Eurotech Racing's Jack Goff produced a late flying lap to top the opening BTCC mid-summer test day at Snetterton.

Goff had led for much of the afternoon running, before the TAG Racing VW of Jake Hill hit the heights in the final 15 minutes. The Honda Civic Type R of Goff responded almost immediately, however, as the talented young driver fired in a 1:57.408s lap time to return to summit of the timesheets.

"We're just focussing on our own thing but it's always nice to be in P1," said Goff. "Some of the things we tried today simply didn't work but that's all part of the process and we know we're in the ballpark. Things haven't really gone our way in the last couple of meetings but hopefully we can have another good day tomorrow and be set-up well for the rest of the season. 

"The title seems a long way away, but if you look at Gordon Shedden last year then you never say never, although the Independents' remains a real target."

Hill managed to squeeze some extra pace from the VW, and whilst it's always hard to read too much into testing he believes that permanent gains have been found both on and off track.

"This has been the most productive test I’ve ever done in the BTCC," said Hill. "We’ve got a new engineering side to our team – two new guys who are doing a great job and we’re all getting on extremely well.

"I feel like I can finally focus on driving the car and these guys can focus on what they do best. I’m over the moon as we’ve already learnt so much today. This is good news for me and for everyone in the team."

The top six times of the day were all set in the afternoon as AmD also enjoyed a great late run with Ollie Jackson claiming third. The Audi racer was in podium contention at Croft last time out, and the Kent squad backed up its potential with another good showing here. The team will not be contesting day two tomorrow as they travel to Spa for a British GT event, but this will have been yet another welcoming boost for the ever-improving outfit.

The Mercedes duo of Aiden Moffat and Adam Morgan were next up in the order, the pair becoming increasingly inseparable when it comes to pace on-track, whilst former championship leader Tom Ingram completed the top six.

Mat Jackson set the pace in the morning session as the Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Duo driver edged out a trio of unlikely contenders. Team HARD run Will Burns, debutant Brett Smith and Norlin's Chris Smiley were all vying for position behind Jackson, and at the end of the day their times were still good enough for top ten positions overall.

Surprisingly, the manufacturer-backed Subarus, BMWs and Honda failed to trouble the leading order. 

Aside from the well known protagonists there were also run outs for Stewart Lines in the Maximum Motorsport Ford and a first ever BTCC test for Chris Milford with Team HARD.

Snetterton - Test - 5 July - Combined Classification:

Click here for the full classified results.

As is the case up and down the pit-lane with every team out testing at Snetterton this week, Team HARD are seeking to learn and collect as much data as is possible in a bid to pick up morsels of time wherever they can find them.

On Wednesday, the opening day of the yearly two-day outing at the Norfolk venue during the traditional mid-season break, both Jake Hill and Will Burns took to the track in two of the outfit's trio of Volkswagen CCs, with Mike Epps set to take the reigns in the other tomorrow. The third car was today fielded by Chris Milford – a familiar face to the squad, as part of its GT effort. 

A late lap from Hill saw him just 0.012s shy of Jack Goff at the top of the times in the second session, topping off what was by all accounts a fruitful day's work for Team HARD.

"This has been the most productive test I’ve ever done in the BTCC," said Hill. "We’ve got a new engineering side to our team – two new guys who are doing a great job and we’re all getting on extremely well.

"I feel like I can finally focus on driving the car and these guys can focus on what they do best. I’m over the moon as we’ve already learnt so much already today. This is good news for me and for everyone in the team.

"It’s always hard to make any real concrete judgements during testing when it comes to comparing times, although it is nice to be up there – obviously. Jack Goff and Tom Ingram’s sector times for example are good, but they’re easing off here and there so that they don’t show their hand.

"We’ve been running on Croft tyres so far, so they’re pretty worn, but at some point we’ll put some new boots on the car and really push.

"It hasn’t really gone our way so far this season, and we’ve been taken out far too often which I haven’t enjoyed one little bit, but now with the car improving we hope to get nearer the front and away from the problems."

