British Touring Car Championship Thruxton 2012

British Touring Car Championship Thruxton 2012 Photos and Stories.

British Touring Car Championship
Thruxton Circuit,
Andover, Hampshire, England
April 28-29, 2012

Photos and story provided by Tim Surman Contact Photographer for Information.

GALLERY 2

British Touring Car Championship Thruxton 2012

The British Touring Car Championship and the support races, Porsche Carrera Cup, Ginetta GT Supercup, Ginetta Juniors and the Renault Clio Cup moved onto Thruxton for rounds 7,8,9.

The sun and temperatures of the opening rounds at Brands Hatch are long gone, to be replaced with wind, rain and cold Thruxton. Saturday qualifying and the rain was already coming down, but Andrew Jordan mastered the quick and very wet Thruxton to put his Pirtek Racing Honda Civic on pole.

For race day on Sunday the wind and rain had'nt let up, if anything it had got worse. The thought on most peoples minds was if the races would go ahead. But the races did go ahead and the drivers braved the almost aquatic conditions.

In round 7 Andrew Jordan, Jason Plato and Mat Jackson went going into Allard side by side, Jordan and Plato hit with Jordan's spinning off and into the barrier damaging his car and putting him out of the race, Plato was pushed wide onto the grass but managed to keep going. It was Mat Jackson that took advantage and went on to take the first win of the day.

Round 8 and Mat Jackson was on Pole after winning the first race, but this time the race was started behind the safety car. But this round it was Gordon Shedden that was on a mission, the Honda Civic working brilliantly in the wet weather moved through the field with ease and caught Jackson and passed of lap 9 going into the complex and stormed ahead. Jackson dropped to third and Plato passed, but Jackson was carrying maximum ballast, but managed to just hold off Frank Wrathall to take third. Shedden went on to win Round 8.

Round 9, Tony Gilham in round 8 just managed to take 9th place and in the last race of the day was picked out of the hat by Murry Walker to be on Pole. A fantastic outcome for the small privateer Team HARD. Gilham made a great start, but it was only a matter of time before Shedden (who was still on a charge as the rain came down harder) got passed. But Gilham was'nt going to give his Pole and 1st place up easy, even though he was on a dry setup due to budget. Sheddon and Neil got passed with Gilham in third, till Gilham made a small mistake going into the complex, locked up and hit the barrier. He got the car started but limped back to the pits to retire. Round 9 finished with Gordon Shedden taking a second win of the weekend, Matt Neal in second and Frank Wrathall held on to take the last place on the podium.

The new curbs of Thruxton did'nt catch anyone out and the racing was very clean, maybe down to the weather and the fast Thruxton circuit, with the only crashes due to driver error rather than the normal bumping and pushing of BTCC. We can only wait till next year and hopefully a dry Thruxton to see how the curbs will effect the racing.
Tim Surman, www.timsurman.co.uk