The Review - BTCC Silverstone 2012

Plato and Jackson share Silverstone spoils as Shedden extends title lead

An e-magazine in association with

TheReview

Plato fires backSilverstone double makes MG man Shedden’s no.1 rival for the 2012 crown

Reaction and reports from the pulsating penultimate round of 2012

PLUS! Full TOCA support round-up

BTCC: Rounds 25, 26 and 27

Snapshot

Photo: SMS Images

Snapshot

Photo: Kingsley Newman Photography

TheReviewIssue 1

6. Reaction: Aron Smith, Rob Austin and Dan Welch reflect on their weekends

10. REPORT: Plato and Jackson share the wins as thetitle race goes down to the wire

16. Matt Neal’s fire in pictures (courtesy of SMS Images)

18. Get your name on the Rob Austin Racing Audi!

20. TOCA REPORT: Simon Paice rounds up the bumpersupport programme from Silverstone

22. Popbang Colour - a look at Ian Cook’s latest masterpiece

26. What are they saying? From Twitter to PRs, we look at the reaction to the action

Photo: Julie Amos Photography

WelcomeFollowing on from the success of last week’s brand-new e-magazine, this is the first issue of TheReview, which will look at the fallout from each race weekend of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

What better weekend to have picked than Silverstone? A dramatic meeting which saw...deep breath...

The Hondas struggle, but wrap up the manufacturer’s crown, Plato haul himself back in to the title fight, Mat Jackson claim Redstone Racing’s maiden NGTC win, Dave Newsham hustle the aged Vauxhall Vectra to two podiums, Aron Smith claim his maiden rostrum, Thorney Motorsport replace their driver overnight, several drivers penalised for misdemeanous, action-packed races and an ever-changing storyline in the fight for both drivers’ titles...

So, sit back and have a read as we recap the weekend’s action, including a round-up of the big TOCA support programme, and get driver reaction from the penultimate round of 2012...oh, and there’s a stunning photo montage of Matt Neal’s dramatic fire in race two, courtesy of SMS Images.

Thanks for reading,

Scott Mitchell.

Contact us:Scott Mitchell (Editor, Designer, Contributor)

@[email protected]

Vince Pettit (Editor, theCheckeredFlag.co.uk)@vincepettit

[email protected]

With thanks to:Kingsley Newman Photography

Julie Amos PhotographySMS ImagesJakob Ebrey

Smith: Podium proves I do deserve to be on the gridAron Smith kept up the fantastic recent form he has shown in his debut season by taking his first BTCC podium in race one at Silverstone.The Redstone Racing driver pushed Dave Newsham for the final podium spot the whole race and when his teammate Mat Jackson agonisingly pulled off while leading, Smith inherited third – a spot on the rostrum he never looked like losing.Despite qualifying seventh

at Silverstone, Smith battled his way to fourth before Jackson’s retirement, and pushed Newsham for second for the remainder of the race. It was a podium the Irishman says was made sweeter with it being earned on merit – and his fourth in race two was equally hard-earned.“For it to all come together and get our first podium of the year was unbelievable,” he reflected. “To have done it from a straight race, not

from a reversed grid, meant even more to me because it’s even more difficult – and kind of reiterated the fact that somebody was wrong to say I didn’t deserve to be on the grid.” “When the weight went on the car for race two we finished fourth, which again is a really good result for me. I was trying my best to get a double podium but it wasn’t to be – but that’s fine, because fourth is still my second-best result of the year. I was just

really happy to at the sharp end again.”After two impressive opening races, Smith concedes that race three “was a bit of a funny one for us”.“Silverstone is notorious for there being a lot of contact,” he added, “because of the nature of the track, and when it goes to race three the likelihood of contact is quadrupled! “I had to take avoidance [when Welch spun early on] and I lost a lot of places but I still had the pace to fight back up to eighth [before contact with Jordan] and finished ninth after Austin was excluded. To have three top tens and a podium was by far the best weekend of my year so I’m delighted.”During race two, while battling for third once again, Smith was passed by Jackson – on a recovery mission

which ended in a remarkable victory - shortly after the safety car period. It was something with the Dubliner was rather expecting, though, and a victory he was delighted to share with the team.“They really unlocked that chassis at the weekend – it’s been good up until this point but they found the extra bit they needed,” he said. “Behind the scenes the team put in an incredible effort to develop the car, because what everyone has seen of it racing – that’s all it’s done, there’s been no testing. “I knew how quick he was going to be – he was 100% going to win race two especially when the safety car, Mat was on a mission, and the team deserved that win – I was chuffed for him because he drove the socks off that car.”

