[BTCC] Round One, Thruxton 8-9 May, Races 1,2&3

[crmalcolm]

The 2021 KwikFit BTCC season is finally upon us, and when the lights go out at Thruxton the grid will look a bit different to when we last saw the cars racing at Brands. In fact, the grid will look different to Media Day – with the late withdrawal of Crees from BTC Racing.

Entering the series for the first time is Rick Parfitt Jr., whilst returning to the series we have Árón Taylor-Smith, Dan Lloyd and Sam Smelt. Jason Plato is back to continue his attempt at taking 100 BTCC wins, and actually won on his last time in a touring car. But possibly the biggest shock over the winter was the departure of Dan Cammish from Team Dynamics, which means they field to returning drivers - Daniel Rowbottom and triple champion Gordon Shedden.

Nine drivers have moved teams, with the most noticeable being Ingram leaving Speedworks and Jelley returning to WSR. The final seat is still to be confirmed, with news from BTC Racing awaited.

We also have new cars to the grid – Team HARD. Will be running the Cupra León, and the VW CC, Honda FK2, A-Class, Audi S3 and BMW 125 all leaving the grid. Motorbase / MB Motorsport are now entered as a Constructor, with Team Dynamics moving to being an independent entry.

Thruxton is the first meeting on the calendar for 2021, with two visits planned during the season. Restrictions at the circuit mean that only 12 days of motorsport each year are permitted, and BTCC is taking two of them this year.

Being the first meeting, this is the only time that we see all cars running with zero ballast, and so is the clearest indicator of true pace. Thruxton is the fastest circuit on the calendar, with an average speed of 112.32mph set by Dan Cammish in 2020.

A quick glance of the site and this track began life as an airfield, with the circuit following what was essentially the airfield permiter track. The site is also the location of the BARC HQ.

(thruxtonracing.co.uk) Like many race circuits Thruxton was originally a wartime airfield. Commissioned in 1941 the airfield was host to both the RAF and USAF and played a major part in the D-Day landings as a base for troop carrying aircraft and gliders. Declared surplus to requirements in 1946, motorsport started in 1950 with motor bikes on a track comprising both the runways and perimeter roads.

Cars joined the bikes in 1952 for only one year as the deteriorating wartime tarmac was breaking up badly. Amazingly, bikes continued racing until 1965, but by then plans were under way to redevelop the site and motor racing returned on a new track in 1968. The new layout ignored the old runways and followed the lines of the perimeter road with the inclusion of the chicane and further round the track three tight corners in succession: Campbell, Cobb and Segrave, commonly referred to as the Complex.

Even with these tight corners Thruxton is the fastest race circuit in the UK, with Formula Renaults averaging well over 100mph in race conditions. Thruxton soon gained a reputation as a real drivers circuit with its seemingly never ending high speed corners around the back of the track where success required total commitment.

Thruxton's fame grew from the Easter Monday Formula 2 meetings where Formula 1 drivers of the day battled with up and coming talent. Household names like Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart and Jochen Rindt all thrilled the crowds in the early races. Since then Thruxton has seen all our recent Formula 1 drivers race regularly at the track at some time in their career.

In 1993 Damon Hill, Formula 1 World Champion, drove a demonstration run in the Williams FW15C, recording an incredible 57.6 second lap of the 2.4 mile circuit, an average speed of 147.25mph.

It is now the high speed rounds of the British Touring car championship and Superbikes that regularly bring in capacity crowds. If you follow these series you may have seen Thruxton on the television or even lapped the circuit on the Playstation Touring Car game, but as always there is nothing like doing it for real.

Thruxton first appeared as a BTCC [BSCC] circuit for the 1968 season, winners that day were Chris Craft (Class A), Graham Janzen (Class B), Frank Gardner (Class C) and Brian Muir (Class D). Since the cars began to run under NGTC regulations, the track has seen a good return for FWD cars, particularly Hondas. From the 2011 season onwards, there have been 33 winners; of these only 5 wins have been taken by RWD cars, and of these two were in race-3 reverse grids. At the same time, 16 wins have been taken by Hondas, with Shedden picking up six wins followed by Neal (5) and Cook (4). In 2020, Ingram took wins in race 1 and 2. On form, it should be an interesting challenge between Ingram and Shedden for opening-day honours.

Coverage is once again provided by ITV. Qualifying is scheduled to be on the ITV Hub at www.itv.com/btcc from 14:35, with the Sunday coverage starting at 10:50 on ITV4. The full timetable can be found at - https://www.barc.net/wp-content/uplo...ruxton_V2.docx



Early weather forecast shows that Saturday is forecast to be 15deg with a 65% chance of rain, windy with periods of rain.


Sunday 15deg and 60% chance of rain, a passing shower or two.