Wednesday, 1 April 2015
Hamilton: "A dream come true"
The 23-year-old, who has previously raced in the Renault Clio Cup and the ETCC, will enter the BTCC later on in the series at Croft, but is excited about the year ahead:
"It's been a long time coming - six months ago we never thought that it'd be possible but after a lot of determination and struggle we're finally here.
"We raced in the Clio Cup in 2011 and 2012, and obviously going into the BTCC now is going to be quite difficult; I don't have a lot of experience compared to the people that I'm going to be racing against, some drivers have been in here 10 years, and been racing for 20 years - I've only been racing two years, three max so I've got a lot to learn. I haven't been in the car yet for two years so it's going to be difficult, but it's also going to be interesting, and being on the package before has taught me a lot, and taught me what I've needed to know really in terms of the basics so we'll see where we end up with that".
With Nic being the first disabled driver to compete in the BTCC, he admits there are no real expectations going into this season, and is hoping to use 2015 as a development year.
"I have no idea how the Audi's going to get on, I don't know how fast we're going to be or how fast I'm going to be so there's no expectation at all this year. We'll just use it as a development programme, develop me as a driver, as a person and we'll see where we end up really with no stress. I'm just going to take it as it comes, be relaxed, be calm and learn as fast as possible and develop myself".
Written and interviewed by Alan Faulkner
Photo Credit: Phil Laughton Photography
Tuesday, 24 March 2015
Cook looking to progress in maiden BTCC campaign
The 24-year-old, who finished 2014 as runner-up in the Courier Connections Renault UK Clio Cup, has joined Power Maxed Racing in a two car assault on the championship, alongside former Clio champion and reigning Jack Sear's Trophy holder Dave Newsham.
Cook, though, is excited about the new campaign: "It's going to be tough, I haven't really had much running in the car until today, but it feels good, the first impressions of the touring car are good; I've never driven an NGTC car before so I don't have anything to compare it to but out of the box it feels like a stable car - it hasn't got any of the really weird characteristics that anybody's spoke about, it's comfortable to drive and I'll have to try and get a few more laps under my belt and see how it goes really".
"The cars are very different to the Clio, but it is a good training ground for touring cars. There are some big names on the grid this year but I'm not fazed by any of it, I've just got to get my head down and get on with what I've got to do and hopefully we can get this Power Maxed team to the front of the grid".
Reflecting on last season, Cook believes that events in the 2014 Clio Cup will help him progress in his maiden BTCC outing: "Last year obviously didn't go to plan, but it did it's job. We took six wins, the most podiums, the most laps lead, there were a lot of positives and we clearly had the pace but it just didn't go our way. This year we're going to bounce back from that and work as hard as we can to make sure that we can finish as high up the grid as we can".
Looking ahead to 2015, Cook's ambitions are modest: "I just want to crack on with it, learn as much as I can, and as long as we're progressing every time I get inside the car then I'll be happy".
Written and interviewed by Alan Faulkner
Photo Credit: Alan Faulkner
Sunday, 8 March 2015
Goff raring to go for 2015 season
Speaking at testing at Donington Park this week, Goff, who will be entering his third season in the championship after previously racing for Team HARD and Chrome Edition Restart Racing, is confident he can go head to head with the front runners and believes the MG will help push him further up the grid.
"I can't wait to get going now, it's my first day in the car today so it's all new to me; new team, new personnel at the team so for me it's a matter of getting into the car, getting used to everybody, getting to know how each other work and start clicking basically.
"The MG's a proven car and it's a proven package with Triple Eight, so if we come away at the end of this year and have not been fighting for podiums regularly I'll be disappointed in myself. The rules are changing this year too, we're going to have more ballast which is going to mix things up a little bit so I think it'll be an exciting year".
After an impressive maiden test at Donington, Goff is confident that he can build on his first run out in the car, as he gets to grips with the MG6.
"I had my first run out this morning and then went into a bit of a race run after that, and everything was good; it's a bit different to the car I'm used to so it's a matter of getting used to it all again, it's been a long winter so it's about getting my head back in it and learning about this new car.