Reaction6 TheReview

Silverstone gave Smith plenty to smile about Photo: Kingsley Newman Photography

“To have three top tens and

a podium was by far the best

weekend of my year, so I’m

delighted.”

Reaction TheReview 7

Rob Austin is determined not to let the disappointing end to the day at Silverstone get him down after luck began to change for his Rob Austin Racing team..Austin was disqualified and had four points put on his license after contact with Dan Welch in the early stages of race three while the pair battled in the top three dropped them both well down the order; and they collided later in the race as well.The Audi driver apologised unreservedly after the race, saying it left him feeling “gutted, embarrassed, and sick with regret”, and that his disqualification was “deserved”.He started the day 17th on the grid after having his fastest lap time deleted in qualifying but hauled his Audi A4 up to fifth at the flag – a position he would earn in race two as well. As much as it hurt Austin – the pair are friends off track – he said there were plenty

of positives to take from a turnaround in fortune for his team.He said: “On the positives, both me and Dan had great pace and were dicing hard for P2 in the BTCC… There can’t be much wrong if we can do that!” There were more set-up problems in qualifying after going for a “radical” approach in free practice, and confusion surrounding his fastest lap time – both Austin and Bratt were demoted for running off-track – “unjustly” took away his qualifying position, but Austin fought back gamely on race day after climbing up to fifth in race one – still with the problematic set-up.He explained: “We tweaked the set up for Race 2 and it worked so we were plenty fast enough to maintain our position and we were in the hunt for a podium at the end but just ran out of laps.“So yes, we were happy but I still believe the potential is there for more! We don’t

test, cant afford it. So we are always on the back foot and by race three we are quick.Austin says since the summer there has been a definite difference in how the team understand the car and how they approach race weekends, and that is reflected in performance.“Since Snetterton we have made huge progress,” he says. “After that meeting I really hit the reset button on the whole thing and now we have a really solid reliable car which is quick everywhere and I think Silverstone went a long way towards proving that. “I’m happy, and the other important thing to remember

is we are just using this as testing for next year! We have long since given up on this season (championship-wise). Sure we still desperately want to get on the top step of that podium but I want a really good run at the championships next year and that’s what we are working towards.”Silverstone saw more fans take advantage of the scheme Austin introduced to help get the team on the grid at Rockingham, the purpose of which has now changed.“Our fans are amazing and their support financially is a big help...but in general how much people wanted to be part of something that we

are all working towards really opened my eyes! “So the objective has changed. It’s still about the budget, and it was the only reason we managed to get to Rockingham at all, but now for me it’s more about giving people the opportunity to be a part of something and being able to offer as many of them as I can the opportunity to win some really special prizes.“I have put more tickets in to the prize fund and decided we will do a day after the season dedicated to passenger rides in the car so our fans will have an opportunity to win a lap on that day as well.”

Austin: Plenty of positives to take


ReactionTheReview8

Welch left to reflect after “bitter-sweet” Silverstone weekendDan Welch may be left ruing another missed opportunity at Silverstone but the Proton pilot had plenty cause for encouragement after his strong but “bitter-sweet” return to the grid.Having missed Rockingham due to budget issue, his family-run Welch Motorsport team was back with the Persona for the penultimate round,

and were immediately ruffling a few feathers when he went fastest in second practice.Despite a gearbox problem in qualifying he was still able to line up sixth on the grid – before bad luck struck on Sunday. Contact with Rob Collard in race one, while battling in the top fix, broke his rear suspension, setting him up for a difficult day.

“It turned out to be a very bitter-sweet thing really,” he said. “We’re very happy with how the car was running, we made quite a lot of major set-up changes and free practice we were kind of a bit surprised at how good our pace was. “We were very happy to be sixth on the grid, and the plan was to stay out of trouble. We were running fifth when we were taken out by Collard – the suspension’s quite weak on the NGTC cars and it broke quite easily. After disaster in race one, Welch had it all stacked against him in race two, starting last-but-one and surrounded by various championship challengers at the rear of the grid.

