Unique challenge of Rockingham awaits BTCC

The unique banked oval of Rockingham awaits the bumper BTCC field this weekend, with the title fight whittled down to three contenders in many people’s eyes.

After visiting Scotland last time out, it’s ‘Little Scotland’ this time, with Corby hosting the first of back-to-back events in Northamptonshire before the trip to Silverstone at the end of the month.

And as was the case heading into Knockhill, West Surrey Racing’s Colin Turkington carries a 23-point lead over Honda Racing Team’s Gordon Shedden, with Triple Eight’s Jason Plato now just 39 points back in third.

Reigning champion Andrew Jordan declared his championship challenge over after another trying weekend last time out, and has now fallen to fifth in the standings behind the impressive Rob Collard.

It means the trio of Turkington, Shedden and Plato are the most likely title protagonists heading into the final nine races of the season.

Many people fancy Plato to cut into the gap this weekend on a circuit where he took pole on each of his last three visits – twice in the MG 6, and once in the RML Chevrolet Cruze.

But it is also a circuit which has suited BMW in the past – witness Stephen Jelley’s two wins for West Surrey Racing in 2009 – while Shedden won for Honda in 2011 and twice en route to his title in 2012.

Heading into the weekend, Triple Eight team principal Ian Harrison believes everything is still to play for when it comes to Plato’s challenge.

He said: “We’re not going to win anything this year by finishing behind Colin and Gordon. In a series as competitive as the BTCC, consistency isn’t enough. We’ve been the quickest front-wheel-drive cars in the series all year and we have to push more.

“We must maximise that advantage with both cars over the coming races to stand a chance of winning a trophy this year. Last year we locked out the front row at Rockingham – we need a similar performance this weekend.”

Last year at Rockingham, Matt Neal led the way before a disastrous weekend handed an advantage to Andrew Jordan which he would never lose.

With Turkington and the BMW 125i quick on every track this year – including those on which they struggled in 2013 – it would take a slip of those proportions to hand the initiative to Shedden or Plato.

BTCC ROUND 8 ROCKINGHAM – 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
Rob Collard +18kg
Andrew Jordan +9kg

TIMETABLE (ALL TIMES BST)

Saturday
Free Practice 1: 09:30-10:10
Free Practice 2: 12:40-13:20
Qualifying: 15:40-16:10

Sunday
Race 1: 11:37 (16 Laps)
Race 2: 13:52 (16 Laps)
Race 3: 16:40 (16 Laps)