Team Principal Tony Gilham added: "We had a frantic pre-season in bringing the VWs up to the latest spec and it has been a whirlwind first half of the year.

"I think this is the first time in our short three-year history that we’ve had a proper two days of testing. We’ve arrived here with a proper programme, with experienced and new engineers on board, and we’re hoping to make some serious progress here.

"Michael Epps will be back in the car tomorrow but we believe Chris Milford was very deserving of the drive today. He’s been a stalwart already – worked with the team last year, races in VWs, and engineers our cars in British GT and Britcar. It’s all quite new to him but he’ll pick it up fast.

"The bigger our team gets the easier it becomes as we’ve got some really good people around us now."

Over the course of Wednesday and Thursday this week (5-6 July), Snetterton will play host to the vast majority of teams and drivers up and down the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship pit-lane at the mid-season test – and the venue will be free to enter for spectators.

As is always the case, btcc.net will on hand to provide comprehensive coverage of all of the action, with outfits and drivers looking to gather data in Norfolk as they seek to garner an advantage heading into the second half of the campaign.

Keep across the on-track activity with post-session reports, analysis, interviews along with the best of the days' photography at the home of the BTCC online – btcc.net – and hear from a host of personalities over the two-day test.

Live timing will also be available, allowing you to keep track of every driver's progress as they rack up the testing mileage – just head here.

On social media, we'll feature text commentary over on Twitter alongside all of the latest news and views on Facebook too.

Exclusive, regular behind-the-scenes video and photo content will be the order of the day @OfficialBTCC on Instagram, as the BTCC's up to the minute Insta stories continues to grow in popularity! 

Get involved! Use #BTCC and make sure you tag us in your shots. Show us your photos and videos from the spectator banks and the paddock – we'll share the best.

The sessions will run from 9.00am to 5.00pm on each day, with an hours’ break for lunch. Tyrrell’s restaurant and bar will be open both days from 7.30am until 5.00pm, serving food and drink throughout the day.

Tickets for the BTCC at Snetterton on 29/30 July are available online from £27, with free entry for under-13s. For more information call 0843 453 9000 or click here.

Maximum Motorsport is aiming to build on a strong first half of 2017, with the year-old outfit already producing consistent top ten finishes so far this season.

The team fielded Dennis Strandberg at Croft last time out, with the 23-year-old securing three solid finishes at his maiden event. Strandberg stepped into the breech, having been known to Team Principal Stewart Lines through competition in the Maximum Motorsport-backed VAG Trophy. Going forward, other commitments – including a full campaign in the Swedish Touring Car Championship for one – mean the Swede may have to limit his involvement in the BTCC this year. 

With Josh Cook behind the wheel of the squad's Ford Focus, Maximum had previously secured a series of best-ever results, starting with a seventh-placed finish back at the opener at Brands Hatch. This was followed by yet more points-scoring pace, yielding further encouragement with another step forward – fourth at Donington Park in race two, complemented by a further seventh-placed score in Round 6. 

A minor blip at Thruxton wasn't to last, with Cook able to storm back into the top ten and tally sixth and eighth at Oulton Park before seeing a race three podium arguably taken from his grasp in contact. Having made the most of a reverse-grid pole, the outfit were on to take home its first BTCC silverware, though a coming together in the early stages put paid to those hopes. Despite this, all concerned were encouraged given the pace inherent in what had become a well-honed Ford Focus – the Focus no stranger to the top step in the championship, and Maximum Motorsport has dialled in to what has proven a successful package.

Following the departure of Cook to MG Racing RCIB Insurance, and the subsequent outing by Strandberg, the team is now searching for a driver to complete the remainder of the campaign. Lines is keen to retain his role in managing the team, a role he is is relishing, although stepping back into the hot-seat for the second half of the year remains an option.

"Our ideal scenario would be to find a young and upcoming driver," said Team Principal Lines. "I am passionate about giving young talented drivers an opportunity, and we feel Maximum Motorsport is the perfect place for a driver with real potential to flourish, but of course it has to work commercially for all parties too.

