a prime example in the BTCC paddock. However, despite his previous experience as a mechanic prior to his foray into racing, Edwards instead took his career in a different direction and it was very much a case of being in the right place at the right time. “I suppose it was down to chance,” he said. “I started to commentate at Brands Hatch and was encouraged by Brian Jones, who was the main commentator here at Brands. I used to stand in at first as the driver expert for things like Formula First because I wasn’t allowed to run in the Winter Series in that first year and I thought I’d go and help the commentator out as I knew all the guys racing and had competed against them all year. “I saw it as a way of showing that I could talk about the sport which, when you are trying to find sponsors, is very useful. Brian was very encouraging and said to me ‘Look, you’re actually good at this and I’d like to use you a bit more’. He used to stick me out in the Crows Nest on the GP loop when there used to be two commentary boxes and I found I really www.insidebtcc.com

enjoyed it; doing the research beforehand, finding out what was going on and being able to put a bit of the driver element into it. I love watching racing as well as being involved so I found it to be a good way to bring it all together. “Through doing the circuit commentary, I met some people who were involved in TV stuff and it all very slowly, and very gradually, evolved from there.” His varied career has seen Edwards commentate on a range of series but it is the BTCC for which he is now best known having formed a popular partnership Tim Harvey in recent years. Reflecting on some of the most popular commentaries he has done, one stands out and – for someone who has worked in F1 and who has seen Champ Car races decided by fractions of a second – it is one that is closer to home. “I do love touring cars because of the intensity of the action,” he said. “But everything is different and I have been lucky to do all sorts of things. Doing Formula One was fantastic because it is the peak of motorsport and is the thing that everyone watches but for sheer

entertainment, touring cars take some beating. “I think that probably my favourite commentary was the BTCC season finale when Turkington won the title because those final three races were just awesome and that last race particularly. It’s probably one of my favourite pieces of commentary because it was so unpredictable through that last race as to who would be champion and it came right down to the end of the race. “There were also quite a few in Champ Car, like Juan Montoya against Michael Andretti in Michigan and Mark Blundell beating Gil de Ferran by a few millimetres in Portland. There are quite a few Alex Zanardi wins that feature highly and they stick in my heart because I always rated him highly as a driver. I was commentating on the race when he had his accident and had been talking to him that morning in the pit lane before morning warm-up. It hit home pretty hard but to then see him come back; he is still the same guy he was, still amazingly talented and is able to cope well with such a difficult situation. He is one of my real heroes of the sport.”

possible contender to make a return to the F1 commentary box, previously when the sport returned to the BBC and again after the announcement that Sky Sports had secured the rights to show every race from 2012 onwards. That support is something Edwards admits he appreciates as he attempts to put across his love and enthusiasm for the sport to the fans watching on. “I’m very grateful for the support people have shown me over the years,” he said. “I was up for the F1 job when it went to the BBC and I was touched by the support people put on the internet. It’s such a subjective thing as one person’s voice might work for some people but it won’t work for others and everyone is different. “You can’t please everyone all the time, but all I can hope for is that the enthusiasm I have – which is totally genuine and comes from everything I have done in motorsport – comes across. That is the main thing for me.”

Such is his popularity that Edwards has long been championed by fans as a Inside BTCC 21

BRAKING THE RULES

Pics: Still/PSP

ANDREW JORDAN EXPLAINS THE BENEFITS OF LEFT-FOOT BRAKING

BY MATT SALISBURY When you get behind the wheel of your road car, assuming it’s fitted with a manual gearbox, you tend to follow a set pattern. Your right foot is there to control the accelerator and the brake, while the left foot deals with the clutch. Behind the wheel of a racing car, a number of drivers follow the same idea but there are some who take a different approach to driving; not that you’d be able to tell while watching the action from trackside. Pirtek Racing’s Andrew Jordan is one of the drivers currently competing in the BTCC who uses a system of left-foot braking while on track in an effort to try and gain the crucial tenths of a second that could make the difference between success and failure. In short, Jordan’s approach – made possible by the fact that the sequential gearbox in his Vauxhall Vectra negates

Inside BTCC 22

the need to use the clutch during racing – means he can almost treat his car as an automatic, using his right foot to control the throttle and his left foot to control the brake. But why go down that route? Does something as small as braking with the ‘wrong’ foot really give an advantage? “It all came about from my days in Rallycross as we were taught left-foot braking at the Bill Gwynne school,” Jordan explained to Inside BTCC. “The whole idea was to get

in and out of the throttle on a loose surface in order to change the balance of the car quickly. I got a feeling for left-foot braking there and have carried it into circuit racing, but just think about it for a minute.

to come off the throttle to hit the brakes whereas if you left-foot brake, you can have that little extra time on full throttle. It might only be a tenth of a second, but you do get that little bit more and it all adds up.

