The British Touring Car Championship has been running, in one form or another, since 1958 and is now the UK’s biggest motor racing championship. Those of us old enough to remember the series when it was in its heyday in the late 1980s and early 1990s will remember names like John Cleland, Will Hoy, Frank Biela, Rickard Rydell, Alain Menu, Tim Harvey and Joachim Winkelhok. Back then the grid was full of works teams from the likes of BMW, Ford, Vauxhall, Nissan and Renault, however by the late 2000s the only works team left on the grid was Vauxhall with the rest of the teams being independently run. The series has undergone somewhat of a revival in recent years and with the introduction of the Next Generation Touring Car (NGTC) specifications it has become cheaper for both manufacturers and privateers to run a competitive car, resulting in one of the largest grids ever at 29 cars for the 2013 season. Long gone too are the days when the grid was full of international drivers. With the exception of Aron Smith, the entire grid is made up of British drivers. MG and Honda are the only works teams left in the championship, while there are 15 teams competing for the independent teams’ championship. 6 drivers are also contesting the newly introduced Jack Sears Trophy for drivers of Super 2000 cars. The leading Super 2000 driver in each race receives a cup and at the end of the season the driver with the most cups will we awarded the Jack Sears Trophy by Jack Sears himself. Jack was the winner of the inaugural British Saloon Car Championship in 1958. The 2013 season got under way on Easter Sunday at Brands Hatch with Jason Plato winning races one and two and Matt Neal picking up the win in the final race. I have been following the BTCC for as long as I can remember and have always wanted to attend a race weekend. I finally got around to it last weekend when I went along to watch the second round at Donington as a guest of the AmDTuning.com team who run a Super 2000 spec Golf GTI. The first thing that struck me after arriving at the track on Saturday morning as I was ferried into the paddock on the AmD team’s golf cart was how open everything was. The support paddock was in the middle of what would normally be the car park and the public were milling around watching the teams put up their tents and unpack their cars while in the touring car paddock the drivers were wandering around happy to stop to chat to fans, pose for photos and sign autographs. There were no F1 style barriers and drivers hiding away in air conditioned motor homes. Fans were free to walk up to the back of the garages and peer inside. The drivers even use the same public toilets as everybody else – at one point both Mat Jackson and Sam Tordoff were in the queue behind me! After being shown around the AmD garage and chatting to the team I went for a walk down the pit lane. As one of the smaller teams AmD are at the top end of the pit lane, near the pit entrance and as I walked down the pit lane towards the MG and Honda teams, who occupied the first two garages, the thing that was most obvious was that the further I walked along the busier the garages became. AmD and the other Super 2000 teams had perhaps 6-8 people on the team while the likes of MG and Honda have maybe 20-30.  The larger teams also have large hospitality tents that hold around 100 people while the smaller teams have a table and chairs at the back of the garage with a box of tea bags, paper cups and a tin of biscuits! Saturday morning consisted of free practice for BTCC and the support series and then the afternoon was taken up by qualification and ended with the first race in the Clio Cup series. I was in the pit lane for most of the day on Saturday and got to walk in and out of the garages watching the teams tweak their cars between sessions. I also got to stand on the pit wall for the BTCC sessions. The noise of the cars as they drive by is amazing and like nothing I have heard before – I could feel the sound wave from the exhaust as the cars backfired when changing gear on the straight. The sound is something that simply does not come across on TV. As the drivers sat in their cars preparing for the first free practice session thinking, some took the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the circuit! Sunday morning got off to a hilarious start as we made our way from the main gate to the AmD garage – four of us and a box full of sponsor goodie bags on a two seater, underpowered golf cart with James, the driver, unable to use the brakes as we would not have got going again if we slowed down. People were jumping for cover, although I’m sure that while it seemed like we were doing 100 miles per hour from the inside, it had all the speed (and danger) of Fr. Dougal on his milk float from the outside! As we made our way out to the infield to watch the first couple of support races the BTCC teams were busy with final preparations for their first race of the day. First up on Sunday were the Formula Fords followed by race 1 of the Porsche Carrera Cup championship with Irish interests represented by brothers Karl and Michael Leonard driving for Team Parker Racing in the Pro-Am1 category. Karl and Michael had a close battle with Victor Jiminez with Karl taking the category win in the motorsport.ie liveried car and Michael finishing third following a spin that allowed Jiminez to get by. Karl made it a clean sweep by picking up the category win in race 2. In addition to the two race wins, Karl was also awarded the driver of the weekend trophy. The BTCC cars took to the track at 1125 and we got to go onto the grid as the cars formed up. While the pit crews swarmed around the cars carrying out last minute jobs the photographers swarmed around the grid girls – no prizes for guessing where I ended up! We watched the first race on TV from the AmD garage. It was a different experience watching a race on TV with no commentary. The hard work was done at this stage and all the team could do was watch. One team member had a notebook where he logged each of driver James Kaye’s lap times