Inside BTCC - Issue 7 - BTCC 2012 season guide

INSIDEBTCC.COM issue 7 : mar 2012

PLUS - FIRST EXCLUSIVE COLUMN FROM MAT JACKSON...

THE RACE IS ON! BTCC 2012 - THE ULTIMATE GUIDE

www.insidebtcc.com Inside BTCC MOODY GUIDE TO THE 2012 BTCC / WE MEET ITV’S TOBY TEAM-BY-TEAM

Hildrew/PSP

Inside BTCC

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WELCOME...

Hi guys and welcome to the second Inside BTCC of the season as we look ahead to the opening rounds of 2012 at Brands Hatch.

While some familiar names are missing are missing, a field of 24 cars is set to start the season with the promise of more to follow, with action guaranteed through the 30-race season.

In our season preview, we look at the runners and riders for 2012, catch up with the new voice of the BTCC Toby Moody and get the thoughts of Redstone Racing’s Mat Jackson in his first exclusive column for you to enjoy.

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If you have any questions you’d like to put to Mat, or if you simply want to get in touch, you can e-mail us on contact@ insidebtcc.com, ‘Like Us’ on Facebook or get hold of us on Twitter at @InsideBTCC. Don’t forget as well that we are looking for a BTCC image for our Facebook timeline so if you have an image you think is a winner, e-mail it in on the address above.

We’re ready and raring to go for Brands Hatch but are you?

Until next time...

Inside BTCC

Jakob Ebrey Hildrew/PSP

Inside BTCC

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S T TEN

N O C

IN THIS ISSUE...

MEETING MOODY Get to know the new voice of the BTCC

6-7

JACKSON’S COLUMN Redstone Racing star joins the Inside BTCC team

8-9

BTCC 2012 - THE ENTRY LIST Our guide to the 2012 BTCC season

10 - 11

HONDA YUASA RACING TEAM Matt Neal & Gordon Shedden

12 - 13

MG KX MOMENTUM Jason Plato & Andy Neate

14 - 15

REDSTONE RACING Mat Jackson, Liam Griffin & Aron Smith

16 - 17

EBAY MOTORS Rob Collard, Tom Onslow-Cole & Nick Foster

18 - 19

PIRTEK RACING Andrew Jordan & Jeff Smith

20 - 21

DYNOJET Frank Wrathall

22 - 23

AMD TUNING.COM Ollie Jackson

24 - 25

THORNEY MOTORSPORT John Thorne & Rob Hedley

26 - 27

WELCH MOTORSPORT Daniel Welch

28 - 29

TEAM ES RACING Chris James & Dave Newsham

30 - 31

ROB AUSTIN RACING Mark Hazell & Rob Austin

32 - 33

SPEEDWORKS MOTORSPORT Tony Hughes & Adam Morgan

34 - 35

RCIB INSURANCE & HARD. Tony Gilham

36 - 37

BINZ RACING Lea Wood

38 - 39

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. Written, produced and edited by Matt Salisbury and Matt Lamprell.

Front cover images: Main - The pack on track at Silverstone media day (Hildrew/PSP); Top right - Mat Jackson joins the Inside BTCC team (Dzenis/PSP).

Back cover: Matt Neal, Honda Yuasa Racing Team (Jakob Ebrey).

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Inside BTCC

MEETING MOODY TOBY MOODY joins ITV’s BTCC team in 2012.

Jakob Ebrey

MATT SALISBURY caught up with the new voice of the championship ahead of the new season.

Inside BTCC

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Jakob Ebrey With Ben Edwards having moved on to F1 with the BBC, there will be a new voice for ITV4’s coverage of the BTCC this season, with Toby Moody replacing Ben in the commentary box for 2012.

Mainly known in recent years for his work as part of the highly-popular Eurosport MotoGP team Toby will now call all the action as the BTCC title battle develops over the course of the year, with Tim Harvey alongside him.

Ahead of the first rounds of the year, Inside BTCC took the chance to catch up with Toby to see how excited he is about his new role…

Inside BTCC: Toby, everyone knows you in recent years from your work with Eurosport on MotoGP, so how excited are you to be joining ITV for this season?

Toby Moody: Well as long as it is good racing, which I’m sure it will be, then that is the main thing. I don’t really care what I am commentating on as long as its close, you don’t want boring races with someone winning by 20 seconds.