"The MG differs in lots of ways really to what I've been used to driving in the past, it's different to the VW as that had a lower roof line, but the MG feels stronger all round really.Temperatures are quite cold today so we're struggling a little bit with rear tyre temps but it feels good".
Goff's move to Triple Eight saw him complete an impressive driver line-up, with him joining 2013 champion Andrew Jordan, something which gives him a confidence boost going into the new campaign.
"We can both work together, that's the plan anyway, and hopefully push the car on from where Jason [Plato] and Sam [Tordoff] had it last year; obviously it was quick last year so we're trying to work on a few bits and pieces of pace where it struggled last year, so fingers crossed we can put our heads together with the engineers and make it a package that's really going to be one of the top running cars".
With it being his third season in the championship, Goff is setting his sights high after impressive pace over the last two seasons.
"My main goal this year is to win some races, and then maybe the championship after that, we'll see what happens; if you'r winning races and are consistently at the front then in theory the championship should come to you, but who knows? We'll give it a good go and hopefully we'll be consistent".
Written and interviewed by Alan Faulkner
Photo Credit: Alan Faulkner
Wednesday, 14 January 2015
Jordan aiming for second BTCC title
With Jordan being in one of the front running cars for this season, he has made his objectives for 2015 clear. "I've got to try and win the championship back" he said, "I won it in 2013 and lost it last year so I want to get it back and I'll be working hard to do that".
It will be interesting to see how quickly Jordan adapts to the MG after three seasons behind the wheel of a Dynamics built Honda Civic, and I'm sure there will be a lot of interest over the course of the season to see if he can match his title ambitions.
Written and interviewed by Alan Faulkner
Photo Credit: Alan Faulkner
Tuesday, 13 January 2015
Neal looking to bounce back in 2015
"Hopefully the Infiniti won't give us too much trouble, but it's the established packages such as BMW and MG who will give us the most trouble, and it'll be tough because we're going to have a new car. Having said that I don't think the championship is going to be any less competitive than it has been over the last few years, it's just that those teams are going to be tough to beat, but whoever wins it is going to have a fight on their hands".
Neal also admits that he is looking forward to the opening round the most, with Brands Hatch being one of his favourite circuits, and with Honda running their new car both he and the team will be looking to get a result.
It will be interesting to see which model Honda choose to run for the 2015 BTCC campaign, and whether it will be a challenger after the disappointment of the Civic Tourer last season.
Written and interviewed by Alan Faulkner
Photo Credit: Alan Faulkner
Belcher aiming for competitive 2015 campaign
Monday, 12 January 2015
Austin confident ahead of 2015 season
Moffat targeting points in 2015
Thursday, 8 January 2015
Plato's 2015 options
One of the main talking points of the 2015 BTCC pre-season is the future of double champion Jason Plato.
After announcing today (January 8th) at the annual Autosport show that he is still working towards a deal for the forthcoming season, here are some of the options that may be available to the former MG/ Triple Eight driver.
Chrome Edition Restart Racing/ Team BMR
A new team to the BTCC grid last season, run by former British Superbike Championship racer Warren Scott after buying the assets of Tony Gilham's Team HARD outfit in 2013. There was mixed fortune for the team last season, with Aron Smith taking two race wins, and a podium finish for Alain Menu at Rockingham, as well as point scoring finishes for Jack Goff and team principal Scott, but a season which also contained bad luck for the team due to numerous circumstances.
So far the only announcement from the team ahead of the 2015 season came towards the end of the last campaign, with Aron Smith continuing his partnership with the team in one of the VW Passat CC's. There have been whispers of Menu remaining with the team, but nothing official has been confirmed yet.
The VW's were competitive all season long, with all four cars showing their prowess in the latter stages of the campaign. With Plato's vast experience in the BTCC, he could be the key to taking the team one stage further.
Motorbase Performance
One of the oldest teams on the grid, 2014 was a mixed bag for Dave Bartrum's squad.
The season started brightly for the team, having announced the arrival of double champion Fabrizio Giovanardi in pre-season, with Mat Jackson and former single seater driver Jack Clarke completing the line up.