with a comment next to it – either a time difference to the car behind or a note about something the driver did or didn’t do – while team manager Shaun was on the radio to James updating him on events on track that he had gleaned from watching the TV. It’s not like F1 where there is car to pit telemetry and GPS driver tracking, if the team don’t see it on the ITV4 live feed they don’t know about it. Race 1 was won by Gordon Sheddon, ahead of Andrew Jordan and team-mate Matt Neal. The holding area for the winning cars was right next to the AmD garage so at the end of the race we made our way over and were right in front of Gordon Sheddon’s car as he pulled in and got out of the car. It was really interesting to see the reactions and hear the comments between the drivers as they chatted about the race. ITV’s Steve Rider and Louise Goodman were on hand to carry out the post-race interviews. I’ve not watched the races back yet, but I’m sure we managed to get into the background. Following the interviews the drivers were taken out into the paddock where the podium presentation was carried out on the back of a truck for all the fans to see. AmD’s James Kaye came home in first place in the Jack Sears Trophy – here’s a shot of his empty champagne bottle. I don’t think they’re supposed to drink between races! During the lunch break there was a thirty minute slot where the pit lane was opened for the public to walk about and get photos and autographs. About 20 minutes before the gates opened the queue was easily four or five hundred people deep. Luckily, we had access through the AmD garage so we were able to bypass the queue and line up at the Honda garage to wait for Flash and Matt Neal to emerge. When the public were allowed in the biggest draws seemed to be the MG and Honda teams followed by the Airwaves team and BMW with the crowds dwindling the further down the pit lane you went. I know the drivers are probably contractually obliged to sit outside their garage and sign autographs, but it is a great idea and gives the fans an opportunity to get up close to the drivers. I suspect the drivers don’t get hassled as much over the weekend if the fans know they’ll have an opportunity for an autograph at this session. For race 2 we ventured out of the pitlane and took up a spot near the Craner Curves. I was amazed at the number of families that were sitting around the banks – it really is a family day out. There were first timers who arrived in t-shirts and shorts along with people who appeared to be regulars who brought picnics and tents to shield themselves from the wind. This was Matt Neal’s 500th race start and it was fitting that he reached that milestone at Donington, scene of his first ever win in 1999 when he picked up a cheque for £250,000 as the first independent driver to win a race outright. He ran with the number 500 on his car for race 2 to commemorate the occasion, while Jason Plato ran number 400 as this was his 400th race. Unfortunately for the AmD team, a start line collision between James Kaye and David Nye saw both men pile into the pit wall and retire from the race resulting in the safety car being deployed. Following the restart, Andrew Jordan pulled out a big lead after lunging down the inside of Shedden at the start of lap 7. Behind Jordan was a close battle between Plato, Shedden, Neal and Morgan with Plato eventually passing Shedden for second place and Shedden finishing in third. Matt Neal finished his 500th race in 4th place. We made it back to the AmD garage just as they were finishing patching up the Golf – a new front end, wings, doors and lots of red tape and the car was ready for race 3. Not a bad effort for a team of 8! We took to the grid for the final race of the day and as James had not finished the second race he was last on the grid, just behind Warren Scott who had put his car into the gravel trap at the Old Hairpin in race two. Due to the size of the field, the back of the grid is almost at the exit of the final chicane so this allowed us a great opportunity to get a close up look at the cars as they exited the chicane and did a quick burnout to warm the tyres. Then it was time to take another walk along the grid to check out the cars and the grid girls! As we were getting booted off the grid I managed to get a quick photo of Gordon Shedden as he prepared for the start. Again, we watched race 3 from the AmD garage. It didn’t go too well for the AmD team. Unfortunately, despite the sterling job by the team to get the car ready, an electrical failure caused James to stop out on track. Dave Newsham had a major wobble on the way through Craners on the opening lap that almost took out several of the top drivers, but luckily everybody managed to avoid him. Former WTCC champion Colin Turkington shot into the lead from second on the grid in his eBay BMW and remained there to the end, finishing four seconds clear of Gordon Shedden with Matt Neal coming home in third. At the end of the race we made our way again to the holding area to watch the cars come in and had the opportunity to eavesdrop on the drivers as they congratulated each other and chatted about the race, including asking each other how they managed to avoid the spinning Dave Newsham at Craners. We said our goodbyes to the AmD team and walked along the pit lane inspecting the cars and emerged into the paddock just in time to catch the end of the podium presentation with Colin Turkington taking his young son onto the top step with him – something you won’t see on your average podium. Now that I’ve experienced a BTCC weekend, I definitely plan to go back. I would recommend it to anybody. Donington is a great track as there are plenty viewing spots and no matter where you stand you have a view of three or four corners. It is also very easy to get to as it is practically at the end of the runway at East Midlands Airport and if you book early enough you’ll get return flights with Ryanair for less than forty quid. I’ve included a selection of photos below. For me the first image captures the spirit of British Motorsport perfectly.