Close racing is what you are going to get in the short, sharp races that you have with the British Touring Car www.insidebtcc.com

Championship. It is quite humbling to be offered the job and obviously I took it; I didn’t need much time to make the decision! It’s humbling to stand on a stage next to Steve Rider as we all grew up watching him on F1 and then of course with the touring cars. And can you believe I once had to pay to go and watch Tim Harvey race!

in bikes to cars, but I’ve always kept my car culture.

I’m on the board at Shelsley Walsh, I’ve worked at Le Mans, I’ve commentated on the Silverstone Classic and I am a car guy. It’s ironic that, after so long doing MotoGP, people think I’m a bike man but that doesn’t mean I have forgotten about my cars. I’ve built my own racing car so I have an idea how they work!

Inside BTCC: I didn’t think you were that old…

Inside BTCC: You’re joining the ITV team at the start of what looks like being an interesting season with the new car from Honda, the return of MG and the fact we have a grid full of turbo cars. But what are you looking forward to most about this season?

Toby Moody: Trust me, I am!

Inside BTCC: As a commentator you’ve become known as a bike guy from your work in MotoGP. Is it quite difficult to make the switch from bikes to cars or it as simple as just talking about something going round a track?

Toby Moody: No, no, far from it. First and foremost, I am a car guy and I actually had the chance to go and work on Grand Prix motorcycle racing back in 1996. I was in my early 20’s and I thought ‘I’ll do a bit of homework but its still slick tyres and it’s still a chequered flag and racing around circuits I know’. How wrong I was.

It’s a totally different culture

Toby Moody: I think Druids in the first race at Brands Hatch! People will be putting their elbows out and will want to assert themselves early on. We’ve seen some of the new cars have had problems, and the new cars will have problems because they are so fresh.

There is an opportunity in a short space of time, while we complete the first three rounds prior to the ‘spring break’, that we are going to have had nine races and some people will have had chance to score a lot of points before the issues other

people have been dealing with are resolved. Maybe some of the people who aren’t seen as favourites will have the chance to get some good points on the board.

There are no dropped scores and everything will count.

Might there be a change of the guard? Possibly. There are a lot of young guys here who will be trying to get ahead of the more experienced people.

Matt Neal made his debut more than 20 years ago and there are other drivers out there thinking ‘Come on, I want my turn’.

Inside BTCC: There is a real chance for someone like Frank Wrathall or Mat Jackson to make those early rounds count isn’t there.

Toby Moody: Absolutely, and you never know, we could also have some wet races and they mix things up a bit. If we get a top ten reverse grid for a final race, that could also lead to a surprise.

At the start of regulation changes in any championship, there is always a state of flux.

I think we might have that this year.

Inside BTCC

JACKSON’S COLUMN...

REDSTONE RACING’S MAT JACKSON JOINS THE INSIDE BTCC TEAM

Hi guys, and welcome to my first column here in Inside BTCC. Through the season I plan to keep you up-to-date with my racing programme and also give you an insight into other things that a racing driver gets up to.

As you all know, I’m with the Motorbase guys again this season – now running as Redstone Racing - and staying with the team for the new season is fantastic for me.

We’re going into 2012 with the ‘old’ spec car rather than with an NGTC car, which we know is going to be tough, but the boys have done a hell of a lot of work on our Ford Focus over the winter and hopefully the improvements they have made will help to improve our lap times and ensure we can take the challenge to the NGTC cars.

Looking forwards, it is obviously a new programme for teams like Honda and Triple Eight and it will be interesting - with the development and durability of the cars - to see how they get on. We are really hoping we can capitalise on any problems they do have in the early races of the season and really lay down a marker for the year ahead.

Pics: Hildrew/PSP

However, we know it isn’t going to be easy and the guys who have built the new NGTC cars on the grid have been around for a long time, and the cars are going to be very fast. Of course, we hope it will go our way and an advantage we have is a proven package that we know is strong and know is going to last over three races in a weekend. They don’t have that and at the moment and I think it puts us in a stronger position.

Inside BTCC

We also benefit again this season from the fact we have a great engine. The Mountune unit really is brilliant and that will be a real strength for us.

Chassis wise, we have made some improvements over the winter like I’ve said, and we hope that everything will combine to give us the best chance of success.

For the new season, I have a new team-mate, with Aron Smith joining the team alongside me and Liam. It’s great for the team to expand, and fantastic for David [Bartrum] and the boys to have a third car out on the grid. If Aron can get up to speed quickly then he can hopefully help us to push on for success.

