BTCC 2002
Sprint Race : Weather / Track: Bright/Dry
The first race of the 2002 season was full of
incidents in which a safety car was employed for four laps. After qualifying
for third place on the grid, Anthony Reid was cruelly nudged into the gravel
after exiting Paddock Hill Bend. His experience showed when keeping the car
moving and climbed through the field to secure fourth place. On completing the
race Anthony said: "On the first lap someone shovelled me off into the
gravel. Fortunately, it was on a slope and I kept it moving. We have to bear in
mind that this a brand new car and quite a different animal from last years
car."
Warren made an impressive start from eighth on
the grid where he held on to third place for the majority of the race. On lap
13 his MG ZS experienced a puncture. Warren commented: "I had a fantastic
start ? one of the best touring car starts I?ve had. I really hung onto the
Vauxhalls for the first few laps and the car felt really strong. Coming out of
Paddock Hill Bend I had an instantaneous blow out on the left front tyre."
This forced Warren into retirement.
Feature Race : Weather / Track: Cloudy / Dry
The feature race provided success for the MG
ZS with Anthony achieving the first podium finish of the 2002 BTCC title. After
qualifying eighth on the grid Anthony secured a third place together with
another ten points at the start of the season. Anthony said: "I?m very
pleased, WSR have done a great job to get the right set-up on the car and to
get more power from the engine. There is so much potential with this car and
I?m looking forward to the next few races."
Warren Hughes had a disappointing race when
missing his pit-stop when he overshot the pit lane entry. Warren said:
"The car is very encouraging and again we managed to keep up with the
Vauxhalls. Everything was going perfectly to plan until I locked up coming into
the pit entry, then the safety car came out and my race was over. The race and
the car were encouraging and I can?t wait until the next race and put this one
behind me. But, I'm positive about the future."
Commenting on Brands Hatch:
Dick Bennetts, managing director, WSR said:
" I am very pleased for the WSR designed and built MG ZS EX260. A car that
is less than two weeks old and it has got on the podium. This is very
encouraging for WSR to help secure MG their 2002 BTCC championship title."
Rob Oldaker, managing director, MG Sport &
Racing said: "I?m delighted with the feature race result and pace of the
cars in both races. Today showed we have performance and enabled us to compare
the MG ZS with the opposition. However, we have more to come based on the limited
engine mapping to date. The cars are handling well and I?m sure we would have
ended up with two podiums today it if hadn?t been for Warren?s puncture in the
sprint race."
The 2002 season sees the introduction of a
‘success or permitted ballast’ weight handicap, which is applied to the cars
before the next rounds. This means that Anthony, currently running third in the
Championship, goes to Oulton Park with an additional 21kgs. But reflecting on
his encouraging start to the season and a successful test at Thruxton he said:
"I'm really looking forward to Oulton Park as we have moved forward with
both the engine and chassis. We had a good run at Brands and have a great
opportunity to capitalise on it."
Warren Hughes has his sights firmly fixed on
victory at Oulton and in contrast believes that his ‘permitted’ reduction in
weight will only enhance his chances of success. Looking to improve on his
troublesome start to the season Warren said: "I'm desperately looking
forward to Oulton Park for a number of reasons. Firstly I'll be in my new car,
secondly we should see increased engine power and finally I'm carrying the
least amount of ballast! Provided that I don't experience any niggling problems
I'm confident that I'll have a competitive weekend."
Dick Bennetts, managing director, WSR is
optimistic about Oulton Park. He said: "This weekend will see Warren
debuting his new 2002 WSR designed MG ZS EX260 and with the revised engine
mapping it should improve straight line speed.
"However, we have no technical data at
Oulton Park with a car built to the new TOCA regulations due to our limited
race programme in 2001."
Oulton Park also sees the debut of Team Atomic
Kitten. The two MG EX259’s are driven by Gareth Howell and Colin Turkington who
will be challenging for the BTC Touring Independents Cup and increasing MG’s
presence on the grid. Dick Bennetts added: "I would also like to wish Team
Atomic Kitten the best with their WSR updated MG ZS EX259 cars’ debut."
