BTCC 2004 - Thruxton - Race 1 - video Dailymotion

Name: BTCC 2004 - Thruxton - Race 1
Uploaded: 2025-08-11T15:30:53+00:00
Duration: 1 h 3 min 24 s
Channel: Touring Car Classics by Tony Thompson
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Touring Car Classics by Tony Thompson

5 months ago

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https://rebrand.ly/SpeedWorld

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00:00:00Touring car championship in association with Seat.

00:00:06Autoemotion.

00:00:30Good morning and a very warm welcome to Thruxton for the first three rounds of the 2004 Green

00:00:39Flag MSA British Touring Car Championship and here on Motors TV the entire support program

00:00:46of races as well.

00:00:48It's a little bit overcast this morning, it's a rather grey day here near Andover in Hampshire

00:00:53for this Thruxton circuit, the fastest circuit in national motorsport, the fastest circuit

00:00:58in the country.

00:00:59You'll see there's a good number of people already turning up ready and expectant for

00:01:03the start of a brand new season of Touring Car Racing and we really do have a great deal

00:01:08to look forward to today.

00:01:10Three Touring Car races, not just the two that we've had in the last couple of years, there

00:01:14will be three short, sharp sprint races and a real mix up on the grids as well, particularly

00:01:19for the second race of the day.

00:01:21So there will be plenty to look forward to in terms of Touring Car action, but a lot

00:01:25to look forward to as well in the support package.

00:01:28We've just had the pit walkabout in fact and a lot of people up and down pit lane talking

00:01:32to drivers, getting autographs, that sort of thing.

00:01:35But let me just tell you quickly what the plan for the day is.

00:01:37The first Touring Car race is due to start at 11 o'clock this morning and we will have

00:01:42full coverage of that of course, followed by the first ever round of the Formula BMW

00:01:47UK Championship.

00:01:48This is a new series for youngsters, particularly out of karting, trying to make their names

00:01:52and move on to the world of Grand Prix racing perhaps in the future.

00:01:56After the Formula BMW race at around 20 past 12 will be the first round of the Elf BTE

00:02:01Loreline Renault Clio Cup.

00:02:03And that's always great tin top action from the very evenly matched cars.

00:02:07The second Touring Car race of the day will be at 1.15, another 16 lap encounter where

00:02:12the top 10 finishers from race one will start in reverse order, which should be quite amusing.

00:02:17Then the Porsche Carrera Cup race takes place at around five to two, followed by the second

00:02:22round in fact of the Formula Renault UK Championship.

00:02:25We had round one yesterday, won by Mike Conway.

00:02:28He'll try and make it two out of two here this afternoon.

00:02:31At around half past three, it'll be the third and final Touring Car race of the day and that's

00:02:36then followed by round two of the Formula BMW UK Championship, the second Renault Clio race

00:02:42and finally this afternoon, the second Porsche Carrera Cup of Great Britain race at around 25 to six.

00:02:49And then we'll have some more for you, the live chat studio talking to the drivers and summarising

00:02:55today's action at Thruxton.

00:02:56So an awful lot to look forward to here today, but I think we ought to give you first of all

00:03:02a little taster of what we can hope to see during the course of the races.

00:03:06Let's take a little look back over some of the action from the 2003 season.

00:03:12Oh, haha!

00:03:13tshxtBbib Halo

00:03:29Oh it's a beautiful city to know behind me.

00:03:30Yeah.

00:03:31Yeah.

00:03:31And that's great, thirteen.

00:03:32It's a seat on streets that have a beautiful, look in thenoon,

00:03:34outside where they're applying for lockers and be המs and tracks.

00:03:36Instead they have a vital system.

00:03:37Let's take a little bit of here.

00:06:11I'm here with Anthony Reid and we're on the start grid here at Thruxton.

00:06:18Now, Anthony, if you were just about to start a race here, what would you be feeling at this point in time?

00:06:22I'm kind of nervous.

00:06:24As a racing driver, you feel so much better when the lights change.

00:06:28You can then concentrate on the job in hand and relax and get into a groove.

00:06:32But the start is particularly crucial here at Thruxton.

00:06:36We've got such a long run down to the first corner, something in the order of half a mile.

00:06:41And what you'll find, like tomorrow, if somebody makes a good start from the midfield, they can overtake or catch up and slipstream the guys at the front of the grid and be literally challenging for the lead by the time they get down to the complex.

00:06:55So the start here, then, is crucial?

00:06:58It is. I mean, take Brands Hatch as an example.

00:07:01It's a very short run from the grid from pole position down to paddock bend.

00:07:05This is an entirely different matter.

00:07:06I think it's probably the longest run you will get this season between the starting grid and that crucial first corner.

00:07:14Now, we've come up here to Allard's, and this is where we normally see quite a bit of action happening.

00:07:18Talk us through that.

00:07:20Yeah, I mean, the main problem with this particular track is the distance between the grid and the first proper corner, as I said, was about half a mile.

00:07:28But it's a series of curves that the whole grid has to negotiate.

00:07:32So you often get arguments over the same bit of track between two different drivers.

00:07:35You have to be really, really aware of what's happening around you.

00:07:40Normally, you know, Brands Hatch, for example, it's a straight run down to that first corner so everyone can keep their line.

00:07:45It's not as straightforward here.

00:07:47Is it easy to get caught out?

00:07:49I've been caught out here last year.

00:07:52I'm unhappy to say, and I ended up in the tyre barrier.

00:07:54But that was because somebody spun in front of me.

00:07:57But the reason they spun was because they got hit by someone else.

00:07:59Somebody else was not aware of where their car was.

00:08:03As they touched, that car spun and took me into the barrier.

00:08:06So these are the sort of problems, and I've seen them over the years, as I'm sure you have on television.

00:08:11It's not an easy time, even if you make a decent start.

00:08:15So you go here straight into the big proper corner, as we describe it.

00:08:19But how would you go through that one?

00:08:22Your speed, of course, leaving the grid is quite slow.

00:08:25So the first curve is not a big problem in terms of cornering.

00:08:28But by the time you get up to the top of the hill, you're doing well over 100 miles an hour.

00:08:33You've got a long left-hand curve, immediately followed by a very short braking area and a super-tight corner.

00:08:39And you get lots of drama and action up at the first sequence, particularly on the opening laps.

00:08:45But it's also a favourite place to overtake.

00:08:47It's one of my favourite places to pass during the course of the race.

00:08:50Would you say this was very much a technical circuit?

00:08:53It is a very technical circuit.

00:08:55The complex, in particular, I learnt the lines, my lines, so to speak, off Ian Taylor, who ran a racing school here.

00:09:04And he taught me a trick or two.

00:09:06And unless you have the inside knowledge, you can't do quick lap times around here.

00:09:10Is it an exciting track to drive?

00:09:12It is. It's very exciting.

00:09:14I love it because, really, 70% of the track is high-speed corners,

00:09:18whereas your average track is, like, only 30% of the track represents actual corners.

00:09:24And the MG loves these technical corners.

00:09:27It's very good in the fast stuff.

00:09:28It's good in the tight stuff.

00:09:29And it takes the curbs well.

00:09:31Anthony, we're here at the final chicane.

00:09:33I mean, they look quite vicious.

00:09:34I mean, how much do you have to use them?

00:09:36It's a very challenging corner.

00:09:38It's one of the key corners on the circuit.

00:09:40If you look at the line coming through the chicane,

00:09:43if you can straight line it and use half the car to jump over the curbs,

00:09:47basically, you can carry a lot more speed.

00:09:49But it does require the car to be extremely well set up.

00:09:52And one of the things that the MG is particularly good at

00:09:55is it soaks up the big bumps on the track.

00:09:58Is your car particularly good, as you just said, coming through here?

00:10:00Is it any car, or can you set the car up to be like that?

00:10:03It takes a lot of skill to set the car up.

00:10:05You need a good team that understand damper technology, the shock absorbers.

00:10:09But if you set the shock absorbers right,

00:10:11it does allow you to take the straight line through the chicane,

00:10:14or, should I say, over the chicane, rather than around it.

00:10:17And it makes a big difference to your lap time.

00:10:19Does it feel quite vicious in the car? Does it unsettle the car a lot?

00:10:22It's scary. The first time you do it,

00:10:24you feel like the car's going to roll over onto its roof.

00:10:26But, you know, very low centre of gravity.

00:10:29The car stays, you know, very, very stable as it comes through.

00:10:32And it soaks up the bumps like a kind of rally car.

00:10:35It's amazing.

00:10:37Do you use it differently, for instance, in qualifying to the race?

00:10:40You do definitely attack much more in qualifying,

00:10:43because there's always a danger of doing some damage to the tyre.

00:10:47Because if you look at the steepness of the curbing,

00:10:49I mean, it really, really is sharp and it's nasty on the tyres.

00:10:52But in the race, you tend to be a little bit neater and tidier,

00:10:55trying to save the tyre life and make the car run consistently through the race.

00:11:00So do you know when you're driving through this corner here that you've got it right?

00:11:04When it all comes together, because as you jump over the curbs,

00:11:07it tends to unsettle the car.

00:11:09But if you can thread the eye of the needle,

00:11:12it makes such a difference to your lap time,

00:11:14it can find you two or three tenths of a second,

00:11:16which will be the difference between pole and being on the second row.

00:11:25Hello, welcome to the paddock here at Thruxton.

00:11:28Behind me is the incredibly impressive BMW hospitality area,

00:11:31which is here for the inaugural round of the British Formula BMW Championship.

00:11:37It's a championship that's been running successfully in Germany and Asia for several years

00:11:41and represents a huge investment in grassroots motorsport for BMW.

00:11:45With me here is Dr. Mario Tyson, who's head of BMW Motorsport.

00:11:49Mario, a bit of a difference from last week when you were basking under the heat of Bahrain

00:11:54at the very pinnacle of motor racing in Formula 1.

00:11:56Now you're here at the grassroots, launching Formula BMW.

00:11:59What's BMW's aim to this series?

00:12:03Well, obviously, it is aimed at being the top entry-level single-seater category,

00:12:09aimed at kids coming from kart racing, 15, 16, 17 years old,

00:12:15having taken their first experience in real motor racing.

00:12:18And certainly, we have created the program in a way

00:12:22that this should be different from any other series.

00:12:26It's interesting, yes, because beyond a very professional 20-race series,

00:12:30which is supporting the British Touring Car in all-bar one round,

00:12:33you've got a whole driver development process going on.

00:12:36Perhaps you can expand on that a bit.

00:12:37Well, the idea is not to give one young driver support

00:12:42and carry him through to Formula 1,

00:12:45but to create a platform for everybody to compete at

00:12:48and to give them a real education to become a racing driver,

00:12:52to be able to be on their own in motorsport and make their way.

00:12:55So, it's not just about driving the car.

00:12:59Of course, they learn how to drive the car,

00:13:01but also they learn about setting up, analysing data,

00:13:05they learn about physical fitness,

00:13:07they learn how to deal with sponsors,

00:13:09and everything it takes to be really successful in motorsport.

00:13:13And we want to create, to give them an education,

00:13:16and then we want to see them moving up the ladder

00:13:19and finally knocking at the door again to drive a Formula 1 car.

00:13:23Now, very interestingly, you've managed to get a special dispensation

00:13:26to actually allow very young drivers to run,

00:13:29because we've got three 15-year-olds here.

00:13:31Why was that? Why would you want to go for the younger ages?

00:13:34Well, I think, we think,

00:13:36there has to be a platform for the kids who come out of kart racing.

00:13:41And obviously, if you want to do that,

00:13:43you have to care about safety even more than in Formula 1,

00:13:47because we want parents to say,

00:13:50this is the place we want our kids to go.

00:13:52And that's why we spent a lot of effort at the car itself,

00:13:57safety features.

00:13:59It carries at least the standard of Formula 3.

00:14:04It goes beyond that.

