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Brits on Tour Issue No:1 - Thruxton

The Kwikfit British Touring Car 2019 Magazine produced by The Sandbag Times

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BRITS ON TOUR<br />

The British Kwikfit <strong>Tour</strong>ing Car Champi<strong>on</strong>ship 2019<br />

THRUXTON<br />

We Catch up <strong>on</strong> all of the acti<strong>on</strong> from<br />

Rounds 7, 8 and 9 at the first<br />

visit to Hampshire for 2019<br />

<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>No</strong>:1 Thruxt<strong>on</strong><br />

BTCC NEWS<br />

The very latest from the<br />

Kwikfit BTCC 2019<br />

from BTCC.net<br />

Produced By


C<strong>on</strong>tents<br />

4. BTCC News<br />

What’s going <strong>on</strong> in the world of the Kwikfit<br />

BTCC 2019.<br />

6. Andrew Jordan Doubles Up<br />

The newest member to the ‘Double Winner’<br />

circle and his seas<strong>on</strong> so far.<br />

7. Dan Cammish Lands<br />

Lady Luck finally smiles <strong>on</strong> the Team<br />

Dynamics rocket.<br />

8. Thruxt<strong>on</strong><br />

A round up of the weekends acti<strong>on</strong> from the<br />

UK’s fastest circuit.<br />

10. Support Race Focus<br />

We chat to Worcesters Debut Dan Lewis ahead<br />

of the Mini Miglia Support race.<br />

12. So you want to be a Marshal...<br />

We take a look at the recruiting drive for the<br />

troops keeping us all safe.<br />

Two in a row for Jordan<br />

14. Chami<strong>on</strong>ship Tables<br />

Who’s where in the bid for the Drivers,<br />

Manufacturers and C<strong>on</strong>structors titles.<br />

Thruxt<strong>on</strong> Delivers Page 8<br />

| 02 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk


Editor’s <strong>No</strong>tes<br />

Firstly, a warm welcome to the new SBT supplement dedicated entirely to the Kwikfit<br />

British <strong>Tour</strong>ing Car Champi<strong>on</strong>ship and support races for 2019. As the editor of the<br />

UK’s leading veterans magazine, I have been privilleged and h<strong>on</strong>oured to have been<br />

a part of the BTCC for the past two years. Mostly working with Team Dynamics and<br />

Matt Neal who has been, and still is, our proud patr<strong>on</strong> and veterans ambassador.<br />

Matt and the whole team has d<strong>on</strong>e an incredible amount of work over the past few<br />

years supporting our heroes despite an incredibly busy schedule. Something we have<br />

been so grateful for.<br />

However, prior to the start of this seas<strong>on</strong>, I was fortunate enough to be accepted as<br />

BTCC accredited press. Very quickly, my thoughts started to revolve around <strong>on</strong> how<br />

I could give the entire field fair reporting yet sustain the fantastic relati<strong>on</strong>ship we<br />

have with Matt and Team Dynamics. The answer was to write a separate supplement<br />

dedicated to the champi<strong>on</strong>ship while keeping Matt and the team in SBT. Who says<br />

you can’t have your cake and eat it.<br />

So <strong>on</strong> to the Kwikfit BTCC itself. I have had my nose firmly planted in <strong>Tour</strong>ing cars<br />

since the first drivers were announced for the 2019 seas<strong>on</strong>. From the start of the year<br />

the BTCC has promised to be an exciting seas<strong>on</strong>. It certainly has not disappointed.<br />

Competiti<strong>on</strong> is tighter than ever with teams and drivers having to work their socks off<br />

to find every hundredth of a sec<strong>on</strong>d to get their cars and drivers as far up the grid as<br />

possible. It is that tight!<br />

Thruxt<strong>on</strong> is always a special place for me, mostly because I was stati<strong>on</strong>ed just a few<br />

miles up the road in Tidworth during my army days but also for the sheer speed and<br />

excitement the track produces. As a Team Dynamics fan, we obviously had a great<br />

day with Dan getting <strong>on</strong> the podium twice and Matt having a good point scoring day<br />

but there were oh, so many more stories.<br />

So let’s see if we can bring you all of the latest news, pit gossip, interviews and<br />

excitement from the UK’s premier motor racing events. Pablo.<br />

On The Cover<br />

Rory Butcher - Cobra Sport AmD<br />

<str<strong>on</strong>g>Brits</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>on</strong> <strong>Tour</strong> is written and<br />

