Andrew Jordan completed a faultless day of running in both dry and wet conditions as he continued his testing programme in the newly-liveried Pirtek Racing Ford Focus at Donington Park.

Jordan made his bow in the Motorbase-run machine at Brands Hatch last month but yesterday marked his first outing with the car fully shod with the latest RML components.

“We completed more than 60 laps and had absolutely no problems whatsoever,” he told btcc.net. “It was wet in the morning, then dried out, and then it rained again later in the afternoon.”

“There are always some frustrations with changing conditions but in truth it was actually good to get some wet running – we haven’t much of that in 2015.

“The RML parts felt very good and overall the car is just so responsive. We ran with RML’s suggested base set-up rather than trying to reinvent the wheel. We believed that would be the best way to start the process and to be honest the car was in the ballpark straight away.”

Jordan and Motorbase have an extensive testing programme planned over the winter, which bodes for a team and car that was arguably the cream of the crop in the latter half of the 2015 BTCC season.

“We were able to start some fundamental sweeps through set-up changes but we have much more planned in the New Year, and particularly when we test in Portugal,” continued Jordan. “The car is easy to drive but it’s always a much bigger task to learn everything, which is obviously one of the reasons why we have such a comprehensive testing schedule ahead.

“It’s a car that you feel fyou can really influence it. It’s so responsive to driver input and I drive very much on feel, so this suits me. You can hustle the car if needs be and it provides good feedback.

“We mostly did short runs, although we probably completed three quarter race distance on one run. Like I say, it was a really productive day but we have a lot more to do in the coming months.”

WIX Racing and Eurotech were also in attendance at the open test day at Donington Park, and we’ll be catching up with both teams in the coming weeks.

Andrew Jordan has taken to the track today (Thursday) in his newly liveried Pirtek Racing Ford Focus.

The 2013 BTCC champion has driven the Motorbase-run Focus previously at Brands Hatch, but today's test at Donington marks his maiden run in the car with the latest RML components.

We briefly spoke with Andrew this morning but we'll be catching up with him in full tomorrow at the completion of the test. So look out for Andrew's exclusive interview at www.btcc.net on Friday afternoon.

PHOTO CREDIT: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Two legendary motor racing forces will be coming together in 2016 when world famous toy brand and slot-racing company Scalextric produces a host of officially licensed BTCC products.

The partnership has been in the making for more than a year with both parties now delighted to announce the full range of products that will be available from next summer.

At the very top of the list will be an incredible four-car ‘BTCC Touring Car Challenge’ app-based ARC PRO set, which is the first ever edition in the latest style of slot racing. The multi-car racing package comes complete with lane-changing track and can even be managed via your mobile device using a specifically designed app.

The cars included in this set will be Colin Turkington’s #1 Team BMR VW, Andrew Jordan’s #77 888 MG, Matt Neal’s #25 Honda Civic Type R and Rob Collard’s #7 WSR BMW 1 Series – all fully replicated from the 2015 BTCC season.

Next up is the ‘BTCC Champions’ car set, which includes the cars of the last two Championship winners of Britain’s most coveted motor sport prize. Colin Turkington’s #5 WSR BMW 1 Series and Gordon Shedden’s #52 Honda Civic Type R will see the 2014 and 2015 champs going head-to-head in a one-off collectors edition.

If that isn’t enough, Scalextric will also be producing a further six individual cars for sale, which include the two 2015 manufacturer winning Hondas of Neal and Shedden, plus Jack Goff’s #31 888 MG, Sam Tordoff’s #7 WSR BMW, Jason Plato’s #99 Team BMR VW and Andy Priaulx’s #111 WSR BMW.

Products will be released from May through to November so you can start writing your 2016 Christmas list before we’ve even celebrated this coming festive season! The multi-year partnership between the BTCC and Scalextric could see further products added in 2017, so keep up to date with all the latest news via www.scalextric.com.

Scalextric will also be working together with the BTCC throughout 2016 so look out for a host of activities at our race events, plus online competitions and a whole lot more.

