Super Tourers prepared for season opener at Thruxton

Excitement is mounting as the first official round of the all-new HSCC Super Touring Car Championship approaches. Since its debut at the 2012 Silverstone Classic the series has gone from strength to strength, attracting big names and iconic cars to join the grid, and 2014 will see an official championship format adopted for the Super Tourers.

16 cars are listed in the provisional entry list ahead of this weekend’s season opener at the Thruxton Easter Revival, with British Touring Car Championship legends John Cleland and Patrick Watts among the names to be putting the increasingly popular machines through their paces around the fastest circuit in the UK.

The smart money going in to the opening weekend, however, has to be on the Honda Accords of Stewart Whyte and James Dodd. Half of the race victories in 2013 came from Accords, with Whyte and Dodd taking two wins apiece, both scoring doubles at Thruxton and Oulton Park, respectively.

It was Whyte who was the dominant force at last season’s Easter Revival, scoring pole position and both wins in the weekend, the only man all season to complete the Treble. Dodd, meanwhile, swept the wins at Oulton Park in his new-to-the-series 1999 ex-James Thompson Honda. Starting from the front row, he never looked back and was almost unchallenged all weekend.

While the Hondas are likely to be near the front, a winner could come in the form of two-time BTCC champion, John Cleland. Cleland showed strong pace in the final race of 2013, battling with Stewart Whyte before an alternator issue forced him out.

A potential dark horse for the weekend will be Simon Garrad in the Williams Renault Laguna. The 1999 machine, complete in Nescafe livery, has looked impressive in testing, but the first true test will be out on track against the likes of Whyte, Dodd, Cleland and Watts, with Watts returning to the series with the Peugeot 406 he took to pole twice in 2013, as well as victory in the second race at the Brands Hatch Superprix.

Provisional Entry List – Rounds 1 & 2 – Thruxton Easter Revival

No – Driver – Car
1 – Stewart Whyte – Honda Accord
2 – Neil Smith – Alfa Romeo 156
3 – James Dodd – Honda Accord
4 – Graeme Dodd – Nissan Primera
7 – Paul Smith – BMW 320
11 – Stephen Dymoke – Alfa Romeo 156
12 – Patrick Watts – Peugeot 406
15 – Craig Davies Ford – Sierra RS500
21 – Max Goff – BMW M3
26 – Mark Hazell – BMW 320
36 – Keith Butcher – Nissan Primera ST
37 – Simon Garrad – Williams Renault Laguna
66 – Nick Whale – BMW M3
70 – David Jarman – Nissan Primera
80 – Mark Wright – Zakspeed Mk2 Escort
98 – John Cleland – Vauxhall Vectra

Timetable (All times BST)

Saturday
Qualifying: 9:50-10:10
Race 1: 14:30-14:50

Sunday
Race 2: 14:05-14:25