produced by SBT Media. We use,<br />

as BTCC accredited media, news<br />

articles, info and images with the<br />

kind permissi<strong>on</strong> of BTCC.net and<br />

Jakob Ebrey Photography. All<br />

material used is subject to copyright<br />

and may not be used without the<br />

express permissi<strong>on</strong> of the author.<br />

Editor: Pablo Snow<br />

Images: Jakob Ebrey Photography<br />

Producti<strong>on</strong>: SBT Media<br />

Social Media: Jane Shields<br />

Additi<strong>on</strong>al Images: Vince Ballard<br />

News Desk: Jim Wilde<br />

SBT Broadcasting: AJ Vosse<br />

www.sandbagtimes.co.uk<br />

www.btcc.net<br />

www.sandbagtimes.co.uk 03 |


BTCC NEWS<br />

Tommy Sopwith: 1932-2019<br />

Article: BTCC.net<br />

Feature photo credit: LAT<br />

Eight-time British<br />

<strong>Tour</strong>ing Car<br />

Champi<strong>on</strong>ship<br />

race winner, and the<br />

original title runnerup,<br />

Tommy Sopwith<br />

passed away <strong>on</strong><br />

Saturday, aged 86.<br />

Sopwith was the s<strong>on</strong><br />

of Thomas Sopwith,<br />

a famous aviator,<br />

America’s Cup<br />

yachting competitor<br />

and creator of the<br />

famous Sopwith<br />

Camel, a First World<br />

War biplane.<br />

Sopwith Jr began<br />

a racing career at<br />

Goodwood in the<br />

early 1950s in a Jaguar<br />

XK120, following in<br />

the wheeltracks of his<br />

father, who had been<br />

<strong>on</strong>e of the early racers<br />

at Brooklands.<br />

The younger Sopwith<br />

was also a pi<strong>on</strong>eer in<br />

his own right, building<br />

his own sports-racer,<br />

the Sphinx, in 1954<br />

which was a success.<br />

He scored many wins<br />

against the might of<br />

the prevalent C-type<br />

Jaguars in his Allard<br />

J2R-based machine.<br />

Sopwith formed his<br />

own squad, Equipe<br />

Endeavour, to field<br />

the Sphinx. The team<br />

was named after his<br />

father’s America’s Cup<br />

challenger.<br />

Sopwith progressed<br />

into a Cooper T39<br />

fitted with a Coventry<br />

Climax engine and a<br />

Cooper T38-Jaguar.<br />

His passi<strong>on</strong> developed<br />

al<strong>on</strong>g with his trophy<br />

cabinet, but a serious<br />

accident at Oult<strong>on</strong><br />

Park in 1955 cut short<br />

his ambiti<strong>on</strong>s.<br />

He returned in salo<strong>on</strong><br />

car racing and was<br />

in the right place at<br />

the right time when<br />

the British Salo<strong>on</strong><br />

Car Champi<strong>on</strong>ship,<br />

now the BTCC, was<br />

announced in 1957.<br />

For the following<br />

seas<strong>on</strong>, Sopwith was<br />

<strong>on</strong> the grid with a<br />

Jaguar 3.4-litre salo<strong>on</strong>.<br />

He finished the<br />

champi<strong>on</strong>ship <strong>on</strong><br />

equal points with<br />

Austin Westminster<br />

driver Jack Sears and<br />

the two c<strong>on</strong>ducted two<br />

five-lap shoot-outs at<br />

Brands Hatch at the<br />

end of the seas<strong>on</strong>,<br />

where Sears prevailed<br />

by 1.6 sec<strong>on</strong>ds.<br />

Sopwith retired<br />

at the end of the<br />

seas<strong>on</strong> but Equipe<br />

Endeavour c<strong>on</strong>tinued<br />

in the BSCC and in<br />

various sportscar<br />

champi<strong>on</strong>ships until<br />

it closed its doors in<br />

1962. It had been a<br />

major force in closedroof<br />

racing.<br />

Sopwith’s need for<br />

speed wasn’t sated, and<br />

he raced in off-shore<br />

powerboats and was<br />

also <strong>on</strong>e of the prime<br />

movers behind the<br />

inaugural L<strong>on</strong>d<strong>on</strong>-<br />

Sydney marath<strong>on</strong> in<br />

1968.<br />

A lifel<strong>on</strong>g member of<br />

the BRDC, he became<br />

its director and<br />

chairman in 1993.<br />

The BTCC extends its<br />

sincerest c<strong>on</strong>dolences<br />

to the family and<br />

friends of Tommy<br />

Sopwith.<br />

Story at BTCC.net<br />

| 04 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk


Thruxt<strong>on</strong> Circuit played host to a<br />

hugely successful Dare To Be Different<br />

(D2BD) event earlier today, as over 100<br />

schoolgirls got a first-hand experience<br />

of the Kwik Fit British <strong>Tour</strong>ing Car<br />

Champi<strong>on</strong>ship.<br />

The Hampshire circuit teamed up<br />

with the pi<strong>on</strong>eering charity to put<br />

<strong>on</strong> an acti<strong>on</strong>-packed day of activities<br />

designed to inspire more girls to get into<br />

motorsport.<br />

BTCC News<br />

BTCC and Thruxt<strong>on</strong> join forces with Dare To Be Different<br />

Story: BTCC.net<br />

Pupils from local primary schools were<br />

invited to Britain’s fastest racetrack ahead<br />

of this weekend’s BTCC event, taking<br />

part in garage tours and meeting star<br />

drivers such as Jas<strong>on</strong> Plato, Tom Ingram,<br />

Josh Cook and Michael Crees.<br />

D2BD, founded by former Williams F1<br />

test driver Susie Wolff and Motorsport<br />

UK, is an initiative designed to inspire<br />

female participati<strong>on</strong> and challenge<br />

prec<strong>on</strong>cepti<strong>on</strong>s in a traditi<strong>on</strong>ally maleorientated<br />

