BTCC is back and, after an action packed weekend, Matt Neal has taken the championship lead whilst Tom Ingram, Gordon Shedden, and Adam Morgan took wins at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent.
Now we’ve all had a chance to catch our breaths, we looked at how the top teams and drivers from this weekend did.
Halfords Yuasa Racing
The iconic orange livery was back at Brands Hatch. The Honda team went into the season opener many people’s favourites. With current BTCC champion Shedden and three time champion Neal on the team, great things were expected.
Shedden started the first race on the front row of the grid after qualifying less than a tenth of a second behind pole sitter Tom Ingram. Neal started third, with team mate Andy Neate qualifying eighteenth.
Much to their frustration, no driver had moved from that position by the end of the race. Though Shedden was pushing hard against Ingram ahead of him, he couldn’t get passed.
We're on lap 15/27. There's still around 0.5s between front man Ingram and Flash in P2. Still all to play for! #BTCC
— Honda Racing BTCC (@hondaracingbtcc) April 3, 2016
Further back, Neate had the same frustration with Simpson in an attempt to move into P17, but couldn’t find his way past the rookie.
Andy Neatetakes P18. He could not pass Simpson, who pippedhim at the line by a mere 0.2s. Steady first drive for Andy. #BTCC
— Honda Racing BTCC (@hondaracingbtcc) April 3, 2016
The second race was a lot more satisfying for the Honda team. Again, Shedden and Neal lined up in second and third on the grid, but this time there was movement to be had.
Shedden took the race lead after Collard and Ingram collided ahead of him, with Neal following behind.
Collard challenges for the lead but he and Ingram touch. Collard has been spun, Ingram's car is damaged, and Flash is through for the lead!
— Honda Racing BTCC (@hondaracingbtcc) April 3, 2016
The Honda duo managed to keep the places through the race, managing a tricky Graham Hill bend towards the end of the race. It was Honda’s first win of the championship and their second double podium.
Congratulations again to the whole team. It's been a long winter, but all the hard work seems to be paying off … #BTCC
— Honda Racing BTCC (@hondaracingbtcc) April 3, 2016
Not so much fun for Neate, who had a problem towards the back of the grid and dropped down to twenty eighth at one point. He managed to recover a few places before the chequered flag and finishing twenty sixth.
Neal and Shedden lined up in P8 and P9 on the grid for the final race of the weekend, success ballast making both cars heavy. The two worked as a pair to fight up to P6 and 7 in the field before a safety car neutralised the race.
Collard eventually split the pair, with Shedden falling back to P7.
Lap 8/27: Collard passes Flash for P6. Remember that Flash is carrying 75kg ballast and Matt 66kg. #BTCC
— Honda Racing BTCC (@hondaracingbtcc) April 3, 2016
Of course, it’s never their fault…
Soft tyres seemed to be Shedden’s nemises as the tyres fell away from him towards the end of the race. Whilst Neal ahead of him was defending his fourth place, Shedden was struggling on the soft compound, and a puncture eventually put an end to his race.
It certainly looks like a left front puncture that did for Flash's chances. Yellow flags at Paddock. #BTCC
— Honda Racing BTCC (@hondaracingbtcc) April 3, 2016
Behind them, Neate put in an impressive race to finish twenty sixth again.
Neal now leads the championship standings, with Shedden five points behind him.
Motorbase
Motorbase started the weekend with Mat Jackson qualifying ninth and Andrew Jordan qualifying fourteenth.
Jackson made his race a little more difficult than it needed to be when he ended up in the gravel on the second lap of the race. He managed to keep the car going, though lost a lot of places and found himself in P11 and right behind team mate Jordan.
He quickly got ahead of Jordan and started to pick his way through field again, working his way up to P8 by the end of the race, whilst Jordan remained eleventh.
Few hairy moments there! @mat_jackson finishes P8 with @AndrewJordan77 just missing out of top ten in P11. Race 2 live on @ITV4 at 2.10pm
— Motorbase(@Motorbase) April 3, 2016
The success earned Jackson 21kg of ballast for the second race of the day. This race, though was Jordan’s to make a success of after he managed to get ahead of his team mate before the collision at the front of the field brought the race under a safety car.
Straight from the restart, Jordan was battling against Ashley Sutton for fifth, eventually working his way past the rookie and leading the way for both Motorbase drivers to get past.