Gareth Howell won the
Independents Cup on his BTCC debut for Team Atomic Kitten. Despite stiff
opposition from former World Superbike rider, Aaron Slight and BTCC champion
Tim Harvey, Howell came home 4th overall and the first non-manufacturer backed
driver across the line. Howell, 21, is racing this year in an MG ZS backed by
Europe’s No.1 girl Band, Atomic Kitten.
Gareth was ecstatic with the
result. “ I came here hoping for two point scoring finishes and have achieved
that. To come away with 27 points in the Independents Championship for the
weekend and finish top scorer is a real bonus. We knew that the MG ZS was an
awesome car, but to come here this weekend and do this well with the cars
literally straight out of the box is amazing. Most of the other teams have been
working on their cars all winter and have had hours and hours of testing. I
have to give credit to the team for the way they set the cars up. They’ve
worked for 19 –20 hours each day for the last 3 days and they deserve a lot of
the praise. Team Atomic Kitten will really make people sit up and take notice
this year, not just because of the drivers but because we have a great team
behind us too”.
Preview
Gareth and Team Atomic Kitten are preparing
themselves for the high speed Thruxton Circuit. The team is there for the Bank
Holiday weekend race meeting and hopes to add to the points Gareth won at
Oulton Park 2 weeks ago.
“Thruxton is a great circuit,” says Gareth.
“It’s daunting, with only two real braking points. Most of the time the car is
at its maximum so it’s very hard on the car and tyres. Last season saw a number
of high-speed blowouts, one of which put me into the tyres at approaching
100mph. BF Goodrich have developed a harder compound for this year so with the
strength of the MG ZS we are expecting a successful weekend.”
Sprint
Race :
MG secured some more valuable points as
Anthony Reid achieved his second podium finish of the 2002 season. Commenting
on his success Anthony said: "The opening laps were fantastic and I can’t
tell you how good the car is, particularly the handling. Because I was in front
of Matt (Neal) I was benefiting from the slipstream created by James (Thompson)
and Yvan (Muller). The car is really good through the corners and the brakes
are phenomenally good. I was pushing a bit too hard on one lap in sixth gear at
130mph and had a mass of over steer. I managed to get it together but then Matt
had the momentum to pass and I lost touch with the leaders slightly. But I’m
very encouraged."
Warren Hughes had a disappointing result in
the Sprint Race when contact was made early on to the rear of his car. Warren
said: "I was hit quite hard coming out of the complex on the first lap
which almost caused me to spin. I managed to keep going but I lost quite a few
places. It damaged the left rear suspension quite a bit so the car wasn’t
handling too well for the rest of the race."
Feature
Race :
Warren Hughes said: "The car was much
improved for the second race after repairing suspension damage. I was doing
some competitive lap times in the first stint before the pit stop. At the pit
stop we had a problem changing the front right wheel due to a nut
cross-threading. I lost valuable time in the pits and it was game over really for
a decent result. It’s been a disappointing weekend for me but it means I’m not
carrying any weight into the next round."
When running 4th in the race Anthony exited on
lap 21 when contact was made to the rear of his MG. Anthony Reid said: "In
the second race I had 42kg extra (success ballast) but it didn’t alter the
handling although I could feel the weight was there. The team made a fantastic
pit stop and I got back out there to battle with Matt (Neal) and Colin
(Turkington). Coming out of chicane and along the pit straight I had a nudge
from behind, which spun me around and collected Colin Turkington. Disappointed
but I’m really pleased with the progress we’ve made with the mechanics of the
car this weekend."
Rob Oldaker, managing director, MG Sport &
Racing: "MG has had a mixed weekend really. Firstly, pre qualifying at Le
Mans with a 5th and 8th against the best in the world is terrific. Today at
Thruxton we gained another podium finish but incidents in the feature race
meant a disappointing 10th place for Warren. But look on the positive side, we
go to Silverstone with no extra weight."
