BTCC 2009 preview with Ben Edwards and Alan Hyde (Part two)

Wed 1st April 2009 Between them, Ben Edwards (BE) and Alan Hyde (AH) have watched and commentated on hundreds of BTCC races. We caught up with them to bring you this exclusive preview of the 2009 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship.

Read on for part two of our our exclusive look at the season ahead.

On ‘characters’…

BE: We’ve got some great characters in the championship. It’s great to see Paul O’Neill, hopefully, back. He’s a real character and a race winner. Dave Pinkney – what are we going to make of Dave Pinkney?

AH: It’s great to have Dave back. This is something that he’s wanted to do for a good couple of years. He hates being away from this. He thoroughly enjoys his racing, and he’s ultra-competitive. Absolutely ultra-competitive. He’s going to have a very, very enjoyable year. Will he be on the podium this year?

BE: That’s a good question. I reckon he will at some point. Somehow or other, I reckon he will.

AH: Thruxton. He loves that place.

On what makes the BTCC great…

BE: For me, it’s the racing. It is unpredictable. It’s real racing, there’s real overtaking going on. With the three-race format, you never quite know who’s going to come through at the end of the day with the most points. I love the unpredictability of it. There are some real characters, which adds to that as well. So it’s a real blend.

AH: I think one of the other things that’s great about it is that everybody knows where they are. The rules; the regulations; everything it set out, everything is properly done. Everybody knows what they’re coming into, what they’re fighting for and it’s always been like that. It needs to be properly formatted, and that it is. It’s not an unknown quantity when you come into the year, so when you’re trying to put a budget together, or trying to put a programme together for the year, you know exactly what you’re up against. I think that’s a massive part of it.

On the excitement of a new season…

AH: For me, it’s the smell of fuel when the cars are started up. When they come back into the pitlane, it’s the smell of the brake dust. I’m a proper petrolhead.

BE: Me too. I definitely get a buzz every time. Seeing the cars with their new liveries. New cars, new faces, lots of familiar faces. The time I love best - especially at Brands actually – for the first race, is when they’re all lined up in the pitlane. There is a real buzz of anticipation about the place, because you just do not know who is going to go out there and set the pace. I really love that moment.

On championship contenders…

AH: Ben first.

BE: You’ve got to say Fabrizio, because he’s the reigning champion. Two in a row, he’s going for his third.

AH: I’m with you on that.

BE: Colin Turkington, because Colin’s been a frontrunner in the series. I think they are ready to go for the outright championship. You’ve got to say Gordon Shedden. He is in the car again. It was a bit of a last minute deal. Last year I thought that Gordon, having to take on the mantle of team leader, with a quick guy alongside him, it was a lot to take on and I think now maybe he’s ready. The team will focus its efforts on him.

AH: It was a very different dynamic for Gordon, it was a new role, it was a learning role. The whole team must have changed because Matt [Neal] is an ever-present at Team Dynamics and, with a couple of excursions to other teams along the way, he’s always been there. It must have been a learning curve not only for Gordon but also for the whole team last year.

I’d like to throw in Matt Neal as well. I think Matt’s going to have a better year this year. I think maybe the cards didn’t fall for him last year, but also, exactly the same way that it was totally different at Dynamics, it was totally different for Matt Neal as well. Ok, he’d been in a Vauxhall before, in the Egg Sport team, but not in the VX team; not with a multiple European champion. There was a lot to learn last year for Matt.

BE: You’re absolutely right. All three drivers at VXR are going to be strong. We know how good the car is. Just between those three it’s going to be a massive battle for the title, let alone the other guys trying to stick their cars in there.

I think those guys are the main contenders, but you’ve got some really interesting teams out there. The likes of Adam Jones and Dan Eaves at Cartridge World – I think they could show well. Obviously it’s a bit of an unknown at the moment. Dan, I guess might be a little bit rusty, but I don’t think it will take him long. Do you?

AH: No, absolutely not. He’s the only driver that’s ever won three races in a day and that’s no mean feat, even if he did have a very, very good car. That was a very special day at Thruxton, so it’s great to have Dan back.

The other one that I want to mention is Jonathan Adam. Motorbase came on very, very strong at the end of last year. They’re going to carry that through without a doubt. Dave Bartrum and the team attack this championship very professionally and I think Jonathan Adam is really quite a force to be reckoned with and once he gets to grips with the physical nature of the championship, and the rear-wheel drive, I think Adam’s going to be pretty impressive this year.

BE: It’s always so close. I can’t see anyone running away with it. I think it’s going to be really tight.

Thanks to Ben and Alan for taking the time to talk to us here at BTCCPages.com ahead of what looks set to be another exciting season of racing in the British Touring Car Championship.

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