Adrian Flux Subaru Racing achieved better than expected results at Thruxton this past weekend with Ashley Sutton finishing in the points in all three races, which included a podium position in race 3 after crossing the line in third, as his younger teammate Senna Proctor also picked up points in the final encounter.

Built in the 60’s the Old School Thruxton Circuit has always been a tricky hunting ground for the rear wheel drive Subaru Levorg, and the plan was to keep out of trouble and bank as many points as possible to keep us in a comfortable position in the championship tables following the third weekend on the BTCC calendar. 

Qualifying well at the fastest circuit on the BTCC calendar was vital for us on Saturday afternoon and with Ash leading the championship standings, the extra 54kgs of success ballast was always going to take its toll, and as for Senna his first weekend in the Subaru around the 2.36 mile circuit was always going to be a tough one, and the pressure was on.

With rain predicted all week in the run-up to the event, the whole team and both drivers were upbeat about their coming weekend, as the rain can always throw up some unexpected results  and with that comes the fact that the success ballast doesn’t hamper a car's performance and both boys always excel in wet weather conditions.

However, when Saturday came the sun came out and everyone in the team had to dig deep to get some good results and they did just that. It wasn’t an easy session and with 30 cars out on track for the 30-minute session it really could have been anyone who ended up on pole position as 24 fastest laps were disallowed throughout the session as many fell foul to the track limits rule at the chicane. It’s a difficult one to call as it’s a very fine line and is judged by the human eye of the officials. Then just as the session was due to end the red flag was brought out to halt proceedings after Mark Blundell’s Audi and Tom Chilton’s Ford Focus had a coming together at the chicane, which resulted in heavy impact into the barriers for the latter. At this point, there was no surety whether or not there would be time for the session to be re-started when the call came that there would be a final five-minute shoot out as soon as the barriers were made safe again. When the five minutes were done the boys in the garage were full of smiles as Ash had bagged an almighty 7th place with Senna in 20th, less than a second off the pace of the pole sitter.

For the first of Sunday’s three races both Ash and Senna made great starts as the lights went out, with Ash soon finding himself defending from the Honda Civic of Mat Neal as the duo ran side-by-side going through Church corner and on the straight up Woodham Hill and into the Chicane at the end of lap 7, with Ash coming out on top until Neal finally passed two laps later after pulling the same move he had previously attempted, only this time with a little bit of paint trading between the duo and Ash having take a little bit of grass with Neal having to cut through the chicane to avoid any further contact. In all fairness Neal had no other option, as overnight the officials had placed a tyre stack at the chicane to avoid any “track limits” issues that had occurred in qualifying the previous day. For the next couple of laps Ash encountered more pressure from behind, only this time it was the Vauxhall’s Astra of Rob Collard who was piling on the pressure and he finally made the move stick placing Ash in 9th, a place he would hold until the checkered flag fell at the end of lap 16.

During the opening laps Senna had also lost a couple of positions and was soon back on the attack of Jack Goff’s Volkswagen CC and although he put up a strong fight, he just didn’t have the speed to take the position back and took the flag in 22nd place.

Andrew Jordan took the win in his BMW as his teammate Colin Turkington finished 4th. Turkington’s 4th place finish was enough to secure him the championship lead by just a single point from Ash.

For Race Two Ash would lose 48kgs of success ballast due to his first race finishing position and would now carry just 6kgs, whilst Senna would remain weight free.

Once again, the Subaru Levorgs were good off the line and by the end of the first lap Ash had made up a place to 8th whilst Senna had held his position.  At the end of Lap 2 there was a coming together between Chris Smiley and Ollie Jackson which resulted in Senna inheriting a couple of places and up to 19th.

At the halfway point of the race the rain finally started to fall, although not enough for BMR’s liking and both the Levorg’s struggled with the Thruxton pace. Once again Ash lost a couple of places at The Complex to Rob Collard and Tom Ingram and dropped back to 10th. Subsequently, Senna had also dropped a place and was now back to where he had started the day in 20th. Driving to the absolute limit, Ash had a couple of hair-raising moments through Church, the fastest corner in British motorsport, and somehow managed to claw a place back from Collard at the Chicane and back through into a fine 9th position.

There was last lap drama for Stephen Jelley and Aiden Moffat which Senna capitalised on once again and grabbed two positions by nipping up the inside of both and into 18th before gaining an additional place and taking the checkered flag in 17th. Ash dropped back two places after getting caught up on the back of Ingram and crossed the line in 11th, banking a handful of points in the process. The race was once again headed by the BMW of Jordan.  Post-race Chilton was handed a penalty for a start line infringement which promoted Senna to 16th.

The race three reverse grid draw was made by Former McLaren Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh, who selected ball number 11 placing Ash on pole position for the third and final encounter of the day.

With rain in the air the lights went out and the cars left the grid for the final time of asking. Ash got a good start however Josh Cook, who was alongside him on the front row of the grid, got a better run on the inside line and took the lead of the race. Senna also got a good start until he had to take to the grass due to a sideways Collard who collected the Mercedes of Adam Morgan in the process.  Unfortunately, Senna lost a place in the process, dropping him back to 17th.  The safety car was deployed to retrieve the stricken machine of Morgan with the race being restarted on lap 5, as officials extended the race to 19 laps. Shortly after the restart the Honda of Rory Butcher found a way past Ash dropping him into 3rd and Senna started to claw his way back up the order and into 16th and on the verge of a point scoring position.  The safety car then returned on lap 9 following drama for Carl Boardley and Rob Smith which left debris on the track.  The race resumed once again on lap 12 with both Adrian Flux Subaru Racing drivers getting good restarts as Senna made his way through into 14th place. Ash eventually crossed the line in 3rd, behind race winner Cook and second placed Butcher, grabbing his fourth podium of the season, with Senna also finishing in the points in 15th place after losing a place at the end of the race to Tom Chilton.

Ash now sits 4th in the Championship standings just 5 points adrift of joint leaders Turkington and Butcher.  Subaru are 3rd in the Manufacturers table and Adrian Flux Subaru Racing sit 6th in the Teams Championship.

Adrian Flux Subaru Racing Quotes:

Ashley Sutton – “We knew Thruxton was going to be our weakest of them all so it was just about trying to bring it home and bag some points. I feel we overachieved in qualifying which showed in the races as I wasn’t able to maintain my positions. Both races one and two where very tough, no matter what I did I just couldn’t make progress and was on the limit. We were lucky enough to be pulled from the hat and secured pole for the final race, that was our chance to make up for the points we lost to our rivals and claw something back. I knew we weren’t going to be able to stay out in front but loosing as few places as possible was the aim.”

Senna Proctor – “A tough weekend, all in all with what we had I think we did an ok job I was closer to Ash than I ever have been so that gives me good confidence going forward. Yes, the racing was difficult, but we will bounce back and do everything in our power to try and have a successful Croft and hopefully bring home some trophies.”

Gerry Bucke, General Manager at Adrian Flux Insurance - "It's a testament to the hard work of the team and the prowess of our two young drivers that we managed to score vital points at a circuit which some people hadn't given us much hope for.
"For Ash to sit just five points from the championship leaders heading into Croft is simply unbelievable, and we cannot wait to show what we're made of in North Yorkshire."

Paul Tunnicliffe of Subaru UK – “Uncharacteristically, Thruxton was very kind to us this weekend, and we enter the next phase of the championship very handily placed.  Well within striking distance of the lead, and with our best circuits still to come.  This year has seen our best ever start to a campaign.  Ash is in excellent form, ably supported by a fast-improving Senna Proctor, don’t bet against us being in contention come the final stages.”

You can catch up with the Thruxton highlights on ITV4 on Saturday 25th May at 4.15pm, Sunday 26th May at 7.00am and finally on ITV1 on Wednesday 29th May at 11.45pm

Next time out we visit Senna’s home track at Croft in North Yorkshire on the weekend of the 15th and 16th June for rounds 10, 11 and 12.

Written by Maddy Turner

Photos by Jakob Ebrey

 

Adrian Flux Subaru Racing come away from Donington Park with 2017 BTCC Champion Ashley Sutton leading the Drivers Championship after an outstanding performance in his Subaru Levorg in Rounds 4, 5 and 6 of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship calendar, after taking another two podiums to add to his 2019 tally of three so far in what was only the second race weekend of the season.

Teammate Senna Proctor also put in a solid display scoring points in only his second weekend out in his Levorg despite his performance being hampered by the many incidents that occurred on track throughout the three races on Sunday.
 
Qualifying

At the beginning of the weekend, Ash would sit 7th in the championship standings and he would run with 18kg of success ballast on board as he went out to qualify on Saturday afternoon with Senna being weight free.

The tricky qualifying session was affected by the weather and numerous red flags which resulted in the quickest times being set early on in the 30-minute session.  Unfortunately for Senna, he didn’t get a clear run before the first red flag appeared with 21 minutes remaining on the clock. Senna then wasn’t able to get into a good rhythm with a clear track ahead of him.  Combined with the session being plagued by further red flag stoppages and changing weather conditions leaving a greasy track, Senna would end up settling for a time that would place him in a lowly 21st position on the grid. 

Ash however, was one of the lucky few who managed to get in a quick lap when the track conditions were at their best, securing him a position of 3rd for the first of Sunday’s three races as the ballast free BMW of Colin Turkington took Pole Position.
 
Race 1

The weather was brighter on Sunday morning for the first race of the day and as the lights went out it was Turkington that remained out in front as Ash made the jump on the heavily ballasted Honda of Championship leader Josh Cook who had started alongside Turkington on the front row of the grid.
Senna also made a good clean start with Lady Luck being on his side as he narrowly missed a multicar pile up after the BMW of Andrew Jordan was turned around at The Old Hairpin in the middle of the pack ahead of him. As a result, Jordan, Adam Morgan, Jake Hill, Ollie Jackson, Matt Simpson and Stephen Jelley all became victims of heavy damage resulting in the first safety car period of 2019 after less than half a racing lap.  The safety car remained for a further six laps before racing got going once again on lap 8. 

Once again it was ballast free BMW of Turkington that made the break ahead of Ash before the safety car was then deployed for a second time for an incident involving Nicolas Hamilton.

The race was soon restarted with Turkington controlling the pace once again with Ash staying close behind. Senna had dropped a place to Jack Goff but only briefly for one lap before managing to edge past him again.  Meanwhile, Turkington was once again getting away out front with Ash making the most of the corners to try and stay with him and at the same time conscious that he had Turkington’s teammate Tom Oliphant in his rear-view mirror. 

Senna was soon up to a fine 12th place, a position he would hold for the remainder of the race and scoring some vital points in the process for him and the team.

Ash also held onto his position finishing in a superb 2nd place and his second podium of the 2019 season thus far.  Ash had now moved up to sit joint 2nd in the overall Drivers Championship standings and just 4 points behind new leader Tom Chilton.
 

Race 2

The lights were out for the second time of the day and this time Ash was beaten off the line by the BMW of Oliphant forcing him back to 3rd position, although It wasn’t long as Ash made a pass back into 2nd at the Old Hair Pin.  Senna was also beaten off the line and dropped back a couple of places to 14th place.

The safety car was deployed on lap three to retrieve a stricken Mark Blundell after contact with Sam Osborne. Turkington once again controlled the restart and this time got the jump on Ash who was now doing all he could to fend off Oliphant who was now on his tail, with Matt Neal also looming and ready to pounce. Ash did a great job of holding off the duo making his Levorg as wide as possible.  However, Neal finally nipped past Oliphant and it wasn’t long before the Adrian Flux backed machine of Ash was his next target.

At this point in the race, Senna had dropped back to 17th after having to take to the grass to avoid a wayward Jelley at the exit of the chicane at the end of lap 9.

Yet again another safety car was deployed on lap 13 to clear the track of Chris Smiley’s Honda which allowed Neal to bunch up behind Ash diminishing the gap that he had built up. Thankfully the top three cars were all running with ballast from the previous race success so the differential between them was not too great and with the race restarting on lap 16 it would be a close three-lap battle. 

Straight away Turkington having the quicker BMW got away out in front and Ash was now having to defend hard from Neal in the Honda who finally squeezed past on the straight on the following lap and Ash now found himself coming under pressure from Tom Chilton who was now on the back on him in 4th.

Meanwhile, Senna was turned around by Michael Crees which consequently caused Senna damage and forcing him to make a brief visit to the pits for a tyre change after picking up a puncture in the process.  This spelt disaster as he found himself all the way down at the back of the field in last place.  He did however manage to recover a few places crossing the line in his battle-scarred Subaru Levorg in 20th position.

Ash held Chilton off for the remainder of the race and took a victorious second podium of the day in 3rd place gaining his second podium in as many races and his third of the season so far.  His result allowed him to remain 2nd in the championship standings, although no longer a joint position.
 
The race 3 reverse grid draw was made and the number 10 ball drawn placing Tom Ingram on Pole Position for the final race of the day demoting Ash to start the race from 8th and Senna lining up all the way down in 20th.
 
 
Race 3

For Race 3 both Ash and Senna were on the unfavourable Hard Option Tyre so the third encounter was going to be even more of a challenge. 

With the lights out for the final time of the day both of the Adrian Flux Subaru Racing drivers made perfect starts with Senna immediately having to take evasive action after a pair of wayward Volkswagens went off track in unison with one another at the Craner Curves hitting the barriers and causing significant damage. The safety car was deployed once again and as the pack completed the opening lap Senna found himself in 17th with Ash also making up a solitary place into 7th.

With the track clear up being quite a task for the safety team racing eventually recommenced on Lap 8.  Once again both drivers made good restarts.

On Lap 9 Ash was soon through to 6th after a superb pass on Chilton whilst Senna was starting to struggle with the hard tyre and suspected steering issues and had dropped back to 23rd.

Ash extracted everything possible from the Subaru and was up to 6th and then gained another place as he nipped up the inside the Audi of Jake Hill and into a fantastic 5th place which was the position he held until the end of the race.  Senna having made up a couple of positions in the latter stages of the race crossed the line in 21st.

Ash’s results made him the second highest point scorer over the weekend bagging him a total of 43 points which moved him from 7th in the championship standings to secure him the overall BTCC Drivers Championship lead. Both Ash and Senna scored many manufacturer points between them and Subaru now sit 2nd in the BTCC Manufacturers/Constructors Championship standings and the Adrian Flux Subaru Racing team move up to a fine 3rd place in the overall BTCC Teams Championship table.
 
Adrian Flux Subaru Racing Quotes:

Ashley Sutton - “The weekend couldn’t have gone any better. If someone said at the start of the year that I was going to come away leading the championship I would have laughed. But with a little bit of Lady Luck on a Saturday we have managed it, I personally think we have been overachieving at this current time based on some pieces of the puzzle not being quite right yet and out of our control…

“I can’t thank the team enough, the car was mega in all conditions and even when we bolted on the hard tyre. It left me comfortably sitting at 100% the whole weekend making sure we grabbed every point possible and doing this with two podiums and a 5th in the final race was great. Thruxton is going to be very hard now carrying this extra ballast but for sure we won’t give up fighting."

Senna Proctor - “Donington Park for me was a weekend to forget, a tough weekend starting with a very unfortunate qualifying which made race day very difficult for me.

“Race one was a great race and we managed to get some good points under our belt and looked set for a strong points haul for the day however contact in race 2 ruined our chance of another points scoring finish. We moved up into second in the Manufactures Championship so that was a positive to take from the weekend.

“I cannot wait to get going again at Thruxton in a few weeks!”

Gerry Bucke, General Manager at Adrian Flux Insurance - “Ash Sutton is known for driving at his best in wet conditions. It may have been dry at Donington Park this weekend - but his strong performance in Rounds 4, 5 and 6 means he’s the new championship leader.

“Senna should also be pleased, particularly with his impressive climb in Round 4 from 21st place to 12th. He did well to steer clear from the crashes and stoppages during that particular race.”

He added: “We know Team BMR work tirelessly behind the scenes, and we’re all looking forward to what Thruxton has in store.”
 
Paul Tunnicliffe of Subaru UK - “We didn’t have particularly high expectations form this circuit and were delighted to qualify in 3rd.  However, what we have learned is that you underestimate Ash Sutton at your peril.  His sheer persistence and racing intuition were brilliantly rewarded by an unanticipated points haul, and puts down a strong marker that he will be fighting for the honours come the end of the season.”
 

Next up:

Next time out the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship heads to Thruxton for rounds 7, 8 and 9.  Ash will carry the maximum success ballast of 54kgs of weight into both Free Practice sessions and Qualifying on Saturday as well as Race 1 on Sunday.
 
TV Highlights:

You can catch all of the BTCC Donington Park Highlights on ITV Sport as follows:
Saturday 4th May @ 06.45 ITV4
Sunday 5th May @ 06.50 ITV4
Thursday 9th May @ 00.40 ITV
 


Written by Maddy Turner of BMR Racing
Photos by Jakob Ebrey
 

Well what a start to the 2019 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, a pole, a podium and a whole load of points for Adrian Flux Subaru Racing.

Ash Sutton made the most of the cold and damp track on Saturday afternoon for the first qualifying session of the season claiming pole position on what was a tricky session with three red flag stoppages.  Ash recorded a lap time of 53.602 seconds with teammate Senna Proctor qualifying in 18th which bearing in mind he was still getting to know his Subaru Levorg coupled with it being his first time in the car on a wet track, 54.452 was a time to be proud of.

Pea soup was on the menu on Sunday with a very foggy Brands Hatch circuit which meant for a cold and soggy track.  It seemed that Ash’s wish for a wet track was granted as we set out on wet tyres.   However, it wasn’t quite wet enough for his liking and a dry line soon appeared around the track.  This didn’t play into our hands and although Ash got the holeshot off the start line, he and Senna soon started to struggle on the wet tyres and were being passed by their fellow competitors out on slicks, although not before Senna had moved up the order to 13th place.  Ash eventually finished the race in 9th with Senna dropping back down the order to end the race in 17th.

The on-track conditions were much the same for race two and this time around both Ash and Senna would be on the Prime Soft Option tyre.  Once again both drivers made great starts and were quickly making up places.  Before long Ash was up to 3rd with Senna up to 13th and then came a stellar move from Ash on Tom Chilton placing him in 2nd.  With 13 laps to go Senna was through to an outstanding 10th position, which he would hold until the end of the race.  Ash was through into the lead and was now fending off the advances by the new BMW of Andrew Jordan who eventually snatched the place from Ash with a power run on the start finish straight and leaving Ash back to follow him home in 2nd for the teams maiden podium of the season.  Both drivers had an awesome drive and showed what the Subaru Levorg is made of.  It wasn’t the only piece of silverware that we picked up as Subaru UK were awarded the Manufacturers Trophy for the top scoring team in race two.

Reverse grid draw was made for race three and with the number 11 ball being drawn Senna would be set to start the race from 2nd on the grid and Ash with 10th.

The conditions changed slightly for the third and final race of the day with the track now a dry one.  Senna got a rocket start off the line but was forced out wide at Druids and then consequently received a tap at Graham Hill Bend sending him into a spin.  Although Senna managed to re-join the race albeit at the back of the pack.  Ash Also made another textbook start and was up to 8th a position that he held until lap 11 when contact at the back of his Subaru Levorg sent him in a spin at Graham Hill Bend and into the tyre wall causing rear end damage.  Ash also managed to re-join the race and found himself in a lowly 24th place when he was shown the black and orange mechanical defect flag, signalling that he would need to come in for repairs.  After a quick visit to the pits Ash was soon back out on track and was now right at the back of the field bringing his battle-scarred Subaru Levorg home in 25th, just behind Senna in 22nd.

Overall a very positive start for Adrian Flux Subaru Racing and we left the weekend with Ash running in 7th and Senna 17th in the Drivers Championship. Subaru sit 3rd in the Manufacturers standings with BMR currently 7th in the Teams Championship.

Next time out we visit Donington Park on the weekend of the 27th and 28th April.
 
 
Team Manager, Micky Sergeant gives us his thoughts on the weekend:

“Firstly as always, thanks and praise to all the team behind the scenes for their hard work and sleepless nights in the weeks and months preceding the first race weekend of the year.

A restructure of roles over the winter has strengthened the engineering team and the addition of young charger Senna alongside our “veteran” former champion Ash means we start the season with a pair of fast talented drivers capable of running at the sharp end.

Reflecting on the weekends performance and results, I have to say I believe we left Brands with a good foundation for the season. Six classified race results with 100% reliability and zero self-inflicted damage is once again a testament to the drivers and crew. 

Changeable conditions in qualy on Saturday afternoon meant Ash could work his magic and claim a first pole position for himself and the Levorg at the Brands Indy circuit, never before in the top ten! Senna equipping himself well too in his first outing on wets in his new RWD Subaru.

Race 1 proved to be the usual tricky opening race weather conditions with the fog slow to lift and rain in the air and on the radar. We have a well thought out philosophy on how to manage the tyre choice in conditions like these and opted for wets along with all the other RWD teams and many of the established FWD teams too. The philosophy was right for the first 4 laps and probably the last 4 if the tyres were still working, however, hindsight will show that a simple gamble for slicks may have worked for the RWD Levorg.  

Race 2 gave both Ash and Senna the chance to prove what they could do, both on the soft tyre and making up 7 places a piece to limit the damage from R1. Ash moving from 9th to lead the race briefly, eventually holding on to 2nd as the soft tyres dropped off. Senna moving from 17th to get into the top ten with some intelligent driving and matching his teammates pace further forward.

Race 3 was the story of what could have been, with Senna starting front row and Ash ready to move up from 10th on the reverse grid draw. Sadly, both drivers suffering needless contact but able to recover to classified finishes.

All in all, plenty of positives and potential coming from an opening weekend on a circuit that has never really favoured our car. Chassis set up and new bodywork package working well and the work never stops to find the ultimate pace. But confident we are in the mix and can be competitive on some of the more favourable circuits and that we no doubt have two young, fast, talented and professional drivers who are hungry to win and the mindset to do it.”
 

Driver Quotes
 
Senna Proctor:
“It was a positive weekend for me, the mixed conditions made it a difficult weekend especially for my first time in the Subaru Levorg. It was an up and down weekend in terms of results, but I believe we have proved we can run near the sharp end in the Subaru. We will reset and go again at Donington Park in a few weeks time.

I must say a big thanks to all the guys at BMR they did a great job all weekend and have worked tirelessly over winter to improve the car.”


Ash Sutton:
“It was great to start the season with a pole position due to the heavens opening. The car felt mega in comparison to Knockhill last year so that shows the work the boys have done over winter has paid off!

Come race day we were stuck in that sticky situation where we were forced to go to the wet tyres on a drying track to reduce our level of risk. Starting from pole was always going to be hard to convert into a win when some front wheel drive cars had put slicks on.

We fought back in race two, starting P9 and claiming our way back to the front, we led the race for a few laps but didn’t have the straight line pace to match the BMW.

