BTCC turns up the wick for visit to high-speed Thruxton

With talk of soft tyres and success ballast dominating the opening exchanges of the 2015 British Touring Car Championship season, the drivers face an altogether different challenge this weekend as the series rolls into the ultra-fast Thruxton circuit.

The 2.34 mile-long Hampshire track is the quickest in the UK and features the fearsome 150mph Church corner, the scene of a spate of incidents at the 2014 meeting which forced a safety rethink from the circuit’s management.

But corners such as Church are the reasons the drivers enjoy coming back to Thruxton so much, and they will have a new set of rules to contend with this time around.

The unique strain the track puts on tyres means Dunlop will bring their special harder compound to the meeting, and with drivers using it in all the races, the lottery of the soft tyre battle won’t be on the agenda in rounds seven, eight and nine of the championship.

Weight, too, will be less of an issue due to the fast and flowing nature of the track, but the increased maximum ballast of 75kg will doubtless provide a challenge – not least for series leader Matt Neal.

Honda Racing Team’s Neal will be the first driver to carry the maximum success weight into qualifying, as his joint lead with Triple Eight Racing’s Jack Goff at Donington Park meant only second place ballast was carried.

But if recent form is anything to go by, the triple champion hasn’t got too much to worry about. Thruxton is traditionally a front-wheel drive-friendly track – and more specifically, Honda-friendly. Neal (three wins), Gordon Shedden (four wins) and Andrew Jordan (one win) have ensured success for various Civic models in the last eight races in Hampshire, and the early season form of the new Type-R has already seen it take three wins.

Neal holds a two-point lead over reigning champion Colin Turkington, who is quickly coming to terms with his new mount at Team BMR. Shedden sits five further back ahead of Jordan, now in a Triple Eight Racing MG, with Jason Plato in fifth.

Tean BMR’s Volkswagen CC was memorably quick around Thruxton two years ago in the hands of circuit specialist Tom Onslow-Cole, and with significant development having taken place since the Tony Gilham Racing days, the car is sure to be a front-runner this weekend.

Triple Eight’s Jordan is chasing a fourth consecutive pole in Hampshire, and will also be out to address the surprising statistic that the MG6 GT is yet to win a race at the circuit. His new team-mate Jack Goff is another man who has shown good form at Thruxton in the past, and he will be looking to build on a strong start to 2015.

Of the other established front-runners, West Surrey Racing face a tough task to bounce back from a trying Donington Park meeting. Thruxton has never favoured the rear-wheel drive BMW 125i, and the team’s competitors will be looking to make hay while the sun shines ahead of the tracks which favour the German machinery of Andy Priaulx, Rob Collard and Sam Tordoff.

Elsewhere on the grid, Donington Park was a breakthrough meeting for a number of drivers, not least the Power Maxed Racing pair of Josh Cook and Dave Newsham. Ciceley Racing’s Adam Morgan bagged his first podium of the year, while there was a career-best finish for Mercedes A-Class stable-mate Aiden Moffat.

A grid of 28 cars will compete this weekend, with Team Parker Racing rookie Alex Martin missing out to undergo an operation on a long-standing back issue.

BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP ENTRY LIST – THRUXTON

No – Driver – Team Name – Car – Engine Builder/Marque

25 – Matt Neal – Honda Racing Team – Honda Civic Type-R – Neil Brown/Honda
52 – Gordon Shedden – Honda Racing Team – Honda Civic Type-R – Neil Brown/Honda
31 – Jack Goff – Triple Eight Racing – MG6 GT – Swindon/TOCA
77 – Andrew Jordan – Triple Eight Racing – MG6 GT – Swindon/TOCA
22 – Derek Palmer Jr – Infiniti Support Our Paras Racing – Infiniti Q50 – Swindon/TOCA
84 – Richard Hawken – Infiniti Support Our Paras Racing – Infinti Q50 – Swindon/TOCA
6 – Rob Collard – West Surrey Racing – BMW 125i M-Sport – Neil Brown/BMW
7 – Sam Tordoff – West Surrey Racing – BMW 125i M-Sport – Neil Brown/BMW
111 – Andy Priaulx – West Surrey Racing – BMW 125i M-Sport – Neil Brown/BMW
1 – Colin Turkington – Team BMR – Volkswagen CC – Swindon/TOCA
99 – Jason Plato – Team BMR – Volkswagen CC – Swindon/TOCA
39 – Warren Scott – Team BMR – Volkswagen CC – Swindon/TOCA
40 – Árón Smith – Team BMR – Volkswagen CC – Swindon/TOCA
11 – Simon Belcher – Speedworks Motorsport – Toyota Avensis – Swindon/TOCA
80 – Tom Ingram – Speedworks Motorsport – Toyota Avensis – Swindon/TOCA
12 – Andy Wilmot – Welch Motorsport – Proton Gen-2 – Welch/Proton-M
13 – Daniel Welch – Welch Motorsport – Proton Gen-2 – Welch/Proton-M
16 – Aiden Moffat – Aiden Moffat Racing – Mercedes A-Class – Swindon/TOCA
17 – Dave Newsham – Power Maxed Racing – Chevrolet Cruze Saloon – Swindon/TOCA
66 – Josh Cook – Power Maxed Racing – Chevrolet Cruze Saloon – Swindon/TOCA
21 – Mike Bushell – AmD Tuning – Ford Focus ST – Mountune/Ford Duratec
23 – Kieran Gallagher – Tony Gilham Racing – Toyota Avensis – Toyota/Xctechr
30 – Martin Depper – Eurotech Racing – Honda Civic Hatchback – Swindon/TOCA
55 – Jeff Smith – Eurotech Racing – Honda Civic Hatchback – Swindon/TOCA
33 – Adam Morgan – Ciceley Racing – Mercedes-Benz A-Class – Swindon/TOCA
54 – Hunter Abbott – Rob Austin Racing – Audi A4 – Swindon/TOCA
101 – Rob Austin – Rob Austin Racing – Audi A4 – Swindon/TOCA
95 – Stewart Lines – JWT Performance – Toyota Avensis – Swindon/TOCA

TIMETABLE (ALL TIMES BST)

Saturday:
Free Practice 1: 10.00-10.40
Free Practice 2: 12:45-13:25
Qualifying: 16:05-16:35

Sunday:
Race One (16 Laps) – 12.12
Race Two (16 Laps) – 14.32
Race Three (16 Laps) – 17:17