Of course, one thing I do hope for this season is for there to be no repeat of the bad luck I suffered last year.

It was frustrating how it went in 2011 but that is how it was and we can’t look back. We have to look forwards and keep moving forwards the whole time; that is what it is all about. Now we have to focus on a new season and start with a clean sheet of paper.

At the same time, in some ways it is good to have some bad luck because it can help bring people together. Its unfortunate that the problems we had ultimately cost us our championship challenge but we have learnt from it and the things that cost us aren’t going to cost us again. We have strengthened the car up because of it and we have learned from any mistakes we made.

Here’s to a great start to the season at Brands Hatch – wish me luck!

4 # t a M

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Inside BTCC

Tozer/PSP

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Jakob Ebrey

BTCC 2012 THE ENTRY LIST

No. Driver

Team

Car

Spec

M/I

1

Matt Neal

Honda Yuasa Racing Team

Honda Civic

NGTC

M

4

Mat Jackson

Redstone Racing

Ford Focus

S2000

I

5

Aron Smith

Redstone Racing

Ford Focus

S2000

I

6

Liam Griffin

Redstone Racing

Ford Focus

S2000

I

8

Rob Collard

eBay Motors

BMW 320si E90

S2000

I

11

Frank Wrathall

Dynojet

Toyota Avensis

NGTC

I

12

Daniel Welch

Welch Motorsport with Sopp + Sopp

Proton Persona

NGTC

I

13

Rob Austin

Rob Austin Racing

Audi A4

NGTC

I

17

Dave Newsham

Team ES Racing.com

Vauxhall Vectra

S2000

I

18

Nick Foster

eBay Motors

BMW 320si E90

S2000

I

31

Mark Hazell

Rob Austin Racing

Audi A4

NGTC

I

33

Adam Morgan

Speedworks Motorsport

Toyota Avensis

NGTC

I

34

Tony Gilham

RCIB Insurance & HARD.

Honda Civic

S2000

I

38

Tom Onslow-Cole

eBay Motors

BMW 320si E90

S2000

I

43

Lea Wood

BINZ Racing

Vauxhall Vectra

S2000

I

44

Andy Neate

MG KX Momentum Racing

MG6

NGTC

M

48

Ollie Jackson

AmD Tuning.com

Volkswagen Golf Mk5

S2000

I

50

Tony Hughes

Speedworks Motorsport

Toyota Avensis

NGTC

I

52

Gordon Shedden

Honda Yuasa Racing Team

Honda Civic

NGTC

M

55

Jeff Smith

Pirtek Racing

Honda Civic

NGTC

I

66

John Thorne

Thorney Motorsport

Vauxhall Insignia VXR-R

NGTC

I

77

Andrew Jordan

Pirtek Racing

Honda Civic

NGTC

I

78

Chris James

Team ES Racing.com

Vauxhall Vectra

S2000

I

99

Jason Plato

MG KX Momentum Racing

MG6

NGTC

M

Thorney Motorsport

Vauxhall Insignia VXR-R

NGTC

I

TBC TBC Inside BTCC 10

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INSIDE BTCC’S GUIDE TO THE 2012 BTCC SEASON WITH 25 CARS ON THE GRID, WE BRING YOU A FULL RUN-DOWN OF ALL THE CONTENDERS - TEAM BY TEAM AND DRIVER

BY DRIVER

Still/PSP

EVERYTHING YOU NEED FOR BTCC 2012

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Inside BTCC 11

HONDA YUASA RACING TEAM The defending champions go into the new season being viewed as the team to beat, having developed an NGTC version of the new Civic for the 2012 season.

The Team Dynamics-run outfit retains an unchanged line-up of champion Matt Neal and Scottish racer Gordon Shedden and welcomes onboard Yuasa as title sponsor – the battery manufacturer having been an associate sponsor in recent years.

The experience of the two drivers will be key to pushing forwards development of the new car as Honda seeks to defend the titles it won last year. The last two cars to come out the Team Dynamics factory - the BTC-spec Integra and the S2000 Civic - took victory first time out. Can the NGTC Civic make it three in a row?

#1 - MATT NEAL “We’re on a steep learning curve. We’re slightly ahead of Jason and the MG boys, but they won’t be far behind us for long.

The media day test was the most positive we have had so far and we are learning more about the car all the time.

It’s now responding to small changes and while we still have a lot of ground to cover in a short space of time, I hope we will be there or thereabouts when we get to Brands Hatch.”

