BTCC teams prepare for the season

The BTCC teams are preparing hard for the coming season, which will start on March 30th at Brands Hatch. A lot of drivers have changed seats and need to adapt to their new car. There will be some new names on the grid for the British Touring Car Championship 2008 as well. One of them is Stuart Oliver, who tested his new car this week for the first time.

On friday there was a lot of action at Silverstone, where a couple BTCC teams tested their new cars. Among them Team RAC, Team Halfords,JH Motorsport Racing and John Guest Racing. BTC Racing tested their car and new driver Stuart Oliver, five-times truck racing champion, at Oulton Park.

“This is a bit of a radical switch from trucks to touring cars but I’ve had a very positive start in my first test,” Oliver said to BTCC.net. “I am really buzzing; it’s definitely a steep learning curve as this is not only my first time in a touring car, but also my first time here at Oulton Park. There is a lot to take in and the differences are like night and day.”

“As well as the sequential gearbox, the braking is different and the view is very different too as I am two metres lower in the touring car. However, I’m quietly confident that I’ve made the right move. The first rounds of both the truck and touring car season are back to back at Brands Hatch, so that will be tough. My aim is to stay open minded and to be there or thereabouts in terms of winning. I am certainly not here to make up the numbers.”

Team RAC tested with Colin Turkington and newly signed Stephen Jelley at Silverstone. Tom Chilton and Gordon Shedden came in action with their Honda Civic, run by Team Halfords. Three Honda Integra’s were on the track, driven by John George and Mike and Andrew Jordan.