BTCC: Oulton Park preview: Menu favored as season nears climax
5 September 2000
Swiss star heads eight drivers all with a chance of the 2000 title With just four races remaining in the 2000 Auto Trader British Touring Car Championship, the series is heading to its most exciting climax ever as eight drivers still have a mathematical chance of lifting the coveted crown. Ford's triumvirate - Alain Menu, Anthony Reid and Rickard Rydell - are the main contenders being 1-2-3 in the standings, but Vauxhall's Yvan Muller and Jason Plato, Honda's Gabriele Tarquini and Tom Kristensen and Independent king Matt Neal all have a slim chance of overhauling them. However, the odds are strongly in favour of Menu taking the prize, to add to his 1997 title. His favourite track Oulton Park hosts the penultimate meeting this weekend (Sunday, September 10) and he heads the championship standings by six points. Menu has always excelled at the Cheshire circuit and heads to rounds 21 and 22 in top form, having won round 20 at Brands Hatch. When the series visited Oulton Park earlier this year (for rounds nine and ten in May), the Swiss ace was in his element. He set the fastest times in both qualifying sessions - but had one pole position taken off him after his car failed a technical check - and tasted victory in one race. The only thing not in his favour this weekend is the 40kg of success ballast he must carry after winning at Brands at the end of last month. He says: "Oulton Park is my favourite track, so I will go there in a positive frame of mind. I'll be carrying 40kgs which will make it difficult so the aim is not to win both races, but to gain as many points as possible." On the championship run-in, Menu comments: "I think it's going to go down to the wire. The likelihood is that one of the Ford drivers will win, but who I don't know. Anthony and Rickard are among the best drivers in the world, not just in Touring Cars, so it's going to be very tough." Reid could strike a blow into Menu's title hopes before the teams even reach Oulton, however. The Motorsports Association (MSA) tomorrow (Tuesday, September 5) hears an appeal into his exclusion from third place in round 14 at Croft (North Yorks). If the appeal is successful, the Mondeo man will be given back his ten points and would therefore lead the series by four points. The Scot, aiming to become the first Briton to win the BTCC title since John Cleland in 1995, says: "Tomorrow is an important day for me and the team. We are confident we can win the appeal as we've got a pretty strong case. But I've been racing on the basis that I don't have those points and tackling the championship accordingly. "I think my chances for the title are as good as my Ford team-mates. The very nature of the BTCC means the balance of power can shift extremely quickly and no-one knows what's going to happen. But I'm confident I'm going to have a very competitive end of season." With Ford sealing the Manufacturers' title at Brands Hatch, the Blue Oval trio are free to look after their own interests on the track. But Reid believes he and his team-mates still need to work together to prevent the Vauxhall duo of Muller and Plato, fourth and fifth in the standings, taking advantage of any Mondeo mishaps. Plato scored a second-place finish at Oulton earlier this year and will be a big threat. The Briton is 35 points behind Menu but, with a maximum of 66 available in the last four races, needs two very good results this weekend. He says: "I narrowly missed out on a win last time and the circuit really suits the Vectra. I expect to be strong." Honda's Kristensen - in eighth place, the man with the slimmest chance of becoming champion - should also pose a threat if he can repeat his performance of earlier in the year. The Dane took his maiden BTCC victory at Oulton and his Accord will be on the pace again. His only problem will be the 30kg of success ballast he has to carry following a second-place finish at Brands Hatch. Underdog Neal, who thrilled the Brands Hatch crowd by scoring his second-ever outright victory, is already a champion this year having clinched the Michelin Cup for Independents crown for the second successive season. The Nissan Primera driver is not thinking about the championship, just more victories. Team Dynamics Max Power Racing star Neal says: "The feeling when I crossed the line at Brands Hatch was just mint. More than anything else the reaction of the crowd just made it so sweet. I want to win more races, but with 40kg on board for Oulton Park I think it will be very difficult with the amount of tight bends and hairpins. "I won't be going there with a defeatist attitude, I'll be giving as much as ever. But if we get rid of the weight for the final two races at Silverstone, I don't see why we can't go for two wins to finish off the year in style." Oulton Park will see the biggest BTCC grid of the year so far with more new arrivals in the Class B ranks. Joining the regulars, and taking the field to 22 cars, will be two Ford Focuses raced by former BTCC Peugeot driver Simon Harrison and Gareth Howell, plus an additional Nissan Primera driven by former Production Saloons champion Andy Middlehurst. They will have to be at their best, though, to oust Class B leader Alan Morrison and James Kaye, a close second in the standings, from the Oulton Park podium. Touring Car VIP Club driver Morrison (Peugeot 306 GTi) and Barwell Motorsport's Kaye (Honda Accord) have been swapping wins all season and their title-fight looks certain to also go down to the wire at Silverstone later this month. The BTCC contenders are testing at Oulton Park on Friday, September 8. Qualifying takes place on Saturday, September 9, with the races on Sunday, September 10. Round 21 (Sprint Race, 15 laps, 35.4-miles) is scheduled to start at 12.30pm with Round 22 (Feature Race, 30 laps, 70.8-miles) getting the green light at 3.40pm. Both races will be shown live on BBC TV Grandstand.