#52 - GORDON SHEDDEN “I hope this will be my year. I learned a lot last year. I finished third in 2010, second last year and hopefully the trend continues this year.

With four cars [two Honda Yuasa Racing team and two Pirtek Racing] we should be able to cover a lot of ground pretty quickly.

Pics: PSP Images

The car looks fantastic; we just need to get laps out on the track and we should be able to make some good progress.”

Inside BTCC 12

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HONDA CIVIC NGTC The new Civic certainly looks the part and is arguably the most striking machine yet to be built to the Next Generation rules, although looks will count for little if the car doesn’t perform on track.

Testing of the car hasn’t been without its problems, and while such issues are to be expected with a new machine, it remains to be seen if they can be resolved in time for the season opener.

Dzenis/PSP

Despite that, both Shedden and Neal were on the pace at the media day and will expect to hit the ground running when racing gets underway.

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Inside BTCC 13

MG KX MOMENTUM RACING The new season will be a big one for Triple Eight as it brings MG back into the BTCC, with work ongoing on an NGTC-version of the new MG6.

The deal will see Triple Eight running something other than a Vauxhall for the first time, and with Jason Plato heading the driver line-up, hopes are high that the new car will get the job done on track.

A number of top line sponsors are onboard to support the project but the late nature of the deal means is racing to make sure both cars are ready to go when the season gets underway.

#99 - JASON PLATO “This is a really exciting project we’re involved in. We’ve got some great people and a great team. It’s all to play for.

It’s great to be back with Triple Eight. I took my first title with them back in 2001 and I’ve got some great friends there.

We’re a little bit behind the game at the start of the season, but we’ll pull all the stops out and Im sure we’ll be competitive very quickly.

The car looks great and the level of engineering is second to none.”

#44 - ANDY NEATE

Pics: Hildrew/PSP & Hatfield/PSP

“My aim has always been to secure a manufacturer drive and I’m delighted to have got one with MG. Triple Eight know it all when it comes to the BTCC and in Jason Plato, I have the best team-mate I could hope for who will help to push me on. I probably wont get to drive the car until we get to Brands Hatch so we are starting on the back foot a bit, but I think we should be consistently pushing for the podium by the middle of the season. Personally, I think I proved last year that I was quick against two strong team-mates and now I need to be more consistent. MG expects me to do a job and I’m looking to get results for them.”

Inside BTCC 14

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MG6 GT NGTC The MG6 broke cover for the first time at Silverstone for the media day, and while the car appeared on circuit for the morning tracking photography, it wasn’t in a position to take part in the official test with a number of race parts still to be fitted.

It’s difficult to know what to expect when the season gets underway given the lack of pre-season testing but Triple Eight know how to build race-winning cars and the MG should be a contender as the year goes on.

Tozer/PSP

With the departure of Chevrolet, the addition of the MG is a welcome one to the grid although the busy livery is one that is already splitting opinion amongst fans.

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Inside BTCC 15

REDSTONE RACING Motorbase Performance has a new name and new look for 2012 having signed a title sponsorship deal with Redstone, who replace Airwaves for the year ahead.

Having run a third car towards the end of 2011, the team expands to three cars full-time for this season with Aron Smith coming in to join Mat Jackson and Liam Griffin for the year ahead.

Only wretched luck in the second half of the season prevented the team from challenging for the title last year and David Bartrum’s team will be keen to ensure there is no repeat of that this time around.

#4 - MAT JACKSON “It is obviously a new programme for teams like Honda and Triple Eight and it will be interesting - with the development and durability of the cars - to see how they get on. We are really hoping we can capitalise on any problems they do have in the early races of the season and really lay down a marker for the year ahead.”

#5 - ARON SMITH “I had no idea how good it would feel to get a deal done with a top team like Motorbase – it’s a dream come true for me. I know it is a steep learning curve to be coming into the BTCC for a full season but I am doing it with a team that knows their stuff and I aim to make sure I start the season inside the top ten. The team know I am a rookie and they are helping me as much as they can. It’s a big step but I’m ready for it.”

#6 - LIAM GRIFFIN Pics: Hildrew/PSP & Hatfield/PSP

“I judge myself on how many races I finish and how far I am behind the winner, and last season that improved dramatically over the final few rounds. I would have liked a bit more pre-season running but from my time in the car, I feel it’s gone better than last season and I hope to go quicker this season that I did last year. The only person I really think I can measure myself against is Mat and I have a little graph to show me how I relate to him. I know what he can do behind the wheel and want to get as close to him as I can.”

