With a racing history going back as far as the 1930s, MG has enjoyed a rich motorsport heritage. In 2012, MG joined the British Touring Car Championship and this weekend the team will celebrate its 100th race.
The race will take place on Sunday 7 June at Oulton Park, Cheshire. With the track offering kindness to the team in the past, MG Triple Eight Racing is hoping to celebrate this milestone with one of the team’s drivers on the top step.
Three years ago, MG took the opportunity to promote its new MG6 by launching it into the UK’s premier racing series, the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.
The MG6s were taken under the wing of Triple Eight Race Engineering, the most successful team within BTCC, to be built and race prepared. The first driver to join the MG Triple Eight Racing team was the most successful driver in the history of the series; Jason Plato. He, along with team mate Andy Neate, ensured the first season went with a bang by securing a number of wins and a fifth place finish in the team standings.
In 2013, rookie Sam Tordoff replaced Andy Neate and immediately showed his potential with a podium finish in the first weekend of the season. The team boosted themselves to a second place finish at the end of the season.
Whilst the 2014 season didn’t see a top spot for either drivers in the driver standings, the overall consistency of Plato and Tordoff was rewarded when MG Triple Eight Racing were named the champions in the Manufacturer/Constructor Championship; ending the reign of the Honda Yuasa team.
In 2015 it was decided that, in a bid to bring new energy and momentum to the next season, a fresh line up would give the team what it needed. Team Principal and Triple Eight Managing Director, Ian Harrison, worked hard to get 2013 BTCC champion Andrew Jordan on board. The determination to get this experienced driver paid off and, as expected, Andrew has been a great addition to the team.
MG Triple Eight Racing wanted another young driver to join the revised 2015 team so they could grow with the brand and retain the 2014 title. With a background in the MG Car Club’s MG Trophy racing series, Jack Goff has already earned his place within BTCC by sitting 7th in the overall standings.
We’re keeping our fingers crossed that the team will not only get to celebrate its first podium finish of the season, but this potential win will coincide with the 100th race.