00:14:06In certain aspects, we have side crash structures,

00:14:10we have a Formula 1,

00:14:12we have a rescue seat,

00:14:13which even goes beyond Formula 1 standard,

00:14:16and several other items.

00:14:19And we can really claim this is the ultimate

00:14:22in terms of safety we could do.

00:14:25And when former racing drivers like Keiko Rosberg

00:14:28sent their kids to Formula BMW,

00:14:31it is the reward for this effort we took.

00:14:35Now, five of the guys out there

00:14:36are official BMW-sponsored or supported drivers.

00:14:40How did you choose those?

00:14:43Sorry.

00:14:43How did you select the BMW-sponsored drivers of the series?

00:14:46Well, we do driver evaluation,

00:14:49a training course, a license course,

00:14:51and the drivers are watched.

00:14:53And the best drivers are selected

00:14:55and they get this scholarship program,

00:14:58which is more than money, again.

00:15:00It's an education

00:15:02and they are monitored

00:15:04and they are supported throughout the season.

00:15:07Now, you obviously have this grassroots championship,

00:15:10you obviously are in Formula 1.

00:15:12Will you, perhaps, like some other manufacturers,

00:15:13look to be producing a series in the middle there

00:15:15for guys to graduate through?

00:15:17Well, you cannot do everything.

00:15:19We have basically three pillars in motorsport,

00:15:22which is Formula 1,

00:15:24which is touring car racing,

00:15:26where BMW has a heritage like no other company

00:15:29and we have to feed that and to support it.

00:15:32And the third one is young drivers' education,

00:15:34which we do through this.

00:15:36And I think there is lots of possibilities

00:15:39for our competitors to do something as well.

00:15:42Mary, thank you.

00:15:42It looks like a great championship.

00:15:43Thanks a lot.

00:15:46Thanks very much, Nick.

00:15:47And very interesting to hear from Mario Tyson

00:15:49about that brand-new championship.

00:15:51Well, it is a part of the British Touring Car Package

00:15:54and we're expecting great things from the package this year

00:15:57and from the touring cars themselves.

00:15:59Diana is with series director Alan Gow.

00:16:03Thank you very much, Ben.

00:16:04Yes, I am with Alan Gow.

00:16:06Alan, how's the morning going so far?

00:16:08Pretty good so far.

00:16:09I mean, it's actually unusual for us

00:16:10to be the first race in the day at 11 o'clock,

00:16:12but, yeah, it's been a good morning.

00:16:14Now, there's been quite a lot of work going on

00:16:15over the winter season there.

00:16:17Are you where you wanted to be at the start of the season now?

00:16:19Yeah, very much so.

00:16:20We've got the sort of numbers of cars

00:16:22and quality of cars on the grid that we were looking for

00:16:24and that will increase as the season goes on.

00:16:27We'll get more cars out for Brands, Hatch and Silverson.

00:16:30And I think there's just been a great deal of anticipation

00:16:32about the start of the season,

00:16:33so everyone's looking forward to it.

00:16:35Now, there's been some changes, hasn't there,

00:16:37to how it's going to run.

00:16:38In fact, we've got three races this season.

00:16:40Just tell us about that.

00:16:41There's a lot of changes.

00:16:42We don't have any pit stops anymore,

00:16:43which we had last year or the last few years.

00:16:46There's now three sprint races in a day,

00:16:47so they're all short, sharp sprint races,

00:16:49which is what everyone wants.

00:16:50It's fast and furious action from the lights to the flag.

00:16:54The second race will have the reverse grid,

00:16:56so the top ten finishing positions from the first race

00:16:59are reversed to the second race,

00:17:02which adds another element into it.

00:17:04And what will be really funny

00:17:05will be to watch the last lap of the first race

00:17:08as drivers try to jockey to get themselves into tenth position.

00:17:13It'll be very amusing,

00:17:14but it just throws a different element into it

00:17:16and hopefully we'll get a few different race winners

00:17:19than what we normally would have.

00:17:20Now, this year, obviously,

00:17:21we've got the ETCC cars running as well

00:17:24and there's been a weight penalty for them.

00:17:26Could you just talk us through that?

00:17:28No, it's not a weight penalty.

00:17:29We took weight off them.

00:17:30But, yeah, the ETCC cars and the BTC cars

00:17:32are very close in specification

00:17:33and to the general public,

00:17:35you wouldn't know the difference.

00:17:36But it's all running to one class.

00:17:38There are no class structures.

00:17:40The ETCC cars have less brakes,

00:17:43less braking power than the BTC cars

00:17:44and a couple of other minor differences,

00:17:46which taking a bit of weight off them

00:17:48has actually achieved the result of parity between them.

00:17:51So we're going to see some close racing?

00:17:52We always see close racing

00:17:54and I've got a funny idea

00:17:55we're going to see some fantastic racing today.

00:17:58Now, looking at the grid line-up,

00:17:59who do you think's the person

00:18:02we should be watching this year?

00:18:04You can never look past the Vauxhalls.

00:18:07You know, the Vauxhalls, you know,

00:18:08have won the challenge for the last three years

00:18:10and they've got to start the season as favourites.

00:18:11But, you know, the Hondas driven by Matt Neal,

00:18:16sorry, the Dynamics Hondas,

00:18:17and also the Works Honda of Chilton

00:18:19and the two MGs.

00:18:21You know, it's really anyone's,

00:18:23but you still have to say

00:18:24the favourite would be the Vauxhall at the moment.

00:18:27Are you looking forward to this weekend?

00:18:28Yeah, I've been looking forward to this for months.

00:18:30We've had too long a break

00:18:31and I'm really up for it now.

00:18:34OK. Alan, thanks very much for talking to us.

00:18:35We'll catch up with you later.

00:18:36Have a good weekend.

00:18:37Back to you, Ben.

00:18:38Thank you very much, Diana.

00:18:40Well, we're certainly looking forward

00:18:41to getting some racing underway here.

00:18:43As we said, the British Touring Car Race,

00:18:45round one, is the first race of the day

00:18:46and it's coming up in under 10 minutes now.

00:18:49So the pit lane getting fairly busy

00:18:51with cars being fired up,

00:18:53engines being fired up

00:18:54and ready to come out onto the circuit

00:18:56and make their way round onto the grid.

00:18:59So we're looking forward to some

00:19:00fantastic racing here today.

00:19:02It might be a bit chilly,

00:19:03it might be a bit overcast,

00:19:04but the racing should be good.

00:19:06Let's take a look at how they line up

00:19:08for this first race then.

00:19:09James Thompson has taken pole position

00:19:11and Ivan Muller will line up alongside him

00:19:13for two last champions in the series.

00:19:16It's a bit of a decider this year

00:19:17between these two

00:19:18who might emerge as champion once again.

00:19:21On the second row,

00:19:22we've got Anthony Reid in the MG,

00:19:24not works back this year,

00:19:25and Matt Neal in the Honda.

00:19:27Those are both independent running cars.

00:19:29They're not works back.

00:19:30Works back Honda next up though

00:19:31in fifth place.

00:19:32That's Tom Chilton.

00:19:33And the second of the MGs,

00:19:35that's Colin Turkington.

00:19:36New Vauxhall junior man,

00:19:38Michael Bentwood is there in seventh place.

00:19:40Jason Plato is running,

00:19:42it will start from eighth place in the SEAT

00:19:44and it's the first race for SEAT

00:19:47in the British Touring Car Championship.

00:19:48Luke Hines lines up in ninth place

00:19:50ahead of Dan Eves in 10th position.

00:19:53And Dan has recently just joined

00:19:54that Computeach Team Dynamics team.

00:19:57Rob Huff in the second of the SEAT

00:19:58lines up in 11th place.

00:19:59And another new driver to the championship

00:20:01is Sean Watson-Smith,

00:20:03very experienced South African,

00:20:04racing for the Proton team.

00:20:06He starts in 12th place.

00:20:08Behind him is number 10,

00:20:10Rob Collard,

00:20:11the winner of the Independence Cup last year.

00:20:13And James Kay,

00:20:14winner of the production class

00:20:15a couple of years ago

00:20:16and a former winner

00:20:16of the Independence Trophy himself.

00:20:18He's driving the Honda Civic Type R.

00:20:21Behind James Kay then

00:20:22on 15th place is Carl Brees,

00:20:24another new car to the lineup.

00:20:26Not a new driver,

00:20:26but the Alfa Romeo is a car built

00:20:28to the European Touring Car specification.

00:20:31Charlie Butler-Henderson lines up alongside him

00:20:33in a Vauxhall Astra Coupe.

00:20:34Those two are both actually teammates

00:20:36run by GA Motorsport,

00:20:38but they're in different cars.

00:20:39Behind Charlie Butler-Henderson

00:20:40we've then got another teammate.

00:20:42All three of those cars,

00:20:43those GA cars are together.

00:20:44That's Paul Wallace.

00:20:45And alongside him is Jason Hughes.

00:20:47This is the ex-Warren Hughes MG

00:20:49from last year,

00:20:50but there's no relation

00:20:51between Jason Hughes and Warren Hughes.

00:20:53Sadly, Warren doesn't have a drive,

00:20:55but Jason Hughes,

00:20:56an enthusiastic amateur racer

00:20:57out there in the MG.

00:20:58And then we move

00:20:59to the final row of the grid

00:21:00and Fari Karaman is another new driver.

00:21:03He's a Malaysian

00:21:03who has joined the Proton team

00:21:06for this season.

00:21:07A lot to learn.

00:21:07And an interesting car,

00:21:08the number 17,

00:21:10John George,

00:21:11and that is the LPG-powered Honda Civic.

00:21:14It's a unique car

00:21:15to the British Touring Car Championship

00:21:16this year.

00:21:17Still, they've got some work to do

00:21:19to get it on the pace,

00:21:19but it's great to see it ready to race.

00:21:22So cars heading out

00:21:24onto the circuit at the moment.

00:21:26I'm glad to say

00:21:26I've been joined

00:21:28by former Touring Car Champion,

00:21:31Tim Harvey.

00:21:32Tim, you've got a busy weekend.

00:21:33You're racing as well

00:21:34in the Porsches,

00:21:35but you must be like us

00:21:36looking forward

00:21:37to the first Touring Car race.

00:21:38I'm very excited.

00:21:39It's really been a long, long winter.

00:21:41We've compressed our racing season

00:21:43into five months now,

00:21:44so the winter drags on.

00:21:46And I'm delighted to be back.

00:21:47The British Touring Car Championship

00:21:49looks bigger and better than ever.

00:21:50We've got so many exciting things

00:21:52to look forward to.

00:21:53The return of Jason Plato,

00:21:55new factory team from SEAT.

00:21:57There's a lot going on,

00:21:58some driver changes,

00:22:00some car changes,

00:22:01some ETCC cars introduced now.

00:22:03The Alfa Romeo

00:22:04and also obviously the SEAT.

00:22:06They're going to provide

00:22:07some stiff competition

00:22:08running lighter weight

00:22:09than the BTCC cars.

00:22:10So I think with the three race formats

00:22:13changing around the top 10

00:22:14could be great.

00:22:15Well, lots to look forward to

00:22:17and we'll have some more analysis

00:22:18coming up for you

00:22:19before the start of this

00:22:21first race of the year

00:22:22in just a few moments' time.

00:22:24So stay with us here

00:22:25on Motus TV

00:22:26from Thruxton in Hampshire.

00:22:32British Touring Car Championship

00:22:34in association with SEAT.

00:22:36Auto Emotion.

00:22:38Hi, I'm Matt Neil.

00:22:39Join us for BTC

00:22:40on Motus TV live.

00:22:41British Touring Car Championship

00:22:51in association with SEAT.

00:22:53Auto Emotion.

00:22:58Welcome back to a rather cool,

00:23:00rather overcast Thruxton Circuit.

