Subaru takes it's maiden BTCC win with three 3rd's 1 2nd and 1 win makes it the best subaru weekend so far.

Sam Tordoff and Matt Neal hit the top with a win apiece at Oulton Park

Colin Turkington scored Subaru’s first ever Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship victory, while wins for Sam Tordoff and Matt Neal pushed them to the standings summit at Oulton Park.

Having secured pole position on Saturday afternoon, double BTCC champion Turkington produced a lights-to-flag performance in Sunday’s opener.

The Ulsterman made a strong getaway and was able to resist the attentions from Tordoff’s Team JCT600 with GardX BMW in the early running, before gradually stretching his lead in the latter stages.

It’s an historic result for the Japanese marque, which had so far endured a baptism of fire on its introduction to Britain’s biggest motor sport series.

Challenging weekends at Brands Hatch and Donington Park were followed by the difficult decision to withdraw from the race day at Thruxton last time out, amid safety concerns with its fuel system.

New components, engine modifications and a two-day pre-event test seemingly had the desired effect on the all-new Levorg model, as Turkington’s success was bolstered by a hat-trick of podiums for team-mate Jason Plato.

The Surbaru man finished third in Cheshire’s curtain-raiser as the two Subarus sandwiched Tordoff’s West Surrey Racing BMW 125i M Sport for the podium positions.

Tordoff then ignited his championship charge with his first victory of the season in race two – incredibly becoming the ninth different driver to win a race so far in 2016.

The BMW blasted off the line, past pole-sitter Turkington, and never looked back. The unpredictability of this BTCC campaign continued as the Yorkshireman romped home to add his name to an ever-growing list of race-winning drivers.

Turkington and Plato finished second and third to make it a brace of double podiums for Subaru in the first two bouts. Halfords Yuasa Racing’s Gordon Shedden and Speedworks Motorsport’s Tom Ingram finished fourth and fifth respectively.

The result also fired Tordoff to the top of the standings, despite being only sixth in the table at the start of Oulton Park’s proceedings.

Tordoff and Neal then pulled further clear in the championship table after securing the first two podium positions in the final race of the day, with the latter taking a quite dominant victory.

Honda originally looked in place to notch a one-two finish after Shedden muscled his way past MG Racing RCIB Insurance’s Josh Cook on the opening lap. The two bright orange Civic Type Rs immediately pulled away from the rest of the field, but reigning champ Shedden was never close enough to challenge his team-mate. Disaster struck for the Scotsman on the penultimate lap when a puncture, after apparently hitting a kerb, forced him out of contention.

Cook – already reeling from the earlier attack by Shedden – was now embroiled in a fairly heated debate with Tom Ingram’s Toyota, as the pair tapped and nudged their way through the entire contest. The battle would eventually play into the hands of the experienced Plato, who snatched the final spot on the rostrum in dramatic fashion.

Ingram was edged onto the grass as the gaggle of cars ran down to Lodge for the final time. The Speedworks star was determined not to let Cook past, but in holding up his rival he merely opened the door for the Silverline Subaru BMR Racing car to run around the outside and steal the advantage.

Despite being shuffled slightly down the order, young gun Ingram still went on to take his third Independents’ victory of the day – matching his best ever weekend points haul in the process.

Tordoff tops Neal by just one point in the overall championship, with both drivers now pulling clear of the chasing pack headed by Shedden and Rob Collard.

Collard made his final move of the weekend on the run to the chequered flag, rounding off a staggering display from the Team JCT600 with GardX driver. The seasoned racer had seemingly carved his way through the field in each of the Oulton Park races, but misfortune had up to that point prevented him from scoring a real result. He would not be denied in race three, however, as he stormed from 25th to sixth – beating Turkington’s Subaru to the line by just 0.041s.

West Surrey Racing leads the Manufacturers’/Constructors’ points tally, whilst Team JCT600 with GardX top the HiQ Teams’ table.

Despite a relatively low key weekend for Motorbase Performance it still left the Cheshire track in command of the Independent Teams’ title, and its talent Andrew Jordan heads the Independent Drivers’ standings.

