BTCC 2011 Thruxton

[Rob]

Shedden on Thruxton pole
Gordon Shedden has qualified on pole position for tomorrow’s Dunlop British Touring Car Championship round at the high speed Thruxton circuit in Hampshire.

Scotsman Shedden set a best time of 1m17.004s to secure his second consecutive pole at Thruxton and also the third in a row this year for his Honda Racing Team. As a result, he will start at the front when the grid lines up for the first of tomorrow’s three races – being shown live on the ITV4 and ITV4 HD

Rising star Andrew Jordan was second fastest in his Pirtek Racing Vauxhall Vectra, just 0.062s behind. Third was Shedden’s team-mate Matt Neal, currently second in the standings, but championship leader James Nash could only manage the tenth fastest time in his 888 Racing with Collins Contractors Vectra that is carrying the maximum success ballast of 45kgs.

Fife racer Shedden, currently seventh in the standings, said: “I’m really pleased with that performance as I needed to give it everything considering how tight it is at the top. The high speeds here always make tyre wear a real concern over a race distance, but from the runs we did this morning in practice our tyres looked mint so I think we’re in good shape for tomorrow as well.”

Lichfield youngster Jordan, fourth in the table after his win at Donington Park a fortnight ago, commented: “I’m very happy with that. I’ve got a little bit of success ballast in my car, plus it was the first time we’d put a qualifying set-up on the car because we’d concentrated only on race performance in practice. After all it’s tomorrow when the points are scored and this has always been a happy hunting ground for the Vectra.”

Nash, meanwhile, knows he needs to make up places tomorrow if he’s to prevent the likes of Neal dislodging him from the championship lead. He added: “I made a mess of what would have been my best lap but even if I’d made it count it might have only gained me a few places. On saying that, in race trim I think we’ll be quite a bit stronger than some of those starting in front of us.”

The top three qualified more than half a second clear of the rest of the field. Completing the top six were Tom Chilton's Team Aon Ford Focus, reigning Champion Jason Plato's Silverline Chevrolet Cruze, the highest placed of the normally aspirated runners, and Tom Onslow-Cole in his AmD Milltek Racing.com VW Golf – by far the car’s best qualifying performance to date.

Local stars Robert Collard and Nick Foster, both from Hook, qualified 14th and 17th fastest in their WSR BMWs but some are tipping their cars to come on strong as tomorrow’s three races progress.

All three races will be shown live tomorrow on the ITV4 and ITV4 HD television channels as well aswww.itv.com during a seven-hour broadcast from 11.00am-6.00pm.

1. Gordon Shedden Honda 1m17.004s
2. Andrew Jordan Eurotech Vauxhall 1m17.066s + 0.062s
3. Matt Neal Honda 1m17.217s + 0.213s
4. Tom Chilton Arena Ford 1m17.759s + 0.755s
5. Jason Plato Chevrolet 1m17.966s + 0.962s
6. Tom Onslow-Cole AmD Volkswagen 1m18.122s + 1.118s
7. Jeff Smith Eurotech Vauxhall 1m18.249s + 1.245s
8. Mat Jackson Motorbase Ford 1m18.325s + 1.321s
9. Tom Boardman Special Tuning SEAT 1m18.327s + 1.323s
10. James Nash Triple 8 Vauxhall 1m18.341s + 1.337s
11. Alex MacDowall Chevrolet 1m18.640s + 1.636s
12. Tony Gilham Triple 8 Vauxhall 1m18.787s + 1.783s
13. Paul O'Neill Tech-Speed Chevrolet 1m18.990s + 1.986s
14. Rob Collard WSR BMW 1m19.079s + 2.075s
15. Andy Neate Arena Ford 1m19.131s + 2.127s
16. Liam Griffin Motorbase Ford 1m19.906s + 2.902s
17. Nick Foster WSR BMW 1m20.960s + 3.956s
18. John George Tech-Speed Chevrolet 1m21.088s + 4.084s
19. Frank Wrathall Dynojet Toyota 1m21.655s + 4.651s
20. Rob Austin Rob Austin Audi 1m22.072s + 5.068s
21. Chris James ES Chevrolet 1m23.301s + 6.297s

[Greig]

Nice whinge by Plato

[Julie B]

RACE 1 - RESULTS

Gordon Shedden has won the first of today’s three Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship races at the Thruxton circuit in Hampshire.

