BTCC Newsletter

What influence will the returning James Thompson and ‘rookie’ Fabrizio Giovanardi have? Can WSR give Team RAC’s MG ZSs a famous send-off? How about the many new teams and drivers on the grid for 2006?

TURKINGTON’S TON-UP
Colin Turkington will reach 100 BTCC races in the second of Sunday’s three rounds at Brands Hatch. The 24-year-old, who has rejoined independent MG squad Team RAC for 2006, told btcc.net: “I can’t believe you’re asking me about my 100th race.

I didn’t think I was anywhere near that. It makes me sound like and old timer!” Turkington picked out his first BTCC win at Brands in 2004 as his favourite moment so far… and Brands 2003, when he ended up in the barriers just seconds from a first-ever podium result, as his worst.

QUALITY & QUANTITY AT BTCC MEDIA DAY
Over 120 media attended the BTCC’s annual Media Day launch at Brands Hatch on 28 March. Present were national newspapers such as the Daily Mail, Daily Star, Independent, Observer, Sun and Telegraph. So too many top-selling motoring titles, including of course BTCC media partners Auto Express and Evo. ITV1 used the day to film plenty of preview material that will appear in its first BTCC broadcast this coming Sunday afternoon. Also present was the BBC’s 6 O’Clock Evening News programme that interviewed BTCC series director Alan Gow and bio-ethanol-powered racer Fiona Leggate for an alternative fuels feature that is scheduled to be shown this week.

CHILTON’S CHEEK
VX Racing’s Tom Chilton has cheekily taunted SEAT’s Jason Plato in the run-up to Brands Hatch’s opening rounds. In last weekend’s Sunday Mirror newspaper, the 21-year-old said of Plato: “It’s all a bit too much for him now. He might just be losing it a bit.” Chilton has continued taking a pop at the 2001 BTCC Champion on the official btcc.net website.

BACK TO YOU, JASON
Plato has been equally forthright in his views on Chilton, meanwhile. In a mega SEAT BTCC season guide in today’s (Weds. 5 April) edition of Auto Express magazine, 2001 Champion Plato states: “Tom’s tremendously quick, but I don’t think he’s a great racer. I don’t rate him anywhere near as highly as Fabrizio (Giovanardi, Chilton’s new team-mate).” Plato’s also got a few views on a few others, too…

HIGH STREET NAMES ON BTCC GRID
Clydesdale Bank and Holiday Inn are two more high street names to appear on this year’s BTCC grid. Clydsedale is now a sponsor of the Team Dynamics-run Team Halfords Honda Integras, while Holiday Inn’s arrival means that its company colour of green has been added to the cars it is sponsoring, Vauxhall’s VX Racing Astra Sport Hatches.

NEW-LOOK BTCC.NET WEBSITE
The BTCC’s website www.btcc.net has been re-launched following a spectacular re-design. Content, graphics and navigation have been dramatically improved, while the ever-popular Fans Forum – the only place on the internet that questions can be put to BTCC boss Alan Gow – remains an integral part of the site.

NEAL LIKES THE SIGNS
Matt Neal has been buoyed by a superstitious sign as he attempts to become the first driver to win back-to-back BTCC titles since Chris Hodgetts in 1987. Neal’s Team Halfords squad has just acquired the same workshops in Pershore that Hodgetts’ Toyota GB team ran out of in the Eighties. “It’s on the side of our current premises so we’ve expanded into there. It’s a good omen,” said Neal.

EXTRA AIR TIME FOR BRANDS BTCC
Brands Hatch’s BTCC meeting will get plenty of extra air time prior to this weekend. The circuit itself has embarked on a major ITV advertising campaign, while regional ITV outlet Meridian is previewing the event in its tea-time show this coming Friday night.