“If you right-foot brake, you have that moment when you have to come off the brakes...” “You are on full throttle and you have a braking point 100m from a corner. If you right-foot brake, you have that moment when you have

“Also, if you are going through a sweeping corner – especially in a turbo car with the tyre issues we have – you’ll be using a little bit of left foot braking to try and tuck the front axle in and look after the tyres. That is the main reason why I elect to use left-foot braking. It’s a technique that takes a little while to master and I don’t know if I’ve done it yet, but I think I’m getting there.” Jordan admits that it took time to learn to left-foot brake, but that knowledge is something he is now able to truly benefit from as the

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Tozer/PSP “Through the double left at Rockingham as an example, I can use little bits of braking

when I go back to right foot braking, it feels a bit alien to me. I do do some extra training to build the strength in my left leg because even though these cars aren’t the quickest in a straight-line, they are almost ‘over-braked’ as they have really big brakes when you compare it to the speed they carry.”

“The brake bill is higher! I am very

more dive and that puts more energy through the brakes.

and left-foot braking. It’s the brake bill that seems to be the biggest thing!”

“It might also put a little bit more pressure on the tyres but there isn’t really much of a difference in terms of tyre life between right-foot Jakob Ebrey

BTCC heads into a new era of turbo-charged engines, where the ability to left-foot break helps to keep the boost level up on his turbo rather than it dropping off every time he has to come off the throttle to hit the brakes.

hard on the brakes and my initial brake pressure is very hard...” with my left foot while still building the throttle with my right,” he says, “and in a turbo car that is important because you can be building the throttle against the brake to try and get the boost and the turbo spinning up. I think it’s more important to be able to left-foot brake in a turbo car than in a normallyaspirated one. “When I first started, it was hard to get the feeling in your left foot to get the pressure and the feel that you do with your right foot, but now, www.insidebtcc.com

However, while there is a positive to left-foot braking, there are also negatives; in Jordan’s case, from a financial side of things. “The brake bill is higher!” he says. “I am very hard on the brakes and my initial brake pressure is very hard. If you do it all in slow motion with right-foot braking, coming off the throttle the car will settle a little and then on the brakes, it will settle. With left-foot braking, you get the instant off the throttle onto the brakes, so you get Inside BTCC 23

VAUXHALL RETURNS

Still/PSP

THORNEY MOTORSPORT UNVEILS NGTC VAUXHALL INSIGNIA

Inside BTCC 24

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Still/PSP

THORNEY LAUNCH

VAUXHALL INSIGNIA IS LATEST MODEL TO JOIN THE ‘NEXT GENERATION’ RANKS Milton Keynes based outfit Thorney Motorsport has unveiled the brand new Vauxhall Insignia that it plans to race in the BTCC. Team boss John Thorne has led the build of the NGTCspec machine, which looks set to ensure that Vauxhall

continues to be represented on the BTCC grid in years to come. Other ‘next generation’ cars currently on the BTCC grid are the Toyota Avensis, the Audi A4 and the Proton Gen2, with Honda Civics already confirmed for 2012 by Team

Dynamics and Pirtek Racing.

base last weekend.

Currently fitted with a standard Toca NGTC engine, the car is set to feature an inhouse developed power-unit in time for the 2012 season.

The livery featuring the Batman logo is an ‘interim’ design while the team finalises sponsorship details for its BTCC programme.

The Insignia went on show to press and public at the team’s

NEWS IN BRIEF / NEWS IN BRIEF / NEWS IN BRIEF / NEWS IN BRIEF JORDAN MISSES OUT ON BATHURST DRIVE Andy Jordan missed out on the chance of a drive in the famous Bathurst 1000 when the winner of the Shannons Supercar Showdown reality TV show was revealed on race day at Brands Hatch. Jordan had taken part in the show, which aimed to find a driver to contest the biggest event on V8 Supercar Championship alongside Grant Denyer in a Holden Commodore run by the Kelly Racing team. While he got to the final, Jordan lost out to young Australian Cameron Waters although the teenager endured a difficult debut at the ‘Mountain’ when he

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crashed into the wall at Forest Elbow early in his first stint. Although he dragged the car back to the pits, the time lost carrying out repairs meant it wasn’t classified at the finish. Having missed out on the Bathurst drive, Jordan instead took up a drive in Ginetta’s latest GT3 machine at Silverstone, although the car was forced to retire from the final round of the British GT Championship season. BTCC title hopeful Gordon Shedden was also out in action again with the Rosso Verde team, finishing just outside the points in eleventh. Former touring car racer Jonny Adam took victory alongside teammate Andrew Howard for Beechdean Motorsport.

