BTCC - Thruxton

[Ian McC]

First free practice is complete

Turner fastest, from Chilton, Giovnardi, Jordan and Plato

[Ian McC]

1st feee practice.

1. Darren Turner SEAT Sport UK SEAT Leon 1min 18.354secs M
2. Tom Chilton VX Racing Vauxhall Vectra 1min 18.469secs M
3. Fabrizio Giovanardi VX Racing Vauxhall Vectra 1min 18.659secs M
4. Mike Jordan Team Eurotech Honda Integra 1min 19.022secs I B
5. Jason Plato SEAT Sport UK SEAT Leon 1min 19.197secs M
6. Gareth Howell Motorbase SEAT Toledo 1min 19.516secs I
7. Gordon Shedden Team Halfords Honda Civic 1min 19.593secs
8. Matt Neal Team Halfords Honda Civic 1min 19.708secs
9. Colin Turkington Team RAC BMW 320si E90 1min 19.815secs I
10. Matt Allison Motorbase SEAT Toledo 1min 19.926secs I

11. Mat Jackson Jackson Motorsport BMW 320si E90 1min 20.319secs I
12. Eoin Murray Quest Racing Alfa Romeo 156 1min 20.731secs I
13. Tom Onslow-Cole Team RAC BMW 320si E90 1min 20.753secs I
14. John George TH Motorsport Honda Integra 1min 21.079secs I B
15. Jason Hughes Kartworld Racing MG ZS 1min 21.459secs I B
16. Fiona Leggate Kartworld Racing MG ZS 1min 21.923secs I B
17. Dave Pinkney Team A-Tech Alfa Romeo 156 1min 22.473secs I
18. Martyn Bell Team AllAboutProperty.com BMW 320i E46 1min 22.855secs I
19. Simon Blanckley Sibsport Honda Integra 1min 22.972secs I B
20. Erkut Kizilirmak Arkas Racing Vauxhall Astra 1min 23.284secs I B
21. Chris Stockton BTC Racing Lexus IS200 1min 23.643secs I
22. Nick Leason BTC Racing Lexus IS200 1min 29.316secs I
23. Rick Kerry AFM Racing BMW 120i TDi 1min 49.496secs I
24. Richard Marsh Team A-Tech Alfa Romeo 156 No Time I

[Ian McC]

Second free practice underway...

It's a bit quiet in here today :uhoh:

[Steelrat]

[quote="Ian McC"]1st feee practice.

>>snip
15. Jason Hughes Kartworld Racing MG ZS 1min 21.459secs I B
16. Fiona Leggate Kartworld Racing MG ZS 1min 21.923secs I B
>> snip

I know it's only free practise but I hope Fiona carries on (if not betters) maintaining the pace with Jason ....

P

[Steelrat]

You're right, Ian, it's quiet, too quiet ......

P

[Seat/Plato Fan]

I'm here!
Just got back from shopping, and i HATE shopping!!
Probably one of a few females that dislike shopping.

[Seat/Plato Fan]

Nice to see Turner top again. Hope he can maintain the speed and get pole today and hope his luck changes tomorrow.

[Allyc85]

Yea I hope Turners luck changes, ive never known someone have so much bad luck in a short about of time!

[bt52b]

Turk needs to do alot better too

[Eunos]

The BMWS don't seem to be as on the Pace as i thought they would be on this Circuit :/

[piggy]

Yea I hope Turners luck changes, ive never known someone have so much bad luck in a short about of time!

You've obviously never seen Paul Radisich race, then. :p Anyway, I hope Turner does well tomorrow. He deserves a win more than anyone else.

[murrayfan]

You've obviously never seen Paul Radisich race, then. :p Anyway, I hope Turner does well tomorrow. He deserves a win more than anyone else.
or patrick watts

[Ian McC]

Qualifying is underway

[Mp3 Astra]

Giovanardi holds an early lead, but the times will probably start coming down soon.

[Pedalpusher]

Afternoon all :D

Looks like Giovanardi is the one to catch in qually so far.

[Steelrat]

Fiona got a prob? Anyone know?

P

[Steelrat]

No matter, she's back out now ....

[Steelrat]

But no Hughes?