I was really disappointed with the result of race three, we could have had three solid finishes but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. I was turned around on the way down from Druids by a car that squeezed its way back on track. This left us in the barriers with a lot of damage, we managed to bring it home but outside of the points.”

 
Written by Maddy Turner, BMR Racing

Photos by Jakob Ebrey Photography

 

BMR Racing are thrilled to announce that Ash Sutton will complete our driver line up for the 2019 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship.

Together with our sponsors Adrian Flux Insurance Services and Subaru UK we have been working extensively over the winter months to ensure that we have the right package to contest the championship once again this year, this is now complete.

Former BTCC Champion Ash will join team mate Senna Proctor, announced earlier this week, to pilot the Subaru Levorg for his third consecutive season.  Since being crowned champion in 2017 Ash narrowly missed out on the title last year after an outstanding six race wins and a total of eight podium positions.  After another sensational race win at the Finale at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit in October last year Ash eventually finished fourth in the overall championship that came down to the final wire.

Ash said “First things first, I am bouncing off the walls to be returning for my fourth BTCC season and my third season with the Team BMR, Adrian Flux Subaru outfit. Secondly, trying to keep this on the low down since the end of last year has been very difficult!

“2017 was the start of a journey for me, landing myself in a manufacturer seat such as Subaru, with a fantastic team behind it, along with the prestigious sponsor Adrian Flux Insurance Services on the grid pushing the program, it was simply a dream. But to be the one to go and secure them their first overall BTCC title made it very clear that this was now home for me. Having all parties back on board for the 2019 season means we have all the required assets to step it up a level, plus with the new addition of Senna Proctor as my team mate, who like myself originally progressed through the BMR Academy, bids for a great campaign.

“We had a lot of bad luck struck us last year which cost us the chance to go out and defend the title but having been in touch all winter with everyone back at base since the last race of 2018 and its shaping up nicely. The guys have been doing a sterling job that’s left me very excited and finding out what the plans are moving forward along with how the developments for this year are going is a huge uplift. To see things unfold and watch the Subaru Levorg GT start to take shape again has left me chomping at the bit.

“Finally, it’s great to have some new partners that have come on-board this season and I am buzzed to share these with you in the near future.”
 

Gerry Bucke, General Manager of Adrian Flux insurance, said: “Adrian Flux is delighted that Ash Sutton returns to the team for the third year in a row to mount his BTCC title challenge.

“The sport's fans already know what an outstanding talent Ash is behind the wheel of the Subaru Levorg race car, and the team will be working as hard as ever to keep him at the sharp end where he belongs.”

He added “With Senna Proctor in the second car, BMR Racing has secured an incredible lineup of young race-winning drivers keen to finish on the top step of the podium. It will be interesting to see which of them comes out on top each weekend.”


Paul Tunnicliffe, Director of Subaru UK said “This is as good as it gets. Ash is a proven winner, a known entity to the team, if we had a blank sheet of paper he would have been our first choice as driver. As he would for many teams. He and Senna Proctor bring new meaning to the phrase ‘dream team’.”
With the championship now being as competitive as ever, we have been working flat out since October to make improvements and maximise performance in all areas to ensure that the Subaru Levorg is a front running car in 2019. 

In addition to Ash winning the overall title in 2017, BMR have won many titles over the years which include, Independent Teams Champions, Overall Teams Champions & Independent Drivers Champions and this year the team have the Manufacturers Championship title in their sights.
 
Commenting, Micky Sergeant, Team Manager at BMR said “Clearly it’s a given I’m thrilled that Ash is remaining with the team and excited that together with Senna we have a young team that can push us forward this season. Continuity is a word banded about quite often in motorsport and it’s key for both the team and Ash in order to build on and replicate our success. Much has gone on behind the scenes to strengthen the team and to maximise the Levorg’s performance in a championship that gets tighter and more competitive every year. Having Ash on board for another season is the final part of the jigsaw for our 2019 BTCC campaign and the news we all longed for. Together with Senna we have a great pairing capable of running at the sharp end. One thing for sure, it’ll be entertaining to watch!”           

The BMR test programme will commence in the coming weeks ahead of the official BTCC test at Brands Hatch on 27th March in final preparation for the first round at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit on the weekend of Saturday 6th and 7th April.


Written by Maddy Turner, BMR Racing

Images by Jakob Ebrey Photography
 

Adrian Flux Subaru Racing brought the curtain down on the 2018 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit last weekend with a spectacular podium winning performance from Ash Sutton in the final race.

Heading into the finale and sitting in 4th position in the overall driver's championship Ash was setting his sights on 3rd place but try as he might luck was against him with dramas during qualifying and race one.  He did, however, finish on a high with fine performances in the last two races of the season.
On Saturday Ash dominated the timing screens during the first free practice session with Jason finishing in the top half of the field in 16th. 

The second free practice session was looking good for Ash with him being the 2nd quickest out on circuit but in the last ten minutes of the session, disaster struck for Ash who was on a flying lap when the throttle body failed on his Subaru Levorg sending him into the barriers at Paddock Hill Bend at high speed. 
Thankfully other than receiving bruising Ash was ok but the Levorg needed a complete new front end and with only two and a half hours until qualifying commenced the team had a mammoth task on their hands to get the car fixed.

In true BMR style, the team pulled together and amazingly had the car ready to go just in time bar the first 5 minutes of the session.  As soon as the tyres were up to temperature Ash set a quick time but that was then disallowed due to track limits.  We then had to visit the pits due to the transponder not working so that cost us even more time.  With all this against him Ash still produced a great lap securing him of 10th on the grid.

Jason struggled with balance on the car but still managed a good position of 13th for the first of Sundays three races.
 
Basking under the autumnal sunshine, both drivers elected to use the soft option tyre for race one and it was lights out for the first time in asking.  Both drivers got a good start, however, Ash’s run of bad luck wasn’t over as he immediately received contact from Chris Smiley at Druids causing damage that forced him to retire from the race.  The team were devastated, this was the first time in the entire season that Ash hasn’t been able to finish a race and the result dropped him down a place in the championship standings to 5th.

Jason finished the race in 18th.

Ash would start race two from the back of the grid in 30th and we knew he’d be determined to get into a point scoring position and he didn’t fail to deliver.  He had an awesome race using the Grand Prix track corners to do what he does best.  With the assistance of having no success ballast on the car he nipped past his competitors and finished the race in an outstanding 8th place, a massive 22 positions gained!

Jason finished the race in 17th position and although Colin Turkington went off the circuit on Paddock Hill after contact with Lloyd the race two result meant that he had a lead of 23 points which was too great for anyone else to match and so was crowned 2018 BTCC Champion.

With number ten confirmed for the reverse grid draw, it was Josh Cook in the Vauxhall Astra that was promoted to the prime pole position for the last race of the day which would mean that Ash would start from third.  With Ash and Josh being former teammates, we knew we’d be in for a treat.

With the lights out for the final race of 2018 it was a good clean start for all, but it was Rob Austin in the Alfa Romeo that took the lead from second on the grid with Ash soon finding himself back in 4th behind Tom Chilton in the Ford Focus.

Cook soon snatched the lead back from Austin and it wasn’t long before Ash got up the inside of Chilton to take third and then Austin to take second. 

What remained was a true outgoing champion drive with an enthralling race battle with Cook with the lead switching between the two of them.  On the very last lap Ash was trying every which way to find a way past but wasn’t successful and on the final turn onto the start-finish straight it was Cook that was still in the lead but with Ash’s never give up attitude he amazingly managed to get side by side with cook along with straight and just have his nose past him on the line sealing the victory but just 0.032 of a second. 

What an end to the season Ash took the 20th win and the 40th podium for Subaru in just three years of being a manufacturer in the championship as well as finishing fourth in the overall driver standings.

We would like to thank our fans, sponsors and everyone in the team for their tremendous efforts this year and we have already started our plans for 2019, we will be back and we have some very big intentions. Watch this space!
 

Ash Sutton Commented: "Brands Hatch was all about signing the season off with on a positive note! The pace we set in both free practice seasons was a very good start to doing exactly that! Unfortunately we had a curve ball thrown in the mix after I had an accident into paddock hill bend. The throttle body failed and sent me sailing into the barrier at some speed! 
 
"Straight away we knew we had a fight on our hands getting the car ready for qualifying. The BMR boys did a Stirling job and having a complete front end with engine sat in the truck, meant the rebuild time was at least halved! Despite not having enough time to complete dial a setup onto the car we still managed to finish up P10 ready for Sunday.
 
"Sunday didn’t get off to a great start after being taken out at turn two and having to limp it home and retire. This meant we now had a big job on our hands, we started P30 on the grid and had a mega charge through the field to get up to 8th! This placed us perfectly for the reverse grid. Race three suddenly looked like the prime opportunity to end the season on a high, starting third on the grid. This was one of my best races to date in my career, after a 12 lap battle with Josh Cook it said to be one of the best BTCC  races in this period. Some clear hard, far, racing which ended with a drag race to the line where we just managed to pip josh by 0.032 for the win.
 
"The perfect way to sign the season off and at the same time display the number one on the car in the best possible way!"


BMR Racing Team Principal, Warren Scott commented: “What an amazing end to the season, Ash has been the star of the paddock again this year with many outstanding performances and although we didn’t clinch the title for him he is a true champion in our eyes. 

“2018 hasn’t been easy, but the team have performed outstandingly and have continuously fought against all odds again this year, so my sincere thanks go to every single one of them.  Huge thanks must also go to our title sponsor Adrian Flux Insurance Services and the backing from Subaru UK, Autoglym and all of our technical sponsors, thank you for being on board with us again this year.  Lastly, I would like to thank the track marshals for their hard work in keeping us safe and the fans for their continued support without any of you there would be no BTCC.”

 
Gerry Bucke, General Manager of Adrian Flux Insurance Services commented:  "The final race of the BTCC season perfectly summed up the team spirit and gutsy performances of Ashley Sutton and Jason Plato this year. 

"Despite Ash not being able to retain the BTCC championship title, we can be proud of the way he conducted himself this season. Even the final race was a close finish, and congratulations to Ash who clinched victory at the very last second by just 0.032s.

"Another positive is the immense support from fans throughout the season. It has certainly been a rollercoaster of highs and lows - and the entire team now deserve a well-earned break before racing starts up again in April." 
 
 
 
Paul Tunnicliffe, Automotive Development Director, Subaru UK commented:  “We went into the weekend knowing that the championship was sadly out of reach but that did not mean that we were there to make up the numbers, the team worked relentlessly to ensure the best possible results and nobody bothered to tell ash Sutton that there was nothing to fight for.  His drive in the final race was little short of inspiring and bodes well for an aggressive assault on the championship in 2019 from Subaru.  We can’t wait!”



Paul Caller, Chief Executive Officer of Autoglym commented:  “It was great for the team to end the season on a high with such a great performance at Brands Hatch.  Ash’s impressive and entertaining display of driving in the second and third races were nothing short of outstanding. A very positive end to what has been another enjoyable season in the BTCC.”
 

Written by Maddy Turner

Images by Greg Toth Photography

Adrian Flux Subaru Racing are intent on finishing the 2018 season on a high as the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) comes to an end a finale at Brands Hatch GP Circuit, for the final three rounds tomorrow (30 September).

Returning to the scene where Ash Sutton clinched the title one year ago, he is unable to fight to retain his title after disappointment last time out at Silverstone but is determined to enjoy the last BTCC weekend.

Heading into the finale and sitting in 4th position in the overall drivers championship the team are being realistic of what can be achieved and the Adrian Flux driver has instead set his sights on taking a runner up spot and clinch the most season wins in the process.

Jason Plato will also be looking to finish his season in good form at a circuit where he has historically gone well and will be looking to gain some good results to end a year that has been less than kind to the former double BTCC champion.

Ash topped the times in the first free practice session this morning with Jason going 16th quickest. 

Jason finished further down the field for the second of the free practice sessions in 24th with Ash going 0.018 seconds quicker and was 2nd fastest in the timings.  However, there was drama in the latter part of the session with the throttle body failing on the number one Subaru Levorg causing it to be stuck open and consequently sending Ash into the barrier at Paddock Hill Bend causing extensive front end damage.  The team worked flat out on the car and remarkably managed to have the car ready for qualifying.

During the afternoons qualifying session Ash Sutton qualified 10th on the grid for the first of tomorrows three races after initially having his time disallowed, coupled with the transponder failing, resulting in him missing a chunk of the session whilst Jason qualified in 13th position after struggling with the balance of the car.

We are looking forward to tomorrows races with live coverage being shown on ITV4 from 10.30am.


Written by Maddy Turner

Images by Gergo Toth Photography

 

Adrian Flux Subaru Racing driver Ash Sutton entered the weekend carrying 57 kg of success ballast on board his Subaru Levorg, sitting third in the overall Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship standings some 51 points behind championship leader Colin Turkington, with his teammate Jason Plato weight free in the sister Subaru.

In a qualifying session interrupted by a red flag, both Levorgs struggled on the three power straights on the Silverstone National Circuit and only managed a lap time that secured them of side by side positions of 25th for Ash and 26th for Jason, meaning they would have a tough fight on their hands for the first race of the day.

With the entire 31 car field qualifying within a second of each other it was Sam Tordoff who topped the session in the Ford Focus taking his fifth pole position of his career with main championship contenders Colin Turkington and Tom Ingram qualifying in 18th and 19th respectively.

Although Team BMR did a rain dance on Saturday evening the forecast for Sunday was unfortunately predicted a dry one, with both Ash and Jason selecting to use the Prime hard Dunlop tyre for Race 3 in the hope that a rain shower may arrive at the back end of the day.

 

Race 1

With Ash and Jason starting at the tail end of the grid it was going to be a tall order for the duo to gain many positions with the Levorgs struggling with straight line speed combined with the lack of overtaking opportunities on the corners, the main aim was to make as much progress as possible and try and gain some points.

Both drivers got off the line well and by the end of the first lap Ash had already made up places but soon found himself being forced wide when he locked up in a bid to avoid a wayward Rory Butcher in the MG resulting in him losing the positions he had just gained.

Ash managed to claw back those positions on the next lap and with the safety being deployed on lap 5 to retrieve a stricken Josh Cook and Chris Smiley, as well as Matt Neal retiring from the race with damage, Ash was now promoted to 19th and Jason to 22nd.

When racing resumed Ash was soon up to 18th after nipping up the inside of fellow championship contender Tom Ingram and was now looking to make up ground on Turkington who was well up into the points in 12th.

By lap 14 Ash was too was running in a point scoring position of 15th with Jason not far behind in 19th.

Disaster would then strike for Jason who had contact with Bobby Thompson causing extensive front end damage which in turn caused the bonnet to flip up onto the windscreen the #99 Subaru Levorg forcing him to retire from the race.  He did, however, manage to get back into the pits for the team to start work on the repairs ready for the next race.

Before long Turkington had made his way up to 9th and the fight was on for Ash to make further ground and get as close to the BMW as possible in order to bank some points as well as attain a  comfortable grid position for the second race of the day.

Ash eventually took the chequered flag in a superb 11th place, with Turkington and Ingram finishing 8th and 15th respectively.

Although Ash had outscored Ingram he remained 3rd in the championship standings with a gap of just 4 points as Turkington extended his lead out in front a further 50 points up the road. 

 

Race 2

All of the Adrian Flux Subaru Racing crew did an amazing job to get Jason’s  #99 Levorg ready in time for the second race of the day, along with making some set up tweaks to the #1 Subaru of Ash which was now running ballast-free, in order to maximise his chances of a podium finish. 

With a tight schedule to run through, the team were up against it and with the clock ticking the pressure was on.  When Ash’s Levorg was lowered to the ground on its air jacks minor damage occurred underneath.  It was immediately assessed, and the damage was deemed to be very slight and would not have prevented us from racing.  With plenty of time to make the grid the decision was made that we would make any small repairs that may have been necessary once we were out on the grid. 

Unfortunately, we were then denied access to the grid by a TOCA Official who was watching us work in the garage and he informed us that he would not permit us to release the car from the garage, which effectively meant that we had to change the entire flat floor which was an unnecessary and timely process.

Although it was all hands-on-deck this would force Ash to start from the back of the grid with any hope of him retaining his championship title crushed.  Yet another blow to our 2018 season.

With the start lights out Jason got off the line well from 25th with Ash starting from pit lane and both drivers came through the first lap unscathed although Ash had quite a gap ahead of him behind the rear of the pack.

Both drivers held their positions throughout the first few laps with Jason gaining a place on Lap 7 after narrowly avoiding an out of control James Cole in the Ford Focus.

Meanwhile, out in front Ingram was rocketing up the order and was leading the race by the end of lap 10 after making up 14 places, with Turkington now up to 8th where he had started the race.

By Lap 17 Jason was up to 16th whilst Ash was still unable to catch up with those racing ahead of him.

The race was eventually won by Ingram with a huge 6.4-second gap with Turkington coming home in 8th.

Jason finished just out of the points in 17th as Ash came home in 27th place.

As a result, Ash had now dropped back to 5th in the championship standings and was some 62 points behind leader Turkington with Ingram remaining in 2nd some 36 points behind.

We were all devastated that such a small error with very minor damage had cost us so much.  Every team in the paddock is working under immense pressure, sometimes within very short timeframes between sessions, and very occasionally, even in the most established teams, mistakes happen with most of them going unnoticed, but the spotlight is always on the reigning champion especially with there being such a close fight for the championship.

 

Race 3

The reverse grid draw was made with the number 7 ball being selected promoting Aidan Moffat to pole position for race three.

Both Jason and Ash would be on the slower hard tyre for the final race of the day and would start from 17th and 27th respectively.

Once again both of the Subaru drivers had good clean starts with Ash gaining three positions in the opening lap.

By the end of lap 9 Ash was picking his way through the field and was up to a fantastic 17th position having gained 10 places with Jason now running in 19th.

Ash showed superb pace on the hard tyre and eventually finished the race in 12th place with Jason crossing the line in 18th.

The race was won by Moffat in the Mercedes with Ingram taking 2nd and Turkington 3rd.

The final positions of race three resulted in Ash finishing the weekend 4th in the standings and 73 points behind Turkington, and with only 67 points to play for in the final three rounds at Brands Hatch at the end of the month it is now impossible for Ash to retain his title.  We will, however, continue our fight for the 2nd place runner-up spot and hope to take the title of the most race wins of the season.  Ingram has now reduced Turkingtons lead to 34 points behind with Tom Chilton jumping up to the 3rd spot a further 30 points adrift, making it a three-way title fight.  However, for Chilton to be crowned Champion he would need to score every point available and for Turkington to score zero.

A positive to take from the weekend was Ash’s Silverstone performance securing the Dunlop Forever Forward honours after completing a massive 29 overtakes over the course of the weekend.  This resulted in him moving up to 2nd in the overall Dunlop Forever Forward season standings.

Speaking of his weekend Ash commented - “The weekend was the make or break of the championship. Silverstone has always been the weakest circuit on the calendar for us, not forgetting how competitive the championship has got in the space of a year.

“Unfortunately, the weekend took a turn for the worst and it soon became clear it was going to be difficult to stay in the hunt for the championship. Qualifying 25th on the grid was not the way I wanted to start Sunday off. After the situation that occurred on the day left us out of the championship come the end of Race 2, it was a real shame to not be able to head into the last round with a shot in defending my title, but luck hasn’t been on our side this year.

“I am looking forward to Brands to try and end the season on a high and to come away with the most race wins would be great…!”

 

Knockhill Racing Circuit in Scotland hosted rounds 22, 23 and 24 of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship during a weekend of appalling wet weather conditions and celebrations that turned to yet more hardship for the Adrian Flux Subaru Racing team.

The circuit was basked in beautiful sunshine on Saturday and the morning practice sessions saw lots of set up changes as we entered the unknown due to the new track surface.  Although Ash dominated the first session we didn’t quite find the sweet spot on the cars for the afternoon qualifying session on the tight circuit which resulted in Ash being the quickest of the Subaru Levorgs setting the 8th fastest time with Jason qualifying in 18th.  It was Dan Cammish in the Honda Civic that took his maiden pole position.

 
Race 1

What a difference a day makes.  Sunday was a whole new ball game, with the new track surface now becoming a wet one creating some very tricky conditions.

Ash would start the weekend sitting 3rd in the championship tables and would therefore carry 57kg of success ballast.

The first race of the day was declared a wet one.  As the lights went out at the start of the race, the 31 car grid got away without incident.  Both Subaru Levorgs got good starts and Ash was soon up to 6th position by the second lap and was defending from fellow championship contender Tom Ingram in the Toyota Avensis.  Ash soon gained another place as he made a pass on Chris Smiley for 5th whilst Jason struggling with visibility in 23rd.

By lap 7 Ash was up to 4th place ahead of Andrew Jordan in the BMW and set the fastest lap in the process.  Ash then made up more ground by passing Stephen Jelley in the BMW for 3rd place and was now hunting down championship leader Colin Turkington.

Another fastest lap of the race would come from Ash on lap 11 and although losing pace on the straights he narrowed the gap pushing his Subaru Levorg to its limits on the corners and soon pounced on Turkington for 2nd place.  The following lap Ash took the race lead from Cammish and set yet another fastest lap as behind him Turkington ran wide which allowed Jelley back through into 3rd.

By lap 17 Ash had extended his lead to 2.5 seconds clear out in front, as Jelley moved up to 2nd taking Turkington with him into 3rd.

On lap 19 disaster would strike for Jelley when he was hit from behind by Turkington firing him off into the gravel trap which ended his race and moved Turkington into 2nd.  The safety car was immediately deployed diminishing Ash’s now 7.5 second gap which allowed Turkington to catch up on the tail of Ash’s Levorg.  As a result of the safety car three further laps were added to the race distance giving Turkington even more time to go on the attack of Ash for the lead.  The pressure was on but as always, a calm Ash controlled the restart perfectly and led the way for the remaining four laps.

Ash took the chequered flag and his fifth win of the season.  Jason brought his Subaru home in 26th place after continuing with visibility conditions caused by spray thrown up upon the track ahead of him.

Ash’s win secured his 3rd place position in the overall championship standings and had once again narrowed the gap at the top of the table and he now sat just 27 points adrift from leader Turkington and 16 points behind Ingram in 2nd.  As a result of his success in the opening race Ash would have to carry 75kg of success ballast for race 2 and was predicted to go on to win it with the weather conditions forecast to worsen.


Race 2

And worsen they did! There was now lots of standing water on the track causing treacherous conditions.  Being in pole position Ash had the added advantage that he would at least be able to see in front of him, although he would be the first to test the conditions and try to set the pace.