Jackson was on Jordan’s tale as he led the pair past Sutton’s team mate Josh Cook. Cook tried to split the pair, but couldn’t manage to wedge himself between them, and they slipped through.
Aron Smith was next in Jordan’s sights and he was catching up with the Team BKR driver towards the end of the race, but ran out of laps before he could make a move.
Fantastic team work in race 2 – @AndrewJordan77 fought through to take P4 with @mat_jackson following in P5 #BTCC pic.twitter.com/HVde9jSuXC
— Motorbase(@Motorbase) April 3, 2016
The pair were clearly close by the time the third and final race of the weekend came along, but Motorbase probably would have preferred them to be a little less close on track, when Jordan went sideways at the beginning of the race and bounced off of his team mate.
Both cars carried on and there appeared to be no damage, but Jackson had to pit a few laps later after a puncture. A safety car meant he wasn’t quite as far back as he could have been, but he was still playing catch up by the time the safety car returned to the pits.
Jordan was in fourth after the safety car period, but lost the place to Neal. He kept close to the Honda, though, and managed to take the place back in a last minute push.
Mixed blessings in race 3 with a puncture cutting short Mat's charge. A last minute dash from AJ claimed a P4 finish pic.twitter.com/fqo2aV8jXX
— Motorbase(@Motorbase) April 3, 2016
West Surrey Racing
The West Surrey Racing trio were split during the qualifying. Sam Tordoff was the best of the three, starting fourth of the grid, with Rob Collard the worst in twelfth. Jack Goff had looked to have problems during qualifying, starting late after an issue with the stirring pump, but managed to get up to P8 by the end of the session.
The trio had an even more exciting first race.
Tordoff and Collard came together at the start of the race, sending Tordoff off. Tordoff managed to keep going, a bit bumped and bruised and a lot of places behind where he should have been.
Goff had had an amazing start and was up in fifth after the brief safety car period. On the restart, he found himself defending against Adam Morgan, but managed to get away when Morgan found himself under attack.
Goff was trying to get past Sutton when Cook managed to get past him. He slipped down to sixth and found himself under pressure from Aron Smith. Collard, who had been slowly working his way through the field, also joined the battle, and came out of it on top.
Tordoff had also been slowly working his way back up through the field after his spin, and managed to finish the race in sixteenth.
Action packed start to the year, Rob in P6 the best of the BMWs with Jack in P10 and Sam in 16th #BTCC
— West Surrey Racing (@Official_WSR) April 3, 2016
The West Surrey Racing team were hoping for a bit less of a manic race in the second outing, but race two wasn’t quite what they had in mind.
Collard, starting in sixth, had the best start of the field, fighting for the win from the beginning of the race. It wasn’t to be though, when the pushing and leaning with Ingram in P1 sent Collard spinning and Ingram out of the race.
Like a rocket, Rob flies from sixth to second off the line and is chasing down the leader #BTCC
— West Surrey Racing (@Official_WSR) April 3, 2016
Contact for Rob drops him to the back of the field as the Safety Car is deployed #BTCC
— West Surrey Racing (@Official_WSR) April 3, 2016
Goff and Tordoff were making their way up the field. Tordoff was just outside the points and trying everything he could to get past Jake Hill ahead of him in P10. He was right on the back of the RCIB Insurance driver, and managed to get past and into the points when Hill tumbled down the order, moving into ninth by the end of the race.
Goff was again in a battle with Sutton having moved up the order. He couldn’t get past the rookie though, and had to settle for seventh.
A dramatic race two ends with Jack in P7 and Sam a fine P9. Rob recovers well from his spin but just misses the points in P16 #BTCC
— West Surrey Racing (@Official_WSR) April 3, 2016
MG Racing RCIB Insurance
The young stars Ashley Sutton and Josh Cook lined up on the third row of the grid, Sutton the best placed of the rookies in his first ever BTCC race.
Sutton was up to P4 by the time the field crossed the starting line for the second lap, whilst Cook had dropped a place to seventh. Cook was quick to make up the places though, and Goff found himself in a MG Racing sandwich by the mid point of the race.
The WSR driver was trying to take Sutton for the fourth place when Cook managed to get past him. The duo stayed in fourth and fifth until the end of the race.
