Fresh off the back of his most successful BTCC campaign to date, MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square driver Ollie Jackson is heading into the 2021 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship feeling more confident than ever before, as the two-time race-winner aims to build on last year’s success. 

Having confirmed his switch to the squad in early February, Jackson expressed that his main goal for the coming season is to be a consistent front-runner in the #48 machine, as the 36-year-old clarifies, “the key to it is going to be qualifying, so I’m focusing on my single lap pace for improvement”. 

Describing the minor change as “ultimately a no brainer”, Jackson will partner Jake Hill in the second MB Motorsport-run Ford Focus ST: 

“I think the Focus is the best front-wheel-drive car on the grid and I get to keep the exact same superb team of guys I had around me last year,” explained Jackson. “I think we’re all sad about the fact that it’s the end of an era with [David Bartrum] taking a step back, but he’s leaving behind a strong foundation which we can all build on.  

“In terms of the new era, there’s a lot to be positive about too. Obviously, I have a great relationship with Shaun [Hollamby] having spent the early part of my BTCC career with AmD in the Golf as well as more recent seasons with the Audi, plus Mark [Blundell] and the MB crew are bringing a really fresh perspective in terms of the commercial approach, which I think will work well with my partners and sponsors.” 

The Surrey-racer will largely stick with the same team of personnel, including race engineer James Mundy. The pair have worked together for a number of years, with Jackson revealing the most important relationship for a driver, in his opinion, is with their race engineer. 

“To get the most out of the car [they] need to be able to trust you and understand the language of your feedback as a driver. On top of that you have to trust and have faith in what [they] want to achieve with the direction of the car. 

“In the BTCC you’re looking for the tiniest fractions to get ahead and it doesn’t take much of a miscommunication to put you in the wrong direction and spoil a weekend.” 

Heading into the Ford Focus ST’s sophomore BTCC campaign and having driven the #48 car to a pair of wins in its maiden season, Jackson is looking forward to a second year of assisting in the development of the cars even further. 

“Last year we proved the Focus is a force to be reckoned with right out of the box, but I think we left the season still with plenty to learn from her. With the circumstances around the season, we didn’t have a great deal of time to really dig deep into the setup and more or less carried on with a redevelopment of what we knew from the old RS. Ultimately, we got superb pace out of her at times, but it wasn’t always sustainable or consistent.  

“This year that’s different. We’ve gone back to basics, got a load of info that’s come across with the Honda [Civic Type R (FK2s) which MB Motorsport ran in 2020] and a great testing plan lined up at a range of tracks. I think we will hit the start of the season not just with one of the strongest cars on the grid but also with a much better understanding of what we have than any NGTC Ford has before.  

“Obviously, this is the BTCC: everyone is hard to beat. I’m not getting carried away with my expectations and predictions on where that will actually land us on the track, but I’ve got more faith in the car going into this year than I’ve ever had before.” 

As teams’ testing schedules begin to get underway, and with the squad having hit the track already in 2021, Jackson and Hill will be aiming to gather as much data as they can ahead of the forthcoming campaign, whilst also getting used to one another as team-mates, having not raced under the same banner before. 

“I like to think I’ve always had a really good relationship with my team-mates in the past. I like being a team player and helping to move the whole enterprise forward as it makes for a much more enjoyable environment and it benefits everyone.  

“I’ve known Jake for a long time (we’ve both been around the TOCA paddock a good while now after all!) and I’m hoping we can keep a similar dynamic going. Obviously, we will want to beat each other, that’s only natural, but hopefully we can strike the right balance of co-operation and edge!” 

Autoglym Tin Top Tuesday makes its long-awaited return tonight (9 March) – LIVE at 8pm and on catch up via the BTCC App – as fans get their first TTT fix ahead of the 2021 BTCC season. 

After a challenging 2020 for obvious reasons, host Alan Hyde will be broadcasting the Christmas Tinsel Top Tuesday a bit later than planned, with tonight’s show also working as a prelude to the new campaign. 

TTT started this year with the announcement that Autoglym will be continuing its support for a sixth consecutive season, and the BTCC news has also rolled in over the winter, with driver changes, team changes and new cars grabbing the headlines. 

For the third year running you can listen to TTT on the official BTCC website, and the official BTCC app. Search BTCC in your preferred app store or go to http://www.btcc.net/live-audio/ to listen live or listen to the podcast after the broadcast.  

