Preview – Snetterton next up

After a seven-week hiatus, the BTCC returns to the track, as the second half of the season resumes at Snetterton, for Round Six of the series. With 15 races gone, and 15 to go, it’s all to play for with only 51 points separating the top five drivers.

Colin Turkington leads the way, but having never been in the situation before, will he able to hold on or will the pressure of having three former champions breathing down his neck tell before the season’s end.

The Team RAC driver currently has a 25 point lead on Matt Neal, with reigning champion Fabrizio Giovanardi a further four points behind. Turkington though has been the class of the field so far, collecting five wins in what is his most successful BTCC campaign to date.

That’s in stark contrast to Neal, who has won just once this season, in the opening round at Brands Hatch, but consistent points scoring has kept the Vauxhall driver in the hunt, despite his team struggling with tyre problems in the hot weather at Oulton Park and Croft.

Those high temperatures are unlikely to be a problem for the remaining rounds, and with Giovanardi also firmly in the hunt; Turkington is likely to now face a double-pronged attack from a resurgent VX Racing.

The Italian was quickest in the recent test day at Snetterton, while James Thompson was just behind in second. The Team Dynamics driver is more of a threat for race wins rather than a title challenge (especially as he’ll miss rounds to compete in Australia later in the season), meaning he could take points off all five title protagonists.

At 51 points back, Robert Collard is an outside bet for the title, but the Airwaves man would likely need some serious slip ups from the other four to see him in the frame come Brands Hatch in October. Jason Plato is a threat however, and for anyone who thinks missing the Snetterton test could put the Chevrolet driver on the back foot, then Turkington has a message for them, as he told the official BTCC website.

“Jason’s shown at several recent rounds he can turn up to circuits where he has not driven that car before and really be difficult to beat and I don’t think it’ll be any different at Snetterton. Also, we lost a decent portion of the Snetterton test due to heavy rain so I don’t think we’ll have stolen much of an advantage on him.”

Double champion Neal agrees, also telling the series website that the “Chevrolet is so fast on the straights – and at Snetterton there are two of the longest straights in the UK – that he doesn’t need to worry about being quick around the corners! I think he could be in a similarly strong position when we get to Silverstone later in the month – it’s the kind of circuit where he might be untouchable. Colin’s moved into a decent lead but Jason is very much in there with us now.”

As well as having a car seemingly perfectly suited to the Norfolk track, Plato has performed strongly there in recent seasons, winning five out of the last twelve BTCC races held at Snetterton. Another strong performance and the Chevrolet driver will be firmly in the hunt for honours.

Further down the grid, Stephen Jelley will have buoyed by his first BTCC podium at Croft, but at the same time suffered a blow with a large accident during the Snetterton test. How he bounces back from this could set the tone for the rest of his season, particularly as he is in a race-winning car that should be at the front of the grid. There can be no excuses now for the RAC driver.

Another driver in a similar boat is Andrew Jordan. He has recorded podiums and set a pole position, but that first win has so far eluded him. A good Snetterton test could point towards potential reverse grid success in race three on Sunday.

Likely opponents for this will be the Airwaves BMW’s and Mat Jackson’s Chevrolet, while one of the intriguing stories of the weekend will be how the new Bamboo Engineering team of Harry Vaulkhard fairs, and of course whether their new livery features a giant panda!

Previous Snetterton Winners:

2008: Jason Plato (x2), Mat Jackson

2007: Gordon Shedden, Fabrizio Giovanardi, Tom Onslow-Cole

2006: Jason Plato (x2), Matt Neal

2005: Tom Chilton (x2), Jason Plato

2004: James Thompson, Luke Hines, Robert Huff