British Touring Car Championship 2002 rounds 13 and 14: Snetterton. Story by TOCA News Team, images by Kelvin Fagan.
James Thompson and Yvan Muller extended Vauxhall Motorsport's winning streak by securing overall victory in Rounds 13 and 14 respectively of the Green Flag 2002 MSA British Touring Car Championship in front of 13,500 sun-soaked spectators at Snetterton this afternoon. Title chasing protagonist Matt Neal for Egg Sport endured a second miserable race weekend in a row, claiming just four points after another brace of non-finishes. Honda Racing and MG Sport and Racing each put on another fine performance to secure the final podium places. With just six rounds to go, Thompson heads the championship standings by 25 points from Muller who leapfrogs his Egg Sport rival.
Sprint Race
Vauxhall Motorsport's James Thompson sealed his fifth win of the season this afternoon after a hot and frantic sprint race which saw two safety car periods. Thompson's team mate Yvan Muller resisted intense pressure from Andy Priaulx to secure second, with Priaulx bringing his Honda Racing Civic Type-R home just one second behind the Frenchman.
A delighted Thompson said:
"I'm really pleased with the win although it wasn't an easy ride as I had gearbox problems throughout the race. As I was running so light we got away with it, but it proved tricky down the straights and I was definitely losing some time. I have to say that Yvan did a great job as my wing man and that certainly helped."
As the engine notes rose for the race start so did the ambient temperature, with drivers facing 56ºC heat in the cockpit and a typically unpredictable BTCC sprint race. With the whole field safely through the first corner, Neal and Thompson were all over each other for the race lead, with Neal just hanging on at the end of the opening lap. Team mate Paul O'Neill, who had started from the third on the grid, found himself barged back down the order and at the same time Muller was up to fourth from seventh on the grid when the safety car was deployed on lap three. Once racing resumed, Neal was again forced to defend hard from Thompson but it was all to no avail. Just a lap later Neal pulled off the circuit with engine dramas to clock up his third straight race retirement. As a result, Thompson and Muller began to pull away at the head of the field and looked to have the race in the bag. But Honda's Priaulx had other ideas – and at the end of a second safety car intervention, Priaulx, who had just taken third place off Hughes at the Bombhole corner, was right with Muller and looking for a way past. But the experienced Muller had an answer to everything Priaulx threw at him, the Guernsey man finally settling for Honda Racing's second podium of the year. MG Sport and Racing's Anthony Reid had applied consistent race long pressure to Priaulx and took the flag in fourth, ahead of Team Petronas Syntium Proton's David Leslie and Honda's Alan Morrison, who battled back superbly from problems on the opening lap. Team PSP were unlucky not to have both cars in the top six at their home race, Phil Bennett having run as high as fifth before an excursion dropped him down the order.
Irishman Colin Turkington secured his second win of the season in the Independents' Cup, finishing ninth overall, just head of his Team Atomic Kitten team mate Gareth Howell. Gareth Howell, who had qualified a superb sixth quickest, lost his advantage after the first safety car period when he selected neutral going into Sear corner. He subsequently battled back through the pack to finish tenth.
Fellow Independents' Cup runners, Team Halfords, continued to struggle with straightline speed of the Peugeot 406 Coupé, finishing a disappointed 13th and 14th, just behind Barwell Motorsport's Aaron Slight who retains his lead the Independents points.
A fun packed sun packed sprint race was also the order of the day in the Production category. In an electrifying battle for podium finishes, poleman Gavin Pyper drove his Alfa 156 home in first place for Gary Ayles Motorsport, almost six seconds ahead of the BMW 320i of Edenbridge Racing's Norman Simon. Third place went to current championship leader James Kaye.
A jubilant Pyper said:
"I feel very good even though it was a sauna in my car. During the race I fell back down to sixth so it felt great to win from there. I made a great break after the second restart and no one could catch me. I am definitely back on the up! Roll on the feature race."
