Vauxhall Racing return to the track this weekend for rounds nine and ten of the Green Flag MSA British Touring Car Championship and are all set to continue the closely fought races that have epitomised BTCC this year. The statistics show VX Racing leading the three championships they contest, but the numbers don’t accurately reflect the tough on-track battles that are being fought every race, every weekend. Yvan Muller leads the driver’s championship for VX Racing, but with team-mate James Thompson less than 20 points behind, the title is still far from being decided.

Rockingham Motor Speedway is the location for this weekend’s rounds and it is the debut for this circuit on the BTCC calendar. For VX Racing it’s an all-new experience, with neither the drivers or the team having raced here.

James Thompson is looking forward to racing on a circuit that is new to the Championship saying,

“Rockingham will be a new experience for VX Racing. We haven’t tested there, so we’ll be looking to spend as much time as possible out on track on Friday for the orientation test. It’s quite a tight, twisty circuit, which should suit the Vauxhall Astra Coupe, but I know that our rivals will be just as competitive as always. I’m expecting the racing to be very close this weekend. I’m looking to close the gap on Yvan in the Drivers Championship, so I’ll be trying to amass as many points as I can in these two races.”

“As we head towards Rockingham and the halfway point in the season, the VX Racing team is staying ahead of the competition, which is great.” Adds Yvan Muller. “However, every race has been a close fight, every lap, so I’m expecting Rockingham to be another tough weekend. The circuit is new to us, so we’ll have to learn quickly and find the optimum set up as best we can in the track time that we have. The VX Racing team is the best in the pitlane, so I’m confident that we’ll be fighting hard at the front this weekend.”

Paul O’Neill has watched racing at this venue which features a 1.5 mile oval as well as the road course to be used for this weekend. He says, “I’ve never driven at Rockingham, but I have visited as a spectator and it certainly looks as if it will be a demanding track. I don’t think it will be easy to find the braking points, but I’ll be looking to use the orientation test to learn the circuit as quickly as I can. The Vauxhall Astra Coupe is suited to this twisty, tight circuit, so there’s no reason why we’re not in the hunt for points again this weekend. I’ll be looking to improve on my performances at Silverstone.”

O’Neill also enjoyed driving the Vauxhall Astra Coupe in a completely different environment last weekend, as he sampled the Santa Pod drag strip in Northamptonshire, as part of the National Vauxhall Day at the venue. Over 9000 Vauxhall enthusiasts attended the event and a lucky few were given the chance to pit their reaction and driving skills against the VX Racing driver on the ¼ mile strip. O’Neill said after the event, ”It was a great day at Santa Pod. I beat everyone that I was up against in the VX Racing Vauxhall Astra Coupe, luckily! And I managed to get over 120 mph in the short length of the strip.” As a typical professional racer, O’Neill wanted to top his times, adding, “We didn’t have the right gear ratios, otherwise I could have gone faster”

Watch the VX Racing team at Rockingham Motor Speedway this weekend or tune in to Motors TV at 12.30pm (Race 1), and 16.05pm (Race 2) on Sunday 22nd June, with terrestrial coverage on ITV1 on Saturday 28th June at 14.10pm.