envir<strong>on</strong>ment.<br />

And today’s event gave attendees a<br />

chance to get up close and pers<strong>on</strong>al with<br />

the BTCC through exclusive access to the<br />

Thruxt<strong>on</strong> paddock, as well as developing<br />

their STEM (Science, Technology,<br />

Engineering and Maths) skills with a<br />

number of tricky engineering challenges.<br />

The schoolgirls then tried a spot of<br />

presenting with ITV Sport journalist and<br />

D2BD Ambassador Louise Goodman,<br />

taking the place of the host, interviewer<br />

and interview subject to get an insight<br />

into motorsport media.<br />

The group also tested their reacti<strong>on</strong>s<br />

and questi<strong>on</strong>ed engineers about their<br />

roles within the teams before getting<br />

their hands dirty with the Pirelli Pit-Stop<br />

Challenge.<br />

Read more <strong>on</strong> this story here...<br />

TOCA <strong>on</strong> Clampdown for<br />

Driver Infracti<strong>on</strong>s<br />

2019 has seen an increase in<br />

reprimands and penalties issued by<br />

TOCA to reduce driver infracti<strong>on</strong>s<br />

Driver safety has been a c<strong>on</strong>cern for<br />

the governing body during the new<br />

seas<strong>on</strong> which has already seen <strong>on</strong>e<br />

driver, Andrew Jordan being taken to<br />

hospital following a race incident.<br />

Qualifying at Thruxt<strong>on</strong> saw veteran<br />

racer Mark Blundell receiving a verbal<br />

warning following c<strong>on</strong>tact with the<br />

Motorbase Ford Focus of Tom Chilt<strong>on</strong><br />

which sent him into the barrier causing<br />

significant damage.<br />

Halfords Yuasa Racing and H<strong>on</strong>da top the table as the Kwikfit<br />

BTCC heads to Croft<br />

The Halfords Yuasa H<strong>on</strong>da combinati<strong>on</strong><br />

topped the Manufacturers and Team<br />

title race following a huge points haul at<br />

Thruxt<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong> Sunday.<br />

Dan Cammish set the standard with<br />

two 3rd place podium finishes and a<br />

sixth place in the final race while team<br />

mate Matt Neal put up another solid<br />

performance with a 7th, 5th and 4th<br />

placing him 5th in the drivers hunt and<br />

in a great positi<strong>on</strong> to mount an attack for<br />

his 4th title.<br />

Cammish narrowly missed out <strong>on</strong> Pole in<br />

qualifying, after beating his team mates<br />

lap record set last year, by Sam Tordoff.<br />

The acti<strong>on</strong> c<strong>on</strong>tinues <strong>on</strong> June 15th at<br />

