BTCC 2014: Bitching in the BTCC... It needs to stop...

Yup, you read that right...

I want to make a few points and comments about something I feel is ruining the BTCC...

Ever since 2009, there has been some sort of "heated discussion" regarding a particular element in the British Touring Car Championship. This often been about:

The Advantage held by Rear Wheel Drive cars.

And/Or

The Parity between Turbo powered cars and Normally Aspirated cars

And/Or

The level of boost made available due to Performance Equalisation in effect.

Now, as you are all well aware, I've been a fan of the BTCC since 1988. My up close, personal experience with the series began in 2011, the year where there were Turbo Powered Engines and Normally Aspirated Engines in use as the transition was made to using Turbo's again.

Its also where Social Media began to expand with fans talking on forums and pages and in groups, sharing opinions in an open arena.

But its where the bitching from frontline drivers stepped up a gear. I still recall watching Plato's outburst at Oulton Park in 2011 on ITV4, where moments before the two Honda's slid off at the last corner handing his N/A Cruze the win. He complained about not being able to beat the Honda's instead of enjoying his win. He was later fined by the MSA. Its not the first time it happened ashe spent 2009 complaining about the RWD 1st gear advantage from the Super 2000 BMW's.

I should point out that Plato admits time and again he uses the Media to play mind games and gain an advantage but surely enough is enough?

This year, that argument has returned. But its not just Plato thats spoken of it. Dave Bartrum from Motorbase has made noises of building a RWD NGTC BMW 3 series for 2015 and Triple Eight boss Ian Harrison has said that his team would be more competitive next year using RWD.

At Snetterton Plato was overjoyed at getting Pole Position, but then complained in the press that it meant nothing as he expected Turkington to beat him off the line in each race. He also explained his moaning is to get TOCA, the BTCC Organiser, to act on this to equalise the field more.

Gordon Shedden complained about the Honda's lack of straightline speed against other cars due to the boost equalisation formula. Something that Honda have complained of year in, year is their boost handicap because of not using TOCA Engines. At Snetterton both Andrew Jordan and Aron Smith have both said after Snetterton let the moaning comments stop and let the racing spectacle do the talking.

To be honest, Colin Turkington seems to be the only man benefitting from RWD as he leads the championship. But this is due to hard work from WSR over the winter improving the NGTC 125i Sport to fight for wins. After dominant races at Oulton Park and Croft, TOCA instructed a longer first gear to be used by the RWD BMW's and Audi's to neutralise their start advantage... After comments made by Plato and Harrison.

Now I'm a fan. Not a Professional or Amateur member of the Press, so these are my thoughts and opinions. So if I offend I apologise. I dont hate Jason Plato or Ian Harrison so dont think that either. I respect them and how hard they have worked to get to the top.

As a fan, I'm fed up with hearing drivers complaining about cars not having equalised boost or needing further penalties applied to keep things level. I'm also fed up of reading a week later of how TOCA acts after these comments are made.

Almost as if TOCA has reacted to the comments instead of being proactive to them...

Now I'm not knocking the racing and action this season in anyway. Having a full NGTC field for the first time has meant everyone using the same regulations at each event and this attracted a 31 car season entry. That alone shows the popularity of the NGTC regs and the willing for new teams to step up. The on track action has been exciting, close and a thrill to watch. I love that part and always will

But its starting to be off putting now to watch a good race weekend from the BTCC and then to read about the moaning, bitching and complaining in the following days online content or to read about it in a magazine. Its tainting the racing in my view knowing that after watching a great action packed race, more negative comments are made.

It something that needs to be stamped out or stopped, otherwise the BTCC could see itself losing its status as"Britain's Premier Motorsport Series" to the British GT Championship, which is on a big rise with better crowd figures and an improved TV package helping to accelerate this. Indeed SRO Chief Stephane Ratel has confirmed that the British GT Championship will have live TV coverage of all its races next year...

In fact, there are times that the comments and bitching made reminds me of the American Wrestling organisation The WE where everything is staged for the fans. I hate to think that the BTCC could slide to that level, but I wonder if its not on its way already.

My opinion is that TOCA should listen to the fans for a change. Hold an open event at each BTCC meeting where they can converse with Alan Gow and othrs to put forward ideas to help move the championship on. But also voice opinions about what they feel is helping and hurting the series.

As my regular readers know, I have been enjoying the spectacle of the 2013 FIA European Rallycross Championship last year and its successor The FIA World Rallycross Championship this year as my new motorsport following... And its offering a better spectacle than other FIA championships are such as Formula One and the World Touring Car Championship.

And in my growing opinion, the BTCC now as well.

Why?

Theres no moaning for performance equalisation taking place. The only reason a Rallycross driver moans is if his or her car has had a failure or suffered an incident on track. The races in the Heats, Semi Final's and Finals are short but exciting...with no moaning of car advantage or performance equalisation because everyone competes to the same levels of boost and regulation etc.

Of course, many could say "Well Phil, dont watch it or read about it anymore."

I'm a Petrolhead. I want to know every detail, whether its the off season, on season, race day or the weeks inbetween. Motorsport is in my blood so I keep watching and will do... But I can say how I feel...and how other fans feel...

So for me, TOCA need to look into reworking the boost formula or scrap it altogether, allowing everyone to use the same bar boost level. Keep the Success Ballast, this works already. But for race three, reverse the whole grid. Let the guys at the back get a chance at the front for a change. Either way, something needs tweaking for 2015 and beyond.

NGTC works... Now the performance measures need work.

Thank you for your time

Phil.

2014 World RX: Solberg rules in Canada

Norway’s Petter Solberg took a sensational lights-to-flag victory at the  World RX of Canada to become the first driver to win a round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy held outside of Europe. The PSRX driver also becomes the first double winner in RX this year.

Volkswagen Marklund Motorsport’s Anton Marklund and Team Peugeot-Hansen’s Timur Timerzyanov finished second and third respectively, both drivers securing podium spots for the first time this season.

Staged at the Trois Rivieres street circuit as part of the annual Grand Prix Trois-Rivieres (GP3R) motorsport festival, the seventh round of World RX attracted crowds of more than 30,000 people to watch 18 flame-spitting Supercars and nine RX Lites cars in the Intercontinental Cup. 

Three Canadian stars also helped draw a passionate home crowd as F1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve, former IndyCar star Patrick Carpentier and multiple Canadian Rally Champion Antoine L’Estage took to the all-new RX circuit.  Villeneuve was denied a place in the semi-finals after a fuel tank issue meant he was forced to withdraw but Carpentier wowed the crowds on his World RX debut, reaching the final and eventually finishing sixth.

“I am so, so happy right now but it hasn’t been the easiest day,” admitted Solberg who has extended his lead at the top of the standings by 20 points thanks to three heat victories, plus a win in both the semi and the final.  The former WRC World Champion, who was also awarded the Monster Energy Super Charge Award, added: “The morning didn’t start so well – we had similar problems to Belgium but the mechanics worked really hard on the car and I want to credit this win to my team.  I wouldn’t be here without them - they work harder than anyone.  It’s always been my dream to become the first person to win two World Championships and now that dream is getting closer but there are still five races to go and this sport is tough. I’d also like to thank the Canadian organisers – it’s fantastic to come to a new event, they have done a great job.”

Marklund was a model of consistency over the weekend after never finishing outside the top five in all the heats.  The 21-year-old went on to win his semi-final to qualify on the front row of the final alongside pole starter Solberg.  “This has been a lot of fun,” said Marklund. “I’ve managed to score points all day and driving down the long straight at speeds of around 190kmph is just amazing.  Usually rallycross events are over two days so this has been a big challenge for my team to work over one day and they have done an amazing job. It’s also really good for VW to have three out of four cars in the final and now we’re tied with Olsbergs MSE in the manufacturer standings too – it’s been a great weekend for the whole team.”

After what can only be described as a torrid four heats for Timur Timerzyanov, the Russian defied all odds to reach the final where he drove a mature race and secured a well-deserved third place for Team Peugeot Hansen. The reigning European Rallycross Champion commented: “It’s fair to say I’ve had an active day: I’ve been fighting against rails, tyres… but somehow I made it to the final! I need to work on my driving style but for now I’m really happy and I hope this is the first of many podiums in the second half of the year.”

Two punctures for Reinis Nitiss proved costly for the Ford Olsbergs MSE driver who narrowly missed out on a semi-final spot after qualifying 13th at the end of the heats.  However, retirement for team mate Joni Wiman before the semi-finals opened the door for Nitiss, as first reserve, to enter the semi in which he finished third. Nitiss progressed to the final and eventually finished fourth but the lack of points gained from the heats means he drops behind VW Marklund’s Topi Heikkinen in the overall standings.  Heikkinen rounded off the top five at RX Canada.

Arguably one of the most impressive drives of the event was that of local driver Patrick Carpentier who made his RX debut in the event.  Carpentier, a former NASCAR and IndyCar driver, proved a natural talent despite having only one short test ahead of the race. “I can’t explain how happy I am to have made it to the final,” beamed the French Canadian. “Before today my only aim was to reach the semis and to be in the final in front of such an amazing home crowd on my RX debut is more than I could ever have hoped for.”