The young Scotsman on pole had a poor start in comparison to the Synchro Motorsport star Kaye, who took the lead from the off relegating Pyper down to third. Tech-speed Motorsport's Mark Fullalove, who was lined up just behind Pyper, was forced back into fifth position. Edenbridge Racing's Tom Boardman was eager to be part of the action and powered his BMW 320i from ninth into second place.
Simon, never content to see rivals in front of him, made his way into second on lap three in front of his team mate Boardman. An oil pressure problem then presented itself to Pyper who dropped down the field until the problem was resolved. Meanwhile the safety car was deployed for a Touring car incident and on the restart Kaye's Honda Civic Type-R began to suffer from understeer and storming Norman comfortably passed Kaye to take the lead.
Carnage hit the track on lap seven when an oil spill at Russell caused Kaye, Simon and Fullalove to run wide onto the grass. Simon lost his advantage to Boardman, who miraculously emerged unscathed. Simon found himself down in seventh, whilst Kaye managed to salvage fourth place. Sixth position Pyper seized the opportunity to take second after managing to maintain a racing line that avoided the oil and Fullalove, who had been sitting in fourth, was promoted to third. On the restart Pyper, eager to take home the maximum race points, launched himself into the lead and began to build up a defensive gap between himself and the title chasing pack behind. He maintained this stronghold to the chequered flag.
Kaye was mounting pressure on Fullalove to surrender his position and soon enough a black cloud once again descended over the Tech-speed driver's Peugeot 306 when his drive shaft gave up on him, forcing his retirement. The ever determined Kaye picked off Boardman (who finished fifth) on lap 17 to take second but Simon was convincingly working his way through the field and managed to pip Kaye to the finishing line. A torrid race was had by all.
Feature Race
After a terrific battle with his Vauxhall stablemates Matt Neal (Egg Sport) and James Thompson (Vauxhall Motorsport), Yvan Muller took his fifth race win of the season from Thompson in second and a delighted Warren Hughes in third for MG Sport and Racing. Less than delighted was Neal, who was forced into retirement on lap 20, having twice taken the lead with two superb manoeuvres. Colin Turkington did the double for Team Atomic Kitten, gaining overall honours in the Independents' Cup, with team mate Gareth Howell once again right on his gearbox.
Said Muller:
"I am delighted with my race win and very pleased that the team has come away with two race wins this weekend. I've lost so many points this year with bad luck that I'm still not really thinking about the championship; if it is my destiny to win, then I will. There is a lot of respect between the Vauxhall drivers and that is very important; we still fight and fight hard, but not at any cost. That brings me great pleasure. I'm enjoying my racing more than ever now and look forward to Knockhill in two weeks time."
Poleman Thompson made a good rolling start to lead the pack into Riches corner, but fellow front row man Neal was immediately all over the back of the Astra Coupé. A superb move down the inside into the Esses complex on the opening lap saw the Egg Sport driver carve into the lead, from Thompson, Muller and Alan Morrison for Honda Racing. The top four subsequently made a small break, their intense battle being mirrored by the battle for fifth, between Hughes, team mate Anthony Reid and Honda's Andy Priaulx. But the most intense pressure was being applied by Morrison, whose Civic Type-R looked more than a match for Muller, who was carrying 30kgs of success ballast from the earlier sprint race. Unhappily for the determined Irishman, luck wasn't on his side today and he suffered a tyre blow out at Coram Curve on lap nine, ending his challenge.
Once the round of pit stops had played out, it was Muller who found himself in the lead from Thompson and Neal, with Hughes and Reid also right with the lead battle. Another great move by Neal on lap 16 saw him again sweep past Thompson into the Esses and now his target was race leader Muller. With barely daylight between the top five, Neal had to take his chance – and promptly sold Muller a superb dummy to take the race lead into the Esses. But yet again Neal would be denied his glory; just two laps later the disconsolate Egg Sport driver pulled off the circuit and into retirement with drive shaft failure. Taking the initiative, Muller and Thompson towed each other slightly away from the pack, leaving a terrific scrap for the final podium position. Reid looked to have it sewn up, after a great dice with team mate Hughes but a puncture put him out of the running with five laps to go. This promoted Hughes up to third, but it was far from easy sailing for the MG driver. A race long duel with Honda Racing's Andy Priaulx finally came to nothing as the unfortunate Priaulx retired with hub failure, and then Hughes had to push hard to keep his small advantage back to Team Atomic Kitten's Turkington. Hughes took the chequered flag just 2.4 seconds behind Thompson, who trailed race winner Muller by just over a second.
