MG Sport and Racing and Vauxhall Motorsport took a win apiece this afternoon at Silverstone, in the shape of Warren Hughes and James Thompson, after two intensely competitive Green Flag MSA British Touring Car Championship encounters played out in front of 17,900 enthusiastic spectators. MG, the first manufacturer to break Vauxhall’s stranglehold on the championship this season, firmly laid down the gauntlet this weekend. Although Thompson has consequently made a small break at the head of the championship points table, the undisputed pace of MG suggests that this might be the first of many Green Flag BTCC wins for the British marque.

Sprint Race

Warren Hughes scored MG Sport and Racing’s debut 2002 Green Flag BTCC win in mixed conditions at Silverstone this afternoon – and in doing so also became the first non-Vauxhall driver to claim overall honours this season.

Hughes, who took just four laps to dismiss pole sitter and race leader Matt Neal in his Egg Sport Vauxhall Astra Coupé, took the flag with nearly eight seconds in hand back to Neal’s team mate Paul O’Neill, with the impressive David Leslie taking third for Team Petronas Syntium Proton (Team PSP).

Said Hughes:

“The MG ZS was mega, that’s all I can really say! We knew the car was good in the dry, but it was a real unknown quantity in the wet - however, the exploratory laps felt good and we made just a small adjustment on the grid. I knew Matt wasn’t pulling away from us over the first few laps, so I was just being careful and looking to see where he was weak. In the end I pulled off the move in the best place possible, in front of the MG hospitality! I’m absolutely thrilled – lost for words really.”

A heavy shower as the grid formed up saw the majority of drivers change to wet tyres, with the exception of Vauxhall Motorsport’s James Thompson and MG Sport and Racing’s Anthony Reid. Thompson’s team mate Muller had a change of heart after the formation lap and pulled into the pitlane for a tyre change rather than take up his grid position. Critically, this tactical gamble was not to pay off - although the rain stopped and the track dried considerably over the 15 lap race distance, the slick-shod trio would only just feature inside the top ten (and Reid would subsequently be excluded for a too-late tyre change). As Thompson mused: “Another three or four laps and we’d have been heroes!”

That honour was firmly left to Hughes, who tailed Neal from the start and immediately made a small break back to the pack. Neal, who was carrying 42kgs more success ballast than his nearest rivals, soon looked to be struggling in the conditions and it didn’t take long for Hughes to seize the opportunity and take the race lead. Once out in front, he gradually pulled away from the field to take a dominant and seemingly effortless BTCC victory.

Behind Hughes it was a much busier picture. Neal, who was suffering from increasing understeer, gradually fell prey to the front runners with first team mate O’Neill going through with a great move at Copse and then, a lap later, the fast-starting Andy Priaulx in the Honda Racing Civic Type-R. Once Leslie’s Proton Impian had also dismissed the Egg Sport Astra Coupé, the stage was set for a terrific scrap for the remaining podium places. With three laps to go, Priaulx was all over O’Neill’s gearbox for second and was himself being harried by Leslie in the ever-improving Proton. With no one prepared to give an inch, and new manufacturer Honda desperate to score its debut podium result, a dramatic showdown was inevitable. It finally came two corners from the chequered flag, care of Production runner Mark Fullalove. In the ensuing action around the lapped car, Leslie dived through to secure Proton’s second podium finish of the year, with Priaulx demoted to a frustrated fourth place ahead of his team mate Alan Morrison, Neal and Team PSP’s Phil Bennett.

Aaron Slight, who finished 11th overall for Barwell Motorsport, received top honours in the Independent category, ahead of fellow Barwell driver Tom Chilton and Team Halfords’ Dan Eaves. A mid pack clash between Tim Harvey and Gareth Howell on the opening lap had left Team Halfords and Team Atomic Kitten respectively with just one car running – Colin Turkington’s retirement on lap seven finally ending Atomic Kitten’s challenge.

The action continued on the rain soaked track in the Production category. Edenbridge Racing’s Norman Simon claimed the Sprint Race trophy in a superb battle, which saw the Renault Clio of Robert Collard finishing in second and the Alfa Romeo 156 of Gary Ayles Motorsport’s Kelvin Burt claiming the third rostrum position.

Poleman Burt lost his lead on the first lap to the BTC Production Drivers’ Championship leader James Kaye, who had a good start in his Synchro Motorsport prepared Honda Civic Type-R. Simon managed to maintain his third place from the off but was keeping close to the rear bumper of Burt’s Alfa 156. The top three changed places on lap five when Burt ran wide allowing Simon to power into the lead relegating Kaye to second. As the track began to dry and the wet tyres began to wear, Kaye, carrying 42kgs of success ballast, started to lose his competitive pace and on lap 12 Burt, who was free from additional weight, moved into second forcing Kaye back a place. Meanwhile Collard Racing’s Robert Collard was pushing hard behind Kaye and was just biding his time to make his winning move. He didn’t have to wait long. The opportunity came just a lap later and Collard found himself within reach of a podium finish. But once up into third place, at the expense of Kaye, the Hook based driver wasn’t content to just sit there - and as Burt shot wide at Abbey on the final lap in an attempt to claim overall honours, Collard launched his Renault Clio into second place and himself had his sights set on a win. Fortunately for Simon the end was near – he maintained his lead and drove his BMW 320i across the finishing line to take his second win of the season.

Simon commented: “I was doing alright at the start – the car was perfect in the wet. But the trouble with a rear wheel drive car with wet tyres is that when the track starts to dry your rear tyres start to wear out very quickly and you can’t get on the power. I knew I had a fight on my hands to stay at the front of the pack. This win is great for the team especially when we were unlucky last time out at Thruxton. I will be gunning for a repeat performance in the Feature Race.”