All of the 2021 episodes will be available via the aforementioned platforms – here are the 2021 live broadcast dates for your TTT diaries:  

• 9th March 2021 *Special* 
• 11th May 2021 
• 18th May 2021 
• 15th June 2021 
• 3rd August 2021 
• 17th August 2021 
• 31st August 2021 
• 18th August 2021 
• 21st September 2021 
• 28th September 2021 
• 12th October 2021 
• 26th October 2021 

This March we see the return of David Addison's monthly BTCC blog, as he weighs in on all the latest news ahead of the 2021 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship...

I had a flashback the other day. It involved copious quantities of Houblon Chouffe, a most excellent IPA-style Belgian beer, and a cucumber. It still haunts me… 

A better Flash back is the news that Gordon Shedden will be on the BTCC grid once more as the 2021 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship draws closer, and whilst one has to feel sympathy for Dan Cammish, there is no arguing that Shedden’s return to the championship is going to add a certain spark. In fact, when you add in the number of new cars and team/driver shuffles, it is a really interesting season that awaits us, albeit one in which continuity may well be key….WSR and Colin Turkington will be hoping so. 

For various reasons I seem to have been closer to discussions this winter about the driver market, but the Cammish news wasn’t one I had heard a whisper of and it certainly sent a shockwave through the paddock. The same was true of the parting of Tom Ingram from Speedworks/Toyota Gazoo Racing UK although the addition of Rory Butcher into the Corolla is an exciting one, while team-mate Sam Smelt is a better driver now than when we last saw him on a BTCC grid.  

The Laser Tools Racing/Team HARD relationship will be an interesting one, as will HARD’s endeavours with the new Cupra, while Motorbase has had a winter of change too, of course, with a change of ownership now falling under Shaun Hollamby’s management. This should be a good move given how well AmD/MB had moved forward in recent seasons, with old machinery, and hopefully this will move Motorbase up a level. We’ve seen the team can win but it has never been a consistent package, I don’t feel. Maybe now it can be a true BTCC force. 

Tom Chilton at Ciceley will be an intriguing one as well. Once Tom has been taught how to speak Norman, a language modelled by the team’s loquacious commercial director Norman Burgess, he should fit in just fine and he and Adam Morgan in the BMWs should be up at the pointy end of the grid. This should be a breakthrough year for the squad…and seeing Tom in a flat cap will be a highlight. Remember, Tom, when they ask what you want for dinner, they mean lunch. Dinner is tea. Tea is a brew. OK? 

We are a bit short of BTCC rookies, though, and it is great to see Rick Parfitt Jr joining the grid after a successful spell in GT racing. Granted, this is a very different discipline and you don’t have a co-driver to help you get a result, but Rick was always one of the best ams in British GT and should go well in a touring car once he gets his head around the ay one has to race. 

So, we are getting closer to a season beginning. The grid is almost all known with only a couple of seats to be announced and a championship that will be a corker. And best of all, by the summer hopefully, you can join us again trackside.  

Keep counting the days…! 

As Team BMW embarks on its first test ahead of the 2021 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Silverstone today (8 March), here's what four-time champion Colin Turkington had to say ahead of his 17th BTCC campaign...

 

HOW HAS THE OFF-SEASON BEEN FOR YOU?

It’s been an unusual off-season with all the restrictions and the current lockdown in place, but still productive nonetheless.

Almost all my time has been spent working from home on the 2021 BTCC campaign, and managing the needs of our two home schooling kids, which for sure has been the most challenging aspect!

We’ve spent more time together as a family over this period, and that’s been wonderful - we will likely never get this time again.

If you ask me what will be my lasting memory of Lockdown 3.0, it would be watching Modern Family on Netflix with the kids each evening - it’s been hilarious and a lot of fun! We’ve also just recently got a new pup, a Cavajack named Basil, so that’s also kept us well entertained.

HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING ON ANYTHING SPECIFICALLY?

I always have a few life goals I’m chasing alongside my BTCC programme, and the search to be better is something I try to do every year.

Being at home more has given me a chance to focus on the areas that are important to me, but also to build on my fitness ahead of the new season, which to be honest has been necessary to stay on top of my eating!

My training has involved lots of running and cycling outside in the freezing cold - this will have definitely built some resilience for later on in the season. One thing I have been focusing more on is building my physical strength, and I’ve grown to enjoy that.