WSR TO TURKINGTON WTCC OUTINGS

AID IN

Members of West Surrey Racing will be part of a tworace WTCC programme for former BTCC champion Colin Turkington. Turkington, who has raced in Sweden this season, will race a BMW 320TC for the Wiechers-Sport team with backing from Aviva-Cofco. Members of WSR will aid the team for the events in China and Japan. “We look forward to working with Aviva-Cofco and teaming up with Wiechers Sport,” WSR boss Dick Bennetts said. “We have a great relationship with both companies and are

confident in producing solid results on the track.” Turkington raced for Wiechers-Sport at Donington Park earlier in the year.

CROFT TICKETS ON SALE

Croft has moved quickly to offer fans the chance to buy tickets for its 2012 BTCC event at special preChristmas prices. Tickets order by 16 December this year for the event – slated to take place on the weekend on 23/24 June – will cost £20 for race day and £30 for the weekend, with camping also available for £10 a pitch. Tickets can be ordered by calling 01325 721815.

Inside BTCC 25

Hatfield/PSP

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

...JONATHAN ADAM Having taken back-to-back titles in the SEAT Cupra Championship in 2007 and 2008, it was little surprise when Scot Jonathan Adam made the step into the BTCC for the 2009 season. What was more of a surprise was that he would be part of the grid for just a single season… Having joined Motorbase to drive one of its Airwaves Racing BMWs, Adam finished his debut season eighth in the championship standings having taken two podium finishes – which included a victory ‘on the road’ in the season opener at Brands Hatch before a post-race penalty for contact with Jason Plato saw him drop back to second place. Adam had been expected to at least fight for Independent honours in his second season, but as the off-season went on, it became more apparent that his hopes of returning for a second season were diminishing as the economic downturn had a negative

Inside BTCC 26

effect on the hunt for sponsorship. It meant that when 2010 kicked off, Adam was on the sidelines with Mat Jackson and Steven Kane instead forming the Airwaves Racing line-up. A one-off outing in the Ginetta G50 Cup at Knockhill did follow later in the year before Adam elected to switch his focus away from touring cars to instead the step into GT competition. “Last year was quite a frustrating one for me,” Adam told Inside BTCC. “Obviously after my season in the BTCC,

we tried to get the money to come back with Motorbase and the BMW but we just couldn’t manage it. “It was disappointing as I’d have loved two years at it. Your first year at anything is always your learning year and I think it was a good first year with some strong performances. Compared to my team-mate Rob [Collard], it was encouraging and I was working well with the team. I’d have loved a second crack at it but it never happened. “It meant a quiet year for me and I didn’t race at all for

Jakob Ebrey

BY MATT SALISBURY

something like six months until I got a call from Ginetta to drive the guest car in the G50 Cup at Knockhill. I did well and won a race and then I started to change my focus towards GT racing, I spoke to Andrew Howard about 2011 and met him in February this year. I did a track day and we talked about his plans and what was on offer and did a deal pretty much there and then.” That deal has seen Adam join Howard at the wheel of the Aston Martin DBRS9 run by his own Beechdean Motorsport team in the British GT Championship this season. The pair started the season in fine style with a podium finish in the first race of the year at Oulton Park – where Adam managed to nurse the car to the finish despite an engine issue that resulted in the motor in the Aston expiring as he crossed the line. A further podium followed in race two at the famous Spa circuit before Adam helped the team to its maiden victory in a wet opening race at Rockingham.