Alan Gow, BTCC Series Director, said: “We are really excited by this partnership with Scalextric. The brand is a legendary household name and fits perfectly with the BTCC. We’ve had an extremely busy few months cementing some of the vital components to our championship well into the next decade, and it’s great to announce something different that we believe will excite and inspire people of all ages and indeed the next generation of BTCC fans. It just goes to further underline the massive appeal of the BTCC.”

Jim Procter-Blain, Scalextric Marketing Controller, said: “We’re very excited to announce our new BTCC range after working with the well-loved touring car series for just over a year. We’re delighted to have BTCC included in our very first app-based ARC PRO set, and we can’t wait to attend BTCC events with our new range. Scalextric and the BTCC are a great match and we hope it inspires our slot car racers to be just like their idols.”

Gordon Shedden, reigning and double BTCC champion, said: “Every kid, and some big kids, had Scalextric when I was growing up. I remember having some epic races and fun and even had a track set up full time in the spare room! It was my first introduction to motor sport you could say, which started an amazing journey to my career now. To have my 2015 Championship winning Honda Civic Type R is mega and I can’t wait to have a go and make the Scalextric version a winner as well.”

Jason Plato, double BTCC champion, said: “It’s great to see BTCC cars in the latest Scalextric range. I am sure it’s also an honour for Scalextric to be partnered with our successful series and will also excite the next generation of BTCC fans.”

Colin Turkington, double BTCC champion, said: “As a kid who grew up slightly addicted to playing Scalextric it feels pretty special to have my very own BTCC cars recreated as Scalextric models. I have no doubt the 2015 BMR VW and my 2014 championship winning car will look cool, but most importantly I hope they’re fast. I look forward to adding them to my collection.”

Matt Neal, triple BTCC champion, said: “We all grew up with Scalextric and I remember many exciting nights challenging my Dad. Now the next generation can enjoy the fun and competition, choose their weapon which has to be a Honda Civic Type R and let battle commence!"

Andrew Jordan, former BTCC champion, said: “From a very early age I was and still am addicted to cars. For me, the best way to be a ‘real life racer’ at such a young age was to play with Scalextric. I loved everything about it, from building the circuits in my bedroom with the additional grandstand and lap timer I had, to the competitive racing with the great variety of cars. We took it pretty seriously and turned our loft into a Scalextric room. I thought I would clean the track one day and was found polishing it with Mr Sheen, they didn’t quite have the grip after that...”

Listen again to the Christmas Special episode of the hugely popular Tin Top Tuesday radio show as Alan Hyde brings you all the latest BTCC news and gossip ahead of the festive season.

Autoglym Tin Top Tuesday includes studio guest – none other than Motorbase Performance boss David Bartrum – as he looked back at a successful finish to the campaign for his squad, his signing of Andrew Jordan, the recent Pirtek Racing car launch and of course ahead to an exciting 2016 season!

Stewart Lines is on air talking about the developments of Maximum Motorsport over the winter, with the team joining the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship in 2016. A number of other team bosses were on the show too as they prepare for another action-packed BTCC season.

Former champions also starred on this special Autoglym Tin Top Tuesday and a certain Series Boss even popped in to say hello! All this, along with the normal fun and frolics make this an unmissable show so make sure you visit https://soundcloud.com/tintoptuesday to listen.

 

MG Motor UK has announced a new three-year contract extension with Triple Eight Racing in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC).

This new contract will see MG Triple Eight Racing battling it out in this ultra competitive series for more pole positions and manufacturer championship wins until at least the end of the 2018 season.

Matthew Cheyne, Head of Sales and Marketing for MG, said: “We are really excited to be renewing this partnership. The BTCC has given us the opportunity to give our brand some fantastic exposure, so we’re thrilled to be continuing this for another three years.

“We have built up a strong relationship with Triple Eight during our four years together, so we’re glad to be working with them again and look forward to developing a new team that will lead to more successes.”

Matthew added: “We’ve been very lucky to have worked with some extremely talented drivers over our time of being involved with the touring cars, but our plan is to grow our own champion over the duration of the contract. Driver announcements will be made soon, but we can confirm we’ll be looking to create a young and up-and-coming line up.”