00:23:02We're all set for the first round

00:23:04of the 2004 Green Flag MSA

00:23:06British Touring Car Championship.

00:23:08Tom Chilton's car was pushed

00:23:09to the front of the grid

00:23:10and now pushed to the back.

00:23:11But meanwhile,

00:23:12down there you can see

00:23:14those problems.

00:23:15They're working busily

00:23:16on John's car.

00:23:17It's a brand new Honda Civic Type R

00:23:19that was only run

00:23:20for the first time

00:23:21at Goodwood earlier this week.

00:23:22He's qualified pretty well.

00:23:24He's on the third row

00:23:25of the grid.

00:23:25But obviously they've got

00:23:27some sort of problem

00:23:28and let's just hope

00:23:29he can get going okay.

00:23:30Yeah, there's been a lot

00:23:31of development work done

00:23:32on the engines.

00:23:32They're calling for Morse help here.

00:23:33There's been a lot of engine work

00:23:35done over the winter.

00:23:36Both the Arena car

00:23:38and the Dynamics Hondas

00:23:39share the same engine.

00:23:40But they're having some trouble

00:23:42just getting the engine

00:23:43and the ignition

00:23:43and the mapping

00:23:44all sorted out.

00:23:45Certainly the cars

00:23:46are not as quick

00:23:47in a straight line

00:23:49as they were last year

00:23:50and this could be

00:23:50a further follow-up

00:23:51to that problem.

00:23:52Right, well,

00:23:53while Chilton's being sorted out,

00:23:54our pole position sitter,

00:23:56James Thompson,

00:23:57is now now on the grid

00:23:58and with him

00:23:59is our very own

00:24:00Vicky Butler-Henderson.

00:24:02James, you've got a perfect start

00:24:04to the season.

00:24:05Are you pleased

00:24:06with everything so far?

00:24:07Yeah, it's definitely

00:24:08the best place to start.

00:24:10Psychologically,

00:24:11you know,

00:24:11a great thing

00:24:12after such a long winter

00:24:13to come here

00:24:13and be on pole position.

00:24:15Although, you know,

00:24:16it was a sickly good session

00:24:17yesterday.

00:24:18We were sort of

00:24:18cat and mouse with a band

00:24:19and, yeah,

00:24:21it was thoroughly good fun.

00:24:22We've got a little gap

00:24:23to the opposition

00:24:23but I think

00:24:25possibly in the race

00:24:26is a little bit unrealistic.

00:24:28There's some very strong

00:24:29race runs by other teams

00:24:30so it's been an exciting

00:24:31first race, I think.

00:24:32Now, apart from

00:24:33Ivan Müller

00:24:34who starts alongside you,

00:24:35who do you see

00:24:35as your main rival?

00:24:37Well,

00:24:38it's hard to say.

00:24:39There's quite a few

00:24:39rascals in the pack here

00:24:42who could come

00:24:44storming through.

00:24:46I think, look,

00:24:46DMGs look quite strong

00:24:48and Matt Neill

00:24:49in race comes very quick

00:24:51so potentially

00:24:52quite a few people.

00:24:53Well, have a lovely race.

00:24:54Best of luck.

00:24:55Thank you very much.

00:24:56Right, back to Ben.

00:24:57Thank you very much, Vicky.

00:24:58Now, we'll see

00:24:59how he gets on

00:25:00up against his

00:25:00great rival

00:25:02and teammate,

00:25:02of course,

00:25:03there is Ivan Müller,

00:25:04the man who won

00:25:05the championship

00:25:05last year

00:25:06and I tell you what,

00:25:07this man, Ivan Müller,

00:25:08has the most amazing

00:25:09record here at Thruxton.

00:25:10Over the past four years,

00:25:12there have been eight races

00:25:12because we've only had

00:25:13two races a day

00:25:14up to now.

00:25:14Now we've got three

00:25:15but he has won six

00:25:17of those eight races

00:25:17over the last four years.

00:25:18That's an incredible record.

00:25:20Maybe a little bit luck

00:25:21last year

00:25:22because Matt Neill

00:25:22looked to be up

00:25:23for the win

00:25:24in both races

00:25:25but nonetheless,

00:25:26Ivan seems to love

00:25:27this Thruxton circuit,

00:25:28Tim.

00:25:28Well, Ivan sets his car

00:25:30up to be fairly loose

00:25:31at the back.

00:25:32In other words,

00:25:32he lets the back end

00:25:33slide about a bit.

00:25:34He is the ice racing champion

00:25:36and if ever that was going

00:25:37to work at any circuit,

00:25:38it's round here

00:25:38because it's so fast

00:25:39round the back

00:25:40and he just lets his car,

00:25:41we've seen it get in

00:25:42some real broad sides

00:25:43but he uses all

00:25:44of his car control

00:25:45so it's a favourite

00:25:46circuit of his

00:25:47but I think James

00:25:48is really fired up

00:25:49this year.

00:25:50He had some family

00:25:51issues to deal with

00:25:52last year

00:25:53but he's come back

00:25:53really focused this year.

00:25:55Looks like he means business.

00:25:57Yeah, he's been training

00:25:58for the London Marathon

00:25:58as well

00:25:59but I gather he's

00:25:59damaged his knees

00:26:00like he in the training

00:26:01so I hope he gets

00:26:02that sorted out.

00:26:03I think he was going

00:26:04for the sympathy vote

00:26:05actually.

00:26:05I don't believe it.

00:26:07He's driving

00:26:08and walking around

00:26:08perfectly normally.

00:26:09I think he's just going

00:26:09for sympathy

00:26:10for the London Marathon

00:26:11and a bit of extra sponsorship.

00:26:13Well, behind the two

00:26:15Vauxhalls

00:26:15we'll have to watch out

00:26:16for Anthony Reid

00:26:17and Reid's looking very happy.

00:26:18He did a very

00:26:20last minute deal

00:26:21to get back out

00:26:21for West Surrey Racing

00:26:23this year.

00:26:24Now, MG are not

00:26:25officially involved

00:26:26with the team

00:26:26this season

00:26:27but Anthony Reid

00:26:28is hoping for good things

00:26:30because they've got

00:26:30a new engine

00:26:31in the car.

00:26:32Up to now

00:26:33they've used a V6 engine

00:26:342 litre of course

00:26:35all the cars

00:26:36use a 2 litre engine

00:26:37it has to be

00:26:37a maximum of 2000cc

00:26:39but in the past

00:26:40they've used a V6

00:26:41this year

00:26:41they've changed

00:26:42to a 4 cylinder engine

00:26:44again it has to be

00:26:45based on an engine

00:26:46used by MG

00:26:47in a road car

00:26:48to the K-Series

00:26:49which originally

00:26:49was only a 1400cc engine

00:26:51and somehow Tim

00:26:52they've turned it

00:26:52into a very fast 2 litre.

00:26:54Well, they've stretched

00:26:55and stretched this engine

00:26:56and it is very, very, very quick.

00:26:59The car looks fantastic

00:27:00and Anthony says

00:27:01it's transformed the handling.

00:27:02So the track being cleared now

00:27:10and everybody getting ready

00:27:13for the start

00:27:14of this first race.

00:27:15Remember

00:27:15they have qualified

00:27:16and they line up

00:27:17in that qualifying order

00:27:19fastest at the front

00:27:20but that will not be the story

00:27:21for race 2.

00:27:23The top 10

00:27:23in this race

00:27:24will be reversed

00:27:26for the grid

00:27:26on race 2

00:27:27so if you finish 10th

00:27:28in this race

00:27:29and let me tell you

00:27:30the starting 10th

00:27:31is Dan Eves

00:27:32in the second

00:27:33of the Computeach

00:27:34with Halford's

00:27:35Honda Civics

00:27:35well if you finish 10th

00:27:37in this one

00:27:37you'll be on pole

00:27:38for the second race

00:27:39so there's an awful lot

00:27:41to look forward to

00:27:41in this race.

00:27:42Will they go for the win?

00:27:43Will they back off?

00:27:44The battle for 10th

00:27:45should be fairly amazing

00:27:47I think

00:27:47as we get all set

00:27:48for the first race

00:27:49of the season.

00:27:50Round 1

00:27:56of the 2004

00:27:57Green Flag MSA

00:27:58British Touring Car Championship

00:27:59is soon to get underway

00:28:01at the thrust circuit

00:28:02here in Hampshire

00:28:03the car set off

00:28:05on their green flag lap

00:28:06but I think everyone

00:28:07has got away safely

00:28:08despite a few

00:28:09last minute panics

00:28:10for Tom Chilton

00:28:11his car's running okay

00:28:13it's the all black

00:28:14Honda

00:28:15that is lining up

00:28:17in 5th place

00:28:18now we're riding

00:28:18on board here

00:28:19with Matt Neal

00:28:20Matt Neal has switched

00:28:22from the works-backed

00:28:23Hondas

00:28:23to the privateer team

00:28:25run by his father

00:28:27but Tim

00:28:27I think he's still

00:28:28going to be

00:28:28a major threat this year.

00:28:30Well let's not forget

00:28:31that team have been

00:28:32very successful

00:28:32in the past

00:28:33Team Dynamics

00:28:34they've got their

00:28:35favoured son

00:28:35back in the team

00:28:36they can do

00:28:37big things

00:28:38and put the battle

00:28:39to the Vauxhall

00:28:40definitely

00:28:40Matt is very fired up

00:28:42he's got his engineer

00:28:44from last year

00:28:44he's brought his engineer

00:28:45Alex from Arena

00:28:47over to run his car

00:28:48at Dynamics

00:28:48which I think

00:28:49is a very good move

00:28:50actually

00:28:50so he maintains

00:28:52that close relationship

00:28:53with his engineer

00:28:54who's got all the data

00:28:55of what they ran last year

00:28:56and they have developed

00:28:57the car as well

00:28:58during the winter.

00:28:59We're on board here

00:29:00with Ivan Muller

00:29:01we're looking around

00:29:02some of the fast sections

00:29:03of the track

00:29:03you see how he's weaving

00:29:04that's to get a bit of

00:29:05heat in the tyres

00:29:06but this part Tim

00:29:07is where they really

00:29:08are flying isn't it?