Inside BTCC 16

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FORD FOCUS ST S2000 Arguably the biggest strength for the Redstone Racing team going into 2012 is the fact that its car is unchanged from twelve months ago. There is no new chassis to learn, no new engine to deal with – it’s the same S2000 Ford Focus with a Mountune-developed NGTC engine under the bonnet.

What that means is that the team can expect to hit the ground running and be fully up to speed from the moment the lights go out at Brands Hatch.

Dzenis/PSP

For that reason alone, the ‘Little Red Devils’ will be ones to watch this season, especially as others attempt to develop new cars in the early stages of the year.

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Inside BTCC 17

EBAY MOTORS Title sponsorship from eBay Motors sees West Surrey Racing rebranded for 2012 with the former champions having also expanded from two cars to three for the season ahead.

The re-signing of Tom Onslow-Cole is an interesting move by Dick Bennett’s team, which will aim to return to race-winning form after a couple of difficult seasons since winning the crown with Colin Turkington back in 2009.

There are few teams with the experience of WSR when it comes to competing in the BTCC and although there hasn’t been extensive pre-season testing as work was completed on its car, the team will no doubt be right at the front from the outset when the real action gets underway.

#8 - ROB COLLARD “It’s gone well so far and I’m pleased with the car. There are some things that will change now we have a turbo, like how the car performs under braking, but I think we’d be disappointed if we come away from this season without taking a win.

The car has a lot of potential and having come close to victory for the past two seasons, I think we can do it in 2012.”

#18 - NICK FOSTER “The car feels good, the engine is strong and it should help us be more competitive than we were with the normally-aspirated car last season.

I think I had a good year as a rookie in 2011 and now I should be able to run further up the pack.”

#38 - TOM ONSLOW-COLE “It’s all looking good and there is still more to come from the car.

Our package is new but we have a fantastic opportunity to score big early on in the season and go for the title.

Pics: PSP Images

I’m confident about the year ahead.”

Inside BTCC 18

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BMW 320si E90 S2000 On the outside at least, the WSR cars appear the same but under the skin, there have been radical changes with the team switching to turbo engines for 2012.

The new engine is based on a BMW unit and has been developed by Neil Brown Engineering, giving eBay Motors a strong package for the year ahead.

Dzenis/PSP

The combination of rear-wheel drive and the turbo engine has many believing the BMW will be a dark horse for victories during 2012.

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Inside BTCC 19

PIRTEK RACING A massive season for Pirtek Racing, as it invests in two new Honda Civics to challenge for the title. An unchanged line-up will again be led by Andrew Jordan who is being tipped to shine during the year ahead having already shown himself to be a race winner in recent years.

Switching to an NGTC-spec car means the team hasn’t done as much testing as it could have done, although the fact that information has been shared with the factory team will reduce the impact that could have had going into the new season.

Race wins and a title challenge are expected and anything less would be viewed as a disappointment.

#55 - JEFF SMITH “The car is really good but we’ve just been struggling to get the set-up right. There is work to do but once we have everything sorted, I want to be right up towards the front. We’ve got a car that is capable of running at the head of the field so there can be no excuses.”

#77 - ANDREW JORDAN

Pics: PSP Images

“We’ve been close to Honda when we’ve been on track which has been good as they are the benchmark for us. Last year I didn’t really feel the championship was realistic, but this season I feel it is, although I’m under no illusions about how hard it is going to be. My one lap pace has always been good and now I just need to add the consistency.”

Inside BTCC 20

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HONDA CIVIC NGTC The only difference to the factory Honda cars is the livery – so how the Civic performs in Pirtek colours will be down to the team and the drivers.

Like the factory team however, the Pirtek squad has been forced to deal with a steering issues through testing which has affected set-up and handling, with both squads hoping that the issue with the spec parts can be resolved sooner rather than later.

Pics: Jakob Ebrey

Mike Jordan and his team can be relied on to get the best out of the car throughout the year ahead.

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Inside BTCC 21

DYNOJET The family run team from Lancashire proved it was capable of fighting with the big boys in its debut season last year, with Frank Wrathall taking a number of points finishes as the season wore on.

With a year of experience, and knowledge of NGTC machinery, the team is now tipped to impress again this season, although Wrathall will go into the new season with only limited pre-season testing.

However, as others try to get up to speed, Dynojet will hope to take advantage make the most of the lessons learnt in 2012 to fight right at the sharp end of the field.