"We put the car through some significant upgrades over the winter and we've shown we can run up at the front. Now we're keen to speak with interested drivers as we look to continue the upward trend that the team has been on."

The next rounds of the 2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship take place at Snetterton on the 29/30 July.

Snetterton will be holding a major Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship test on Wednesday 5 and Thursday 6 July, with much of the 2017 field expected to participate and entry to the venue is free to spectators.

The list of teams attending includes title rivals Honda and BMW, with Matt Neal taking on driving duties in the Civic Type R, plus Colin Turkington, Rob Collard and Andrew Jordan. Also attending will be the works Subaru, MG and Vauxhall squads as well as leading independents Speedworks, Ciceley Motorsport and Motorbase.

For many of the teams the test will also provide an opportunity to lap the circuit ahead of the following month's BTCC rounds at the Norfolk circuit on 29/30 July.

It's also a chance for the drivers to get some laps in during the championship's summer break, and for spectators to see the cars in action, with entry to the venue free of charge.

The sessions will run from 9.00am to 5.00pm on each day, with an hours' break for lunch. Tyrrell's restaurant and bar will be open both days from 7.30am until 5.00pm, serving food and drink throughout the day.

Tickets for the BTCC at Snetterton on 29/30 July are available online from £27, with free entry for under-13s. For more information call 0843 453 9000 or click here.

Eurotech Racing has today (29 June) confirmed that Brett Smith, son of regular driver and Team Principal Jeff, will take over driving duties in the team’s Honda Civic Type R for the remainder of the 2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

The severity of Jeff’s injuries sustained during the qualifying crash at Croft Circuit earlier this month have unfortunately ruled out the experienced racer for at least the rest of this campaign.

After careful assessment and consideration, the squad has decided to place Brett in the car, alongside team-mate Jack Goff.

Brett is currently leading the MINI Challenge Championship with Eurotech Racing in only his second season in the series, having racked up three pole positions, five wins, ten podiums and six fastest laps so far. The 25-year-old has also previously successfully competed in the Clio Cup, BARC Clios and Mazda MX5 Championship.

“I am naturally extremely disappointed for my season to be ended in this way,” said Team Principal Jeff Smith. “Having assessed a number of driver options the team are in agreement that Brett gives us the best opportunity to provide a strong second half to the season.”

Brett will get his first serious taste of BTCC machinery during next week’s (5/6 July) official group test at Snetterton. His race debut will then take place at the same venue with rounds 16, 17 and 18 of the championship scheduled over the weekend of the 29/30 July.

PHOTO CREDIT: Marc Waller

Team Shredded Wheat Racing with DUO made the most of its mid-season break from the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship to visit the Shredded Wheat factory in Staverton, Wiltshire last week.

The Kent-based team made the journey south-west for a planned employee day to the impressive Cereal Partners site, giving all of the staff based there the chance to meet BTCC drivers Mat Jackson and Martin Depper and to celebrate the squad’s successful race weekend at Croft just prior to the visit.

The day was a resounding success with great interaction from those on site as they made the most of the opportunity to meet the team, have a look around the race-winning Ford Focus ST, and even compete against each other during the popular pit-stop challenge for the chance to win VIP tickets to the season finale at Brands Hatch in October. An internal raffle was also held with the lucky winners taking away exclusive signed team kit from the event.

Vandu Patel, Brand Manager for Shredded Wheat said: “It was brilliant having the Team Shredded Wheat Racing with DUO guys come down to the Staverton factory. It was a great opportunity to create a brand experience for everyone to get involved in and there were a lot of very happy petrol heads!

“The 30 degree heat certainly provided an endurance test for the guys but their enthusiasm and energy stayed high all day;” she added. “The day was our chance to really engage with our factory team - especially for those who haven’t yet had the chance to make it along to a BTCC event – and the feedback we’ve received has been excellent.”