Read this article:
BTCC Donington- with Marc Quinlivan

The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) has today (Thursday 21 March) announced both a record – and capacity – 32-car entry list for the upcoming 2013 season. An incredible 13 models from 11 different marques are entered, including both Honda and MG as official Manufacturer teams. In total this amounts to the biggest BTCC season entry list in its 2-litre history. No fewer than 26 of the unprecedented 32-car grid will be entering with the BTCC’s NGTC-spec machinery, whilst a further six competitors will contest the Jack Sears Trophy for S2000 cars. The BTCC also boasts four champions on its 2013 grid plus a new multi-year television contract with ITV – securing the current vast ITV coverage until at least 2017. A new ‘soft compound’ Dunlop tyre has also been introduced to add a new strategic element to each team’s race weekend. This year’s BTCC will again comprise 30 races across ten events at nine venues around the UK, with the season commencing at Brands Hatch on 30/31 March. Ford Honda, MG and BMW are just some of the marques competing in 2013 Record Grid The UK’s most popular national motor sport series is preparing for one of the biggest and most competitive seasons in its illustrious 56-year history with a record 18 teams entering a total of 32 cars. This figure eclipses the largest grid in recent BTCC years, which stands at the 30 cars entered into the final round of the 2011 season at Silverstone. The BTCC limits the maximum number of entries to 32 cars, in accordance with the MSA track-licence for Brands Hatch (Indy), Oulton Park and Knockhill circuits. Four Champions There will be four champions on the 2013 grid, with returning 2009 victor Colin Turkington joining reigning champion Gordon Shedden and multiple title winners Matt Neal and Jason Plato. Turkington spearheads the three-pronged eBay Motors line-up in the promising new BMW 125i M Sport prepared by former champion outfit West Surrey Racing. Shedden and Neal return for the all-conquering Honda Yuasa Racing Team which clinched Drivers’, Manufacturers’ and Teams’ Championship in 2012. Despite taking his record BTCC wins tally to 74, Plato had to settle for third place overall in 2012 in what was an impressive debut season for the new MG KX Momentum Racing team. As well as the four BTCC champions, a chasing pack and growing contingent of young guns have also set their sights on championship glory. Arguably leading this challenge are former runner-up Mat Jackson in his Airwaves Racing Ford Focus and last year’s Independents’ Champion, Andrew Jordan, in his Pirtek Racing Honda Civic. Makes and Models With 13 different models from 11 different marques, the BTCC has one of the largest and most varied touring car grids in the world. Official manufacturer entries from Honda Yuasa Racing and MG KX Momentum Racing are joined by a host of independent teams entering cars from Audi (WIX Racing), BMW (eBay Motors), Chevrolet (BTC Racing, M247 Racing, Team Club 44), Ford (Addison Lee Motorbase, Airwaves Racing, Welch Motorsport with Sopp + Sopp), Honda (Pirtek Racing), Proton (Welch Motorsport with Sopp + Sopp), Seat (Team BMR Restart), Toyota (Ciceley, Dynojet, Speedworks), Vauxhall (RCIB Insurance Racing, Wheel Heaven/Houseman Racing) and Volkswagen (PPCGB.com/Kraftwerk Racing) – the latter two will be represented by their respective Insignia and Vectra and Golf and Passat models. ITV Coverage Having broadcast the BTCC since 2002, ITV has announced its further commitment to covering the championship until at least 2017. ITV will continue to screen around seven hours of live free-to-air coverage from each event on both its ITV4 and ITV4 HD channels as well as the itv.com website, which also streams qualifying sessions live. Adding to the coverage are 60-minute edited race highlights repeated three times after each event on ITV and ITV4 as well as their respective HD channels and ‘simulcast’ on itv.com . In total more than 230 hours of the BTCC will be broadcast across the ITV network each season. Dunlop Tyres The Goodyear Dunlop group begins its tenth year of title sponsorship and official tyre supplier to the BTCC. Dunlop is also celebrating its own 125-year anniversary in 2013. At nine of this year’s ten events (the exception being Thruxton), drivers in NGTC-spec cars will have one set of a new ‘soft compound’ Dunlop tyre at their disposal, which will offer a variation in performance to the standard compound tyre. These tyres must be used in one of the three races at each event and teams must nominate, prior to Saturday’s qualifying session, which particular race they elect to use them. Jack Sears Trophy The BTCC will present a special cup to the highest S2000 finisher in each race, with the driver who claims the most victories over the course of the season winning the inaugural ‘Jack Sears Trophy’. The trophy is named after racing legend Jack Sears who won the inaugural BTCC title in 1958, before adding a second crown 50 years ago in 1963. S2000 cars will no longer enjoy strict performance parity with the greater number of NGTC machines, so the introduction of this trophy is seen as a tangible reward for drivers continuing their progression through the BTCC ranks. BTCC Series Director Alan Gow said: “The record entry list that we’ve announced today is a great validation of NGTC technical regulations and real testament to the continued success, growth and stability of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship. “The current health of the BTCC is absolutely fantastic and even more staggering, perhaps, with the challenging economic climate. Our teams have worked incredibly hard and have demonstrated real commitment to this championship – particularly as the majority have invested in the latest specification NGTC machinery. We continue to evolve this bright new era of the BTCC and all the teams have benefitted from the success of the championship. “Our trackside attendance has increased year-on-year over the last decade. The ITV audience figures and airtime reached all-time highs last year and we have now proudly announced an important new contract with them until 2017. We’d also like to thank our other partners, not least of which is our title sponsor Dunlop – these companies recognise the importance and value of being involved in the BTCC. “We have a huge grid – including four champions in the line-up – culminating in fresh colours, cars and stars in the BTCC. The strength in depth continues to rise along with the undoubted professionalism and turnout of our loyal and committed teams. That is why the BTCC is so firmly cemented as the UK’s premier and most popular motor sport series.”

