BTCC 2014 season is almost here for Hampshire Racers

The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship for 2014 is almost ready to kick off, after a very busy and successful Media day at Donington Park. This season a maximum of 31 drivers will be on the starting grid at Brands Hatch on 29/30th March, with 7 former champions in the mix. This is on top of an existing high-class entry with drivers ranging from teenagers to experienced hands in their 40s and 50s. 2013 BTCC champion Andrew Jordan is gunning again for another championship but there are at least 10 drivers who could also claim that as their goal for 2014.
 
The championship again will feature drivers from Hampshire with Rob Collard (Eversley) & Nick Foster (Farnborough) racing for WSR/EBayMotors in BMW 125i M Sport cars and Daniel Welch (Fleet) racing for his family Welch Motorsport team in a much updated Proton GEN-2 car. The BMW’s that Rob & Nick are competing in have had aero and engine updates over the winter and a good testing program to get the cars ready for the first meeting at Brands Hatch in 10 days time. The Proton that Daniel Welch will be competing in (along with a second car for Ollie Jackson) have had a complete rebuild with new engine, aero updates and better chassis setup for a stiffer ride. The team had hoped to have the cars ready for Media Day but a couple of parts didn’t arrive at the workshop in time, but the team expects to get out before the season for some testing.

Nick Foster commented “After a difficult season with the car last year the aero and engine updates have now given me a much more drivable car that I can truly drive to the limit, and I have much more confidence going into the season and the extra testing has been very helpful” Rob Collard (who will also have his son Ricky competing in the Formula Ford of GB Championship on the same bill) commented “I feel much more confident going into the season as the car updates make it easier to drive hard to the limit. I will be trying to keep up to date with Ricky’s progress but I have a commitment to the EBayMotors team, which I plan to meet” Daniel Welch commented “We were only one small piece away from having one complete car but we were let down by a supplier. The team and I have been working really hard over the winter with a stronger engine and better and stiffer chassis and I hope to be able to fight for podiums, which we have missed out on in previous seasons. The car has now been brought up from a 2010 setup to a fully 2014 setup”

So the time is almost there for the opening qualifying session which will take place on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit, in Kent, on Saturday 29th March with the opening 3 races on Sunday 30th March live on ITV4.

Have a review of my Media Day image set in my Image Gallery