Monster Energy World RX Team’s Henning Solberg and Davy Jeanney both reached the semi-finals but a stall for Solberg on the start line saw the Norwegian denied a spot in the final. Jeanney was close to finishing in the top three in his semi but a final lap tussle saw the Frenchman lose out on the chance of reaching his first final this year.

After two heat race wins Villeneuve was on course for a spot in the semis but a heavy landing wreaked havoc with the fuel tank on his Albatec Racing prepared Peugeot 208 Supercar and forced the French-Canadian to retire. Britain’s Andy Scott made the final 12 securing crucial points for the Scottish-based team.

Vermont-based squad Subaru Rally Team USA impressed on its debut in World RX as three-time European Rallycross Champion Sverre Isachsen was on the pace throughout all four heats.  The Norwegian reached the semis but finished fifth, one place behind Olsbergs MSE driver Andreas Bakkerud who also missed out on a spot in the all-important final.

Round eight of the FIA World Rallycross Championship will return to European soil as the World RX crews prepare for the hugely popular French RX event which will be staged in Loheac from 6-7 September.

Cheers

Phil.

BTCC 2014: Plato leads the Charge at Snetterton

The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship returned from its Summer Break to the venue of Snetterton for the beginning of the second half of the 2014 season and the series offered more of its exciting close racing, thrills and spills.

In the buildup to the event, Team BMR confirmed that it had replaced the two NGTC Vauxhall Insignia's driven by Jack Goff and Warren Scott with two newly built VW CC's. This will mean an enormous amount of data being gathered by the team with four CC's in operation so expect strides to be made.

Jason Plato would start Race One of the British Touring Car Championship from pole position after setting the fastest lap time in qualifying at Snetterton.

The two-time champion was dominant in the day’s earlier second practice, and despite missing out on beating his session time, still finished 0.415s ahead of Colin Turkington with Sam Tordoff in third.

Plato made the early laps by the rear-wheel drive cars look almost amateurish as he set his fastest time, a 1:56.495, a new qualifying record at the circuit with his first flying lap, when those around him were struggling to break out of the 1:59s bracket.

With Andrew Jordan forced to miss the session after he was ruled out on medical grounds following a crash in first practice, Mat Neal set out to salvage some pride for the Honda runners. The three-time champion, who has endured a trying 2014 campaign thus far, ran well in the early stages, trading times with Sam Tordoff for second place.

A number of drivers set their fastest times with some of their first laps. Alain Menu jumped up to fourth a third of the way through the 30-minute session, while Tom Ingram put in another impressive display to claim sixth.

Menu’s fourth became fifth when championship leader Colin Turkington moved into second, as the Northern Irishman’s effort also demoted Tordoff and Neal, the former eventually gaining the upper hand, but still qualifying seven-tenths slower than his teammate in first.

Aron Smith was seventh, while Adam Morgan would start ahead of Mat Jackson by virtue of having set his lap of 1:57.746s earlier than the Airwaves driver’s identical effort. Jack Goff rounded out the top ten, despite a small off.

Plato commanded the first race of the day at Snetterton, heading Colin Turkington home with Matt Neal completing the podium.

While there was plenty of action throughout the field, Plato was serene at the front as he led from lights-to-flag, finishing 1.924s ahead of Turkington, who was at least able to keep the MG driver honest.

Surprisingly as the race got underway Plato maintained his lead ahead of the usually fast-starting BMW of Turkington, but while the field were safely able to negotiate Riches, Sam Tordoff found himself in trouble on the exit of the corner as he came of worst in an incident involving Neal and Menu. Further down the order, Nick Foster appeared to be tapped into a spin by AmD Tuning’s Dave Newsham and limped back to the pits.

As the leading duo broke away at the front, Menu found himself in third after the opening lap incident with Neal and Tordoff, while Tom Ingram managed to work his way between the two champions after a good start. That lasted until lap three however, as Neal pounced on the Speedworks Toyota and set his sights on catching Menu.

It took just two more laps for Neal to move into third, but it took a forceful move at Murrays from the Honda driver which put Menu on the back foot. With BMR Restart teammate Aron Smith having made his way past Ingram on the same lap, he cruised alongside Menu along the pit straight and the pair almost came to blows with the Swiss having to take avoiding action dangerously close to the pit wall. Their battle continued down to Montreal, but as they focused on each other Adam Morgan nipped up the inside of the pair with a fantastic late braking move into the hairpin.

After that frantic period in the race, things started to settle down, as Menu gradually eked out a lead over his teammate. Rob Austin, in his team’s 100th race, attempted to pass Glynn Geddie but the pair collided and the United Autosports driver dropped from 12th to 15th.

Back at the front, Plato was able to canter to the flag, setting a best time of 1:58.120s – just shy of Tordoff’s race lap record from 2013 – with Turkington claiming more valuable points to build his championship lead. Neal’s third place was his fifth podium of the season, but his first in nine races came as he had to hold off Morgan, who showed great pace to secure his best finish of the season.

Menu and Smith came home line astern in fifth and sixth, ahead of Shedden, who performed better than he had on Saturday but still lost ground to Turkington in the championship. Jackson finished in eighth whilst Jack Goff and Rob Collard completed the top ten, but only after Ingram was forced to retire from the race on the final lap as his wheel flew off.

That had repercussions for the final points paying position, as Ingram’s retirement allowed Rotek Racing’s Robb Holland to score his first point of the season and his team’s first in the championship. The American was forced to work hard for his position, but after a great start, a determined drive saw him keep the recovering Andrew Jordan at bay for the final three laps.

Plato went on to take a second victory of the day at Snetterton, as he battled his way back past second placed man Turkington with Shedden completing the podium.

As the race started, Turkington was able to do what he missed out on in race one and overtake the MG of Plato – who was carrying 45 kilograms of ballast following his earlier success – into Riches to lead the pack. However, behind them there was contact almost immediately as Alain Menu, who had run wide on the exit of the first corner, brought the rear of his car across the front of Morgan’s WIX Racing Mercedes and found himself sliding into the barrier on the inside of the circuit, bringing his second race two exit in as many race weekends.

With Menu’s car stricken at the side of the circuit, the Safety Car made an appearance and remained in place until the end of lap four, with the race distance increased to 15 laps. Turkington tried to make a break as the race resumed, but Plato stayed with him as the front two again raced away at the front.

Almost immediately however there was contact, as Andrew Jordan – who had made up six places from his grid slot – pushed Collard wide through Williams onto the main straight. That allowed Goff to close up on the pair, and as they went to turn into Brundle three-abreast, Collard was squeezed by the two on either side of him and Jordan was shot off onto the grass, giving him more ground to make up once again.

One lap later Shedden showed that trio how overtaking into the corner should be done, with a brave move on the outside of Morgan for fourth place.

Plato had looked racey just before the Safety Car was deployed, and after pursuing Turkington from the restart, taking a look up the inside into Brundle on lap eight, he passed the BMW into Montreal at the start of lap nine to regain first place. Shedden had made similar inroads on teammate Matt Neal, and a couple of seconds further back made the same move to climb into the podium positions.

Turkington ensured that Plato worked for his win as he stayed with the MG until two laps from the end, but after feigning an overtake he dropped away, leaving him to claim his 13th win at Snetterton, the site of his first victory in the series.

With Turkington second and Shedden third, Neal came home in fourth ahead of Morgan who was a distant but impressive fifth. Mat Jackson led home teammate Fabrizio Giovanardi for sixth and seventh, while eighth-placed man Smith will start from pole for race three after his number was drawn. Tordoff recovered to ninth after his race one disaster, with the third MG of Marc Hynes in 10th.

Jordan finished the race in 15th after recovering a few positions after his off, but the decision was taken to rule him out from racing in the final event of the day following his free practice accident on Saturday.

Smith claimed a third British Touring Car Championship career victory at Snetterton in an intense final race, with Jackson in second and Turkington in third.

The Irishman was defending almost from the get-go but soaked up the pressure with maturity to secure his second victory of the season and his BMR Restart team’s second as an outfit.

Smith’s position looked under threat immediately when second-place man Fabrizio Giovanardi got a better start off the line, but he was forced to tuck in behind the Volkswagen CC, just in front of teammate Jackson.

The race was started in an impeccable manner by the entire field as every driver completing the first lap cleanly, although Jack Clarke was slow at the end of the Bentley straight.

Morgan looked fiesty in the opening moments but he was slightly over-zealous in his pursuit of Jackson’s third place, running wide at Agostini and relinquishing positions to Neal and Turkington.

Over the next couple of laps, those in front of Morgan’s Mercedes began to pull away, but that changed when Neal and Turkington caught up to the leading three cars, as they then found themselves backed into a pack including Plato and Shedden.

There then followed a brief period of calm until lap seven, when Turkington, who had the door shut on him by Neal in front a lap earlier, appeared to be caught out by the Honda driver’s early breaking into Montreal with Neal plummeting down the order and out of contention.