“For race two we had quite a bit of work to do starting one from the back,” said Welch. “It was quite an interesting race, Matt Neal was next to me, Mat Jackson and Andrew Jordan were there, and it made an exciting race – I’ve never raced so hard for last position.“Matt Neal didn’t want to give up the position, he was racing very hard, but I gave him as good as he gave me. In the end I came through to 8th which wasn’t bad, we’d all love to do what Jackson and Plato did but they were obscenely fast!”After impressing with his fight back through the field his fortunes changed temporarily as the reverse

grid placed him third for race three – though he was swamped at the start by the rear-wheel drive cars of Collard and Rob Austin. Sticking with, he fought back to third, when disaster struck at Cope.“I’d done the hard bit,” he explains. “I’d got back to third and I was quite proud to outbrake Shedden round the outside at Maggots, and set Austin up coming out of Woodcote…and I don’t know what he was thinking. I still don’t! “He’s apologised to me many, many times now and he didn’t think I was alongside, and the side-on contact took us both out. And at that point I was feeling very confident, my car felt so good and my


TheReviewReaction 9

sole intention was to get to the front, catch Foster, and see what happens – but that opportunity was taken away.”Regrouping yet again, Welch fought back through the midfield, re-passed Austin, and was on the fringes of the top ten and chasing down the gaggle of cars fighting over fifth. Unfortunately, the two came together once again, at Luffield this time, before Austin was hit from behind and into Welch a third time, spinning the Proton round.“I was a bit gutted at that point,” he reflects, “as I felt I’d done a really good job coming back through the pack. No move on anybody was easy, and to have it all taken away again…it still felt like we could have come away

with a decentish result. Whether it was a fifth or a sixth, that was still on the cards at that point. “Despite the disappointment, Welch recognises the positives that came with it – namely the fastest time in second practice, the opportunity to race at the front, and the progress made with the car.“The highlight was definitely being quickest in free practice two,” he says. “It was pretty awesome, it was a stepping stone for us and it showed the big teams we’ve got genuine pace. We’ve got to go forward to Brands now with positivity that the car is running well and see what we can do there. “I’ve always known my racecraft is my strongest point – I race hard but I race

fair, and it’s good when you race with the proper guys. I felt maybe Matt Neal was a bit overzealous, but at the end of the day, I’m

there racing with a three-time champion.“It’s nothing new, they nudge you, you give them a nudge back, that’s

part of it. It’s hard but fair, nobody’s going to let you drive past easy.”

“The highlight was definitely being quickest in FP2. That was pretty awesome.”


Plato rips up the script...Jason Plato’s stunning Silverstone double saw him thrust his MG back into championship contention, usurping Matt Neal as the chief rival to Gordon Shedden in the race for the 2013 crown, and setting up a tantalising three-way title fight at Brands.

Words: Scott MitchellPhoto: Kingsley Newman Photography

11TheReview

Despite the statistics, it looked for all the world as though it was a straight fight between the Hondas for the 2012 crown. But somebody at Silverstone forgot to tell Jason Plato. The MG KX Momentum Racing star was in top form to make the most of his title rivals’s woes, as the Yuasa Hondas toiled with boost troubles, success ballast and mechanical problems at one point or another. Plato went into the meeting with nothing to lose, 33 points behind Gordon Shedden, but leaves it with just 15 points separating him and the Scot.As at Rockingham two weeks previous, Plato had taken a comfortable pole position on Saturday, a quarter of a second ahead of Mat Jackson - excelling in the Redstone Racing NGTC Ford