Croft in Yorkshire which is renowned<br />

for being a rear wheel drive dominant<br />

circuit. Read more <strong>on</strong> Cammish <strong>on</strong> P7.<br />

Penalties were also handed out to a<br />

significant amount of drivers during<br />

qualificati<strong>on</strong>s as track limits were<br />

exceeded and a further six penalties<br />

were handed out during the three<br />

races <strong>on</strong> Sunday which included<br />

Senna Proctor, Bobby Thomps<strong>on</strong> and<br />

newcomer Michael Crees following<br />

incidents with Blundell and Nicholas<br />

Hamilt<strong>on</strong>.<br />

www.sandbagtimes.co.uk 05 |


Andrew Jordan<br />

Jordan joins the 2019 BTCC double club<br />

BMW Pirtek Racing star takes two victories at Thruxt<strong>on</strong><br />

Andrew Jordan<br />

scored his first<br />

Kwik Fit British<br />

<strong>Tour</strong>ing Car Champi<strong>on</strong>ship<br />

double success in<br />

more than five years as<br />

the BMW Pirtek Racing<br />

driver dominated early<br />

proceedings at Thruxt<strong>on</strong>,<br />

before BTC Racing’s Josh<br />

Cook w<strong>on</strong> the final race in<br />

Hampshire.<br />

Jordan impressively<br />

bounced back from a<br />

dismal D<strong>on</strong>ingt<strong>on</strong> Park<br />

last time out, which saw<br />

his car heavily damaged in<br />

a multi-car accident. The<br />

29-year-old was forced to<br />

sit <strong>on</strong> the sidelines as his<br />

BMW stable-mate Colin<br />

Turkingt<strong>on</strong> took two wins<br />

at the Leicestershire circuit,<br />

but this was Jordan’s<br />

time to shine at the UK’s<br />

fastest track.<br />

The Midlander eventually<br />

got the better of pole-sitter<br />

Sam Tordoff in the opener<br />

after initially blasting his<br />

new BMW 3 Series off<br />

the line and into sec<strong>on</strong>d,<br />

getting by Halfords Yuasa<br />

Racing’s Dan Cammish.<br />

The fr<strong>on</strong>t-runners held stati<strong>on</strong><br />

for almost the entire<br />

race until Tordoff ’s AmDrun<br />

Civic wiggled slightly<br />

through Church <strong>on</strong> lap<br />

13 of 16. Jordan eyed his<br />

chance and comfortably<br />

slipped by, although it later<br />

transpired that Tordoff ’s<br />

car was suffering from<br />

power steering problems.<br />

Jordan eased away in the<br />

closing laps to claim his<br />

sec<strong>on</strong>d win of the seas<strong>on</strong>,<br />

ahead of Tordoff and<br />

Cammish.<br />

He w<strong>on</strong> his sec<strong>on</strong>d race of<br />

the day after leading from<br />

start to finish.<br />

The 2013 champi<strong>on</strong> made<br />

a str<strong>on</strong>g getaway from pole<br />

positi<strong>on</strong> and never really<br />

looked back, despite being<br />

kept h<strong>on</strong>est by Turkingt<strong>on</strong><br />

in the sister 330i M Sport<br />

over the 16-lap encounter.<br />

Cammish completed the<br />

podium for the sec<strong>on</strong>d<br />

successive time.<br />

Article by BTCC.net<br />

| 06 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk


Dan Cammish<br />

Lady Luck Finally Favours Dan Cammish<br />

Seas<strong>on</strong> changes for Cammish with two podiums<br />

It has been a difficult<br />

start for the double<br />

Brands Hatch GP<br />

winner, Dan Cammish in<br />

the Kwikfit BTCC 2019.<br />

The first two rounds have<br />

earned the Halfords Yuasa<br />

H<strong>on</strong>da driver few points as<br />

bad luck and frustrati<strong>on</strong>s<br />

have dogged his challenge.<br />

Thankfully, the tide turned<br />

at Thruxt<strong>on</strong> from the word<br />

go with a very impressive<br />

qualifying sessi<strong>on</strong> in which<br />

he briefly held the lap<br />

record <strong>on</strong>ly to be pipped in<br />

the dying minutes by Sam<br />

Tordoff.<br />

However, his fr<strong>on</strong>t row<br />

start was a welcome view<br />

at the start of the 7th<br />

round.<br />

Despite losing sec<strong>on</strong>d spot<br />

at the start of the race,<br />

to eventual race winner,<br />

Andrew Jordan, the H<strong>on</strong>da<br />

Civic Type R FK8 dug<br />

in deep and maintained<br />

its third place to the<br />

chequered flag.<br />

Race two saw Cammish <strong>on</strong><br />

the charge from the start<br />

and despite challenging for<br />

sec<strong>on</strong>d <strong>on</strong> a few occasi<strong>on</strong>s,<br />

yet again had to settle<br />

for third But positively<br />

collecting his sec<strong>on</strong>d<br />

trophy of the day.<br />

The Reverse Grid third<br />

race meant Cammish<br />

started from 9th, two<br />

places behind team mate<br />

Matt Neal but again was<br />

up for the challenge. An<br />

early crash was narrowly<br />

avoided and very so<strong>on</strong> 6th<br />

place was achieved topping<br />

of a high point scoring day.<br />

“It was a great weekend. I<br />

came here knowing we’d<br />

be str<strong>on</strong>g and with the<br />

intenti<strong>on</strong> of coming out as<br />

the highest scorer of the<br />

weekend. It looks I missed<br />

out <strong>on</strong> that <strong>on</strong>e by a single<br />

point to Andrew Jordan,<br />

but this is probably the<br />

str<strong>on</strong>gest weekend I’ve had<br />

in the British <strong>Tour</strong>ing Car<br />

Champi<strong>on</strong>ship – to come<br />

away with two thirds and<br />

a sixth, to score 41 points,<br />

it’s a mega day.<br />

I’m back into the top 10<br />

in the champi<strong>on</strong>ship and<br />

I’m fired up to move this<br />

forward. I cannot wait to<br />

come back here in August<br />

and get even higher <strong>on</strong> the<br />

podium.”<br />

www.sandbagtimes.co.uk 07 |


KWIKFIT BTCC 2019 - THRUXTON<br />

Rounds 7, 8 and 9 by Pablo - <str<strong>on</strong>g>Brits</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>on</strong> <strong>Tour</strong><br />

