Honda Yuasa BTCC has a poor weekend with NO Wins or podiums during the three races.

• Halfords Yuasa Racing unrewarded for valiant Yorkshire effort
• Matt Neal keeps title tilt on-track with trio of points finishes
• Gordon Shedden’s wet-weather tyre gamble fails to pay off

Halfords Yuasa Racing endured a difficult weekend as the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) travelled north-east to Croft, with both Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden fighting hard for scant reward.

 

Renowned as a circuit that favours rear wheel-drive machinery, Croft was always going to represent a challenge for the front wheel-drive Honda Civic Type R, but even allowing for that, Neal and Shedden were disappointed to line up 15^th and 17^th on the 32-strong grid for the opening encounter.

 

Neal moved through the field in race one to take the chequered flag 12^th, before evincing a solid turn-of-speed in race two as he homed in on the multi-car scrap over fifth until his tyres faded in the closing stages, leaving him tenth. The three-time champion concluded his weekend with an 11^th-place finish in a rain-plagued finale to leave Croft sitting third in the Drivers’ table, still firmly in the title fight.

 

Shedden lapped at a similar pace in races one and two as he tallied points-paying finishes in 15^th and 13^th – the former his 300^th BTCC start – before taking a gamble on slick rubber in race three. It was an audacious strategy that unfortunately didn’t pay off and the Scot was ultimately forced to pit to change over to wets, seeing him slip to ninth in the Drivers’ standings as Honda and Halfords Yuasa Racing maintained second spot in the Manufacturers’ and Teams’ classifications.

 

Matt Neal:

“It’s been a tough weekend and one I won’t be sorry to see the back of! We knew the rear wheel-drive cars would have an advantage at Croft, but we thought we would still be somewhere in or around the top six and that obviously wasn’t the case. In the circumstances, we got pretty much the maximum we could out of the car. I drove my heart out and race two was quite enjoyable; because we were struggling for straight-line speed, I had to work the tyres quite hard and that halted our progress in the closing stages. On the positive side, both cars came back in one piece when quite a few didn’t and we can now go away and regroup over the summer break. Believe me, we won’t be rolling over by any means!”

 

Gordon Shedden:

“We’ve not been on the pace all weekend which was certainly a surprise, because the Civic Type R is a very good package and was strong round here last year. Yes, Croft is traditionally a rear wheel-drive circuit, but other front wheel-drive cars did ok so I don’t subscribe to that excuse. In race three, knowing we couldn’t compete on outright pace, we decided to roll the dice because from where we were starting, we had nothing to lose. The bottom line is we weren’t good enough and there are clearly some elements missing that we need to put our finger on, but we have a decent break now that we will use to reassess, figure everything out and come up with an action plan for the second half of the season.”

The Halfords Yuasa Racing Honda Civic's are looking like they can do some serious damage to the competition.

• Halfords Yuasa Racing duo set sights on northern success
• Matt Neal confident Civic Type R can shine in Yorkshire
• Gordon Shedden keen to celebrate on landmark weekend

Halfords Yuasa Racing team-mates Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden are heading to Croft for the next outing on the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship calendar with a strong haul of points firmly on their hit list.

Having claimed a commanding victory in the most recent race at Oulton Park – his second of the season behind the wheel of the potent Honda Civic Type R – Neal travels north-east just a single point adrift of the top of the Drivers’ classification. The three-time champion boasts a stellar record at Croft, with six successes to his name.

Shedden, meanwhile, celebrated his 100^th BTCC podium in North Yorkshire last year during the course of an impressively consistent weekend, and the Scot is primed to make his milestone 300^th start in the series 12 months on.

The defending title-holder currently sits fourth in the Drivers’ chase following a puncture in the final race at Oulton that robbed him of the runner-up spoils, with Halfords Yuasa Racing only one point shy of the lead in the Teams’ classification and Honda right in the fight for Manufacturers’ glory.

Matt Neal:

“Croft is a circuit I’ve always enjoyed; I love how close the fans get to the action there – they can really smell the burning brakes and rubber, which makes for a fantastic spectator experience. You need a good all-round package underneath you at Croft –traction in the slow-speed sections, agility through the tight-and-twisty parts and stability for the fast corners out the back, which call for a lot of commitment. They are all areas in which the Civic Type R scores highly, and we had a positive and productive test at Rockingham earlier this week which enabled us to get a solid handle on the car. If you look at how competitive it is in the standings, every point is critical this year – all it takes is one hiccough to send you tumbling down the order – so it’s essential that we stay focussed and continue consistently racking up the results.”