Focus - in a session which saw a second cover most of the top 15.After holding off the early attentions of Rob Collard, leaping both Jackson and Frank Wrathall in the DynjoJet UK Toyota Avensis to take second at the start, Plato had a slight gap at the front before Jackson moved into second.The Motorbase-built Focus was running beautifully around the short Silverstone National circuit and Jackson quickly began to pressure the two-time champion, making his move into Brooklands after pulling alongside down the Wellington Straight.From there, it seemed to be a matter of ticking off the laps before Jackson delivered not only the new car’s first win, but also its first podium.However, with only a handful of laps remaining, Plato streaked past the Focus on the exit of Maggots, and Jackson coasted down the back straight - a throttle

problem cruelly taking the victory away from the team and relegating him to the back of the pack for race two as he pulled off the track.It meant Plato was free to take the win - and more good fortune fell the way of the BRDC Director.With the Hondas stranded in 10th and19th after qualifying, hopes of a big haul for either driver looked slim - and though Shedden hauled his Civic to 7th at the flag, Matt Neal’s race was much more problematic. The three-time champion suffered a day which could all-but-end his title challenge, beginning with a turbo problem which caused his retirement in race one. In fact, Neal would not finish a single race, as a dramatic fire in race two -caused by the same faulty turbo - and contact with Lea Wood in race three ensuring he failed to pick up a single point in the penultimate round.Neal was not the only one on

the wrong end of race one misfortune, and the Yuasa Civics were not the only ones struggling.Andrew Jordan, clear of Collard in the race for the Independents Title, was also well down in the speed traps in the Pirtek Racing Honda, and had anticipated a difficult weekend - but the challenge was made harder when he was turned around by Andy Neate at Maggotts and ended in the gravel. Jordan was left fuming, and was joined in the gravel by Tony Gilham - a last-minute replacement for Chris Stockton in the Thorney Motorsport Vauxhall Insignia - who spun in the same place.Shedden’s progress was unaffected by Copse contact with Howard Fuller, impressing again in the Team-HARD. Civic, while Adam Morgan and Frank Wrathall came together at Brooklands, ruining both their races.Eight drivers in total retired from race one and the

Silverstone

TheReview Silverstone12

drama behind meant Plato was left undisturbed at the front to make the most of his good fortune - and he was not the only one.Joining him on the race one podium was Dave Newsham, who was angry after starting down in fifth following a qualifying miscommunication between the stewards and his ES Racing team, and a delighted Aron Smith, the youngster continuing his fine recent form to claim his debut BTCC podium.However, after Jackson’s retirement while leading allowed Plato a simple path to victory in race one, he was about to find lightning can strike twice, especially in the BTCC.Collard again pressured the MG in the early stages of race two but once again his challenge faded, and Plato continued to move clear of the chasing pack. Further back, two drivers were making significant progress. Dan Welch, who had missed

Rockingham and topped the timesheets in Saturday’s second practice session on his return, had suffered broken suspension following race one contact with Rob Collard while battling in the top five, and was making swift progress through the backmarkers.The second was Jackson, whose Focus - ballast free - was scything his way through the field. Amazingly, he was up to fifth by two-thirds distance, when a safety car emerged so Neal’s dramatic fire, which began at Luffield and continued until he was able to pull off at Copse, could be dealt with (see pictures on pages 16 and 17).At the restart, Plato led Collard, Newsham, Aron Smith and Jackson, and the latter made swift work of his teammate to take fourth, then Newsham to take third.Suddenly, drama, as Plato was coasting out of Luffield. Collard and Jackson burst

through Woodcote almost side-by-side and though the eBay Motors BMW led over the line, Jackson was through into Copse - while the MG pulled to the side on the main straight and was pushed into the garages.That left Jackson in control at the front, a remarkable fight through the field from 17th, and this time there was no repeat of the mechanical gremlins which struck in race one.It was an emotional win for the team, especially its manager David Bartrum, as the first ever in-house car took its maiden victory, ahead of Collard and Newsham.For the reverse grid, Nick Foster made a good start from pole position after the top ten was turned on its hand in the post-race two draw.Behind him, Jordan headed Shedden, again 7th in race two, the fast-starting Rob Austin, who had bagged two impressive fifth-place finishes in the earlier races, and Dan


TheReviewSilverstone 17


The Civics were down on power at Silverstone Photo: Kingsley Newman Photography


Welch, who had started slowly from third on the grid.A gaggle of cars lined up to pass the under-powered Civics and though Austin and Welch were first through, their chase of Foster was short-lived after contact at Copse. Welch, enjoying an increasingly encouraging

day after fighting from the back to eight in race two, was impressing early on and began to pressure the Audi, making his move into turn one before Austin turned in. The pair spun, and dropped well down the field - only to fight their way back inside the top ten and make contact again

at Luffield towards the end of the race. Austin was later disqualified, and apologised unreservedly for “ruining both our races”. Back at the front, Plato and Jackson were making their way through the pack, while Foster continued to lead - doing all he could in the