Continued here:
Thirty-two cars confirmed for this year’s Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship

2012 Ginetta Junior Championship front runner Niall Murray looks set for a new challenge in 2013 as he moves to the re-energised Irish Formula Ford Championship. The Ginetta Junior star has enjoyed two seasons racing on the UK’s top National stage with huge success along the way. Returning to Family-run team Murray Motorsport, Niall is hoping that Formula Ford will provide him with a new platform to reach a professional level in motorsport. Speaking about the announcement, Niall said, “I’m so excited to announce I’ll be racing in the Irish Formula Ford 1600 Championship. It will be very competitive with current and past Irish Young Racing drivers of the Year competing and also current and past winners of the Formula Ford festival. This will be a completely new experience for me, we’ve bought a 99 Van Dieman which is due to arrive soon and hopefully we’ll get in some testing before the first round. I’ve never driven a single seater before, but I’m confident that I’ll be able to adapt to the new tracks straight away and be right on the pace quickly. I’m going to be run by my family team Murray Motorsport, which I’m very happy about as I know they are the best team I could possibly have!” Just last week Ginetta rewarded the young Irish star for his efforts in the championship by inviting him to test their Ginetta supported Toyota Avensis NGTC BTCC car in Silverstone run by Speedworks Motorsport. In the 20 minute session, Murray impressed the Speedworks bosses at just how quickly he adjusted himself to the unique characteristics of the car apart from the notable differences to what he had been used to. Niall added: “I really really enjoyed it! But 20 minutes just isn’t long enough! It was great to compare the data with Adam Morgan and see that I was right on his pace through the corners although the car was restricted in a straight line for us ‘kids’ driving it! Massive thanks to Ginetta and Speedworks Racing for allowing me to drive the 300+ BHP beast around the track, it was a great experience.” Niall starts his 2013 Irish Formula Ford Campaign in Kirkistown on Saturday 6th April. You can follow his progress throughout the season on http://www.niallmurray.com and by following him on twitter: @niallmurray5