Dick Bennetts, managing director, WSR: “I’m
very pleased with our qualifying positions. Getting a podium in round 5 was
fantastic and we were looking forward to a similar result in the feature race.
Anthony and Matt Neal’s contact however, resulted in Anthony and Colin
(Turkington) retiring which was a disappointment for Anthony and the
team."
Last year at Silverstone in his first race for MG Anthony Reid achieved
two credible sixth places in the Sprint and Feature races. This weekend he
heads to the circuit with minimum weight and will be looking to add to his
tally of two podium finishes for the season. Anthony said: "Silverstone is
one of the circuits we’ve tested at. I’m expecting a step forward as a result
of improvements made to the car plus I’m hoping to have a new development
engine. Both Warren and myself will be going to Silverstone with no weight
penalty therefore I’m hoping to keep the pressure on and stay ahead of the
other manufacturers, as well as catch the Vauxhalls!"
Since MG made its debut, WSR have continued to develop the overall MG ZS
racing package. Dick Bennetts, managing director of WSR commented: "We’re
looking forward to Silverstone and working hard on improving our straight line
speed."
Rob Oldaker, managing director, MG Sport & Racing added: "We go
to Silverstone this year older and wiser than when we made our debut. We’re
still working to achieve additional speed to close the gap, but improvements to
the chassis and handling this year are already proven. With four podium visits
since this year’s campaign started we’ll be looking to collect further points
this weekend."
Sprint Race :
Starting from second on the grid Warren Hughes
had moved into first place by his fourth lap when overtaking Matt Neal. Warren
continued to dominate the race and took the chequered flag for his first win of
the season. On winning Warren said: “The car was amazing. We were nervous when
it rained as we opted to stay with a dry set-up. The rain came and I though oh
no! But, the car was just superb and I sized up Matt Neal and made the move
when I was ready and it went to plan. I couldn’t believe I pulled away at the rate
I did. It was just mega!”
Anthony Reid took a different approach when opting to drive on slick tyres. Commenting on the strategy Anthony said: “We chose the strategy that one car would be on wets and one on slicks, which was my car. The track was incredibly wet for the majority of the race but as a dry line appeared I made ground but by this time I was quite a way down the field. But going into the feature race with a pole position and no ballast I can’t ask for more than that.”
Feature Race :
Anthony Reid
secured MG’s second podium of the day when finishing runner up to Vauxhall’s
James Thompson in the feature race. Having qualified on pole Anthony was
positive that he could achieve a good result. On finishing he commented: “It
was a really quick race and a shame I couldn’t get one place better. Before the
pit stop the car was flying and felt I had the measure of Thompson and the car
balance was good. I came into the pit and had a fantastic stop. I had a good
race with James (Thompson) but on the day he was just a shade quicker. The
car’s improved significantly over the past couple of weeks but it is so
competitive out there. We’ve had a successful weekend and it doesn’t get much
better than this.”
Warren’s race was a
difficult one from the start when the MG came under heavy amounts of contact.
From then on in Warren experienced steering problems. On his race Warren said:
“I didn’t make a good start and I was being hit in all directions. I had some
problems with the steering after that. Following the pit stop I’d dropped
places and hit heavy traffic, in amongst the production class. From then on in
It was just a case of completing the race.”
Commenting on the
weekend:
Rob Oldaker,
managing director, MG Sport & Racing : “Obviously I’m
delighted to get a first and a second in one weekend. We’re improving all the
time and starting to see the results of all the hard effort. We go to Mondello
with more points and every one fills us with more confidence.”
Dick Bennetts,
managing director, WSR: “Very encouraging and very pleasing for Warren to win
and also for Anthony, getting points in the bag. This should consolidate our
second position in the championship and improve our position over Honda and
Proton. It’s the first time all the MG’s have finished the same race and scored
points. I look forward to Mondello.”