Great starts to their MG careers with 4th & 5th @Brands_Hatch @ASuttonRacing @cooksport https://t.co/WHLBj8laxa pic.twitter.com/C9x2DpyyJT
— MG Motor (@MGmotor) April 3, 2016
The pair started in fourth and fifth for the second race of the weekend, but Sutton struggled to get off the starting line and dropped back to seventh.
Cook was battling at the front from the grid, promoted into the podium places after the collision between Collard and Ingram ahead of him before falling back after the safety car restart.
The Motorbase duo were making life hard for Sutton down in fifth, with Jordan squeezing past the rookie and Jackson following straight through. A few laps later, the pair pulled the same on Cook, Cook unable to split the two of them.
The slippery surface at Graham Hill put an end to Cook’s race in the closing stages of the race when he ran into the barrier. He managed to keep going, but was forced into the pits to retire.
Sutton finished the race in sixth.
A slippery paddock hill bend caused havoc in race 2! Another good result from @ASuttonRacing in 6th and an unfortunate DNF for @cooksport
— Triple Eight Racing (@888Official) April 3, 2016
After the troublesome race, the MG squad would have been hoping to have a bit more luck in the third race but it wasn’t to be. The reverse grid put Ashley Sutton in P4 for the final race, but Sutton again had trouble getting off the grid and fell back to seventeenth.
Both drivers had a tough race from that point on, with Cook having to start way back in twenty ninth, but the young stasr were ready for the challenge. Sutton put in an excellent race that saw him finish tenth and inside the points, with Cook only a few places behind him in 14th.
Great fight backs from both drivers! @cooksport 14th from 29th on the grid and @ASuttonRacing 10th after falling back to 17th at the start
— Triple Eight Racing (@888Official) April 3, 2016
Adam Morgan
Adam Morgan took the third race win after getting stuck in with the battles in the first two races. Morgan started ninth for the first race of the weekend, fighting against Cook and Goff throughout the race. For race two, he started ninth again and a quiet, trouble free race lead to him finishing in eighth.
For race three, Morgan started on the front row of the grid. A great start had him racing side by side with Tordoff and Morgan managed to get past into the lead of the race. After a brief safety car period, Morgan managed the restart and pulled away from Tordoff and keeping the lead of the race until the chequered flag.
Tom Ingram
Tom Ingram surprised everyone by starting on pole for the first race of the BTCC season. It was the team and the driver’s first ever pole, and everyone was holding their breaths through the first race.
What a view for @Tomingram80 ahead of race 1 🏁 pic.twitter.com/6cGTf1C2nA
— SpeedworksMotorsport(@SpeedworksMS) April 3, 2016
Ingram had a brilliant start off the line for the first race, defending well against reigning champion Shedden and crossing the finish line in first for his and Speedworks’ first BTCC race win.
We are still pinching ourselves! @SpeedworksMS @Tomingram80 are @DunlopBTCC race winners. Amazing! pic.twitter.com/IbVwXhkccY
— SpeedworksMotorsport(@SpeedworksMS) April 3, 2016
The rest of the day didn’t go so well for Ingram. He started the second race of the weekend on pole and with 75kg of success ballast. He sorted out the ballast problem for race three after colliding with Collard at the start of the race. Ingram was forced to retire.
Well that didn't go to plan…. Sadly damage caused by contact put us out of the race. Time to regroup and attack race 3!
— SpeedworksMotorsport(@SpeedworksMS) April 3, 2016
Ingram started the final race of the day 31st and put in an impressive drive to finish 17th.