MG Racing RCIB Insurance driver Ashley Sutton maintained his advantage in the Jack Sears Trophy.

The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship now moves on to Croft in Yorkshire in two weeks time (18/19 June).

Colin Turkington said: “I’m delighted for the team. This result is good for me, but it’s even better for all the guys who have put in so much hard work and until now got nothing back. To give them a victory and double podium is a great reward. The performance of the car has really progressed since the first three weekends; we’ve found the Subaru Levorg’s sweet spot and the whole package is really moving forward. I really enjoyed the race and felt comfortable in the lead and in the groove. We didn’t suffer from much tyre degradation, which allowed me to just do my thing.”

Sam Tordoff said: “It’s been an amazing weekend. To be honest, I’m a bit lost for words with how well it’s gone. We came here targeting a big points haul to move up the standings, but never in my wildest dreams did I think we would do as well as we have done. Being so hard to overtake at Oulton, qualifying was the key to our weekend – starting third on the grid for race one made our life a lot easier. The car was quick both with and without ballast on-board and to come away with a victory and two second places is just phenomenal. To be going to my home circuit of Croft – a track where the BMW has always excelled – as championship leader is fantastic.”

Matt Neal said: “It seems to be becoming a bit of a trend at the moment that we run under the radar in races one and two with the weight on-board and then win in race three! The ballast certainly hurt us in qualifying and race one, and race two got pretty fraught at times with some really robust driving – we really had to battle for every inch of track space! It was nice to have a more straightforward race three after that, although it was obviously a shame about Gordon’s puncture because it would have been great to take a one-two finish for the team. I was dead chuffed to get the win – I really don’t think I’ll ever get tired of that feeling!”

Jason Plato said: “I knew we were back in the game and that’s what makes me tick! We’re still not 100 per cent and still have a few tweaks to make, but the basics of the car are strong. It’s a fantastic achievement for the whole team and I’m absolutely chuffed for Colin and everybody involved. This project has been five years in the making and it’s been an epic journey. We’ve got something really special here – BMR isn’t a big team, but everybody has done a fantastic job and what they’ve achieved is the most beautiful piece of engineering I’ve ever seen in a touring car.”

Tom Ingram said: “I’m really chuffed – I think we did a cracking job. We were always going to struggle a bit against the rear wheel-drive boys here and the pace wasn’t necessarily there for the rostrum in today’s hotter conditions, but to be one of the quickest front-wheel drive cars was really satisfying. I fought as hard as I could in race three and it would have been nice to come away with an outright podium, but I was more than happy with three top five finishes – it’s the kind of performance we’ve been targeting all season. We ran up at the sharp end all weekend and achieved three really strong results entirely on merit.”

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Oulton Park

Race 1

1 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing 21m56.702s
2 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +2.424s
3 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +9.954s
4 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +3.429s
5 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +16.249s
6 Dan LLOYD (GBR) Eurotech Racing +16.388s
7 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +19.119s
8 Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR +19.312s
9 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +20.395s
10 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +20.819s

Race 2

1 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX 24m15.404s
2 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +1.638s
3 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +2.309s
4 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +5.544s
5 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +6.217s
6 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +12.302s
7 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +12.552s
8 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +13.207s
9 Jack GOFF (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club +13.848s
10 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +13.989s

Race 3

1 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing 22m18.716s
2 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +9.481s
3 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +11.662s
4 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +11.760s
5 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +11.827s
6 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +12.015s
7 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +12.056s
8 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +12.299s
9 Jake HILL (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +12.494s
10 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +12.936s

MG Names their two drivers for the 2016 BTCC season, Josh Cook and Ashley Sutton, who ? read on...

The cars are on the grid and engines are revving in anticipation for the moment the lights change. When the green light appears, the adrenaline-rush ramps up to the next level as the drivers in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship speed off to battle it out for that race win.

Next week, the BTCC season gets underway at the annual series media day. With new drivers in the MG Triple Eight team, MG decided to have a chat to them both about their hunger to win, pre-race rituals and what is already a budding ‘bromance’.