The third outing of the<br />

Kwikfit BTCC 2019 at the<br />

Thruxt<strong>on</strong> circuit was an<br />

outstanding affair from the green<br />

light of the first practice sessi<strong>on</strong><br />

right up to the final chequered<br />

flag.<br />

I d<strong>on</strong>’t quite know why this<br />

year seems to have stepped up<br />

a gear (excuse the awful pun)<br />

but ‘stepped up’ it certainly has.<br />

Everybody from fr<strong>on</strong>t to back<br />

has the bit between their teeth<br />

and I’m loving it.<br />

Cracking straight <strong>on</strong> with<br />

qualifying, I actually found it<br />

hard to keep up. The fast circuit<br />

meant cars coming out for a tyre<br />

scrub then darting back in for<br />

a cross swap before going for a<br />

fast lap or two before the best<br />

was g<strong>on</strong>e out of them. Mind<br />

you there were <strong>on</strong>e or two, Ash<br />

Sutt<strong>on</strong> for example who stayed<br />

out.<br />

It was also a bit of a pain to see<br />

the countless laps being deducted<br />

for the track limit infringements<br />

and positi<strong>on</strong>s swapping furiously.<br />

Yes I know, safety comes first and<br />

that is a must, but it did seem<br />

very excessive <strong>on</strong> Saturday.<br />

It was fantastic to see Dan<br />

Cammish and Sam Tordoff both<br />

break last years lap record, I<br />

love to see limits pushed but the<br />

sessi<strong>on</strong> was a little marred by the<br />

Blundell - Chilt<strong>on</strong> incident. I<br />

know Mark is a very experienced<br />

racing driver with masses of<br />

experience but I w<strong>on</strong>der, and I<br />

mean this with the very greatest<br />

of respect, was moving to<br />

<strong>Tour</strong>ing Car the right thing to<br />

do? Time will tell. The seas<strong>on</strong><br />

has not started at all well for him<br />

and trying to learn the ropes in<br />

such a competitive field may not<br />

be a good idea. But hey, that’s<br />

just me.<br />

Anyway, qualies over, Tordoff<br />

at the pointy end, followed by<br />

Cammish and Jordan. Fast<br />

forward to Sunday morning for<br />

race 1.<br />

The first race was really a three<br />

horse affair with our fr<strong>on</strong>t trio<br />

swapping places about and Colin<br />

Turkingt<strong>on</strong> hanging <strong>on</strong> to the<br />

shirt tail of Dan Cammish. I<br />

need to stop here a minute, go<br />

back another two places and<br />

we see a much improved Jas<strong>on</strong><br />

Plato holding <strong>on</strong> to his qualie<br />

positi<strong>on</strong>. Jas<strong>on</strong> has been a little<br />

quiet this seas<strong>on</strong> so far but I<br />

would describe it as flying under<br />

the radar. Have to keep my<br />

eye <strong>on</strong> him, I think. (more to<br />

follow <strong>on</strong> Mr Plato in a couple of<br />

paragraphs).<br />

A great win for Andrew Jordan<br />

with Tordoff and Cammish<br />

completing the podium.<br />

Before we get to race two, the<br />

Thruxt<strong>on</strong> masses were very<br />

well treated to a new class of<br />

racing. The Dunlop Mini Se7en<br />

Challenge and the Dunlop Mini<br />

Miglia Challenge. Both races <strong>on</strong><br />

Sunday took the crowd by storm.<br />

Totally breath taking and packed<br />

full of drama. We certainly need<br />

more of this.<br />

I was lucky enough to catch up<br />

with <strong>on</strong>e of the drivers of the<br />

Mini Miglia Challenge, Dan<br />

Lewis. Unfortunately he had a<br />

nightmare of a weekend which<br />

probably didn’t need a particular<br />

reporter asking him daft<br />

questi<strong>on</strong>s. However, I have to<br />

say Dan is a total gentleman and<br />

chatted to us with a w<strong>on</strong>derful<br />

smile <strong>on</strong> his face. (Read more <strong>on</strong><br />

Dan, later in the mag).<br />

Ok, <strong>on</strong> to race two. The fr<strong>on</strong>t<br />

end remained the same from<br />

Main Image: Jakob Ebrey Photography<br />

| 08 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk


Thruxt<strong>on</strong><br />

start to finish minus Tordoff who<br />

ended up slipping back to 6th<br />

but delete Tordoff - insert Colin<br />

Turkingt<strong>on</strong> which is the way it<br />

finished, but my eyes weren’t <strong>on</strong><br />

this tussle. It was the <strong>on</strong>e behind,<br />

Jas<strong>on</strong> Plato and Matt Neal. Plato<br />

had got himself into 4th with the<br />

H<strong>on</strong>da of Neal climbing all over<br />

him. The excitement of seeing<br />

these two battling <strong>on</strong> the track<br />

again was almost too much for<br />

me to handle. Unfortunately, we<br />

ran out of laps and the chequered<br />

flag spoilt all the fun. Another<br />

couple of laps and... Well, I w<strong>on</strong>’t<br />

go there. But hats off to both,<br />