S2000 BMW.Plato was making the most of his MG’s superior traction out of Luffield to draw alongside cars through Woodcote, where he passed Jackson for sixth, and then the two Hondas and Collard’s BMW. He then put the same move on Foster for the lead, opening up a 2.5 gap before Jackson hustled his Focus into second, despite carrying maximum success ballast. Tom Onslow-Cole had made his way past Jordan and Shedden as well to make a three-car BMW train in the battle for the final podium spot - eventually taken by Collard, to wrap up a very strong weekend for the Independent challenger. Shedden would end his weekend sixth, a decent return considering he had started it 19th, after a qualifying session spent mostly in the pits. It means the Scot has actually extended his championship lead, from three points over his teammate to 15 over Plato, with Neal now 31 points

back after his non-score. Plato was quick to point out throughout race day that the Yuasa “propaganda” about who had the best chassis was false, and that the MG was now the best. Well, there is no better place to find out than the iconic Brands Hatch GP circuit, a tough test of both car performance and reliability. Matt Neal is not out of it, but says he goes to the finale as Shedden’s wingman - a warning to Plato, but one the KX Academy director is unlikely to care much about.Shedden’s title charge was ultimately strengthened at Silverstone, and he should take some confidence in the knowledge that, for the most part, the leading driver heading into the season finale usually ends up champion. But, in keeping with this year’s championship, it would be foolish to call it so early - it remains enitrely undecided. What is certain, though, is Silverstone has set 2012 up for the best possible conclusion.

Plato made stunning progress to win race three Photo: Kingsley Newman Photography

“The title remains undecided, and Silverstone has set 2012 up for the best possible conclusion”


Drivers’ Top 10

1. Gordon SheddenHonda Yuasa Racing 364 points

2. Jason PlatoMG KX Momentum Racing349 points

3. Matt NealHonda Yuasa Racing333 points

4. Andrew JordanPirtek Racing303 points

5. Rob CollardeBay Motors BMW293 points

6. Mat JacksonRedstone Racing 264 points

7. Tom Onslow-ColeeBay Motors BMW255 points

8. Dave NewshamES Racing183 points

=9. Aron Smith/Nick FosterRedstone Racing/eBay Motors BMW158 points

Free Practice 1:Jason Plato, MG KX Momentum Racing MG6, 1m04.819sFree Practice 2:Daniel Welch, Welch Motorsport Proton Persona, 59.165sPole Position:Jason Plato, MG KX Momentum Racing MG6, 58.717s

Race 1 winner: Jason Plato, MG KX Momentum Racing MG6Race 1 fastest lap: Mat Jackson, Redstone Racing Ford Focus, 59.147sRace 1 top ten: Plato, Newsham, Aron Smith, Collard, Austin,

Foster, Shedden, Jeff Smith, Wood, Onslow-ColeRace 2 winner: Jackson, Redstone FordRace 2 Fastest lap: Jackson, Redstone Ford, 59.056sRace 2 top ten: Jackson, Collard, Newsham, A Smith, Austin, Onslow-Cole, Shedden, Welch, Jordan, Foster

Race 3 winner: Plato, Triple Eight MGRace 3 Fastest lap: Plato, Triple Eight MG, 59.225sRace 3 top ten: Plato, Jackson, Collard, Foster, Onslow-Cole, Shedden, Jordan, Morgan, A Smith, J Smith

The numbers:


Officials clamp down on poor driving standards

Several drivers were hit with post-race penalties, endorsements and verbal warnings throughout raceday at Silverstone.Andy Neate, Lea Wood and Rob Austin were all given fines and penalty points on their licenses after contact with Andrew Jordan, Matt Neal and Dan Welch respectively.It added to a number of black-and-white warning flags given to many drivers throughout the weekend for exceeding track limits, particularly at Copse Corner.