As all eyes were focused on that move, Jackson snuck by his teammate at the same corner and started his pursuit of Smith’s lead. Jackson, whose winless run stretched back to the Silverstone meeting in 2012, was keen to get past his former teammate and had a half chance when Smith was slow out of Murrays, but the Volkswagen driver was able to hold his lead onto the pit straight.

Whilst the final race of the day five weeks ago at Croft had been messy and full of crashes, Turkington, Plato and Shedden were all full of respect for one another knowing that the points scored this weekend could well stand them in good stead come the end of the season.

Jackson had one final attempt to pass Smith for the lead on the final lap, as he held onto the back of the Volkswagen through Riches before giving him a gentle tap into Montreal. With Smith’s superior straight-line speed, however, the 24-year-old was able to maintain his lead in the final half of the lap, eventually finishing 0.444s ahead of Jackson.

Giovanardi was set for third, but he made a small error at the penultimate corner and ran wide onto the grass, losing positions to Turkington, Plato, Shedden before receiving a hit from Rob Collard, sending the Italian down the order to 13th.

With Collard securing sixth, Tordoff, Morgan, Hynes and Goff completed the top ten, with Neal in 11th but securing an extra point for the fastest lap.

This means that Turkington left Snetterton with his championship lead stretched to 23 points ahead of Shedden, whilst Plato moved into third in the championship ahead of Jordan who suffered a poor weekend and will now be on maximum attack for the remaining 12 races. Collard, Jackson, Neal, Tordoff, Smith and Morgan complete the top ten places.

Knockhill is next up for the BTCC, where the BMW's and RWD Audi's are sure to be up the front of the field, whilst Jason Plato is sure to be bitching even more about the "FWD vs RWD" debate...

My thoughts on that will be published in a later blog post, one where I will be extremely honest in my opinions...

Cheers!

Phil

WTCC 2014: Lopez doubles up in Argentina

After the one on one battle between Yvan Muller and Jose Maria Lopez at Spa, the FIA World Touring Car Championship moved to Argentina for the next two rounds in this years series... Homeland of Jose Maria Lopez, the 2014 championship leader.

Quite frankly, "The Lopez Effect" in Argentina is the same as "Norbi Fever" in Hungary, "Mansell Mania" in the UK and when Senna raced in Brazil...

Massive.

And the home fans were not disappointed.

Jose Maria Lopez stormed to a sensation pole position on home soil in qualifying for the World Touring Car Championship in Argentina, beating team-mate Yvan Muller by 0.428 seconds.

Lopez was only slightly quicker than title rival Muller after sectors one and two, but a mammoth final sector saw the Argentine driver take pole position by more than four tenths of a second.

“You need to go for it – I have two team-mates that really push – it’s not easy,” said Lopez, who scored his fourth pole of the season. “When I did the last lap in Q3 I wasn’t sure I would be on pole.”

Muller would start alongside his team-mate for the first of Sunday’s races, with Sebastien Loeb completing a Citroen 1-2-3 on the grid in third.

Norbert Michelisz was the top Honda driver in fourth .The Zengo Motorsport driver out-qualified works Honda driver Tiago Monteiro, who was 1.408 seconds off the pace in fifth after making a mistake on his single Q3 lap.

ROAL Motorsport’s Tom Chilton was the top Chevrolet driver in sixth, unable to challenge for a spot in Q3 despite having been the top non-Citroen driver in second free practice earlier.

Seventh was Honda’s Gabriele Tarquini, who only completed one flying lap in Q2 and missed out on progression to the final part of qualifying by half a second. The Italian will have independent Proteam Racing Honda driver Mehdi Bennani alongside him in eighth.

Campos Racing’s Hugo Valente and LADA’s Rob Huff completed the top ten respectively, with the latter securing his first reverse-grid pole position of the season for race two.

Tom Coronel and Rene Munnich were 11th and 12th respectively, with the Chevrolet drivers seemingly struggling around the Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo circuit.

LADA’s James Thompson only just missed out on progressing from Q1, with the Brit bumped out in the final seconds by team-mate Huff. He would start both of Sunday’s races from 13th on the grid, ahead of Campos Racing’s Dusan Borkovic, Munnich Motorsport’s Gianni Morbidelli and fellow LADA driver Mikhail Kozlovskiy.

Franz Engstler again took pole position in the TC2 class ahead of John Filippi, with the second Engstler BMW driven by local Camilo Echevarria struggling to third in class.

Lopez took victory in the opening World Touring Car Championship race in Argentina, beating Norbert Michelisz by 2.526 seconds.

Lopez led the entire race from pole position and was never challenged by the Honda of Michelisz. The Hungarian driver made his way into second at the start of the race as both Muller and Loeb in front of him got off to slow starts.

Muller took the final podium position in third, with the Frenchman seeing his deficit to Lopez in the championship increase to 50 points. Loeb was fourth, after the French duo repassed a fast-starting Honda of Tiago Monteiro on the opening lap of the race. Monteiro finished in fifth, unable to pressure the Citroen duo in front after initially getting the better of the pair on the opening lap.

Tom Chilton finished sixth with the Brit being the only Chevrolet driver to finish in the points in a difficult race for the Cruze cars. LADA had reason to celebrate, as Rob Huff finished in seventh. The Brit got past the works Honda of Gabriele Tarquini on the opening lap of the race and the Italian was unable to repass, being forced to settle for eighth.

Trust me, after all the times Gabriele has...helped Huffy off the track in recent years, it was good to see the LADA hold off the Honda.

Ninth went to Mehdi Bennani, ensuring that all four Honda Civics finished inside the top ten. James Thompson took the final point for LADA in tenth, after passing Tom Coronel for the position at the final corner on the final lap. It marks only the second time that the Russian marque has had two cars inside the top ten in a race.

Coronel went on to finish in 11th ahead of Morbidelli, Munnich and Kozlovskiy who  was the final TC1 driver in 14th.

For the 12th time in 2014 victory in the TC2 class went to Franz Engstler ahead of Campos Racing’s John Filippi.

Both of the Campos Racing cars retired from race one. Borkovic retired with a left-rear puncture whilst running in 13th, whilst team mate Hugo Valente completed only seven laps due to brake problems.

Lopez went on to become the first World Touring Car Championship driver of the season to win both races in a weekend in race two in Argentina, as Huff scored LADAs first-ever podium in second.

Lopez enjoyed a dream weekend on home soil in Argentina, adding to his victory in the first race of the day by scything his way through the field from tenth on the grid in race two.

The championship leader crucially got past title rival Muller on the second lap of the race and has now extended his lead over the Frenchman to 60 points.

Poleman Huff held on to take second, having led the first eight laps of the race. The result marks the first-ever podium finish for LADA in the WTCC, since the marque first appeared in the 2008 season. The final podium position went to Muller as the reigning champion was unable to carve his way through the field as easily as his team-mate.

Tarquini and Monteiro missed out on a podium result and took fourth and fifth respectively, despite having ran behind early race leader Huff. Loeb finished in sixth, again unable to make the same rapid progress as his experienced circuit racing team-mates. The Citroen driver made slight contact with Tom Chilton when moving into sixth, but held on to the position.

Michelisz finished in seventh, ahead of Borkovic in eighth, with the Serb being the only Chevrolet driver inside the top ten.

Completing the top ten were Bennani in ninth and Thompson in tenth. Bennani had moved into second at the start of the race, but the Moroccan dropped down the order at the half-way stage of the race.

Coronel finished outside the points in 11th for the second consecutive race. Morbidelli also failed to score any points, with the Munnich Motorsport driver handed a drive-through penalty for contact with Thompson early on in the race.

Victory in the TC2 category went to Franz Engstler once again ahead of one-time team-mate Camilo Echevarría.

Hugo Valente, who started the race on the front row of the grid, endured his second retirement of the weekend and stopped after eight laps. Chilton also pulled off the circuit on the same lap.

So with a 60 point lead and four race weekends left, Lopez has moved closer to claiming his first ever WTCC title. With current points scoring system, aperfect weekend gives 5 points for pole in Race One with 25 points per race win. Meaning that for Muller to catch Lopez would mean Muller having a perfect points scoring weekend and Lopez qualifying outside of the top five.

Remember, anything can happen before and at Macau...

Normally the next stop on the calendar would be at the Sonoma Raceway the US, however due to logistical issues this round has been replaced by a venue in Beijing which be followed be a 2nd race weekend at the Shanghai Grand Prix circuit one week later, followed by the WTCC heading to Suzuka to use the full Grand Prix Circuit (FINALLY!!) before the finale at Macau.

Wow! Three WTCC weekends in October... Well thats made me happy...

Honda have improved again, making ground on Citroen whilst LADA have shown they now have Race Two winning potential. Remember Thommo was leading Race Two at Macau last year before Pepe Oriola put him in the wall at Maternity Corner, so a LADA win is not unreasonable.

All the best!

Phil.

WTCC 2014: Muller & Lopez fight it out at Spa...