#11 - FRANK WRATHALL

Jakob Ebrey

“I feel a lot more relaxed going into the new season. I know what to expect now from the BTCC and I also know what needs to be done.

Honda are going to be strong with their new car but hopefully a year of experience with the NGTC car will give us an edge early on in the season.

I’ve always improved from season to season so I want to finish higher than twelfth in the standings and beat my best result of second from last year. That means I’m going for a win and if I could also finish in the top ten in the championship, it would be a good year.”

Inside BTCC 22

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TOYOTA AVENSIS NGTC Dynojet’s Toyota Avensis proved to be a front-running package in the second half of 2011 once the team had come to terms with its early season issues, with the team hoping that an upgraded version of the car will be a contender during the year ahead.

Speculation has suggested that the 2012 car will be a big step forwards although the team goes into the opening round of the year waiting to see how much potential there is give the late arrival of the car; which wasn’t ready for the annual media day.

Jakob Ebrey

Despite that, the Avensis should be one to watch towards the head of the field.

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Inside BTCC 23

AMD TUNING.COM Back for a third season but now running under a slightly-revised name, AmD Tuning.com will be eager to build on the potential shown last season when the VW Golf scored its first points in the BTCC. Having signed up Ollie Jackson nice and early, the team has been able to carry out some meaningful pre-season running for the first time with encouraging times being set along the way.

Points are the aim again this season with the VW set to count on bumper support again along the way.

#48 - OLLIE JACKSON

Dzenis/PSP

Hatfield/PSP

“I’m confident that we’ll be fighting for points and I’ll be trying to push into the top ten. Ideally I’d like to pick up a few top tens during the season and it would be nice if we could be there regularly, but we also know it will get more difficult as people make progress with their new cars. The aim is to start well and then try and build from there.”

Inside BTCC 24

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VOLKSWAGEN GOLF S2000 The Golf was vastly improved last season and the AmD team has worked to improve it still further during the winter.

Reports from testing have suggested that a step forwards has been taken with the car, although an engine issue at Brands Hatch wasn’t ideal.

Hildrew/PSP

With the potential that there is still more to come as Jackson gets used to the car, the Golf could once again be a popular top ten finisher in 2012.

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Inside BTCC 25

THORNEY MOTORSPORT Thorney Motorsport are effectively a new team for 2012 having only appeared at the 2011 finale to do little more than a shakedown of its new car.

The team has done well in other formulae, but now faces a big step up for the season ahead as it looks to also run two cars; the second of which is still to be built up.

Funding could be one major issue with the team having failed to secure a title sponsor although a media deal with the Daily Mirror may help to bring in some backing along the way.

#66 - JOHN THORNE “We ran briefly at Silverstone at the end of last year, but now we’re here properly.

Touring cars has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. We’ve been racing as a company for ten years now, but the main art of the business is road car tuning.

When the NGTC regulations were announced and they allowed us to build a car without manufacturer support, we jumped at it.

This has been in the planning for five years now.

We started the actual build 18 months ago.”

#TBC - ROB HEDLEY Thorney has a second Insignia on the entry list and while there is no name officially against this entry, the team has stated its intention to run Rob Hedley.

Pics: Tozer/PSP & Hatfield/PSP

Hedley, an experienced saloon car racer, is expected to be in the car from Oulton Park onwards.

Inside BTCC 26

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VAUXHALL INSIGNIA NGTC Having decided to develop its own car, its little surprise that Vauxhall specialists Thorney went with the Insignia, which will make its race debut this season.

The team has tested at numerous circuits over the winter but little is known about how strongly the car will perform when the season starts given the car didn’t record lap times on media day.

Hildrew/PSP

The second car is due to appear at Oulton Park with plenty of late nights expected in the mean time.

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Inside BTCC 27

WELCH MOTORSPORT Having joined the grid at Snetterton last season, the Welch Motorsport team heads into its first full season in the BTCC eager to regularly challenge for points.

A raft of issues – the vast majority of which were nothing to do with the team – meant its full potential was masked somewhat during 2011, where impressive performances on track weren’t always reflected in the end result.

Although one the smallest teams on the grid, the Proton squad is also one with vast experience and will hope to realise its potential during the year ahead.

#12 - DANIEL WELCH “We’re a very small team. Theres three of us who work on the car.

We’ve completely stripped the car since the end of last season. I don’t think anything is the same except for the four doors.