Results
Race One
1 – Tom Ingram – Speedworks Motorsport
2 – Gordon Shedden – Halfords Yuasa Racing
3 – Matt Neal – Halfords Yuasa Racing
4 – Ashley Sutton – MG Racing RCIB Insurance
5 – Josh Cook – MG Racing RCIB Insurance
6 – Robert Collard – West Surrey Racing
7 – Aron Smith – BKR
8 – Mat Jackson – Motorbase Performance
9 – Adam Morgan – WIX Racing
10 – Jack Goff – West Surrey Racing
11 – Andrew Jordan – Motorbase Performance
12 – Aiden Moffat – Laser Tools Racing
13 – Jake Hill – RCIB Insurance Racing
14 – Jeff Smith – Eurotech Racing
15 – Dan Welch – Goodestone Racing
16 – Sam Tordoff – West Surrey Racing
17 – Matt Simpson – Speedworks Motorsport
18 – Andrew Neate – Halfords Yuasa Racing
19 – Martin Depper – Eurotech Racing
20 – Michael Epps – RCIB Insuarance Racing
21 – Jason Plato – Subaru Team BMR
22 – Stewart Lines – Maximum Motorsport
23 – Mark Howard – BKR
24 – Chris Smiley – TLC Racing
25 – James Cole – Subaru Team BMR
26 – Colin Turkington – Subaru Team BMR – DNF
27 – Kelvin Fletcher – Power Maxed Racing – DNF
28 – Hunter Abbott – Power Maxed Racing – DNF
29 – Ollie Jackson – AmDTuning – DNF
30 – Rob Austin – Handy Motorsport – DNF
31 – Alex Martin – Dextra Racing – DNF
32 – Warren Scott – Subaru Team BMR – DNS
Race Two
1 – Gordon Shedden – Halfords Yuasa Racing
2 – Matt Neal – Halfords Yuasa Racing
3 – Aron Smith – BKR
4 – Andrew Jordan – Motorbase Performance
5 – Mat Jackson – Motorbase Performance
6 – Ashley Sutton – MG Racing RCIB Insurance
7 – Jack Goff – West Surrey Racing
8 – Adam Morgan – WIX Racing
9 – Sam Tordoff – West Surrey Racing
10 – Jeff Smith – Eurotech Racing
11 – Aiden Moffat – Laser Tools Racing
12 – Dan Welch – Goodestone Racing
13 – Jason Plato – Subaru Team BMR
14 – Rob Austin – Handy Motorsport
15 – Hunter Abbott – Power Maxed Racing
16 – Robert Collard – West Surrey Racing
17 – Michael Epps – RCIB Insuarance Racing
18 – Matt Simpson – Speedworks Motorsport
19 – James Cole – Subaru Team BMR
20 – Colin Turkington – Subaru Team BMR
21 – Warren Scott – Subaru Team BMR
22 – Martin Depper – Eurotech Racing
23 – Ollie Jackson – AmDTuning
24 – Alex Martin – Dextra Racing
25 – Kelvin Fletcher – Power Maxed Racing
26 – Andrew Neate – Halfords Yuasa Racing
27 – Mark Howard – BKR
28 – Chris Smiley – TLC Racing
28 – Josh Cook – MG Racing RCIB Insurance – DNF
29 – Jake Hill – RCIB Insurance Racing – DNF
30 – Tom Ingram – Speedworks Motorsport – DNF
32 – Stewart Lines – Maximum Motorsport – DNF
Race Three
1 – Adam Morgan – WIX Racing
2 – Sam Tordoff – West Surrey Racing
3 – Jack Goff – West Surrey Racing
4 – Andrew Jordan – Motorbase Performance
5 – Matt Neal – Halfords Yuasa Racing
6 – Robert Collard – West Surrey Racing
7 – Jeff Smith – Eurotech Racing
8 – Aron Smith – BKR
9 – Aiden Moffat – Laser Tools Racing
10 – Ashley Sutton – MG Racing RCIB Insurance
11 – Rob Austin – Handy Motorsport
12 – Colin Turkington – Subaru Team BMR
13 – Hunter Abbott – Power Maxed Racing
14 – Josh Cook – MG Racing RCIB Insurance
15 – Matt Simpson – Speedworks Motorsport
16 – Jason Plato – Subaru Team BMR
17 – Tom Ingram – Speedworks Motorsport
18 – James Cole – Subaru Team BMR
19 – Warren Scott – Subaru Team BMR
20 – Dan Welch – Goodestone Racing
21 – Michael Epps – RCIB Insuarance Racing
22 – Ollie Jackson – AmDTuning
23 – Jake Hill – RCIB Insurance Racing
24 – Martin Depper – Eurotech Racing
25 – Mat Jackson – Motorbase Performance
26 – Andrew Neate – Halfords Yuasa Racing
27 – Alex Martin – Dextra Racing
28 – Stewart Lines – Maximum Motorsport
29 – Chris Smiley – TLC Racing
30 – Gordon Shedden – Halfords Yuasa Racing
31 – Kelvin Fletcher – Power Maxed Racing
32 – Mark Howard – BKR
Feature Image Credit: BTCC.net