They were away again and racing for the second time of the day with Ash and Jason again both being consistent and getting good clean starts with Ash leading the way for the second time of asking.  At the end of lap one came the first safety car period to retrieve the stricken Audi of Ollie Jackson after he lost control in the standing water and left the circuit at the chicane.

The weather conditions continued to deteriorate and on lap seven racing resumed with Ash controlling the start well for the second time of the day remaining out in front.

Andrew Jordan made a move on Turkington for 2nd after the latter made a mistake and then ran wide, which in turn caused Cammish to run straight on in the standing water at the hairpin, allowing Ingram through and into fourth and Josh cook into fifth in the Vauxhall Astra.  The following lap Ingram also took Turkington for the 3rd place podium position.

Jason meanwhile was in 21st place and was once again blighted by the bad visibility and several on track incidents ahead of him. 

The safety car was deployed for a second time after both Tom Oliphant and Tom Boardley had both gone off into the gravel trap at the hairpin in separate incidents, negating the lead Ash had built up out in front of the chasing pack.  Whilst under safety car conditions discussions went on between some of the teams and officials as they questioned whether racing should resume due to the amount of standing water as the heavens opened up once more, but the decision was made to continue with racing resuming on lap 18 with Ash making the break from the outset.

On the following lap a struggling Turkington was passed by Cook on the inside allowing Cammish to follow him through placing Turkington back in 6th, whilst Ingram pounced on Jordan for 2nd. 

The race was eventually red flagged on lap 20 following Sam Smelt going straight on into the gravel trap at turn one.  Ash took his second win of the day after another outstanding performance in the wet with Jason dropping back to end the race in 25th.

Ingram took 2nd place with Jordan crossing the line in 3rd.

Ash’s second win of the day had moved him up to just 15 points shy of championship leader Turkington.

Post-race the usual technical checks were conducted, and the ride height roller was put under the rear and front left hand side of the car, the thumbs up were given as Ash was instructed to restart his engine.  Ash was then told to hold in his position as the roller was then placed under the right-hand side of the car where the side sill had dropped slightly after damage had been caused during the race which we presumed was from him hitting the standing water at turn one.

We were then handed the news that Ash was excluded from the race results under technical regulations.  The team appealed the decision as no changes had been made to the car after race one, where the car passed the same technical checks and so it was clear to the team that this can only have been caused by damage during the race.  The appeal was upheld, the exclusion remained, and as a result Ash would lose the 22 points and was forced to start from the back of the grid for the final race of the day.  A further penalty which is also applied is to carry the full 75 kg of success ballast from being the first to cross the line.

The entire team were absolutely devastated after Ash had risked everything for the win but as you know we have had many a knockback and we carried on racing with added determination.

It was announced that Tom Ingram was also excluded from the results, which in turn gave the win to Jordan and had a huge effect on the championship standings.  Turkington now had a 25-point lead over Ingram in 2nd and a massive 41-point lead over Ash who remained in 3rd.

The reverse grid draw was subsequently made and ball number 6 was drawn placing Tom Chilton on pole position for the final race of the day following the re-jigging of the grid.


Race 3

With the track conditions still wet it was going to be a tall order for Jason and Ash to make their way up near the front but it was gloves off to do all they could to get into a point scoring position.

It was lights out for the final time of asking and both cars got away off the line with Ash passing three cars with two wheels on the dirt as he rocketed up the order. 

By lap three Ash had already made up 10 places into 20th before he was caught up in a tangle between Matt Simpson and Mike Bushell which slowed him up and in turn also tripped up Jason just behind him in 22nd.  Both cars managed to continue the race although Jason lost positions after contact with Bushell’s stricken Volkswagen and dropped back in 26th.  The safety car was called once more to retrieve Bushell with racing resuming on lap 8 with Chilton in the lead ahead of Adam Morgan in 2nd and Turkington in 3rd.  Ash meanwhile was up to 19th after setting the fastest lap of the race with Ingram in 23rd.

There were still more places to be gained and clearly on a mission Ash was up to 16th at the halfway stage in the race.

Unfortunately, up front Turkington was also on the move and had taken 2nd place as Ash passed Matt Neal in the Honda for 13th.

By the end of the race Ash had made up another five places to cross the line in a superb 8th place after a staggering drive from 30th on the grid, gaining more valuable points.

Jason finished just outside of the points in 19th.

Championship leader Turkington extended his points lead to Ingram with an advantage of a huge 43 points, with Ash a further 8 points adrift in 3rd.

With six races remaining we regroup at Silverstone next time out on the 15th and 16th September.  The fight continues and although it’s a tough ask we won’t be rolling over just yet.  Whilst it’s mathematically possible we will keep digging deep to maximise all we can for the fight to retain Ash’s BTCC title.

We would like to say a massive thank you to all of you that came out to support us in the awful weather conditions at Knockhill and we look forward to seeing you in just under 2 weeks’ time.

 

Adrian Flux Subaru Racing Quotes:

Ash Sutton said: “Saturday was a tough day, we hit the ground running in FP1 but that didn’t quite continue through into FP2 and qualifying. I was a little disappointed as to where we lined up in qualifying, we were inside the top ten but behind our two main rivals. 

“Sunday however was a different day; the heavens had opened and I knew our chances of scoring points became more hopeful! Race one couldn’t have gone much better, we got straight into the working window of the car and the pace was strong getting the win set us up nicely for the day. To be in a position to pick and choose when to push is always nice!

“Race two was a very controlled one, just managing the gap back to second and making sure we had a clean run after every safety car. It was all looking good for race three until the antics of the ride height struck. No boundaries were pushed. The roller went under the front splitter and the drivers side sill, and both cleared with no question. The passenger seal picked up damage during the race causing it to fail in that one area.

“Race three was one of those situations where you know you have the car under you, you have enough laps to pick up it was just about staying focused on the job in hand. Not for one second did I expect to be up in the top ten but I needed that, the team needed it. It just showed the true potential of the package when all the stars aligned.”


Gerry Bucke, General Manager of Adrian Flux, said: “Knockhill was certainly one of the most gripping weekends of racing this season, particularly for everyone at Team BMR. Race day was looking so promising for Ashley Sutton - even the weather conditions were on his side.

“While things did seem to unravel after his brilliant victory in the first race, Ash put in a former champion’s performance in the third and final race of the day. Starting at the back of the grid and finishing 8th is a performance he, and all the team, should be proud of. This is why Adrian Flux is delighted to be supporting BTCC and British motorsport.”


Paul Tunnicliffe, Automotive Development Director of Subaru UK said: “A weekend of highs and lows for us.  Ash gave a masterclass in how to drive aggressively, but cleanly and safely in appalling conditions, and was undoubtedly the driver of the day taken across all 3 races.  The highlight has to be his drive in the 3rd, when, having been relegated to the back of the grid, he showed exceptional skill by fighting his way back to 8th.    We were all disappointed by the decision after the 2nd race, but, given the display of supreme capability we were treated to on Sunday, nobody should rule Ash out from being a repeat champion.”







Written by Maddy Turner

Photos by Greg Toth

Adrian Flux Subaru Racing driver Ash Sutton scored another double podium last weekend in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Rockingham bringing his title hopes alive as teammate Jason Plato endured a weekend of damage.

Qualifying

It was a dry qualifying session at Rockingham on Saturday afternoon and a weight free Jason Plato was the quickest of the two Subaru Levorg’s setting the 9th fastest time and being the top qualifying rear wheel drive car, whilst Ash, with 27 kg of success ballast on board, qualified in 10th placing the Adrian Flux Subaru Racing drivers beside each other on the fifth row of the grid.  The top 28 cars qualified within a second of each other and it was Adam Morgan that came out on top and on pole for the first time in his six years in the championship.

Race 1

Jason selected to use the hard compound Sport Maxx Option Tyre for the first race with Ash selecting it for the final race of the day.

With rain forecast for race day on Sunday it looked like it was going to be tricky conditions once again, however, the first race was a dry one albeit with a
slightly damp track.

With the lights out for the start of race one both Ash and Jason got great starts and managed to avoid the mayhem around them with multiple cars being caught up in a tangle at the Hairpin which resulted in the safety car being immediately deployed.  Ash capitalised from the incident and was already up into fourth and despite receiving rear damage from the Honda of Chris Smiley, Jason was in running in 6th. 

As expected the rain then arrived with racing commencing on lap four when Jason endured more drama as he was hit once again by Smiley forcing him off the circuit and onto the grass, which in turn dropped him back down the order to 24th place.  With Jason now having extensive rear damage and being on the hard tyre it was going to be a tall order for him to get back through to the leading pack.

The rain continued creating tricky situations for most but Ash, recently nicknamed ‘Nemo’ for his outstanding wet race performances, rose to the challenge and kept his head down and focussed. 

Ash was trying to find a way past the Ford Focus of Tom Chilton in front of him and was having to defend from the Honda Civic of Dan Cammish on his rear and no matter how hard he drove out of the corners the pace was lost once again on the straights as the Subaru was no comparison for the straight-line speed of the Honda.

On lap thirteen Ash finally took Chilton by surprise and nipped up the inside at Tarzan and managed to stay out in front down the flat-out straight and through into second. At this stage in the race leader Adam Morgan had a lead of over four seconds with just four laps remaining.

By the final lap of the race Ash had closed the gap to Morgan in front to just 2.9 seconds and was just too great for Ash to catch him, eventually crossing the line in a fantastic second place and gaining the teams 75th podium finish in the BTCC.

A disappointed Jason brought his damaged car home in 23rd and the team quickly set about making repairs for the next race.  It was also a great start for Subaru UK who were awarded the Manufacturers Trophy for the highest scoring manufacturer of the race.

With Championship leader Tom Ingram not scoring any points due to a mechanical issue on the final lap, the points were now even closer with Ash now sitting fifth in the championship standings, just 25 points adrift of new Championship Leader Colin Turkington.
 
Race 2

The damp track caused very tricky conditions for the start of Race 2, with the decision made to run with slick tyres in the hope that the track would dry.

Ash blasted off the line after making a superb start and was clear out in front taking the lead for the first corner and into the hairpin with Jason also safely through both turns with a good clean start.

The safety car was then deployed to retrieve the stricken BMW of Stephen Jelley who was off the circuit after receiving contact on the opening lap allowing the pack to close the gap Ash had made up front.

With racing commencing once more at the end of lap 3, Ash controlled the start and once again got away from Morgan running in 2nd.

The safety car was then deployed for the second time for another gravel trap incident involving Michael Caine, meaning Ash would have to try and make a break for a third time. 

Ash got on the gas early for the restart timing it perfectly and once again extending his lead.

Meanwhile, Jason was all the way back in 26th after receiving yet more damage resulting in him being shown the mechanical warning flag for extensive damage to the rear of his Subaru Levorg.  With a quick visit to the pits on lap 11 for repairs, he re-joined the race once more for the 8 laps that remained.

With a lights-to-flag victory and a perfectly controlled race, Ash crossed the line taking his 4th win of the season as the team celebrated BMR’s 30th win in the British Touring Car Championship.  Ash was now just 17 points off the championship lead sitting 3rd in the points table to Ingram who was once again back on top.

Once again it was a disappointing end for Jason after he ended the race all the way down in 26th place.
 
Race 3

The reverse grid draw was made by former BTCC Champion and BMR driver Alain Menu and the number 10 ball was pulled out of the bowl placing Tom Chilton on pole and Ash on the number 10 grid spot with the full 75kgs of success ballast and the non preferred hard option tyre.  Jason would start in the race in his finishing position of 26th.

The track was dry as the cars formed up on the grid, however, the threat of rain remained.  The start was then delayed due to the BMW of Ricky Collard stopping on circuit with a mechanical issue.  Due to the time it took to recover the car an additional two warm-up lap were given with a new race distance of 14 laps.  Unfortunately, this also allowed time for the rain to arrive and it was wipers on for the start of the race.

The cars finally got away with both Ash and Jason getting good starts but with a now damp and slippery track, there was trouble at the Hairpin with the race leader losing control and going off the track, followed by several other cars including the Subaru Levorg of Ash after he was tapped from behind.  Ash managed to re-join the race, albeit with some rear damage and was now down in 23rd place.  Jason managed to avoid getting caught up in the carnage and was through cleanly and into 19th.

The safety car was then briefly deployed as yet more cars played foul to the track conditions, however, they were soon racing once again with Smiley taking up the lead in the Honda.

Jason enjoyed an impressive battle capitalising on those around him that had the disadvantage of the hard tyre and worked his way through from the back of the grid finishing in the points in 11th place.

After struggling for pace due to rear damage in addition to being on the hard tyre, Ash eventually crossed the line in 17th and just outside the points.

The race was won by Chris Smiley, with Colin Turkington in 2nd.

Ash now sits third in the championship standings 32 points behind leader Colin Turkington who toppled Ingram for the second time of the day.

With only three race weekends left of the 2018 season, we now head north and across the border into Scotland where we visit Knockhill next time out on the weekend of 25/26 August.


Adrian Flux Subaru Racing Quotes:

Jason Plato – ‘A weekend of promise ruined by multiple contacts from behind.  I qualified well, being the top rear wheel drive car, but I was hit off from a good position in race one early doors and then hit again and that was the story of the weekend.

‘Race Two I was hit again and had so much damage that I had to stop to get repairs made which then resulted in us fighting at the back in Race Three.  I then only made progress as everyone else was on hard tyres and the only overtaking manoeuvre was around the outside at the Hairpin.  Every straight I get to they just disappear, I’m in a position to overtake people but as soon as I get on the straight again that overtake manoeuvre ceases.  I watch every other car overtaking down the straights and I can’t so it’s really frustrating but at least I go home having had a race.

‘On my side of the garage it was yet again a very bad weekend.’
 
Ash Sutton – ‘The weekend was a very similar one to Snetterton. Going off the back of last year we had some solid results at Rockingham and I was aiming to relocate those results.

‘Qualifying didn't quite go to plan, we had a few different things on the car that we hadn't really tested before and we just never found the sweet spot with that package. Overnight we had a good think about what we could do and we went back to what we knew and it just brought the car alive come race day.

‘Race one was about moving forward after not the best of qualifying sessions, come the end of the opening lap I found myself in fourth after starting tenth. I just had to manage the restart and wait for the front wheel drive cars to fall away, as soon as this happened I got an indication on the degradation from both Dan and Tom I picked my moves and brought her home second.

‘This set us up nicely for the day, starting on the front row for the second race I wasn't too fazed with having some weight onboard. The conditions where very tricky and we actually opted for wets whilst everyone was on slicks during the laps to the grid. It wasn't until we were on the grid that we jumped ship and bolted the cold slicks on. I had a clean getaway and managed a lights to flag victory despite the two safety car restarts thrown in on the opening laps.
 
‘Race three was just about bringing it home and securing a handful of points. Unfortunately, luck wasn't on our side and on the entry to turn one myself and many others were caught out by the damp conditions, a passenger of your own car is not ideal. We ended up exiting turn two stone cold last but knuckled down and managed to work our way up to just outside the points in seventeenth. This was a little set back after such a successful day, but we still managed to leave Rockingham third in the championship.’ 

Gerry Buck General Manager of Adrian Flux Insurance Services - 'Ashley Sutton and Team BMR had a strong weekend at Rockingham with a couple of podium finishes. The team made solid decisions, particularly when it came to the tyres, and together with some brilliant driving led to a first and a second position.
 
'There is a sense that we’re reliving last year over again with this turnaround. But things can change quickly in BTCC - that’s what makes it so exciting for the fans - so we’re hoping this form continues.'
 
 
Written by Maddy Turner

Photos by Greg Toth Photography

Following the announcement from TOCA, Series Organiser of the MSA British Touring Car Championship, that hybrid power will be introduced to the series within the evolution of the current technical regulations, BMR Racing are feeling positive about the changes that are to come about at the end of 2021.

Earlier this week BTCC confirmed that during a recent meeting the BTCC Technical Working Group (TWG) agreed an outline of the pathway for the introduction of hybrid energy.
 
It was confirmed at the TWG that a specified hybrid unit would be fitted to all cars as an addition to their current drive train. This will allow each car to have a reserve of supplementary hybrid power available during each race, which can then be used by drivers as part of their overall race strategy.  BMR see this as a positive move and believe that, as a BTCC team, we have to be heading into the future of motorsport alongside other leading championships embracing technological advances and the use of hybrid systems, this will help us have the chance to secure manufacturer assistance whilst bringing a new exciting element to the BTCC .  As a motorsport team we have to keep relevant to manufacturer wishes and our sport needs manufacturer backing.

Team Owner, Warren Scott explained ‘During a recent discussion with Alan Gow he explained that with the extra power supplied from the electric motor it will give us the capacity to have a push-to-pass system which will give each competitor opportunities within a race to defend or overtake making the racing incredibly exciting and bringing a new skill set to the championship.
 
‘The BTCC remains at the pinnacle of touring car championships throughout the world so we need to implement changes like this to keep at the forefront of the touring car world and in my estimations creates a very positive move and an important step for the championship to take.
 
‘I share the concerns of the financial element as expressed by the some of the other teams, although I do think that this has greater value to the teams than some of the other monies spent so we need to look at maybe reducing some of the costs elsewhere.  However, with the price of hybrid technology coming down year on year by 2021 the system implied should be at respectively good value.’
 
The detailed engineering aspects of the project will now commence in close conjunction with the TWG, with finite technical decisions to be made over the coming 12-18 months. It’s envisaged that some current cars will be fitted with hybrid units during 2020/2021 as part of the project’s test and development programme.
 

Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk hosted the Diamond Jubilee 60th Anniversary celebrations of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at the weekend and it was a weekend that brought double podiums and double dramas for the Adrian Flux Subaru Racing team.

Race One was declared a wet race Ash was starting from 9th on the grid with Jason starting the opener from 25th.  The narrow start finish straight at Snetterton has a history of start line incidents and coupled with visibility issues from spray going into the first corner, both Ash and Jason were hoping for good clean getaways and to survive the first lap battle without any dramas.

With the lights out Ash and Jason had rocket starts with Ash shooting his Subaru Levorg through the middle of the pack and by the first turn was through into fourth.  For Jason however, our worst fears were confirmed, when he was hit from either side, forcing him off the track with nowhere to go and into barriers.  He managed to get back to the pits for repairs and re-joined the race once more albeit two laps down.

Ash was on maximum attack and was soon up to second place behind pole sitter Jack Goff in one of the Honda’s.  With the Subaru Levorg not suiting the track conditions, being a rear wheel drivetrain, it wasn’t long before the another front wheel drive Honda of Dan Cammish was catching and flashing his lights in a bid to pile on the pressure. 

By lap five Goff was leading the race by 3.9 seconds with a determined Ash chasing him down and making the most of his renowned cornering skills. 
By lap eight the gap to Goff was down to less than 2 seconds and with lots of standing water still on the track it meant that Ash was driving right on the edge to narrow the gap even further in a bid to take the lead of the race.

By lap nine Jason was having to work harder than ever behind the wheel to make up as many places as possible and was up to 24th.

On lap eleven Ash had caught up and was on Goff’s tail and the gap widened again on the start finish straight.  It was the final lap that Ash was looking to try and find a way past Goff on every corner, but Goff was defending well and hanging on to the race lead.  A slide from Goff at Coram allowed Ash to get along the outside of the Honda when there was slight contact between the two and whilst giving each other racing room Ash had the inside line at Murrays.   He briefly took the lead by the time they got to the start finish straight, however the Honda’s straight line speed was no match for the Subaru and Goff got the win on the line with Ash in 2nd with a margin of just 0.152 seconds.

Due to Jason running two laps down he wasn’t able to make further progress and finished the race in 24th place.

Ash’s second place result catapulted him four places up the championship standings into 4th place and now just 34 points shy of the leader Colin Turkington who only scored a single point.
 
For Race Two the track conditions were still tricky with a damp but drying track, with blustery conditions and rain clouds still lurking.  The decision was made to run with slick tyres which meant all competitors on slicks had to run the soft option tyre due to the first race being wet and the prime tyre being enforced by Dunlop to be used by everyone for final double distance race.

Ash, carrying 66 kilograms of success ballast on board, lined up on the 2nd grid spot with an absent Jack Goff from pole position next to him after he disastrously missed the pit lane time window and would therefore have to start from the back of the grid.  This gave Ash a massive advantage and the pressure was on to get another great start and do his best to stay out in front for the opening lap.

A weight free Jason took the decision to start from the pit lane in a bid to avoid a repeat of another start line incident.

Ash made another rapid start off the line and managed to get away well with the front wheel drive Honda of Cammish attempting to hunt him down on the opening lap.  Ash however, covered his line well and held on to the lead with a gap of just over one and a half seconds by the end of lap three.

Whilst Ash was controlling the pace at the front, Jason was fighting his way through the field and had made his way up to 23rd place by lap six when disaster struck the following lap.  Unfortunately, he lost the rear of his Levorg, sending him into a spin and into the barriers causing both front and rear damage which put an end to his race.  Thankfully he managed to limp his Subaru back to the pits for the team to commence repairs as early as possible in a bid to get the car ready for the all-important double points race at the end of the day.

The safety car was deployed on lap ten to retrieve the stricken BMW of Rob Collard which negated the huge 5 second gap that Ash had extended as his fellow competitors closed up, making his life so much harder with the added disadvantage of two laps being added to the race distance.   

With the lights out on the safety car signalling that racing would recommence Ash was in control of the re-start and took the opportunity coming out of Coram.  His outstanding cornering ability allowed him to make the break with a gap of only eight tenths of a second by the time they reached the start finish line.

Josh Cook, running 3rd, in the Vauxhall got a good run on the outside of Cammish down the Bentley Straight moving through into second place which could spell danger for Ash for the last lap as he was now the fastest man on track.  The gap was virtually nothing by the time they arrived at the final sector and Ash managed to hold off his former team mate taking a lights to flag victory, his third win of the season and his tenth to date in the British Touring Car Championship.  The win moved Ash even further up the table and he was now sitting 3rd in the Championship with a deficit of just 13 points to leader Turkington who failed to score a single point.  It was game on, and we were well and truly in the title fight.
 
Next up was the ‘Diamond Double’, 60th Anniversary, twenty lap race which would possibly have the biggest impact on the 2018 Championship with all cars running ballast free and double points to play for.  The Adrian Flux Subaru Racing crew did a sterling job on Jasons Subaru Levorg repairing the damage and having it race ready for this all-important one off race.

During the previous days unique 15 minute qualifying session, we expected Ash to qualify in the top ten, as he did in his earlier session, to find that he could only manage 15th after his flying lap was blocked by Rob Austin who was on a warm up lap which immediately put him on the back foot. 

Jason qualified 23rd after struggling with the balance of the car and was promoted to 22nd after the BMW of Collard was ruled out of the race after they failed to make repairs in time for the start.  Once again it would be a fight for survival on the start straight with both cars in the middle of the pack.

The track now had a dry line as rain clouds threatened and both cars ran on the medium compound prime tyre.