HEAVY WEIGHT SUPPORT
Auto Express magazine, with weekly sales of more than 90,000, has thrown its weight behind the new BTCC season. In addition to plenty of news and hype, full-page colour advertisements have appeared in the last five editions, as well as most recent copies of sister publications Evo and Test Drive that are all owned by BTCC media partner Dennis Publishing. Ticket competitions for Brands Hatch’s opening BTCC rounds have also appeared in the AE’s pages and on-line via the magazine’s e-newsletter sent to 75,000 subscribers.

NEW MOTOR FOR HUGHES
Kartworld Racing has replaced the V6 engine in Jason Hughes’ MG ZS after it blew during Brands Hatch testing. Hughes remains hopeful of switching to a punchier our-cylinder motor in time for Mondello Park’s BTCC fixture.

INFRONT BOSS: “WE’VE ALREADY WON”
John Smith, boss of new BTCC squad InFront Motorsport, says his team is already a winner after working round the clock to see its Alfa Romeo 156 run for the first time on Media Day. “We’ve already won our first race and that was to make it out at the Brands test. There was a loud cheer when Mark (Smith’s son, the driver) completed his first lap, but the lads here have worked a lot of late nights and early mornings so really deserved for it to work out.”

PROCTOR EXCITED BY CIVIC
Mark Proctor reckons some strong mid-field performances are on the cards at Brands Hatch this weekend after revelling in his new, ex-Tom Chilton Honda Civic Type R. Fast-Tec team boss and driver Proctor told BTCC Newsletter: “I don’t want to sound as if I’m getting carried away, but I’ve now gone round Brands Indy 1.5 seconds faster than last year in the Vauxhall Astra and I was down in the low 50-seconds bracket which was a decent front-running race pace in 2005.”

BEACH BOY TOM
Tom Chilton has spent the build-up to Brands Hatch’s opening BTCC meeting relaxing in Barbados. But it hasn’t been all play for the VXR driver. “Every day I did 90 minutes swimming up and down the coastline in what are strong currents, plus another 90 minutes in the gym. I’ve got a great tan.”

HOUSE BEAUTIFUL
VXR’s Fabrizio Giovanardi commentated for Italian television on the opening rounds of the WTCC from Monza last weekend. He has spent the rest of the week continuing to build a new home for his family near Ferrari’s Maranello headquarters and will fly into the UK from his native Italy on Friday. “I still need to put in some walls and some windows,” he told BTCC Newsletter.

TTT… THE RETURN
BTCC-themed radio show Tin Top Tuesday is back! BTCC race day commentator Alan Hyde and Motorsport News magazine reporter Matt James will be broadcasting each Tuesday between 8.00pm-10.00pm on both Sky television channel 0157 and the www.tintoptuesday.com website. Last week’s opening show of series two included interviews with BTCC series director Alan Gow and SEAT Sport UK driver James Thompson.

LOVELY BUBBLY
Oddbins’ Calais superstore is the BTCC’s official supplier of podium champagne in 2006, providing some 140 magnums of bubbly during the season (to the first three drivers in each race, plus the Independents Trophy winner). It joins Dennis Publishing, Hilton Hotels UK, Fujifilm and Porsche as official partners of the BTCC, while, of course, tyre giant Dunlop enters its second season as the championship’s title sponsor.

FIRST-TIME WINNERS?
Victory for Fabrizio Giovanardi, Mike Jordan, Martyn Bell or Mark Smith in the BTCC’s opening round at Brands Hatch would make them the first driver to win on their championship debut since Frank Biela in 1996. Notably, Bell’s Geoff Steel Racing Super 2000-spec BMW 320i was fastest of all through both start-finish line speed traps during last week’s official BTCC test at Brands…

PORSCHE GRID BOOMS
Porsche has confirmed its BTCC-supporting Carrera Cup GB grid will be the biggest in history, with 21 cars confirmed for Brands Hatch’s opening rounds. The entry list includes 1992 BTCC Champion Tim Harvey – driving for new BTCC team Motorbase Performance – and Maxi Jazz, vocalist of pop group Faithless.