The last European round of the 2014 FIA World Touring Car Championship took place at the legendary Spa circuit in Belgium and played its part in the growing "Muller vs Lopez" Championship battle.

It was Yvan Muller who took pole position in qualifying ahead of Citroen team-mates Sebastien Loeb and Jose María Lopez.

In the decisive Q3 shootout Muller was 0.146 seconds faster than Loeb, after championship leader Lopez made a mistake going through Eau Rouge on his attempt.

The result was Muller’s fourth pole of the season, the 25th of his WTCC career, and moved him an additional two points closer to Lopez in the championship battle.

Campos Racing’s Hugo Valente qualified in fourth after only his second visit to Q3 in his touring car career, whilst Gabriele Tarquini was fifth fastest in the top Honda, 1.538 seconds off the pace in the final shoot-out.

Tiago Monteiro qualified his Honda in sixth, missing out on entry into Q3 by just 0.018 seconds. Zengo Motorsport’s Norbert Michelisz was seventh, more than two seconds off the Q2 pace.

Completing the top ten were ROAL Motorsport’s Tom Coronel in eighth, Proteam Racing’s Mehdi Bennani in ninth and Munnich Motorsport’s Gianni Morbidelli in tenth. The latter will start race two from pole position.

The second Campos car of Dusan Borkovic just missed out on the reverse pole and would start from 11th ahead of the second ROAL Motorsport Chevrolet of Tom Chilton.

Surprisingly Chinese driver Ma Qing Hua missed out on Q2 and would start from 14th, with the top LADA of Rob Huff out-qualifying the Citroen driver in 13th.

Franz Engstler took pole in the TC2 class for the fifth time this season ahead of Pasquale di Sabatino and John Filippi. Norbert Nagy, making his debut in the series this weekend, started from last.

Yvan Muller scored his fourth win of the season as he won the opening race at ahead of Citroen team-mates Jose María Lopez and Sebastien Loeb.

Muller led away from the line and had a comfortable lead throughout the nine-lap race as his Citroen team-mates squabbled behind him. The win moved him to within 32 points of championship leader Lopez.

Argentine Lopez finished in second after passing Loeb at Les Combes on the final lap of the race, having been glued to the rear bumper of the former rally star throughout. Loeb would finish third, unable to retake the position from his team-mate.

Gianni Morbidelli finished in fourth after a strong start which saw him move from ninth on the grid to fifth at the start of the race. The Italian had to defend heavily from Tom Coronel at the end of the race.

The Dutchman himself pipped Tiago Monteiro to sixth by just 0.073 seconds exiting the final chicane on the final lap after an extremely close four-car battle for fourth.

Gabriele Tarquini finished in eighth, with the Honda driver losing the most ground at the start of the race when he was battling with Hugo Valente for fourth. The duo went side-by-side into Eau Rouge, but Tarquini had to back out and lost several positions along the subsequent straight.

Dusan Borkovic finished as the top Campos driver in ninth despite having started from the back of the grid, ahead of Tom Chilton in tenth.

Ma Qing Hua just missed out on the points and was 11th, despite the Citroen driver completing most of the race with a damaged front windscreen.

Following drive-through penalties for exceeding the track limits, Valente and Mehdi Bennani finished the race in 12th and 13th positions respectively. Valente’s penalty came for running wide and gaining an advantage exiting turn one on the opening lap, whilst Bennani was penalised for overtaking two cars whilst cutting the chicane at Les Combes further around the lap.

The top LADA driver was Mikhail Kozlovskiy in 14th, lead driver Rob Huff had a tough race, spinning into the gravel on the opening lap and finishing down in 16th.

Liqui Moly Team Engstler’s Franz Engstler once again won the TC2 class, ahead of John Filippi and Norbert Nagy.

Jose Maria Lopez ensured that Citroen team-mate and title rival Yvan Muller failed to significantly reduce his points lead in the second race, beating the Frenchman to the win.

Despite starting from eighth and tenth on the grid respectively, Lopez and Muller scythed their way through the field with their dominant C-Elysee cars. Both made up just one position on the opening lap, but had superior race pace to make passing look easy around the Belgian circuit.

Lopez was up to fifth on lap two, passing Gabriele Tarquini into Rivage. The Argentine then got by Norbert Michelisz for fourth further around the lap at the bus stop chicane. Fourth became third with the same move on Gianni Morbidelli just one lap later at the same corner.

Once past Tiago Monteiro for second, Lopez then set about reducing the 2.533 deficit to leader Tom Coronel. The ROAL Motorsport driver had taken the lead on the opening lap with a superb start that saw him lead Morbidelli before turn one. However on lap seven Lopez inevitably passed Coronel for the lead on the run to Eau Rouge to take his fifth win of the season.

By finishing in second, Muller failed to reduce the gap to rival Lopez in the championship. The Frenchman made steady progress with Lopez through the field finally passing Coronel for second into the bus stop chicane on lap seven.

Coronel held on to finish in third, taking his second podium finish of the season at effectively his home circuit. Monteiro finished in fourth, despite late-race pressure from Citroen’s Sebastien Loeb in fifth.

Pole-sitter Morbidelli took the chequered flag in sixth, unable to offer any response to the Citroen drivers. Michelisz finished seventh in his private Zengo Motorsport Civic.

Tarquini ended the race in eighth, having dropped down the order in the latter half of the race whilst battling with Loeb and Hugo Valente. Campos Racing driver Valente finished ninth, after Tarquini found a way back past the Frenchman in the battles on lap four.

Tom Chilton completed the top ten for ROAL Motorsport, taking his second points finish of the weekend.

None of the LADA drivers scored points for the seventh time this season, with Mikhail Kozlovskiy finishing in 12th to beat his two experienced British team-mates.

Victory in TC2 again went to Liqui Moly Team Engstler’s Franz Engstler, ahead of team-mate Pasquale di Sabatino. Campos Racing’s rookie Norbert Nagy finished third in class.

There were retirements for Campos Racing’s Dusan Borkovic and Citroen’s Ma Qing Hua in the race, with the latter reporting an overheating problem with his car.

The title battle is now effectively between Muller and Lopez with Loeb looking secure in 3rd place in the championship as the series ended its European leg and begins the Flyaway section as we head towards the Macau Finale in November.

But Honda have been hard at work with a four day test in Spain using Honda Chassis number six so look for improvements there, whilst Lada also fitted in a test, looking to move further forward.

Argentina is next up where Pechito took his first WTCC win in his second WTCC race so expect Argentina to roar if he does that again.

Cheers

Phil.

BTCC 2014: Oulton Park & Croft Catchup...

So, its been a full six weeks since the last BTCC encounter at Croft and its been longer since I posted about my favourite Tintop series (Add to that I've changed phones to write this on...) So heres a catchup of the six races from Oulton Park and Croft, with an added debate on the FWD/RWD debate...

Oh yeah, I've been waiting to put in my pennies worth on that.

I recommend a good cup of tea with this one...

First... Oulton Park...

Colin Turkington took his third British Touring Car Championship victory of the season in the opening race at Oulton Park, beating home teammate Rob Collard and Jason Plato.

The result means that Turkington and Gordon Shedden – who finished fourth – now sit at the top of the championship standings, after previous leader Andrew Jordan endured a frustrating opening race.

In an unusually quiet affair for the series, the majority of finishing positions were determined after the opening lap as Turkington and Collard romped away at the front, the latter utilising a fast-start to jump Plato and Shedden, while Rob Austin was also able to move up into fifth in his Audi.

There was some drama on the opening tour, as Warren Scott and Hunter Abbott collided at Hislops and spun, while Chris Stockton slowed in his Chevrolet Cruze on track and was forced to retire. Aiden Moffat also retired his Cruze on the first lap after his best qualifying performance, with Ollie Jackson exiting the race on the second lap.

Although Collard briefly applied pressure to his teammate at the front, the gaps slowly increased from the middle of the race, as the West Surrey Racing pair were able to control their pace, with Jason Plato relegated to a watching brief in third.

WIX Racing’s Adam Morgan did his best to keep the Oulton Park crowd entertained, first passing Jack Clarke on the run to Old Hall, before getting by James Cole into Lodge, as he progressed to 18th after his qualifying off.

Having set the fastest lap of the race, Turkington eventually cantered to the flag, coming home 2.692s ahead of Collard, with a further six seconds covering Plato, Shedden and Austin.

MG’s Sam Tordoff and Airwaves Racing’s Mat Jackson had lonely but useful runs to sixth and seventh, with eBay Motors’ Nick Foster, Speedworks Motorsport’s Tom Ingram and Quantel BiFold’s Marc Hynes completing the top ten, the latter taking his best result in the series so far.

But for Andrew Jordan and Matt Neal, the opening race served a blow to their title ambitions as they languished in the lower reaches of the points. Neal retained his 14th place gridslot, overtaking Jordan off the line but relinquishing a place to Alain Menu. Neal looked increasingly frustrated with his standing, and after two looks into Shell Oils at getting past, he made his move on the final lap into Old Hall to salvage a further point for 13th, with Jordan taking the final points spot.