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Jakob Ebrey Bringing the curtain down on his first season of GT competition in fine style, Adam then took the chequered flag first in the season finale at Silverstone to give Beechdean’s Aston Martin a victory in its final race before being sent into retirement. “Rockingham wasn’t a circuit for us, but when we opened the curtains on the morning of the race and it was raining, we were quite excited as the car is normally good in the wet,” he said. “We chose the right tyres at the start of the race and the car was superb. Even when other people swapped to wet tyres, we were still the quickest car out there. “It’s been a good season and I’ve enjoyed it. GT racing is a totally different discipline to touring cars but the racing is still close. It might not be as close as in the BTCC, but it’s just as important to make sure you have strong pace in the car. As much as the British GT races are endurance races, they are also something of a sprint because you have to push flat

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out for an hour or two at a time and you just can’t relax.” Although not racing on the BTCC package this season, Adam has been a regular visitor to the paddock in his other role as driver coach with Total Control Racing, the team that ran him in both the Renault Clio Cup and in the Cupra Championship. “It’s all experience really,” he replies when asked what he can pass on to TCR’s fourstrong Clio brigade. “I raced with these guys for five years – two in the Clio Cup and then three in SEATs – so I have plenty of knowledge that can be passed on to these guys. “The drivers have all come on over the course of the year. James [Dixon] has been in contention for the championship all season and Nicolas [Hamilton] has just got better and better as the season has gone on. What he has really needed this year has just been time behind the wheel and when we’ve been able to give him more seat time ahead of the season finale at Brands Hatch, he

made the most of it. To qualify eight-tenths away from pole on the GP circuit is an impressive performance.” Taking on Hamilton, the younger brother of F1 title winner Lewis, has seen TCR – run by former BTCC privateers champion Lee Brookes - thrown into the spotlight somewhat this season, with Lewis himself having visited a number of events to cheer Nicolas on. Over the course of the season, Hamilton – who suffers from Cerebral Palsy and came into the campaign as a true racing rookie – has made impressive progress and Adam insists that the 19-year-old has shown the potential to enjoy his own successful racing career. “Nic has found himself in the spotlight quite a lot this season because of his name,” Adam says. “The problem we had with him at the start of the year was mainly down to a lack of pre-season testing as the deal for him to race was done quite late and there is a testing ban than comes into place in the Renault

series. “That has put Nic on the back foot a bit because when he has got to a circuit for Friday testing, he has had to focus on learning the circuit but his technique and speed has improved massively. Another season of racing with a proper pre-season testing programme in place and Nic could be right up there next year. People seem to expect him to have done a lot of racing before, but the reality is that he has done nothing in the past and this has been a proper novice year. “Nic can go a long way. We’ve seen from the first time he got in the car that there is natural ability and its just a case of honing it now: it’s the little things. It’s easy to find the seconds, but finding the little tenths is the difficult part and that is the situation Nic will be in next year – where he is trying to find that last little bit. But it will come and what he has done from the start of this season to now is massive.”

Inside BTCC 27

Pics: Jakob Ebrey

CLIO TRIPLE FOR RIVETT Paul Rivett clinched his third Renault Clio Cup title at Brands Hatch, but what’s his next move?

BY MATT LAMPRELL Paul Rivett secured his third Renault Clio Cup UK title at Brands Hatch, becoming the first driver to claim a ‘triple’ in the Renault-backed series. We caught up with Paul after his victory to see what the future might hold. Paul Rivett is no stranger to the BTCC and its support races, having competed in the Renault Clio Cup in no fewer than eight of the past ten seasons. Throughout this time, he has shown his class on many an occasion, with his racing record speaking for itself. For his first two championship wins, Rivett drove the Clio in its previous incarnation – first with Team Firstair in 2002 and then with Boulevard Team Racing in 2004. 33-year-old Rivett also has two winter series championships to his name, in 2001 and 2003. Since 2004, he has twice finished

Inside BTCC 28

runner-up in the main series, behind Ben Winrow and Tom Onslow-Cole. Onslow-Cole has since gone on to become a BTCC star and in fact, only Rivett, Winrow and Jonathan Fildes have won the Clio Cup and failed to go on to race in the BTCC. The most recent graduate is 2007 champion Martin Byford, who made his BTCC debut earlier this year. “I would absolutely love to be in touring cars,” said Rivett. “I really would. Half the guys out there have been through Clio Cup and therefore I’ve beaten half the guys in the past, so I’d love to have the opportunity to go and try to beat them again. “But, realistically that’s not going to happen for budget reasons – unless someone knows something I don’t! If I can get back out in the Clio Cup again then great. I’m just very, very happy to be behind the wheel of any car and to get out racing.”

www.insidebtcc.com

Pics: Jakob Ebrey

RIVETT HAS WON IN CLIOS - OLD AND NEW Rivett’s 2011 title has come at the wheel of a Stancombe Vehicle Engineering prepared Renault Clio, which makes it particularly sweet for the Banstead racer as it’s the same team with which he started his car racing career in the Ford Fiesta championship. “It’s been a great season with Colin [Stancombe]. It’s great feeling to win the title for them as we’ve all worked so hard along the way. “The Lumison BlueSquare Data car has been great all year. Stancombe Vehicle Engineering have done an absolutely amazing job – they’re a great team to run with “I’m absolutely over the moon to be champion again. I had tears in my eyes coming in on the slowing down lap. I had to dry those before I got out for the cameras, that’s for sure.” He may be champion, but it was anything but plain sailing for Rivett in 2011.