Shedden led all the way from pole position, save for one lap when Honda team-mate Matt Neal got ahead.

In the end, though, Shedden led Neal across the line for a 1-2 result for their team, their Honda Civics some way ahead of the field at the line.

Shedden said: "I was surprised how big a lead I'd got after the first two laps and it was just a case of controlling it from there. When I saw Matt had got up to second it made sense to let him past over the line for the bonus for leading. I led here last year and got a puncture so this feels like payback."

Neal added: "That's a great result for everyone in our team. Thruxton is such a technical circuit so for the Civic to take a 1-2 shows just how good a car it is."

Third, after fending off constant pressure from Tom Chilton was Andrew Jordan in his Pirtek Racing Vauxhall Vectra. Jordan had been second early until he was passed by Neal into the Complex.

Jordan commented: "I wasn't surprised Matt had a go and there was no point fighting him - those Hondas are just too quick for us around here and massively fast down the straights. If a win's out of the question then I'll just keep taking as many points as I can in each race."

Chilton was fourth in his Team Aon Ford Focus but Jason Plato, who’d been in fifth and closing on Chilton, crashed out in his Silverline Chevrolet Cruze with a suspected puncture.

That left the way open for Tom Boardman to take fifth in his Special Tuning SEAT Leon, just ahead of Mat Jackson’s Airwaves Racing Ford Focus, which set the race’s fastest lap, and Tom Onslow-Cole’s AmD Milltek VW Golf. Eighth was James Nash in his 888 Racing with Collins Contractors Vauxhall Vectra.

As a result, Neal has moved past Nash and back into the lead of the championship. Jackson remains third ahead of Jordan while Shedden has moved past Plato and up into fifth going into today’s second race, which will start at 2.10pm.

Meanwhile, Jordan and Plato's team-mates Jeff Smith and Alex MacDowall completed the top ten, the latter after a neat move past Robert Collard's WSR BMW into the chicane.

Elsewhere, Chilton's team-mate Andy Neate finished 16th while Chris James's ES Racing Chevrolet Lacetti completed the runners in 18th a lap down after damaging his car's front splitter.

Other than Plato, other retirements included Frank Wrathall's Dynojet Toyota Avensis and Rob Austin's RAR Audi A4 which both stopped in the pit lane with mechanical problems.

1. Gordon Shedden Honda 21m28.457s
2. Matt Neal Honda + 0.256s
3. Andrew Jordan Eurotech Vauxhall + 2.651s
4. Tom Chilton Arena Ford + 4.361s
5. Tom Boardman Special Tuning SEAT + 9.142s
6. Mat Jackson Motorbase Ford + 9.611s
7. Tom Onslow-Cole AmD Volkswagen + 10.641s
8. James Nash Triple 8 Vauxhall + 11.382s
9. Jeff Smith Eurotech Vauxhall + 12.469s
10. Alex MacDowall Chevrolet + 12.827s
11. Tony Gilham Triple 8 Vauxhall + 19.416s
12. Rob Collard WSR BMW + 20.068s
13. Paul O'Neill Tech-Speed Chevrolet + 20.786s
14. Liam Griffin Motorbase Ford + 32.348s
15. Nick Foster WSR BMW + 33.482s
16. Andy Neate Arena Ford + 39.931s
17. John George Tech-Speed Chevrolet + 45.057s
18. Chris James ES Chevrolet + 1 lap

Retirements:

Jason Plato Chevrolet 13 laps
Frank Wrathall Dynojet Toyota 3 laps
Rob Austin Rob Austin Audi 0 laps

[Julie B]

RACE 2 - RESULTS

Matt Neal made it two out of two for Honda with victory in the second of today’s three Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship races at Thruxton.

Neal tailed team-mate Gordon Shedden for the first five laps before moving past in a brave move at the high-speed Church corner. From there he drew clear for Honda’s second win of the day following Shedden’s victory this morning. It was also Neal’s third win of the season so far and has moved him 17 points clear at the top of the championship.

