High-speed Thruxton challenge awaits BTCC drivers

The fastest circuit in the UK awaits the bumper 2014 British Touring Car Championship field this bank holiday weekend, for the third meeting on the 2014 season.

The Hampshire speedbowl of Thruxton certainly makes up in thrills and spills what it lacks in creature comforts, and remains one of the best circuits for viewing on the calendar.

The tiny pit garages and mass of awnings in the paddock allow the fans to watch the cars being worked on closer up than most other circuits, while the banking at the complex is routinely packed with eager spectators on race day.

On the track, tyres will be the talking point, as they always are at this unique, abrasive venue. The normal soft tyre rules are parked for this weekend, with Dunlop bringing a special compound designed to cope with the extreme loads caused by the raft of high-speed corners.

Punctures are usually as inevitable as fender-bending, as drivers look to strike a balance between aggressive camber settings and attacking the kerbs for performance, with a need to protect the rubber over the race distance.

Both Andrew Jordan and Jason Plato lost race wins due to punctures last year, and it is the same duo who head into the weekend at the top of the standings.

Tied on 87 points at the top of the standings, Eurotech Racing’s Jordan and Triple Eight’s Plato will both carry second placed ballast of 36kg into practice, qualifying and the first race.

And given the form book at Thruxton, there is no reason to doubt they will be at the front this weekend. Weight shouldn’t harm the cars as much at this track, while the many iterations of the nimble Civic chassis have always gone well around here.

For his part, Plato has won here in 2004, 2007 and 2011, with Fabrizio Giovanardi, Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal among the other drivers who have regularly troubled the marshal with the chequered flag.

For many onlookers, this may also be the first weekend where we see the full potential of the Team BMR squad. The Volkswagen CC was a far less developed machine than it is now when Tom Onslow-Cole netted two podiums and a fourth last season, and there is an expectation that Alain Menu will fly here.

The Swiss was keen to play down his chances when he spoke to TouringCarTimes at Donington, but this is a track he won at in 1995 and 1998, and qualified third at on his one-off weekend for Triple Eight in 2007.

Thruxton will also see boost becoming a talking point for the first time this season. The first set of adjustments will be made, based on the fastest laps from Brands Hatch and Donington Park, although these are not made public by TOCA.

However, it is known that the increments of the boost changes have been reduced to half this year, with the added consideration that the gaps between the cars and drivers are, so far, very small.

Peversely, the teams worst off under the rules at the opening rounds were Welch Motorsport and BTC Racing, both privateer outfits who are bedding in brand new cars. Both have new engines, which were restricted to base boost at the opening events, leaving them propping up the speed traps.

The quality and depth of this year’s field is superb, yet it is still the familiar faces who have been racking up wins and podiums at the opening events. And at a track which favours driving skill, touring car nous and a good chassis, there’s no reason to believe this weekend will be any different.

BTCC Round 3 Thruxton – 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 – Vauxhall Insignia – Swindon/TOCA
31 – Jack Goff – Team BMR – Vauxhall Insignia – 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 – RML/Chevrolet
16 – Aiden Moffat – Aiden Moffat Racing – Chevrolet Cruze Saloon – RML/Chevrolet
20 – James Cole – United Autosports – Toyota Avensis – Xctechr/Toyota
21 – Glynn Geddie – United Autosports – Toyota Avensis – Xctechr/Toyota

Success Ballast

Andrew Jordan +36kg
Jason Plato +36kg
Gordon Shedden +27kg
Colin Turkington +18kg
Matt Neal +9kg

Timetable (All times BST)

Saturday
Free Practice 1: 10:00-10:40
Free Practice 2: 12:40-13:20
Qualifying: 15:55-16:25

Sunday
Race 1: 12:12 (16 Laps)
Race 2: 14:32 (16 Laps)
Race 3: 17:17 (16 Laps)