![]() |
![]() ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
|
British Touring Cars at Brands Hatch, Easter 2001 Story by The AA, pictures by Kelvin Fagan - 23 April 2001. There was plenty of action at Brands Hatch on Easter Bank Holiday Monday as the new look www.theAA.com MSA British Touring Car Championship attracted 18,000 spectators to the opening rounds of the 2001 season. The new regulations provided close, competitive racing, producing numerous overtaking manoeuvres and thrills for the crowds. Jason Plato and James Thompson left the famous Kent circuit sharing the lead in the BTC Touring Championship, with HTML’s Roger Moen heading up the BTC Production category. BTC PRODUCTION CLASS SPRINT RACE HTML secured a one-two victory in an action packed BTC Production Sprint Race which saw the Safety Car out twice. A dramatic start pushed the Tech-speed prepared Peugeot 306 of Paul O’Neill sideways on the exit of Paddock Hill bend. The car rolled in the gravel and saw an early end to the race for the brother of Spice girl Melanie C. JanSpeed’s Gavin Pyper took advantage of the commotion to move into second position. The HTML of 1999 National Saloon Champion Simon Harrison was undoubtedly the pace-setter from pole position and was the man to catch throughout the duration. The safety car was out again on Lap 9 after the Honda Accord of Jim Edwards Jnr made contact with Colin Blair, forcing the Alfa Romeo to roll in the gravel in an almost identical position to O’Neill. Three laps later and the race was on again, but was short lived for James Kaye who was brought in by the scrutineers for safety reasons after a nudge left his exhaust hanging off. Harrison went on to win the first round of the Championship with team-mate Roger Moen finishing two seconds behind. He commented: " It was a close race. It’s clear with this sort of racing that each manufacturer has advantages as well as disadvantages. Today the advantages on our car counteracted the disadvantages but we’re not always going to have it all our own way, that’s for sure. I had a bit of a moment towards the end at Paddock Hill bend – I think my tyres were starting to get a bit out of shape which certainly makes the Feature Race a bit of an unknown entity! I’m delighted with the result and couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season." HTML Team boss Jonathan Heynes added: "It was a great race. We were really happy with the way the cars were running and the drivers did a great job. The Sprint Race distance was the furthest that the cars have ever run so I was really impressed with the reliability. We can’t get complacent and Thruxton is still going to be a big challenge". BTC TOURING CLASS SPRINT RACE Vauxhall’s Yvan Muller and Team Egg’s James Thompson lined up on the front row for the BTC Touring Sprint race with the intention of leading from the off. However, an impressive start from Vauxhall’s Jason Plato saw a three car dash to the first bend, which resulted in Plato clinching Thompson’s second place position – a place that he would hold for the duration of the twelve lap race. Team Egg Sport’s Phil Bennett finished in fourth place, making it a clean sweep for the Vauxhall Astra Coupés. Vauxhall Motorsport Manager Mike Nicholson stated:" I think the new format technically is fantastic. The cars look good, sound good and there was some great racing out there which obviously bodes well for the future. I expect the Peugeot’s to be stronger at Thruxton but we’ve just got to make sure we keep a little bit of an edge on them. I think it’s safe to say that I’m fairly happy with first, second, third and fourth!" Dan Eaves led the way for the Peugeot trio of 406 Coupés ahead of team-mates Matt Neal and Steve Soper. Soper was forced to make a return to the garage after suffering from a suspected loose wheel. He later re-joined the race and finished in seventh place behind Matt Neal. First round teething problems dramatically reduced the grid for the start of the BTC Touring Sprint Race. Technical problems forced the Lexus IS200 of ABG Motorsport to take a spectators role, whilst JSM was only able to run one Alfa Romeo 147. BTCC FEATURE RACE Twenty six cars lined up for the start of the Feature Race with no team knowing exactly how the cars and tyres would perform over the fifty lap distance. The Vauxhall Astra of Phil Bennett from Team Egg Sport made the best start with a lunge from third position on the grid, which saw him get the better of Jason Plato by Paddock Hill bend. Unfortunately for Bennett the Safety Car was put out on Lap Two following a spin by Annie Templeton, which caused the Team Egg driver a loss of momentum. Plato took advantage and reclaimed second position behind team-mate Yvan Muller. Muller led for almost half the race before an electrical problem caused the engine to misfire half way through the Frenchman’s in-lap to his pitstop. Muller lasted a further two laps before retiring and leaving team-mate Plato to spearhead the Vauxhall challenge. A thrilling battle between the Vauxhall of Plato and the identical Astra of Team Egg Sport’s James Thompson became the highlight of the Feature Race, providing the spectators with exhilarating race action. The move of the weekend undoubtedly came when Thompson forced Plato wide round Paddock Hill bend and the two cars ran side by side for an entire Lap. Thompson eventually got the better of Plato and took the lead, which he managed to defend to the chequered flag. He commented: " Today was good fun, I really enjoyed it. Obviously it’s great to have the Production guys out there. There is just so much going on out there in the Feature Race but you’ve got to be committed to take the challenge and be a bit risky. Thruxton could well be a different story but we’ll have to wait and see." Barwell Motorsport’s James Kaye came in first for the Production category, conserving the BF Goodrich tyres well throughout the 50 Lap duration. It was HTML’s Simon Harrison that set the pace for the majority of the race before loosing a wheel coming round Paddock Hill bend on Lap 49. Kaye took the lead and the podium position putting Barwell motorsport ahead in the Production Team Championship. The www.theAA.com MSA British Touring Car Championship heads to Thruxton in three weeks time (6th/7th) May) for Rounds 3 & 4. Kelvin's pictures from this race meeting and from his other assignments may be purchased through The Car Enthusiast. Send us an email to find out more. Relevant links: www.toca-tour.com - the official TOCA Tour site |