Up to equal second now thanks to finishing runner-up in race two in his Pirtek Vauxhall Vectra is Andrew Jordan – the youngster having also found a way past Shedden as they exited the chicane.

Shedden took third but it later transpired that one of his Civic’s air jacks had worked loose on the opening lap and spent the rest of the race scraping on the track surface, severely affecting his car’s behaviour.

Neal said: “I was starting to hurt my tyres behind Gordon and could see Andrew behind me was starting to get a bit racy so I made my move. Two out of two for Honda is just great at such a demanding track.”

Jordan added: “I’ll take second in the championship any day… for now! I saw Gordon run wide entering the chicane so made sure I got through cleanly so I could pass him on the exit. That’s our fifth consecutive podium so we’re on a good run at the moment.”

And Shedden commented: “That was quite a hairy race. The behaviour of the car was really thrown out by the jack falling down so to still get a third and more big points is a relief.”

Fourth, right behind Shedden at the line, was Tom Chilton’s Team Aon Ford Focus. Mat Jackson’s Airwaves Focus followed in fifth but only after he’d robustly kept back James Nash’s 888 Racing with Collins Contractors Vectra on the sprint to the line. Nash took sixth and is now tied for second in the standings with Jordan.

Silverline Chevrolet duo Alex MacDowall and Jason Plato followed in seventh and eighth – MacDowall, who set the race's fastest lap, was earlier involved in a controversial scrape with Robert Collard, which resulted in the latter’s WSR BMW spinning off the track at the chicane. Plato, meanwhile, had driven through the field from the back row of the grid after retirement in the first race.

Tom Boardman’s Special Tuning SEAT Leon just fended off Nash’s team-mate Tony Gilham as they completed the top ten ahead of the fast-closing Paul O’Neill’s GoMobileUK.com with tech-speed Chevrolet.

Airwaves’ Liam Griffin rounded out the finishers in 17th after a high-speed spin at the chicane in which his Focus clattered into the barriers. Chris James’ ES Racing Chevrolet Lacetti was the only retirement, the car stopping in the pit lane with a damaged front end.

Tom Onslow-Cole’s AmD Milltek VW Golf, Frank Wrathall’s Dynojet Toyota Avensis and Rob Austin’s RAR Audi A4 were all non-starters, their cars suffering a variety of mechanical gremlins.

1. Matt Neal Honda 21m33.457s
2. Andrew Jordan Eurotech Vauxhall + 2.126s
3. Gordon Shedden Honda + 3.289s
4. Tom Chilton Arena Ford + 3.694s
5. Mat Jackson Motorbase Ford + 4.749s
6. James Nash Triple 8 Vauxhall + 4.809s
7. Alex MacDowall Chevrolet + 5.928s
8. Jason Plato Chevrolet + 7.462s
9. Tom Boardman Special Tuning SEAT + 11.196s
10. Tony Gilham Triple 8 Vauxhall + 11.405s
11. Paul O'Neill Tech-Speed Chevrolet + 12.166s
12. Jeff Smith Eurotech Vauxhall + 18.882s
13. Andy Neate Arena Ford + 19.166s
14. Rob Collard WSR BMW + 32.218s
15. John George Tech-Speed Chevrolet + 35.764s
16. Nick Foster WSR BMW + 35.938s
17. Liam Griffin Motorbase Ford + 56.715s

Retirements:

Chris James ES Chevrolet 3 laps

[Julie B]

Andrew Jordan has been demoted to third place in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship’s second race results at Thruxton.

Officials judged he had gained an unfair advantage by putting all four wheels off the track and have handed him a 1.3s penalty.

This promotes Gordon Shedden to second position meaning the Honda Racing Team is now celebrating its second 1-2 result of the day.

Jordan’s Pirtek Vauxhall Vectra will still have to start race three carrying the second-placed success ballast of 36kgs – the weight penalty is applied according to the order in which cars had crossed the finish line.

Furthermore, Jordan’s penalty also means he drops to fourth in the championship table after he’d initially been tied for second with James Nash.

[Rob]

Nice whinge by Plato

yep, thought to myself, here we go. Im sure it isnt the last we heard of that whinge.

[Julie B]

RACE 3 - RESULTS

Jason Plato has won the third of today’s three Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship races at Thruxton.