Colin Turkington won his second race of the day ahead of eBay Motors team-mate Rob Collard in the second British Touring Car Championship race at Oulton Park.

The WSR driver led from lights-to-flag and was relatively unchallenged during the race, despite a strong start from team-mate Collard. The duo dominated the race and were able to pull away from the chasing pack, thanks largely to third-placed Rob Austin.

Austin got the jump on Jason Plato and Gordon Shedden at the start of the race, using his rear-wheel drive advantage to maximum effect. Thereafter he drove a defensive race to score his first podium of the season, with the former champions unable to find a way past on the Oulton Park International circuit. Austin was later promoted to second, after Collard was handed a time penalty.

Plato and Shedden finished fourth and fifth after losing out at the start, thereafter unable to do anything about passing Austin in front.

Sixth went to Airwaves Racing’s Mat Jackson, ahead of Speedworks Motorsport’s Tom Ingram in seventh.

Árón Smith finished in eighth for Team BMR, benefitting when MG’s Sam Tordoff dropped three places on the final lap of the race. Tordoff held on to finish in ninth.

Alain Menu completed the top ten, making it two Team BMR Volkswagen’s inside the top ten. However Menu made contact with Airwaves Racing’s Fabrizio Giovanardi on lap five whilst battling for tenth, causing the Italian to drop to 25th. The incident meant that Menu was given a post-race penalty dropping him to 11th.

Reigning champion Andrew Jordan therefore finished 10th and in the process loses the lead in the points standings, with Turkington and Shedden now tied at the top.

The third eBay Motors BMW of Nick Foster had been running in eighth when his car slowed dramatically on the penultimate lap, forcing him into retirement with throttle linkage problems. Adam Morgan also slowed on the same lap and retired from the race when “something broke” and prevented him from being able to turn right.

AmD Tuning’s Dave Newsham and Pirtek Racing’s Martin Depper both met the barriers during the race, with Newsham causing the safety car to come out for two laps when he crashed heavily on the run down to Cascades.

Ollie Jackson, Chris Stockton and Aiden Moffat all endured mechanical problems in the race, with the latter failing to take the start.

Race Three from Oulton Park is my favourite of the year with Team BMR taking their first win. Being a fan of Tony Gilham and co, knowing that Warren Scott and Tony are working together, there were tears in the house for ghis one...

Team BMR’s Árón Smith scored his second win in the British Touring Car Championship, and the first for his team, in a damp final race at Oulton Park, ahead of Gordon Shedden and Jason Plato.

Smith led the entire race from pole position, having been selected by team-mate Alain Menu after race two in the random reverse grid draw.

Shedden made his way up to second on lap three with a pass on Rob Collard at the chicane after the eBay Motors driver went straight on at the chicane. The duo had earlier in the lap benefitted when Airwaves Racing’s Mat Jackson slid out of second at Cascades on the damp circuit.

Plato initially secured the final podium position, with the move coming on lap 11 when the MG driver nudged Colin Turkington out of the position at the Shell Oils hairpin. Turkington went on to finish fourth, despite looking like a possible contender for victory two thirds into the race. However after the race the positions were reversed, with Plato receiving a 1.1 second time penalty after the move was adjudged to have been unfair.

Rob Austin enjoyed his strongest weekend in the BTCC so far in 2014 by finishing in fifth to add to his earlier fifth and third in the opening two races of the day.

MG’s Sam Tordoff finished in sixth, his third top ten of the day, ahead of Team BMR’s Alain Menu in seventh.

Reigning champion Andrew Jordan was eighth in his Pirtek Honda, taking his best finish of the day in a difficult weekend for the 25-year-old.

Airwaves Racing duo Mat Jackson and Fabrizio Giovanardi completed the top ten, with Jackson recovering from his earlier slide to pass Giovanardi on the penultimate lap of the race.

After his earlier off at the chicane, Collard was turned around by Plato at Lodge Corner on lap six and consequently could only finish in 11th position.

There were retirements for Jack Goff, Matt Neal and Tom Ingram on the opening lap of the race, with the first two making contact at Old Hall corner. Ingram stopped further around the lap with mechanical problems on his Toyota.

Robb Holland also failed to finish the race, slowing with problems on his Rotek Racing Audi after three laps whilst running in a strong 12th position.

Next... Croft...

Colin Turkington eased his way to a fifth win of the 2014 British Touring Car Championship season at Croft, ahead of nearest championship challenger Gordon Shedden and MG’s Jason Plato.

The result means that Turkington now has nine series wins to his name at the Yorkshire circuit, and has won four of the last five races in 2014.

An initial delay on the grid meant that the race distance was shortened by one lap from the scheduled fifteen, after the starting lights were held for too long.

When the race eventually got underway, it was Plato who initially looked to have got the better start, but Turkington powered away in the second phase of the getaway with the former relinquishing his second place grid slot to Honda’s Shedden.

There was plenty of action throughout the order as the cars filed into Clervaux, with two separate incidents between Matt Neal and Andrew Jordan, and Adam Morgan and Rob Austin resulting in three-times champion Neal being tapped sideways, collecting Exocet Racing driver Austin who was turned around.

Jack Goff and Nick Foster also collided slightly further back, with the latter losing his bearings and cutting across the infield, before returning to the pits and retiring with suspected suspension issues.

As the frontrunners settled into a rhythm, it quickly became clear that Plato was struggling for pace, with the leading duo staggered ahead of him and Rob Collard hounding the MG driver for the final podium spot, after a traditionally good getaway.

Morgan had looked set to be the best of the rest amongst six cars but he pulled off on the main straight, as Neal closed back in on Plato, Collard and Jordan after his turn one incident after passing Sam Tordoff in the second MG.

Turkington set a new lap record – a 1:24.815 – early on in the encounter as he began to pull well clear of Shedden, the Northern Irishman extending his lead to a comfortable 7.478s by the end of the race, despite carrying 45 kilograms of ballast.

With the top two positions nailed on, the real battle was for the final podium spot as Plato continued to fend off Collard. The eBay Motors driver was relentless in his application of pressure to the two-time champion, drawing alongside his MG on the main straight and running wide at Tower in a bid to close in, but Plato’s calm driving and Stout defending won him a deserved third place ahead of the frustrated Collard, with Jordan and Neal next up.

Tordoff was in a similar position to his teammate as he was left to defend seventh place, but pressure from Alain Menu eventually told as the Swiss passed him into the Esses on lap ten, with Mat Jackson following the BMR Restart driver through.

Tordoff then retained his ninth place to the flag, but the spate of incidents at the start and sensible driving meant that Hunter Abbott was able to claim his maiden top-ten finish in the series, the AlcoSense driver claiming only his second points finish having elected to run the soft tyre.

Dave Newsham also made good progress to finish in 11th, with Fabrizio Giovanardi in 12th ahead of the recovering Austin. Martin Depper scored his first points of the season as he pipped Tom Ingram to 14th on the line by just 0.041s

Colin Turkington also won the second British Touring Car Championship race at Croft, with Gordon Shedden second once more and Matt Neal in third.

Turkington’s victory looked just as comprehensive on paper as his first earlier in the day, but in truth Shedden kept him honest for much of the race before falling away in the final four laps.

After problems on the grid in race one, polesitter Turkington made a superb getaway in the second encounter as his teammate Rob Collard moved into third, while there was once again mayhem at the start as Fabrizio Giovanardi – who had appealed a decision to be moved to the back of the grid – moved across on Rob Austin as he looked to bolt between the Italian and Dave Newsham. The Audi driver was propelled into retirement as he spun onto the infield. Newsham eventually had to back out with suspension issues, bringing his 100th BTCC race to a disappointing end.

32-year-old Turkington once again flew away as the race settled down, beating the lap record he had managed earlier in the day, but Shedden stayed with the eBay Motors driver as the pair dropped Collard.

Behind the front three, Neal found himself in the same position as Collard had a race earlier with Jason Plato again struggling for pace, but he was able to fight past the MG as he made a staunch move into Sunny In on lap five stick. Neal was later excluded from the results for failing the ride-height check.

Plato’s struggles became more apparent thereafter, as two laps later Andrew Jordan forced his way through with Alain Menu, Mat Jackson, Sam Tordoff, Tom Ingram and Giovanardi all joining a train behind the MG.

The race wasn’t quite as eventful as the first encounter, but there was still plenty to enjoy as Marc Hynes, Jack Goff, Adam Morgan, Aron Smith, Jack Clarke, Martin Depper and Nick Foster all spent time in the lower reaches of the points, squabbling amongst each other and swapping paint in a bid to hunt down a top ten finish.

After passing Plato, Neal had plenty of clear air ahead of him and used it to catch Collard, making his move for the final podium spot on lap 11 at Sunny In once again. That was the furthest he was able to recover to, but it did at least mark his return to the rostrum after an absence of six races.

With Jordan lonely in fifth behind Collard, the battle between Plato and Menu made for the most interesting, the Swiss having waited patiently for an opportunity to overtake. Once it was presented to him, he dived up the inside of Plato into Clervaux but had his right-rear corner clipped, sending him off into the gravel, with Plato racing home from there.