Neither Ash or Jason got great starts after being held up in the mid pack squeeze with both managing to avoid any contact or damage.

The Diamond Double then brought double trouble as we then received the news that Ash was given a 30 second stop go penalty for the team failing to have the car on the ground by the time the three-minute board was shown.  Due to the timetable not running to schedule, caused by on track incidents earlier on in the day, the grid time was reduced from fifteen minutes to just eight and by the time Ash reached his grid position there were just five minutes remaining.  We were busy changing set up on the grid as the weather once again looked uncertain and the time caught us out.

We were advised by a TOCA Official in pit lane that we were to ‘Choose where to stop and we were to control it’.  So the team decided to serve the penalty straight away to give Ash as much time as possible to catch up in the race.   

The safety car was then deployed to retrieve cars that were caught up in the drama on the opening lap, which was huge relief as we hoped this would at least act in our favour a little and give Ash a fighting chance to catch up to the back of the pack and get back up to a point scoring position.

We were then advised that the penalty had not been served correctly as Ash was not in the correct position in pit lane and there was a shortfall in the time served so Ash completed his lap and then came back into pit lane to re-serve the full thirty second penalty.

Unfortunately, the safety car was still waiting at the end of pit lane by the time Ash was ready to re-join the track and therefore he was stuck behind it without being waved through.  By the time Ash was waved through, although this was the fastest lap of his race, it wasn’t enough to catch the queue of cars and by the time the safety car came back in he was a massive three quarters of a lap down.

Jason meanwhile seemed to be down on power following his race two crash but made up places following the demise of others and finished the race in a point scoring position of 15th.

Ash eventually finished all the way down in 20th.

The Championship gap was once again stretched out following Ash scoring no points in the double awarding race and he now sits in 7th and 39 points behind new Championship leader Tom Ingram.

We would like to say a special thank you to our sponsors and fans who, despite the truly awful weather conditions this weekend, still turned out first thing on Sunday morning to support us.

We head to Rockingham next time out on the weekend of the 11th and 12th of August.
 

Adrian Flux Subaru Racing Quotes:

Ash Sutton ‘It was great to get back out after the summer break. I left the tyre test unsure of how we were going to fair up come qualifying. Conditions weren't great on Saturday and it made it hard to find the sweet spot in the setup, but we definitely maxed everything once it came to qualifying. I was very pleased with Q1 putting it P9 for the opening racing on Sunday. However, I was a little disappointed with the qualifying for the Diamond Double, this wasn't down to anything myself or the team had done but, on my flying lap I was held up through turn 11 which costed us four tenths meaning we missed out on another top ten and had to settle for P15.
 
‘Come race day it was a different ball game, the heavens had opened and it was my kind of weather. Starting from P9 meant we had a good chance of some points. I managed to get it hooked up off the line and up into fourth come turn one and by turn three I was into second. From then on I just managed the cold tyres at the start and then got my head down on chasing the leader. I lived life on the edge around the outside of Jack through turn 11 which looked like it paid off until we entered the drag race to the finish line and unfortunately power won that one!
 
‘Race two we started up on the front row with 66kgs onboard. It was tricky conditions as it just started to dry but everyone jumped onto the softs. We had a good start and managed the race very well holding the lead all the way up to a safety car. From then on I knew I was very venerable to the front wheel drive cars who were now at their peak. It was a two-lap dash to the end and after a cracking restart it gave us enough breathing space to have a lights to flag victory. We were now sat in a surprisingly third place in the championship. 
 
‘The Diamond Double, what could have been a get race for us soon turned out to be a disaster, with some last minutes changes we didn't quite meet the time frame required on the grid, as to when the car is meant to be on the deck. This lead to a 30seconds penalty which was deemed to be served incorrectly meaning we had to serve it again. At this point it was game over to scoring any decent points, it was a shame but it’s how we all bounce back from this. Overall, we made a net gain this weekend to the leaders and we won't give up. I can't thank the Adrian Flux Subaru Racing boys enough for working their magic in the changeable conditions."
 

Jason Plato ‘A disaster of a weekend for me but thankfully a great weekend for Ash.  In the first race I was shovelled into the wall at the start.  In race two I made a mistake into turn one and put the car in the wall and in race three I had engine problems with a very down on power engine.  All in all, a day to forget.’
 

Gerry Bucke, General Manager of Adrian Flux Insurance Services ‘It was really great to see such a huge amount of support for Ash and Jason at our local race weekend and to experience the highs and lows of motorsport. It was refreshing to see hard work and skill pay off with a couple of visits to the podium for Ash and his retro race suit, and without the unlucky first lap incident for Jason who knows where he'd have finished, too?’

‘It's a shame we couldn't take advantage of the longer 60-mile third race, but we want to say a huge well done to the top three in that memorable race - Matt Neal, Jack Goff and Tom Ingram - a real mix of experience and youth to showcase BTCC in this highlight event of the calendar!’
 

Paul Tunnicliffe, Automotive Development Director of Subaru UK ‘We arrived at a wet and windy Snetterton with modest objectives. It's not a circuit that normally favours rear wheel drive cars, and qualifying did not fill us with optimism. However, nobody had told Ash Sutton any of this, and by the end of the start/finish straight in Race One, it was clear that our anxieties were misplaced. His sheer determination and unique skill gave us all the advantage we needed, and we were unlucky not to claim maximum points. Still with a point to prove, he went one better in Race Two. Even his prodigious talent could not make it the perfect weekend by producing more of the same in the final, showcase race, but, be under no doubt, this championship still has some way to go. Ash is the one driver all teams should fear.’
 
 

 
Written by Maddy Turner

Photos by Gergo Toth Photography 
 

Team BMR are to condense to a two-car outfit with immediate effect in a move that sees Josh Price depart the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

19-year-old Josh entered the championship in 2017 in the Subaru Levorg in a move that previously saw him racing with the team in the Renault UK Clio Cup Championship.  Josh continued with the BMR Academy backed by Autoglym for the first half of the teams 2018 BTCC running as well as competing in the newly created TCR UK Championship this year.

Josh commented ‘I am very grateful to have been given such a great opportunity with BMR to be part of the British Touring Car Championship over the past eighteen months, it really has been a great learning curve.  I am looking forward to having the time to focus on my own individual goals and future motorsport career’.

Warren Scott said ‘I would like to thank Josh for his time and support he has given to the BMR Academy within the BTCC, he is a very talented driver with a passion and determination which will take him far in his motorsport career.  Josh is currently exploring other avenues and BMR are committed to supporting him in his future plans.

Warren went on to say ‘Whilst we would have liked to continue running the third car until the end of the year, when we looked at all the options it just wasn’t possible.  With the lack of drivers available, with the talent and budget to suit, we took the opportunity to sell the TBL early to secure our plan of running two cars next year.’

Team BMR will continue with their full assault on the second half of the BTCC calendar which continues at Snetterton this weekend, the 28th and 29th July, for what promises to be a very exciting weekend with the 20 lap 60th Anniversary Race that is taking place.

We’re on the road again this morning to set up at Silverstone for the BTCC Diamond Jubilee celebrations at the Silverstone Classic that is taking place this weekend between Friday 20th and Sunday 22nd July.

With Adrian Flux Insurance Services being the Official Vehicle Insurance Partner for the event we are really looking forward to being part of the worlds biggest classic motor racing festival.

On Sunday Jason Plato will be heading the parade of 60 legendary BTCC cars in his #99 Subaru Levorg, alongside Jack Sears’ Austin Westminster and drivers from the championship's storied 60-year history.

Tin Top Sunday's programme will be dominated by period touring car action, with four races covering the pre-66 U2TC grid, the Trans-Atlantic Touring Car Trophy for pre-66 V8s, the Historic Touring Car Challenge for cars of the 1970s and 80s and the Super Touring Car Trophy for the BTCC cars of the 90s. Near 200 touring cars will be battling it out for top honours.

Heroes past and present will be on hand racing, parading and lining up for an anniversary photo call on Sunday afternoon. It's not to be missed.
In addition to this Ash Suttons championship winning Subaru Levorg will be on display throughout the weekend at the Adrian Flux Insurance Services stand opposite the Jet Ferris Wheel, so come and grab a great photo opportunity.

Tickets available only in advance from £45 at https://bit.ly/2nNjAld

For more information on the Silverstone Classic and Tin Top Sunday, head here: https://bit.ly/2KHIGjA

#BTCC | #SilverstoneClassic #adrianfluxinsurance #TeamBMR #AS1 #JasonPlato
 
 

 Photos by Gergo Toth Photography
 

The BMR Racing duo of Ash Sutton and Jason Plato celebrated a double podium at Croft in North Yorkshire yesterday after what has been a tough season for the team so far in the 2018 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.  Ash then went on to take a second win of the day, making him the first driver in this years BTCC series to take a double win at a circuit.

Saturdays qualifying saw the Championship winning duo secure a front row Adrian Flux Subaru Racing lock out with a pole position for Ash and a second for Jason following an enormous amount of work completed by the team and Swindon Powertrain back since last time out at Oulton Park.  With aerodynamic refinements and updates on the intercoolers, we were also given a slight boost adjustment of approximately 3-5 bhp following a miscalculation on our base settings.  With the addition of no weight being on board and with the rear wheel drive Subaru Levorg suiting Croft Circuit, this was finally a match made in heaven with everything coming together to tick all of the boxes.  The Levorg has performed well at Croft during the last three years and so it was no huge surprise to us that things finally came good.

The double podium finish was achieved in the first race of the day with Ash taking a lights to flag victory with Jason taking up rear gunner position. Although Jason briefly lost a position to Andrew Jordan at the start, the battle soon ensued and he snatched the place back when Jordan ran wide at the Chicane, securing a second place finish and a Subaru 1-2 victory.

The Autoglym Academy driver Josh Price also had a great race bringing his Subaru Levorg home in a season best of 18th.

Despite losing the lead in the opening laps to Tom Ingram in Race Two, reigning BTCC Champion Ash went on to take his second victory of the day with another win and therefore bettering his performance at Croft from 2017 and finally beginning his battle to defend his title.

After initially running in third for the first few laps in Race Two, Jason was penalised with a drive through penalty for a jump start which resulted in him dropping back down the order to 28th place, however, the former double BTCC Champion then fought his way through the field with an outstanding drive, making his way all the way back up to a point scoring position of 14th.

Unfortunately for Josh his car overheated on the sweltering circuit after being stuck in traffic which prevented any clean air being circulated to cool the engine, eventually resulting in him having to retire from the race.

The reverse grid draw was made and ball number 9 was selected placing Ash 9th on the grid for the 3rd and final race of the day, Jason started from his race two finishing position and Josh would start from 29th.  Dan Lloyd would start from pole position.  Ash made an awesome start and immediately jumped up to 6th place and after a great battle with Jordan and Matt Neal he soon made it up to 4th and hopes of another podium when an out of control Neal, who was late on the brakes, fired him off into the gravel trap subsequently dropping him back to 7th.  Ash finished the race in 6th with Jason and Josh, both on the hard tyre, finished the race in 19th and 24th respectively.

Ash was given a one second time penalty post race following an incident with Jordan which consequently dropped him back a position to 7th.
Ash now sits 7th in the Drivers Championship standings.

We leave Croft Circuit delighted with our results from the weekend but remain focussed on the tough job we have ahead of us.  So, it’s heads down and back to HQ to continue to our quest to do all we can with developing the car to ensure that we are able to come back fighting at the power circuits that we know are staring us in the face for the second half of the season.
 
Team Quotes:

Jason Plato – “Despite the trials and tribulations of race three and my mistake in race two its been a great day for the team.  It’s nice to be back with a competitive chassis but we are still miles away with engine performance with some serious issues that we’ve got to find solutions for but its nice to be back competitive and having a go again.  The frustrations are if we are not right at the front it’s very difficult because the speed differential down the straight means you’re at risk all the time of losing places and even if someone’s really slow with tyre problems you can’t overtake. So, it’s very frustrating still but at least we’re making progress and we’ve had a result which is great for everybody.”

Ash Sutton – “The biggest thing from the weekend was the improvement to the car from what the team has been doing back at base.  The effort from Oulton Park to now has shown in the gains we have made in that short time and the slight boost adjustment is a very small part of that.  It’s very positive having myself and Jason at the sharp end of the grid with strong pace but part of that was due to the fact that we were at a rear wheel drive circuit which made our lives much easier for qualifying and race one with zero ballast.  I think we picked up one of the strongest points hauls in the past 18 months of my journey with Subaru which just brings that little bit of hope for defending my title but that is still a long shot.

Josh Price – “I left Croft feeling positive and with a smile on my face  having enjoyed a much stronger day in the Autoglym Academy Subaru Levorg, it was great to get a better result.  There’s still a long way to go but I’m really looking forward to the 60th Anniversary race next time out at Snetterton after the summer break”.

Warren Scott, Team BMR – “I’m very proud of everyone in the team for getting us back on track in the championship this weekend but I’m conscious that improvements still need to be made.  This is a rear wheel drive circuit and Snetterton is going to be a whole new challenge.”

Paul Tunnicliffe, Automotive Development Director Subaru UK – “After a difficult period of disappointing results, it all came good for us at Croft.  The circuit suits the car perfectly, and the few minor tweaks the team made to the engine produced an unstoppable car, as is evidenced by the results achieved in qualifying and the first two races.  A little bad luck cost us dear, especially in Race Three, when Ash looked good for another podium, but we move to Snetterton in good heart.  There’s plenty more left in this championship, and we intend being there at the finish.”

Gerry Bucke, General Manager, Adrian Flux Insurance Services – "This weekend at Croft saw an amazing turnaround for both Ash and Jason. It has been a challenging season so far - but it was brilliant to see both Adrian Flux drivers on the podium and Ash earning a double victory. Team BMR has been working exceptionally hard to improve things, and everyone should be proud of these results." 

Micky Sergeant, BMR Team Manager – “We’ll take that!  Front row lock out in qualy, a 1-2 for Ash and Jason in race one and another victory for Ash in race two.  Yes it’s undoubtedly THE rear wheel drive circuit of the season and yes we had very little weight on but massive credit to the team for all their hard work in such a short turnaround time to get us where we are.”
 

Written by Maddy Turner

Team BMR finally have something to celebrate with Ash and Jason topping this afternoon’s qualifying session at Croft with an Adrian Flux Subaru Racing front row lock out for round 13 of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

The team, alongside Swindon Powertrain, have worked around the clock since our last time out at Oulton Park making refinements to the cars and our efforts have been rewarded this afternoon. 

The Croft Circuit suits the Subaru Levorg very well, being a rear wheel drive circuit, and with our drivers being weight free today we were hoping for a great result.

A ballast free Ash and Jason performed an outstanding display during the mornings two practice sessions with Ash topping the timelines in the second session.  Ash then set the pace early on bettering his efforts with a flying lap of 1:24.22s with Jason just marginally behind with a 1:24.38. 
Josh also had a good afternoon qualifying his best position of the season of 20th.

Photo credit: Jakob Ebrey

Team BMR endured a dismal weekend of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) during rounds 7, 8 and 9 at Hampshire’s Thruxton circuit last time out (19-20 May) as they were blunted by engine demons and performance deficit.

The team started the weekend on the back foot with lack of straight line speed and no driver is ever able to compensate for lack of horsepower, so the drivers were left to try and wring all they could from the Subaru Levorgs.

Ash Sutton set the quickest time of the three drivers qualifying in 18th with a time of 1m16.690s and just over a second behind pole setter Matt Neal.  Josh Price wasn’t far off Ash’s time with a 1m16.894s placing him 23rd on the grid for Sunday’s first race with Jason Plato behind him in 24th with a time of 1m16.918s.

Jason complained of lack of speed and engine gremlins throughout Saturday and with the data backing up his concerns the decision was made to switch engines overnight even though this would result in us losing vital Manufacturer championship points with this now being our fifth manufacturer engine change in just 9 rounds since the beginning of the season.

Sunday was a new day and with the team as determined as ever we soldiered on with the fight to try and score some points and limit any damage to the Subaru Levorgs in the process.

Race one lights were out and although we didn’t get a great start off the line, Ash managed to stay with the mid pack and crossed the line in 15th, scoring an extremely vital point.  Josh finished 22nd and Jason retired from the race with yet more reliability issues.

For race two Ash bettered his result with a superb 11th place and more points in the bag.  Josh brought his car home in 23rd and although changes were made to Jason’s car for the second race of the day, the engine continued to underperform, and he retired after just three laps.  The decision was made to retire the car for the remainder of the day.

As if the team hadn’t had enough bad luck over the weekend there was then more devastation as Ash’s drive shaft failed as he was joining the grid for the third and final race of the day.  The team had just minutes to make repairs in the pit lane before remarkably Ash was able to join the back of the grid and he fought his way through to finish the race in 20th.  Josh retired from the race with damage after contact and additional concerns about engine issues, so the decision was made to retire and salvage the engine.

We left Thruxton scoring six points, of which we were very grateful.  Following Thruxton we had a very lengthy debrief and spent time raking through the data in a bid to do all we can to move forward and return to being competitive for Oulton Park, whilst the engines returned to Swindon for further analysis.

Gerry Bucke, Adrian Flux Insurance Services General Manager said “Team BMR showed grit and determination during an incredibly challenging weekend at Thruxton.  Unfortunately, Ash was forced to start the third race from the back of the grid after a sudden drive shaft failure – a shame since he’d done superbly well to reach 11th at the end of the second race on Sunday.

“And while it was touch and go as to whether he’d make it out on the track, the engineering team managed to get him out on the grid. Ash also did superb to climb up to 20th with a good recovery drive.  The perseverance of both drivers and the team behind the scenes is testament to everyone’s desire to come together and do their best whatever the circumstances.  I hope Oulton Park goes better for them.”
 

 
Donington Park, the second circuit on the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship calendar, proved to be a tricky weekend for the team as a whole in respect of mechanical issues and a need to improve engine performance.

The weekend started with two wet practice sessions which is never a perfect way to kick off the weekend when the forecast is dry for the next day.  The usual opportunity to scrub tyres and get a good set up for Sunday’s races doesn’t present itself and that coupled with a driveshaft failure for Jason and an engine failure for Ash certainly tested us to our limits on Saturday.  In true BMR spirit it didn’t phase our team of mechanics as it was jackets off and all hands on deck to complete an engine change for Ash and a new back end for Jason to eliminate any further issues.  It was a monumental effort by everyone and all within a two hour time period in an attempt to be ready for qualifying in the afternoon.

Josh’s Autoglym Academy Subaru Levorg was the only BMR machine joining the track at the commencement of the qualifying session whilst the team continued to work on the Adrian Flux Subaru’s. Jason’s session commenced four laps in with Ash joining much later.  A brief red flag session to remove the stricken car of Aiden Moffatt at the Chicane left just five minutes on the clock, which in turn meant that Ash, with 39 kg of success ballast on board his Levorg, only managed to produce one flying lap which put him in a qualifying position of 22nd.  Jason also experienced the hugely interrupted session, he qualified just ahead of him in 21st with Josh 26th.

With a long night ahead of us we set about to start from scratch to prepare the cars once again for race day.


A new day and in contrast to Saturday’s wet conditions, the forecast was dry but chilly.  Ash would start the day 5th in the Drivers’ Championship with 26 points and Subaru 2nd in the Manufacturers Championship just 2 points behind leaders BMW.

With the lights out for the first race of the day, the Subaru Levorg drivers all got good clean starts with both Ash and Josh making up a few places between them on the opening lap and Jason holding his position.  Josh then dropped down the order trying to avoid contact from those around him.  Ash had a good race moving his way up through the field gaining eight places to finish in a very impressive 12th.  Jason finished in 25th after initially making up places but then dropping back to 27th after being forced off the track by Mike Bushell. Josh took the chequered flag in 26th.


For race two the Subaru drivers once again made great starts off the line with all three making up places on the opening lap.  As the race progressed the Levorg’s clearly suffered with straight line speed with Ash making the most of the corners and his ability to brake later than his rivals in an attempt to stay in a point scoring position.  Ash crossed the line in a comfortable 8th place as Jason made up seven places finishing in 20th. Josh came home in 26th place following a fierce battle with Matt Simpson and Bobby Thompson ahead of him, with less than a second separating the trio.


Circuit owner MSV’s Managing Director Jonathan Palmer made the reverse grid draw pulling number 9 from the bowl which moved Ash up the order to start on the front row of the grid in 2nd for the third and final race of the day, and although it looked good due to just 27 kg of success ballast on Ash’s car, all three Subaru drivers had selected to run the hard option Dunlop Sport Maxx Hard tyre for the final encounter which looked approximately a second per lap slower than those using the medium version.

With lights out for the final time Ash had a good start and held his position in 2nd as Jason held on 20th with Josh launching his Subaru to make up three places off the line.  Disaster then struck for Josh on the opening lap when an out of control Mike Bushell, who had locked up behind, made contact at Josh’s rear sending him into a spin which resulted in further contact as Josh veered back into the side of Bushell causing front end damage that ended his race.  Ash meanwhile had taken the lead and then the safety car was deployed to retrieve the Autoglym Academy backed Subaru of Josh and several others who had also been caught up in a mid-pack incident.  With the race under way again by the end of lap 6, Ash accelerated into the chicane in a bid to escape 2nd placed man Adam Morgan who was waiting to pounce behind him.  He held onto the lead for the next lap and clearly struggling with pace Morgan took the lead by the end of lap 8.  He did all he could to prevent himself tumbling further back down the order on the hard tyre and held onto 3rd until the last two laps and eventually finished the race in 6th.  Jason managed to avoid all of the on track dramas and came home in 18th.
All in all it wasn’t our finest weekend, however the points scored by Ash’s has ensured that he held onto his 5th place in the Driver’s Championship and Subaru are third in the Manufacturer’s Championship.  Ash also remains as one of two drivers scoring points during every race of the 2018 season so far, with championship leader Tom Ingram being the other.

The next BTCC weekend for the Subaru Levorgs will be at Thruxton in just three weeks’ time the 19th and 20th May.
 
Jason Plato commented “Well Donington proved to be a struggle! It took us until the dying moments of qualifying to get the chassis working in the wet and although we have made good progress in the dry races with the new setup I’m running, despite a well handling car it is very clear that we need to improve in the bits between the corners! Our straight line performance is woeful. Disappointing weekend but we remain focused to try and find a solution.”

Ash Sutton commented “Donington was a strong track for us last year regarding the cars cornering performance and it was very much the same this year. Saturday was a little bit of a dramatic day for the team though. Unfortunately, after my first run during FP2 we picked up an engine noise which left the Swindon guys concerned. Both Swindon and the team made a bold decision to change engines before Qualifying, this was always going to be a tough ask in such a short period of time but man its good watching them work as one. I can't thank the boys enough for getting me out and it was just enough to get one flying lap on the board placing me P22.
 
