Brands Hatch has seen the making and breaking of several BTCC championships in recent years, and VX Racing heads south to the Kent track aiming to improve its standing in the 2005 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship. Currently lying twenty points ahead in the manufacturers' title race, there is everything to race for in the team and drivers' championships. VX Racing is second in the battle for the team title and drivers Yvan Muller, Colin Turkington and Gavin Smith are third, sixth and ninth respectively in the chase for the drivers' crown.

The Brands Hatch Indy circuit, at only 1.22 miles in length, is the shortest on the calendar and the VX Racing drivers will be working hard with their engineers to optimise the balance through the slower corners, without compromising speed through the fast swooping bends. In corners such as Druids, the VX Racing Astra Sport Hatch cars will only just pass 40 mph, but will bolt through the ultra-quick Paddock Hill bend, Muller's favourite corner in the series, at 130 mph.

Muller's performance was hampered at the last round at Thruxton with 36 kilos of ballast, but the Frenchman heads to Brands Hatch slightly lighter, with only 27 kg of ballast, and eager to close the gap on championship leader, Dan Eaves, "We struggled at Thruxton with the set-up and tyres, but the VX Racing Astra Sport Hatch is a good base car and now we know how it performs with ballast, we should find it easier to get a good set-up right from the start of the weekend. I am only 15 points behind the leader, and there are lots of races to go so it's not over yet."

Colin Turkington took his maiden VX Racing podium at the last round, and goes to Brands Hatch, the scene of his first BTCC race win, confident in the performance of the VX Racing Astra Sport Hatch, "I'll be looking to finish on the podium again at Brands. We know the car is quick, and now we're starting to put some results on the board. I've got some good memories of taking my first BTCC win at Brands; I hope I'll be able to score my first VX Racing win here too."

Third driver Gavin Smith is also a Brands Hatch race winner, taking his debut Seat Cupra Championship win at the circuit in 2004. After a tough weekend at Thruxton the Irishman now lies ninth in the drivers' championship, but with only 18 points separating fifth and ninth and 15 points for a win, there is everything to race for. "Thruxton was a bit of an anti-climax after the solid weekend at Donington" Smith explains, "But I've always performed well at Brands Hatch so I'm optimistic for some good results. Every time out in the car I get more and more understanding of its performance, so on a circuit I know well, who knows what could happen?"

Last year at Brands Hatch, the VX Racing team scored two wins and three podium finishes in the first of two visits to the track, and two podiums on the championship's final trip. VX Racing finished the 2004 season on a high, winning the manufacturers', team and drivers' titles for the fourth successive year. Brands Hatch will host rounds seven, eight and nine of the 2005 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship on 4 and 5 June 2005.

Hot Facts

The qualifying lap record for the Indy circuit is held by Yvan Muller, set in 2001. The Frenchman blitzed round the circuit in 48.942 secs at an average of 90.19 mph. Muller also holds the race lap record, 49.226 secs (average speed 89.67 mph) set in 2001

Muller has finished on the podium in 60% of the races held at Brands Hatch in the last two years, grabbing one second and two third places from six races held at the circuit in 2004. In 2003 the Frenchman took one win and two second places from four races

Drivers will spend 60% of a Brands Hatch lap on the throttle, changing gears an average 16 times a lap, that's 384 per race!

Gavin Smith arrives at Brands Hatch confident, as he has already won at the circuit. In 2004, Smith took his debut win in the Seat Cupra Championship in race two of the series. At the same event, he also finished second in the opening race