00:29:09Well this is Goodwood

00:29:10it's taken at approximately

00:29:11100-105 miles an hour

00:29:14the reason they're working

00:29:15so hard to get heat

00:29:16in these tyres

00:29:17is the ambient temperatures

00:29:18are really down

00:29:18it's only 5 degrees

00:29:20they're trying desperately

00:29:21all the cars

00:29:22front wheel drive

00:29:23remember

00:29:23trying to get some heat

00:29:24look at that voxel

00:29:25sliding around

00:29:26that's Michael Bentwood

00:29:27with the junior team car

00:29:28great hopes for him

00:29:29but really trying to get

00:29:30some heat in these rear tyres

00:29:32the last thing we want

00:29:33is a repeat of the accident

00:29:34we had in the first race

00:29:35here last year

00:29:36and of course

00:29:37in qualifying

00:29:37what we saw them do yesterday

00:29:38was they would go out

00:29:39do a lap

00:29:40and then put the rears

00:29:42on the front of the car

00:29:42and the front and the rear

00:29:43so they were nicely warmed up

00:29:44but obviously no chance

00:29:45to do that in the race

00:29:47no most of the teams

00:29:48would heat the rear tyres

00:29:49by putting them

00:29:50on the front axle

00:29:51and get maximum work out

00:29:52then leave them on the rear

00:29:53and put subsequent sets

00:29:55of brand new fronts

00:29:56on to go and do their time

00:29:57and leave the rears

00:29:58up to temperature

00:29:58but we've seen

00:30:00a fantastic increase

00:30:01in performance

00:30:02the pole time this year

00:30:031.3 seconds faster

00:30:05than last year

00:30:06and they're on exactly

00:30:07the same time tyres

00:30:08so that's the pace

00:30:09of development in BTCC

00:30:11I was talking to Mike Carroll

00:30:12at the Proton team

00:30:13and he said

00:30:14he was actually

00:30:15frankly fairly astonished

00:30:16at the rate of progress

00:30:17the top teams have made

00:30:18this year

00:30:18he thought they'd done well

00:30:19in testing

00:30:20their time would have put them

00:30:22only half a second

00:30:23slower than last year's pole

00:30:25but as it is

00:30:26the Protons are a long way down

00:30:27there's the view

00:30:28of Ivan Muller

00:30:29our reigning champion

00:30:30going for a second title

00:30:31this year

00:30:32that characteristic little

00:30:33flick of the wrist there

00:30:34that we've become used to

00:30:35it's a Gallic shrug

00:30:37isn't it

00:30:37but it's an interesting mannerism

00:30:39I've talked to him about it

00:30:40he's totally unaware

00:30:41that he does it at all

00:30:42I said well let's just

00:30:43keep it at that hand action

00:30:45Anthony

00:30:45I mean Ivan

00:30:46not be waving at any

00:30:47of your competitors

00:30:48but they're lining up now

00:30:49for the first race

00:30:50of the 2004 season

00:30:52and remember

00:30:52they're all running

00:30:53at equal ballast

00:30:55they have no added ballast

00:30:56they have no ballast

00:30:57taken away

00:30:58they're all running

00:30:59at the 11.74kg limit

00:31:02for the first race

00:31:03of the year

00:31:03there's no success ballast

00:31:05after this one of course

00:31:06it all starts to change

00:31:07so everyone on an even footing

00:31:09as we get set

00:31:10for what is going to be

00:31:11a 16 lap race

00:31:13this is the on board view

00:31:15with Rob Collard

00:31:16the man who won

00:31:16the independence class

00:31:17last year

00:31:18and Rob has got a bit

00:31:19of work to do

00:31:20he's starting

00:31:21on the 7th row

00:31:22of the grid

00:31:22now he's just trying

00:31:24to move into position

00:31:24you can see one of the

00:31:25Seats

00:31:25just ahead of him

00:31:27there on the grid

00:31:27that's Rob Huff

00:31:28in the 2nd of the Seats

00:31:29Jason Plater

00:31:30remember

00:31:31former champion

00:31:32starts back on the 4th row

00:31:33we're all set to go

00:31:35for the first round

00:31:36of the touring cars

00:31:37of 2004

00:31:38the red light comes on

00:31:41and away we go

00:31:43and it's a great start

00:31:44from Thompson

00:31:45Thompson away brilliantly

00:31:46that kneel

00:31:47from the 2nd row

00:31:48trying to get past

00:31:49Ivan Muller

00:31:50and he's through

00:31:50Ivan Muller

00:31:52is pushed all the way

00:31:52down to 3rd

00:31:53a dreadful start

00:31:54for the reigning champion

00:31:55so Muller into 3rd

00:31:57then it's Anthony Reid

00:31:58and Tom Chilton

00:31:59now watch out

00:32:00here comes the complex

00:32:02it gets pretty tight

00:32:03through here

00:32:03well they're all safely

00:32:04through Allard

00:32:05that was where the drama

00:32:06struck last year

00:32:07Rob Collard will be

00:32:07breathing a sigh of relief

00:32:08but there's some

00:32:09side to side action here

00:32:10oh one of the MGs off

00:32:12that's Turkington

00:32:13yeah

00:32:14Turkington's been spun out

00:32:15and one of the

00:32:16that's one of the

00:32:17G8 motorsport

00:32:18Paul Wallace is off

00:32:19oh dear

00:32:20and John George

00:32:21in the LPG powered car

00:32:23Rob Huff trying to

00:32:23fight his way

00:32:24look at James Thompson

00:32:25get away

00:32:26oh and we've got another

00:32:27one off

00:32:27in the background there

00:32:28in the gravel

00:32:29that looked like

00:32:31Paul Wallace's

00:32:32teammate actually

00:32:33I think

00:32:33Charlie Butler

00:32:34Henderson flying off

00:32:35it was certainly

00:32:35a black car

00:32:36black the predominant

00:32:37colour on the grid

00:32:38this year

00:32:38no Charlie still there

00:32:39no there's Charlie

00:32:40fighting alongside

00:32:41with colour

00:32:42but look at that

00:32:43Vauxhall flying at the front

00:32:45Thompson's really

00:32:46got the hammer down

00:32:47must have been

00:32:47Carl Brees I think

00:32:48perhaps who went off

00:32:49because up front

00:32:49we've got Thompson

00:32:50Matt Neill

00:32:51Ivan Muller

00:32:52and Anthony Reid

00:32:53and look at Ivan Muller

00:32:53Muller on the attack

00:32:54coming up to the chicane

00:32:55trying to go around

00:32:56the outside

00:32:57but Matt Neill

00:32:58knows better than

00:32:59to let him through

00:33:00on the outside there

00:33:00that's a tough place

00:33:01to overtake

00:33:02but this is costing

00:33:03Muller such valuable time

00:33:04as Thompson

00:33:05manages to stretch out

00:33:07his advantage

00:33:07at the end of the opening lap

00:33:09the advantage he's got

00:33:10is already 1.3 seconds

00:33:12that's Mammoth

00:33:13that is a stunning

00:33:14standing start lap

00:33:15by Tomo

00:33:16he's really

00:33:16I said he was fired up

00:33:17and he looked like

00:33:18he got the initial jump

00:33:19got the traction

00:33:20the clutch control

00:33:22and the throttle

00:33:22just right

00:33:23and Muller will be

00:33:24he can't afford

00:33:25to bide his time

00:33:26he can't afford

00:33:26to wait for Pistov

00:33:27look at him

00:33:28nudging the back of

00:33:28he's going to go

00:33:29this is not a place

00:33:30to pass

00:33:30oh that looked dangerous

00:33:32but he can't afford

00:33:33to wait

00:33:34there are no pit stops

00:33:35this is a flat out

00:33:36sprint for 16 laps

00:33:37so still Muller

00:33:39now he's under attack

00:33:40from Anthony Reid

00:33:41Anthony Reid

00:33:41trying to take advantage

00:33:42get side by side

00:33:43remember these two

00:33:44have had their moments

00:33:45before

00:33:45they came to blows

00:33:46in the panic

00:33:47at Brandt Hatch

00:33:48last year

00:33:48but Reid's got through

00:33:49he's up in the third

00:33:50and now behind him

00:33:51is the youngster

00:33:52the 19 year old

00:33:53Tom Chilton

00:33:53who has all the pressure

00:33:55of being the works

00:33:56Honda driver

00:33:57the only works

00:33:58Honda driver

00:33:58this year

00:33:59back on board

00:34:00with Ivan Muller

00:34:00into Church Corner

00:34:01the fastest corner

00:34:02on the circuit

00:34:03look how the cars

00:34:04move around here

00:34:05well Anthony Reid

00:34:06took a great opportunist

00:34:07move there

00:34:08to get through

00:34:09when Muller

00:34:09looked up the inside

00:34:10at Seagrave

00:34:11in the complex

00:34:12he went alongside

00:34:13but we saw him

00:34:14dabbing the brakes there

00:34:15and that was enough

00:34:16to let Muller

00:34:16get all the way around

00:34:17the outside

00:34:18breaking into the chicane

00:34:19here

00:34:19so Muller back up

00:34:21into third place

00:34:22great racing

00:34:22and look at the back

00:34:24of this

00:34:24we've got Plato

00:34:25right up the back

00:34:26of Chilton

00:34:26he's loving it

00:34:27he must be loving

00:34:28his return

00:34:28into British touring cars

00:34:29oh watch out

00:34:30Mr Chilton

00:34:31you've got Jason Plato

00:34:32on your rear bumper

00:34:33well that's not

00:34:34an easy place to be

00:34:36Jason Plato

00:34:37who won here

00:34:38at Truxton

00:34:38on his last visit

00:34:40as a touring car driver

00:34:41back in 2001

00:34:42he won the title

00:34:43that year of course

00:34:44and by the way

00:34:45just a quick mention

00:34:46over the last

00:34:47four years

00:34:48well certainly

00:34:49the last three years

00:34:49of the Super Touring

00:34:50regs

00:34:51whoever won this

00:34:52first race at

00:34:52Thruxton

00:34:53has gone on

00:34:53to win the

00:34:54championships

00:34:54at the moment

00:34:55Thompson's in great

00:34:56shape

00:34:56but very difficult

00:34:58to determine

00:34:59what's going to

00:34:59happen

00:35:00that yellow car

00:35:01the yellow and

00:35:01silver car

00:35:02that is the

00:35:02Seat

00:35:03built to European

00:35:04rules

00:35:04into the pits

00:35:05comes Luke

00:35:06Hines

00:35:06a punctured right

00:35:07front

00:35:07well punctures

00:35:09are part and

00:35:09parts of racing

00:35:10at Thruxton

00:35:11it's caused by

00:35:12the drivers

00:35:12whacking the kerb

00:35:13too hard

00:35:14oh Chilton's wide

00:35:15well held

00:35:16but he's lost

00:35:17a bundle of time

00:35:18there come on

00:35:18get it back

00:35:19on the black stuff

00:35:20Tom

00:35:20this is a rally

00:35:21cross mate

00:35:22get it back

00:35:23on the tarmac

00:35:23he does so

00:35:24but he was

00:35:24doing about

00:35:25what 120

00:35:26130 miles

00:35:27an hour there

00:35:27well he was

00:35:28he was in sick

00:35:29gear

00:35:29going very quickly

00:35:30of course his tyres

00:35:31will be dirty

00:35:32now picking up mud

00:35:33here we'll see a replay

00:35:34he's just run

00:35:35out of room

00:35:36so Jason

00:35:38so Jason Plato

00:35:38didn't need to

00:35:38didn't need to do

00:35:39anything

00:35:39all he did

00:35:39was sit in his

00:35:40mirror

00:35:40no that was

00:35:40pressure from

00:35:41Plato

00:35:42forced the

00:35:42mistake

00:35:43now Charlie

00:35:44Butler

00:35:44Henderson

00:35:44here having

00:35:45a bit of

00:35:46a dice

00:35:46with Rob

00:35:46Collard

00:35:47and remember

00:35:47Collard won

00:35:48the independence

00:35:49championship

00:35:49last year

00:35:50I think he

00:35:50really got

00:35:51boxed out

00:35:51on that

00:35:51first lap

00:35:52so it means

00:35:53that he's

00:35:54having to

00:35:54battle his

00:35:55way through

00:35:55good run

00:35:56from Charlie

00:35:56Butler

00:35:56Henderson

00:35:57though

00:35:57in his

00:35:57first ever

00:35:58British

00:35:59touring car

00:35:59race

00:36:00he stepped

00:36:00up from

00:36:01the Renault

00:36:01Clio series

00:36:02and you can

00:36:03see the view

00:36:03from Collard

00:36:04now

00:36:04that's Charlie

00:36:05Butler

00:36:05Henderson

00:36:05just ahead

00:36:06and then

00:36:06Michael

00:36:07Bentwood

00:36:07another man

00:36:08making his

00:36:09debut in the

00:36:09touring class

00:36:10he was a

00:36:11frontrunner in

00:36:11the production

00:36:12class last

00:36:12year but this

00:36:13year we don't

00:36:14have a production

00:36:14class they're

00:36:15all running

00:36:16in the same

00:36:17category

00:36:17absolutely

00:36:18out in front

00:36:20Thompson still

00:36:20pushing very

00:36:21very hard

00:36:22at 17.9

00:36:23on his last

00:36:24lap that is

00:36:25very very quick

00:36:26that is lap

00:36:26record speed

00:36:27Matt Neal

00:36:28running in

00:36:29second place

