Redstone Racing are all set to take the high road across the border this week as round 7 of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) reaches its most Northerly point at Scotlands picturesque Knockhill circuit this coming weekend 25/26th August.
Despite a short turnaround since the last BTCC round at Snetterton earlier in the month, the Wrotham-based team have managed to squeeze in a quick mid-season test at their local Brands Hatch circuit ahead of the long journey North.
Round 6 of the BTCC marked the start of a new era for the Motorbase-run team with the unveiling of its first ever built in-house car; the new Mountune-powered NGTC Focus ST. A stunning debut performance with Mat Jackson behind the wheel netted the team three top eight finishes, narrowly missing out on a podium finish and wowed spectators and competitors alike. A resilient drive from Aron Smith in each of Sundays races also delivered two top ten finishes and his highest placed finish in the BTCC to date.
Running two models of the Focus ST again this weekend; all eyes may well be on the new NGTC piloted by Mat Jackson to see if he can improve on the new machines debut. Nonetheless, a great deal was learnt about the S2000s capabilities round the twisty and undulating Knockhill circuit last season so Redstone squad are confident of a strong weekend of results for team-mate Aron Smith.
Round 7 of the BTCC featuring races 19, 20 and 21 take place at Knockhill Circuit on Sunday 26th September. Live coverage of Sundays events will be shown on ITV4, itv.com and also in HD from 11.30am6pm; with itv.com featuring live streaming online of Saturdays qualifying session between 3.05 and 3.35pm.
Redstone Racing Team Manager Oly Collins said:
We're all really looking forward to Knockhill. After a great debut for the new car and a great performance from both drivers I think we can really build on last weekend. The S2000 car should be really strong around Knockhill so I'm confident Aron will hit the ground running on Saturday and get some great results. The NGTC car will once again be venturing into a little of the unknown as the circuit is so different from Snetterton.
We've been able to get some limited running between the two events at Brands and we've learnt more about the new car. So we're hoping to put that into practice. Its still very early for us with that car so we are trying to limit expectation but with the guys we have in this team I'm sure we can hope for some good results for both Aron & Mat.
Redstone Racing Driver Mat Jackson said:
"We totally exceeded all expectations at Snetterton. 48 hours before the event we still didn't know if the car would make it but the whole team, and all our great sponsors totally over delivered and it goes to show yet again that we are the most determined and close-knit outfit in the pit lane.
"We can only get more competitive from here - it's a learning process about how the new car works and that began at Brands mid-week. Again the car ran trouble-free and we learnt a lot. Knockhill is a very different kind of circuit to Snetterton so we need to keep our feet on the ground and mustn't get too excited - for example it often rains there and this car hasn't yet run in the wet. But after that comes a month's break and I'm confident that by the time we get to Rockingham in late September we will be very competitive.
Redstone Racing Driver Aron Smith said:
I love everything about Knockhill, it's like no other track in the BTCC calendar and around here you can really test the car. The track itself is unbelievable to drive and I expect the Redstone S2000 car to go very well.
Not a lot of teams go testing up there because of how far away it is so hopefully we'll be able to hit the ground running from what the team learnt last year. Knockhill always provides great racing as its more like rally cross so hopefully we can put on a good show!
Event Information:
Knockhill Circuit length: 1.27 milesLaps: 24Race distance: 30.51 milesKnockhill Racing Circuit LimitedDunfermline, Fife KY12 9TFTicket hotline: 01383 723337knockhill.com