The MG ZS touring car has been the only other car to break the stronghold of Vauxhall during this season and is really starting to show its potential. Looking forward to Mondello Dick Bennetts, managing director, WSR said: “The MG ZS chassis should suit the twisty nature of Mondello. It will be a new experience for drivers and teams as only a handful of them drove the circuit last year. For WSR's engineers it will also be a data gathering exercise as we have very limited information on the circuit.”
Rob Oldaker, managing director, MG Sport & Racing said: "Interesting qualifying with the Team Atomic Kitten cars doing better than the works cars but the weather played its part. Gareth and Colin achieved excellent results but it was a great shame that Colin was unable to race. Nevertheless, we got better results than we could have expected from the works cars today. We’ve picked up a few more points and not too much ballast for the next round."
Team Atomic Kitten drivers, Gareth Howell and
Colin Turkington, put in a tremendous performance in qualifying. However, Colin
Turkington, on his home turf, was denied the chance to continue his impressive
performance when being struck down with suspected food poisoning, preventing
him taking part in any of today’s action.
Team Atomic Kitten driver Gareth Howell, set
out to Ireland’s Mondello Park with high hopes last weekend. In free practice
he set some quick times, but it was in qualifying that he really showed what he
could do!
With 15 secs of the first session to go, it
was a 1st for Team AK’s young charger. On a drying circuit, the last lap was
going to be all-important but only 4 drivers pipped him. Most impressive was
the domination of the works MG’s, especially during the wetter period when he
was untouchable. Determined to show this was not a flash in the pan, he
continued in the second session, with Gareth in 4th for his best qualifying of
the season. Again, he was ahead of the works MG’s and showing his true
potential on the demanding drivers circuit.
But before the racing was to begin, there was more misfortune heading their way. On his way home, his teammate Coin Turkington was struck down with food poisoning and was rushed to hospital.
Sprint Race :
An inspired start from the 4th place Gareth saw him go around the outside of a shocked Championship leader, James Thompson. Gareth soon slotted into 2nd place in the race and began to pull away from the 3rd place Thompson. After 5 laps though, Thompson had closed and, rather than risk his points in the Independents Championship, allowed the quicker Astras of Thompson and Neal to pass. However, the leading Astra of Muller suddenly stopped on lap 9, moving Gareth back up to 3rd. On the final lap disaster struck when his car suffered a fuel problem, leaving him on the side of the circuit with less than a lap to go.
Feature Race :
Just 5 mins before the race started it began
to rain heavily. With blue skies on the horizon, it was a difficult choice
whether to start with wet or slick tyres. With most of the grid going to wets,
3rd place Gareth and the team decided to stay with slicks. It was a choice that
would cost them dear. On the formation lap, Gareth had to pull into the pits
and change to wets, starting from last place. He gradually made up places
finishing a creditable 10th and second in the Independents Cup.
The team moves on to Croft, near Darlington on the 14th July and Gareth hopes to capitalize on his recent good form at the circuit that saw him on the podium there last year. “ We’ve proven that we are quick,” said Gareth. “I think that people just weren’t aware how quick we are. Colin and I have nothing to fear from the other drivers, we know that our car and team is just as good as anyone else’s. Now all we need is a change of luck and we’ll be on the podium.”
Gareth Howell had a mixed weekend when his was
unable to capitalise fully on his impressive qualifying positions. He said:
"After such a successful qualifying with Colin and I securing strong grid
positions, we failed to challenge in both races. I was hoping to bank valuable
points and looked favourable for a podium position in the sprint race when we
failed to finish due to a fuel pressure failure. We paid the price in the
feature race as we selected the wrong tyre (slicks) at the start."
Croft provides a series of slow and fast
corners, which Anthony Reid describes as some of the most challenging in
Britain. Anthony said: "Croft should be a good track for the MG ZS – it's
the only true handling circuit in the country! We tested there pre-season which
enabled us to come away with some useful data. I genuinely believe that this is
a circuit the MG should excel on – hopefully we will be strong!"
