The MG KX Momentum team drivers Jason Plato and Sam Tordoff say that this weekends rounds of the 2013 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Knockhill in Scotland are the perfect place to kick-start their push for wins.
Both Plato and Tordoff are fighting in the top six of the championship and the small track in Fife will give them a good platform to hunt for more glory on the three rounds that take place on Sunday.
Plato has already won four times this season while Tordoff took his breakthrough first victory last time out at Snetterton in Norfolk. Plato thinks that the 1.2-mile layout on the Scottish hillside is one that will play to his strengths.
Knockhill is a great circuit because it is undulating and it flows really nicely, says the former champion. There are crests and lots of blind corners. That means you have to attack the circuit while trying to be as precise as possible to be on the right lines. At some of the turns, if you are slightly off-line at the entry, then it is magnified all the way through and you are in real trouble on the exit.
That makes it a compromise because you have to be committed and attack, but you also have to think about leaving a little margin for error. That makes it perfect for me. Those elements, plus the fact that the fans can get so close to the action, makes for a really good atmosphere.
For Tordoff, it will be a return to action since his first winning weekend in the series in Norfolk. Despite that maiden win, the Yorkshire driver says that he is not prepared to rest on his laurels.
It was an amazing feeling, but once you have had one victory, you want more, he says. I am aiming for three really strong races. I have learned in my opening few weekends in the BTCC that it is important to score highly in all races over the weekend. I have had some bad luck recently that has meant I have had at least one race where I have struggled. I need to put that behind me and work on my consistency, so that is the aim this weekend.
The compact nature of the circuit at Knockhill means that surviving all three rounds will be the first priority. MG KX Momentum team principal Ian Harrison said that reaching the flag was the most important thing.
It is a circuit that can be a bit of a lotteryand thats not just because of the Scottish weather, explains Harrison. It is so tight that the field tends to stay closely grouped together and that can lead to contact. Keeping out of trouble is the first job, and then you can think about attacking the race.
It is always hard to know what to expect at Knockhill, but we will go there with our usual attitude of aiming for big points from all three races from both of our drivers.
The seventh meeting of the British Touring Car Championship, which features rounds 19, 20 and 21, will be broadcast live on ITV4 from 11.00am until 6.00pm in Sunday.