outstanding racing.<br />

As we said before, Andrew<br />

Jordan topped the charts again<br />

with Colin Turkingt<strong>on</strong> and Dan<br />

Cammish making up the top<br />

three. Two great races down,<br />

<strong>on</strong>e to go.<br />

Yet again, back to the support<br />

races. I always look forward to<br />

the Formula 4. The sec<strong>on</strong>d race<br />

of the day was a very exciting<br />

race. Although the race was<br />

dominated by Tommy Foster,<br />

the acti<strong>on</strong> behind was incredible.<br />

The battle for 2nd, 3rd and 4th<br />

went to the flag and was literally<br />

wheel to wheel.<br />

The Dunlop Mini Miglia<br />

Challenge took place in the same<br />

support sessi<strong>on</strong> and proved to be<br />

another nail biter. Small cars, yes<br />

but oh so big racing .<br />

And finally, <strong>on</strong> to race three.<br />

Just as the cars left the pit lane,<br />

spots of rain started to threaten.<br />

The crowd d<strong>on</strong>ned their Kwikfit<br />

p<strong>on</strong>chos (except me who braved<br />

it out in my t shirt), umbrellas<br />

went up and then it stopped<br />

raining almost instantly.<br />

The race got under way with a<br />

few drops still hanging about but<br />

nothing to threaten the grip. The<br />

reverse grid played out nicely<br />

for Ash Sutt<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong> pole with<br />

Josh Cook and Rob Collard just<br />

behind. I still had my eye <strong>on</strong><br />

the Matt Neal - Jas<strong>on</strong> Plato saga<br />

who were 7th and 8th <strong>on</strong> the grid<br />

respectively, with an evil smile<br />

<strong>on</strong> my face.<br />

The lights went out and very<br />

quickly, mayhem ensued with an<br />

early incident. Most managed<br />

to avoid the carnage except for<br />

Jack Goff and Adam Morgan.<br />

Reload the positi<strong>on</strong>s and our<br />

fr<strong>on</strong>t five were now Josh Cook,<br />

Rory Butcher, Ash Sutt<strong>on</strong> having<br />

dropped two places, Matt Neal<br />

and the ever closing Tom Ingram<br />

hanging <strong>on</strong> to Matt’s bootlaces.<br />

That never really amounted to<br />

much although Ingram did close<br />

the gap <strong>on</strong>ce or twice.<br />

At the pencil end, Josh Cook<br />

came home winner with Rory<br />

Butcher sec<strong>on</strong>d and young Ash<br />

third.<br />

All in all, this was a great finale<br />

to a brilliant days racing. The<br />

rain kept off despite <strong>on</strong>e or two<br />

minor threats and for the most<br />

part, the day was warm although<br />

a little overcast at times.<br />

So we head to Croft in Yorkshire<br />

next m<strong>on</strong>th for rounds 10, 11<br />

and 12. Yet again, nothing<br />

is taken for granted. This is<br />

historically a track for the rear<br />

wheel drives but hey, what has<br />

g<strong>on</strong>e the way it should have d<strong>on</strong>e<br />

this seas<strong>on</strong>? As our Murray used<br />

to say. anything can happen and<br />

it usually does.<br />

We shall be there following the<br />

acti<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong>ce again and trying<br />

to interview <strong>on</strong>e or two drivers<br />

for the sec<strong>on</strong>d issue of ‘<str<strong>on</strong>g>Brits</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>on</strong><br />

<strong>Tour</strong>’.<br />

Catch up <strong>on</strong> all the latest news at<br />

www.btcc.net<br />

www.sandbagtimes.co.uk 09 |


BTCC SUPPORT RACE SPECIAL<br />

Focus <strong>on</strong> Dan Lewis<br />

Dunlop Mini Se7en Challenge<br />

& Dunlop Mini Miglia Challenge<br />

| 08 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk


Dan Lewis<br />

One of the things I love about the motorsport world, is the total pleasantness of the drivers. One<br />

of the friendliest bunches of people you could ever hope to meet. Ok, that may not be true in all<br />

cases but it certainly was when I met Dan Lewis <strong>on</strong> Sunday.<br />

Dan, from Worcester, made his debut this weekend at Thruxt<strong>on</strong> in the Mini support races, the first time<br />

we had seen Mini’s in the series for a number of years. Dan told me during a short interview that as the<br />

little car reaches 60 this year, there is plenty going <strong>on</strong> to celebrate this w<strong>on</strong>derful little star. I asked Dan<br />

about the particular car he was driving plus a <strong>on</strong>e or two other questi<strong>on</strong>s prior to his race.<br />

Pablo “This is a new series to the Kwikfit BTCC, can you tell me a little about it and the car you are<br />

driving?<br />

Dan “The Mini Se7en Club is 60 this year, starting when the Mini was born. It’s taking centre stage<br />

this year with lots going <strong>on</strong>. This car runs in the Mini Libra class which means it needs to have a<br />