While Mat Jackson was the only driver to complete every lap of every race last season and took two wins and seven podiums over the season, the rest of the campaign was somewhat underwhelming for Motorbase, with Giovanardi struggling to get to grips with NGTC machinery since his return and Jack Clarke's inexperience in the BTCC, although a podium at the season finale shown his potential in the championship.
Like with BMR, there haven't been many announcements from the team about the 2015 season, but they have confirmed former Porsche Carrera Cup GB driver Alex Martin will step behind the wheel of one Ford Focus, under the Dextra Racing banner, and the team will also be running under a new name this season after losing title sponsor Airwaves.
The cars have potential, and have been at the front of the grid before - it might just take the right driver to unlock the car's full potential; that driver could be Plato, and if the team retain Mat Jackson, then Plato will be reunited with his team mate from 2009 at Racing Silverline.
Eurotech Racing
The team formed in 2006, running a Honda Integra for Mike Jordan and have ran under the Pirtek Racing banner in recent years.
Last season focused on the team's lead driver Andrew Jordan, who began the defence of his BTCC driver's title.
The team performed well in the opening half of the season, taking four wins and running strongly at the front of the grid alongside the manufacturer Honda team and keeping pace with the MG's and WSR's BMW's. However, a huge shunt in free practice at Snetterton for Jordan saw the team drop back, with the returning Martin Depper struggling with the team's second NGTC Honda Civic.
Despite the blip in the second half of the season, Eurotech remain one of the bigger teams on the grid, and with Andrew Jordan sealing his move to the MG/ Triple Eight squad, it could pave the way for Jason Plato to take the lead seat alongside Jeff Smith - although the chances of Plato stepping behind the wheel of any Honda seems an unlikely venture.
West Surrey Racing
The team to beat last season, WSR dominated in 2014, taking the team's championship, and Colin Turkington taking both the overall and independent's driver's title.
The team have been busy in pre-season too, snapping up Sam Tordoff from Triple Eight, and announcing today that triple World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx will be joining the squad with backing from InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG).
With the futures of champion Colin Turkington and Rob Collard still up for discussion, a move to WSR is unlikely for Plato, although stranger things have happened in the BTCC.
Other possibilities
There are rumours that a fourth manufacturer could be entering the grid, which could be a potential destination for Plato if the rumours prove to be true.
There is also a possibility Plato could set up his own team, if he still has backing from Tesco and KX next season.
Overall though, these seem to be the most likely options for Plato, and it'll be interesting to hear his plans for next season, sooner rather than later.
Monday, 5 January 2015
Future plans
Hi everyone.
With the 2015 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship not returning until April, there will not be many posts on this blog until the season opener at Brands Hatch.
Therefore I would like to take this opportunity to let you know what my plans are for the 2015 season.
Firstly, I will be continuing my association with the BTCC fan page, covering the Courier Connections Renault UK Clio Cup for a second successive season. Last year gave me the opportunity to report on the action of what was a close fought championship, and a taste of professional race reporting. Not only did this allow me to cover the whole championship, but I was also given the chance to cover the progress of championship runner-up Josh Cook - something I aim to continue next season.
As well as the Clio Cup,I will also be providing reports on the whole ToCA support package for the BTCC; the Ginetta GT Championship, Ginetta Junior Championship, Porsche Carrera Cup GB and the newly formed MSA Formula Championship.
With the annual Autosport Show taking place this weekend (10-11 January), the BTCC will be out in force once again, with a number of teams and drivers announcing their plans for the forthcoming season. I personally will be using this as an opportunity to post any breaking news from the show, and possibly interviews with some of the drivers competing in the 2015 BTCC season.
This year will be a big one for me on a personal note. Therefore I would like to thank all those who have given me the opportunities to get my blog off the ground. I never thought I would be in this situation when I first started the blog in mid 2013, and it has gone from strength to strength since my first post.
I know that I would not be where I am now without you, the readers. I'd like to thank all those who have taken the time out to read my blog posts, whether it be the odd post or those who keep up to date with all my posts,and hope that my work continues to be interesting and kept to a professional standard.
Let's hope the 2015 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship is just as exciting as it has been in recent years.
Alan