Gordon Shedden:

“Historically, we’ve gone pretty well around Croft; like Oulton, it’s a circuit that tends to favour rear wheel-drive cars, but we’ve generally led the way amongst the front wheel-drive brigade. There was some great racing there last year, and I’m sure we can expect more of the same again. It’s a fun circuit with a real mix of corners, which makes perfecting the car’s set-up quite a challenge – but one that I relish. Given how fiercely-disputed the BTCC is right now, every weekend is pivotal – it’s incredible to think we’ve already had nine different winners from the first 12 races! With that in mind, we have to be targeting three strong points finishes, which we would have had at Oulton but for the late puncture in race three. The cards haven’t particularly fallen my way in that respect recently, so hopefully we can turn that trend around.”

After the summer break, Defender Challenge by Bowler returns this weekend for its fourth round

• Round four of the Defender Challenge by Bowler takes place at Trackrod Rally in Yorkshire on Friday 25^thand Saturday 26^th September 2015
• Nine teams will compete in their Bowler-prepared Land Rover Defender 90 rally vehicles
• Land Rover volunteers take on-the-job training to a new level supporting teams
• Edd Cobley (driver) and John Tomley (co-driver) aim to continue their winning streak and extend their lead

After the summer break, Defender Challenge by Bowler returns this weekend for its fourth round as nine teams battle it out at the Trackrod Rally, part of the annual Rally Yorkshire event. Based at Pickering Showground, the course takes in 53 miles of rally stages that twist through the spectacular Yorkshire countryside over two days and opening with the daunting prospect of challenging night stages.

The FIA-approved Land Rover Defender 90 Hard Tops are modified by Bowler Motorsport specifically for rally competitions. Engines are tuned to 170bhp and 450Nm of torque and the suspension system features uprated dampers and roll bars. Lighter wheels, a full roll-cage and rally safety features complete the specification.

This weekend, a number of Land Rover employees and apprentices join the Bowler technical teams to support the rally. In addition to their ‘day jobs’, enthusiasts from across the Land Rover family have volunteered their time to get involved with the Defender Challenge. For the apprentices in particular this proves to be a unique and exhilarating experience which enhance their apprenticeship programmes. Working in a competitive environment encourages the development of new skills, working as a team to employ creative and innovative solutions to problems under pressure and against the clock.

Lynfel Owen, Land Rover Vehicle Engineering Manager and member of ‘The Defenderists’ team said, “The Defender Challenge rally vehicles are ideal for the apprentices to gain their early experience on. Its relative simplicity means that while still in training, the apprentices could face any number of challenges from swapping wheels to replacing axles, allowing their progression to more complex vehicles to be smoother. It also gives them experience of the tight time constraints that exist in motorsport, as well as a sense of achievement when their team and vehicle perform well in the Challenge.”

Tom Gladwin, Jaguar Land Rover Apprentice said, “As a child my Dad took me greenlaning and my family run a British Superbike team, which is where my passion for off-roading and motor racing started. Working on these cars made me feel completely at home. The skills I have learnt, those of team working, handling pressure, and back-to-basics engineering, have hugely helped me with my day job at Jaguar Land Rover.”

In its second year, the Defender Challenge has grown from strength to strength with 13 teams competing this year. Preparation for the larger scale rally raid competitions, such as the famous Dakar Rally and Africa Race are already afoot with new Defender modifications under development and competitors taking each round of the Defender Challenge as a training opportunity for the larger international events.

Half-way through the season, Edd Cobley and John Tomley lead the championship table, having amassed a string of consistent victories and leading the table by 10 points. Now, with three rounds remaining and 21 points for a win, there is everything to play for and all teams have a chance at the title.

Britain to pump £15 Billion into new and existing roads, but only AFTER the General Election.

The £15 billion ‘Road investment strategy’ will increase the capacity and improve the condition of England’s roads.

An ambitious £15 billion plan to triple levels of spending by the end of the decade to increase the capacity and condition of England’s roads, was announced to Parliament today (1 December 2014) by Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander.

The government is investing in more than 100 new road schemes over this parliament and next, 84 of which are brand new today.

Over 1,300 new lane miles will be added by schemes being delivered over the next parliament on motorways and trunk roads, tackling congestion and fixing some of the most notorious and longstanding problem areas on the network. When 90% of journeys are taking place on our roads this work is vital to help people get on and get around.

These plans are published today in the first ever ‘Road investment strategy’, which has been developed to keep the population connected and the economy growing.

This includes £1.5 billion of investment to add an extra lane onto key motorways to turn them into smart motorways, boosting connectivity between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Yorkshire.

