BRANDS HATCH BTCC MARKS START OF UK'S MAJOR MOTOR SPORT
SEASON
The clock is ticking! There are now less than two weeks
to go until the start of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car
Championship at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent on Sunday
1 April.
This will be the country’s first opportunity of 2007
to see the stars of Britain’s most popular four-wheeled
motor sport series in action and the event truly marks the
beginning of the UK’s major motor sport season.
Big names like Matt Neal, Jason Plato, Colin Turkington,
Fabrizio Giovanardi and Tom Chilton will all be hoping to
kick-start their championships with a winning start. But this
year they face a grid of some 26 drivers in seven different
makes of car from Alfa Romeo, BMW, Honda, Lexus, MG, SEAT
and Vauxhall – and around Brands Hatch’s short
1.2-mile Indy circuit the racing is sure to be at its panel-scraping
best.
With the added attraction of FREE admission for children,
race fans from London and across the south of England will
be descending on Brands Hatch for what promises to be an unforgettable
day’s action. It is one of the region’s biggest
attractions on the sporting calendar and easily accessible
via the M25 and M20 motorways. Furthermore, all-day adult
admission is only £21 if booked in advance and that
price includes public access to the Pit Lane for a special
autograph session with the star drivers when the teams have
plenty of fabulous give-aways.
In total there will be 11 races for the crowds to savour
– the opening three rounds of the new BTCC season, plus
eight further events from the supporting bill, including:
Formula BMWs, Porsche Carreras, Renault Clios, Formula Renaults
and SEAT Cupras.
Neal, in his new Team Halfords Honda Civic, is looking to
win a third title in a row, although Plato is many people’s
tip for glory on 1 April after his SEAT Leon won three times
on the Brands Indy track last year. Team RAC driver Turkington
will be hoping his Team RAC squad’s BMW can emulate
the title-winning form the German make’s cars showed
in last year’s World touring car series, but then again
it has been Vauxhall driver Giovanardi who has come out on
top of the lap times in initial pre-season testing.
Plus, there are a number of up-and-coming stars all eager
to get in on the act: Neal’s and Plato’s team-mates
Gordon Shedden and Darren Turner are serious title contenders
in their second BTCC seasons; aged just 19, reigning Renault
Clio champion Tom Onslow-Cole (RAC BMW) and last year’s
SEAT Cupra title winner Mat Jackson (Jacksons Msport BMW)
are also ones to watch.
There will be plenty for the local crowds to cheer as Wrotham-based
team Motorbase Performance fields its potent pair of SEATs
for Gareth Howell (Beckenham), a proven race-winner in the
BTCC, and Matt Allison
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