I’ve also spent more time racing on the sim than I normally would, and that has been a real lifeline to keep the racing brain engaged.

ARE THERE ANY CHANGES WITHIN THE TEAM?

The one considerable change to the Team BMW infrastructure has been returning to running 3 cars, with Stephen Jelley re-joining the team.

Stephen and I were team-mates back in 2009 at Team RAC, also in the 3 Series BMW, so it’s great to have him back.

Another change is that my long time No. 1 mechanic since 2006, Lewis Dickerson, has left the team to start a new life in Australia. My No. 2 from last year, Sophie Bull, has now been promoted to No.1 and Dominic Day Rodrigues, who also worked on my side of the garage last year, has been promoted to No. 2, so once again I’m in great hands.

Lastly, but by no means least, my wife Louise will no longer be by my side at the race track this season. She has taken on a new challenge within the TOCA paddock, so it will be strange going through the emotions of a BTCC campaign without her, but we can still chat it over at the end of the day, over a nice dinner and a glass of wine.

DO YOU THINK THE FRONT OF THE GRID WILL BE EVEN TIGHTER THIS YEAR?

I’m not sure the front of the grid can even get any tighter! However, the championship really does get more competitive each year, and the margins between the cars and drivers gets finer, but that’s the challenge, to try to rise to the top again.

We can’t affect our competitor's performance, so we focus solely on ourselves and trying to improve each time out. We know our own strengths and weaknesses from last season and have addressed these where necessary.

With maximum success ballast going back up to 75 kg this year, it’s going to be tougher than ever to win races, but I’ll certainly have fun trying!

DOES YOUR PREPARATION RAMP-UP FROM NOW?

I’m looking forward to getting back out on track. We’ve got around two months now before the start of the 2021 season, and all being well, we should complete around 5-6 days testing beforehand.

I will combine this with some general track days, karting and more sim work to make sure I’m razor sharp come the first round at Thruxton.

It’s always surprising how fast and challenging the car can feel on the first morning back, but you soon get back in the groove after some decent seat time!

We have a detailed test schedule in place to hopefully find some gains with the car, so I’m looking forward to getting back in my happy place.

 

Team Dynamics confirm return of three-time BTCC Champion Gordon Shedden 

Team Dynamics has today (5 March) confirmed that Gordon Shedden will re-join the squad for the 2021 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship.  

The triple BTCC Champion returns following a three-year hiatus from Britain’s premier motorsport series and will be looking to add to his impressive record so far. 

Shedden made his debut in the series at his home circuit, Knockhill, back in 2001 but it wasn’t until 2006 that the Scotsman secured a full-time drive in the BTCC.  

The 42-year-old won the overall Drivers’ title in 2012, 2015 and 2016 and has claimed all of his 48 race victories in Team Dynamics-run Honda machinery.  

With the 2021 season commencing at Thruxton, Shedden is set to make his 350th BTCC race start in the third contest at the Hampshire circuit during the 8/9 May weekend. 

Gordon Shedden said: “I can’t wait to get back in the car! I have kept in touch with the team throughout and obviously jumped in the car early in 2020, when Matt was injured, and it felt great. That was the first time I had driven the new car and it felt right from the off. I’ve been keeping an eye on the Championship, and it looks mega competitive, but my fight and determination is as high as it’s ever been, so I’ll be giving it my all.” 

Matt Neal added: “It’s great to have Flash back in the car, he knows the team and he knows the way we work. He showed last year that he hadn’t lost his pace, so we are expecting great things of him, no pressure!” 

The new-for-2022 ‘TOCA Engine’ is set to hit the track imminently after chosen supplier M-Sport successfully completed the latest stage of its ongoing development.   

BTCC Series Organiser, TOCA, awarded a five-year contract for the supply of a new engine to M-Sport last year, with the global motorsport industry leader being tasked with the challenge to develop, build and supply the TOCA Engine to the UK’s premier motorsport series from 2022-2026. 

The all-new TOCA Engine will be highly competitive with proven durability, strict cost-controls and available to any team on a fully-maintained lease basis should they not wish to carry out their own engine programme. In 2020 some 55% of all cars on the BTCC grid used a TOCA Engine. 

In recent weeks, the engine development phase has been completed on the dyno – see video of the unit being run through its paces during a data-driven lap of Oulton Park –  whilst the validation engine will now be sealed ahead of a durability programme on the transient dyno to simulate all ten events using track data from the 2019 BTCC season. 