Warren Hughes, whose local circuit is Croft
said: "I'm looking forward to Croft – my ‘home’ race. It's an interesting
circuit as it has a bit of everything – slow, medium and high speeds. It is
also one of the circuits where we have tested. The car should be good here and
I've not got too much ballast weight to carry, so I'm looking to put the
disappointment of Mondello behind me with a good qualifying performance. It’s
critical to qualify well at Croft as it is another track on which it’s
difficult to overtake."
Team Atomic Kitten drivers Gareth Howell and
Colin Turkington will be looking to continue their good form on the back of
their tremendous qualifying performance in the previous round. Illness meant
that Colin was unable to compete at Mondello but now fighting fit and ready to
get back in the driving seat he commented: "Hopefully the good form shown
at Mondello Park in qualifying can be carried through to Croft. The Team Atomic
Kitten MG ZS’s tested at Croft earlier in the year, so I am reasonably familiar
with the circuit in a touring car. I just need to finish off the job I started
at Mondello Park and get a good result under my belt."
Team mate Gareth Howell added: "Although
I have mixed emotions looking back at Mondello, generally I think we can be
very positive with what we achieved there. The qualifying for both Colin and
myself showed that we can do it. The MG was quick and handled really well.
Croft is going to be another challenge but I believe the MG ZS should perform
well on this circuit."
Qualification
Team Atomic Kitten driver Gareth Howell hoped
for better results at Croft after the disappointment of Mondello, but despite
his best efforts and those of the team it was not to be.
In the first free-practice on Saturday he finished in 6th place, just 1/10th away from the leading MG-ZS of Anthony Reid in 4th. In the second session however, a kerb at Sunny damaged his suspension heavily. With the replacement parts unavailable, one of the team set off for home to collect the part. Meanwhile the team had to work flat out to make a temporary repair, which they amazingly achieved. With no time to set the car up, Gareth managed 6 laps in the first qualifying for 13th place overall and in the second session achieved a time only 2/10ths off his first practice time.
Sprint Race :
Gareth made good progress through the field
and was in 7th place overall and second in the Independents Cup when,
approaching the final corner for the penultimate time, he was cruelly denied a
finish by the over exuberance of drivers that should have known better. Peugeot
driver Harvey attempted to move inside Gareth but he was torpedoed into the
side of Gareth’s MG-ZS by Neal in the Astra. The result was the retirement of
all three cars on the spot. “I am really disappointed,” said Gareth afterwards.
“There was no need for it. The team had done such an amazing job to get me out
for qualifying yesterday, and it is all for nothing. Drivers of their age and
experience are quick to point the finger at some of the younger drivers but
then take out 3 cars unnecessarily. Now the guys have a Herculean task to get
my car repaired before the Feature Race.”
Feature Race
A less eventful Feature race saw Gareth again
make up places in the opening laps. An early pit stop left him in 7th overall
and 2nd in the independents cup. A faulty plug though saw Gareth lose power and
he soon began to drop down the field. A solid drive over the final few laps
left him to finish in 9th place and 3rd in the Independents Cup.
Preview
Team Atomic Kitten has picked up the momentum
over the last few weeks, with a podium finish in the last rounds at Croft. A
third place and an Independents Cup win for Colin Turkington in the Sprint Race
secured valuable points for MG in the Manufacturers’ Championship. Looking
forward to the next rounds, he said: “Snetterton was where I first drove the MG
ZS, and I also completed the official test there. We went pretty well in the
test and got the car set-up nicely. Hopefully, we can use this data to get a
good result.”
Team-mate Gareth Howell is more familiar with
the Norfolk circuit, “I’ve never been out of the top three in the last five
years I have raced at Snetterton,” said Gareth: “It’s not an exciting circuit
but I always seem to go well. I won in the Production Class last year. As we
did the official test at Snetterton we’re not going to have to learn the
circuit in the car, we can really work on the set-up.”
Dick Bennetts, managing director, WSR added:
“We're looking forward to this weekend as we had a good test at Snetterton.
Even though we ran with no ballast weight in Warren's car, our 2002 engine
which we ran for the first time at Croft should help us. I’m also very pleased
with the progress of the WSR Team Atomic Kitten independents team."