Plato currently retains his sixth-placed finish, having finished ahead of Jackson, Tordoff and Giovanardi while a move from Jack Goff on Marc Hynes on the penultimate lap gave him 11th, with Hynes plummeting down the order to eventually finish in 16th.

Andrew Jordan grabbed a fourth victory of the 2014 British Touring Car Championship season in an incident-packed third race, with Rob Collard in second and Gordon Shedden third.

The Pirtek driver’s victory was made all the more significant by the fact that championship leader Colin Turkington failed to score, after retiring with clutch issues while in fifth.

The cars at the front of the grid all got similar starts, but the tone for the race was set almost immediately as the cars headed into Clervaux, where Tom Ingram managed to sneak ahead of Fabrizio Giovanardi into second, behind Jack Goff.

Having held position off the line, Goff took a normal line on the exit of the corner but got a small tap from Ingram and was sent off onto the grass before rejoining. That left Ingram in the lead, but he last no longer at the front as he went off himself, handing first place to Giovanardi.

There was yet more drama though, as Jordan closed on the Airwaves driver at a rapid rate of knots, cruising into the back of the Italian before sending him off into the barrier, ripping the front end off his car.

Ingram’s Speedworks Toyota had given up the ghost by this point, and having been left in a dangerous area, the decision was taken to deploy the safety car – a decision made easier by the amount of debris on track.

That left Jordan in the lead as the dust settled, with Goff somehow recovering to second ahead of Collard in his BMW. Glynn Geddie was also forced to pit with a left-rear puncture, while Giovanardi continued despite quite evident superficial and aerodynamic damage to his car.

With the distance extended to 18 laps to make up for the safety car period, the race resumed with five laps on the board but there was chaos almost immediately again, when a lap later Matt Neal, Rob Austin and Warren Scott tried to go three-wide and ended up collecting each other in turn two, although the call for a second safety car was abated after Neal dug himself out of the gravel and recovered to the pitlane.

The next tour saw just as much drama as Shedden made his way past Adam Morgan for sixth, which became fifth when Turkington pulled into the pits to retire his car.

A brief period of calm took over for a couple of laps, but that was only until the group behind Jordan – who had pulled himself clear of any further trouble – bunched up. A push from Collard forced Goff wide and the West Surrey Racing driver moved into second while Mat Jackson followed him through.

Two laps later it was Shedden’s turn to make a pass, with Goff running wide after pressure from the Scotsman who pounced on the exit of Sunny Out. The Honda driver’s intentions then turned to Jackson in third, who himself began backing cars into one another.

Shedden made an ill-fated attempt to pass the Airwaves car on the exit of the hairpin, but with the outside line disappearing he suffered damage to the front end of his Civic, with debris flailing from its wheelarch. The 2012 champion relented however, stealing through into third on the penultimate lap. However the positions were later reversed and Shedden handed a four-second time penalty for the move.

Jordan eventually won the race by three-and-a-half seconds from Collard, with Shedden and Jackson next up. The battle for fifth was equally as intense as the rest of the action, however, as Morgan pipped Goff for the place by 0.001s on the line, ahead of Nick Foster and Alain Menu, who had a magnificent recovery run. Aron Smith had been set to challenge for fifth, but he was over-zealous on the final lap and ran into the gravel after clouting Morgan, being overtaken by Foster and his teammate.

Jason Plato completed the top ten, ahead of Martin Depper and Hunter Abbott.

Now, between Oulton Park and Croft, the debate of parity between FWD and RWD kicked off after comments from Triple Eight boss Ian Harrison and Jason Plato about the start advantage of the BMW and the Audi, along with Airwaves boss Dave Bartrum talking about running an NGTC RWD BMW Series 3 in 2015.

Suddenly (although if your a follower of the BTCC) but not unexpectedly, West Surrey Racing & Rob Austin Racing were ordered to run a longer first gear from Croft onwards.

The last time this was implemented was back in 2010 and it nullified the S2000 BMW's of WSR and Motorbase, leaving them as midfield runners at best.

Now Turkington and Collard have shown at Croft its not an issue as they both made places of the line still, but it still remains that after comments made by leading BTCC bosses, TOCA suddenly acts...The cynics amongst you will immediately say that Jason Plato has Alan Gow in his pocket and jumps at the sound of Plato voicing his opinion, but Alan has made a move that will, and did, keep the BTCC racing close.

Now my view is this. Throughout Tintop history, any RWD car will make places at the race start and they will benefit on tracks with hairpins and fast flowing corners...just like Croft, Oulton Park, Snetterton, Knockhill...

You can see my point.

Which is this. Formula One recently stepped back from punishing drivers for incidents on track and I think TOCA should do the same in its parity thinking. Turbo boost adjustment, performance parity, racing boundaries and success ballast is great, but its also getting annoying for the fans with all the arguments from drivers and teams.

So do what the FIA do with the World Touring Car Championship. Set the boost at one level, keep the success ballast and let the guys race. Let them run over the white lines, let them race hard and fair and put on a better show than they do now.

My fear is the series will lose its star drivers its created or regained. Menu would probably return to the WTCC next year given the oppurtunity, he hasnt been happy with the lack of testing and the amount of contact that takes place. Giovanardi might stay but he needs a car tailored to his style and he's still getting to grips with NGTC. Its been said by many that Andrew Jordan could succeed in WTCC, but he's hoping that something may open up in the World Rallycross Championship.

We'll have to see, but its a debate that will roar on.

But we'll enjoy the racing all the same.

Cheers

Phil aka The Guru!!!

2014 World RX: Heikennen rules in Belgium...

The 2014 World Rallycross Championship moved to a brand new venue for round six in Belgium, held at the updated Mettet Circuit where the series kept up its exciting and enthralling spectacle.

Volkswagen Marklund Motorsport’s Anton Marklund made a head start over the other World RX crews competing in Belgium after winning the event’s opening heat.  Swedish Rallycross Championship event winner Johan Kristofferson won heat two to hold second overnight with Finn Topi Heikinnen third overall, making it a Volkswagen one-two-three.

A total of 67 drivers are took part in the sixth round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy which is being staged at a brand new rallycross circuit in Mettet.  As well as the challenge of a new track, the drivers were also faced with wet conditions as rain fell intermittently throughout the day. The weather did not put off the fans, however, who descended on Mettet in their thousands to cheer on local star Francois Duval and regular World RX drivers such as Koen Pauwels. Hyundai WRC driver Thierry Neuville was also spotted in the World RX paddock.

“We had two good starts in the heats and a good start is really important on this track because it is very narrow,” explained 21-year-old Marklund. “On the first heat we made no mistakes and then we had a good position for the second heat but then I started braking a bit too late.  We have not had much time for testing recently but I’m feeling more and more confident in the car.  I really need championship points this weekend and I feel like I’m ready for a win so that’s what I’ll be fighting for.”

After making his World RX debut in Sweden last week, Kristofferson was delighted to be second overnight in another VW Polo. Kristofferson also leads the FIA European Rallycross Championship (Euro RX), of which Belgium is an official points-scoring round.  The Swede explained: “The Polo is pretty new to us but the car is running nicely. I’m enjoying the track too – it’s narrow which I like and I’ve had a good start which has helped me for the rest of the track. I want to stay out of trouble and it would be nice to get to the semis – maybe even the final.”

Fourth in the standings and second in Euro RX is Robin Larsson in his Audi A1 Supercar. The Swede, who was also fastest in Saturday free practice, commented: “We’ve been struggling a bit since coming second at Lydden Hill – the turbo pressure hasn’t been right and we’ve had some engine problems but the car is running much better so I’ve been able to concentrate on driving.  To win over the top guys in World RX, you need to be 100% on it so I need to focus as much as I can.”

Fifth at the end of Saturday was PSRX driver Petter Solberg who finished heat one fourth fastest and followed it up with a sixth fastest time in heat two.  Solberg was joined by another former WRC star today as Duval made his World RX debut in a VW Polo RX Supercar but hit trouble during heat one when contact with another car forced the Belgian out of his opening race.  Duval then went on to finish heat two seventh quickest and was 19th overall.

Elsewhere, it was a difficult day one for the Ford Olsbergs MSE team who are  leading the team standings.  Andreas Bakkerud retired in heat one following an engine issue with his Ford Fiesta Supercar while Reinis Nitiss collided with Henning Solberg during heat two and tore the right rear wheel clean off the car.

Topi Heikkinen went on to win the World RX of Belgium at the wheel of a Marklund Motorsport run Polo RX Supercar.  Heikkinen is the sixth different World RX winner in six events. Team Peugeot Hansen driver Timmy Hansen finished second with Johan Kristofferson third in a VW Polo.  After finishing fourth and collecting crucial points Petter Solberg is now Championship leader, three points ahead of Reinis Nitiss.