The Atomic Kitten pairing of Turkington and Gareth Howell rounded out the team's most successful weekend yet, with Turkington claiming an impressive fourth overall and Independents' Cup honours and Howell finishing right behind him in fifth.
Carl Breese and Dan Eaves swept away Team Halfords' disappointment in the sprint race with a solid sixth and seventh place finish respectively. Team mates and fellow Independents' Cup rivals Tom Chilton and Aaron Slight for Barwell Motorsport finished just behind them in eighth and ninth.
Local outfit Team Petronas Syntium Proton's delight at David Leslie's fifth place in the sprint race did not carry over to the feature – Leslie retiring with a misfire and team mate Phil Bennett ending up 18th after picking up a puncture.
There was also a dramatic showdown in the Production Class further down the field. Synchro Motorsport's James Kaye claimed his fourth win of the season by a margin of just under three seconds ahead of the fast and furious Gavin Pyper (Gary Ayles Motorsport). And Edenbridge Racing's Tom Boardman drove a delightful race to clench third place. Skilled and numerous overtaking manoeuvres in a clean but breathtaking fight undoubtedly sparked the ignition of front-runner Kaye.
He commented:
"This has been the best race all year so far. Six people all battling for the lead, what more can you want? It was fantastic! Looking ahead - Knockhill will be the worst meeting for us as the circuit will not suit my Honda Civic with the extra 30kgs it permanently carries. So it'll all be in the lap of the Gods – I can't wait!"
It was cat and mouse for the majority of the race with the lead swapping hands frequently. From the off no one was prepared to give an inch. Poleman Pyper defended his line until lap three when Kaye pushed him into third as the two charged through the Bomb Hole. Edenbridge Racing's Norman Simon moved into second from third. The three exchanged places until Synchro Motorsport's Dave Allan shut the door on Simon's BMW 320i spinning him out at Russell and forcing him to join the pack further back. Pyper was in the lead at this moment and Kaye was snapping at his rear bumper followed by his team mate Allan. Gary Ayles Motorsport's Graham Saunders joined the fray diving into the third spot on lap 11. He remained there until lap 17 when Simon edged his nose into third pushing him back a position. The Scotsman Pyper then pushed his Alfa 156 too hard at Riches and ran onto the grass, losing valuable time and positions as a result. A bewildered Kaye fell back into third, whilst Simon launched himself into the lead followed by Saunders.
Meanwhile Allan, who was lying in fourth, was fending off the advances of an ever threatening Boardman, who was biding his time. Then a blow hit the Edenbridge camp when Simon went wide at the Esses, slipping once again down the field. A come-back was out of the question as he suffered a puncture soon after and was forced to retire. Saunders was now the front man followed by Kaye, Boardman then Pyper. Kaye then snatched the advantage from Saunders on lap 22. The final countdown was nerve jangling as Boardman and Pyper moved past Saunders as a lethal duo. Hostilities then resumed between the Alfa 156 and the BMW 320i as Pyper rocketed past Boardman to take second place. With only three laps to go Boardman was more than happy to accept the third place laurels.
Kaye has extended his championship lead to 145 points, 51 points ahead of Simon. Beacon Motorsport's Spencer Marsh sits in third overall with 85 points, closely followed by Team B&Q Jet York City's Jim Edwards Jnr with 80 points.