[ADnet]

Car 33 (Onslow-Cole) Missed Weighscales...

[Steelrat]

Mike Jordan 3rd at the moment ... Go Mike

[bt52b]

Jordan's flying. Nearly half second quicker than Neal. Bit like SuperAguri faster than HondaF1 ;)

[Pedalpusher]

Jason Hughes isn't out. Has he had problems?

[Allyc85]

Where is the speed trap set to at thruxton?

[ADnet]

Black & Orange Flag - Car 43 (Stockton)

[Allyc85]

hughes is out but only has 1 flying lap!

[ADnet]

Has Hughes Just Popped Out?

Leason - 12 seconds off pace?

Mike Jordan.. keep it up! :D

[Steelrat]

Hughes out now

[Steelrat]

But only a minute left ....

[Mp3 Astra]

Giovanardi has only put in 5 laps but is still fastest!

[Steelrat]

Well, no time from Hughes ... Leason must have had a prob as well ...

But Mike Jordan *3rd* ... Yee, and if you will, ha ....

P

[Pedalpusher]

Well that seemed easy for Giovanardi, he only did 5 laps!

[Allyc85]

hughes up to 22nd. Rick Kerry 8 seconds off the pace :(

[Mp3 Astra]

Surprising how many people are more than a second slower than Gio:
http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/3078/untitledtc6.jpg

[ADnet]

Beaten to it! :D Good qualifying from jordan, P3!
Turkington up to 5th, good stuff
Impressed with Pinkneys pace against Murray's, must be getting closer to sorting the geometry out!

[speedy king]

A real show of how the sleak cars like the Vectra and Leon are so much quicker than the civics etc, wonder how it would be if the Integra was back with TD as shown by Jordan...

[tyreman2]

Where is the speed trap set to at thruxton?
there are 2 speedtraps at Thruxton 1. just before church and 2.start finish line

[tyreman2]

A real show of how the sleak cars like the Vectra and Leon are so much quicker than the civics etc, wonder how it would be if the Integra was back with TD as shown by Jordan...
Mike was quicker than Sheddons pole position Q time from last year fantastic effort good effort from Stockton too

[bt52b]

Impressed with Pinkneys pace against Murray's, must be getting closer to sorting the geometry out!

Pinkney was faster, but +2s slower than pole is not pace :eek:

[nicemms]

Mike Jordan has done really well. Beating the new civics! Hopefully he'll have a good race weekend.

[ADnet]

Pinkney was faster, but +2s slower than pole is not pace

I understand that, i'm just saying they're finally starting to sort the setup out, and are thusly moving up the grid.

I'm looking forward to tomorrows action :D

[lilmelvschilton]

i tell you what the vx team are doing good this year so far and so is matt neal and his team lol :) come on lads

[bt52b]

I understand that, i'm just saying they're finally starting to sort the setup out, and are thusly moving up the grid.

I'm looking forward to tomorrows action :D

Hopefully they can get some good points for a change.

[VkmSpouge]

Thruxton does have a habit of spreading the field out, clearly this year won't buck the trend. I hope Mike Jordan can do a good job tomorrow, he's clearly up to speed and that Integra loves Thruxton.

[Ed]

A real show of how the sleak cars like the Vectra and Leon are so much quicker than the civics etc, wonder how it would be if the Integra was back with TD as shown by Jordan...

Leon a sleek car? thats was plato has been a bit worroed about this weeken and why in the WTCC the Leon has has so many rules relaxed as it is not a sleek car by any means. Shows what a efffort Turner did to put where he did

[Ed]

also does any one know why kerry still aint got a rear wing on the BMW??

[Ian McC]

Shows what a efffort Turner did to put where he did

That will be down to the fact he isn't carrying the extra weight, still, Giovanardi has second place ballast on, wonder if TD are starting to wish they had chosen the Accord instead.

[Ian McC]

The first race is about to start, grrr, reduced to watching it on MST sucks :mad:

[Ian McC]

Doesn't look like Jackson made it off the line.

[ATF]

It was a VX 1-2, but Chilton's dropped to 5th and Jordan got past Turner and is now 2nd! At a guess, I'd say there was an incident between Chilton and Turner - they were running close!