Simultaneously, the development engine will be fitted into the Hybrid Test Car with in-car engine testing to be commenced in the coming days.  

Much of this initial track work will be carried out on the track at the new M-Sport Test Facility and will cover close-running testing and heat soak, before a full rigorous test programme – including hybrid integration – is undertaken. 

Development will continue on the new-specification engine throughout the year as M-Sport also works closely with Cosworth – the latter having been awarded the contract to design, supply and service the new BTCC Hybrid System, which will also be introduced in 2022. 

Nigel Arnfield, Head of Engine Development at M-Sport, said: 

“Things are progressing very well on the design and testing of the new TOCA Engine. The engine development phase is now complete with over 50 successful power tests and 40 simulated laps of Oulton Park having been undertaken. 

We have also finished the ECU calibration on the all-new Cosworth Antares platform and in the next couple of weeks will begin initial in-car calibration work in the Hybrid test car. 

Despite all of the additional challenges that all businesses are facing at the moment, I am happy to say that the development is on time and going to plan.” 

🎥 2022 'TOCA Engine’ set for on-track debut

Well it's sounding pretty good to us 🥰

Check out the latest in the development of the 2022 TOCA Engine now ➡️ https://t.co/TIcLIfugll#BTCC // @MSportLtd pic.twitter.com/B2NuDJXSag

— BTCC (@BTCC) March 4, 2021

During the month that Ash Sutton was crowned the Fans’ Favourite Driver of 2020, BTCC news and announcements were in full flow, as the 2021 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship continues to take shape.

Here’s a recap of all the key news from February...

Mick Sergeant takes the reins as Team Manager with BTC Racing
Kicking off February’s BTCC news, BTC Racing confirmed Mick Sergeant would be taking on the role of Team Manager for 2021 with the Brackley-based squad, overseeing all day-to-day business and utilising his vast experience in team management for the rapidly approaching season.

WSR reveals full Team BMW line-up for 2021
On three consecutive Wednesday mornings, West Surrey Racing brought us pieces of the Team BMW puzzle, announcing four-time Champion Colin Turkington and race-winner Tom Oliphant would once again field two of the squad’s BMW 330i M Sports and, for 2021, would be joined by Stephen Jelley, who scored two of his three career victories in WSR-run machinery.

Jackson joins Hill at MB Motorsport
MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square announced the second half of its driver line-up for 2021, with double race-winner Ollie Jackson joining fellow BRDC member Jake Hill, following the 36-year-old's most successful BTCC campaign to date.

Motorbase Performance confirms 2021 duo
Another team to confirm both its drivers in February was Motorbase Performance, simultaneously announcing that Sam Osborne would be joining Andy Neate in the pair of Ford Focus STs.

Constable to pilot PMR development programme
Power Maxed Car Care Racing revealed Jac Constable would be joining the team as its BTCC Development Driver. It was also revealed that the 23-year-old, who drove one of the squad’s Vauxhall Astras at Croft in 2020 before being taken ill ahead of the weekend’s races, is set to become a fully-fledged BTCC racer in 2022.

Championship-winning engineer Dan Millard joins Laser Tools Racing
Laser Tools Racing announced Dan Millard would be spearheading Aiden Moffat’s 2021 campaign, as the championship-winning engineer brings a wealth of rear-wheel-drive experience to the squad.

Rick Parfitt Jr completes the bill for EXCELR8 Trade Price Cars Racing
EXCELR8 Trade Price Cars confirmed its fourth and final driver, with Rick Parfitt Jr rounding off its 2021 BTCC attack. Parfitt Jr joins Tom Ingram, Chris Smiley and Jack Butel in the quartet of Hyundai i30N Fastbacks as the team enters its first campaign in the newly joint venture between EXCELR8 Motorsport and Trade Price Cars Racing.

Silverstone to host Season Launch
Rounding off another month of BTCC news was the announcement that Silverstone would be hosting the 2021 Season Launch event. Comprising media activities alongside six hours of official testing, the day will give teams the opportunity to hit the tarmac ahead of the season-opening weekend at Thruxton on 8/9 May.

Following the Government’s latest COVID-19 directives, spectators will unfortunately not be permitted to attend the Season Launch, but can follow the action via live timings from TSL and updates on the official BTCC website and social media channels.