"Sunday was going to be a repeat of last year in my eyes. The aim for the day was to just try and move forward as much as we can, making sure we were collecting those valuable points. Races 1 and 2 we were on the mediums which gave us a helping hand leap frogging us up the grid, but racing smart was key. But come Race 3 it was my turn to be on the hards, we knew as a team that it was all about damage limitation and it couldn't have gone much better, we only dropped back to sixth after starting on the front row."
 
Josh Price commented “An unfortunate qualifying meant a tough weekend from the off.  Hoping for a bit more luck at Thruxton”
 
Micky Sergeant, BMR Team Manager commented “The whole team has worked really really hard to get us where we are chassis wise but we still have work to do alongside Swindon Powertrain to get the engine performance we need to be competitive.

"Ash drove the wheels off the Subaru Levorg as normal and made up for the lack of engine performance.

"We were obviously hampered too in qualifying because of the engine change after free practice two which meant less qualy time.
More of the same since Brands really but great driving by Ash, even on the less favourable hard tyres round Donington to keep him in 5th.
We’re optimistic as we move forward to Thruxton and then Oulton and hoping for some warmer weather! Not necessarily dryer though!!

 
Gerry Bucke, Adrian Flux Insurance Services General Manager said  "BMR Racing definitely had a dramatic weekend at Donington Park. On Saturday, they changed Ash Sutton's engine in little over two hours between FP2 and Qualifying. Jason Plato also had a new driveshaft fitted together with a lot of back end changes. 

"But even though the team was really up against it, everyone pulled together and pushed through. The effort, grit and determination definitely came through in the quality of the racing in the third and final race on Sunday. Well done BMR Racing - this is why Adrian Flux is proud to support British motorsport."

Chris Graham, Subaru UK Managing Director commented: “Donington proved a mix bag for Team BMR and our Levorgs this weekend, however Ash Sutton did extremely well to retain his 5th place standing overall. A mix of elements challenged our drivers but they showcased some great racing which I’m sure spectators enjoyed. It’s still early on in the BTCC season and I’m sure we will continue to go from strength to strength”.
 

Written by Maddy Turner

Photos by Gergo Toth Photography

**2018 BMR Racing Official Merchandise now available**




BMR Racing are delighted to announce an exciting new partnership with Harlequin Teamwear, which will see Harlequin supply BMR with their Official Teamwear for the 2018 season, with replica merchandise available to fans.

 

Harlequin will be at Donington Park this weekend with a dedicated stand in the infield trade village on both Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th April, where you will have the opportunity to purchase the new range of clothing including custom designed BMR T-Shirts, Polo Shirts, Hoodies, Gilets, Softshell Jackets and Puffer Jackets.

 

Alternatively, for those of you that aren't with us this weekend, please visit our Online Store where you can check out the range now: http://www.harlequinteamwear.co.uk/motorsport/index.php?route=product/category&path=84

 

 

Team BMR are filled with confidence after reigning British Touring Car Champion Ash Sutton topped the timing screens in this afternoon’s test session at Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire.

Whilst much cannot be read into the actual performances of BMR’s rivals due to differing fuel levels,  ballast amounts and tyres, the team found the test beneficial and are happy with the outcome.

BMR utilised the test well with Ash, Jason and Josh all trying different set ups during the day’s two test sessions, a good amount of valuable test mileage was completed and positive steps forward were made.

Team Manager Micky Sergeant said “Today was a very successful test and the weather held off which is always a bonus.  We ran through an extensive test programme and ticked off lots of different set ups picking through the bones of them in addition to trying different tyres.  Ash went three tenths quicker than last years pole time but take from that what you will on a cold circuit.  All in all a very positive day”.

For the full list of classified timings see here - http://www.tsl-timing.com/file/?f=TOCA/2018/181541trg.pdf


Written by Maddy Turner

Image by Gergo Toth Photography

Team BMR left Brands Hatch Indy Circuit on a high with the results gained placing us second in the Manufacturers Championship after the first round of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship on Sunday (8 April).

The Adrian Flux Subaru Racing drivers both enjoyed a positive weekend in the opening rounds with reigning BTCC Champion Ash Sutton producing an outstanding performance in Subaru Levorg Sports Tourer.  The 24-year-old was satisfied with a trio of strong finishes and scored a great haul of points to start the season with which places him fifth in the Drivers Championship.

Jason Plato ended the opening weekend in a positive frame of mind after a mixed bag of results but confident of the progress that he made over the course of the weekend.  With the team having made numerous setup changes to his Subaru Levorg during Sunday’s three races he is content with things moving in the right direction and is very much looking forward to Donington Park.

In the Autoglym Academy Levorg Josh Price endured a tough weekend but made great progress and enjoyed great battles showing good pace and gaining numerous positions as he worked his way up through the field. 

Qualifying was closer than ever round the short 1.2 mile Indy circuit with 30 cars separated by less than a second, proving that although not commonly regarded as a power circuit, you only need to be a little bit off in straight line performance to find yourself at the wrong end of the grid on a Saturday afternoon.

Our grid positions for the opening race of the weekend on Sunday morning were Ash Sutton 18th, Jason Plato 29th and Josh Price 31st.
A wet race one with a very slippery track saw all three drivers get away off the line without any dramas.  The conditions showed the promising pace of the Subaru Levorg with the trio moving through the pack to achieve decent finishes from their starting positions. Ash had a strong race and moved up an impressive eleven places on the grid from 18th to cross the line in 7th.  Jason also moved up the order from 29th to finish 20th as did Josh who moved up from 31st to finish 23rd.  A very good start made and 28 places made up between them!

Weather conditions for race two meant that all the front wheel drive cars had the opportunity to start on slicks in the hope of a drying track and strong performance in the second half of the race.  For us, in real wheel drive it was a concern that too much ground would have been lost in the early stages of the race on slicks in those conditions and with a greasy track, we may not have even got round the first lap!  It was a case of making as much ground as possible early on knowing we would be sitting ducks in the in the closing laps. 

Ash made a great start and was immediately up to 5th as did Jason and Josh who both made up positions.  Jason was then caught up in an incident that dropped him back down the order whilst Josh meanwhile was up to a very comfortable 16th place.  All three drivers made tremendous progress during the race which saw Ash move up to 3rd and Jason was soon back up to 17th.  As we predicted, a dry line soon appeared and the tyres soon started to struggle resulting in the Levorgs then dropping down the order allowing those on slicks to take advantage of the situation and move up front and take the race lead. 
Ash eventually took the checkered flag in a point scoring 12th position with Jason in 22nd and Josh in 23rd.

Race three and all change as it became the first race of the day to be dry at the start and all three drivers starting on the soft option tyre.  With Ash showing he’d lost none of his race craft over the winter, once again moved through the field to an impressive 4th place.  Jason made up ground after many setup changes with the race which was also doubling up as a dry test session and ended the race in 19th.  Josh, in a similar way and pace, was making ground and getting to grips with a new set up and dry running.  His race was hampered in the closing stages as he was collected by an out of position Tom Chilton resulting in a visit to the pits to assess the damage and get him back on track to ensure a classified finish in 28th place.

The BTCC returns in three weeks’ time at Donington Park on the 28th and 29th April.
 
BMR Team Manager Micky Sergeant commented:  “Reflecting on the weekend overall, I would firstly like to thank each and every one of the team for all their hard work over the proceeding months in the build-up to Brands. It’s always nice to get the first event of the season done, and to have 100% reliability on all cars in all 3 races with relatively little damage is testament to all the crew and credit to the drivers.

"All in all, massively happy to have nine classified results and 100% reliability. Great racecraft by Ash, Jason & Josh to bring the car home in every race and achieve the results they all did. We are clearly working on setups to extract every tenth out of the chassis and to move forward with Swindon Powertrain in the hope to be more competitive in the speed traps and make the most of what we are given. On paper, not the results I’d normally be singing about but optimistic of the potential and happy to still be in the hunt.”   
 
Ash Sutton commented:  “Overall we were punching above our weight this weekend.  We went in with expectations of a top fifteen but to come away with a 7th, 12th and 4th we definitely overachieved.  With the amount of testing we’ve had we’ve certainly got a lot of work to do but I’m confident that the boys back at BMR Headquarters will be doing their bit behind the scenes to get us to where we need to be. 

"It’s a good start to my campaign to defend the title to be 5th in the Championship and 26 more points ahead of where we were at this stage last season.”
 
Jason Plato commented:  “The most important thing is that I leave here after race three in a positive frame of mind.  It’s the first time in all honesty, in eighteen months, or since the beginning of 2017, where I’ve got a car where I can feel the front.  In all the practice we did here I couldn’t feel the front and we’ve made some huge set-up changes and I think now, analysing what’s happened to date, and what happened last year, some of the problems we had were from the shunt, but underneath all that the problem stemmed from not doing enough work on the new tyre at the beginning of last year.  I think our cars baseline setups weren’t in the right area and we made some huge changes to race one, two and three.  We are going in the right sort of direction so I’m positive that we are making progress and it feels like it’s my car again. We’ve got lots of work to do on the engine but I’m going home with a smile on my face.”
 
Josh Price commented: “I knew it would be tough but not that tough but pleased to finish all three races and race two showed that we definitely had the pace.  It’s a very competitive field this year but I am feeling positive about the season ahead.  Roll on Donington Park.”
 
Paul Tunnicliffe, Automotive Development Director of Subaru UK commented: “The first race weekend is always an important learning curve each season, as you truly get to see what your competitors have brought to the track. We were pretty much where we expected to be, although the conditions caused us problems, especially in Race Two.  That said, Ash showed why he is a worthy champion, with a stunning display of committed driving in all three races.  Jason and Josh also showed real promise. We have taken some good learning from this round and can’t wait for Donington”.
 
Gerry Bucke, General Manager of Adrian Flux commented:  “For round one this was a very positive result for the team, especially when you consider that last year the team banked zero and still went onto win the championship. To come away with 81 manufacturers points and for Ash Sutton to come away with 26 points is a great start. It’s looking very positive for Donington, where we hope to see both Jason Plato and Ash Sutton up on the podium.”
 
Paul Caller, Chief Executive Officer of Autoglym commented:  “Well the BTCC season is well and truly underway and it was great to see such great results from the opening rounds at Brands Hatch.  A very positive start for the team and it was good to see Josh Price in the thick of things in race two.  We are very much looking forward to watching the 2018 BTCC season evolve and can’t wait for Donington.”
 

Written by Maddy Turner

Images by Gergo Toth Photography

BMR Racing are delighted to announce that we have re-signed Josh Price for the 2018 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship to pilot the all new Autoglym Academy Racing Subaru Levorg GT.

Autoglym have been involved as a sponsor and technical partner with BMR Racing in the BTCC for a number of years and we were delighted that they celebrated the team’s success with us in 2017.  Having witnessed Ash Sutton win the BTCC Championship title last year, Autoglym quickly picked up on Josh’s story and the similar journey to Ash that he has embarked on so far in his career and were eager to increase their support even further.
Josh first joined the BMR Academy in 2016 and enjoyed a strong season in the Renault UK Clio Cup before taking the leap to the BTCC where he finished his maiden campaign 3rd in the Jack Sears Trophy standings. The 19-year-old will now aim to build on everything he learned from last season and with a year under his belt we are confident that 2018 will be a great year for him.

“We're over the moon to be able to further our commitment to the BTCC and our relationship with Subaru and Team BMR in particular,” explains Autoglym CEO Paul Caller. “We have been watching Josh’s journey and we are proud to be playing such a key role in his and the teams' campaign and can't wait for the championship to get underway.”

Josh added “It’s great to be back in the BTCC with Team BMR and Autoglym.  After a test at Snetterton a couple of weeks back we came away with a clear vision that this was the right path to go down for 2018.  There is definitely unfinished business for me in the Championship, so we’ve got a lot to prove this season.”

Paul Tunnicliffe, Automotive Development Director, Subaru UK commented “Josh started to come into his own late in the 2017 season, and I sense he will be a real force alongside Ash and Jason this year.  With such a formidable line-up, we predict great things for the team in 2018”.

BMR Racing owner Warren Scott commented “We are thrilled to have Josh in the team for another season in the Subaru Levorg.  2017 was a big learning curve for him with it being his maiden season in which he made impressive progress. We are really looking forward to watching him battle for the Jack Sears Trophy title once again this year and can’t wait to get started. Josh and his family are great to be around and it’s a pleasure to have them onboard”.

The 2018 BTCC season kicks off tomorrow (27 March) with the official launch at Donington Park.


Photo credit - Phil Laughton Photography
 

BMR Racing is excited to bring you our BMR Platinum Membership opportunities.
 

BMR Racing are delighted to announce that Adrian Flux Insurance will continue its sponsorship partnership with the BTCC team for a third consecutive season.
 
Defending champion Ash Sutton and two-time touring car champion Jason Plato have both confirmed they will remain with BMR Racing for the 2018 season.
 
The specialist insurance broker has been supporting BTCC since 2016 and is backing Team BMR for this season’s racing in the Adrian Flux Subaru Levorg Sports Tourer.
 
Gerry Bucke, Adrian Flux General Manager, said:  “At Adrian Flux Insurance, we’re massive fans of motorsport and delighted to be supporting the team at BMR Racing for another season, especially during BTCC’s 60th anniversary season.
 
“We’ve been involved since the beginning of Subaru’s involvement in touring cars and it has been brilliant to follow the racing year after year. BMR Racing have an excellent team, including two champion drivers behind the wheel of the Adrian Flux Subaru Levorg - so as a sponsor we’re certainly looking forward to an exciting season ahead.”
 
Warren Scott, BMR Racing Team Owner said: “We are absolutely delighted to have Adrian Flux Insurance on board with us for another new season of the BTCC and with exciting times ahead of us we are looking forward to rewarding them with great success in 2018.”
 
23-year-old Ash was crowned the 2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Champion back in October last year at Brands Hatch after an outstanding year with Team BMR in the Subaru Levorg Sports Tourer.  In only his second year in the series, he totalled an impressive six outright wins and celebrated no less than fifteen podium positions during the season.
 
Ash Sutton said: “It was great to hear that Adrian Flux are back onboard for the 2018 Season. I know they have been involved from the beginning but I started my journey with them last year and personally, it couldn’t have gone any better. They showed great support all year round so what better way to say to thank you than with the drivers' title!”
 
2017 saw BTCC legend Jason celebrate his 50th pole position and his 96th win in the series.  Titled the BTCC’s most successful touring car driver, 50-year-old Jason will be competing in his 20th year in the championship after his first involvement in 1997, winning the Drivers’ title in 2001 and 2010, with a target of taking his win tally up to the 100 win milestone this year and also secure a well overdue third BTCC driver’s title. 
 
Jason said: “What a fantastic season 2017 proved to be for Adrian Flux Insurance and Team BMR, the best debut any title sponsorship could have hoped for. We are motivated and looking forward to delivering an even more successful 2018 Season for Adrian Flux and our partners. Let battle commence on April 7th, I can’t wait.”
 
 
About Adrian Flux Insurance
 
Adrian Flux Insurance, based in Norfolk, is the UK’s largest specialist insurance broker. Founded in 1974 by Adrian Flux himself, the company has grown from one small office in King's Lynn to become a leading player in finding cover for virtually any type of motor vehicle or motorcycle (under its multi-award winning Bikesure brand), as well as home, travel, and caravan insurance.
 
About BMR Racing
 
BMR Racing, from a small village in Hertfordshire, first competed as a family run operation entering as an independent team in the BTCC in 2013. In rapid succession, BMR featured multiple championship winning drivers and a proven race winning strategy and engineering team. Most recently comes the factory support from Subaru - further validating the vision and ambition of the team. Team BMR has delivered exhilarating and engaging performances for its loyal and passionate fan base and partners.
 
BMR celebrated their first ever race win in the Subaru Levorg within the first half of its maiden season in 2016 and went on to have a tremendously successful season. In 2017, in only Subaru’s second year in the Championship, BMR took the season by storm with an impressive 8 race wins, 3 pole positions and an amazing 20 podiums before clinching the overall drivers’ championship title with Ash Sutton in his first year piloting the Subaru Levorg.
 
In 2018, Adrian Flux and BMR continue to build on their strong relationship and together will enjoy much more success on their quest to defend their drivers' championship title this season as well as aiming for the manufacturers' title of which they were runner-ups in 2017.
 
The 2018 BTCC season kicks off with the official media day at Donington Park on 27th March, with the first race weekend at Brands Hatch on the weekend of the 7th/8th April.
 
For more information on Adrian Flux Insurance Services please visit https://www.adrianflux.co.uk/motorsport/

Photo by Phil Laughton Photography
 
 
 

BMR Racing are proud to welcome on board K&N Filters as Technical Partners for the 2018 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season.

As part of our continuous development programme, our Subaru Levorg’s will be running with the Orion Air Intake System in a partnership that will fly the flag for the K&N brand as part of the cars livery that will be showcased at the official BTCC launch day at Donington Park on the 27th March.

The Orion Air Intake System has been designed and developed by K&N using the knowledge built up over a number of seasons working within the BTCC and we are confident that by using the fully enclosed intake kit it will allow us to continue podium success as we enter the new season.

For more information on the K&N products please visit www.knfilters.co.uk

Photo by Phil Laughton Photography

BMR Racing are delighted to announce that Bradley Burns has become the latest signing for the BMR Academy in association with Team Pyro. 

16-year-old Bradley became one of the youngest ever drivers to race in the Renault UK Clio Cup when he made his championship debut at Rockingham in August 2017 with Team Pyro.  He competed in the championship for the final three events making his mark with a string of impressive results.
Burns from Farnham in Surrey will remain with Team Pyro for the 2018 season of the Renault UK Clio Cup with the support and guidance of the BMR Academy.

Speaking of his signing an enthusiastic Bradley commented: “I am so excited and extremely grateful to be offered such a wonderful opportunity and very much look forward to working with Ash and being part of BMR Racing.  With the training and support of the BMR Academy, I hope to extensively further my performance on the track and gain some credible results throughout the 2018 season.”

The BMR Academy is the stepping stone system created by BMR Racing to assist drivers in the progression through to the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.  Past drivers who have experienced this support include 2017 BTCC Champion Ashley Sutton who was crowned Renault UK Clio Cup Champion in 2015.  Ash’s teammate from last year Josh Price also progressed from the Clio Cup.  Bradley has been receiving extensive driver coaching from Ash and will continue to do so under the BMR Academy programme.

Speaking of the new partnership Team Pyro Principal, Mark Hunt commented: “Bradley came to us midway through 2017 from junior car racing, from the very first test we saw how much potential Bradley had behind the wheel. He raced with us at the back end of 2017 and participated in the last three rounds of the Clio Cup Championship as an insight for the following season.

“It’s great for Bradley to be picked up by BMR and to join their academy. Our first experience with the BMR Academy was with Ashley Sutton back in 2015, he went on to win the Renault UK Clio Cup Championship and then two years later the British Touring Car Championship, this proves that it gives you all the tools required to succeed in your racing career. We are delighted as a team to be associated with a team such as Team BMR.”

BMR Racing Principal Warren Scott commented: “I am delighted to welcome Bradley on board.  He is certainly one to watch and we are confident that he has an exciting season ahead of him in the Renault UK Clio Cup.  Many of the BTCC’s top drivers come from the Clio Cup and I am very pleased that with the partnership of Team Pyro the BMR Academy will give him the ideal platform to progress and we all look forward to supporting him in his future development.”

The opening two rounds of the 2018 Renault UK Clio Cup get underway at Brands Hatch on Saturday7/Sunday 8 April.

For more information on the BMR Academy please contact Ash@bmrracing.co.uk and visit our website www.bmracademy.co.uk

Image courtesy of Jakob Ebrey
 

 

 

 

 

2017 saw the BTCC legend celebrate his 50th pole position and his 96th win in the series.  Titled the BTCC’s most successful touring car driver, 50-year-old Jason will be competing in his 20th year in the championship after his first involvement in 1997, winning the Drivers’ title in 2001 and 2010, with a target of taking his win tally up to the 100 win milestone this year and also secure a well overdue third BTCC driver’s title. 

2018 will mark a third season for Subaru with the Levorg Sport Tourer and in addition to his own personal targets, Jason will be an essential part of the BMR Racing team alongside team mate Ashley Sutton in assisting the launch of our campaign to clinch both the Manufacturers/Constructors and Teams titles in what promises to be an exciting year with the series celebrating its 60th anniversary.

“I'm really looking forward to 2018, we have some exciting new developments in progress which should see the Adrian Flux BMR Subaru Levorgs fighting at the sharp end of the grid yet again. April can’t come soon enough.” said Jason.

Warren Scott, BMR Racing Team Principal commented “I am pleased to retain Jason in the team for another year and am looking forward to supporting him to his 100 wins as well as his fight for the championship throughout what promises to be an unforgettable year.”

Paul Tunnicliffe, Managing Director of Subaru UK commented “We’re delighted to keep Jason in the Subaru Levorg for the 2018 season. His experience is invaluable to the team and we’re certain that he can continue to build on his previous successes in the British Touring Car Championship with both Subaru UK and the BMR Team.”
 
To learn more about the Subaru Levorg Sport Tourer, visit www.subaru.co.uk.

Please contact Maddy Turner for BMR Racing enquiries and Dev Mistry for Subaru enquiries:

Maddy Turner
Media Executive
maddy@bmrracing.co.uk
 
Dev Mistry
PR Manager Subaru UK
UKPress@imgroup.co.uk


Photo credit:  Phil Laughton Photography

BMR Racing are delighted to confirm that current BTCC Champion Ash Sutton will remain with us for the 2018 season in a bid to defend the Driver’s Championship title.

23 year old Ash, from the Herts and Essex border, was crowned the 2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Champion back in October last year at Brands Hatch after an outstanding year with Team BMR in the Subaru Levorg Sports Tourer.  In only his second year in the series, he totalled an impressive six outright wins and celebrated no less than fifteen podium positions during the season.

Ash has been heavily involved with BMR since an early stage in his career after his talent was identified by the BMR Academy that provides mentoring to help young drivers maximise their skills and provide them with the expertise required to compete to the best of their ability and progress through the ranks of motorsport to ensure them of the best possible careers.

The BTCC Champion title tops his career so far on his superb run of success over the last four seasons after securing the Jack Sears Trophy in his rookie Touring Car campaign in 2016 and the Renault UK Clio Cup and Formula Ford scholarship class titles in 2015 and 2014.
 


Ash Sutton commented:  “I am pleased to be back on the grid for the 2018 season with Team BMR and back behind the wheel of my championship winning Subaru Levorg! Last year is going to stick with me, it was a roller coaster of a season but one that’s going to sit well in the memory bank. I wouldn’t have been able to get where I am now if it wasn’t for all my sponsors and for the BMR Academy that have supported me from the beginning.