Races : Weather
/ Track: Warm / Dry
Team Atomic Kitten continued to show
improvements over the weekend with Colin Turkington and Gareth Howell. Colin
continued his positive form when taking the Independent Cup in both the Sprint
and Feature Races. Colin said: "I’ve had a great weekend getting
Independent’s win in the sprint and the feature. It was really hot and conditions
were really tough. The car has really improved and I got some more points in
the bag so all in all it’s been a really good weekend."
Gareth Howell also performed well and secured
the position of runner-up to Colin in both races. Gareth added: "A great
performance and I’m really pleased for the team. I had a great pit stop, it
must have been one of the fastest, and considering how new the guys are to this
they did an amazing job. I got baulked on the restart, and lost momentum and
was on the backfoot for the next lap or so – which was when Colin went past me.
But I’m pleased to have picked up some points."
Dick Bennetts, managing director, WSR said:
"A good weekend with Warren taking third in the feature race. It was a
shame for Anthony as he was challenging for second before he got the puncture.
The MG’s were flying! I’m very happy for Team Atomic Kitten in the Independents
Cup finishing one, two in both races, which couldn’t be better."
Colin Turkington had a mixed weekend when finishing 8th
overall ( Independents Cup win ) in the sprint race but failed to finish the
feature race. Commenting on the weekend overall Colin said: “ Winning the
independents from the rear of the grid in the first race was good, I’m really
pleased. In the feature race the balance of the car felt really good. I got
clipped by Slight coming out of the Hairpin and it took me out. But, I’m
closing the gap in the independents cup.”
Gareth Howell’s weekend was much of the same when failing
to finish in the sprint race and securing 13th in the feature race following a
drive through penalty due to an alleged team pit lane infringement. Gareth
said: “I didn’t get a particularly good start in the sprint race. I was leading
the independents and was managing to keep Colin at bay when I made an error and
loss the car at the Hairpin. I started well in the feature race and at one
point led the race. We an incident in the pit lane which resulted in a penalty
and I dropped down the field.”
Colin Turkington: I started towards the back of the grid
but I made a few places up at the start. I passed the two Peugeots of Harvey
and Eaves and then the safety car came out. Something happened to the MG of
Warren Hughes and then Gareth Howell went off so once I was leading I had to
make sure I didn’t do anything silly and just concentrate on the rest of the
race which was pretty quiet once it settled down. The car was behaving well and
we had a really good balance. I tried to stay off the kerbs because they were
really slippy. It was tough as we were not on a full wet set up, just wet tyres.
Preview
Colin said: “Brands is an
exciting prospect as my car will be running with minimum ballast, so the aim is
to achieve two solid finishes and pick up some more valuable points. I've also
just finished my University exams which feels great!”
Gareth is familiar with the circuit having been an instructor and rates Paddock Hill as one of the most challenging in the calendar. He comments: “Brands is always tricky and passing can be quite difficult during the race so it’s very important to have a good qualifying run. I really can't have anything less than a double victory in the Independents Cup to stay in the running for the championship. Being on the podium overall is something I'm aiming for in the remaining races.”
Qualification
A tremendous effort by Howell subsequently saw him go second quickest to Reid at one stage, but positions were changing by the second as the segment drew towards its close. First Hughes made his mark by getting to within 3/100th of a second of team mate Reid, then Thompson nearly spoilt the MG party by putting in a lap just 3/100th of a second off Hughes. But the MG lock-out of the front row of the grid was secure as Reid took the flag and his second pole of the season ahead of Hughes and Thompson. Howell ended up an impressive fourth quickest overall – and quickest of the Independents’ Cup runners – from Atomic Kitten team mate Colin Turkington who leapt up from 11th on the grid to fifth in the dying minutes of the segment. Sixth was Muller, carrying 30kgs of success ballast from the previous round, with Team Halfords’
Commenting on his qualifying
performance Colin Turkington said: “I’m reasonably happy with my performance.