Mini Engine and Gearbox, the Tyres and Suspensi<strong>on</strong> are from the Mini Miglia class but apart from<br />

that we can modify the car to get the best out of it. Basically. it is a BTCC spec car, very fast and very<br />

interesting.”<br />

Pablo “So you’re making you’re debut today in a BTCC support race, how do you feel about the<br />

opportunity?<br />

Dan “It’s fantastic to be at Thruxt<strong>on</strong>, I am really looking forward to getting out there. We <strong>on</strong>ly have <strong>on</strong>e<br />

race today so it’ll be a great opportunity to get some experience in a BTCC support race, Unfortunately<br />

we had some issues in qualifying yesterday with a wiring problem <strong>on</strong> the car but we think we have that<br />

sorted now. ”<br />

Pablo “So what’s your target for today?<br />

Dan “Ideally it’ll be great to finish as we are starting at the back due to the problem yesterday and we’ll<br />

see what progress we can make throughout the race.”<br />

Pablo “Dan, good luck today and with the rest of the seas<strong>on</strong>.<br />

Unfortunately, the bad luck c<strong>on</strong>tinued for Dan as the problem reoccured <strong>on</strong> his out lap and he was<br />

unable to start the race. However, we are looking forward to following the series through the year and<br />

updating readers <strong>on</strong> this incredible series.<br />

As we said in the previous article, the Mini racing was <strong>on</strong>e of the best spectacles of the weekend.<br />

Certainly for me, they were the most exciting support races. Looking ahead to next year, as some of you<br />

will already know, Mini’s are due to take a permanent place <strong>on</strong> the BTCC calender with the additi<strong>on</strong><br />

of the Mini Challenge series in 2020. I am privileged to know Matt Neal’s s<strong>on</strong>’s Will and Henry who<br />

both raced in this class last year, both making a real mark. They have both g<strong>on</strong>e <strong>on</strong> to bigger things this<br />

seas<strong>on</strong> but watching their antics last year has <strong>on</strong>ly fuelled my interest and excitement for next seas<strong>on</strong>.<br />

www.sandbagtimes.co.uk 11 |


COULD YOU BE A MARSHAL?<br />

The British Motorsports Marshals Club<br />

They say everything happens for a<br />

reas<strong>on</strong>, so when I had to sit at home in<br />

a very grumpy mood forced to watch<br />

BTCC <strong>on</strong> the TV instead of being trackside<br />

at D<strong>on</strong>ningt<strong>on</strong>, I would not have agreed with<br />

that.<br />

But lo and behold, I caught Paul O’Neil<br />

speaking about Marshaling recruitment<br />

which really caught my attenti<strong>on</strong>. (You see, I<br />

would have been n<strong>on</strong>e the wiser if I was at the<br />

racing).<br />

So, after Paul’s plea to recruit more Marshals,<br />

I decided to do my bit with the mags. So let’s<br />

stop waffling and get started.<br />

OurBritish motorsport Marshals are an<br />

incredible breed. The very safety of the<br />

drivers and the public rests firmly <strong>on</strong> their<br />

shoulders . We see many of them at the<br />

circuits, in teams, in their orange firesuits<br />

poised and ready to react when things go<br />

pear-shaped <strong>on</strong> the track.<br />

Even if it’s to wave flags to signal drivers that<br />

there is danger or to clear debris up to and<br />

including broken cars from the track, or even<br />

just to stop the public from getting too close<br />

to the acti<strong>on</strong>, these guys and girls are our<br />

safety net. And as Mr O’Neil so elequently<br />

said, we need more of them. So ‘<str<strong>on</strong>g>Brits</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>on</strong><br />

<strong>Tour</strong>’ al<strong>on</strong>g with ‘SBT’ is going to jump in.<br />

Like all volunteer services such as Mountain<br />

Rescue. Lifeboat services etc, the Marshals<br />

come from all walks of life. They are<br />

dedicated people who love providing a<br />

service, have an element of selflessness and<br />

are up for a challenge.<br />

So my questi<strong>on</strong> here is, could this be you?<br />

Marshaling is for anybody who is interested in<br />

and wants to be involved in Motorsport. You<br />

d<strong>on</strong>’t need any special skills or qualificati<strong>on</strong>s<br />

to start, just comm<strong>on</strong> sense and a reas<strong>on</strong>ably<br />

developed sense of self-preservati<strong>on</strong>.<br />

For anybody that is thinking about it, you can<br />

attend a taster day to find out if it is for you or<br />

not. If it is, the team will take you to the next<br />

step. If not, then, at the least, you will have a<br />

great day out learning about what Marshals<br />

really do.<br />

So all that is left, is for me to give you some<br />

informati<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong> where to apply or to gather<br />

