The clock is ticking! There are now less than two weeks to go until the start of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent on Sunday 1 April.
This will be the country’s first opportunity of 2007 to see the stars of Britain’s most popular four-wheeled motor sport series in action and the event truly marks the beginning of the UK’s major motor sport season.
Big names like Matt Neal, Jason Plato, Colin Turkington, Fabrizio Giovanardi and Tom Chilton will all be hoping to kick-start their championships with a winning start. But this year they face a grid of some 26 drivers in seven different makes of car from Alfa Romeo, BMW, Honda, Lexus, MG, SEAT and Vauxhall – and around Brands Hatch’s short 1.2-mile Indy circuit the racing is sure to be at its panel-scraping best.
With the added attraction of FREE admission for children, race fans from London and across the south of England will be descending on Brands Hatch for what promises to be an unforgettable day’s action. It is one of the region’s biggest attractions on the sporting calendar and easily accessible via the M25 and M20 motorways. Furthermore, all-day adult admission is only £21 if booked in advance and that price includes public access to the Pit Lane for a special autograph session with the star drivers when the teams have plenty of fabulous give-aways.
In total there will be 11 races for the crowds to savour – the opening three rounds of the new BTCC season, plus eight further events from the supporting bill, including: Formula BMWs, Porsche Carreras, Renault Clios, Formula Renaults and SEAT Cupras.
Neal, in his new Team Halfords Honda Civic, is looking to win a third title in a row, although Plato is many people’s tip for glory on 1 April after his SEAT Leon won three times on the Brands Indy track last year. Team RAC driver Turkington will be hoping his Team RAC squad’s BMW can emulate the title-winning form the German make’s cars showed in last year’s World touring car series, but then again it has been Vauxhall driver Giovanardi who has come out on top of the lap times in initial pre-season testing.
Plus, there are a number of up-and-coming stars all eager to get in on the act: Neal’s and Plato’s team-mates Gordon Shedden and Darren Turner are serious title contenders in their second BTCC seasons; aged just 19, reigning Renault Clio champion Tom Onslow-Cole (RAC BMW) and last year’s SEAT Cupra title winner Mat Jackson (Jacksons Msport BMW) are also ones to watch.
There will be plenty for the local crowds to cheer as Wrotham-based team Motorbase Performance fields its potent pair of SEATs for Gareth Howell (Beckenham), a proven race-winner in the BTCC, and Matt Allison.
To book tickets in advance visit the Brands Hatch website www.brandshatch.co.uk or ring the ticket hotline 0870 950 9000.
For all the latest BTCC news and information visit the championship’s official website www.btcc.net.