As we head into a new month, just four seats remain undisclosed and, with livery unveils and sponsorship announcements on the horizon, the 2021 campaign is already looking highly competitive and, as always, incredibly entertaining.

As Ciceley Motorsport's pre-season testing schedule continues, we caught up with Tom Chilton to look ahead to the 2021 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship and look back over his BTCC career as he heads into his 15th campaign in the series.

We’ve seen that the team has been using a 1 Series for testing while the new cars are being completed, what are your expectations of going from this to the 3 Series?

It was fantastic of Ciceley Motorsport to invest in a rear-wheel-drive test car whilst waiting for our new BMW 330i M Sport to be built. I feel like we have really learnt a lot as a team and both Adam [Morgan] and I as drivers in the 1 Series. It should transfer nicely onto the 3 Series. Especially as it has a longer wheelbase it should really help the car balance! Both [Colin] Turkington and [Andrew] Jordan have said it is better to drive, which makes me even more excited. 

What would you say are your main priorities and concerns during testing?

In my world testing is key to success so we’ll be leaving no stone unturned. I look into everything to create the best balance possible. 

Your move to the BMW 330i M Sport marks your first foray into rear-wheel machinery in the championship, how are you finding the adjustment?

It’s nice after 19 years in touring cars to have a new goal and challenge. RWD is that, alongside a new team and car! To be honest I was like a duck to water straight out the box, with dry, damp and wet running. I really enjoyed it all over our three days of testing so far. My old engineer Nick Silvester, who was with me for six years through WTCC and the BTCC and helped us to finish third overall in both championships, always said to me I would be a better driver in rear-wheel-drive cars. Well, let’s wait and see what happens this year – ever the optimist!

Talk us through what it’s like to sign with a different team, the adjustments to different people and ways of doing things etc...

Changing race teams is part of motorsport, all depending on where the sponsorship is coming from, to the car potential and team credentials. Usually, all three go hand in hand.

I feel very lucky this year to have been approached by Morgan’s team, Ciceley Motorsport. They’re a great bunch of hard-working, professional guys with a fun, happy vibe to everything they do. Having to learn so many new names quickly is really the hardest part of it all... when you feel like part of the family. That’s the key to a great race team, which Ciceley has. 

With 2021 marking your 15th BTCC campaign, what advice would you give to your younger self ahead of your debut in 2002?

Maybe: ‘don’t go out and fire off Tim Harvey and Anthony [Reid] in your first BTCC race because you’re upset...’

I still finished third on Brands Hatch’s GP circuit, which I’d never driven on before that weekend, but I only got away with that one because I was still in nappies!

Securing a podium finish in your first race in the series must have been quite a high, what would you say is personally your biggest achievement in the BTCC?

It’s really hard for me to work out if being 2010 Independent Drivers’ Champion was better than finishing third overall in 2018, as I had far more experience after being in the FIA WTCC! I think because I was that much younger, 2010 was my biggest achievement. But I’m still holding out for that outright BTCC title.

Last year you bagged three podium finishes, with a newer car and a different team behind you in 2021, what can we expect from you in this campaign?

I really cannot wait to get racing again and not feel held back. I’ve had two years out of the top six in the championship where we were just filling up the field to make the others look good. Hoping now I won’t be the filling but the topping of the cake, the cherry preferably.

Team Dynamics has today (2 March) announced that Dan Cammish will not be part of its driver line-up for the 2021 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship.

Cammish, who joined the squad in 2018, has challenged for the overall Drivers’ title in the past two seasons and departs the team having scored eight race victories and a total of 31 podiums.

Team Dynamics will announce its first driver for the 2021 BTCC campaign this Friday (5 March) with the final seat to be confirmed over the coming weeks.

Dan Cammish said: “Whilst it is really disappointing for me, I have to thank Dynamics for their faith in bringing me into the Championship three years ago.

“If it weren’t for them, I probably wouldn’t have got my ‘big break’ in the BTCC and managed to do what I have done. We have parted on exceptional terms and I will be keeping in contact going forward. You never know what the future will bring.”

James Rodgers, Team Manager, confirmed: “Dan is and always will be part of the Dynamics family. We have tried very hard to keep Dan as part of the team for 2021, but it was not to be, and we have had to part ways.

Matt Neal, Team Dynamics, added: “Dan is a fantastic guy and has been a great driver for us! We wish him all the very best for the future and will very much be keeping in touch.”