BTCC newcomer and Clio Cup Champion, Ashley Sutton, has a real go-getting attitude. Everything he puts his mind to is done with 110% and a goal is always in place. “I aim high, sometimes higher than I think is possible, so that I push myself and know that I’m doing the best I can do.

“When I started racing in the Clio Cup it was my main aim to win the graduate programme. Once I’d done this, my next goal was to push for the whole championship. It was incredible to have achieved all of that in one year and I’m hoping to do the same in the BTCC. Josh Cook, my new team mate, won the Jack Sears Trophy and I’m aiming to win that in my first season too. It only seems right for it be passed onto a team mate! I’m also hoping to push myself up the overall championship, score some good points and get a podium spot too.”

Last season’s rookie winner, Josh Cook, is raring to go and get stuck into racing after what he describes as a long winter. “I can’t wait to build on what I started last year and work with my new team to see what we can achieve this time around. 

I felt like I learnt a lot in my first season, and securing a podium place was great. I’m definitely hoping for more of those. It’s all about hard work now though; I only celebrated briefly, when I found out I’d be joining the MG Triple Eight team, before I got straight back into race mode. You certainly don’t want to be out on the track just to make the numbers up.”

Both Josh and Ashley are honoured to be racing for a team like MG. Josh said: “To be associated with a brand like MG, particularly when it has such heritage, is a real honour. We’re both really looking forward to being part of this great team, especially when it comes with a large amount of support from MG enthusiasts.”

With only a few weeks until the first round, at Ashley’s home circuit Brands Hatch, the anticipation will continue to build as the duo prepare themselves.

Ashley enjoys getting outside to clear his mind ahead of a race weekend. “I try and have a day off so I can chill out, let my brain relax and get it into another mode. I think carefully about my strategy and plan the track as much as I can. There’s definitely more to it than just getting in the car and pushing a few pedals!”

Josh agrees: “There’s always a lot going on at a touring car weekend, it’s just as busy off the track as it is on. It can be a difficult task to separate yourself from all that and it was something that took me some time to do. I always make sure that I take myself away for 20 minutes before the race starts to sit down with my engineer and recap our strategy. It also allows me to have some head space and get in the zone.”

It’s not all about strategy though. The lads both have rituals they like to carry out before a race. “I have to get into my car in a particular way”, adds Josh. “Some drivers put their helmet on then get in the car. I like to mix things up a bit by getting in the car, then putting my helmet on. I also like to do my belt up myself, rather than have one of the team do it. Don’t ask me why, it’s just what I’ve always done!”

Ashley opts for more of a good luck charm. “Roadrunner. Yeah, he’s my lucky charm. Every time he’s been on, or in, my car, I’ve won the championship so he’ll definitely be coming with me for the ride!”

With both drivers coming from a karting background and being young champions from the Clio Cup series, they’re already getting on well. “I’m really looking forward to working with Josh”, says Ashley. “We’ve got great chemistry already and there’s definitely a bit of a bromance going on!”

But it’s also a competition and as both Ashley and Josh sit waiting for those lights to change and their blood is pumping, eager to collect some good points, it’s every man for himself.

Rockingham sees some brilliant racing with new winners, and a fight at the top of the table for supremacy.

Wins for two title contenders and Mat Jackson on brilliant day of BTCC racing at Rockingham

Honda Yuasa Racing’s Gordon Shedden moved back to the top of the 2015 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship after scoring an impressive win and a further podium at Rockingham.

Mat Jackson triumphed in the opening race before Shedden’s success, whilst Jason Plato responded in style with his own fantastic victory in a memorable finale.

After taking his first BTCC pole position in six years and Motorbase Performance’s first-ever qualifying top spot on Saturday, Jackson duly added a race win to his weekend’s impressive tally.

Jackson’s Ford Focus shot off the line and never looked back in Sunday’s opener, as a number of title protagonists endured mixed results.

An incident also involving Tom Ingram and Josh Cook forced Team BMR RCIB Insurance driver Plato out of contention before the end of the first tour, as three into one simply wouldn’t go on the exit of Yentwood.