added. “No podiums for half the season in the middle part and I’ve started 25% of the races this year from the back of the grid. So to be become champion at the end of it all is just such a rewarding prize. It feels really good to be here. “At Rockingham, we switched to my sponsor Matthew Munson’s car on the Friday but then I managed to set fire to that during qualifying. I promised him not to do that again at Brands and that I would do the best I possibly could. “We were four points behind heading into the weekend and we’ve come out on top. Second in the first race and then we’ve won the second race along with fastest lap. We had pole position for both races and we were quickest in testing, too. I think we really stamped out seal on the championship.” Indeed, with his five titles, Rivett has left his mark on the Clio championship for good – and what a welcome addition he would be to the BTCC grid.

“We’ve had a lot of downs as well as the ups this year,” he

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Inside BTCC 29

A LAP OF SILVERSTONE...

Jakob Ebrey

...WITH JAMES NASH

PIT STRAIGHT

COPSE

WOODLANDS BROOKLANDS

LUFFIELD WELLINGTON STRAIGHT

SILVERSTONE NATIONAL CIRCUIT

Inside BTCC 30

MAGGOTS

BECKETTS

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There is a lot of run-off on the outside of Copse, and more and more we tend to see cars using that run-off although the rules state that you can only put two wheels over the white line. In theory, we shouldn’t go that far over and if you do mess it up, you need to just straighten the wheel up, use all of the exit and avoid the kerb completely; so you go around the other side of it. We then have a hard braking zone down into Maggotts, which has changed slightly from previous years. It’s quite

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bumpy on the way in and you can easily snatch the brakes and lock up a wheel. Although the track goes left before we turn right, you have to try and keep the car as straight as possible so you have to almost straight-line the left kink and aim for the apex of the right-hander. You have to get the car stopped and then get onto the power cleanly for the straight. There is a big kerb on the exit and if you get onto that, it can ruin the car and destroy the wheels and tyres.

The Wellington Straight is a long straight and you need to have good exit speed from the corner when you come onto it, otherwise you will get slip-streamed by the cars behind who will chase a tow for the next corner. Next up is Brooklands, where there tends to be quite a bit of overtaking. No corner is easy to defend but you can try to send a car round the outside into there, although there is then the possibility that they could keep the move going in order to get

Jakob Ebrey

Because Silverstone is such a small track – it’s basically a triangle with three straights and a couple of corners – you have to make every corner count because you don’t have much chance to make up for any time you lose. Copse is very high speed and you need to make sure you get the car turned in at the right point and look for your exit early. If you run too much kerb, you will lose time so there is compromise in carrying the speed through to make sure you don’t then run wide.

Dzenis/PSP

TRIPLE EIGHT’S JAMES NASH GUIDES US AROUND SILVERSTONE’S NATIONAL CIRCUIT

the line into Luffield. You have to take it as it comes and make sure that the inside is covered as that is the easiest line to take. Through Luffield, there are a few different lines you can take and you’ll see different people using different lines depending on what car they are using. The rear-wheel drive cars will be strong there, especially towards the end of the race, and you just have to be so patient. It can be frustrating because you are waiting to get the power down and if you are impatient and try to get the power on too early, you can ruin your exit speed, which in turn will affect you on the run back down to Copse. Like I said, there are basically only three real corners on the National circuit and if you mess up any one of them, you have ruined the following straight. There might only be a few corners, but they are all very important.

Inside BTCC 31

SILVERSTONE PREVIEW

Dzenis/PSP

WE LOOK AHEAD TO THE SEASON FINALE

Going into Finals Day, five drivers retain a mathematical chance of taking the title with a maximum of 52 points available although – barring horrendous luck for the top three in the standings – the 2011 champion is likely to come from one of three men; Honda pair Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden and Chevrolet’s Jason Plato. Neal is the man who will lead the way into the Silverstone weekend, with a slender advantage of just five points over Shedden and Plato behind. Neal has fond memories of Silverstone having wrapped up one of his two titles at the circuit and his turbo-powered Honda Civic should be strong around the National Circuit; which is effectively just three straights linked together by a few corners. Inside BTCC 32

a winner four times in as many meetings, finds himself behind the Civics on the grid, then it is difficult to see him being able to get ahead. However, if he can manage to qualify ahead, expect to see a VERY wide Chevrolet in action on track.