In addition to the employee activity, the Motorbase crew also enjoyed a guided tour of the automated factory and combined heat and power plant which is housed on-site.

“It was great to get the chance to meet everyone at the Shredded Wheat factory,” commented Team Manager Oly Collins. “We were really well looked after and the level of support and interest for the team from everyone at Staverton was a real boost for us all. We always enjoy these types of events away from the pressures of a race weekend, it offers up opportunities to spend time with the staff that wouldn’t normally get to come to the BTCC races and they’re always good fun.

“It was fascinating to see the Shredded Wheat factory in action, it’s a very impressive set-up and the tour carried out by Gary Woodhouse was a real highlight.”

Luke Davenport has confirmed he is on the road to recovery after speaking to Tin Top Tuesday from his hospital bed yesterday (27 June).

The Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Duo driver was injured in the multi-car crash during qualifying at Croft, in an incident which also saw both Aron Taylor-Smith and Jeff Smith hospitalised.

Aron and Jeff have since left hospital, albeit with their own significant injuries to overcome, but it was Davenport’s condition that caused the greatest concern to doctors.

Luke was placed into a medically induced coma at the James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough after suffering multiple chest injuries, lung damage, a broken right leg, a broken pelvis, broken right arm, a broken collarbone and concussion.

He was woken from his coma last week and remains in hospital, but has thankfully begun his physiotherapy and rehabilitation programme.

“I have only started eating proper food in the last few days now they have taken all the intake tubes out,” he said in an interview with Tin Top Tuesday. “I have got straight back into the habit, and mentally that has given me a boost.

“I still get tired quickly but I am just starting physio now. The physio had me sat off the end of the bed today, and that has all gone really well.

“I can bend both knees and I feel good. I am just desperate to start cracking on with physio really.

“The support has been unbelievable. I could be my phone all day to go through all the messages. It has been huge. I keep having soppy moments but I think that must just be the drugs I am on!

“They are looking after me well in hospital has been amazing. The resources we have in touring cars is so strong when an accident like this happens.

Davenport also gave special mention to the BTCC Medical Team and everyone who assisted with the accident at Croft earlier this month.

“The people they had on hand to help us out was so impressive,” he added.

“Apparently, it took them about an hour and a half to get me out of the car and if you think about the intricacies of that and the level those doctors work at – and to be faced with three badly injured drivers – then hats off to them.”

Tin Top Tuesday will carry the full interview with Davenport in its episode released later today. It can be found at soundcloud.com/tintoptuesday.

Reigning BTCC champion team boss Dick Bennetts celebrates his 70^th birthday today (Monday, 26 June) and the renowned engineer is looking stronger than ever!

Bennetts’ West Surrey Racing organisation has achieved huge success since entering the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship in 1996, winning 14 overall and independents’ titles.

Neither show any sign of slowing up yet either with the Sunbury-on-Thames organisation having taken BMW and Team BMW to the head of this year’s BTCC Manufacturers’ and Teams’ Championships and having guided drivers Colin Turkington, Rob Collard and Andrew Jordan to victories.

Born and raised in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1947, a young Bennetts arrived in the UK in his 20s as an engineering graduate and former (not very good; his words) competitor with a determination to succeed in motorsport.

After coming to prominence as a championship-winning race engineer for Niki Lauda and Stefan Johansson – both as part of Ron Dennis’s Project 4 organisation, Bennetts established West Surrey Racing in early 1981 and ran Jonathan Palmer to that year’s British Formula 3 title.

WSR established themselves as the top team in the series, winning a record five championships with Palmer, Ayrton Senna, Mauricio Gugelmin, Mika Hakkinen and Rubens Barrichello. The team had won 56 races by the time they left the series at the end of 1995, and took the bold step to move into the BTCC as Ford’s manufacturer team following an introduction to the American giant by Paul Radisich.

After an inauspicious start (Radisich and team-mate Steve Robertson collided on the team’s BTCC debut), WSR’s Mondeos began to move towards the front as the team’s experience built; a maiden win coming at Silverstone in 1998 courtesy of the late Will Hoy.