“Everyone has been asking how I will approach this year now I am going in defending my title. I won’t be changing my approach too much but just making sure I am honing in on all my defects that stood out this year, to make sure I am in the best possible position come the end of the season.  We, as a team, will be taking into account the Teams Championship along with the Manufactures title for Subaru. I can’t wait to get going, the boys are working hard in the workshop in preparation for what lies ahead.”

Warren Scott commented:  “We’re delighted and extremely proud that Ash will be carrying the number one on his Subaru Levorg for 2018 and we are very excited about the 60th Anniversary season ahead.  With Ash wrapping up the Driver’s Championship last year we will be looking to defend that title along with launching a full assault on clinching the Manufacturers title for Subaru along with the overall Team’s Championship”.
 
Paul Tunnicliffe, Managing Director of Subaru UK commented: “It’s great to have Ash on board again for 2018. We’re looking forward to another successful year with BMR and we know they’ll work the Levorg Sports Tourers to their max. Ash is a great driver and we’re expecting another year of exciting races from him”.
 
You can catch Ash at Autosport International this weekend (13/14 January) at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham where he will be speaking of his success and his season ahead.  Please keep an eye out on our social media channels for more details.  Ash’s championship winning car will be on display on the Adrian Flux Insurance stand in Hall 6.

We will be making further exciting announcements regarding our drivers and sponsors for 2018 very soon.
 

Two of the most exciting and current names in British motorsport, Ash Sutton and Nathan Heathcote, will go head-to-head on Saturday 4 November, as part of Lydden Hill’s MotorMania event at the Kent track. The newly-crowned champions of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship and Toyo Tires MSA British Rallycross Championship will headline a packed programme of demo races, prior to the traditional fireworks display.

Sutton was crowned BTCC champion after an explosive season in the UK’s premier saloon car series which saw him the only driver to claim six wins across the season. Heathcote clinched the British RX title in style with victory in the final at Croft, and followed that up with a win in the British Rallycross Grand Prix the following day.

The two will race their cars head to head on the respective tracks; Sutton taking the wheel of his Adrian Flux Subaru Levorg, while Heathcote will drive his 600bhp LD Motorsport Citroen DS3. It will be interesting to see how they get on, with Ash particularly excited to be fulfilling his rallycross ambition.

“It will be great to get out behind the wheel of a British Rallycross Championship car, especially one that has just won the championship.” said Sutton. “Rallycross is always an avenue that I’ve been interested in so I’m excited to be fulfilling an ambition. I’ve never driven a rallycross car before, so I will be turning to the BMR boss, Warren Scott, to get some pointers considering his successful debut year. I would like to say a big thank you to everyone for making this happen.”

Joining the two former karters in the programme of action for MotorMania will be the MSA British Superkarts, Norasport British Supermoto, Sidecars, Supernational hot rods, Drift displays, and solo scooters as well as demo races from a mixture of drivers from the circuit racing world.

Fancy experiencing the adrenaline for yourself? Why not take to the circuit as a passenger in a drift or circuit racing car, or show them how it’s done by taking your own car to the circuit in the public track time session? Off track there will be a mixture of entertainment for the whole family including a funfair, car and bike displays, show ‘n’ shine competition, trade stands, hot food stalls and a Bar.

Track action gets underway from 1pm on Saturday 4 November, with the Firework Display due to start at 5pm.

Tickets are available here for just £12 per adult, while under 12’s go free of charge. For more information on the event please visit http://www.lyddenhill.co.uk/ or contact the office on 01304 830557

Photo credit:  Lydden Hill

BMR Racing are celebrating success after Adrian Flux Subaru Racing driver Ash Sutton was crowned the 2017 British Touring Car Champion after claiming 6 race wins and 14 podiums in what has been an incredible season.
 
In only his second year in the championship 23-year-old Ash arrived at the Brands Hatch GP Circuit season finale leading the championship by just 10 points ahead of former Double BTCC Champion Colin Turkington. 
 
Arriving at the circuit with the maximum 75kgs of success ballast on board his Subaru Levorg, Ash started the weekend with a strong qualifying session on Saturday afternoon setting the 3rd quickest time.  His rival Turkington endured a session plagued with electrical problems and only managed a time which placed him down the order to position him 17th on the grid for the first of Sundays three races.
 
Ash had a superb first race of the day finishing on the podium in 3rd place keeping his championship hopes well and truly alive. The race was won by Aiden Moffat with Tom Ingram in second.  Turkington only managed to score one point after finishing back in 15th place giving Ash a great 24-point advantage.  Fellow Subaru drivers James Cole, Jason Plato and Josh Price finished in 19th, 22nd and 28th respectively.
 
The title was in touching distance but we all know that anything can happen in BTCC and for race two Ash would be carrying 57kg whilst Turkington would be weight free.  Turkington flew through the race and up the order to take the win whilst Ash being bagged down with the ballast still managed a great battle and finished in 12th place.  The points margin was greatly reduced and Ash now held just a six-point advantage in the lead. James finished in 22nd with Josh 23rd and Jason 24th.
 
The number 10 ball was selected for the reverse grid draw which would see Mike Epps on pole position for the third and final race of the day.  This placed Ash’s main rival Turkington 10th on the grid with 75kgs of ballast and a weight free Ash right behind him in 12th for the final showdown and with the rain arriving it made things a little more interesting. 
 
Ash got a great start in the final race, as did his rival Turkington and both got a clean getaway before disaster struck on lap two for Turkington when he received contact as Ingram’s Toyota touched the Ford of Mat Jackson through Graham Hill Bend sending Jackson off the circuit briefly and as he returned to the track he made contact with Turkington breaking the right rear upright on the BMW resulting in him retiring from the race and putting an end to his title bid.  Turkington’s demise meant that Ash had secured the BTCC title!!!!  The remaining laps seemed to go on for an eternity but the celebrations were already in force as reality sunk in that we had won the outright drivers title, in just the fifth year as a team in the championship and only the second for Subaru and their Levorg model.  The race was eventually won by Rob Austin with Jack Goff claiming second place as Ash completed the podium after making up a staggering nine places to finish in third.
 
 
An emotional Ash Sutton commented: “I’m absolutely over the moon, this is a dream come true!  To sum up the day, race one everything went as planned and we got the resulted we needed but then come race two we lost some of the points to Colin that we’d gained in the first part of the day so it was proving to be a real roller coaster.  For race three, we started just behind Colin on the grid with him carrying ballast and us being weight free I knew we had to give it everything we had and we keep him in sight.  When I saw him get tangled up at the bottom of Graham Hill Bend the team came over the radio to tell me he was out of the race and I was free to go and enjoy myself.  I couldn’t believe it, I had to double check a couple of times to make absolutely certain and even then, it didn’t really sink in and to top it off I got another podium position.
 
“For myself and the team this means absolutely everything, we have all worked very hard for this.  It’s been a tough year for Subaru, things haven’t always gone smoothly and we’ve had a lot thrown at us but we’ve just kept picking ourselves back up and made the most of the Subaru Levorg especially through the corners when we’ve lacked the straight-line speed. 
 
“I’d like to thank everyone who’s been behind me this year, to the team, Adrian Flux Subaru Racing, Subaru UK, the sponsors and the fans, I couldn’t have done this without you all, thank you for believing in me.”
 
 
 
Warren Scott, BMR Racing Team Principal, commented “It’s absolutely amazing!  The championship title was always the goal and we always believed but to finally achieve it is just something else.

“We started off the season knowing that we had the best package on the grid with the Subaru Levorg but we can’t take anything away from the team who have continuously fought through to the bring the car up to being competitive by Oulton Park, it’s from there that we’ve been strong.

“Most people will probably say that we won the championship with the great points scored at Oulton Park and Croft but I truly believe the championship was won in races 1, 2 and 3 where our straight-line performance wasn’t where we wanted, but with the strength of the team and the drivers we lost the fewest points as possible to help us to win the final.

“Ash certainly has been the star of the paddock this year, but we have always known that to be the case, he has a fantastic future ahead of him and one that we are very excited about.”
 

Paul Tunnicliffe, Managing Director of Subaru UK, commented: “I couldn’t be more thrilled about our success.  I have personally followed the team around the circuits this season, and always felt we would be in a great position for the championship come the end of September.  The best car, the best drivers and the best team, it all came good.  Whilst it would have been easier on the nerves had we wrapped it up earlier, I am delighted for the fans that they could enjoy an exciting final race day, and we can be happy that we have triumphed in a campaign that has, once again, delivered the best in spectator entertainment.  I am very grateful to every member of the hardworking team at BMR, who have endured long days and sleepless nights throughout the season.  In Ash we have a worthy winner, and a fine ambassador for the Subaru brand – from Rookie to championship winner in two seasons is a remarkable achievement, and I anticipate more of the same next season."
 
 
We would like to finish by saying a huge thank you to Subaru UK, Adrian Flux Insurance Services, Autoglym and all of our loyal sponsors, to our technical partners and the behind the scenes team and finally to all of our fans that have shown us their support throughout the year.
 


 
Written by Maddy Turner of BMR Racing

Images courtesy of Phil Laughton Photography

 
 

                             

 

Adrian Flux Subaru Racing’s Ash Sutton, Jason Plato, James Cole and BMR Academy driver Josh Price are intent on finishing their 2017 seasons on a high as the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship heads to the iconic Brands Hatch GP Circuit, for the final three rounds of the season this weekend (30 September-1 October).

Returning to the venue where the Subaru Levorg’s endured a tricky start to their BTCC season back in April on the Indy Circuit, 23-year-old Ash from the Hertfordshire/Essex border, has the opportunity to take the overall championship title in only his second season after winning last year’s Jack Sears Championship for rookie drivers.  To hang on to his lead position in the championship standings all Ash needs to do is prevent two-time champion and BMW rival Colin Turkington from closing the 10 point gap.  With 67 points up for grabs over the weekend the BMR Racing young gun is one of three drivers with a mathematical shot of being crowned Champion with Honda’s Gordon Shedden currently trailing Turkington by just 56 points.

Jason, James, and Josh will be doing all they can to assist their teammate in taking the coveted crown with all three drivers having made fantastic progress producing some fantastic results during the second half of the season.  Although luck hasn’t always been on their side which has hampered their point hauls for 2017, they will all be looking to finish on a high to round out the season.

The team have had a tremendous journey this year, once again we have endured some tough times in the championship and we have had our knock backs but we have always come back fighting and have given it our all and with the support of our loyal team members, sponsors and fans.  We are proud to have fought a great battle and will continue to do so right up until the very end of race three on Sunday afternoon. 

Qualifying will be shown live on the ITV website (www.itv.com/btcc) at 15:05 this Saturday with race day coverage being shown live on ITV4 beginning at 10.30 on Sunday morning.


Written by Maddy Turner

Photos courtesy of Phil Laughton Photography

Silverstone was never going to be an easy circuit for the Subaru Levorgs with the National Circuit favouring the front wheel drive cars and coupled with the fact that the team had been hit with another boost adjustment we knew it was going to be a tough weekend for all four drivers but once again Ash Sutton delivered and remained at the top of the tables.
 
For the Adrian Flux Subaru Racing drivers, the man with the most at stake was championship leader Ash who arrived at Silverstone with just a 12 point lead ahead of his main championship contender Colin Turkington.  The championship lead also meant that Ash would be carrying the full 75kgs of success ballast, so his straight line speed would be greatly affected.    
 
Jason who arrived at Silverstone sitting 10th in the championship standings was carrying 9kgs and James was weight free.  Josh in the BMR Academy car was also free of ballast.
 
With rounds 25, 26 and 27 being the penultimate races of the 2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, every point that was up for grabs would be absolutely crucial in our bid for the Drivers, Manufacturers and Teams titles.
 
Qualifying
 
Qualifying on Saturday afternoon confirmed our performance suspicions and Ash was the quickest of the Levorgs setting the 10th quickest time, with Jason 11th, James 13th and Josh in the BMR Academy Levorg set the 19th fastest time.  The entire 32 car field was covered by less than a second with Jack Goff’s Honda claiming pole position.
 
 
 
Race One
 
As the lights went out, the four Subaru Levorgs all got away well off the damp start line and the drivers held their positions for the first few laps with the Speedworks Motorsport Toyota Avensis of Tom Ingram taking the lead with Goff hot on his heels.  With all eyes on the weather, the wet tyres were on standby as the rain then started to fall on some parts of the circuit making for some tricky conditions.
 
The first setback for the team was on lap 3 when Josh ran wide in the BMR Academy Subaru which resulted in him dropping back down the order to last place. 
 

BMR Racing are delighted to announce that race winning young gun Harry Dyson has become the latest signing for the BMR Academy in association with JHR Developments.  It will see him progress up to the F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford EcoBoost, following his recent success in the Ginetta Junior Championship earlier this year.

Right from the outset Harry celebrated success with JHR Developments as a Ginetta Junior rookie in the 2017 championship taking his first win at the opening round at Brands Hatch earlier this year and his success continued throughout the season.

Harry who celebrates his 15th Birthday this week is very excited to make the step up to the F4 British Championship for the remainder of the 2017 season.  Harry will remain with front running single seater squad JHR Developments who have supported him fully this year and he will continue to run with them for the 2018 British F4 season.

Speaking of his signing an excited Harry commented: “I am looking forward switching to the F4 British Championship for the last two meetings of the season.  It’s been a difficult year but I feel very lucky to be Joining the BMR Academy as the next step in my development.  Being part of the BMR Academy and continuing with JHR Developments means I embark upon this next chapter with the best support which will give me a chance to race at the front.”

The BMR Academy is the stepping stone system created by BMR Racing to assist drivers in the progression through to the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.  Past drivers who have experienced this support include BMR Racing BTCC drivers Ash Sutton and Josh Price who both progressed from the Renault UK Clio Cup Championship.  Harry follows in the single-seater footsteps of Ash, who took the 2014 Formula Ford Rookie title and a host of victories in the series which evolved into the F4 British Championship.

Harry has been receiving extensive driver coaching from Ash and will continue to do so with the addition of another British F4 Graduate in the form of Billy Monger, who will be heavily involved in telemetry and data analysis.

Speaking of the new partnership JHR Developments Team Manager, Jules Phillips, commented: “Harry proved himself in the Ginetta Junior championship earlier this year and we recently gave him the opportunity to test the British F4 car alongside JHR’s Manuel Sulaimán.  It’s fair to say he outperformed all our expectations.  Harry has made the decision to switch to the F4 British Championship for the remainder of the season and it’s a great chance for him to get up to speed ahead of a championship challenge next year.”

Team Principal Warren Scott commented: “I am delighted to welcome Harry on board.  He has already demonstrated what he is capable of this year and I am very pleased that with the partnership of JHR Developments we can give him his step up to the F4 British Championship.  I am confident that the BMR Academy will give him the ideal platform to learn and we all look forward to supporting him in his future development.”

Harry’s debut in the Ford EcoBoost-powered series will be at Silverstone this coming weekend the 16th and 17th September for rounds 25-27.
 
For more information on the BMR Academy please contact aron@bmrracing.co.uk


Written by Maddy Turner of BMR Racing
Photo Credit - Harry Dyson Racing

We went to Rockingham with a view to score as many points as possible to assist us in our title hunt, although it wasn’t going to be an easy task with Ash and Jason carrying success ballast, which is always challenging around the Rockingham circuit.  Also thrown into the mix was yet another boost restriction on all four Subaru Levorgs leaving the whole team very unoptimistic.  However, we were prepared to extract maximum performance from the cars and were ready for the fight, with the team giving it’s drivers four superb race ready Subaru Levorgs and the with the drivers as prepared as ever we were hungry and determined to bank as many points as we could and the boys didn’t fail to deliver.

Saturday showed us that in the British Touring Car Championship you never quite know what’s going to happen as James Cole claimed his first ever pole position in qualifying after putting in a storming lap just at the right time.  We knew it was coming after he showed his true form in the last few races but it was a surprise to us all following the times set in the earlier free practice sessions, coupled with the fact that a rear-wheel drive car has never been on pole at Rockingham, we were all absolutely delighted.  Ash, who was carrying 66kgs of success ballast, didn’t find the job easy at all and really struggled to get his weighted car to set a quick lap time but he dug deep, albeit having a big moment in the process when he out braked himself and still set a very impressive fourth quickest lap time.  Jason, carrying 9kgs, struggled with the increase in track temperature which hampered the balance of the car and the great set up that he had in the earlier free practice sessions and qualified in tenth place, with a weight free Josh setting the twelfth quickest time resulting in him starting the race just behind his team mate on the grid.

Sunday arrived, the sun was shining, the crowds flocked to the circuit filling up the grandstand in front of us and we were all ready for a great days racing.

The Lights went out for the first of the days three races, James got off to a flyer, as did Ash who started in fourth position, James held the lead with the Honda of Jack Goff right on his tail and Ash passed the BMW of Colin Turkington up the inside for third position.  James had a lead gap of half a second by the end of lap one as Ash fought to hold onto his third position as he came under pressure from the MG of Josh Cook.  Josh (Price) had gained two places and up to tenth and was Jack Sears leader, and Jason was blocked at the start which forced him to back out which dropped him down the order to seventeenth.  The weight free speedy MG of Cook passed Ash for third as he snuck up the inside at turn one but it was only a mere two corners later that Ash fought back and was ahead of him once more.  James was under attack from the Honda of Jack Goff but managed to hold him off for the next few laps eventually pulling a lead of eight tenths of a second, helped by the fact that Goff was now having to defend the Subaru Levorg of Ash who was now hot on his heels looking for a way by.  Josh meanwhile had moved up to ninth as Jason had started carving his way back through the pack up to twelfth by the end of lap nine.  By lap thirteen James was well and truly in his rhythm extending his lead to 1.9 seconds and driving a perfect race.  Ash gave it maximum attack on his quest to pass Goff to make it a one-two finish for the team, whilst struggling to pass along the straights where the Honda seemed to be a lot stronger, he was having to work the car hard on the infield only to have it taken away from him once back on the start finish straight again, in addition to fending off further advances from Cook who was still on his tail. Ash’s only advantage would be that the front-wheel drive of Goff was losing his tyre grip and Ash eventually pounced and made the move stick on the final lap after Goff ran wide at the hairpin.  A delighted James took the checkered flag and claimed his maiden BTCC win with a staggering two and a half second gap after driving a faultless race, Ash took second, with Josh in ninth and his best finish to date.  Jason finished in tenth placing all four Subarus in the top ten.  Another great set of results for the team and a superb haul of points that moved Ash in the lead of the Drivers Championship by a margin of just three points ahead of BMW’s Colin Turkington who finished the race in sixth place.  It was also a great start to the day for Subaru UK who also picked up a trophy for the manufacturer win.

It was an all Subaru front row lock out for race two, that would also see the remaining pair of Levorg’s inside the top ten and all running on the unfavoured hard option tyre.  Thankfully so were many others around them, so we were keeping our fingers crossed that if we managed our tyres correctly we would last the race well.  The added hindrance was that James was starting from pole with 75kgs of success ballast on board for the first time with Ash alongside him with 66kgs, as Josh and Jason lined up alongside each other on the fifth row carrying 15kgs and 9kgs respectively.

As the lights went out for the second time of the day, James made a great start and held the lead with Ash struggling to get off the line allowing the Honda of Goff to pass on the inside.  However, he was soon up to speed and on the outside at the hairpin and he took the lead passing both Goff and James in the process.  Jason and Josh both got great starts with Jason up to ninth as Josh dropped a couple of places in traffic before a coming together with the AMD Audi of Ollie Jackson.  Josh managed to limp his damaged Subaru back to the pits for repairs and was forced to retire due to the extent of the damage sustained.  Ash meanwhile had managed to storm away from the rest of the field as James struggled with the extra weight and defended from third placed man Cook.  James then suffered rear end damage from Cook at the hair pin following a bold move from the MG pilot and James ran wide and soon found himself toppling a further three places as the safety car came out to recover the stricken Honda of Gordon Shedden after he and Rob Austin had a coming together.  Not an ideal situation for Ash who had now built up a magnificent three second lead out in front.  It did however give James a little time to re-group in seventh place with the BMW of Turkington right on his tail and Jason just a further place back in ninth.  At the restart Ash took control and as his competitors fought hard behind him for the second place spot, he managed to build on his lead once more.  The Honda of Matt Neal then tried to find a way past Cook at the Dean Hairpin and that resulted in another coming together taking them both out of the race.  As a result Ash extended his lead even further as James and Jason both moved further up the order to fifth and seventh respectively.  On lap ten Turkington finally got past James for fifth position and on the following lap Jason and James switched their sixth and seventh positions.  James then received further contact, only this time from the BMW of Rob Collard, forcing him off the circuit resulting in more damage which sent James tumbling even further down the order.  Jason then found a way past the Mercedes of Adam Morgan and the Honda of Goff to finish fourth as Ash crossed the line for his sixth win of the season.  James eventually ended the race in thirteenth after he brought his battle-scarred Subaru Levorg home to score just three points.
 
The positions for Race Three would be decided by the reverse grid draw made by Series Director Alan Gow who pulled number 7 from the bowl placing the BMW of Andrew Jordan on pole position.  For the Adrian Flux Subaru Racing drivers, it meant that Jason would start from fourth, with Ash seventh and James thirteenth.  Josh in the A Plan Academy liveried Subaru would start from the back of the grid following his race two retirement as the team worked tirelessly to get the car fixed and ready for the final race of the day.
 
It was lights out for the third and final time and Jason had a good start holding his fourth position, Ash and James were both caught up in traffic on the opening lap and were both forced to go wide and across the grass but thankfully both cars managed to get back on the track without damage, albeit losing positions in the process.  There was then further drama for James when he was caught up in an incident with a number of his competitors, this time resulting in some substantial damage forcing him to limp back to the pits for repairs and into retirement.  Meanwhile there was a squabble going on up ahead between Jordan, Morgan and Goff who all wanted the top spot and Jason, who was waiting to pounce whilst fending off the advances from the BMW of Collard.  Ash was all the while picking his way back up the order and had soon established himself in a fine tenth place.  By Lap six Jason was nose to tail with Goff fighting for the third podium position as Ash continued to make further gains and set two consecutive fastest laps in a row, earning him a bonus point in the process and gaining further ground up to eighth place and now behind his main Championship title contender Turkington.  Now having outscored Turkington during both the earlier races Ash was in a great position, but he wasn’t quite done yet.  On Lap twelve Collard took fourth from Jason as Ash made the vital move on Turkington and into seventh position and more importantly outscoring the BMW driver once again.  Collard then tried a further move on Goff when the pair came together forcing Collard into retirement and Goff to have a brief off track excursion.  Ever the opportunist Jason took full advantage and moved past Goff into third which he would hold until the checkered flag fell making it the teams fourth podium of the day.  Ingram was forced to brake heavily to avoid the Collard/Goff incident allowing Ash to also make another gain to finish fifth.  A safety car period followed the incident and Jason made several attempts to pass Morgan but it wasn’t meant to be as Jordan won the race.  Unfortunately, there was more disappointment for Josh after retiring early on in the race following contact which resulted in a damaged wishbone.