Teams’ Top 10

1. Honda Yuasa Racing Team673 points

2. eBay Motors568 points

3. Pirtek Racing451 points

4. Redstone Racing446 points

5. MG KX Momentum Racing412 points

6. Team ES Racing.com221 points

7. Rob Austin Racing147 poitns

8. Dynojet146 points

9. Speedworks Motorsport116 points

10. Binz Racing102 points

Next round: Brands Hatch GP (Kent), October 20/21 SEASON FINALE

Matt Neal’s race two fire, courtesy of SMS Images

Matt pulls off at Copse as the cockpit fills with smoke...

...and grabbed a fire extinguisher to put the fire out with his broken hand...

...before surveying the damage done to his Civic, which made race three!


Snapshot

A4 Chequered Flag Page.pdf


Snapshot

TheReview & ThePreviewThanks for reading the first issue of TheReview, the new British Touring Car

Championship e-magazine in association with theCheckeredFlag.co.uk.

We want to make sure this is a long-term project and continues to improve, so if you have any feedback to give - good or bad - we would be happy to hear from you.

So, whether you’ve got a query, compliment, criticism, or maybe want to get involved with the project, we want to here from you!

You can get in touch with us by contacting the editor of the website, Vince Pettit, at [email protected], or Scott Mitchell, the magazine editor, at

[email protected].

And don’t forget, in the meantime you can keep up with all the latest news, BTCC and otherwise, at theCheckeredFlag.co.uk.

On Twitter? Follow the TCF team:Vince Pettit @vincepettit

Scott Mitchell @scottmitchell89Simon Paice @paicey3991

The Checkered Flag BTCC @tcfbtcc

TOCA round-upPorsche Carrera Cup GB

Meadows, Al Harthy And Birch Take Porsche TitlesMichael Meadows has become the first major champion of 2012 on the BTCC package after securing the Porsche Carrera Cup GB title at SilverstoneWhile a fifth win in a row for Ben Barker in the opener kept his faint title hopes alive, they were ended in race two as a dominant win, his first since Oulton Park in June, sealed Meadows the title. 2011

champion James Sutton, Richard Plant, Jonas Gelzinis and Rory Butcher shared the other podium finishes between them. As well as the main class getting wrapped up, the destiny of the Pro-Am 1 class was also decided, with a pair of class wins securing Ahmad Al Harthy the honours, while in Pro-Am 2, Richard Denny and Will Goff shared the victories. The Silverstone crowd was treated to double Porsche action over the weekend, as the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge GB made a guest

appearance. While Justin Sherwood took the opening race win, second place was enough to confirm James Birch as the 2012 champion, the GT Marques driver sealing it in style with a sixth win of the season in the second encounter.Porsche Carrera Cup GB R1: Barker, R2: MeadowsPro-Am 1 R1: Al Harthy, R2: Al HarthyPro-Am 2 R1: Denny, R2: GoffGT3 Cup Challenge R1: Sherwood, R2: Ginetta Juniors

Watson And Massot Win; Robertson DNF Blows Title Race Wide OpenJust forty points separate Charlie Robertson, Sennan Fielding and Niall Murray at the top of the Ginetta Junior Championship standings heading into the final

weekend of the season after a dramatic penultimate meeting at Silverstone. The opening race saw contact between Fielding and Murray at Brooklands that dropped Murray to sixth at the finish, though he was later promoted a place when Fielding was penalised to sixth for causing the incident. Then in race two, whilst battling at the bottom end of the top six, Robertson received contact from behind from Freddie Lee that sent both off into the gravel trap and out of the race. This meant third for Murray and fourth for Fielding closed up the championship gap – despite Robertson securing second in the opener. Benefiting from the title contenders woes to take the wins were Andrew Watson and Pepe Massot. For Irishman Watson, it was a first ever win in the championship and he

backed it up with second in race two, whilst Massot’s second win of the campaign came after a disappointing eleventh place finish in the opener. R1: Watson, R2: Massot

Ginetta GT Supercup

Silverstone Win Draws Breeze Level With SharpCarl Breeze has joined Tom Sharp at the top of the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup standings for the first time in 2012 after his fifth win of the season at Silverstone.While Breeze took the win in race two to add to second in the opener, Sharp was only able to finish fifth and second, moving the two level on points, though Sharp holds a two point advantage on dropped scores. The victory in the opening race went the way of Andrew