Patrick McLoughlin said:

“Today I am setting out the biggest, boldest and most far-reaching roads programme for decades. It will dramatically improve our road network and unlock Britain’s economic potential.

“Roads are key to our nation’s prosperity. For too long they have suffered from under-investment.

“This government has a long term plan to secure the country’s future and this £15 billion roads programme is demonstration of that. Better roads allow us to travel freely, creating jobs and opportunities, benefiting hardworking families across the country.”

Spending during the next parliament on England’s roads network will be boosted further by maintenance funding worth more than £10 billion across the local and national road network.

New projects announced today include:

• south west: a commitment of £2 billion to dual the entire A303 and A358 to the south west, including a tunnel at Stonehenge. This will allow roads users to drive on a dual carriageway from London to within 15 miles of Land’s End
• north east: setting aside £290 million to complete the dualling of the A1 all the way from London to Ellingham, just 25 miles from the Scottish border, to make the Great North Road truly great again
• north west and Yorkshire: driving forward the northern powerhouse by completing the smart motorway along the entire length of the M62 from Manchester to Leeds, together with improvements to transpennine capacity from Manchester to Sheffield, representing the first increase in transpennine capacity since 1971
• north west: committing to improve links to the Port of Liverpool, as part of a plan of 12 projects designed to improve access to major international gateways on which the nation’s international trade depends
• south east: funding £350 million of improvements to the A27 along the south coast, tackling severe congestion at Arundel, Worthing and Lewes – consulting with the local community on options
• east of England: investing £300 million to upgrade the east-west connection to Norfolk, by dualling sections of the A47 and improving its connections to the A1 and A11, building on the recently completed full dualling of the A11 from London to Norwich, to ensure the east of England has the connections it deserves
• London and the south east: improving one-third of the junctions on the entire M25, to aid frustrated commuters stuck in traffic around the capital
• midlands: improving the M42 to the east of Birmingham, improving the connectivity to Birmingham airport, the National Exhibition Centre, the local enterprise zone, and pave the way for the new High Speed 2 interchange station

Chair of the Cabinet Infrastructure Committee and Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, said:

“World class infrastructure is vital if we are to build a stronger economy, but it matters in other ways to. It invigorates communities and gives people more opportunities to get on in life. This is why I have ensured that this government has prioritised funding roads, and railways, at a high level for future generations.

“For decades our roads have suffered from under investment, so I’m particularly delighted to be able to announce this expansive range of new road schemes today. Investment on this scale is only possible because we have taken the difficult decisions needed to control our public finances and stuck to our recovery plan which is now delivering strong growth and record numbers of jobs.

“These projects, like the scheme on the A303, will help unleash the economic potential of both the regions they serve and of the overall economy.”

Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, said:

“Our Long term-economic plan means today we can invest an unprecedented £15 billion into Britain’s infrastructure to improve repair and expand our roads.

“Our plans will transform some of the country’s most important strategic routes, with ambitious projects to dual the A303, A1, A27 and the A47 as well as spending on important local infrastructure boosting productivity and helping local economies.

“For years our roads have been neglected. Now that this government is fixing the economy, we can afford to invest properly in our roads – unlocking jobs for the future and local growth by creating a road network that is fit for the 21st century.”

As well as increasing capacity and transforming the busiest sections of the network, the government is transforming the Highways Agency into a government-owned company; this will mean funding can be allocated on a longer term basis, saving the taxpayer at least £2.6 billion over the next 10 years.

The strategy also contains measures to improve the lives of communities affected by road upgrades, including:

• £100 million to improve cycling provision at 200 key locations across the network, as well as a commitment to cycle-proof any new schemes being developed
• £300 million environmental fund to mitigate carbon emission and reduce the number of people affected by serious noise by 250,000 - this fund will create new charge points for low emission vehicles every 20 miles across the road network, as well as enhance the landscape, protect sites of cultural or historic heritage, and reduce the impact of improving our roads on wildlife, countryside and habitats
• £100 million to unlock future growth and housing developments

The 84 new road projects outlined today will improve connectivity across the UK, from the north east to the south west. The new investment broken down by region is:

• north east and Yorkshire - 18 schemes worth around £2.3 billion and estimated to create 1,500 construction jobs
• north west – 9 schemes worth £800 million and estimated to create 600 jobs
• midlands – 17 schemes worth £1.4 billion and estimated to create 900 jobs
• east of England – 15 schemes worth £1.5 billion and estimated to create 1,000 jobs
• London and south east – 18 schemes worth £1.4 billion and estimated to create 900 jobs
• south west – 7 schemes worth £2 billion and estimated to create 1,300 jobs