So, to summarise our weekend we gained two race wins, a second place and a third place backed up with three manufacturer wins for Subaru UK and the Team trophy for the weekend. 

Ash now leaves Rockingham leading the Drivers Championship with a 12 point margin, Subaru are second in the Manufacturers standings a mere 41 one points behind BMW, with Adrian Flux Subaru Racing are second in the Teams standings 96 points behind Team BMW.  Josh remains fourth in the Jack Sears Trophy standings for rookie drivers.

With just six races left in the championship we now focus our full attention to Silverstone in three weeks time and we look forward to seeing you all there.
 

Driver quotes:

Ash Sutton – "Overall thoughts from the weekend, I’m very very pleased.  Race one went to plan, especially for James, that was a particularly great result for him and to get a one-two finish was good.  Race two was a case of just get out of there and it was great to get another solid result, to pick up really strong points and the fastest lap was what we needed.  Race three, however, was a bit more of a challenge with dropping back to eleventh it wasn’t quite as easy to come back from there but we stayed out of trouble and to top it off we overtook Turkington which was the main aim.  Thoughts for Silverstone are that it’s going to get difficult but I’ve got a few things that I want to try in qualifying but carrying seventy-five kilos round there is going to hurt so we will see."

James Cole – "This weekend has definitely been our best so far in the whole time in the championship, to get pole was a genuine shock, I knew we would have the pace and I knew that with all the preparation that myself, my Engineer Steve and everyone around car number twenty had been doing would give us some good results this weekend but pole was on another level so that had already made it a great weekend before we’d even got to Sunday.  Sunday, we had a job to do which was to try and get away at the start to see what we could do and race one went to plan and was the perfect race, to take my first win was amazing and a massive thank you to everyone at Adrian Flux Subaru Racing as without the car I definitely wouldn’t have been able to do it.  Moving forward to races two and three, it didn’t quite go to plan but to be honest it didn’t take anything away from what happened in race one.   Race two we had all the weight and the hard tyres and actually our pace was quite good but we just got bullied about a bit and also had some issues with power steering which took us further back than we should’ve been and race three when you’re back in the pack it always messy and sadly I didn’t even make the first lap. So, it shows, as proven in race one, when you’re out in front you can get away which is what we did.  To have a pole, race one, race two and a podium for Subaru was an amazing weekend."

Jason Plato - "As a team member, a mega result for the team again.  Fantastic for James to get his maiden pole and with all the pressure that brings and to convert that to a good solid race win was fantastic and I’m dead chuffed for him and then for Ash to have a win and a second is great.  I salvaged something from the weekend in race three and I’ve had really strong pace all day but the balls are not really rolling, we got boxed out in race one and it’s no fun racing in the pack when you’ve got no engine power and I honestly think we could’ve won two races today.  So, on a personal level pleased we salvaged something but frustrated because I come to win and I didn’t and I could’ve done.  I’m frustrated for all of us because the engine difference is just ridiculous and I don’t understand, I want someone to explain to me why they keep taking power off us because it’s meant to be about engine power not lap times."

Josh Price – "It was another tough weekend for me at Rockingham, I was pleased with my ninth place finish in race one but it all went downhill from there.  Huge thanks to the team for getting my car back out for race three.  Roll on Silverstone."

                         

                         

                         

Written by Maddy Turner of BMR Racing

Photos by Phil Laughton Photography
 

Knockhill race weekend was one of pure class and true teamwork from Adrian Flux Subaru Racing as the team pulled together to ensure that maximum points were scored.  Jason returned to true form taking a win and a second place, Ash shone yet again mirroring his teammate's podium finishes, James had his best weekend to date with three fifth place finishes and A-Plan Academy backed Josh demonstrated his pace and strength at the circuit that favoured our four Subaru Levorg’s.

The weekend's success started with a dramatic qualifying session which saw double champion Jason top the times with his 50th career pole position.
The session had started with a damp track and wet tyres and with the circuit gradually drying throughout the times would tumble causing the lead to continually change until a last lap shoot out saw Ash at the top until Jason produced a stunning last-gasp lap to secure a much deserved and long-awaited pole position.  Ash claimed the 2nd spot on the grid which would see him line up alongside his teammate, with James producing a stunning lap time placing him 6th with Josh rounding out the team’s positions in a comfortable 19th.
 
Race day was one that we were all looking forward to knowing that we were in a great position to grab a good haul of points at the rear wheel drive favoured circuit.

Race one was a great start to the day with Jason taking his 96th career win, leading the race from the start, gaining a point in the process from qualifying, with Ash on his tail throughout which saw them hold off the BMW’s of Colin Turkington and Rob Collard with the top four cars being separated by less than a second.  There was a brief switch of positions between Jason and Ash in a bid to score a bonus point for leading a lap, which may prove vital for Ash at the end of the championship.  Unfortunately, the plan didn’t quite come to fruition as although Ash passed Jason it was just after the timing line at the start of the last lap, and you need to be in front when you cross the line.  With Ash being a man of his word and sticking to the prearranged plan, he handed the place back to Jason for a very worthy win, his first of 2017.  James drove his best race to date, showing his worth with a great battle with Tom Ingram, that saw the move at the half way point of the race making it three Subaru Levorgs in the top five.  Josh had a shaky start to the race after contact from Matt Simpson which saw him drop all the way down to 30th position, but he fought back with a vengeance and carved his way back up the order to eventually take an 18th place finish.

The double podium 1-2 finish meant a manufacturer win for Subaru UK with Managing Director Paul Tunnicliffe collecting another trophy to add to their collection back at their headquarters in Solihull.

 
Race Two wasn’t as plain sailing as we saw a multi-car pile up at the outset which was followed by a lengthy stoppage to recover the stricken cars which resulted in no fewer than five cars retiring from the race. 

Once the race restarted Jason led with Ash on his tail where they held their positions until lap 11 when Ash made the move taking the lead with the duo coming home with another 1-2 finish albeit in the reverse order from earlier for Adrian Flux Subaru Racing as Jason acted as wingman to protect the title protagonist Ash from the looming BMR pairing.  James excelled once again to hold onto his starting position of 5th whilst defending from the Honda of Gordon Shedden.  Josh showed yet another stunning performance after he carved his way through the field from 18th on the grid to cross the line in a staggering 7th place and taking the Jack Sears Trophy win in the process.  Once again Subaru added to their trophy cabinet with another manufacturer win.

Unfortunately, post-race we were informed that Josh had been excluded from the race two results for failing to respond to flag signals, a decision that was appealed by BMR Racing but was rejected by the officials.

It was then time for the reverse grid draw and with the number 10 ball being selected it would eventually be AMD’s Ant Whorton-Eales who ended up on pole following the changed order after Josh’s exclusion.  James would be starting 6th on the grid with Jason 9th and Ash 10th, whilst Josh was forced to line up at the back of the grid for the final race of the day.
 

Race three was another race plagued by safety car incidents and once again the Subaru pilots drove a great final race of the day which showed remarkable teamwork throughout as James, Ash and Jason eventually settled into positions of 4th, 5th and 6th after each of them endured successful battles that saw them gain places and pick their way through the field.  James then made way for Ash, giving up what would’ve been his most successful result to date, to ensure that his teammate took the points with the checkered flag result showing Ash in 4th, James 5th and Jason 6th.  There was further disappointment for the A-Plan Academy Subaru of Josh after he retired early in the race with a mechanical issue.

So, to sum up the weekend we leave Knockhill with 2 race wins, 2 second places, 2 manufacturer wins and the Team Trophy for the weekend.  Ash is now sitting 2nd in the drivers’ championship tables, just four points behind leader Colin Turkington.  Jason has jumped up to 10th after his successful weekend with James now in 18th. 

A delighted Paul Tunnicliffe, Managing Director of Subaru UK commented “After 2016’s unforgettable result, when Jason Plato claimed a remarkable and emotional victory, in his 500th BTCC race, we were always quietly optimistic about our prospects this year.  However, nothing could quite prepare us for what happened.  Two one-twos in the opening races exceeded our wildest dreams.  It’s clear that the Subaru Levorg is now the car to beat, and the team has put down a marker that it intends to challenge for honours when the season concludes.  At Subaru UK we could not be more excited, our current run of success has really galvanised the company, its dealers and its loyal customers.  Everyone is talking about it.”

Team Principal Warren Scott also shared in his joy of the weekends results commenting “I am very proud of the team for having the cars in such good form to allow the fantastic results we had this weekend, the boys have worked tirelessly to ensure that we had every possible chance to make this happen.  I am also immensely happy and impressed by the performances shown by all of our drivers this weekend.  To Josh for showing fantastic speed and progression to get a 7th place in race two, unfortunately to then have it taken away by a yellow flag incident, James for having his best weekend to date in the BTCC with three 5th place finishes, Ash for showing exactly why he is one of the main contenders to win the championship this year, with another 3 fantastic performances and huge congratulations to Jason on his 50th pole in very tricky conditions and converting that into a great win and a second place.  What impressed me most was the great team spirit from Jason, James and the whole team who, without wavering, were all willing to compromise their own race positions in support of Ash’s and Adrian Flux Subaru Racing’s chances in their title bid."

Subaru sit 3rd in the Manufacturers standings and Adrian Flux Subaru Racing also sit 3rd in the Teams standings.

Josh is 4th in the Jack Sears Trophy standings.

We return in two weeks’ time to Rockingham on the weekend of the 26th and 27th August for Rounds 22, 23 and 24 of the BTCC.
 
 
Driver Quotes:

Ash Sutton: “To sum up the weekend, race one was great to lock out the front row and then for race two it was even better to be able to come out on top.  To lock out the front row in qualifying and then to continue that into race one and race two was fantastic.  For race three I really can’t thank the team enough, what Jason and James did, to let me by, means that we have closed up that championship gap.”
 
Jason Plato “What a fantastic weekend for Adrian Flux Subaru Racing.  There are many things to celebrate….  Ash has made great strides this weekend in his quest to take the championship, James had his best weekend to date and looked super racy and on a personal note I feel a weight has been lifted from my shoulders with finding another gremlin in my car.  In short, pole, front row lock out in qualifying, a double one-two in races one and two and solid points in the third race. BRAVO to everyone on the team.  It’s so good to be back in the game.  Roll on Rockingham, there is a championship up for grabs and if I can’t win it (and I can’t) then it’s over to you Ash.  Let’s all pull together and do this for everyone at the Team and our ace partners and sponsors.”
 
James Cole “I’m very very happy and it was the best weekend in the British Touring Car Championship for me.  I seem to like finishing fifth at the moment, that’s the fourth in a row.  I’m really happy for the team and my confidence is growing by every round.  My qualifying has been the best it’s been and it just shows that if you qualify in the top ten you’re able to stay there and get some really good consistent point finishes.  Race three was a highlight being able to race with the other two Subaru’s which was good fun and playing the team game with Ash for the championship and letting him through on the last corner, in my head it was a fourth but I’ll let him have that.  Overall I’m really happy and we’ll see what happens at Rockingham.”
 
Josh Price “My A-Plan Academy Subaru Levorg was fast all weekend, the car felt really good and I really felt that I showed what I am capable of Knockhill.  The weekend could have gone better and I am obviously very disappointed with the exclusion of the race two results which was my best result to date but overall I am pleased with my performance over both days and I am really looking forward to Rockingham.”


      

    


Written by Maddy Turner of BMR Racing

Photos by Phil Laughton Photography

 

We headed to Snetterton eager to return to racing following the annual BTCC summer break, after all of the BMR Racing drivers took part in the Dunlop tyre test, followed by a swap of cars between Ash and Jason during a test at Donington Park, where fresh data was gathered and analysed benefitting all four of the Subaru Levorgs.

Heading into Qualifying Ash was carrying 48kg of ballast on his Levorg whilst Jason, James and the newly liveried A-Plan Academy car of Josh were all ballast free.  Ash made a good start setting an early quick lap before having his time disallowed for exceeding track limits, but bounced back to set the third fastest time.  Jason put in a quick last-minute lap at the end of the session securing him a 9th place grid position with Josh lining up in 18th and James 26th.

With the rear wheel drive Subaru Levorg having the advantage on a slightly up hill start at Snetterton, we were optimistic of a good getaway off the line sitting behind front wheel drive Honda of pole sitter Jack Goff.  However, in second position and just to the left of Ash was the rear wheel drive BMW of Colin Turkington so it was game on to see which of the rear wheel drive machines would make the better start.  Jason had a new front sub-frame fitted overnight, the second replacement since his drama at Brands Hatch earlier in the season, which he hoped would make some difference to his performance and had selected the soft option tyre for race one along with Josh.

Race One
 

With the lights out Ash got a great start and held his 3rd position into the first corner with Turkington taking the lead from Goff, with Jason also holding his position of 9th with Josh 12th and James 25th.  Unfortunately for Josh it was deemed he jumped the start so was instantly hit with a drive through penalty that dropped him back down the order to 30th position.  Meanwhile, up front race leader Turkington spun out at the exit of the Bomb Hole which gave Ash the advantage of 2nd place with Jason also capitalising and moving up to 8th.  Rob Austin and Tom Ingram then had a coming together allowing Jason through to 6th, which then became 5th after Adam Morgan’s Mercedes suffered a mechanical issue, which in turn forced a race long battle with Andrew Jordan for 4th position.  James however was caught up in mid pack traffic but soon benefitted after a coming together between Ollie Jackson and Senna Proctor, allowing James to sneak up the inside gaining three places in the process.  The gap out in front between Goff and Ash was down to less than a second by lap 8 with Ash closing in on the leader with every lap as Jason remained nose to tail with Jordan.  James was up to 17th as Josh fought his way back up the order and into 23rd before receiving damage on lap 9 forcing his retirement from the race.  Ash finally spotted a slight mistake from Goff on lap 11 as his soft tyres began to drop off and stuck his nose up on the inside to take the race lead which he then held until the checkered flag, taking his third win of the season for Adrian Flux Subaru Racing.  Jason crossed the line in a well fought fifth place with teammate James also in the points in 15th.  The win moved Ash two places up the championship standings into second and just two points shy of the championship leader Gordon Shedden.  The two top 5 results also gave Subaru UK the manufacturer win with points being classified for the first two finishers.

Race Two

With Ash on pole for Race 2, we were hoping for more of the same albeit with him now carrying 75kg of success ballast on board.  Jason’s 5th place finish would see him have 39kg added to his Subaru Levorg with both James and Josh remaining ballast free, the former now running on the soft option tyre as last minute repairs were made to Josh’s car just in the nick of time to join the warm up lap and the start of the race in 26th place.

Once again Ash made a great getaway off the line, with the lighter BMW of Jordan flying up the order to 2nd from 4th with an even lighter Jason following him up into 3rd.  By turn two Jason was crawling all over the back of the BMW and made an amazing pass up the outside when he took a forceful hit from Jordan forcing the number 99 Levorg off the track and onto the grass shuffling him all the way down to 15th place and ruining his race in the process. James also got a clean start and made up some early places to 12th as Josh got held up in traffic and dropped a place down to 27th.  Ash had soon pulled an impressive gap out in front before the safety car was deployed to retrieve the stricken car of Stuart Lines following a huge impact with the barrier.  Two laps later Ash made a perfect restart and soon retained his gap in the lead whilst his teammates all gained another place after Aiden Moffatt was ordered to visit the pits to have trailing bodywork removed. James made a stellar move on Tom Ingram and into 10th as Jason continued to tumble down the order due to the damage received from his earlier incident and was now running in 17th.  Josh continued to make progress and was soon up to 22nd place by the end of lap 8, with James passing the Volkswagen of Jake Hill for 9th on lap 11 and was now hunting down the Honda of Matt Neal, making a text book move up the inside on the following lap and into a superb 8th place.  Unfortunately for Josh he had a brief off on the penultimate lap after losing the rear on dirt on the track and managed to re-join only to lose the places he’d made up earlier in the race, finding himself in 26th.  With all of the extra weight on Ash’s Levorg it was very difficult to extend his lead out in front, but with those fighting behind him for 2nd place he drove a perfect race to take a lights to flag victory and his second win of the day for Adrian Flux Subaru Racing with a gap of 3 seconds.  Ash’s second win of the day moved him to the top of the championship standings for the first time in his short BTCC career as Subaru celebrated their 10th victory in the series for the Subaru Levorg.  James finished in an outstanding 8th place, a career best as Jason hobbled home in 24th and Josh after all his hard work finished in 26th.  He did, however, score a point for setting the fastest lap of the race which is very encouraging.  The move on Jason by Jordan was looked at by the officials and it was deemed that no action would be taken.

Race Three
 

All that remained for the weekend was to see if Ash could do the treble and take the jackpot of taking all three victories in one day, it would be a tough ask of the Subaru Levorg as once again it would carry the maximum ballast of 75kg on board as well as the fact that he would now be running the soft option tyre.  Ash was committed, the team had given him an outstanding car and he was well prepared to do all he could.  We awaited the results from the reverse grid draw to determine where the top ten finishers from race two would line up for the final showdown at the Norfolk venue.
The series very own medical expert Dr Paul Trafford was asked to do the live draw and when number 8 was pulled there was another big cheer from the Subaru garages as James would be promoted to pole position for the final race of the day.  Ash would line up 8th with Jason 24th and Josh 26th.
It wasn’t to be all plain sailing though as we were then handed a boost restriction adjustment for the final race which would mean that the cars would not have the pace that they’d had earlier on in the day.  This was especially disappointing for James whom, having been phenomenal in the earlier races, had a real chance of a race win and would also hinder Ash from getting up front to challenge for his third podium of the day.

When the lights went out for the final race of the weekend James made a good start and led until turn three as Jordan passed when, on cold tyres, a slide from the number 20 Levorg made him slow out of the corner allowing both Shedden and Collard to sneak past dropping James back to 4th.  Disaster then struck for Ash when a wayward Rob Austin was forced across the grass and into the side of Ash’s Levorg causing devastating damage which put an end to his race. On lap 3  James lost another place and dropped to 5th, as Jason and Josh moved up to 23rd and 24th respectively.  By lap 5 Neal had caught up to the rear of James that allowed Matt Jackson to pounce on the pair forcing James down to 6th.  It wasn’t too long though until Neal made an enthusiastic move that resulted in him losing control of his Honda and ended up in the barrier.  Meanwhile, Jason and Josh continued to make up places with Jason up to 16th and just out of the points and Josh up to 19th, positions they would hold until the end of the race.  On lap 11 there was drama for race leader Jordan as he lost power and slowed handing the win to Shedden.  Jordan’s demise also handed a place to James who ended the race in 5th beating his season best for the second time in as many races.

Ash’s non finish moved him back to 4th in the Drivers championship albeit with a reduced gap from 20 to 11 points astray of leader Gordon Shedden, Subaru remain 3rd in the Manufacturers standings,  with Adrian Flux Subaru Racing also 3rd in the Teams standings.  Josh is now 4th in the Jack Sears Trophy championship for drivers who made their BTCC debut in 2017.

Driver Quotes:
 

Ash Sutton - "Overall Snetterton has been a positive weekend, we came into the weekend with a gap of 20 points to the championship leader and now we leave only 11 points behind, plus we are still 4th in the standings despite the race three antics. Racking up two more wins to my name as well as the first driver this season to win back to back with full success ballast was another great achievement for myself, team and sponsors. We keep on making progress with the Adrian Flux Subaru Levorg and that really showed in race two, especially whilst carrying full success ballast, the tweaks have brought the car alive and it was dialled in perfectly. The final race put a downer on the weekend and unfortunately the car took a huge hit after being a victim of an incident from behind. It is going to be a real push to get it ready for Knockhill but I have no doubt in the guys at Team BMR and WP Motorsport will make sure she is as good as new and ready for the action to unfold in Scotland!"
 

James Cole - "Snetterton was a weekend of mixed emotions, to start the weekend in 26th place and then come away with three point-scoring finishes is very good day.  Obviously, I was disappointed to start on the front row and not to convert it to a win, but given the boost adjustment that we were dealt just before race, we did a good job.  Unfortunately, it was one of those things, the cards were dealt before the start of race three and we had to race accordingly but it did mean we didn't have the same pace in the Subaru that we'd had earlier on in the day.  Ash is making us all look a bit crap at the moment, so we are all having to pull our fingers out! The Subaru Levorg is a really good car when you’ve got it dialled into the window, and my window is a little bit narrower than Ash’s.  For Race two it was in my window and I was racy, and Race three it wasn’t far off, but disappointingly there were other circumstances.

"I’m looking forward to Knockhill and feeling confident as it's a circuit very much like Croft and we know that the car performs well around Croft"


Jason Plato - "Well what a fantastic weekend for Adrian Flux Subaru Racing, Ash had a dream weekend with two wins, James Cole had his best result this season and we are making progress in getting to the bottom of my ill handling car. There were positive signs in the chassis after some major changes and a great result in race 2 was on the cards until I was shovelled off track by Andrew Jordan. Changes we made to the car in Race 3 gave me the best balance I have had this year so all to play for come the next race at Knockhill".


 
Josh Price - "We came into the weekend feeling positive due to the changes we made during the summer break and this confidence was demonstrated in FP2 and our pace in race one and two. However, the positions we gained definitely did not reflect the position we should have been in with the pace we had. This has made me feel confident as ever to get back in and push for the higher places at Knockhill."
 
 
Next time out we head north of the border to Knockhill in Scotland for rounds 19, 20 and 21 in two weeks time.

We would like to thank all the BMR Racing team for their continued hard work, Subaru UK and all the Adrian Flux Subaru Racing sponsors along with our fantastic fans for their continued support.
 
 
Photos courtesy of Phil Laughton Photography

BMR Racing can today confirm that Warren Scott will not be taking part in the Toyo Tires MSA British Rallycross Championship at Mondello Park this weekend.  Due to the heavy impact crash at Pembrey last time out, Warren aggravated an old injury and has been advised by medics that he should not race pending an operation to secure his pelvis.

Unfortunately, Warren will not be competing until further notice and when his medical team are completely happy that he is fit to return.
 

