Hampshire will this Easter weekend, 10/11 April stage one of its biggest sporting events of 2004 when the Green Flag MSA British Touring Car Championship rolls into town at the Thruxton circuit for its opening three rounds of the year.
The BTCC arrives at Thruxton in bigger and better shape than before, with a line-up full of star racing names and cars and one of the biggest opening round entries in the last decade. ITV1 will broadcast the BTCC action live on Sunday afternoon, meaning the Thruxton circuit is under a huge national spotlight.
The BTCC action starts at 09.35 on Saturday with free practice followed by the all-important qualifying session that will decide the starting grid order for the first of Sunday’s three big races. Sunday’s BTCC race action starts at 11.00.
Among those expected to be fighting it out for victory at Thruxton - the fastest track on the BTCC calendar - will be household names such as Yvan Muller, Jason Plato, James Thompson, Matt Neal and Anthony Reid. Teams representing Alfa Romeo, Honda, MG, Proton, SEAT and Vauxhall will all be on the grid.
French hero Muller is the current champion and the driver they all want to beat. After being forced to give second best to Vauxhall team-mates Plato and Thompson for two years, he at last captured his first BTCC title in 2003.
After a two-year absence, Plato returns to the BTCC with newcomer SEAT. His fight for the 2001 crown with Muller turned into a bitter rivalry and that is sure to be re-ignited at Thruxton. Neal, meanwhile, has over 200 BTCC race starts to his name. The title still eludes him, but for 2004 he has rejoined his family-run team - to race its Honda Civic - and it was with the squad he performed several giant-killing acts in the 1990s to become known as the ‘People’s Champion’. Neal was also unfortunate not to win a BTCC race at Thruxton last year - he led both races that were held but it was Muller who ran out a double winner.
Reid is also an arch enemy of Muller’s after the pair came close to blows in the paddock at Brands Hatch last August after colliding on the track. Both Reid and WSR team-mate Colin Turkington will be expected to challenge for victory in their MGs.
There is plenty of regional interest in the BTCC, too, chiefly in the name of Hook’s Rob Collard who, with his own team behind him, will be going all out for his first BTCC race win in his Vauxhall Astra. Such a result would not only be a remarkable feat against the might of the manufacturer teams but would also erase the bad memories of 2003 when Collard crashed out at Thruxton at over 100mph.
In addition, Team Sureterm, which runs an Alfa Romeo for Carl Breeze and Vauxhall Astras for Charlie Butler-Henderson and Paul Wallace, is based at the circuit, while Swindon-based Synchro Motorsport will be looking to repeat its victory at Thruxton 12 months ago in the HarrierZeuros Independents Trophy for privateer teams, with James Kaye driving its Honda Civic.
Alan Gow, BTCC Series Director, said: “Thruxton is always the perfect venue to start the championship. The circuit has drama written all over it, with its blend of very high-speed corners and excellent viewing points for spectators.
“The atmosphere at Thruxton never fails to give everyone in the BTCC a big buzz and I know it’s a circuit that the drivers love competing on. I am also very happy it is one of our live ITV1 races as the circuit has been and remains a massive supporter of the BTCC.”
Also on the bill on Thruxton’s BTCC weekend will be an additional eight races from the supporting championships of BMW, Porsche and Renault.
To order tickets to Thruxton’s BTCC race meeting telephone 01264 882200.
