02/04/2003 - BTCC looking good for 2003

The 2003 British Touring Car Championship was officially launched in front of the world’s media at Brands Hatch today, Weds 2 April. Tony Jardine was the host for the morning’s press conference as representatives of an extensive range of media organisations gathered. Jardine praised the BTCC for the close racing and “epic dices” seen throughout 2002 and ran through the 2003 entrants before series director, Richard West, took centre stage.

West echoed Tony Jardine’s positive remarks towards the healthiness of the championship, remarking that the series continues to grow despite an economic climate which has made funding more difficult than ever to find. He then went on to outline a number of important details relating to the championship, some of which were previously known, whilst others were made public for the first time.

The key points made by West include:

Green Flag Motoring Assistance have extended their title sponsorship of the championship by two years after impressive results in 2002. Chris Moat, Managing Director of Green Flag commented “Motorsport is central to our brand awareness, and we saw an increase in this during 2002. Our customers can relate to the cars out on the track, due to the similarity to their own models. The excitement of the BTCC captures the imagination of consumers.”

Attention then turned to on-track matters with much positive comment with regards to 2002. The top 2 drivers from last year then took up the opportunity to express their thoughts on the forthcoming season. An enthusiastic Matt Neal (Honda Racing) was first up: “I’m very very pleased to be where I am this year. The package we have with the Civic Type-R is very exciting. There has been a fair bit of testing over the winter and we’ve made improvements to an already impressive car, including a new suspension package. It looks very promising for this season”

Asked whether the developments will continue throughout the year, Neal added, “It’s difficult with testing being so restricted, but we have already had a fair bit of track time.”

He continued, “This year is different for me because all of a sudden I’m the older one in the team. I’ve come through the series with a group of us that have all been about the same age, but now there are young guys coming in. I think Alan (Morrison) is very underrated and is a very competitive driver. Track time is obviously very important for Tom (Chilton).”

“I’m under no illusions I know the Vauxhall guys will come out all guns blazing. That said, I’m really looking forward to Mondello as it’s a circuit that should suit us. It would be nice to hit the ground running.”

Vauxhall’s Yvan Muller, and runner-up for the past two seasons responded with a typical Gallic shrug when questioned about his title chances for this season: “There are things in this sport that I can’t control. The important thing is that Vauxhall have won the championship for the last two years. I’ll let you know my chances of winning the championship when we come to the last race of the season. James (Thompson) will be very competitive of course, and so will some of the others. Paul (O’Neill) has also progressed well throughout last year and during the winter. He’s been putting in good times and has learnt to set up the car.”

“We have progressed from last year but we will have to wait and see how we compare with the other teams. I think it will be much tighter this year.”

Muller's activities in 2003 are not restricted to the BTCC. He will also compete in the French rally championship, and will make a second attempt on a jet ski world record in May or June. The Frenchman’s ice racing activities have been limited over the winter, entering just one race, in which he was victorious. (Details here.)

James Thompson is the first BTCC champion to defend his title since Rickard Rydell in 1999 and he doesn’t plan to give it up without a fight: “I’m proud to have won the championship last year after such a fierce battle. It was a great year and to take it all down to the wire was great for the championship.”

Questioned about the levels of contact in the series, Thompson responded, “We’re professionals and can all race together. Anyone that has watched the series knows that there will always be panels rubbing and mirrors falling off – the close racing makes the series what it is. We can race safely with a little bit of contact here and there.”

Thompson knows he will be in for some stiff competition and there is no question of Thompson under-estimating his rivals this year: “I think Honda will be very strong, and MG as well. On top of that, there’s no reason why some of the independent Astras shouldn’t trouble us on occasions. You can never rule out David Leslie either.”

The overwhelming message was one of a positive outlook for 2003 with a championship that looks to be stronger than at any time in recent years. For the teams, the remainder of the day provided a rare opportunity to take the track for a test session, ahead of the first BTCC meeting at Mondello Park, Ireland, over Easter weekend