Jakob Ebrey

After 27 races full of drama, the fight for the 2011 title now comes down to one final weekend, with three races around the short Silverstone National circuit to decide who will emerge as the championship winner.

However, things are rarely straightforward where the BTCC is concerned and Neal goes into the season finale having finished on the podium just four times since the summer break – with his victory in the final race at Brands Hatch last time out being his first success since race two at Croft back in June. The only downside for Neal is the fact that he will now carry maximum ballast on his Civic for qualifying and the opening race of the weekend, with 45kg being added to

his car thanks to his position as championship leader. By contrast, Plato and Shedden will carry 27kg thanks to the fact they share second place; putting Neal a full 18kg heavier than his title rivals. Plato himself has been quick to downplay his chances going into the weekend given the fact he lacks a turbo under the bonnet of his Chevrolet Cruze, but the defending champion will do his all to take the fight to the Hondas and is certain to be going all out in qualifying to try and get as close to the front as possible. If Plato,

Of the top three, Shedden is the only one who hasn’t tasted victory at Silverstone but that in no way means the Scot should be discounted in the title race. Shedden has taken six podium finishes in the second half of the year – including three wins – and is chasing his first championship title. There is little doubt that Shedden would be a popular winner if he is able to beat the more experienced pair he finds himself battling with to the championship crown. Mat Jackson and James Nash remain in contention for the title although with Jackson 36 points down, and Nash eight points further back, both will need to have luck on their side if they are to stand any chance of taking the title – with the battle between the pair for the Independents’ www.insidebtcc.com

title set to be one to watch. Jackson has strong history at Silverstone in the past with three wins in recent years and having returned to form at Brands Hatch after a wretched run of form dropped him away from the leading group, the Airwaves Racing driver will be keen to end the year on a high. For Nash, who has now broken his duck and taken a trip to the top of the BTCC podium, a win would be the ideal way to end his

best season to date in what is the home event for his Triple Eight team – and also its last race with the Vauxhall Vectra. Dependent on what car the team elects to use next season, it could also end the team’s time running Vauxhall machinery in the BTCC; something it has done since entering the series. As well as fighting for position themselves, Jackson and Nash will also play a key role in deciding if Triple Eight or

Silverstone

RECENT HISTORY 2010 - NATIONAL Pole

Tom Onslow-Cole, Ford Focus ST

Race One

Tom Chilton, Ford Focus ST

Race Two

Tom Chilton, Ford Focus ST

Race Three

Tom Onslow-Cole, Ford Focus ST

Airwaves Racing will clinch the Independents’ teams title. While the focus will understandably be on the title fight, there are plenty of other drivers aiming to end the season on a high, with the likes of Tom Onslow-Cole and Tom Chilton keen to fight for victory for Team Aon, Rob Collard and Paul O’Neill set to battle for eighth in the championship and Frank Wrathall and Rob Austin’s private duel to try and take the first NGTC victory set to continue. Both however will hope for more performance than was seen at Brands Hatch last time out. Elsewhere, the season finale would appear set to be the swansong for BTC-spec machinery with Lea Wood’s Honda Integra the only car

still on the grid running to those regulations having been given a reprieve this year while a new car is set to debut with Thorney Motorsport’s Vauxhall Insignia slated to make its first appearance – depending on how a pre-event test pans out. The addition of the Insignia to the grid will mean a grid of at least 30 cars… In the support races, a number of championship titles will be decided at Silverstone, with one of the most interesting being the Ginetta GT Supercup, with the man who lifts the crown winning a funded BTCC drive for next season. Which team and with what car has still to be determined, with a tender process set to open once the finale has taken place.

