Pivotal point in title race as BTCC heads to Scotland

The BTCC makes its annual visit north of the border this weekend, with the drama in the championship battle ramped up a notch before a wheel has even been turned in anger.

The tight, twisty Knockhill circuit never fails to provide dramatic racing, and the action will be further spiced up by events at Snetterton three weeks ago.

A lot of people have already tipped series leader Colin Turkington to take pole on the 1.27 mile course, but even if he does, he’ll start race one no better than ninth following his eight-place grid penalty for contact with Matt Neal in race three.

The West Surrey Racing man is defending a 23-point lead from home hero Gordon Shedden, who will doubtlessly be fired up to take advantage in front of the Scottish fans, on a circuit where he has enjoyed success in the past.

The unavoidable talking point of 2014 has been the battle between front and rear-wheel drive machinery, and this weekend is likely to bring that into sharp focus once again on a track which has traditionally favoured the rear-wheel drives.

Turkington and team-mate Rob Collard are likely to be strong, with the latter taking a pair of wins in the old 3-Series back in 2012, and the former a pair in the new 125i last year. And Rob Austin took his first BTCC pole last year, which he backed up with a second, third and fourth in the races in his Audi A4.

The most vocal on the debate so far has been Triple Eight’s Jason Plato, who heads into the weekend third in the standings, off the back of two wins at Snetterton. Plato was quick to decry his chances after Snetterton, on a track which he believes won’t suit his MG6, but he will undoubtedly figure.

And behind him in fourth, expect to see a new approach from reigning champion Andrew Jordan. The Eurotech Racing man endured a nightmare weekend at Snetterton following his accident and concussion on Saturday, and now lies 78 points behind Turkington.

Traditionally a driver to pore over every last detail to gain three strong results, the shackles are surely off as Jordan looks for wins and podiums to reignite his fading title defence.

Elsewhere, it is notoriously hard to predict form on a track where hundredths rather than tenths are the difference between grid slots. But it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Adam Morgan at the sharp end, on a track where he excelled last year, and which should suit the Ciceley Racing Mercedes A-Class.

Alain Menu was a master of Knockhill in the Super Touring era and must surely feel he can emulate Team BMR team-mate Aron Smith in taking a win sooner rather than later, while Mat Jackson and Motorbase Performance are confident of getting closer to that elusive victory.

Aside from Shedden, it’s an important weekend for three other home heroes. Aiden Moffat made his debut here last year aged just 16, and comes into his second Knockhill weekend off the back of a very strong Snetterton test in his Chevrolet Cruze.

Glynn Geddie will be looking to finally turn a corner in the United Autosports Toyota Avensis, while long-time Scotland resident Dave Newsham returns to a track where he won memorably in 2012.

The only change on the grid will be under the bonnet of the BTC Racing Chevrolet Cruze, with Chris Stockton’s machine set to be powered by the Swindon engine for the first time, following the decision to part with the troublesome RML unit.

With 31 touring cars on such a short and narrow track, the only guarantee this weekend is sure to be drama and close racing.

BTCC ROUND 7 KNOCKHILL – ENTRY LIST

No – Driver – Team Name – Car – Engine Builder/Marque
4 – Matt Neal – Honda Racing Team – Honda Civic Tourer – Neil Brown/Honda
52 – Gordon Shedden – Honda Racing Team – Honda Civic Tourer – Neil Brown/Honda
88 – Sam Tordoff – Triple Eight Race Engineering – MG6 GT – Swindon/TOCA
99 – Jason Plato – Triple Eight Race Engineering – MG6 GT – Swindon/TOCA
888 – Marc Hynes – Triple Eight Race Engineering – MG6 GT – Swindon/TOCA
1 – Andrew Jordan – Eurotech Racing – Honda Civic Hatchback – Neil Brown/Honda
30 – Martin Depper – Eurotech Racing – Honda Civic Hatchback – Neil Brown/Honda
5 – Colin Turkington – West Surrey Racing – BMW 125i M – Neil Brown/BMW
10 – Rob Collard – West Surrey Racing – BMW 125i M – Neil Brown/BMW
18 – Nick Foster – West Surrey Racing – BMW 125i M – Neil Brown/BMW
6 – Mat Jackson – Motorbase Performance – Ford Focus ST – Mountune/Ford
7 – Fabrizio Giovanardi – Motorbase Performance – Ford Focus ST – Mountune/Ford
44 – Jack Clarke – Motorbase Performance – Ford Focus ST – Mountune/Ford
33 – Adam Morgan – Ciceley Racing – Mercedes-Benz A-Class – Swindon/TOCA
80 – Tom Ingram – Speedworks Motorsport – Toyota Avensis – Swindon/TOCA
11 – Simon Belcher – Speedworks Motorsport – Toyota Avensis – Swindon/TOCA
101 – Rob Austin – Rob Austin Racing – Audi A4 – Swindon/TOCA
54 – Hunter Abbott – Rob Austin Racing – Audi A4 – Swindon/TOCA
39 – Warren Scott – Team BMR – Volkswagen CC – Swindon/TOCA
31 – Jack Goff – Team BMR – Volkswagen CC – Swindon/TOCA
9 – Alain Menu – Team BMR – Volkswagen CC – Swindon/TOCA
40 – Aron Smith – Team BMR – Volkswagen CC – Swindon/TOCA
48 – Ollie Jackson – Welch Motorsport – Proton Gen-2 – Welch/Proton-M
12 – Daniel Welch – Welch Motorsport – Proton Gen-2 – Welch/Proton-M
43 – Lea Wood – JWT Performance – Toyota Avensis – Swindon/TOCA
17 – Dave Newsham – AmD Tuning – Ford Focus ST – Mountune/Ford
67 – Robb Holland – Rotek Racing – Audi S3 Saloon – Swindon/TOCA
28 – Chris Stockton – BTC Racing – Chevrolet Cruze Hatchback – Swindon/TOCA
16 – Aiden Moffat – Aiden Moffat Racing – Chevrolet Cruze Saloon – Neil Brown/Chevrolet
20 – James Cole – United Autosports – Toyota Avensis – Xctechr/Toyota
21 – Glynn Geddie – United Autosports – Toyota Avensis – Xctechr/Toyota

SUCCESS BALLAST

Driver – Ballast
Colin Turkington +45kg
Gordon Shedden +36kg
Jason Plato +27kg
Andrew Jordan +18kg
Rob Collard +9kg

TIMETABLE (ALL TIMES BST)

Saturday
Free Practice 1: 09:40-10:20
Free Practice 2: 12:10-12:50
Qualifying: 15:05-15:35

Sunday
Race 1: 11:45 (24 Laps)
Race 2: 14:17 (24 Laps)
Race 3: 17:07 (24 Laps)