[ATF]

Gio won but somehow Plato got up to 2nd and Jordan finished 10th!! :( Not happy!!!

[Ian McC]

Giovanardi from Plato, Turner, Turkington and Neal.

Interesting to watch the lap times, the Civic was the faster car for most of the second half of the race which suggests it's easy on the tyres. If they could work on the quali pace they may get better results.

[SEATFreak]

Well, second and third for my beloved teams drivers. Can be better but good. How did they do on reflection considering the second and third?

[bt52b]

What happen Jordan? That car is still bloody quick.

[btccmaster]

They say the Seats are slower in a straight line.

Yeah by a whole 1 mph

[MG2004]

What happen Jordan? That car is still bloody quick. jordan had a puncture on the final lap. jackson lost a wheel on the first lap.

[MG2004]

fabrizios engine seized just after the winning flag and has had an engine change for race 2. grid girls are out for race 2 so here we go !

[Ian McC]

Race 2 has just started and Plato has a drive through penalty! Must have jumped the start.

[Ian McC]

:uhoh: safety car is out.

[bt52b]

for what?

[Ian McC]

Not sure, we have lost 7 cars since the start of the race! 4 of them on lap 5

[Ian McC]

Finished, Giovanardi from Neal, Chilton, Jordan, Turkington and Plato.

[ATF]

Jordan did well to get up to 4th - although they'll reverse the grid and he'll be further back again!!

By my reckoning, Gio is 1 point behind Plato now, unless JP led the race at any stage?

[Ian McC]

He did on the first lap though I assume it was through a jumpstart, I would guess that doesn't count.

[bt52b]

Was there a four car shunt on lap 10?

[bt52b]

wtcc live on fiawtcc now

[BeansBeansBeans]

He did on the first lap though I assume it was through a jumpstart, I would guess that doesn't count.

He was given a drive-through because one of his mechanics was still on the grid when he shouldn't have been. Had a bit of trouble firing the car up.

Yes, I've just sold my soul to Setanta.

[ATF]

Who's on pole for race 3?

[Seat/Plato Fan]

Top ten reversed - Pinkney on pole

[bt52b]

Pinkney, Hughes, Shed, TOC

[Seat/Plato Fan]

Brilliant drive from Plato to finish 6th. Turner in the wars again - doesn't look good for race 3.

[ATF]

No, he's not having a good season - surely now he will have to play 2nd fiddle to JP?! :(

I reckon JP will win race 3 but why are the BMWs not running away with it like everyone thought?

[Seat/Plato Fan]

I think its too early in season to play 2nd fiddle, Turner will still want to race to win, but you never know may 'accidently' run wide at some stage later in season.
Here's hoping JP gets the win after 2 great races.

[Pedalpusher]

Yes, I've just sold my soul to Setanta.


Me too! :eek:

[bt52b]

No, he's not having a good season - surely now he will have to play 2nd fiddle to JP?! :(

I reckon JP will win race 3 but why are the BMWs not running away with it like everyone thought?

Partly due to the weight of the seq'l-box. Think Matt's car is 30kg lighter and WSR were looking for a 20kg rule break. Anyone know the weight bridge weights?

[MG2004]

safety car in race 2 was because turner took allison off at the chicane and they both hit the barriers very hard. at one point it looked like mats car was going to land on top of darrens - big off! shame as mat was running very strongly at the time. darrens car was wrecked!!

[Pedalpusher]

Race 3 about to start.
Fiona Leggate out on the warm up lap :( , she's not having much luck so far this season.

[bt52b]

Murray DNS?

[lilmelvschilton]

well that was three very interesting races

hope the porche driver is ok after that terrifying incident

[bt52b]

well that was three very interesting races

hope the porche driver is ok after that terrifying incident
Left the circuit :confused:

[lilmelvschilton]

oh no not good

[Scuderia ferrari]

3 excellent races, the second race with alison and turner looked nasty as did that porsche super cup crash.

The championship is so exciting this year, can't wait for the next round.

[lilmelvschilton]

same here

[nicemms]

I enjoyed all of the races.

Was impressed by Jordan again, keeping a good race to take him to the podium on race 3.