Simon Paice rounds up the action from the Porsche Carrera Cup GB, Ginetta Junior, G50 and G55 races, Renault Clio Cup and Formula Renault BARC championship finale


Photo: Jakob Ebrey Motorsport Photography

Richardson, a long-awaited first win in the series for the 21 year old. Third in both races went to Jake Hill, while fourth and fifth places finishes for Tom Ingram has kept his hopes of completing a Ginetta title hat-trick alive heading into the final rounds. While the main G55 championship is going down

to the wire, the G50 class was finally wrapped up by runaway leader Mark Davies, a win and a second enough to secure him the crown a weekend early, while the success for Richardson and Davies confirmed Richardson Racing as the 2012 Team’s Champions. G50 R1: Richardson, R2: BreezeG55 R1: Davies, R2: Jones

Renault Clio Cup

Cook Takes Stunning Silverstone DoubleJosh Cook produced two sensational drives to walk away from Silverstone with his first two race victories in the AirAsia Renault Clio Cup UK. As Cook twice fended off a train of cars behind to take the wins in a pair of classic Clio races, behind, championship protagonists Jack Goff and Paul Rivett had eventful weekends. The duo came to blows in the opening race, leading to just a seventh place finish for

Rivett and eleventh for Goff. Rivett secured a hard-fought second in race two, with championship leader Goff only fourth, meaning the gap between the two heading into the final rounds is only three points. Following Cook home for his fifth podium of the season was Stefan Hodgetts, with Ant Whorton-Eales completing the rostrum, while James Dixon took third in race two continue his strong run of form in the series. R1: Cook, R2: CookFormula Renault BARC

Morris Takes Double Win As Malvern Secures Title

Single-seaters made an appearance on the BTCC package for the first time this season in the form of the Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship, the series producing a superb 32 car grid for its final rounds. Scott Malvern and Josh Webster headed into the weekend battling for the title and second place for Webster to Malvern’s third in race one closed to gap to just eleven points heading into the final race. Malvern was in control though and a measured drive to second place secured him the title, with Webster’s chances disappearing when he was caught up in contact

b e t w e e n Chris Middlehurst and Macaulay Walsh that dropped him to the tail end of the top twenty. With the focus was on the title battle, Fortec Motorsport’s Seb Morris quietly went about his business and dominated the weekend, taking both pole positions and two dominant race wins to cement third in the championship.Kieran Vernon completed the race two podium in third, while ending their seasons on a high were Michael Epps and Ivan Taranov, each taking a seasons best fourth. R1: Morris, R2: Morris




POP, BANG, COLOUR!TheReviewIan Cook 23

TheReviewIan Cook 23

Ian Cook, of PopBangColour, completed this stunning artwork of Frank Wrathall’s Toyota Avensis, based on a picture by Chris Gurton. Ian’s amazingwork is made entirely from RC cars. Here we have a quick rundown from the man himself about how this sort of thing comes to life...You will have seen him in one guise or another - whether by his name, Ian Cook, or by the explosive art he produces.Popbang Colour was born in 2006 when Ian, bought a radio-controlled car for Christmas, was told not to take it to his painting studio. “Being a bloke”, as he puts it on his website, he did just that. Those of you at Silverstone would have seen his latest ‘masterpiece’ in the making, those who weren’t have likely seen it on Twitter or online somewhere. The stunning recreation of a Chris Gurton-captured image of Frank Wrathall in his DynoJet UK Toyota Avensis, brought to life with toy cars, eptiomises how Ian describes his work - “a friendly explosion of colour”.

A petrolhead at heart, Ian prides himself on making distinctive, individual work - and it shows. Patience is incredibly important when dealing with this sort of process, especially when it is created trackside.“The artwork was created at Silverstone,” he explained. “I feature as part of the entertainment at the circuit.“The artwork took 14 hours to create, over the BTCC weekend at the circuit.”It is certainly vivid - a choice which Ian says was easy to make.“The image of Frank’s car was selected as it’s colourful, distinctive and I wanted to create one of the NGTC cars - the Toyota seemed the natural choice,” he said.“The artwork is solely created using radio

controlled cars, car tyres and toy car wheels - no paintbrushes are used to create the artwork.”It is certainly a unique process - and popular too. As Ian explains:

“It will soon be going to the printers to be scanned, so that reproductions and copies of the artwork can be produced.Photos of its creation can be seen on the @

popbangcolour twitter feed, the Popbang flickr www.flickr.com/popbangcolour as well as on the the popbangcolour.com Facebook page.