2009 - NATIONAL Pole

Mat Jackson, Chevrolet Lacetti

Race One

Mat Jackson, Chevrolet Lacetti

Race Two

Jason Plato, Chevrolet Lacetti

Race Three

Mat Jackson, Chevrolet Lacetti

2008 - NATIONAL Pole

Jason Plato, SEAT Leon TDI

Race One

Jason Plato, SEAT Leon TDI

Race Two

Fabrizio Giovanardi, Vauxhall Vectra

Race Three

Mat Jackson, BMW 320si

2006 - NATIONAL Pole

Gareth Howell, Honda Integra

Race One

Gareth Howell, Honda Integra

Race Two

Matt Neal, Honda Integra

Race Three

Gareth Howell, Honda Integra

2005 - NATIONAL

SILVERSTONE STATS LENGTH

1.64 miles

2011 RACE LAPS

RACE DISTANCE

36.08 miles

2004 - INTERNATIONAL

LAP RECORD (QUALIFYING)

59.659s (Tom Onslow-Cole, 2010)

Pole

Jason Plato, SEAT Toledo Cupra

LAP RECORD (RACE)

Race One

Matt Neal, Honda Civic Type-R

1m 00.682s (Tom OnslowCole, 2010)

Race Two

James Thompson, Vauxhall Astra

MOST WINS (1991-)

Race Three

Tom Chilton, Honda Civic Type-R

3 – Tom Chilton, Mat Jackson, Gareth Howell, Paul Radisich

Pole

Gareth Howell, Honda Integra

Race One

Tom Chilton, Honda Civic Type-R

Race Two

Luke Hines, SEAT Toledo Cupra

Race Three

Gareth Howell, Honda Integra

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Inside BTCC 33

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Tozer/PSP Jakob Ebrey www.insidebtcc.com