[Ed]

not a goog day if you were a BMW driver. Apparantly the lack of performance was down to the harder tire which upset the balance of the car

[mikecapener]

A manic Clio race today!! :eek:

Who the heck gave Richard Marsh the keys to that Alfa? lol I haven't seen anything like it since Simoni in 94/95!

[Ed]

I know not only is he slow, he keeps hitting things!

[Steelrat]

Having just got back from Thruxton, a couple of thoughts ...

Good things:

Parking arrangements. Pretty well organised, methinks. And by not having the final BTCC race on last helped to reduce the mad rush ...Lord Mike of Jordan. I dithered at the beginning of the season on who (whom?) I was going to support. Rockingham made me mind up. Thruxton confirmed it. I bow to thee, Lord Mike. Fiona finishing races. Yay!. Murray walking and talking.

Bad things:

It's owned by the British Automobile Racing Club yet they haven't placed view screens anywhere. When you're only allowed to view from 3/8ths of the circuit it really is a no-brainer that this sort of facility should be supplied (I know people will say "why because it's owned by the British Automobile Racing Club?". No reason, but if they have a posh name, make a bl**dy effort). The toilets. Look, your website looks like it was designed in the 1930's but there's no need to fob us off with old school lavs. No hot water, no hand dryers, no paper towels after midday. Awful. And worst of all. Mike Jordan's puncture ... No fair.

Not specifically Thruxton bad things:

Those wretched air horns .............

That's it ....

<grumpy old man mode:> Off

P

[Steelrat]

Oh ... One more good things at Thruxton ...

Damn good job, marshals ....

P

[BDunnell]

Races looked good on the TV. I thought Jordan, by rights, ought to have won all three races! He had a fantastic meeting.

I know it's early days, but is anyone elsewondering whether we'll see a BMW win this year? Further to that, I think it's abundantly clear that none of the Alfas will get a victory in 2007, reverse grid or no.

[SEATFreak]

Great races with plenty of surpises and class performances, namely that of Fab, but for the second meeting I notice their is a whole load of absences throughout. I don't like it when so many drivers fail to make it out. I like to see everyone out racing.

From what I make out of BTC Racing messers Stockon and Leason DNF Race 1 but whereas both missed out on Race 2 atleast Chris got out for Race 3 (only to get a DNF). What happened to the two in Race 2 and Nick for Race 3?

John George and Eoin Murray were absentees when they missed Race 2 and 3 respectively.

I do notice though the races the above drivers miss do all follow DNF's so perhaps the teams couldn't fix problems in time?

But I notice Adam Jones and Jim Pocklington didn't show all day. What happened to them for Thruxton?

[Steelrat]

...... But I notice Adam Jones and Jim Pocklington didn't show all day. What happened to them for Thruxton?

For Pocklington, read BTCC.net

http://tinyurl.com/yoq7p9

P

[Ian McC]

But I notice Adam Jones and Jim Pocklington didn't show all day. What happened to them for Thruxton?


Have we seen the last of Adam Jones? Unless he gets more funds?

[tyreman2]

Great races with plenty of surpises and class performances, namely that of Fab, but for the second meeting I notice their is a whole load of absences throughout. I don't like it when so many drivers fail to make it out. I like to see everyone out racing.

From what I make out of BTC Racing messers Stockon and Leason DNF Race 1 but whereas both missed out on Race 2 atleast Chris got out for Race 3 (only to get a DNF). What happened to the two in Race 2 and Nick for Race 3?

John George and Eoin Murray were absentees when they missed Race 2 and 3 respectively.

I do notice though the races the above drivers miss do all follow DNF's so perhaps the teams couldn't fix problems in time?

But I notice Adam Jones and Jim Pocklington didn't show all day. What happened to them for Thruxton?

Nick had terminal engine problem in 1st race
Eoin started race 2 but also had engine expire after overheating in race1 (and he had lent his spare to Marsh)
Adam was never going to do Thruxton nor Croft

[tyreman2]

Have we seen the last of Adam Jones? Unless he gets more funds?