From second on the grid, reigning Champion Plato took an immediate lead and was never headed as he took his third win of the season in his Silverline Chevrolet Cruze. The result went some way to making up for a tough day for Plato who’d crashed out of the first race.

Finishing second was Mat Jackson in his Airwaves Ford Focus and in third, his first outright podium result in the BTCC, an elated Tom Boardman in his Special Tuning SEAT Leon. Both Jackson and Boardman, it later transpired, were lucky to finish the race.

Oxford’s Plato, who also set the fastest lap, commented: “This makes up for what has been a bad day. Race starts is one of our strengths. I played to that strength to get the lead and then it was a case of managing the gap to Mat. But for the second meeting in a row I have to say a big thanks to my team who did a great job to repair my car, which was badly damaged in the crash in race one – the data shows I hit the barriers at 100mph. I’m aching a bit now.”

Jackson, now up to second in the standings behind Honda’s Matt Neal and who also leads the Independent drivers’ table, said: “We had two tough races earlier so knew finishing on the podium in this one was really important to make up some points. Thankfully the car just made it across the line as it cut out just a few yards later and I had to stop.”

The ecstatic Boardman added: “During the safety car period my engine just cut out and I thought it was game over. But I managed to restart it and it held together fine after that. Phew! What a feeling – we’ve had some cruel luck in the past when we’ve been on course for podiums so this is a very special feeling for everyone in our small team.”

James Nash finished fourth in his 888 Racing with Collins Contractors Vauxhall Vectra ahead of the day’s first two race winners, team-mates Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden in their Honda Racing Team Civics. Neal will leave Thruxton tonight holding a 12-point lead at the top of the championship from Jackson, while next up are Nash, Andrew Jordan – who finished the race in seventh in his Pirtek Vectra – Shedden and Plato.

The safety car period mentioned by Boardman was required to clear Tom Chilton’s wrecked Team Aon Ford Focus after he’d crashed heavily exiting Allard corner while defending his position from Jordan. Plato and Nash’s team-mates, Alex MacDowall and Tony Gilham, and Tom Onslow-Cole in his AmD Milltek VW Golf completed the top ten, the latter having come through from the rear of the grid.

In addition to Chilton, the only other retirement was Frank Wrathall’s Dynojet Toyota Avensis which ground to a halt out on track.


1. Jason Plato Chevrolet 25m54.654s
2. Mat Jackson Motorbase Ford + 1.444s
3. Tom Boardman Special Tuning SEAT + 2.217s
4. James Nash Triple 8 Vauxhall + 2.601s
5. Matt Neal Honda + 3.110s
6. Gordon Shedden Honda + 3.463s
7. Andrew Jordan Eurotech Vauxhall + 8.790s
8. Alex MacDowall Chevrolet + 9.113s
9. Tony Gilham Triple 8 Vauxhall + 10.507s
10. Tom Onslow-Cole AmD Volkswagen + 11.062s
11. Jeff Smith Eurotech Vauxhall + 17.682s
12. Andy Neate Arena Ford + 18.300s
13. Rob Collard WSR BMW + 18.468s
14. Paul O'Neill Tech-Speed Chevrolet + 19.568s
15. Liam Griffin Motorbase Ford + 19.875s
16. John George Tech-Speed Chevrolet + 26.512s
17. Nick Foster WSR BMW + 27.293s
18. Chris James ES Chevrolet + 54.655s

Retirements:

Tom Chilton Arena Ford 5 laps
Frank Wrathall Dynojet Toyota 2 laps

[Rob]

Andrew Jordan has been demoted to third place in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship’s second race results at Thruxton.

Officials judged he had gained an unfair advantage by putting all four wheels off the track and have handed him a 1.3s penalty.

This promotes Gordon Shedden to second position meaning the Honda Racing Team is now celebrating its second 1-2 result of the day.

Jordan’s Pirtek Vauxhall Vectra will still have to start race three carrying the second-placed success ballast of 36kgs – the weight penalty is applied according to the order in which cars had crossed the finish line.

Furthermore, Jordan’s penalty also means he drops to fourth in the championship table after he’d initially been tied for second with James Nash.

damn it!!!! i thought he was lucky to get away with that in the race.