Inside BTCC 35

RACE FOR

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

MANUFACTURER/CONSTRUCTOR

Matt Neal

225

Honda/Dynamics

556

Jason Plato

220

Chevrolet/RML

463

Gordon Shedden

220

Ford/Arena

383

Mat Jackson

189

James Nash

181

Andrew Jordan

127

Honda Racing

406

Tom Chilton

116

Silverline Chevrolet

273

Rob Collard

105

Airwaves Racing

183

Paul Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neill

Triple Eight/Collins

183

Alex MacDowall

WSR

153

Frank Wrathall

Team Aon

150

Tom Boardman

Pirtek Racing

135

Nick Foster

GoMobileUK.com/Tech-Speed

Tom Onslow-Cole

Special Tuning Racing

Rob Austin

Dynojet

Jeff Smith

Rob Austin Racing

Dave Newsham

AmD Milltek Racing.com

Andy Neate

Central Group Racing

Tony Gilham

Geoff Steel Racing

Lea Wood

Welch Automotive

Liam Griffin

Speedworks

Aron Smith

Team ES Racing

Michael Caine

Ollie Jackson

Chris Swanwick

Dave Pinkney

John George

Dan Welch

Tony Hughes

Chris James

Martin Byford

Shaun Hollamby

Inside BTCC 36

TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP

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THE TITLE

GS AFTER 27 OF 30 RACES INDEPENDENT DRIVERS

INDEPENDENT TEAMS

James Nash

253

Triple Eight/Collins

268

Mat Jackson

236

Airwaves Racing

253

Andrew Jordan

181

WSR

212

Tom Chilton

174

Team Aon

208

Rob Collard

151

Pirtek Racing

197

Paul Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neill

144

GoMobileUK.com/Tech-Speed

169

Nick Foster

103

Special Tuning Racing

128

Tom Boardman

Dynojet

Tom Onslow-Cole

Rob Austin Racing

Frank Wrathall

AmD Milltek Racing.com

Dave Newsham

Team ES Racing

Jeff Smith

Central Group Racing

Andy Neate

Geoff Steel Racing

Tony Gilham

Speedworks

Rob Austin

Welch Automotive

Lea Wood

Michael Caine

Aron Smith

John George

Liam Griffin

Dan Welch

Chris James

Ollie Jackson

Dave Pinkney

Chris Swanwick

Tony Hughes

Shaun Hollamby

Martin Byford

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Inside BTCC 37

THE SEASON

RACE-BY-RACE RESULTS FOR THE 2011 DUNLOP

Jason Plato Matt Neal Tom Onslow-Cole

DNF

13 DNF 12

18 DNF

DNF

DNS 10

Tom Chilton

DNF

Mat Jackson

Michael Caine

Rob Collard

Frank Wrathall

David Pinkney

DNS DNS 16

DNS DNS DNS

NC /

DNF 12 /

James Nash

Dave Newsham

11 DNF 15 DNF

Nick Foster

DNF DNF 10

Tom Boardman

DNF 17 2

DNF

16 DNS 10

NC DNF DNS DNF DNF 13 DNF

Rob Austin

Alex MacDowall

DNF DNF 13 DNF DNS DNS DNF 12 3

16 DNF DNF DNF

DNF DNF

DNF NC

Paul O’Neill

DNF

Chris Swanwick

Tony Gilham

Daniel Welch

Lea Wood

11 DNF 16

DNF 19

16 DNF

Tony Hughes

DNF 11

14 DNF 12

Ollie Jackson

Gordon Shedden

DSQ

DNF

Jeff Smith

11 DNF DNF 10

Liam Griffin

13 DNF

Andrew Jordan

Chris James

Aron Smith

Martin Byford

Shaun Hollamby

18 DNF 4

18 DNF 18 DNF DNF DNS

BOLD denotes pole position ITALICS denotes fastest lap

Inside BTCC 38

John George

Andy Neate

17 DNF 12

12 DNF 10 9

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SO FAR

P MSA BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP

DNF 11

DNF

11 DNF 11

12 DNF

19 DNF DNF DNF DNF 13

12 DNF DNF /

DNF DNS

DNF NC DNF 15 DNF 10 DNF DNF DNF 8

12 DNF 10

14 DNF

10 DNF DNF DNF DNS DNS DNF 14 9

DNF DNF

DNF 12

10 DNF 20 DNF 10

22 DNF

DNF 13 DNF

19 DNF DNF 17 DNF DNF 17

DNF DNF

DNF 10 DNF 11 19

10 9

DNF

23 DNF

19 DNF 15

12 DNF 13 /

14 DNF

DNF

15 DNF 14

18 DNF 16

11 DNF DNF 15 DNF 17

DNF 16 DNF DNF 14

DNF DNF 18 /

DNF

14 DNF DNF DNF 16

20 DNS DNF 18 /

DNS DNS DNS DNF 21 DNF 9

21 DNF DNS

12 DNF DNF 14 DNF DNF DSQ

13 DNF

11 DNF DNS

DNF 13

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DNS 16

14 15 8

14 DNF 16 DNF DNF DNF 20 /

DNF 24

Inside BTCC 39

Still/PSP Dzenis/PSP Inside BTCC 40

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

@RMLgroup @chevroletbtcc

Honda

@hondaracingbtcc

Team Aon

@TeamAON

Airwaves Racing

@Motorbase

WSR

@Official_WSR

Rob Austin Racing

@RobAustinRacing

Triple Eight

@official888race

Geoff Steel Racing

@GeoffSteelBTCC

Special Tuning

@BTCCSTR

Central Group Racing

@teamwoodracing

Speedworks

@SpeedworksMS

Team ES Racing

@teamESracing

AmD Milltek Racing

@AmDessex

Toyota

@ToyotaBTCC

OTHERS Official BTCC

@DunlopBTCC

Inside BTCC

@InsideBTCC

TinTop Tuesday

@TinTopTuesday

Alan Hyde

@AlanHydeStudio

Not Alan Gow

@alan_gow_btcc

Talking Point Broadcasting

@TPBroadcasting

ITV

@ITVtouringcars

Richard John Neill

@richardjneill

Ben Edwards

@bennythebulb

YourRacingCar

@YourRacingCar

eBay BTCC

@eBayMotorsBTCC

Unlap

@unlap

Brands Hatch

@Brands_Hatch

Oulton Park

@Oulton_Park

Snetterton

@SnettertonMSV

Silverstone

@SilverstoneUK

Rockingham

@RockinghamUK

Knockhill

@krcircuit

Croft

@CroftSupporters

Thruxton

@thruxtonracing

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DRIVERS Jason Plato

@jasonplato

Matt Neal

@MattNealRacing

Tom Chilton

@Tom_ChiltonBTCC

Mat Jackson

@mat_jackson

Tom Onslow-Cole

@tomonslowcole

Frank Wrathall

@frankwrathall

Rob Austin

@RobertoAustini

James Nash

@jamesnashracing

Dave Newsham

@newshamracing

Tom Boardman

@TomBoardmanBTCC

Paul O’Neill

@PaulONeill29

Tony Gilham

@tonygilham

Dan Welch

@WelchMotorsport

Tony Hughes

@TonyHughesBTCC

Gordon Shedden

@gordonshedden

Liam Griffin

@liamgriffinbtcc

Andrew Jordan

@andyjordanbtcc

Chris James

@ChrisJamesBTCC

Martin Byford

@MartinByford

Andy Neate

@AndyNeate

Inside BTCC 41

Jakob Ebrey

FROM THE ARCHIVES...

GORDON SHEDDEN SILVERSTONE, 2006 Inside BTCC 42

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Jakob Ebrey

btcc 2011

28, 29 & 30

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Silverstone

15 - 16 October

Inside BTCC 43

Inside BTCC 44