An estimated 25,000 spectators flocked to Mettet in southern Belgium this weekend to watch the latest round of the FIA’s newest World Championship. With mixed weather conditions and a brand new rallycross circuit to manipulate, the World RX drivers had little time to get to grips with the narrow, technical Jules Tacheny Circuit.  Local hero and former WRC star Francois Duval was a popular addition to the World RX paddock this weekend demonstrating good pace in the VW Marklund Polo but not quite enough to make the final 12.

One driver who was consistent from start to finish, however, was Mettet RX winner Topi Heikkinen. “I’m very thankful to my team – they have made such a huge effort and the car is excellent,” gushed the 23-year-old Finn.  “I’d like to thank Volkswagen Motorsport too for all of their help. Now we’re at the half-way point I think I can catch up in the second half. We’re only a few points behind Reinis Nitiss and Petter Solberg now so it’s going to get really exciting!”

After a troubled start to the season, Team Peugeot Hansen turned a corner as Timmy Hansen took a well-deserved second place in the Peugeot 208 Supercar. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been on the podium but I’m really happy to be here – especially after such a hard weekend,” said the young Swede. “The final didn’t go to plan, I think I was last on the first corner and then I made a mistake and dropped even further but the next few laps I just went flat out and was right behind Topi at the end. I have to thank my team for this – they have built a wonderful car.”

Securing the third step of the podium in Mettet was VW Polo driver Johan Kristofferson who stunned the crowds after a semi-final win in what was only his second World RX outing this year.  The Swede was also crowned the winner of the third round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship (Euro RX). “This is only the second race for us and I would have been happy just finishing in the semi-finals,” said Kristofferson who was awarded Monster Energy Super Charge Award after his rapid start. “To get to the final was amazing and to be on the podium is just the best feeling! We had a really good start in the final race as we were in pole position and I think that’s what really helped us get here. Hopefully we will be back for some more races in the second half of the season.”

Petter Solberg looked on course for a podium spot but broken suspension hindered the Norwegian’s progress during the event’s closing laps.  After an impressive drive Anton Marklund rounded off the top five while EKS RX driver Pontus Tidemand took sixth place in his Audi S1 Supercar.  EKS RX wildcard entry Edward Sandstrom made an impressive showing on his debut in World RX with a series of quick lap times but the GT racer narrowly missed out on a spot in the semis.

Monster Energy World RX Team’s Liam Doran and Davy Jeanney had a weekend of mixed results. The pairing both made the semi-finals but broken intercooler near the start of the race knocked Doran out of a chance in the final. “The car worked well but I’m disappointed not to make the finals after getting this far,” said Frenchman Jeanney after losing out on a top three place in his semi.

It was a torrid weekend for Team Championship leaders Ford Olsbergs MSE who encountered a series of misfortunate events.  Andreas Bakkerud was first to hit trouble when an engine problem on his Ford Fiesta Supercar forced the Norwegian into an early retirement.  On the next heat Nitiss tore the right rear wheel off his car after colliding with Henning Solberg.  The team worked flat out overnight to repair the Fiestas but more bad luck was to follow when Bakkerud withdrew from heat three. Nitiss went on to take the heat win but was knocked out of his semi-final race along with Euro RX points leader Robin Larsson and Peter Hedstrom.

Albatec Racing had another difficult weekend after Andy Scott and former F1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve failed to make the final 12.  Both Scott and Villeneuve demonstrated good pace in their Peugeot 208 Supercars but contact on heat four saw Villeneuve damage his car’s steering and effectively put an end to his hopes of a World RX semi-final.

Martin Anayi, World RX Managing Director for IMG Motorsport, concluded: “We couldn’t have asked for a more exciting opening half to the season for our inaugural year as a World Championship. We’ve had six different winners with four different manufacturers and now only eight points separate the top three drivers.  It’s also been fascinating to witness three different Championship leaders already this year and now we have round one winner Petter back at the top of the standings proving once again that points matter just as much as winning races. Volkswagen Marklund’s outstanding performance this weekend has also seen the outfit close in on Ford Olsbergs in the overall battle of the teams.  It’s been a pleasure to visit Mettet – the team in Belgium have done a terrific job and played a crucial role in attracting more than 20,000 fans to the circuit this weekend.  It’s been wonderful to be involved in the growing popularity of World RX over the past six months – we’re extremely lucky to have what I believe are some of the most talented drivers in the world and with more broadcasters starting to televise our Championship, the future of the sport is looking very bright indeed.”

After completing four races in five weeks, the World RX crews will now have a short break before the season’s second half resumes in Canada for round seven at Trois-Rivieres, home to the famous GP3R, next month on 7-8 August.

DRIVER POINTS AFTER ROUND 6, WORLD RX OF BELGIUM
 
1. Petter Solberg, 125 points
2. Reinis Nitiss, 122 points
3. Topi Heikkinen, 117 points
4. Andreas Bakkerud, 99 points
5. Anton Marklund, 85 points 

TEAM POINTS AFTER ROUND 6, WORLD RX OF BELGIUM

1. Ford Olsbergs MSE, 221 points
2. Volkswagen Marklund, 202 points
3. Team Peugeot-Hansen, 154 points
4. PSRX, 117 points
5. Monster Energy World RX Team, 60 points
6. Albatec Racing, 16 points

My Favourite Motorsport Moment: Autosport International 2015 Competition

My favourite Motorsport moment over the last 25 years has to be the 1992 Monaco Grand Prix.

It was a year I was proud to be both a Williams fan and a Nigel Mansell fan. Having watched him charge through races in the previous season, chasing Senna all the way to what would be the Brazilian's final title, it was a joy to watch and see "Il Leone" win the first five races of the 1992 season and it showed the signs that he might actually win that first title.

All he needed to do to make it six in a row was win the one race he hadn't won...

Monaco.

Qualifying on Pole Position helped that cause and with team mate Patrese on the front row, I was sat forward on the sofa at home ready to witness what turned out to be an epic race.

I watched on as Mansell slid wide from pole and took the lead whilst Senna made his master stroke of a move by passing Patrese into Ste Devote for second. Murray Walker and James Hunt were performing their legendary commentary duties as Nigel stretched his lead lap after lap, getting further and further ahead.

Whilst the joy and excitement were building, it all fell apart on lap 71 when Mansell pitted for tyres after suffering a puncture. He sped out of the pits but Senna was already ahead.

The chase began...

My excitement was at fever pitch as I willed Nigel on whilst Walker and Hunt commentated on, looking for the slightest gap for Mansell to pass the worlds widest Mclaren.

Mansell broke the lap record five times whilst catching up to Senna. I watched on the edge of my seat as lap after lap he tried to pass at Ste Devote, then Mirabeau, then at the Loews hairpin, again at the Chicane, trying hard through the Swimming Pool, running wide at Anthony Nogues, but to no avail.

It was a worthy win for Senna and I felt as drained as Nigel looked as he stood on the podium. He'd tried his all, but what a race...

A memory I will never forget.

2014 FIA World Rallycross Catchup: Rounds 4 & 5...

Welcome once again fellow World Rallycross fans!!

Since my last post on here regarding Round 3 from Hell in Norway, there have been two more events, back to back, from Finland and Sweden with very exciting results and very differing conditions taking place.

To make things easier, I've condensed all the information as best as possible...

Better grab that cup of tea...

Volkswagen Marklund’s Anton Marklund established an early lead on Day One at the World RX of Finland following Saturdays opening two heats. Reinis Nitiss, winner at the previous round in Norway, was second overnight for Ford Olsbergs MSE with team-mate Andreas Bakkerud and Peugeot Hansen’s Timmy Hansen in joint third.

A total of 24 Supercars entered the Finnish RX event including American Top Gear presenter Tanner Foust who entertained the crowds in his VW Marklund Polo, ending the day in sixth place. Two ex Formula One drivers, Jacques Villeneuve and Markus Winkelhock were also included in the stellar line-up but Winkelhock was unable to compete when a technical problem with his Audi S1 Supercar forced the German driver into an early retirement. Villeneuve finished Saturday 12th overall.

Monster Energy World RX Team’s Liam Doran clocked the fastest time during free practice in his Citroen DS3 Supercar but a technical hitch hindered the British driver’s progress in heat one. Championship leader Nitiss went on to take the heat win with a time of 2m54s – the fastest time all day.

Intermittent rain before heat two added an extra challenge as teams were forced to decide between remaining on slicks or swapping to Cooper’s wet compound tyres. The conditions suited several drivers including Marklund whose car was set up perfectly to cope with the tricky conditions on-track. Rounding off the top five from Day One was Monster Energy World RX Team’s Krzysztof Skorupski who had a solid day in the Citroen DS3 Supercar.

It was Tanner Foust though, who took a lights-to-flag victory on Sunday’s rain-soaked World RX Supercar Final. Driving a Polo RX Supercar as a wildcard entry with the Volkswagen Marklund team, Foust overcame tricky driving conditions to take his second win in Kouvola. Ford Olsbergs MSE team-mates Andreas Bakkerud and Reinis Nitiss finished second and third respectively.