There was quite a bit of traffic but I heard over the radio that MG was one,
two and that spurred me on. I got a quick lap in at the end to secure 4th. It’s
so close so I’m looking forward to a good race.”
On achieving 4th and 7th on tomorrow’s grid Gareth Howell added: “I didn’t know my position for the first session until the break. It feels good to be up there with the other MGs. Slightly disappointed with the second half of the session as I was running on scrubbed rubber on the fronts and put in a quick time. The amount of traffic meant it was difficult to put in a better time.”
Races : Weather/Track: Cloudy / Dry
Gareth Howell had a mixed
weekend when securing his second Independents Cup win in the sprint race, but
failed to finish in the feature race. The win places Gareth in fourth position,
within 20 points of Aaron Slight, to challenge for the title. Gareth commented:
"It was a good race (sprint) and I’ve picked up some more points in the
Independents (Cup). I got a pretty good start and sat in behind the works MGs
for quite a while. The race was red flagged but by this time Muller and Neal
had passed. It’s a shame it didn’t carry on until the end, as it was a good
race. I had a problem in the feature race with one of the wheel nuts during the
pit stop. It’s disappointing as I could have picked up second in the
independents."
Colin Turkington had a
disappointing weekend when failing to finish either of the races. The sprint
race ended abruptly on the opening lap when he came into contact with a Team
Halfords Peugeot and the feature race proved equally unlucky. "I didn’t
get a good start in the sprint race and dropped down the field. I got caught on
the rear, which spun me 180 into the barrier so effectively it was race over.
During the feature race I had a half spin and again dropped down the field.
Later I then came into contact with Thompson, which damaged the car and there
was nothing I could do. "
Gareth Howell: It was a good
race. I could see I was slowly losing the two works MG’s as I was struggling
with the front end. I found it really difficult to get a line through Druids
and Clearways as well which are the two worst places you can be slow because
there are good passing opportunities afterwards. I had a good start and got
past James. I’m really pleased with that race. I tried to hold the Vauxhall
guys off as much as possible. I changed places with Yvan a couple of times but
then he got me at Graham Hill and once somebody tries to pass you there, you
are onto the dirt and that gave Matt the opportunity to get in there at Surtees
as well. I was well and truely Vauxhall’d! But I’m really pleased to have got
the Independent win.
Preview
Team Atomic Kitten will
complete the line-up of MGs on the grid with Gareth Howell and Colin Turkington
competing in the Independents Cup. Gareth, currently lying fourth in the
Championship, will be pushing for points. He said: "We're definitely getting
on top of our car now and have a good baseline set-up. It's a shame that these
are the final rounds. I'm still really focused on the Independents Championship
and although it is a tough task, and relies on others having difficult
weekends, it's not over."
Colin Turkington has celebrated
four Independent Cup race wins this season and goes to Donington Park with no
weight ballast. He explains: "We had a very productive test at Donington
Park earlier in the year and due to the fact I have no success ballast there is
potential for a good result. The aim again is two strong finishes but I will be
pushing as hard as possible for two more Independent (Cup) wins."
"Team Atomic Kitten driver Gareth Howell also has a chance of becoming Independents Cup Champion, even though Team Atomic Kitten missed the first two races of the season. This shows the pace of the MG ZS BTC Touring car, which is the obvious choice for Independent teams for 2003."
Sprint Race :
Feature Race
Fellow Independents’ Cup
challengers Barwell Motorsport and Team Atomic Kitten both endured a miserable
feature race. Barwell Motorsport mechanics did an incredible job to rebuild
Aaron Slight’s car after substantial damage in the sprint race, only for Slight
to be punted out of the race after just one lap. Team mate Tom Chilton made it
no further, contact forcing him into the pit wall at the start of lap two. Team
Atomic Kitten’s Gareth Howell was also on the receiving end of some
over-enthusiastic driving – contact at Coppice forcing his second retirement of
the day, whilst team mate Turkington joined Howell in retirement just two laps
later. T