00:36:30currently at the

00:36:31moment the

00:36:31battle for

00:36:32tenth place

00:36:33is between

00:36:34Michael

00:36:34Bentwood

00:36:35and Charlie

00:36:35Butler

00:36:36Henderson

00:36:36remember

00:36:36who

00:36:37finishes

00:36:37tenth in

00:36:38this race

00:36:38will be

00:36:39on pole

00:36:39Chilton

00:36:40wide again

00:36:42and letting

00:36:43Collard

00:36:43through I

00:36:44think that

00:36:44time

00:36:45so he's

00:36:45really got

00:36:46trouble with

00:36:46that left

00:36:47rear of the

00:36:47car stepping

00:36:48out running

00:36:48very wide

00:36:49and if he's

00:36:49got it this

00:36:50early in the

00:36:50race

00:36:50he's in for

00:36:51a bit of

00:36:52a nightmare

00:36:52ride

00:36:52hanging on

00:36:53to that

00:36:53Honda

00:36:54for the

00:36:54rest of

00:36:54the race

00:36:54and here

00:36:55we see

00:36:55Bentwood

00:36:56lining up

00:36:56to try

00:36:57and pass

00:36:57Sean

00:36:58Watson

00:36:58Smith

00:36:58and he's

00:36:59going to

00:36:59do it

00:36:59on the

00:36:59inside

00:37:00or is

00:37:00he

00:37:01new faces

00:37:04in the

00:37:05Proton

00:37:05cars this

00:37:06year

00:37:06the

00:37:06Impians

00:37:07being

00:37:07driven

00:37:07by

00:37:08Sean

00:37:08Watson

00:37:08Smith

00:37:08the

00:37:09South

00:37:09African

00:37:09touring

00:37:10car

00:37:10veteran

00:37:10very

00:37:11very

00:37:11capable

00:37:12driver

00:37:12and the

00:37:13Malaysian

00:37:13Farik

00:37:13Harriman

00:37:14who's

00:37:14struggling

00:37:15to come up

00:37:15to speed

00:37:16at the

00:37:16time

00:37:16let's

00:37:16look at

00:37:17this

00:37:17start

00:37:17look at

00:37:17that

00:37:18jump

00:37:18that

00:37:18Thompson

00:37:19gets

00:37:19immediate

00:37:19traction

00:37:20off the

00:37:20line

00:37:20Mike

00:37:21Luke

00:37:22Hines

00:37:22by

00:37:22contrast

00:37:23spinning

00:37:23the

00:37:23wheels

00:37:23up

00:37:24in the

00:37:24background

00:37:24yeah

00:37:25great

00:37:25start

00:37:25from

00:37:26Matt

00:37:26Neill

00:37:26he

00:37:26managed

00:37:27to

00:37:27get

00:37:27ahead

00:37:27of

00:37:27Ivan

00:37:28Muller

00:37:28and

00:37:29in the

00:37:30background

00:37:30you could

00:37:31see

00:37:31Plato

00:37:31had

00:37:31been

00:37:31trying

00:37:32to

00:37:32get

00:37:32past

00:37:32Turkington

00:37:33Turkington

00:37:33lost out

00:37:34at the

00:37:35complex

00:37:35we didn't

00:37:35quite see

00:37:36what

00:37:36happened

00:37:36there

00:37:37we saw

00:37:37a number

00:37:38of people

00:37:38who were

00:37:39in trouble

00:37:39on that

00:37:40opening lap

00:37:41as they

00:37:41got through

00:37:42Allard safely

00:37:42but after

00:37:43that it

00:37:43was a bit

00:37:43tricky

00:37:44now

00:37:44Tom

00:37:45Chilton

00:37:45there

00:37:46with

00:37:46some

00:37:46damage

00:37:47to

00:37:47his

00:37:47car

00:37:48I gather

00:37:48somebody's

00:37:48been

00:37:49through

00:37:49the

00:37:49polystyrene

00:37:50at the

00:37:50chicane

00:37:51it might

00:37:51have

00:37:51been him

00:37:52or it

00:37:52might

00:37:52just be

00:37:53as a

00:37:53result

00:37:53of his

00:37:54travels

00:37:54across

00:37:55the

00:37:55grass

00:37:55a little

00:37:55while

00:37:56ago

00:37:56you're

00:37:56looking

00:37:57at

00:37:57the

00:37:57battle

00:37:57between

00:37:57Michael

00:37:57Bentwood

00:37:58and

00:37:59Sean

00:37:59Watson

00:37:59Smith

00:38:00there

00:38:00is

00:38:00Watson

00:38:01Smith

00:38:01in

00:38:01the

00:38:02Proton

00:38:02they've

00:38:02been

00:38:02testing

00:38:03this

00:38:03car

00:38:03busily

00:38:04during

00:38:04the

00:38:04winter

00:38:04in

00:38:05South

00:38:05Africa

00:38:05but

00:38:06as I

00:38:06say

00:38:06a little

00:38:06disappointed

00:38:07that they

00:38:07weren't

00:38:07a bit

00:38:08quicker

00:38:08in

00:38:08qualifying

00:38:09yesterday

00:38:09absolutely

00:38:10they

00:38:11as you

00:38:11say

00:38:11they

00:38:12have

00:38:12made

00:38:12progress

00:38:12this

00:38:13year

00:38:13Mike

00:38:14Carroll

00:38:14the

00:38:14team

00:38:15manager

00:38:15has

00:38:15worked

00:38:15very

00:38:16hard

00:38:16to get

00:38:17new

00:38:17suspension

00:38:17on

00:38:18this

00:38:18car

00:38:18dial

00:38:18out

00:38:19the

00:38:19understeer

00:38:19that

00:38:19plagued

00:38:20them

00:38:20last

00:38:20year

00:38:21and

00:38:21they

00:38:21felt

00:38:21they

00:38:22had

00:38:22a

00:38:22good

00:38:22balance

00:38:22in

00:38:22the

00:38:23chassis

00:38:23so

00:38:23they'll

00:38:24be

00:38:24pushing

00:38:24harder

00:38:25for top

00:38:25results

00:38:25Rob

00:38:26Huff

00:38:27running

00:38:27just

00:38:27ahead

00:38:27of them

00:38:28in

00:38:287th

00:38:29position

00:38:29so

00:38:30he's

00:38:31in

00:38:31the

00:38:31second

00:38:31set

00:38:32the

00:38:32yellow

00:38:33and

00:38:33silver

00:38:33car

00:38:33there

00:38:34we

00:38:34are

00:38:34there's

00:38:35Watson

00:38:35Smith

00:38:35but

00:38:35behind

00:38:36him

00:38:36still

00:38:36Charlie

00:38:36Valanderson

00:38:37running

00:38:37in

00:38:3810th

00:38:38place

00:38:3810th

00:38:39place

00:38:39for

00:38:39Valanderson

00:38:40that

00:38:40could

00:38:40be

00:38:41pole

00:38:41in

00:38:42race

00:38:422

00:38:42we've

00:38:43had

00:38:435

00:38:43laps

00:38:44completed

00:38:44out

00:38:45of

00:38:45the

00:38:4516

00:38:46so

00:38:46far

00:38:46but

00:38:46in

00:38:47the

00:38:47meantime

00:38:47here's

00:38:48Jason

00:38:48Plato

00:38:49running

00:38:49in

00:38:495th

00:38:50place

00:38:50and

00:38:51that's

00:38:51a

00:38:51pretty

00:38:51good

00:38:52place

00:38:52to

00:38:52be

00:38:52I

00:38:52would

00:39:00you can

00:39:00see

00:39:00him

00:39:01pulling

00:39:01back

00:39:01on

00:39:01the

00:39:01lever

00:39:02flat

00:39:02changing

00:39:03in

00:39:03other

00:39:03words

00:39:03the

00:39:03throttle

00:39:04is

00:39:04buried

00:39:04on

00:39:05the

00:39:05floor

00:39:05and

00:39:05he

00:39:05pulls

00:39:05the

00:39:06lever

00:39:06back

00:39:06has

00:39:07a

00:39:07little

00:39:07ignition

00:39:07cut

00:39:08in

00:39:08the

00:39:08lever

00:39:08so

00:39:08it

00:39:08cuts

00:39:09the

00:39:09load

00:39:09on

00:39:10the

00:39:10gears

00:39:10just

00:39:10so

00:39:11he

00:39:11can

00:39:11change

00:39:11gear

00:39:11instantaneously

00:39:12and

00:39:13they're

00:39:13banged

00:39:13down

00:39:13the

00:39:14gearbox

00:39:14without

00:39:14using

00:39:15the

00:39:15clutch

00:39:15there

00:39:16he

00:39:16is

00:39:16into

00:39:16sick

00:39:17gear

00:39:17look

00:39:17at

00:39:17the

00:39:17concentration

00:39:18in

00:39:18those

00:39:18eyes

00:39:19yeah

00:39:19it's

00:39:20great

00:39:20to

00:39:20see

00:39:20Jason

00:39:21back

00:39:21out

00:39:21in

00:39:21touring

00:39:22car

00:39:22action

00:39:23once

00:39:23again

00:39:24he

00:39:24really

00:39:24is

00:39:24top

00:39:25driver

00:39:25and

00:39:26the

00:39:26SEAT

00:39:26brand

00:39:27new

00:39:27to

00:39:27the

00:39:27series

00:39:27work

00:39:28to

00:39:28do

00:39:28but

00:39:30with

00:39:30a

00:39:30top

00:39:31team

00:39:31RML

00:39:31Ray

00:39:32Malik

00:39:32limited

00:39:32there

00:39:33is

00:39:33the

00:39:33damage

00:39:34to

00:39:34Tom

00:39:34Chilton's

00:39:35car

00:39:35on

00:39:35that

00:39:36left

00:39:36front

00:39:36wing

00:39:37hopefully

00:39:37that

00:39:38won't

00:39:38cost

00:39:38him

00:39:38too

00:39:38much

00:39:39interestingly

00:39:39he's

00:39:40in

00:39:40this

00:39:40battle

00:39:40for

00:39:4010th

00:39:41place

00:39:41now

00:39:41he's

00:39:41actually

00:39:4113th

00:39:42oh

00:39:42and again

00:39:43he gets

00:39:43a bit

00:39:43out of

00:39:44shape

00:39:44there

00:39:44yeah

00:39:45there's

00:39:45definitely

00:39:45something

00:39:46amiss

00:39:46with that

00:39:46car

00:39:47he's

00:39:47all over

00:39:47the road

00:39:48out

00:39:48the back

00:39:48he's

00:39:48out

00:39:49on the

00:39:49grass

00:39:49on the

00:39:49brake

00:39:50in the

00:39:50car

00:39:50it's

00:39:50very

00:39:51unstable

00:39:51so

00:39:51almost

00:39:52as though

00:39:52he's

00:39:53got a

00:39:53roll bar

00:39:53broken

00:39:54or something

00:39:54at the

00:39:54back

00:39:55of the

00:39:55car

00:39:55we may

00:39:55find

00:39:56out

00:39:56later

00:39:56after

00:39:56the

00:39:57race

00:39:57but

00:39:57he's

00:39:57charging

00:39:58on

00:39:58learning

00:39:58to

00:39:58adapt

00:39:59to

00:39:59drive

00:39:59to

00:39:59the

00:40:00car

00:40:00got

00:40:00to

00:40:00change

00:40:01style

00:40:01to

00:40:01suit

00:40:02the

00:40:02problems

00:40:02in

00:40:02the

00:40:03car

00:40:03and

00:40:03that's

00:40:03what

00:40:03he's

00:40:03trying

00:40:04to

00:40:04do

00:40:04now

00:40:05we're

00:40:05on board

00:40:05with Rob Collard

00:40:06who's just

00:40:06ahead of him

00:40:07at the

00:40:07moment

00:40:08he's in

00:40:08this group

00:40:09and Collard

00:40:09now

00:40:09beginning to put Butler

00:40:10Ennison under a bit of pressure there

00:40:12Charlie remember having his first ever touring car race

00:40:15Rob Collard

00:40:15experienced from last year

00:40:17winning the independence

00:40:18bit of a missed apex

00:40:19not quite as close to the curve there as Charlie would have liked

00:40:22and remember behind these guys

00:40:24is Tom Chilton desperately trying to improve

00:40:26this is the battle for 10th

00:40:28and remember that's all about

00:40:29the battle for pole position

00:40:30for race 2

00:40:31yeah it's going to be a hell of a second race isn't it

00:40:34and now Plato's got the attentions of Dan Eves

00:40:37Dan Eves only just got into this dynamics Honda team

00:40:40so very little time to get used to the car

00:40:43he's learning it in the race

00:40:44and he's certainly picking up his pace

00:40:46and we saw Plato when we were on board

00:40:48looking very attentively in the rear view mirror

00:40:50now we know why

00:40:52that's a slow voxel

00:40:53who was that in the slow voxel

00:40:55was it Muller or was it Heinz back out

00:40:57we'll check that as they come around next time

00:40:59and it might have just been Luke Heinz getting out of the way

00:41:02we'll check that once more in a second

00:41:03through they come then

00:41:04and it's Dan Eves with

00:41:07Rob Huff close to him

00:41:08but we're on board with Plato

00:41:10and Dan Eves now getting ahead of Jason Plato

00:41:14yes it was Luke Heinz keeping well out of the way

00:41:16really going slowly there

00:41:17after having come back onto the circuit

00:41:18so Eves up to fifth place

00:41:22he'll be pleased with that

00:41:23his next target is Anthony Reid

00:41:25but he's some four seconds up the road

00:41:27as we go back on board with Collard

00:41:29and his continuing fight with Charlie Butler Henderson

00:41:31Charlie needs to tuck the car in tight

00:41:33to these apexes

00:41:34not run too wide here

00:41:36get good speed out on this final Seagrave portion

00:41:39and there's Tom Chilton

00:41:41still fighting his way behind Collard

00:41:43yes that's right

00:41:44Tom Chilton's managed to make one place

00:41:46get past James K and now he wants to see

00:41:49if he can get past Rob Collard

00:41:50that would put him into 11th place

00:41:52remember although the top 10 are reversed

00:41:54if you finish 11th

00:41:56you will start 11th for race 2

00:41:58so that 10th spot makes all the difference

00:42:01from being 11th on the grid

00:42:02or being on pole position for race 2

00:42:04and you can expect a pretty dramatic last lap

00:42:06I should think in this battle

00:42:07but for the moment Charlie Butler Henderson

00:42:09doing a fantastic job

00:42:11he's been doing a bit of testing in this Astra Coupe

00:42:14to get used to it

00:42:15and now it's Chilton on a charge

00:42:17trying to get past Rob Collard

00:42:19up the hill

00:42:20yeah but he's got to watch out

00:42:22for the attentions right behind him

00:42:23he's got James K

00:42:25in the synchro Honda

00:42:26so battle of two Hondas

00:42:28James K has driven really

00:42:29round the outside of him

00:42:30but he's given him room

00:42:31can he cut back?