There’s a huge effort involved in that.

Jakob Ebrey

Hatfield/PSP

My father has a lot of experience. He raced in rallycross for many years and I can only hope to do as well as he did.”

Inside BTCC 28

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PROTON PERSONA NGTC Over the winter, the Gen-2 raced last season has been upgraded to a Persona, with a number of other changes taking place during the off-season.

Like a number of other cars, the Proton wasn’t ready in time for media day which means the team will go into the opening rounds of the year with little – if any – pre-season running.

Hatfield/PSP

The Proton was quick at times last year, and the changes under the skin should only improve performance for the season ahead.

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TEAM ES RACING After a character building debut season, ES Racing.com expands to two cars for the 2012 season having signed Dave Newsham to partner team boss Chris James.

Having failed to trouble the scorers in 2011, the small team is aiming high for the year ahead and has shown impressive pace in pre-season testing, albeit with some setbacks along the way.

The signing of former Pinkney Motorsport team manager Andrew Dean to help lead the programme could be prove to be an inspired choice.

#78 - CHRIS JAMES “We’ve got a proven package and if it isn’t broken, there is no point trying to fix it.

Our aim is to get onto the podium and we are looking to challenge at the start of the year while others find their feet.

We should be consistently in the top ten and want to nick a podium, but if the reverse grid goes our way, who knows…”

#17 - DAVE NEWSHAM “I learnt a lot last year with the Leon but already the Vectra feels quicker and more stable; it does exactly what you want it to do.

James Nash did well with the car last year and my aim is to match the times he was doing, push for podiums and maybe even grab a win.

Pics: Hildrew/PSP & Dzenis/PSP

Testing in the car has blown me away; I’ve been quicker than I thought I would be this early.”

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VAUXHALL VECTRA S2000 The former Triple Eight Vauxhall Vectras aren’t the newest cars on the grid, but the switch to a turbo engine last season showed they can still run at the front – something ES Racing.com is now hoping to emulate.

With the cars already a proven package, little needs to be done to the cars ahead of the start of the season with both drivers having lapped strongly in testing.

Hildrew/PSP

The Vectra is more than capable of running at the front when the season starts, although they may well drop back as the NGTC cars are developed.

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ROB AUSTIN RACING The team’s debut season last year started badly when its car wasn’t ready for the opening round and the first half of 2011 was nothing short of a disaster with a myriad of issues affecting performance.

However, as the year went on, the team made huge strides with the car to become contenders inside the top ten with team boss Rob Austin securing a podium finish at Rockingham.

At the time of writing, RAR is one of the teams yet to finalise its driver line-up, with Mark Hazell named in one car but the second still to be filled; with Chris Swanwick or Austin himself likely to be behind the wheel.

#31 - MARK HAZELL “Everyone would like to drive a touring car, it’s just a case of finding the right one. I’ve not raced for two years but the team has a good package and the car feels really solid from my first time out. In the past, I have only raced in one make series so this is the first time I’ll have been on track with people in different machinery to me.

Initially I want to aim towards the top ten but the fun for me comes from measuring myself against the competition and pushing myself forwards.”

#13 - ROB AUSTIN “It may look the same but in reality, we are going into the new season with a totally new car; the only things that are the same are the bumpers and the front wing.

We have new arches, a new shell, a fresh engine installation and have changed the geometry.

Pics: Jakob Ebrey

The difference in the car is night and day. I was confident at the start of 2011 when we were well off the pace but I know that when I’m out there this year, I wouldn’t want to race against me; I’m confident we’ll have one of the fastest cars on the grid.”

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AUDI A4 NGTC The Audi A4, currently the only rear-wheel drive NGTC car on the grid, has arguably undergone more work than any other car during the off-season – aside from those models new to the grid this year.

Almost everything on the car is new as the team attempts to take a further step forwards in performance with confidence high after a solid pre-season.

Hildrew/PSP

The Audi can be a thorn in the side of the big teams during the year ahead and could well be a contender for victories with Austin behind the wheel.

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Inside BTCC 33

SPEEDWORKS MOTORSPORT The Cheshire-based team heads into 2012 targeting a bit step forwards compared to 2011, with an expanded two-car line-up for the year ahead.

Having missed a number of events last year while working on development of its car, the team has worked hard over the winter to improve its Toyota Avensis, with double champion James Thompson helping out at numerous tests and ace engineer Alan Mugglestone being brought on board.