more informati<strong>on</strong> to make your mind up.<br />

Just look to the ajoining page for full details<br />

<strong>on</strong> the British Motorsports Marshaling Club<br />

and do something really worthwhile while<br />

you watch your favourite racing.<br />

| 12 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk


Marshaling<br />

If you are interested in Marshaling, then please head to:<br />

www.marshals.co.uk<br />

www.sandbagtimes.co.uk 13 |


Drivers Champi<strong>on</strong>ship<br />

1 Colin TURKINGTON Team BMW 102<br />

2 Rory BUTCHER Cobra Sport AmD AutoAid/RCIB Insurance 102<br />

3 Josh COOK BTC Racing 100<br />

4 Ashley SUTTON Adrian Flux Subaru Racing 97<br />

5 Matt NEAL Halfords Yuasa Racing 85<br />

6 Tom INGRAM Team Toyota GB with Ginsters 81<br />

7 Tom CHILTON Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher 68<br />

8 Dan CAMMISH Halfords Yuasa Racing 66<br />

9 Andrew JORDAN BMW Pirtek Racing 65<br />

10 Jas<strong>on</strong> PLATO Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed Racing 60<br />

11 Jake HILL TradePriceCars.com 57<br />

12 Rob COLLARD Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed Racing 50<br />

13 Adam MORGAN Mac Tools with Ciceley Motorsport 46<br />

14 Stephen JELLEY Team Parker Racing 42<br />

15 Tom OLIPHANT Team BMW 40<br />

16 Sam TORDOFF Cobra Sport AmD AutoAid/RCIB Insurance 35<br />

17 Chris SMILEY BTC Racing 31<br />

18 Aiden MOFFAT Laser Tools Racing 30<br />

19 Bobby THOMPSON GKR Scaffolding with Autobrite Direct 15<br />

20 Senna PROCTOR Adrian Flux Subaru Racing 11<br />

21 Jack GOFF RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport 10<br />

22 Ollie JACKSON Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher 5<br />

23 Michael CREES GKR Scaffolding with Autobrite Direct 4<br />

24 Mark BLUNDELL TradePriceCars.com 2<br />

25 Carl BOARDLEY RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport 1<br />

26 Matt SIMPSON Simps<strong>on</strong> Racing 1<br />

27 Sam OSBORNE Excelr8 Motorsport 0<br />

28 Nic HAMILTON ROKiT Racing with Motorbase 0<br />

29 Daniel ROWBOTTOM Cataclean Racing with Ciceley Motorsport 0<br />

30 Rob SMITH Excelr8 Motorsport 0<br />

Manufacturers – C<strong>on</strong>structors Standings<br />

1 H<strong>on</strong>da 235<br />

2 BMW 220<br />

3 Subaru 205<br />

4 Vauxhall 181<br />

5 Toyota 121<br />

| 14 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk


Kwikfit BTCC 2019 Standings<br />

Teams Standings<br />

1 Halfords Yuasa Racing 149<br />

2 Team BMW 137<br />

3 Cobra Sport AmD AutoAid/RCIB Insurance 133<br />

4 BTC Racing 127<br />

5 Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed Racing 109<br />

6 Adrian Flux Subaru Racing 105<br />

7 Team Toyota GB with Ginsters 80<br />

8 Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher 72<br />

9 BMW Pirtek Racing 61<br />

10 TradePriceCars.com 59<br />

11 Mac Tools with Ciceley Motorsport 46<br />

12 Team Parker Racing 41<br />

13 Laser Tools Racing 30<br />

14 GKR Scaffolding with Autobrite Direct 18<br />

15 RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport 11<br />

16 Simps<strong>on</strong> Racing 1<br />

17 ROKiT Racing with Motorbase 0<br />

18 Excelr8 Motorsport 0<br />

19 Cataclean Racing with Ciceley Motorsport 0<br />

Dunlop #ForeverForward Standings<br />

1 Adam MORGAN 39<br />

2 Aiden MOFFAT 38<br />

3 Chris SMILEY 36<br />

4 Mark BLUNDELL 35<br />

5 Jake HILL 34<br />

Jack Sears Trophy Standings<br />

1 Rory BUTCHER Cobra Sport AmD AutoAid/RCIB Insurance 174<br />

2 Tom OLIPHANT Team BMW 141<br />

3 Bobby THOMPSON GKR Scaffolding with Autobrite Direct 99<br />

4 Rob SMITH Excelr8 Motorsport 99<br />

5 Michael CREES GKR Scaffolding with Autobrite Direct 93<br />

6 Daniel ROWBOTTOM Cataclean Racing with Ciceley Motorsport 79<br />

7 Sam OSBORNE Excelr8 Motorsport 62<br />

8 Nic HAMILTON ROKiT Racing with Motorbase 61<br />

9 Mark BLUNDELL TradePriceCars.com 58<br />

10 Carl BOARDLEY RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport 55<br />

www.sandbagtimes.co.uk 15 |

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