Follow this link:
Murray makes single seater switch for 2013

Reigning Ginetta Junior Team Champions Douglas Motorsport will be aiming to retain their title in 2013 having signed Irish star Keith Donegan just weeks ahead of the season opener at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit. The Navan native had a mixed rookie season in the Ginetta Junior Championship in 2012 having graduated from a number of successful seasons Karting across Europe. Keith’s highlight of the season came in race one at Rockingham where he made his debut visit to the Ginetta Junior podium achieving a season best result of 3rd. Throughout the season Keith showed several flashes of good pace and is confident that he can now put this speed and previous years experience together with the help of Douglas Motorsport to mount a strong title challenge for 2013. Speaking about the announcement, Keith commented, “I’m delighted to be given the chance to run with Douglas Motorsport this year. I think it will give us a good shot at the championship and going on our recent pace and how well we worked together in some pre-season testing, theres no reason why we shouldn’t be running at the front right from the off.” “Keith was unlucky on a number of occasions last year not to get the results he deserved, but always showed that he had the speed required to run at the front”, said Wayne Douglas, Douglas Motorsport Team Principal. Wayne went on to say, “We’ve tested with Keith already this year and I’m in no doubt that he can be a title contender and we’re certainly hoping that we can keep our Team Champions title for another season”. If you are looking to join a proven championship winning team for 2013 please get in touch with Wayne Douglas by logging onto: www.douglasmotorsport.com or emailing wayne@douglasmotorsport.com.

View post:
Donegan joins Douglas Motorsport for Ginetta Junior

Airwaves Racing today (Wednesday) announced its new title sponsorship of the Motorbase Performance Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) squad for the 2013 season. David Bartrum’s Kent-based squad confirmed it will compete under the ‘Airwaves Racing’ banner in the forthcoming season after securing an amplified title sponsorship deal with leading chewing gum brand Wrigley’s Airwaves. The fresh new livery was unveiled to the public for the first time on Monday (4th March) at the start of a week-long launch road-show. Two internal staff launches at Wrigley’s Reading and Plymouth sites saw hundreds of staff turn out to greet the team on Monday and Tuesday this week; with the Airwaves Racing NGTC machines taking to the track for the first time tomorrow (Thursday) before Friday’s (8th March) team press launch at Ford Dagenham Edgware brings the week’s activities to a close. Team Mates Mat Jackson & Aron Smith Following the recent announcement that both Mat Jackson and Aron Smith will be returning to the Motorbase fold competing in the new in-house built Mountune-powered NGTC Ford Focus ST’s; 2013 is set to be the team’s most ambitious assault on the BTCC and Airwaves Racing are expected to be serious title contenders this coming season. In addition to its new title sponsorship, Airwaves Racing has also retained its major sponsor partners for the 2013 season with the return of leading information technology supplier Redstone, mobile technology company Truphone and London’s largest minicab operator Addison Lee. Airwaves Racing and its associate sponsors are set to roll-out a number of initiatives during the 2013 season to enable fans to get even closer to what is already one of the most popular teams of the grid including a new range of team merchandise which will be available through motorsport clothing retailer Dread. Round 1 of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship takes place on 30/31 March 2013, with the official media day taking place at Donington Park on 21st March. Airwaves Racing Team Principal David Bartrum said: “We’re absolutely delighted to welcome Airwaves back on board as title sponsor for this season. This year marks the brand’s fourth year with the team and once again shows the strength and appeal of the championship to attract leading brands such as Wrigley. This week’s internal launches at Wrigley’s have been a great testament to how far the partnership has come in the past four years. We literally had hundreds of staff come along to see the unveiling of the new Focus livery and it was great to be able to give them a chance to get involved and meet the team for themselves. “We’re also very happy to have Redstone, Truphone and Addison Lee back with us as major sponsors. With the new NGTC cars and increased backing from our sponsors, 2013 is gearing up to be our strongest ever challenge on the title, hopefully we can repay them with a BTCC title.” Wrigley’s Airwaves Brand Manager Tia Shortall said: “Airwaves is proud to be title sponsors of the Motorbase team this year. Airwaves is a great fit with Motorsport because it’s more than just gum – its unique flavour kick allows you to take a deep breath and really go for it! We’ve been involved in Motorsport for many years, but felt that the title sponsorship gave us a brilliant opportunity to make it bigger & bolder than we ever have before.” Redstone Managing Director Fraser Fisher said: “We’ve enjoyed a great relationship with the Motorbase team over the last two years and are delighted to be able to partner them once again in 2013. Redstone are very proud of our partnership with Airwaves Racing in the BTCC and this year’s major backing is key to our on-going marketing strategy. We look forward to sharing another winning season with the team and offering a uniquely exhilarating experience to our customers, staff and suppliers alike.” Truphone Managing Director Robert Jones said: “Motorbase is an extraordinary team, their ‘can do’ attitude and technical know-how helps them win races against much larger players. We have that spirit here at Truphone, and we look forward to another exciting season as we support Motorbase in the 2013 British Touring Car Championship.”

Continue reading here:
BREAKING NEWS: Airwaves Racing unwrap new title sponsorship of Motorbase BTCC squad