Provisional championship points for the Touring Class after 14 of 20 rounds (top six only): Thompson* 146, Muller* 121, Neal* 100, Reid 83, Priaulx 76, Hughes* 64 (*denotes engine change - minus 5 points). Provisional championship points for the Independents' Cup (top three only): Slight 122, Eaves 116, Howell 101
Provisional Sprint Race Results
1 James Thompson GBR Vauxhall Astra Coupe
2 Yvan Muller FRA Vauxhall Astra Coupe
3 Andy Priaulx GBR Honda Civic Type-R
4 Anthony Reid GBR MG ZS
5 David Leslie GBR Proton Impian
6 Alan Morrison GBR Honda Civic Type-R
7 Warren Hughes GBR MG ZS
8 Phil Bennett GBR Proton Impian
9 Colin Turkington GBR MG ZS
10 Gareth Howell GBR MG ZS
11 Paul O'Neill GBR Vauxhall Astra Coupe
12 Aaron Slight NZL Vauxhall Astra Coupe
13 Dan Eaves GR Peugeot 406 Coupe
14 Carl Breeze GBR Peugeot 406 Coupe
15 Gavin Pyper GBR Alfa 156
16 Norman Simon GRB BMW 320i
17 James Kaye GBR Honda Civic Type-R
18 Dave Allan GBR Honda Civic Type-R
19 Tom Boardman GBR BMW 320i
20 Graham Saunders GBR Alfa 156
21 Mark Thomas GBR Honda Accord
22 Spencer Marsh GBR Honda Accord
23 Hyla Breese AUS Honda Accord
24 Jim Edwards Jnr GBR Honda Accord
25 Annie Templeton GBR Peugeot 306
DNF Mark Fullalove GBR Peugeot 306
DNF Matt Neal GBR Vauxhall Astra Coupe
DNF Tim Harvey GBR Peugeot 406 Coupe
DNF Alan Blencowe GBR Alfa 156
DNF Tom Chilton GBR Vauxhall Astra Coupe
Provisional Feature Race Results
1 Yvan Muller FRA Vauxhall Astra Coupe
2 James Thompson GBR Vauxhall Astra Coupe
3 Warren Hughes GBR MG ZS
4 Colin Turkington GBR MG ZS
5 Gareth Howell GBR MG ZS
6 Carl Breeze GBR Peugeot 406 Coupe
7 Dan Eaves GR Peugeot 406 Coupe
8 Tom Chilton GBR Vauxhall Astra Coupe
9 Aaron Slight NZL Vauxhall Astra Coupe
10 Anthony Reid GBR MG ZS
11 James Kaye GBR Honda Civic Type-R
12 Gavin Pyper GBR Alfa 156
13 Tom Boardman GBR BMW 320i
14 Graham Saunders GBR Alfa 156
15 Dave Allan GBR Honda Civic Type-R
16 Paul O'Neill GBR Vauxhall Astra Coupe
17 Mark Thomas GBR Honda Accord
18 Phil Bennett GBR Proton Impian
19 Mark Fullalove GBR Peugeot 306
20 Alan Blencowe GBR Alfa 156
21 Hyla Breese AUS Honda Accord
DNF Andy Priaulx GBR Honda Civic Type-R
DNF Norman Simon GRB BMW 320i
DNF Spencer Marsh GBR Honda Accord
DNF Jim Edwards Jnr GBR Honda Accord
DNF David Leslie GBR Proton Impian
DNF Matt Neal GBR Vauxhall Astra Coupe
DNF Annie Templeton GBR Peugeot 306
DNF Alan Morrison GBR Honda Civic Type-R
Kelvin Fagan, our BTCC photographer, has photographs from every round of the 2002 championship for sale - send us an email for your exact requirements.
2002 BTCC season calendar
30/03 - 01/04 - Brands Hatch GP by KF
20/04 - 21/04 - Oulton Park by KF
05/05 - 06/05 - Thruxton by KF
01/06 - 03/06 - Silverstone by KF
21/06 - 23/06 - Mondello Park by KF
13/07 - 14/07 - Croft by KF
27/07 - 28/07 - Snetterton by KF
10/08 - 11/08 - Knockhill by KF
25/08 - 26/08 - Brands Hatch Indy by KF
20/09 - 22/09 - Donington Park by KF
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