Find Ian on Facebook:popbangcolourart

Follow him on Twitter:@popbangcolour

View PBC on Flickr:popbagncolour


See him on Youtube: Popbangcolour


TheReview Driver quotes26

The grapevine...No less than eight drivers retired from race one while several were penalised for their antic - some left Silverstone happy, though. We recap the online reaction.

BTCC Twitter Directory:

“Hoping that 1 of my old team mates @CollardRob @tomonslowcole can clinch the Indy crown.That’l show real class beating the best indy chassis”Andy Neate@andyneate

“Thanks for all the nice comments today,the eBay BMW was flying,good points haul,and it’s still all to play for at brands!!!!”Rob Collard@CollardRob

““We have the best chassis.” Oh know you don’t team Honda, that accolade belongs to 888, goodnite”Jason Plato on Twitter@jasonplato

“Feeling good after a fantastic weekend at Silverstone! Dying to get back into a car #btcc”Howard Fuller@HKFRacing

How to resolve an on-track incident online. Featuring Dan Welch and Rob Austin:

“BTCCDanWelch: Gutted....absolutely gutted!! At least @RobertoAustini apologised!

@RobertoAustini@BTCCDanWelch thankyou for accepting my apology! I feel sick about it.

@BTCCDanWelch:@RobertoAustini Beers on you!

@RobertoAustini:@BTCCDanWelch many beers!

@BTCCDanWelch: @RobertoAustini Good ploy I may forget!”

“Driving north after tough Silverstone weekend. It’s a novelty to be actually overtaking cars !! #pointsmakeprizes”Gordon Shedden@GordonShedden

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@tcfbtcc

“Today our new red devil sprouted some horns. Devastated in Race 1 - but brilliant 1st and 2nd in next 2 races”Mat Jackson@Mat_Jackson

This is the business end of the season - both titles hang in the balance and here is what some of the teams and drivers officially had to say about the racing after the penultimate round. Pictures: Kingsley Newman Photography and Julie Amos Photography

...& the official line

“A slightly disappointed end to a great weekend. Overall it was very confidence building for Dan and the team. We will with absolutely nothing to loose mixing it with the quick guys. “A bit late in the season to

gain the expected form but as we know the BTCC is not easy and we can start to look forward to getting organized for 2013 now that the majority of the technical problems have been ironed out and we can go racing.”

Ollie Jackson/Shaun Hollamby, AmD Essex

Jackson: "It's been a good weekend as whole. Race 1 looked like it was going to be the dream come true. It wasn't to be, and in hindsight getting the first win from P17 was a bigger achievement than taking it from P2 - although we would've liked both! The 45kg of ballast took the edge off the car so to get a second was mega.”Smith: “Definitely the best weekend of my

year. It kind of all clicked into place this weekend and it was an unbelievable feeling to get my first podium.”Griffin: “That was not the return I was hoping for at all, it was hardly the dreamweekend. I’m going home pretty disappointed.

Redstone Racing trio Mat Jackson, Aron Smith and Liam Griffin

Ollie Jackson: In a straight line we struggled this weekend and I was probably losing half a second or so on the straights alone. The

performance has been better than it might appear on the results sheets. I’m hoping for a good end to the year at Brands Hatch.

Shaun Hollamby: “We ended where we had hoped to be starting.However, we have once again found a few little things with the engine

and the set-up that should bring improvements when we get to Brands Hatch.”

"Two wins, so easily could have been three. But an-other great step forwards

to-

day, the car was just mega, especially in race three. My tail is in the air going into Brands Hatch, I'm confident we will have the best car and a just 15 point gap to the top is very do-able. Game on."

Jason Plato, MG KX Momentum

John Welch, Welch Motorsport


TheReview & ThePreview

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Documents

The Review - BTCC Silverstone 2012