Shedden went on to take the best result of the main championship challengers, despite serving a four-place grid penalty due to a procedural infringement during qualifying, A blistering start in his Honda Civic Type R left him third by the end of lap two, and the Scotsman went one better with a clean move by Aron Smith’s VW shortly after.

With the podium positions complete, misfortune struck another title contender as Matt Neal’s Honda Civic Type R suffered from a puncture on the last lap. The experienced racer did well to hang on, but he couldn’t avoid losing places to eventually finish eighth.

Shedden put his rivals further in the shade with a dominant lights-to-flag victory in race two.

Having made a textbook getaway, the 2012 champion was more than three seconds up the road before any challengers even came close to matching his lap times. By that point the damage was already done and Shedden streaked away to his fourth victory of the season.

It was to be a role reversal between Shedden and Jackson in race two, as the latter followed up his earlier victory with an impressive second place.

The fight for third was far from routine as front row starter Adam Morgan fell back into the clutches of a rampant Josh Cook. The Power Maxed Racing driver started the race from 14^th on the grid but he would eventually find himself hounding Morgan after a number of impressive moves.

The Chevrolet closed down the Mercedes at an impressive rate and launched its assault on the penultimate lap. Morgan defended well at Tarzan but when Cook tried again at the same place on the final tour, he managed to scythe his Cruze down the inside of the WIX Racing A-Class before blasting across the line to the rapturous delight of his squad.

Plato then grabbed the 93^rdvictory of his career after eventually getting the better of a brilliant effort from Ingram, in what was a classic BTCC bout in the final race of the day.

Pole-sitter Ingram made a stellar getaway in his Toyota Avensis and produced a faultless opening to the race, as Plato was busy hauling his VW CC into second.

Team BMR RCIB Insurance driver Plato hounded Ingram throughout and crept alongside the Speedworks Motorsport car on lap four, but he couldn’t complete the move as they surged towards Yentwood.

Plato was immediately on Ingram’s tail following a brief safety car period, and he attempted the same move into Deene soon after. His young challenger again held on but even greater drama was to follow on lap 12. It was third time lucky for Plato as yet another similar attempt finally succeeded, but Ingram’s Toyota refused to go away. 

Despite the potential risk of losing his first ever BTCC podium, Ingram flung his car inside of Plato’s through Gracelands in what was a quite remarkable move at high speed. The packed main grandstand rose on its collective feet with cheers being heard across the circuit.

It was clear, however, that Plato’s stealth-like VW was showing more speed late on and when the double champion repeated his trick at Deene on lap 14 there would be no comeback. Plato edged ahead and then immediately bulked Ingram up behind on the exit of Yentwood, which was enough for the championship challenger to break the tow and move clear.

Ingram fended off Turkington for second, despite another safety car period, while Neal’s Honda took fourth.

The title picture is tighter than ever with Shedden leading Plato by just six points. Neal and Turkington are also separated by six points while MG Triple Eight Racing’s Andrew Jordan remains in contention back in fifth.

Honda has extended its advantage at the top of the Manufacturers’ standings, whilst Team BMR RCIB Insurance maintained its position at the head of the Teams’ and Independent Teams’ tables. Turkington is the leading Independents’ driver, whilst Cook has moved into an unassailable lead in the Jack Sears Trophy.

Mat Jackson said: “To get pole position was great but to top it off with a win is amazing. We only just made it after a front-right puncture, but the team has given me a great car and it’s fantastic. 

Then to get second with 75kgs of success ballast on-board was another top result. The car stood up to it and we were reasonably close to Gordon [Shedden]. We came here to get podiums and wins and that’s what we’ve done. It has been a brilliant job by the team and we’re learning all the time.”

Gordon Shedden said: “Today just goes to show how close it is out there and how quickly everything can change. It’s been a brilliant day though – the Civic Type R has been fantastic around here but coming into today we weren’t sure how well we’d go. 

It could come down to just one or two points at the end of the season so I’ll take every one I can get at this stage. I’m sure it’s going to be tough for us at Silverstone but we’ve got to keep grinding out the results and getting the points – we’ve got to stay in the hunt as our car will be very quick at Brands Hatch.”