No you havn't
He is missing yesterdays race and Croft because of GR Asia WTCC commitments
He will be at Oulton with a new engine and a spare
although funds are still tight,the early season performances have made a difference to the funding and the team are fairly confident of doing the rest of the season

[Ian McC]

No you havn't
He is missing yesterdays race and Croft because of GR Asia WTCC commitments
He will be at Oulton with a new engine and a spare
although funds are still tight,the early season performances have made a difference to the funding and the team are fairly confident of doing the rest of the season


That's good news! Thanks :)

[lilmelvschilton]

what happened in the seat cupra championship?

[NoahsGirl]

Based on what i saw on the highlights, i wish race three had gone on longer - it would have been a nail biting ending to race 3!!

Great wins again from Fabrizio and VXR - the horrors of a dodgy car and post Muller divorce of last season are long gone!

It's nice to see the main protagonists not verbally going at each other - full respect all round.

[mattie007]

First visit to Thruxton and it was great. I really love how close you can get without huge metal barriers ruining your photos!
Great racing all round, impressed with Hughes performances. Finished 12th from 22nd in Race 1, then 2x 9th places shows he and the car still have some potential to get good top 10 finishes. Looking forward to visiting again later in the year. Only took 15 minutes to get out!

I still stick by my prediction of Gio winning the title.

And as for that Porsche crash, bloody hell. Ive never seen anything like it. Can't believe that knowone was injured. Look how close the 2 people are on the path....

http://i16.tinypic.com/4rc75t4.jpg

[reidy_fan]

what happened in the seat cupra championship?

good day at the office for Jonathan Adam with 2 wins, rest can be seen at http://www.seatsportuk.co.uk/sport/ dont really care who was behind him
:champion: long way to go still :eek:

[MG2004]

Blimey that Porsche crash looks nasty.

Big respect for the photos - I would have been running away, certainly by photo 11, probably a whole lot sooner!

As for the two people on the path they were very lucky indeed. I walked up that path on the Saturday and I have to say there is not a lot of width there to try to get out of the way so you'd just have to run up the path and hope you were running faster than the porsche, or any of the bits which are flying off it.

I guess they were watching thinking the fence would stop the Porsche, then were surprised when it bounced over.

I assume Kelvin is ok? He must have been pretty shaken up by that.

[Ed]

Yea Kelvin is fine just a tad shaken. When ever he crashed he always seem to do it in style, 96 + 97 at Outlon Park spring to mind

[Allyc85]

What a great days racing, I watched the races from the startline, exit of the complex and the 1st turn and they were very entertaining! What was richard marsh doing in race 2 tough, he looked miles back!

Also got to say it was great to have a short chat with Martyn Bell, Rick Kerry and John George. The grin on Georges face when I asked him how the new car, compared to the old one, was priceless! Mat Neal as usual looked like he didnt give a f*** about being there, hes really starting to bug me now.

[Allyc85]

oh yea and Mat Jacksons grid girl was stunning in love lol :D

[thompp]

I left the somewhat undercrowded FIA/GT at Silverstone early to get back for the TV coverage at Thruxton. Mike Jordan had an incredible first race and I was devastated when he suffered that last-lap puncture.

At this point in the season it appears to be panning out as a Plato v Giovanardi competition, and the BTCC is restored to being manufacturer team dominated once again - well, nearly. I think the other two "semi-independent" teams Halfords and RAC are underperforming at the moment, although some of the independents are coming on strong - esp. Messrs Jordan and Jackson.

[Brown, Jon Brow]

I missed the first race :(

I was dissapointed with the pace of the BMW's, I thought that they would be good on high speed tracks. Also more bad look for Murray :bigcry:

Seems like the A-tech Alfa's are coming up strong, in race 3 Pinkney's fastest lap was on a few tenths slower than Plato's, if it wasn't for tyre wear he should have got a top 6 finish.

[VkmSpouge]

I hope A-Tech get the tyre wear issues sorted out because up to the point when the tyres started to go off, Pinkney had been doing very well.

[nik]

Well Pinkney is doing a good job with it. Two top 10 finishes, where as Richard Marsh hasn't even scored a point in the indies championship!

Fair play to Rick Kerry, Simon Blanckley etc, who are not as experianced at BTCC but doing better!

[Allyc85]

Pinkney did a great job with the car even though I thought it looked very twitchy through the 1st bend, even on new tyres.