00:42:33well I think James was very polite to him

00:42:35then didn't want to risk any damage

00:42:37to his Honda run car

00:42:39the car run out of the Swindon Honda factory

00:42:41well they've got plenty of spare parts there

00:42:43so I think he could have afforded to have been a bit more brusque

00:42:46well it's a tremendous battle between these two

00:42:50but this is costing Chilton valuable time

00:42:52he's got to try and get back onto that 10th position

00:42:54that is held by Butler Henderson at the moment

00:42:56let me tell you that James Thompson is still leading this race

00:42:59Matt Neil is in second

00:43:00Ivan Muller in third

00:43:01Anthony Reid is in fourth

00:43:02Dan Eves in the Honda in fifth place

00:43:05then it's Jason Plato running in sixth

00:43:07into the pits is Luke Hines

00:43:09we saw him going slowly

00:43:10but he's into the pits

00:43:12in the first retirement

00:43:13and meanwhile Sean Watson-Smith

00:43:15is putting Michael Bentwood

00:43:16under increasing pressure

00:43:17ahead of them is Rob Huff

00:43:19in the second of the SEACs

00:43:21and not far ahead of them

00:43:22is Jason Plato

00:43:23there's a bit of a gap

00:43:24but the two SEACs are running

00:43:25fairly close together on track

00:43:27but it's Huff under pressure

00:43:29from Michael Bentwood

00:43:30yeah Robert Huff

00:43:31let's not forget

00:43:32he was the champion

00:43:33in the SEAC championship

00:43:35last year

00:43:35and his prize for winning the championship

00:43:37was a full-time touring car drive this year

00:43:39so he's a lucky boy

00:43:40but he's coming under pressure

00:43:41from Michael Bentwood

00:43:43yeah good stuff there

00:43:45Bentwood of course

00:43:45having to get used to front-wheel drive

00:43:47last year

00:43:47he was driving a BMW

00:43:49in the production class

00:43:50so he's having to relearn his technique

00:43:52to a certain extent

00:43:53whereas Rob Huff

00:43:54although it's the first time

00:43:55in a touring car

00:43:55he won as you say

00:43:57that SEAC Cooper championship

00:43:58and that was a front-wheel drive car

00:43:59he's also raced competitively

00:44:01in the Clios

00:44:01so he knows what he's doing out there

00:44:04discussions going on

00:44:05the VX racing camp

00:44:06as they try and determine

00:44:07what the problem was

00:44:08for Luke Hines

00:44:09sad way for him

00:44:10to end his touring car debut

00:44:12in the top class

00:44:13and that's the way it goes sometimes

00:44:15this group of three

00:44:17are catching actually

00:44:18Jason Plato

00:44:19but we're going further ahead

00:44:21to second place man

00:44:22Matt Neill

00:44:22on board with Matt Neill

00:44:25then he is

00:44:25Matt really pushing hard

00:44:28doesn't want the back markers

00:44:29to get in the way

00:44:30you can see him

00:44:31just covering the brake pedal

00:44:33with his left foot

00:44:33just a little bit of

00:44:35doesn't want to lift off the throttle

00:44:36and unbalance the car

00:44:37so just a little bit of pressure

00:44:39with his left foot on the brake

00:44:40to slow the car down

00:44:41in the highest loaded corners

00:44:43pumping the pedal up

00:44:44that's interesting

00:44:45that means he's got a little bit of brake fade

00:44:47and he needs to tap the pedal

00:44:48to build the pressure

00:44:49before he gets the corner

00:44:50now back with Rob Huff

00:44:51for Michael Bentwood

00:44:52Huff touching the grass

00:44:53under pressure

00:44:54yeah this is great stuff

00:44:56two young chargers

00:44:57in touring cars

00:44:58both determined

00:44:59to make a name

00:45:00for themselves this year

00:45:01and Rob Huff

00:45:01doing his utmost

00:45:02to keep Michael Bentwood behind

00:45:04Huff was incredibly consistent

00:45:06in last year's

00:45:06say at championship

00:45:07he knows how to defend

00:45:08he knows how to win races

00:45:09and he won his title

00:45:11actually at this circuit

00:45:12so this place

00:45:13has no fear for him

00:45:14but he's got

00:45:15some work to do still

00:45:16to hold on

00:45:17and what's going on here

00:45:18Charlie Butler Henderson

00:45:19still under pressure

00:45:20from Rob Collard

00:45:21and Tom Chilton

00:45:22Chilton desperate

00:45:23to get into that 10th place

00:45:25and there are just

00:45:26still 6 laps to go

00:45:28in this race

00:45:29Chilton battles

00:45:30with James Kay

00:45:31Collard up the inside

00:45:33of Charlie Butler Henderson

00:45:34they're side by side

00:45:35and in the background

00:45:36James Kay

00:45:37up alongside Chilton

00:45:38so 4 cars

00:45:40side by side

00:45:41but at the end of the day

00:45:42Collard is the winner

00:45:43he comes out in front

00:45:44well it's a great battle

00:45:45meanwhile

00:45:46I think Vicky's got

00:45:47some information

00:45:48that can update us

00:45:48on what's been happening

00:45:49to Luke Hines

00:45:50Vicky

00:45:50I'm so excited

00:45:51watching my brother there

00:45:52but anyway Luke Hines

00:45:53he has retired

00:45:54he obviously had a puncture

00:45:55earlier on

00:45:56and now he's had

00:45:56gear selection problem

00:45:58so he won't be rejoining

00:45:59the rest of this race

00:45:59OK well your brother's

00:46:01doing pretty well Vicky

00:46:0210th place at the moment

00:46:03if he can hold on to that

00:46:04to the end of the race

00:46:05he'll be on pole

00:46:06for race 2

00:46:06but there is our race leader

00:46:08James Thompson

00:46:08and this is putting behind him

00:46:10what was a rather poor

00:46:11outing for him here

00:46:12at Thruxton last year

00:46:13and in some ways

00:46:14it was almost a determining

00:46:15race meeting

00:46:16that gave Muller

00:46:17that little edge

00:46:18in last year's championship

00:46:19Thompson had a fourth

00:46:20and a fifth

00:46:21which doesn't sound bad

00:46:22but Ivan had two wins

00:46:23and it was just that

00:46:24little gap that Ivan

00:46:25opened up on that occasion

00:46:27that gave him the advantage

00:46:28this time

00:46:29Thompson's in front

00:46:29Muller's there in third

00:46:30the MG of Anthony Reid

00:46:32running well in fourth place

00:46:34getting used to a car

00:46:35which feels

00:46:35he was telling me

00:46:36quite different

00:46:37with that lighter engine

00:46:38and there we are

00:46:39on board with Jason Plato

00:46:40he's now in sixth place

00:46:42but his teammate

00:46:43Rob Huff

00:46:43not that far behind him

00:46:45so the concentration

00:46:46is still intense

00:46:47yes Jason Plato

00:46:48the only man

00:46:49that has to have

00:46:49his crash helmets built

00:46:50specially to accommodate

00:46:51his nose

00:46:52but let's go back

00:46:53to this battle

00:46:54in the background

00:46:54Sean Watson-Smith

00:46:55giving a great

00:46:562004 debut

00:46:57for the Proton

00:46:58he's been battling hard

00:47:00and could find himself

00:47:01on the front row

00:47:02of the grid

00:47:02he's in ninth place

00:47:03at the moment

00:47:04could find himself

00:47:05in front row grid

00:47:06for the next race

00:47:07John George

00:47:08we saw briefly there

00:47:09in the LPG

00:47:10powered Honda Civic

00:47:11a car that's not

00:47:12fully competitive yet

00:47:13but it's great to see

00:47:14it out there

00:47:14and involved

00:47:15as look at this

00:47:16battle between

00:47:17Rob Collard

00:47:17they've both gone past

00:47:19Charlie Butler-Henderson

00:47:19Collard and Chilton

00:47:20are both ahead

00:47:21of Charlie Butler-Henderson

00:47:22and that is a change

00:47:24for that all-important

00:47:25tenth place

00:47:26it means that

00:47:26Collard is now in tenth

00:47:28Chilton is in eleventh

00:47:29oh what a fight

00:47:30this is going to be

00:47:31they've still got

00:47:32four and a half laps to go

00:47:33tenth place is the crucial one

00:47:35as Chilton's wing

00:47:36finally gives up

00:47:37and flies off the car

00:47:38it doesn't seem to be

00:47:39holding him back too much

00:47:40no we saw this several times

00:47:41last year on Matt Neill's car

00:47:43the wings

00:47:43the easy peel front wings

00:47:45on the Honda

00:47:46coming off quite easily

00:47:48but it doesn't seem to

00:47:48affect their performance

00:47:49so Chilton needs to

00:47:51regroup himself a little bit

00:47:53he's up against

00:47:54an experienced competitor

00:47:55here in Rob Collard

00:47:57and Collard

00:47:58has already told

00:47:59everybody that he's going

00:48:00to buy the whole paddock

00:48:01a drink

00:48:02if he manages to win

00:48:03one of these races

00:48:04outright

00:48:04well I'll tell you what

00:48:05if he starts from pole

00:48:06for race two

00:48:07it might be an expensive round

00:48:09but at the moment

00:48:10he's got to find

00:48:12bend off Tom Chilton

00:48:13and Chilton

00:48:14the youngster

00:48:15is very very

00:48:17fired up

00:48:17and determined

00:48:18to make up for those

00:48:19grassy excursions early on

00:48:21Charlie Butler-Henderson

00:48:22meanwhile there

00:48:22was still under pressure

00:48:23from James Kay

00:48:25so that's a battle

00:48:26that still continues

00:48:27but this is the one

00:48:28to watch for tenth place

00:48:29see James Kay there

00:48:34still putting

00:48:35Charlie Butler-Henderson

00:48:35under pressure

00:48:36meanwhile

00:48:37a slightly different line

00:48:37I noticed Tim

00:48:38watching Tom Chilton's

00:48:40car in qualifying yesterday

00:48:41it looks more softly sprung

00:48:43than the Honda

00:48:44of Matt Neal

00:48:44the car that you're

00:48:45looking at in second place

00:48:47and by the way

00:48:47he's caught Thompson

00:48:48a little bit

00:48:49over the last lap or two

00:48:50Matt Neal

00:48:50closing up

00:48:51but his car

00:48:51seems to me

00:48:52just watching it

00:48:53at the chicane yesterday

00:48:54quite a lot stiffer

00:48:54than Chilton's

00:48:55yeah Matt likes the car

00:48:57fairly edgy

00:48:57so he can drive the car

00:48:59quite hard

00:49:00so in consequence

00:49:00he has stiffer spring rates

00:49:02and just generally

00:49:02sets the car up stiffer

00:49:04the arena car

00:49:05of Tom Chilton

00:49:06just a little bit more feel

00:49:07a little bit more compliance

00:49:08in the car

00:49:09but Matt Neal