With the arrival of the highly anticipated MG SUV in 2016, which will be an exciting new phase for the brand, finding new talent and working with them to grow fits with the direction MG Motor UK is going in.

Ian Harrison, Team Principal at Triple Eight Racing, said: “We’re delighted to renew this important strategic deal. This year we saw an even more competitive BTCC and, while our drivers didn’t always get the results hoped, we took small comfort in the fact we had a year of zero mechanical and electrical faults; which is rare in this business and is an example of the high standards that Triple Eight prides itself on.

“That quality has been a deciding factor for MG, who are realising the opportunity that the BTCC offers and we’re looking forwarding to working on the new MG6 platform for the coming three years. I fully believe we can once again be strong contenders for every title on the table.”

More information about the driver line-up for 2016 will be announced in due course.

After watching some of the classic battles from the 2015 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship via ITV’s dedicated BTCC website we asked the fans to decide on the jewel of the duels!

Having whittled the contest down to three, which included Andy Priaulx and Gordon Shedden’s opening day drama at Brands Hatch, and Josh Cook’s scrap with Aron Smith at Donington Park, the fans made a clear decision on their favourite.

The unforgettable duel between Tom Ingram and Jason Plato won the Twitter poll as fans fondly remembered the young gun fending off a BTCC legend for much of the contest. Plato eventually made his way through but there was still great delight for Ingram as he stormed to his first ever BTCC podium, leading to wild scenes in the pitlane.

The Ingram/Plato battle won the poll with 62% of the vote with Priaulx and Shedden coming in second with 21%. Josh Cook’s crazy tussle with Aron Smith came in third but will undoubtedly still go down as one of the memorable moments of 2015!

Relive the Jewel of the Duels here via ITV’s dedicated BTCC website and check out our Ingram Vs Plato photo special on Facebook.

Ten entrants have been chosen at random to win a copy of Haymarket’s BTCC Season Review, which comes with a unique official BTCC front cover that is not available in the shops.

All that’s left is to say congratulations to Tom and Jason, and of course thank you to the fans for taking part in a bit of fun!

RML has been making considerable progress with its components ahead of the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship with the front-running West Surrey Racing becoming the latest team to complete a test with the full kit.

Series organiser TOCA awarded a six-year Technical Partner contract to the RML Group for the supply of the specified chassis components for the BTCC, with the term commencing next season.

The Power Maxed Racing Chevrolet of Josh Cook ran some of the parts during the 2015 season finale at Brands Hatch, and the same outfit completed more than 50 laps of the full equipment during a post-season test at Donington Park.

Power Maxed returned to Donington Park where Andrew Jordan took over driving duties of the Cruze to provide further feedback on the package.

“The general balance of the car was very good,” the 2013 champion said when quizzed about the new parts. “The car felt very progressive and generated good grip, through high speed corners it had good rear rotation which allowed me to unwind the lock out to corner exit rather than having to apply opposite lock.”

“Steering felt much more positive, made the front end and change of direction feel very direct.”

That particular outing was the start of an extensive programme of testing to ensure that the new package meets all the requirements of the UK’s premier motor sport series.

The first full kits were delivered to teams in November and West Surrey Racing became the first team to test the rear-wheel-drive package earlier this week.

Sam Tordoff carried out initial running in the WSR BMW 125i M Series at Brands Hatch, which was supported by RML and included expected modifications in order to fit the RWD machines.

The first batch of kits have already been delivered to teams with the second batch due to reach the remaining BTCC squads by the end of this week.

“Progress has been going very well,” commented BTCC Technical Director Peter Riches. “Feedback from the teams has been extremely positive and everything is on schedule. The test runs have been very productive, with the cars showing good performance straight out of the box on a base set up.”

Motorbase Performance and Ciceley Motorsport have both pencilled in a test run prior to Christmas with a whole host of teams expected to kick off their respective programmes in the New Year.

To celebrate the BTCC’s phenomenal new television contract with the ITV Network, which will screen the series until at least 2022, we have been looking back at some of the great moments from the 2015 season.

