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BTCC: Who can halt Ford's early charge?

26 April 2000

 
With eight podium finishes from the first four races, the question ahead
of rounds five and six of the Auto Trader British Touring Car Championship
this weekend is: can anyone stop Ford?

As Britain's premier motor racing series heads to Thruxton, Hampshire,
this May Day weekend (April 30 / May 1), to provide bumper-to-bumper Bank
Holiday, Ford's rivals will be attempting to break the Blue Oval's early
season dominance. Swiss ace Alain Menu has won three of the first four
races in his Ford Mondeo while team-mates Rickard Rydell and Anthony Reid
have finished in the top three five times between them.

At Donington Park over the Easter Weekend the Mondeo team qualified 1-2-3
for both races, won both races, finished 1-2-3 in the first and 1-3 in the
second. The results were all the more impressive considering that each car
was carrying success ballast, a penalty handed out after the opening
rounds at Brands Hatch. All three will be carrying success ballast again
for the ultra-fast sweeping curves of Thruxton, near Andover, where the
Super Touring cars reach speeds in excess of 145mph. Menu and Rydell will
both have 40kg extra while Reid will carry 20kg.

Redstone Team Honda came closest to upsetting the Ford Team Mondeo
bandwagon at Donington Park. The three Accords were next best in
qualifying and Italian Gabriele Tarquini, the 1994 BTCC champion, split
Menu and Rydell in round four to claim second and the team's first podium
finish of the season. 

But Tarquini believes there is still some way to go before Honda can
challenge the Mondeo men on a regular basis. He says: "Our car was not
really fast enough to beat the Fords at Donington. It was quite close, but
we must not forget that all three Fords had ballast. I think the gap is
bigger than the race at Donington shows. There is still a lot of work to
do."

Vauxhall's challenge at Donington was hampered by a poor display in
qualifying and drivers Jason Plato, Yvan Muller and Vincent Radermecker,
will be looking for a better showing in qualifying at Thruxton to start
higher up the grid on Monday. 

There is still a question mark over the fitness of Honda star James
Thompson. The Yorkshireman, who turns 26 this week (26 April), suffered
mild concussion in an accident at Brands Hatch at the opening meeting and
missed Donington's races after being advised to rest by the BTCC medical
officer Dr Paul Trafford. Thompson was due to have a further fitness check
today (Tuesday). If he is ruled out of the Thruxton rounds, Dutchman Peter
Kox will continue to deputise in the Accord.

Matt Neal regained the number one position at the top of the Michelin Cup
for Independents at Donington, but he is not happy with that. The
Stourbridge-based driver wants to mix it more with the manufacturer teams
and will be aiming for a top-three finish overall.

In Class B, Barwell Motorsport's Mark Lemmer is hoping his experience of
Thruxton earlier this year in the National Saloon Championship will give
him the edge over his rivals. Lemmer trails team-mate James Kaye, who
leads Class B in an Accord, and Alan Morrison (Peugeot 306), but he
believes his Honda Integra Type R is the car to have in Hampshire.

Says Lemmer: "I was on pole for the National Saloon race at Thruxton in
March and the Integra is a very good car round Thruxton. It has very good
high speed balance which is essential for this circuit. I'm very
comfortable at Thruxton and I really like the circuit so I'm hoping to do
well this weekend."

BTCC spectators at Thruxton will also be able to witness an exciting
package of support race action, including the Slick 50 Formula Ford ZETEC,
Ford Credit Fiesta ZETEC, Autobytel Lotus, Formula Renault 2000 and Elf
Clio Renaultsport UK Cup championships.

The BTCC contenders are testing at Thruxton on Thursday, April 27.
Qualifying takes place on Sunday, April 30, with the races on Bank Holiday
Monday, May 1. Round five (Sprint Race, 16 laps, 37.70 miles) is scheduled
to start at 12.45pm with round six (Feature Race, 32 laps, 75.39 miles)
getting the green light at 3.30pm.

Thruxton ticket hotline: 01264 772696