00:49:10has been the fastest man

00:49:11on the track

00:49:12for the last few laps

00:49:13while further back

00:49:14the two Seats

00:49:15have caught up

00:49:16Huff and Ben

00:49:18would have caught up

00:49:19with Plato

00:49:19but up front

00:49:21yes Matt Neal

00:49:21has been catching

00:49:22he's got the gap

00:49:23down to under two seconds

00:49:241.6 seconds

00:49:26the gap at the front

00:49:26now of course

00:49:27with these races

00:49:28being a little shorter

00:49:29there are no pit stops

00:49:30anymore

00:49:30but what it does mean

00:49:31is that the tyres

00:49:32are having to go

00:49:33effectively a little longer

00:49:34they always had a pit stop

00:49:35to change those front tyres

00:49:37give them a new set of tyres

00:49:38for the second half

00:49:39of the race

00:49:40they're actually having to go

00:49:41that little bit further now

00:49:42and perhaps we're seeing

00:49:43the results

00:49:43of a bit of tyre wear now

00:49:45I think that

00:49:45there always is tyre wear

00:49:47at Truxton

00:49:47you can see how hard

00:49:48the cars are cornering

00:49:49and for how much of the lap

00:49:51they are actually turning

00:49:52so tyre wear

00:49:53is always a factor

00:49:54but the pattern

00:49:55we used to see

00:49:56in the past

00:49:56was that people

00:49:57would make an early pit stop

00:49:58but then running

00:49:59a longer second stint

00:50:00so this is actually

00:50:01shorter than the second stint

00:50:02that they would have run

00:50:03before

00:50:04so the tyres have run

00:50:05this distance before

00:50:06but they're not concerned

00:50:08about life of the tyres

00:50:10too much

00:50:10they'll have a new set

00:50:11for the next race

00:50:12and push these

00:50:13as hard as they can

00:50:14Rob Huff

00:50:15coming under more pressure

00:50:16again from Michael Bentwood

00:50:17these two have had

00:50:17a tremendous dice

00:50:18throughout now

00:50:19Bentwood tries to go

00:50:20the outside

00:50:20Huff covers that line

00:50:22but doesn't leave room

00:50:23on the inside

00:50:24that shows that he's got

00:50:25a good racing head

00:50:26on his shoulders

00:50:27because he didn't leave

00:50:28a big gap on the inside

00:50:28either

00:50:29and again it allowed

00:50:30them to close up

00:50:31to Plato

00:50:31and Plato I wonder

00:50:32if he had a little problem

00:50:33because he had a big gap

00:50:34halfway around that lap

00:50:36and then suddenly he didn't

00:50:37I wonder if he's got a problem

00:50:37on the brakes

00:50:38or something

00:50:39because they seem

00:50:39to be able to close up

00:50:40a lot at the chicane

00:50:42there are differences

00:50:43we're seeing here

00:50:44ETC specification cars

00:50:46the Seats

00:50:47racing against

00:50:47BTC specification cars

00:50:49there are difference

00:50:50on brakes

00:50:51oh Chilton

00:50:51has finally got past

00:50:52Collard

00:50:53he's taken him

00:50:5412 laps

00:50:55but he's finally

00:50:56got past

00:50:57but going back

00:50:58to the battle here

00:50:59you've got

00:50:59oh we're swapping

00:51:00again back to

00:51:01the battle

00:51:02Charlie Butler Henson

00:51:03pushing again

00:51:04trying to get back

00:51:05he's in 12th position

00:51:06Collard is now

00:51:07in 11th

00:51:08and will start

00:51:0911th

00:51:09whereas Chilton

00:51:10the car in front of him

00:51:11if he finishes here

00:51:11will start on pole

00:51:12so that is a fairly

00:51:14important position

00:51:15and it would mean

00:51:16also that

00:51:17Sean Watson-Smith

00:51:19and the Proton

00:51:19would also start

00:51:20in the front row

00:51:21according to the way

00:51:22they're running

00:51:22at the moment

00:51:23so that would be

00:51:23pretty amazing

00:51:24front row

00:51:25to see that

00:51:25but Tom Chilton

00:51:26has got to still

00:51:27fend Collard off

00:51:28for the remaining

00:51:29lap and a half

00:51:30or so

00:51:30as these two Seats

00:51:32are close together

00:51:33Jason Plato

00:51:34coming under pressure

00:51:35from his

00:51:36new boy team mate

00:51:37Rob Huff

00:51:38and Jason won't

00:51:39want to be past

00:51:40or will he

00:51:40he's let the door

00:51:41open

00:51:41he's allowed

00:51:42Rob Huff

00:51:42to go through

00:51:43and I think

00:51:44he's allowed

00:51:44now is this

00:51:45a bit of tactics

00:51:46coming up

00:51:47from the

00:51:47Meister Jason Plato

00:51:49here

00:51:49does he want

00:51:50to lose a few

00:51:51places

00:51:51and have a better

00:51:52grid position

00:51:53for race two

00:51:54I ask myself

00:51:55well you may

00:51:56well ask yourself

00:51:57the only problem

00:51:57I could see

00:51:58was a problem

00:51:59on the brakes

00:51:59and the ETC

00:52:00cars do have

00:52:02smaller brakes

00:52:02than the British

00:52:03cars

00:52:03although they run

00:52:04lighter in weight

00:52:05so

00:52:05but that seemed

00:52:06a very deliberate

00:52:07manoeuvre

00:52:08to let the two

00:52:08cars pass

00:52:09and you could

00:52:10well be right

00:52:11there with

00:52:11Mr. Plato

00:52:13and here you can

00:52:13see back to the

00:52:14front

00:52:14the lead

00:52:15the gap

00:52:16down to

00:52:17less than a

00:52:18second

00:52:18only 0.9

00:52:20of a second

00:52:20between Neil

00:52:21and Thompson

00:52:22so the final lap

00:52:24we're on at the

00:52:24moment

00:52:25and James

00:52:26Thompson

00:52:26is he going

00:52:27to take

00:52:27the first

00:52:28win of the

00:52:28season

00:52:28or will

00:52:29Matt Neil

00:52:30get him

00:52:30on the run

00:52:31up towards

00:52:31the chicane

00:52:32or perhaps

00:52:32attack as

00:52:33they go

00:52:33through the

00:52:34chicane

00:52:34moving pretty

00:52:35slowly

00:52:36that's Jason

00:52:36Hughes in the

00:52:37background

00:52:37in the

00:52:38privateer

00:52:38MG

00:52:39but James

00:52:40Thompson

00:52:40has driven

00:52:41superbly

00:52:42here in the

00:52:42opening

00:52:43encounter

00:52:43a superb

00:52:44start

00:52:44from the

00:52:45first pole

00:52:46position

00:52:46of the

00:52:46year

00:52:46and Thompson

00:52:47is going

00:52:48to come

00:52:48through

00:52:49to take

00:52:49victory

00:52:50and it's

00:52:51going to be

00:52:51Matt Neil

00:52:52who takes

00:52:53second place

00:52:54Thompson

00:52:54the race

00:52:55winner

00:52:55Matt Neil

00:52:56finishes

00:52:56in second

00:52:57and we'll

00:52:58expect to see

00:52:58Ivan Muller

00:52:59through in

00:52:59third

00:53:00but who

00:53:00will finish

00:53:01in tenth

00:53:01place

00:53:02and for

00:53:02that matter

00:53:02who's going

00:53:03to finish

00:53:03in sixth

00:53:04place

00:53:04Rob Huff

00:53:04still

00:53:05well held

00:53:07he holds

00:53:08it

00:53:08and he stays

00:53:09in front

00:53:09of Michael

00:53:09Bentwood

00:53:10and I think

00:53:10that will be

00:53:11enough

00:53:11Muller's

00:53:12through in

00:53:12third

00:53:12Reid in

00:53:13fourth

00:53:13Eves

00:53:13in fifth

00:53:14place

00:53:15Rob Huff

00:53:15takes sixth

00:53:16ahead of

00:53:17Michael

00:53:17Bentwood

00:53:17and Plato

00:53:18is he

00:53:19letting

00:53:19he's trying

00:53:20to let

00:53:20the proton

00:53:21through

00:53:21they're all

00:53:21slowing down

00:53:22they're all

00:53:23slowing down

00:53:24trying to

00:53:24get the best

00:53:25grid position

00:53:26for race

00:53:26two

00:53:27and that's

00:53:28what we

00:53:28thought we

00:53:28might see

00:53:29and it's

00:53:29exactly what

00:53:30we will

00:53:30see

00:53:31but Tom

00:53:31Chilton

00:53:32was tenth

00:53:32he will

00:53:33take pole

00:53:34and Watson

00:53:35Smith

00:53:35didn't

00:53:36didn't fall

00:53:37for Plato's

00:53:38trap

00:53:38Watson

00:53:39Smith

00:53:39backed

00:53:39right off

00:53:40and he

00:53:40will start

00:53:41on the

00:53:41front row

00:53:42as well

00:53:42well it

00:53:43did prove

00:53:43one thing

00:53:44didn't it

00:53:44that Plato

00:53:45was playing

00:53:45a little bit

00:53:46of gamesmanship

00:53:47there for

00:53:47the second

00:53:48race

00:53:48he wanted

00:53:49to lose

00:53:49a bit

00:53:49of extra

00:53:50weight

00:53:50and start

00:53:51on the

00:53:51front row

00:53:51of the

00:53:52grid

00:53:52he will

00:53:52start

00:53:52third

00:53:53for the

00:53:53next race

00:53:54so he's

00:53:55still in with

00:53:55a good chance

00:53:55but great fun

00:53:56to see that

00:53:57I think a great

00:53:58first race

00:53:58we saw

00:53:59unexpected

00:54:00competitiveness

00:54:01I think

00:54:01from the

00:54:02ETCC

00:54:03spec cars

00:54:04the Seats

00:54:04running up

00:54:05front at

00:54:05first

00:54:05clearly the

00:54:07differential

00:54:07is pretty

00:54:08close to

00:54:08being right

00:54:08we saw

00:54:09a fighting

00:54:10race

00:54:10from James

00:54:10Thompson

00:54:11off the

00:54:11grid

00:54:11and Matt

00:54:12Neill

00:54:12didn't give

00:54:13an inch

00:54:13all the way

00:54:14through

00:54:14did he

00:54:14finishing

00:54:14just 0.6

00:54:15of a second

00:54:16behind

00:54:16fantastic

00:54:17racing

00:54:17there we

00:54:18are on

00:54:18board

00:54:18with

00:54:19Ivan

00:54:19Muller

00:54:19he'll

00:54:20be

00:54:20disappointed

00:54:20it was

00:54:20all about

00:54:21that start

00:54:22really

00:54:22and that

00:54:23got Matt

00:54:24Neill ahead

00:54:24of him

00:54:24and Ivan

00:54:25really

00:54:25couldn't do

00:54:25much

00:54:26from there

00:54:27but don't

00:54:27forget

00:54:27he's not

00:54:29as badly

00:54:29off as

00:54:30Thompson

00:54:30and Neill

00:54:30because

00:54:31Thompson

00:54:31will have

00:54:32maximum

00:54:32ballast

00:54:32he'll have

00:54:33to start

00:54:3310th

00:54:34for race

00:54:34two

00:54:34Matt

00:54:35Neill

00:54:35will have

00:54:36a lot

00:54:36of ballast

00:54:36he'll have

00:54:37to start

00:54:37in 9th

00:54:38place

00:54:38for race

00:54:39two

00:54:39Ivan

00:54:39Muller

00:54:40bit less

00:54:40ballast

00:54:41he'll be

00:54:41starting

00:54:428th

00:54:42so that

00:54:42might

00:54:43turn

00:54:43back

00:54:43to the

00:54:44Frenchman's

00:54:44favour

00:54:44a little

00:54:45bit

00:54:45for races

00:54:46two

00:54:46and three