All of this year’s 30 races, plus our support series’, are all still available to watch via ITV’s dedicated BTCC website here, and our team have been busy reminiscing.

After making notes of all the memorable duels at the front of the pack we have whittled them down to a top three, but now we need your help!

You get the chance to decide on the jewel of the duels by taking part in our Twitter pole, and here are the contenders:

 

Andy Priaulx Vs Gordon Shedden – Round 2 – Brands Hatch Indy

These two tin top legends gave us all a taste of what was to come by producing an opening day duel that quite literally went down to the wire with one of the closest ever finishes in BTCC history!

Watch the full race here

 

Josh Cook Vs Aron Smith – Round 6 – Donington Park

It was a duel that produced arguably the biggest heart in mouth moment that would ultimately scupper both Cook and Smith’s chances of winning this particular race, but it was a battle that won the hearts of many BTCC fans!

Watch the full race here

 

Jason Plato Vs Tom Ingram – Round 24 – Rockingham

Emotional scenes broke out at the end of this titanic tussle as young Tom Ingram scored his first ever BTCC podium. Race long pressure from the series’ most successful driver – Jason Plato – had the crowd on its collective feet.

Watch the full race here

Of course there were other outstanding duels including Matt Neal and Jack Goff at Brands, Rob Collard and Gordon Shedden at Oulton, Andy Priaulx and Aiden Moffat at Knockhill, and the list goes on, but our team believe the aforementioned scraps top the bill.

So now you’ve watched the races it’s time to make your vote on Twitter here to decide which is the jewel of the duels, and you can post the reasons behind your choice via our Facebook post here – ten of you will receive a copy of Haymarket’s BTCC Special Edition Season Review magazine.

It’s only right that the BTCC fans settle this score for good – enjoy!

Honda Yuasa Racing’s Gordon Shedden rounded off a sensational season by winning the National Driver of the Year prize at last night’s glittering Autosport Awards in London.

Shedden saw off the challenges from fellow BTCC stars Jason Plato and Matt Neal, plus British GT’s Jonny Adam and Alexander Sims, and Formula 3 European Championship race winner Jake Dennis.

Since taking the BTCC title in such unforgettable fashion – securing his second tin-top crown in the final moments of the final race at Brands Hatch – Shedden has been collecting silverware on a regular basis.

The Scotsman was toasted at the recent TOCA Awards and then went on to receive a Scottish Car of the Year award on behalf of Honda, with the Civic Type R winning the hot hatch category.

"The one thing that the BTCC always delivers is excitement," Shedden told Autosport, having been given his most recent award by F1 race winner Felipe Massa.

"To take the title fight to the last race, it was incredible. The emotions had been up and down, but to come through in the last race was fantastic."

It is the second time that Shedden has scooped the National Driver of the Year award, following his 2012 triumph, and last night’s success secured the seventh consecutive win for a BTCC driver.

Steve Rider has been associated with the BTCC for nearly 30 years and news of the latest record breaking television contract has got the ITV man purring.

The British broadcasting giant has screened the series since 2002 and Rider has been there every step of the way.

“Having been involved in the broadcasting of the BTCC for twenty eight years, this renewed ITV commitment is the most exciting news for the Championship and British motor sport in general,” he said.

ITV will continue to screen the series live on its free-to-air ITV4 and ITV4HD channels until 2022, with at least seven hours of coverage from each race day, whilst the staggering host of highlights and online content will also remain.

“The guarantee of extensive free-to-air live coverage will allow the partnership between ITV and the BTCC to develop to a whole new level, underlining the position of the Championship and its support races as the most consistently competitive and entertaining motor racing on television,” continued Rider.

“The BTCC already has a long term commitment from its main sponsor, full grids, strong, determined personalities, crowds of over thirty thousand and a thirty race Championship, which, in 2015, was only decided in the last few hundred yards of racing,” he concluded. “Now it promises to get even better. Well done ITV.”

To get in the mood for what's to come next season and indeed until well into the next decade on ITV Sport then you can whet the appetite by looking back at the 2015 campaign via the newly launched ITV Hub - watch the BTCC 2015 Season Review (available for the next 4 days) here.