CROFT BTCC "FAR MORE EXCITING" THAN F1 CLAIMS
CIRCUIT BOSS
Croft motor racing circuit chairman Peter Gaydon believes
the track's forthcoming Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship
(BTCC) rounds on Sunday 16 July will be "far more exciting"
than a Formula 1 grand prix.
Croft's BTCC fixture is annually one of the North-East's
biggest sporting events and never fails to draw a massive
race day crowd - last year's attendance was the biggest for
almost a decade. Croft chairman Gaydon says the public is
in for a major treat when the BTCC arrives in less than two
weeks' time when the crowds will be able to meet the top drivers
before they race live on national television on the ITV1 channel.
Gaydon said: "Croft's BTCC fixture is the most important
motor race meeting of the year for the North-East of England.
The BTCC is great whichever circuit you visit as you always
see close and spectacularly competitive racing, but it is
particularly special at Croft. Once a year we host Britain's
premier race series and never do we see anything other than
brilliant racing from highly professional champions and eager,
ever faster young drivers new to touring cars. It is the perfect
combination for the best racing and the circuit staff put
in a huge effort to give everyone a great weekend.
"How often have you watched an F1 GP then seen the BTCC?
What comparison do you make? F1 is very special, but the BTCC
is far more exciting - three starts and finishes and the reversed
grid for the last race always provides bonus extra action.
It is not just the approachable drivers and the hectic racing
that makes the atmosphere at this meeting. It's the people
who come to watch who create the atmosphere. It is those people
who make the event special."
‘Home heroes' Jason Plato and James Thompson will be
among the star names doing battle in three BTCC rounds at
the Darlington venue. Plato, who hails from Newcastle, and
Harrogate-based Thompson are sure to receive a tumultuous
welcome from the spectator banks when they take to the track
in their SEAT Leons. Significantly, Thompson will arrive at
Croft off the back of two strong results in Brazil that have
put him into second in the FIA World Touring Car Championship.
But in the BTCC it is Matt Neal and Colin Turkington that
Plato and Thompson, currently third and fourth, need to chase
down - Neal, the reigning champion in his Team Halfords Honda
Integra, has built up a handy points lead as he seeks an historic
second consecutive title. Turkington, meanwhile, won last
time out in his Team RAC MG to move into second in the standings.
Spectators at Croft will be able to meet the BTCC drivers
during an open Pit Lane Walkabout session and there will be
a further seven races from supporting championships put on
by high-profile manufacturers BMW, Porsche, Renault and SEAT.
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