Despite limited experience driving his Fiesta Supercar in the wet, Nitiss proved himself once again as one of World RX’s brightest young prospects.  For the fourth time this season Nitiss won his semi-final race to progress into the all-important final where he was pipped to the post by team-mate Bakkerud. Nitiss extended his Championship lead by 14 points.

Krzyszstof Skorupski shone in Finland quietly plugging away throughout the heats to secure himself a spot in the semis for the Monster Energy World RX Team. Lined up alongside Bakkerud, Nitiss, Joni-Pekka Rajala and Team Peugeot Hansen team-mates Timmy Hansen and Timur Timerzyanov, Skorupski finished the second semi-final in third place.  A mature drive in the final awarded Skorupski with fourth place and his first top five finish of the season.

After two heat wins and second place in the first semi-final, Anton Marklund was on course for a podium finish this weekend.  However, the arduous conditions proved too much for the Swede who was unable to keep up with pace-setter Foust. He finished the weekend in fifth. Team-mate Topi Heikkinen made it through to the semi-finals but a tussle with Liam Doran and Derek Tohill saw all three drivers retire and miss out on a chance in the final.

Reigning Finnish Rallycross Champion Joni-Pekka Rajala gave the home crowds something to cheer about as he brought his Peter Hedstrom run Skoda Fabia Supercar home in sixth place. 

It was a weekend of mixed fortune for Team Peugeot Hansen as both drivers made it through to the semis but failed to make the final six. Team-mates Timmy Hansen and Timur Timerzyanov leave Finland with a healthy points haul to lie sixth and seventh in the overall driver standings. 

PSRX frontman Petter Solberg qualified for the Supercar final despite damage to his Citroen DS3 Supercar following an impact in the penultimate race. The damage incurred to the car proved too much and the Norwegian was unable to start the final.

Jacques Villeneuve was 12th after day one but a front-right puncture on his Albatec Racing Peugeot 208 Supercar prevented the French-Canadian from reaching the semis. EKS RX Team’s Pontus Tidemand showed good pace in his Audi S1 Supercar but failed to make the final 12. Foust was awarded the weekend's Monster Energy Super Charge Award.

There was little time to rest for the World RX crews as round five of the Championship, the Volkswagen World RX of Sweden, took place in Holjes the following weekend. Team Peugeot-Hansen driver Timur Timerzyanov led the standings after Day One. Two-time DTM Champion Mattias Ekstrom was second for the EKS RX Team, while PSRX driver Petter “Hollywood” Solberg was third in his Citroen DS3 Supercar.

Solberg set the pace early on posting the quickest time during free practice and also during the nine Supercar races which made up heat one. “I’ve got hundreds of guests here this weekend – I had to put on a good show for them!” joked the Norwegian whose time of 3m0.85s was the quickest Supercar driver all day.

Timerzyanov went on to win heat two, pipping World RX Supercar debutant Sebastian Eriksson to the post by 0.2 seconds. After finishing runner-up in this event last year, Ekstrom was delighted to hold second overnight in his Audi S1 Supercar.

Volkswagen Marklund driver Topi Heikkinen was a model of consistency finishing heats one and two fourth quickest to end the day fourth overall. Team-mate Anton Marklund was not so lucky during heat one, however, as the driver landed heavily over a jump and broke the left rear suspension as well as the front and rear differentials.  The VW Marklund team worked hard during heats to repair the car and Marklund went on to finish heat two in seventh place.

Rounding off the top five was Sebastian Eriksson who shone on his World RX Supercar debut for Ford Olsbergs MSE. Jacques Villeneuve ran out of luck when a front-right puncture on his Albatec Racing run Peugeot 208 Supercar hindered the French-Canadian’s progress. Villeneuve was 22nd in the overnight standings.

Monster Energy World RX team-mates Liam Doran and Davy Jeanney had a day of mixed fortune. Doran began the day well winning his heat race but dropped to 12th after a slower time on heat two.  Despite no testing in the Citroen DS3 Supercar, Jeanney displayed raw talent behind the wheel after leading for most of heat two but narrowly missing out on a race win after incurring a puncture.

Mattias Ekstrom went on to clinch his first-ever FIA World Rallycross Championship victory after a flawless drive in the Audi S1 Supercar in the final. Ekstrom is the fifth different winner and fourth different manufacturer to win in this year’s World RX. The EKS RX Team driver is also the first this season to score maximum points after being placed highest in the intermediate classifications and winning both the semi-final and final. Andreas Bakkerud and Petter Solberg were second and third, despite both drivers incurring punctures in a dramatic final race.

Ford Olsbergs MSE successfully extended its lead at the top of the team standings after team-mates Andreas Bakkerud and Reinis Nitiss finished second and fourth in their Ford Fiesta Supercars. Bakkerud had a troubled Saturday but a top three time in Sunday’s opening heat secured the Norwegian a place in the semi-finals. Bakkerud finished second to Sebastian Ekriksson in his semi and an action-packed final saw the Ford Olsbergs MSE driver take the runner-up spot.

Solberg once again put on a fantastic show for the World RX fans, winning two heats and moving ahead of Bakkerud in the drivers’ standings thanks to a healthy points haul. Reinis Nitiss finished fourth this weekend and remains the only World RX driver this season to reach the semi-final of every event. Nitiss now sits nine points ahead of Solberg in the standings.

Monster Energy World RX driver Liam Doran had his best result of the season so far after finishing fifth in his Citroen DS3 Supercar.  A likely podium contender, the British driver narrowly missed out on a higher placing due to his car being down on power during the all-important final.  Frenchman Davy Jeanney made his debut for the team this weekend and showed tremendous speed but failed to take the joker in heat four which led to a 30 second penalty.

Arguably the most impressive drive of the weekend, however, was that of 21-year-old Swede Sebastian Eriksson who was a guest driver for Ford Olsbergs MSE. Normally a competitor in his national series, Eriksson made his international debut in the Ford Fiesta Supercar this weekend and threatened the World RX front-runners from the outset.  Eriksson won his semi-final and looked set for a podium finish after taking the Monster Energy Super Charge Award. A puncture and suspension damage to his Supercar halted Eriksson’s charge and saw the driver finish sixth.

Team Peugeot Hansen had another unlucky weekend despite team-mates Timmy Hansen and Timur Timerzyanov showing good pace in their Peugeot 208 Supercars. Timerzyanov was leading overnight but was knocked out of the semi-finals after a closely fought battle saw the Russian lose out on a top three placing.  Team-mate Hansen was knocked out of the next semi-final after an engine problem on lap three meant the 22-year-old was unable to continue.

Volkswagen Marklund driver Topi Heikkinen racked up four top 10 heat times to secure himself a place in the semi-final.  The Finn narrowly missed out on a final but remains fourth in the standings after once again proving that consistent times can be just as important as winning races in World RX. Team-mate Anton Marklund made up for lost time today after breaking his car’s suspension and differentials on Saturday but did not make the semis after qualifying 14th.

Jacques Villeneuve ended the Swedish RX event 17th in his Albatec Racing run Peugeot 208 Supercar. The driver finished the event’s opening heat in 15th and took a 13th quickest time on Sunday but broken suspension on heat two destroyed the French-Canadian’s chances of reaching the semis. Leading female driver Ramona Karlsson delighted a home crowd with a race win but like Villeneuve failed to make the final 12.

Round six of the FIA World Rallycross Championship will takes place at Mettet in Belgium this weekend as the Championship prepares for its fourth race in five weeks and its final event before the summer break.

FIA World Rallycross Drivers Championship after Round 5:
 
1. Reinis Nitiss, 112 points
2. Petter Solberg, 103 points
3. Andreas Bakkerud, 90 points
4. Topi Heikkinen, 88 points
5. Anton Marklund, 64 points
 
FIA World Rallycross Teams Championship after Round 5:
 
1. Ford Olsbergs MSE, 211 points
2. Volkswagen Marklund, 152 points
3. Team Peugeot-Hansen, 123 points
4. PSRX, 117 points
5. Monster Energy World RX Team, 45 points
6. Albatec Racing, 14 points

Hopefully this has been ok and I'll be putting up a report about this weekends Belgium round of the FIA World Rallycross in the coming weeks.

Cheers

Phil.

I'll be back!!

Hello fellow Guru followers!!

You may have noticed that I've been a bit quiet of late and there is good reason for this.

Fear not, the blog is not closing!

Like most fans of motorsport, I have a job and life away from writing this lovely blog which at the moment is really a hobby whilst I work hard to earn a living.

Unfortunately, Work has kept me very busy and I've not had a lot of time to sit down and write about the various motorsport encounters of late, however with the summer break now upon us for both the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship and the FIA World Touring Car Championship, this will allow me to catch up.

An interesting development to add is that I will also be writing for the motorsport website www.TheCheckeredFlag.co.uk where I will be submitting reports on the FIA World Rallycross Championship, a series that is fast becoming one of my favourites.

So, stay patient Guru fans and keep an eye out in the coming weeks for my repprts on the BTCC encounters from Oulton Park and Croft as well as the WTCC races from Spa.

All the best,

Phil!