Appointed to mastermind Honda’s BTCC programme for 1999, WSR kicked off the season with victory for James Thompson and remained in title contention for much of the year. They can also claim to have won the BTCC’s final Super Touring race; Tom Kristensen triumphing under cover of darkness at Silverstone in 2000.

A switch to MG came as the cost-controlled BTC regulations replaced Super Touring. Entering the series for the final three rounds of 2001, victory came at the final event of the year at Brands Hatch and kicked off a five-year stint that included Anthony Reid becoming independents’ champion in 2004.

It was the switch to BMW machinery in 2007 that was to prove the biggest boost to the Surrey squad, however. Colin Turkington put the 320si on pole for its debut, won three consecutive Independent drivers’ and teams’ crowns plus the overall title in ’09.

A testament to Dick’s desire for engineering excellence, which filters through WSR, the 320 was still a regular race winner in 2012, and paved the way for its successor, the WSR-designed-and-built 125i M Sport.

This car is by some margin WSR’s most successful. Winning second time out in Turkington’s hands, it went on to become the class of the 2014 BTCC field with nine wins and 26 podiums from 30 races as Bennetts’ team took the overall and Independent Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships.

Further milestones were reached in 2015 – with a treble win at Croft – and in 2016 with Rob Collard, Sam Tordoff and Jack Goff combing to win the Constructors’ and Teams’ Championships.

The current season has also started superbly with WSR BMWs winning six times and leading the Teams’ and Manufacturers’ title races.

Famed for his stopwatch and clipboard (the watch having gone missing at Knockhill last year after years of trusty service) and for his meticulous attention to detail, he shows no sign of slowing down just yet.

Happy birthday Dick.

 

WSR in the BTCC under Dick Bennetts

Debut: 1996

Makes represented: 4 (Ford, Honda, MG, BMW)

Race wins: 75

Pole positions: 26

Fastest laps: 102

Podiums: 244

Titles won: 14 (2x drivers’ titles, 2x teams’ titles, 1x constructors’ title, 5x independent drivers’ titles, 4x independent teams’ titles).

BTC Norlin Racing rounded off the first half of 2017 with an encouraging double points finish at Croft.

Heading into the fifth weekend on the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship calendar, the outfit had been looking to reverse a minor blip suffered at Oulton Park three weeks prior.

The team had been a consistent points-finisher, with both cars, up until that point and both Chris Smiley and Dave Newsham felt good points were the aim for the team's pair of Chevrolet Cruze machines in North Yorkshire.

Qualifying was cut short, with Smiley and Newsham starting line-astern in 27th and 28th respectively – though Newsham felt the speed was there for more following practice.

He made strong progress in the opening race, making up ground on the way to 19th. Luck wasn't on the Inverness-based racer's side, however, as two laps from the chequer he was forced into pitting with a puncture – his race over after a long limp home, leaving him at the back for race two.

Smiley also managed to make strides – up to a creditable 20th position, leaving him primed to make further moves on the day.

Race two was status quo. Newsham recovered to his race one berth – prior to that puncture, and Smiley his. 

The finale saw a season-best of 13th for Smiley, while Newsham completed a points double for the squad, ensuring he had tallied in each of the last five weekends.

“We had a strong start in the third race.” said the Northern Irishman. “I passed seven cars cleanly, had a season-best finish and brought the car home in one piece, even after a large shunt in the closing moments.

"All in all, I’m very pleased with the outcome considering where we started the day. It was important to get points – our pace deserved it.”

Team Principal Bert Taylor added: “There were a lot of challenging moments at Croft but the team, as usual, worked faultlessly through these.

"I’m pleased to see both drivers progress up the grid but our next goal is to get both drivers into the top 10 in qualifying.”

The team will attend the two-day test at Snetterton and Newsham is looking to learn: “This gives us a great opportunity to study and test the data that we have gathered in the first half of the season so we can move the car forward for the second half of the season.

"The team is in good shape and things will only get better."