[BTCC] Round Eight, Thruxton 27-28 Aug, Races 22,23&24

[crmalcolm]

The eighth meeting of the 2022 KwikFit BTCC season sees the second of two visits to Thruxton.

A quick glance of the site and it is easily identified that this track began life as an airfield, with the circuit following what was essentially the airfield perimeter track. The site is also the location of the BARC HQ.

(thruxtonracing.co.uk) Like many race circuits Thruxton was originally a wartime airfield. Commissioned in 1941 the airfield was host to both the RAF and USAF and played a major part in the D-Day landings as a base for troop carrying aircraft and gliders. Declared surplus to requirements in 1946, motorsport started in 1950 with motor bikes on a track comprising both the runways and perimeter roads.

Cars joined the bikes in 1952 for only one year as the deteriorating wartime tarmac was breaking up badly. Amazingly, bikes continued racing until 1965, but by then plans were under way to redevelop the site and motor racing returned on a new track in 1968. The new layout ignored the old runways and followed the lines of the perimeter road with the inclusion of the chicane and further round the track three tight corners in succession: Campbell, Cobb, and Segrave, commonly referred to as the Complex.

Even with these tight corners Thruxton is the fastest race circuit in the UK, with Formula Renaults averaging well over 100mph in race conditions. Thruxton soon gained a reputation as a real drivers’ circuit with its seemingly never-ending high-speed corners around the back of the track where success required total commitment.

Thruxton's fame grew from the Easter Monday Formula 2 meetings where Formula 1 drivers of the day battled with up and coming talent. Household names like Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart and Jochen Rindt all thrilled the crowds in the early races. Since then Thruxton has seen all our recent Formula 1 drivers race regularly at the track at some time in their career.

In 1993 Damon Hill, Formula 1 World Champion, drove a demonstration run in the Williams FW15C, recording an incredible 57.6 second lap of the 2.4 mile circuit, an average speed of 147.25mph.
It is now the high speed rounds of the British Touring car championship and Superbikes that regularly bring in capacity crowds. If you follow these series you may have seen Thruxton on the television or even lapped the circuit on the Playstation Touring Car game, but as always there is nothing like doing it for real.

Thruxton first appeared as a BTCC [BSCC] circuit for the 1968 season, winners that day were Chris Craft (Class A), Graham Janzen (Class B), Frank Gardner (Class C) and Brian Muir (Class D). Since the cars began to run under NGTC regulations, the track has seen a good return for FWD cars, particularly Hondas. From the 2011 season onwards, there have now been 42 winners; of these only 8 wins have been taken by RWD cars, and of these, five were in race-3 reverse grids. At the same time, 21 wins have been taken by Hondas, with Cook picking up nine of those wins followed by Shedden with six. Overall, including pre-NGTC regs, Shedden has seven wins when you include his 2006 win in an Integra.

Having picked up two wins early in the season, this must be Cook’s last chance to get his title ambitions back on track. The heat last time out at Snetterton played into the RWD hands, and so the FWD contenders will be hoping for lower temperatures. If the BTC Honda can perform as well as last time at Thruxton – could this be the occasion we see Plato inch closer to that magic 100 figure?



The full timetable is currently TBC:


Early weather forecast shows that Saturday is forecast to be 18deg with a 25% chance of rain.

Sunday 23deg and 20% chance of rain in the afternoon.



As we enter the final few rounds, the respective championships show that:
Realistically, the main championship is a five-way contest. Cook looks to be slightly adrift of the bunch, but a repeat of his early season results at Thruxton puts him back in the frame. The intra-team rivalry at BMW could see the drivers taking points off each other if the conditions suit the RWD. Will there be a point when one is told to support the challenge of the other?

Driver	Points
Turkington	282
Ingram	267
Hill	258
Sutton	257
Cook	210

BMW look to have a strong lead in the Manufacturers’. The rivals need to score well with both cars is they are to mount a challenge.

Manufacturer/Constructor	Points
BMW	584
EXCELER8	497
Motorbase	480

The Teams’ Championship is close, with only a handful of points separating the top three.

Team	Points
Team BMW	403
Bristol Street with EXCELER8 TradePriceCars.com	394
NAPA Racing UK	364

The Independents Trophy looks to be a four-way contest, but Thompson will need to get strong results to stay in the hunt. The Car Gods pair’s recent form has seen them move close to catching Cook.

Driver	Points
Cook	347
Morgan	292
Gamble	257
Thompson	243

The Independents Teams is currently headed by Rich Energy BTC Racing, followed by Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport.

Team	Points
Rich Energy BTC Racing	372
Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport	361

The Jack Sears Trophy seems to have settled into a two-horse race between Thompson and Gamble, with Hand and Osborne retaining an outside chance of success

Driver	Points
Thompson	333
Gamble	331
Hand	268
Osborne	240

Much criticism has been levelled at Rich Energy and HARD. in recent times. But between them they are in contention for 3 and possibly 4 of the trophies on offer. Are the results going to speak for them at the end of the season?