Jason Plato said: “It was a brilliant race to end the day – I loved every minute of the battle with Tom [Ingram]. That will go down as one of the best battles of the season – it was good, clean and really exciting. I know how talented Tom is having mentored him in the KX Akademy over the last few years and it’s great to see him get a result like this. 

After the bad luck we’ve had today we needed to get a result – and now we’re back in the game. It’s been a really important weekend for us and we’ve shown our true spirit – six points to the championship lead is nothing. This one is for Justin Wilson.”

Aron Smith said: “It was a good race. After Knockhill it was important to bounce back and I’m delighted to be back on the podium. The VW came into its own and has been on song right from the go this weekend. We should be competitive at Silverstone too so we’re looking forward to the next one.”

Josh Cook said: “The Power Maxed Racing car has performed really well all weekend – we reaped the rewards of testing here and the team really deserves this for all their efforts. It’s a really special feeling to get the first podium, even more so because it came in race two and completely on outright pace and not because of a reversed grid. Adam [Morgan] defended really well but to get the position on the last corner of the last lap is fantastic.”

Tom Ingram said: “I was crying all the way around my in lap! I’m absolutely speechless, I’m such a small cog in a very big machine – I’ve got to thank everybody who’s involved from my girlfriend, my family, the team and all my sponsors. I can’t begin to describe how much it means to all of us and how over the moon we are. I tried all I could to hold onto the win, when I managed to get back alongside Jason I couldn’t believe what I was doing! It was the best race of my career without a doubt, this is what it’s all about.”

Colin Turkington said: “The guys ahead had more pace in race three so I had to manage the gap – I knew if I tried to make a move I wouldn’t have been able to pull away and it was too much of a risk. It was very entertaining to watch the battle ahead but it’s been a difficult weekend for me. To finish with good points on the board and another podium is what we needed.”

2015 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Rockingham

Race 1

1.    Mat JACKSON (Motorbase Performance): 16 Laps

2.    Gordon SHEDDEN (Honda Yuasa Racing): +1.832s

3.    Aron SMITH (Team BMR RCIB Insurance): +3.686s

4.    Jack GOFF (MG Triple Eight Racing): +4.317s

5.    Tom INGRAM (Speedworks Motorsport): +14.622s

6.    Andrew JORDAN (MG Triple Eight Racing): +17.285s

Race 2

1.    Gordon SHEDDEN (Honda Yuasa Racing): 16 Laps

2.    Mat JACKSON (Motorbase Performance): +2.778s

3.    Josh COOK (Power Maxed Racing): +5.185s

4.    Adam MORGAN (WIX Racing): +5.434s

5.    Matt NEAL (Honda Yuasa Racing): +6.765s

6.    Rob AUSTIN (Exocet AlcoSense): +7.203s

Race 3 

1.    Jason PLATO (Team BMR): 19 Laps

2.    Tom INGRAM (Speedworks Motorsport): +1.234s

3.    Colin TURKINGTON (Team BMR RCIB Insurance): +1.871s

4.    Matt NEAL (Honda Yuasa Racing): +4.838s

5.    Sam TORDOFF (Team JCT600 with GardX): +5.264s

6.    Aron SMITH (Team BMR RCIB Insurance): +5.830s

Penalties

RCIB Insurance Racing has received a twenty point deduction from the Teams' and Independent Teams' championships for having changed further engine(s) above the number permitted. 

Race one:

Derek Palmer received a verbal warning for an incident involving Stewart Lines

Dave Newsham received a 2.5s time penalty for gaining an unfair advantage

Race two: 

Nick Foster received a verbal warning for in an incident involving Dave Newsham

Tom Ingram received a £500 fine and three penalty points for an incident involving Jeff Smith

Jason Plato received a verbal warning for an incident involving Hunter Abbott and Rob Collard

Race three:

Jeff Smith received a verbal warning for an incident involving another competitor. Warren Scott received a verbal warning for an incident involving another competitor