Signing Ginetta Supercup title winner Adam Morgan gives the team a driver capable of pushing towards the points who should also help the returning Tony Hughes to overcome some of the problems he faced last year.

#50 - TONY HUGHES “I still feel I’m a novice but the team has made some big steps with the car over the winter and its now down to me to try and gel with the car and get the most out of it.

The team has done the right thing with the changes that have been made and I have to bring myself up to speed. I don’t expect to go on track and win races and fight for championship, but I want to have some good races and get myself involved in a battle on track.

Results don’t matter so much, I want to keep it clean and race in the spirit that you should race in.”

#33 - ADAM MORGAN “It’s still quite a shock for me to be here on the BTCC grid. I owe a massive ‘thankyou’ to Ginetta - it’s a great prize.

It’s a once-in a-lifetime opportunity. I can’t wait to get stuck in and get out there racing.

I’ve had some good days testing. Its hard to jump from rear-wheel drive to front-wheel drive, but I’m getting used to it slowly.

Pics: PSP Images

I’ve got to be realistic. I’d be over the moon with top tens this year.”

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TOYOTA AVENSIS NGTC Another car to have undergone a series of changes over the winter, and with the input of Thompson, the Speedworks Toyota should be a more competitive package for the new season.

Although Morgan’s car only ran for the first time at the media day, the team has put plenty of mileage on the sister car to gain as much data as possible for the new season. How much that extra testing has been of benefit remains to be seen.

Pics: Hildrew/PSP

Unlike the Dynojet car, the Speedworks Toyotas will again run the TOCA engine.

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Inside BTCC 35

RCIB INSURANCE & HARD. The new season will be a massive challenge for Tony Gilham’s team, which has been formed to allow him to return to the BTCC for a full-season after sponsorship issues hit his time with Triple Eight last year.

The challenge is made all the more difficult by the fact that the team will also run a programme in the VW Cup – meaning a busy year lies ahead.

There hasn’t been much in the way of pre-season testing, so how quickly the team can come to terms with running its Honda Civic will go a long way to deciding how the season goes.

#34 - TONY GILHAM “It’s been a massive challenge to put everything together for this season – we have been nonstop. We’ve set up our new garage and now the race team and we want to try and establish the brand we have created.

Pics: Dzenis/PSP & Hildrew/PSP

Our aim is to consistently run inside the top ten as we know the Civic is a quick car but we also want to surprise a few people along the way and I hope we can pick up some good results.

Running in the VW Cup as well is going to make this season a challenge, but it’s important that we push ourselves as much as possible.”

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HONDA CIVIC S2000 One thing that is for certain with the Team HARD programme is that the car is a proven package, having taken Gordon Shedden to second in the standings last year.

The S2000 Civic with the Neil Brown turbo was the car to beat last year and it will be interesting to see how it performs against the field this time around.

Hildrew/PSP

However, although a proven package, a lack of pre-season testing and the newness of the team means it could take time for the ‘old’ Civic to show its potential this time around.

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Inside BTCC 37

BINZ RACING The biggest season to date for the Wood Racing team, which has secured a proven race-winning car and also picked up a major sponsor for the new campaign - which sees it entered under the BINZ Racing banner for 2012.

Although one of the smallest teams on the grid, family-run squad has shown it can fight with the big boys in the past after the giant-kiling performance seen in the rain last year at Oulton Park with its old Honda Integra.

The turbo-powered Vectra should give a step up in performance with the team optimistic of becoming regular points scorers.

#43 - LEA WOOD “Obviously the car is quicker than the Integra but is also feels a lot smoother.

We’ve got a good sponsor on board and it is a big step up for us.

Dzenis/PSP

Jakob Ebrey

I’ll be pushing as hard as I can and want to be running inside the top ten and fighting against the big boys, but at the same time we have to be realistic and we know we are racing on a much smaller budget than a lot of teams in the paddock.”

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VAUXHALL VECTRA S2000 The BINZ Vectra is the same one used by Andrew Jordan for the past two seasons, so takes race-winning pedigree to its new home.

The team is aware of what the car can do and knows there is no point in trying to reinvent the wheel, with testing so far being used to allow Lea Wood to get used to his new surroundings and to help the team learn about its new machine.

Still/PSP

Given the pace shown by the rival ES Racing team in testing, the BINZ Racing team will be keen to upset the applecart during the year ahead.

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Inside BTCC 39

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2012 BTCC CALENDAR

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Hildrew/PSP

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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

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