New face joins as BTCC approaches halfway point at Croft

A famous British racing name joins the BTCC grid at Croft this weekend as the 2015 season approaches its halfway point and long summer break.

Nicolas Hamilton, brother of double Formula One world champion Lewis, will take part in his maiden race in the series for AmD Tuning, driving the ex-Robb Holland Audi S3.

And while the 23-year-old takes his first steps in the series, the title protagonists will continue their battle leading up to the 50th BTCC race to be held at the North Yorkshire circuit.

The final race on Sunday will see the milestone reached, 18 years on from when Alain Menu won both races en route to his first title in the Williams Renault Laguna.

The most prolific driver in the time since has been Colin Turkington with 10 wins, and it is a tally he will need to extend if his Team BMR team-mate Jason Plato is to be prevented taking a commanding series lead into the mid-term break.

“It’s just somewhere I’ve always enjoyed driving, said Turkington. “It’s very technical and I clicked with it straightaway, even in my early career before touring cars and in both front and rear-wheel-drive.

“There’s a real feel-good factor at Croft and hopefully this year I can keep my winning streak intact.”

“Croft is kind of like my second home track, having grown up in Newcastle,” added Plato. “The circuit has a fantastic blend of slow, technical corners and some blindingly quick ones, which test the drivers to the max. I love our annual trip up north, the crowd there loves the BTCC and the BTCC loves Croft.”

Plato leads the standings heading into the weekend, but just 13 points cover the top four drivers including Honda Racing Team pair Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal, and the super-consistent Andrew Jordan in the Triple Eight Racing MG 6GT

Turkington is a little way back in fifth ahead of the impressive Adam Morgan, while many will expect a strong weekend from West Surrey Racing on a track they dominated on in 2013 and 2014.

Elsewhere in the field, former Ginetta and Porsche racer Max Coates has been signed to drive the second Support Our Paras Racing Infiniti Q50, replacing Martin Donnelly at the team.

Croft could also be the final race this season without Motorbase Performance, with the Kent team still aiming to return to the grid with Mat Jackson and James Cole at the Snetterton round in August.

BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP ENTRY LIST – CROFT

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 – Support Our Paras Racing – Infiniti Q50 – Swindon/TOCA
TBC – Max Coates – Support Our Paras Racing – Infiniti 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
28 –  Nicolas Hamilton – AmD Tuning – Audi S3 – Swindon/TOCA
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: 09.30-10.10
Free Practice 2: 12:00-12:40
Qualifying: 15:45-16:15

Sunday:
Race One (15 Laps) – 12.02
Race Two (15 Laps) – 14.39
Race Three (15 Laps) – 17:06