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British Touring Car Championship
Thruxton Preview - WIN TICKETS!

By MJP Media | 25 April 2016

The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship heads to the super-fast Thruxton circuit in Hampshire on May 7th and 8th for the 3rd meeting of the 2016 season.

Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden currently lead the Drivers' Championship

A fantastic venue for spectators thanks to its vast viewing areas, Thruxton in Hampshire is probably the most fearsome circuit on the BTCC calendar with an average lap speed well in excess of 100mph and top speeds of over 140mph. Its layout is effectively a never-ending, occasionally tightening right-hand loop split by two chicanes and boasts extraordinarily high speeds. It is such a fast and demanding circuit that Dunlop bring a special one-off tyre just for this event to help withstand the extra cornering loads. Thruxton is the only circuit on the BTCC calendar where the teams are not required to run with soft option tyres.

With six different drivers taking victory in the first six races of the season, there is everything to play for at Thruxton. Matt Neal, Gordon Shedden, Rob Collard, Mat Jackson, Adam Morgan and Tom Ingram have all occupied the top step of the podium this year however three podium finishes each and steady points scoring mean Halfords Yuasa Racing drivers and former Drivers' Championship winners Neal and Shedden are currently at the top of the scoreboard with Team IHG Rewards Club's Jack Goff a close 3rd.

A capacity grid should ensure great BTCC action at Thruxton

The younger drivers have also made their mark on the 2016 championship with Tom Ingram out-qualifying the rest of the field for Speedworks Motorsport at Brands Hatch and MG Racing RCIB Insurance drivers Ashley Sutton and Josh Cook putting their MG6GTs on the front row of the grid with rookie driver Sutton taking pole position following qualifying at Donington Park. Earlier that day Cook was top of the time sheets in both free practice sessions. Cook and Ingram also had podium finishes in the first race from the Leicestershire circuit.

For 2016 the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship has no fewer than eleven different makes and models of cars competing for the various trophies, clearly demonstrating the diversity and appeal of the series. As at the first meeting of the season, Thruxton should see a capacity 32-car grid with Daniel Lloyd joining Jeff Smith and Martin Depper at Eurotech Racing for the rest of the season thanks to the team's acquisition of a loan TOCA BTCC Licence (TBL) that became available following Andy Neate's departure from Halfords Yuasa Racing.

Josh Cook and Ashley Sutton in their MG Racing RCIB Insurance MG6GTs

Watch all the race day action live on ITV4 or better still, come to Thruxton and experience Britain's premier motorsport series plus a full support programme including the Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT5 Challenge, MSA Formula Championship, Simpson Race Products Ginetta Junior Championship and the Renault UK Clio Cup at the fastest circuit on the BTCC calendar. For tickets visit the Thruxton web site or call the Ticket Hotline on 01264 882200 (option 1) - children 15 and under go free!

WIN TICKETS!
In association with MJP Media we have two pairs of weekend admission tickets to give away for the BTCC meeting at Thruxton on May 7th and 8th. To be in with a chance of winning and for full entry details, click here and answer a simple question based on this preview. Competition ends at 12:00 on May 3rd.

Touring Car content supplied by MJP Media