00:54:46who knows

00:54:47it's also

00:54:48unpredictable

00:54:48at the

00:54:49moment

00:54:49but what

00:54:50we do

00:54:50know

00:54:50is that

00:54:51Tom

00:54:51Chilton

00:54:51will be

00:54:52on pole

00:54:52for race

00:54:53two

00:54:53there's

00:54:54confirmation

00:54:54of the

00:54:54result

00:54:55then

00:54:55Thompson

00:54:55ahead

00:54:56of

00:54:56Neill

00:54:56and

00:54:57Muller

00:54:57with

00:54:58Anthony

00:54:58Reid

00:54:58in

00:54:58fourth

00:54:59place

00:54:59ahead

00:54:59of

00:54:59Dan

00:55:00Eves

00:55:00Rob

00:55:00Huff

00:55:01Michael

00:55:01Bentwood

00:55:01Plato

00:55:02there

00:55:03not quite

00:55:04managing

00:55:04to drop

00:55:05to

00:55:0510th

00:55:06place

00:55:06so he

00:55:06finished

00:55:11take a

00:55:12quick

00:55:12break

00:55:13and

00:55:13we'll

00:55:13be

00:55:13back

00:55:13with

00:55:14more

00:55:14from

00:55:15the

00:55:15winners

00:55:15of

00:55:16the

00:55:16first

00:55:16round

00:55:16of

00:55:16the

00:55:17championship

00:55:17here

00:55:17at

00:55:17Thruxton

00:55:18British

00:55:28Touring

00:55:28Car

00:55:29Championship

00:55:29in

00:55:29association

00:55:30with

00:55:30Seat

00:55:31Hi I'm

00:55:36Tom

00:55:37Chilton

00:55:37joining us

00:55:38here live

00:55:38from

00:55:38Modus

00:55:39TV

00:55:39for

00:55:39BTCC

00:55:40Championship

00:55:41British

00:55:48Touring

00:55:49Car

00:55:49Championship

00:55:50in

00:55:50association

00:55:50with

00:55:51Seat

00:55:51Welcome

00:55:57back to

00:55:58Thruxton

00:55:58where we've

00:55:59just witnessed

00:56:00the first

00:56:00touring car

00:56:01race

00:56:01of the

00:56:02year

00:56:02James

00:56:02Thompson

00:56:03the

00:56:03first

00:56:04winner

00:56:04and

00:56:04of

00:56:05course

00:56:05he

00:56:05was

00:56:05the

00:56:052002

00:56:06champion

00:56:07and

00:56:07starts

00:56:07off

00:56:07his

00:56:08campaign

00:56:08with

00:56:08a

00:56:09maximum

00:56:0915

00:56:09points

00:56:10also

00:56:10had

00:56:10the

00:56:10additional

00:56:10points

00:56:11for

00:56:11pole

00:56:12position

00:56:12so

00:56:13that's

00:56:13a

00:56:14very

00:56:14useful

00:56:14start

00:56:15to

00:56:15the

00:56:15season

00:56:15for

00:56:16him

00:56:16meanwhile

00:56:16let's

00:56:17go and

00:56:17join

00:56:18Vicky

00:56:18Butler

00:56:18Henderson

00:56:18start

00:56:25and

00:56:26see you

00:56:26to

00:56:26see you

00:56:26got

00:56:29pipped by

00:56:29Mr

00:56:30Muller

00:56:30fantastic

00:56:31start

00:56:31really

00:56:32pleased

00:56:32Matt

00:56:32seemed to

00:56:33be

00:56:33catching you

00:56:33towards the end

00:56:34there

00:56:34yeah

00:56:34very very

00:56:35quick

00:56:35that doesn't

00:56:36bode well

00:56:36I was

00:56:37pushing

00:56:37I

00:56:37wasn't

00:56:38taking

00:56:38it

00:56:38easy

00:56:38by

00:56:38any

00:56:39stretch

00:56:39of

00:56:39the

00:56:40imagination

00:56:40so

00:56:41yeah

00:56:41it's

00:56:42going to

00:56:42be

00:56:42very

00:56:43hard

00:56:43fought

00:56:43as

00:56:44we

00:56:44always

00:56:44thought

00:56:45it

00:56:45would

00:56:45be

00:56:45what do you think was the problem towards the end then were your tyres going off a bit because I know Throxton is notorious for tyres

00:56:50yeah I mean you know Throxton is so hard on the tyres I pushed exceptionally hard early on to try and get a clear break

00:56:56because last year here I struggled so badly with certainly the set up of my car and we've worked so hard on trying to get a good race pace so I thought if I can make a break early on then at least I can try and control it but as it turned out I was pushing for all I was worth at the end

00:57:12now you're going to have to pull another blinder out the bag because of course you start race two from tenth which would be quite mad and with 42 kilos on board as well so yeah it's going to be really tough but I need more of those starts though where were they last year I know that was wicked well done

00:57:26yeah that's the first

00:57:28right back to Ben for a minute

00:57:30thank you very much Vicky well James delighted obviously with that first race win of the year and indeed it was a fantastic start he just stormed off that pole position it was Ivan who really didn't get off the line

00:57:42as effectively as we might have expected and that gave the opportunity of course for Matt Neill to slot in between those two Vauxhall Astra coupes but at the moment Vauxhall retain their 100% record here at Thruxton in the last four years

00:57:54that's nine race wins out of nine starts which I have to say is very very impressive indeed but Matt Neill wasn't far behind in the end he was only 0.6 of a second and Vicky's now with Matt

00:58:06Matt that was an absolutely storming start

00:58:09it was a good start then we had a bit of a lull period and you know in the first third of the race and then we seemed to I thought we got the legs on on Jimmy at the end but another couple of laps maybe

00:58:18what do you think was it I mean do you think that you sort of improved towards the end of the race or do you think James had slowed down a bit

00:58:24I think the Vauxhall's maybe a little bit harder on its tyres I was pushing hard I knew it's notoriously hard on tyres around here for everybody so it's a real test and sort of man and machine and rubber

00:58:35you know I thought I was I was being pretty brutal with mine at the end just because I thought if I could get one stab at him into the chicane on the last lap then then we'll have a

00:58:45go but it wasn't to be unfortunately now what are your thoughts then for the start of race two you'll be starting from ninth on the bridge with weight

00:58:52well the Honda notoriously wasn't so good with waste but I think it should be slightly better this year

00:59:00you know that Neil Brown's been making some improvements with the engines and they've just been trying to work on it a little bit so whether we're as good as the Vauxhall is another matter

00:59:07you know it's going to be it's going to be interesting we did it in Europe and it's it was pretty fraught for a few laps but it'll be interesting I'm looking forward to it

00:59:15good good so am I best of luck thank you very much thank you well Matt Neil has a pretty good start to the season there he finished third overall in last year's

00:59:23championship but he had a very successful season winning six races in the arena motorsport run Honda Civic now the change of team of course to the one run by his

00:59:33father and they've started with a podium finish so they must be pretty delighted with that and then see what happens in race two a little bit later on so

00:59:40Ivan Muller finished in third place here today the reigning champion let's see how he feels about how his race went Vicky

00:59:46Ivan you were third are you not too happy about that

00:59:49not really I was struggling during all race with a big on the steer and since the first lap I had to match on the steer so normally with this kind of car you

00:59:59expect on the steer midway of the race but here it was immediately from the beginning so too much grip on the rear

01:00:05I was very quick in the quick corner but not enough in the slow corner but we will do something for the

01:00:11second one yeah and what are your thoughts just throwing forward to the second race okay now I will

01:00:17start eight with eight more 20 kilo more than the other one plus we will do some change on the car I hope to

01:00:25do a better start than the first race and now we will see it was a exciting race for the three or four first lap

01:00:33because with the battle with Martin and Reed but I lost time and probably stress a bit too much the

01:00:40tire for the beginning of the race and that cost me on the end but is it good to be back yeah for sure

01:00:45good good thank you very much back to Ben great thanks Vicky well Ivan was telling me in a way he

01:00:49doesn't feel as though he hasn't as though he's had a break this year he took his eighth ice racing title

01:00:55over the winter and so he's been sort of from one car to another it was the Kia he's been driving in that

01:01:00championship for taking his eighth ice racing title and now he straight back into British touring cars

01:01:05once again getting ready for the podium celebrations now as the drivers assemble around that podium area

01:01:13of course Matt Neil also apart from finishing second was also the leading independent there is a class

01:01:19within a class although we don't have the production class anymore the independence category caters for

01:01:24drivers and teams who are run without backing from the works factories and that is of course Matt Neil

01:01:31they're running a privateer team this year and so he's the winner of the independence cup in this

01:01:36particular race so that's the trophy for the independent win for Matt Neil and of course he also

01:01:44will get the trophy for finishing in second place overall

01:01:48so we're just waiting for the rest of the presentations to take place and Nick Page from

01:01:58Green Flag heading up there onto the podium to make these presentations to the overall winners of the race

01:02:05Ian Harrison coming up to receive the team of manufacturers trophy for the win in this opening race and of course Vauxhall looking for their fourth title run this year they've won the drivers manufacturers and teams championships for the past three years here comes Ivan Muller then third place in the first race of the season and the Frenchman knows he'll have his work cut out in race number two but perhaps not quite as tough as for the

01:02:34the two who will be alongside him finishing in second place as we've seen the man who's already taken the trophy for the independence win is Matt Neil so he goes from one side of the podium to the other and picks up a second trophy

01:02:48going to be quite a collection by the end of this season with Matt now in the independence class the tall man of the British Touring Car Championship but our first race winner of the season

01:02:59is 2002 champion James Thompson and he's got a big smile on his face so there we are the first podium of the 2004 season

01:03:10British Touring Car Championship in association with Seat

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