Feature Race

James Thompson firmly restored Vauxhall Motorsport honours in the Feature Race with a hard fought and tactical race victory over pole sitter Anthony Reid for MG Sport and Racing. Thompson’s third win of the year promotes him to the top of the championship points table.

A clean rolling start by the pack saw Reid defend his pole position into the first corner, from fellow front row man O’Neill for Egg Sport. However, O’Neill was soon under pressure from a hard-charging Thompson who was already up to third from fifth on the grid. A successful challenge into the complex on the first lap promoted the Vauxhall Motorsport driver to second and the leading duo began to pull out a small advantage. With nothing to split the MG ZS and Astra Coupé at the head of the pack, the mandatory pit stop was going to be crucial. As the rounds of stops began, both drivers pitted at the same time, applying maximum pressure to their teams. A titan effort by both Vauxhall and MG meant no advantage gained or lost, with Reid and Thompson rejoining in ninth and tenth respectively. It was, however, soon clear that Thompson’s car was working better on the fresh rubber and within two laps he deposed Reid’s MG with a solid move at Becketts. As the remainder of the Touring grid made their pit stops, Thompson and Reid moved back up to first and second respectively. Although Reid continued to apply pressure all the way to the flag, he was never quite close enough to make a move, allowing Thompson to take his third win of the year by a comfortable margin.

Enthused Thompson:

“It’s been a tough weekend for the team; we were outpaced in qualifying and then made the wrong tyre choice for the Sprint Race. However, I have to say that having shed the ballast, the car is back to its glorious best. Anthony was very quick in the first part of the race, which was hard work, but we had a great pit stop and I’d saved my best set of tyres for the second and longer stint. That enabled me to hunt him down and nip past. To come away with a race win after such a difficult weekend is great.”

Several drivers were involved in a terrific scrap for the remaining podium position. Egg Sport’s Paul O’Neill, fresh from a superb second place in the Sprint Race, initially made all the running, but his more experienced team mate Matt Neal pulled off a great move into Abbey on lap ten. Despite repaying the favour two laps later when Neal ran wide at the same corner, the two Egg Sport Astras continued to lap as one, with neither prepared to give an inch. Although Neal found a way back through with eight laps to go, O’Neill never gave up his challenge, even though his mirrors were full of a scintillating battle between the Honda Racing Civic Type-Rs and Team Halfords’ Peugeots, all of whom began to threaten for position.

After a highly entertaining race long battle, the final podium place therefore went to Neal, from O’Neill in fourth and top Independent driver Tim Harvey for Team Halfords in fifth. Honda Racing, who had been set for a well deserved fifth place finish with Alan Morrison until he hit problems with a lap to go, rounded out the top six with Andy Priaulx.

Unquestionably the two most disappointed drivers after the Feature Race were Aaron Slight for Barwell Motorsport and Vauxhall Motorsport’s Yvan Muller. Slight, who started from his best ever grid slot in third, had a coming together with Morrison on the opening lap which broke his drive shaft – and Muller’s miserable weekend continued apace, with contact forcing him off the circuit on lap one and subsequent electrical problems ruling out any decent points finish.

The vivid high-octane spectacle continued further down the field in the Production category. Gary Ayles Motorsport’s Kelvin Burt* drove a very impressive race to take the first win for the Kent based outfit this season, followed closely by Synchro Motorsport’s James Kaye with Beacon Motorsport’s Spencer Marsh also in hot pursuit finishing in third.

A beaming Burt said:

“I thought we would have an advantage over Kaye’s Honda Civic Type-R as we did not have to carry any success ballast from the Sprint Race and the Honda was carrying 18kgs. But we didn’t. It’s really quick and I had to work hard to stay in the lead. I just turned up on Thursday as a temporary replacement for Gavin Pyper not knowing the team and having never driven the car and I was quickest straight away in the untimed sessions on Saturday and now this – it‘s fantastic! Of course I am pleased and I will definitely keep in touch with the team to see what we can do next year!”

Burt had a great start from pole in his Alfa Romeo 156 as did Edenbridge Racing’s Norman Simon who temporarily displaced Kaye from second until a broken gearbox forced the BMW 320i to fall prey to the healthier Production car contenders. Kaye resumed second and unwilling to give up on the spoils of victory, launched an attack up the inside of the pack leader into Copse on lap seven, made contact with the Alfa 156, pirouetted and continued to defend his second position - but was now almost 14 seconds shy of Burt. Kaye’s campaign then consisted of playing catch up, which produced a great race to the finish. And despite the intense pressure the Harrogate based driver put on the front runner, Burt managed to maintain his lead to the chequered flag.

Marsh had meanwhile positioned himself in third after working through the pack from sixth on the grid. But he had to fend of the advances of nearly half the Production Class behind who were racing three and four abreast in clusters that were clearly making it harder for the Touring boys to pass. On lap ten, Team B&Q Jet York City’s Jim Edwards Jnr made his move, temporarily taking the third rostrum place from Marsh. He maintained his stronghold over Marsh’s Honda Accord until lap 19 when he encountered a broken gear linkage at Bridge and coasted to Luffield where his race ended. Marsh moved into third and stayed there as he crossed the finishing line. Gary Ayles Motorsport’s Alan Blencowe, who had originally started from third on the grid, finished fourth just under 7/10ths of a second behind Marsh.

*As a temporary replacement Burt is not eligible to claim championship points. Therefore, Kaye is awarded with the first place points, Marsh with the second, Blencowe with the third and so on. Kaye continues to lead the BTC Production Drivers’ Championship with 87 points followed by Marsh with 57 points and Simon with 48.