Last weekend at Croft brought a pole position and podiums galore as we travelled to the North East for rounds 13, 14 and 15 of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

The weekend started with Ash dominating both of the free practice sessions in the wet on Saturday morning before a wet and windy Qualifying on Saturday afternoon that lasted just nine minutes and would see 12 cars involved in a high-speed crash with 3 drivers being left with serious injuries.  Luke Davenport went off on the fastest corner of the track that caused damage to his car which proceeded to drop its oil onto a very wet track, leaving the surface like an ice rink.  The session was then red flagged and the decision was made by the officials not to restart it, following a lengthy period where two drivers were extricated from their cars and the mammoth task of clearing the debris took place.  For the Adrian Flux Subaru Racing drivers, all four drivers qualified in the top ten, with Ash once again setting the overall fastest lap to take pole position.  Unfortunately, Ash was also caught up in the incident and managed to drag his stricken Subaru Levorg back into the pits with heavy front and rear ended damage. Jason set the 7th quickest time with Josh 9th and James 10th.  However the latter would each move up a spot following the demise of Aron Taylor-Smith from 6th on the grid after he was not able to race due to the extent of the damage to his car and the injuries received to himself.

The Team BMR mechanics pulled together and worked late into the night to make repairs to Ash’s car which was looking very unhealthy from the damage sustained.


Round 13

With the lights out for Race 1 on Sunday Ash immediately held onto the lead with a perfect text book start in his Levorg with Jason also making a superb getaway and slotting into 6th before then running wide and onto the grass at Sunny.  He scrambled to get the car back on track but unfortunately lost numerous places in the process dropping him back down the order to 25th place.  Josh and James also made good clean starts as Josh held 8th and James dropped to 10th.  The duo were separated by Rob Collard and all three capitalised on Jason’s error placing Josh 7th and James back in 9th by the end of the opening lap.  There was then a further gain for both Josh and James along with Collard after passing a stricken Matt Neal who sustained damage at the rear of his Honda.  Post race Josh received a verbal warning after clipping the back of the Neal’s car as he attempted to pass at The Complex.  At the start of lap four, Collard finally found a way past Josh who immediately fought back for several laps taking the place back on lap eight as Jason picked his way back up the order to 20th.  Josh Cook from 5th place also began to drop down the order with a problem on the same lap as Josh, James and Jason all benefitted from his demise placing the Subaru trio in 5th, 7th and 19th respectively as Ash defended heavily from the BMW of Double Champion Colin Turkington out in front.  Lap ten would spell disaster with Josh being spun round at the hairpin and into the path of James with the cars making heavy contact forcing Josh to retire and limp back to the pits.  James managed to stay out although tumbled down the order and retired on the following lap.  Jason made up further places to a point scoring position of 15th.   Ash remained out in front and drove a perfect and well controlled race managing to withstand the pressure from Turkington throughout his lights to flag victory, the 20th Team BMR win, with Jason having a number of great battles taking a very impressive 10th place on the line and gaining 6 championship points.

 

 

Vital points were gained by Adrian Flux Subaru Racing driver Ash Sutton this weekend at Thruxton in Hampshire for rounds 7, 8 and 9 of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship with Jason Plato, James Cole and Josh Price all struggling with the lack of straight line speed at a circuit that is renowned for being the fastest in the country.

Ash’s Subaru Levorg was the best of the rear wheel drive cars in qualifying securing a starting position of 9th for the first race of the day, before being promoted to 8th after Tom Chilton received a post session penalty. 

There was disappointment for Jason, James and Josh who lost out to the high speed flat-out sectors of the Thruxton circuit, with qualifying positions of 21st, 26th and 32nd positions. 

Ash was the highest scoring Adrian Flux Subaru Racing driver of the weekend after using his outstanding cornering skills in his Subaru Levorg to fight his way through each of the three races with three top eight finishing positions.

Jason’s highest position was 23rd with James’ best being 26th and Josh with his best result to date of 24th.

Speaking of the weekend, Team Principal Warren Scott commented “It has been an immensely difficult start to the season after what seemed to be a very encouraging, comprehensive pre- season test programme for everybody at Adrian Flux Subaru Racing. 

“The Subaru Levorg is handling extremely well but the straight line speed deficit is certainly curtailing the efforts from our drivers to be challenging for the championship.  We are working tirelessly with all parties involved in the control of this and hope that we will have this resolved by Oulton Park.  We run an open house policy within the engineering team to share set up and data on both test days and race weekends.

“I am personally extremely disappointed in the results we have at the moment and I intend to leave no stone unturned in an effort to resolve this problem so that we can get the team back on track to winning ways.

“I thank the sponsors and fans for their continued, loyal support at this most challenging time.”

Ash leaves the circuit 8th in the driver standings with 62 points as Josh remains second in the rookie Jack Sears Trophy championship behind Senna Proctor.  It is also worth noting that Josh has now finished all nine races of the season thus far.

Adrian Flux Subaru Racing have now moved up to 6th in the overall teams standings and 4th in the Manufacturer standings.

We look forward to seeing you all at Oulton Park in two weeks time (20th and 21st May) for rounds 10, 11 & 12.



To learn more about the Subaru Levorg sport tourer, visit www.subaru.co.uk

Photo Credit - Phil Laughton Photography

It was another tough weekend for Adrian Flux Subaru Racing as the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship visited Donington Park last weekend (15/16 April).  The Subaru Levorgs continue to suffer with the centre of gravity changes that have taken effect for the 2017 season leaving our Engineers continuing to work to ease the problem in addition to us also having to contend with a straight line speed deficit. 

Despite the difficult circumstances the drivers showed determination and put up a good fight with the team leaving Donington with a pair of third place podium finishes.  Ash was the top performing Adrian Flux Subaru Racing driver of the weekend as the rear wheel drive wizard mastered the Levorg around Donington Park, a circuit that he has triumphed at over the past few years, taking every opportunity to use the cars corner speed to keep the momentum going. 

It wasn’t all plain sailing though.  When the drivers entered qualifying on Saturday afternoon, they were as determined as ever to get put in a quick time and last year’s pole man Ash drove the car on the edge as he hung on and put in a magnificent pole position lap a tenth of a second quicker than his rivals.  He smashed the current lap record held by our very own Jason Plato, only for it to be then whipped from his grasp when he was penalised for a technical infringement due to an overboost issue.  Ash was excluded from the results and forced to start from the back of the grid.  The reigning Jack Sears Trophy Champion refused to let it get the better of him and showed admirable maturity, keeping his head down and fully focused throughout the weekend.  Jason qualified 17th with James 25th and Josh 30th.


For Race One Ash incredibly sprinted up the order fighting his way through the field to finish in an outstanding 13th place.  James had a difficult start to the day ending up in the gravel trap on the opening lap with Jason also retiring to the pits at the end of lap 3.  Josh made up several places to finish in 22nd place.

Ash went even better in Race Two and worked his magic on the Subaru Levorg once more pulling the absolute maximum from the car after a storming drive through the grid from 13th to finish in his first podium position of the year in 3rd place.  Jason made up several positions to finish 20th ahead of James in 24th and Josh in 29th, who made a brief pit stop to change a punctured tyre.



For Race Three the reverse grid draw put Ash in a starting position of 6th and we 

weren’t expecting too much from the drivers with the harder Option Tyre being nominated for the last race of the day in addition to Ash having 57kgs of success ballast on board.  However, the heavens opened resulting in a switch to the Dunlop BluResponse wet weather tyres.  The rain increased as the race started and numerous cars found themselves in the gravel on the opening lap calling for a safety car, which was then red flagged in hope that the conditions would improve.  The rain held off and it was blue skies once again for the restart and all four drivers had a great battle with Ash finishing in 4th position, Jason just outside the points in 17th, James 23rd and Josh behind him in 24th.  The race was won by Team Dynamics Gordon Shedden who was then excluded from the results due to a technical infringement which then boosted Ash up to third position awarding him his second piece of silverware of the day.

Josh remains second in the rookie Jack Sears Trophy championship behind Senna Proctor impressively finishing all six races from the two BTCC rounds thus far.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our sponsors and fans for their continued support and we look forward to seeing you at Thruxton on the weekend of May 6th and 7th.


Ash Sutton:

"Donington was for sure an emotional roller coaster regarding the events on Saturday, going from the bottom of the time-sheets in Free Practice Two to breaking the lap record in Qualifying and then back to the bottom come the end of play on Saturday. It is fair to say I lived the life of a yo-yo!
 
"Sunday was a fresh start for myself and I set my own personal goal to get back in the top five, maybe even a podium come race three. I feel that we definitely over achieved in race one which meant that we grabbed that podium come race two, picking up some good solid points for myself and the team for the Manufactures Championship. When the heavens opened just before race three it made the job in hand a little easier for myself as I feel with the success ballast, option tyre and lack of straight line speed, it was really going to hurt us. Damage limitation was the main aim but to come away with another podium just finished the weekend off. 

"I think it's fair to say I was punching well above my weight considering the circumstances we are currently in. The lack of straight line speed makes our job as drivers a real struggle, especially when you have to start at the back. Keeping focused on the job was key but also making the best of a bad situation as well engineering the car and taking it beyond the limit was the only thing that kept our momentum throughout Sunday."

Photo Credits - Phil Laughton Photography
 

 

 

The first weekend of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship turned out to be one of dismay for us at Adrian Flux Subaru Racing, having battled with issues from the outset followed by damage to three of the four Subaru Levorg’s.
 
Practice and Qualifying

When qualifying commenced we were unable to set a quick lap time in the drybefore we then became victims of the weather after the heavens opened.  This resulted in a disappointing session for all four cars and the best time was set by Jason giving him a position of 18th, followed by Ash in 22nd, James 27th, and Josh 31st for round one of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship with Eurotech’s Jeff Smith was the pole sitter.
 
Round 1

With all four cars starting at the back half of the grid, the first lap was all about survival for the Adrian Flux Subaru Racing drivers. 
With the lights out Jason got a great start and immediately gained two places in the process, whilst team mate Ash experienced an issue on the grid hampering his start and forcing him to the back of the pack.  James had a superb start and had gained no less than five places and Josh also got a clean getaway.   Up front, there was a start line incident for Turkington and Neal which resulted in the safety car being deployed which gave us a breather and a chance for the drivers to settle into their positions for the next few laps.

Jason did a great job staying with the pack gaining another two places in the process crossing the line in 12th and scoring our first four points of the season.  Ash and Josh both battled their way through the field and despite Ash’s misfortune on the start line, he managed to claw his way back into a great finishing position of 16th, a massive 14 places from where he was sitting at the end of lap one, but unfortunately just missing out on points.  For his debut BTCC, Josh had an outstanding race and gained a finishing position of 24th, 8 positions up from where he started and James brought his car home safely in 27th leaving him frustrated but hungry for better things later on in the day.  All in all, not a bad first race considering our starting positions.
 
 
Round 2

All four Subaru Levorg’s chose the soft tyre option for race two and with the track temperature warming up in the spring sunshine coupled with Jason and Ash lining up in good grid positions of 12th and 16th, we were rooting for them to get good starts and be in with a chance of a good haul of points.  The hope for Josh and James was for them to make their way through to good positions to give them a comfortable starting place for the final race later in the afternoon.

The lights were out and despite Jason getting a great start off the line, there was a coming together between him and Simpson which fired Jason’s Subaru Levorg into the pit wall leaving it with devastating damage.   With Ash, Josh and James all getting clean starts, there was more mayhem ahead when Ash went into the gravel on Paddock Hill forcing him back down the field and into last position.  The race was consequently red flagged whilst the medical team attended to Jason who thankfully walked free from the car and was relatively unscathed, other than a little bruising and was taken to the medical center for precautionary checks.  Meanwhile, with the race halted, his car was retrieved and brought back to the garage for the team to set about working on the mammoth task of rebuilding it ready for race three.

The remaining three Subaru Levorg’s rejoined the grid in their original positions whilst the marshalls got on with the job of cleaning the track surface and making it free of debris and fluid ready for the restart.

The drivers were deployed for the two sighting laps for Race two where unfortunately for Josh he was forced to visit the pits due to a faulty steering wheel.  With the race underway once more Ash got a great start and up into 10th, James had an equally good clean start with Josh joining the track at the back of the field half a lap down and in 30th position.

Further on in the race, Ash then took a hard hit on the inside by Epps at Clearways which sent him into the gravel which he managed to recover from albeit losing a massive eight places in the process.

The second half of the race saw Josh return to the pits once more with a repeat of his earlier gremlins.  Once again Ash went into the gravel trap at Clearways alongside Moffat causing significant damage to the side of his Subaru Levorg.
 

James fought a good race and brought his car home free from battle scars in 22nd 

Few could have predicted quite how successful a season the newly formed pairing of Subaru and Team BMR would enjoy in the BTCC last year, an effort supported by Autoglym, the UK’s premier car care specialist. The joint success enjoyed by the outfit has inspired Autoglym to partner with the fan favourite team in a far more involved manner moving forward, and the upshot is that Autoglym can now proudly announce that it is an official technical partners of Team BMR and Subaru for the 2017 BTCC season.

The British Touring Car Championship has something of a reputation for producing outstandingly close racing and the odd feel good story, but even hardened series veterans could’ve been forgiven for coming over a tad sentimental about Subaru’s debut season in 2016. The ex-WRC champions had the good sense to team up with the BTCC stalwarts at Team BMR beforehand, yet it was still abundantly clear that Subaru itself had a lot to learn, not least because they had opted to compete in a wholly unconventional car, the Levorg estate! That the pairing of Colin Turkington and Jason Plato were able to shrug off early reliability gremlins to emerge as a force to be reckoned with says a massive amount about the capabilities of all involved, not least because the former came within a hair’s breadth of snatching the title in the team’s debut season.
 

2016’s unexpected success has served to raise hopes for the season ahead, and as such both Team BMR and Subaru are working flat out in order to bring home the BTCC bacon. Proof of this can be seen in the former’s decision to make Autoglym, a company based less than an hour down the road, one its official technical partners. This is a role that the royal warranted detailing specialist is only too happy to make its own, and one that it’s wholly suited to thanks to a long-standing commitment to the UK’s premier domestic race series.

 

One of the main reasons the Subaru team swiftly became such a fan favourite was down to the visual appearance of the Levorg itself. The estate body shell wasn’t merely an innovative choice because of its incredible aerodynamic efficiency, it also looked superb, quite unlike anything else on the grid. Factor in the exuberant driving style of Messrs. Turkington and Plato, the distinctive note emitted by their flat-for ‘boxer’ engines, and it becomes all too clear why most of Paddock Hill bend was cheering for a Subaru win.
 

 

 

Autoglym’s role as a technical partner means that it will be entrusted with keeping the 4 Levorgs, this year driven by Jason Plato, Ash Sutton, James Cole and Clio Cup graduate Josh Price, looking their best – no mean feat when you consider the amount of panel ‘re-modification’ your average BTCC race weekend entails. The Autoglym range is nothing if not expansive, so expect to see products from their Professional and home enthusiast range used liberally and with gusto, and perhaps the appearance of a number of specialist, top secret Autoglym formulations still in the final stages of development.

“We’re over the moon to be able to further our commitment to the BTCC and our relationship with Subaru and Team BMR in particular,” explains Autoglym CEO Paul Caller. “The championship is in rude health, the best it has been since the mid ’90s in fact, and the passion at the heart of both Autoglym and Subaru is a uniting force, one that sets us in very good stead for 2017. We’re proud to be playing such a key role in the campaign and can’t wait for the championship to get underway.”

BMR Racing owner Warren Scott commented "“It is with great pleasure that we can announce that Autoglym are increasing their sponsorship with BMR for the 2017 season. I see both our companies are closely aligned in their innovation, passion and dedication and look forward to working within the developing partnership” 

All images courtesy of Team BMR / Phil Laughton Photography

BMR Racing are delighted to announce that following our news earlier this month of Josh Price returning to the Renault UK Clio Cup Championship, we can now confirm that he will drive the fourth Subaru Levorg with the BMR Racing Academy in the 2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

After an outstanding season in the Clio Cup last year, Josh has been supported by the BMR Academy which is the stepping stone system created by BMR to assist drivers in the transition from Clio’s to the BTCC.  The team have been working on a plan over the winter months to graduate Josh to the BTCC but were unable to finalise the arrangement.  Since releasing the news of Josh returning to the Clio Cup a sponsor has come forward which has allowed Josh to take the leap and make the final piece of the puzzle fit.

An excited Josh Price commented - “I’m extremely overwhelmed by the support of BMR and Subaru to get me on the BTCC grid this season at such short notice. I’m looking forward to the challenge that’s ahead, as well as working with a team with such a great pedigree.”

Speaking of Josh’s graduation BMR Racing owner Warren Scott commented – “I am thrilled to welcome Josh into the BMR Racing Academy BTCC team and very much look forward to watching him progress within the championship throughout what promises to be an unforgettable year.”

We look forward to sharing more news of how the deal came together for Josh and his sponsors next week as well as sharing his car livery with you.
 

 

The day has finally arrived for the official launch of the 2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship here at Donington Park with a new season that promises to be another unforgettable one.

Adrian Flux Subaru Racing are proud to introduce our drivers Jason Plato and James Cole who remain with us for another year, a third for Jason and a second for James, as well as our new kid on the block Ash Sutton who has made the switch from MG Racing to drive the Subaru Levorg GT.

All three drivers have all completed a test programme over the winter months and are hungry for the title challenge that lies ahead.

The drivers will join their championship rivals this morning where they will be presented to the worlds press before a championship press conference, TV filming, official photography and driver interviews, followed by the first official BTCC test session on Donington’s national circuit.

We will be bringing you a behind the scenes glimpse of some of the highlights of the day via the Subaru UK Facebook page as well as announcing the winner of our competition for the signed 2015 #99 Jason Plato Scalextric model plus track.

We look forward to seeing some of you in the paddock and grandstands which are free for entry from 12:30 with testing commencing between 13:00 and 17:00.

The complete calendar of the 2017 BTCC season can be found at http://www.teambmr.co.uk/team-bmr-2016-btcc-events-calendar

 

 

Team BMR’s Warren Scott has taken the decision to stand down from driving duties in the British Touring Car Championship to enable him to concentrate on his role of Team Principal.
 
Warren has confirmed that he will compete in the British Rallycross Championship this coming season with Liam Doran's championship winning team LD Motorsport, driving an RCiB sponsored Citroen DS3 formally piloted by Liam himself.
 

Speaking of his BTCC plans Warren confirmed "Although I had a very strong team behind me in the BTCC, I found it increasingly difficult to concentrate on my own racing when I had to also focus on the team’s performance and results as a whole. Having numerous cars on the grid meant that I could never fully centre my attention on my own race as there was always something going on. The BTCC is so competitive, often the top twenty are covered by just a second and there is no room for error, you must be 100% focused, 100% of the time.”
 
When asked about his future plans he stated “For the 2017 season, I will be competing in the British Rallycross Championship, I will however remain 100% hands on as Team Principal and am fully committed to Team BMR and Subaru in the BTCC and look forward to the championship fight this year.”
 

Speaking on his new car and team he added "I have already had a test day with Liam and his team.  The Citroen was unbelievable and I felt at home in the car and with the team straight away. I am really looking forward to this new personal challenge and to working with LD Motorsport who won the British Supercar Rallycross title in 2016 and with Liam himself who is a notorious World Rallycross driver with vast experience in the sport.”

The 2017 MSA British Rallycross Championship gets underway at Croft on Sunday 19th March.
 

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a full time Number 2 Mechanic to join our British Touring Car team.  Based at our workshop in East Hertfordshire, the successful candidate will have at least two years previous experience with a professional race team and have extensive knowledge of vehicle set up and race car preparation.  Applicants should be highly motivated and be able to commit to a full BTCC season travelling throughout the UK. 
 
Please apply to Brenton Yule, Chief Mechanic brenton@bmrracing.co.uk
 

It has been announced this morning Team BMR’s Ash Sutton will join the BRDC Superstars roster in 2017 as the young drivers’ programme enters its 10th anniversary year. 
 
The British Racing Drivers Club founded the scheme under the watchful eye of none other than President Damon Hill OBE along with the programme director and ITV commentator Tim Harvey.  Alexander Simms will also remain on board as a BRDC Ambassador alongside his factory BMW drive. 
 
The programme itself has a lot to offer Ash and the eleven other hand-picked drivers to assist him in his development as a professional racing driver.  The programme will include workshops and training events that will cover physical and mental fitness, communication workshops, along with media and marketing training. 
 
Speaking of his step up to becoming a BRDC Superstar, the 23 year old commented: “Getting picked was a big thing for me. I was selected to become a Rising Star in 2014 so the goal was to step up to being a SuperStar. We put some work in to tick the boxes so I could move up and it’s great to be a part of the programme. The networking and connections available now are fantastic and there are certain people that could be a big support in my future career.”
 
Ash will carry the BRDC Superstars logo on his Subaru Levorg for the 2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship which gets underway at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit on April 1st & 2nd.

Photo credit: Phil Laughton Photography

We are pleased to announce that we have signed race-winning young gun Ash Sutton to drive alongside Jason Plato and James Cole for the forthcoming season of the 2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

 

 
For Jason, 2017 will be his third consecutive year with the team and we are delighted that another BTCC milestone will be coming his way, this year Jason will be celebrating 20 years since he first joined the championship in 1997.  Jason remains the most successful driver in the history of the championship to date and took several podiums in 2016 with the all new Subaru Levorg GT that included his first Subaru pole position for the start of his 500th BTCC race which he won with an impressive lights to flag victory, the 95th of his career. He is also Great Britain’s most winning driver in motorsport history with 113 career victories, Lewis Hamilton is 2nd with 90 wins and Sir Stirling Moss 5th on 74.
  
Jason said “I predict 2017 will bring much success, I’m energised and looking forward to fighting for the championship. Our team goes from strength to strength. We have a fantastic new addition to the driver squad in young Ash Sutton, I’m certainly expecting him to be right in the thick of the action. Testing begins in two weeks and I can’t wait.”
 Image: Jakob Ebrey

James Cole joined the team in 2016 after switching from Motorbase Performance and will remain with BMR for a second year in what will be his fifth season in the BTCC.  James brought a wealth of knowledge to the team last year which hugely assisted us in developing the Subaru Levorg GT in its debut year in the championship and confirmed this with a fastest lap during race two at Silverstone.  James has already completed a two day test at Donington Park since the 2016 championship ended where he gained valuable data for the team.
 
James said "Winter testing was a revelation. I worked with Jason's engineer, Carl Faux, and WOW, it felt like I was in a racing car again. It just felt right - the balance, my confidence. I can't wait to get back in the car and build on what I learnt in testing. I need to deliver for the team and myself. Jason and Ash are quality team mates and I relish the challenge to work and compete with them and help Team BMR to win the driver and team championships in 2017."

 Image: Phil Laughton Photography

An announcement with regards to the fourth Subaru Levorg will be made within the next few weeks.
 
All of us at Team BMR are looking forward to the BTCC season getting underway at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit on April 1st & 2nd.
 
 

Team BMR can today confirm that the team has parted company with Colin Turkington after mutually agreeing to end the contract.

Colin has had two successful seasons with Team BMR in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship and in 2015, his maiden year with the team, he played a huge part in putting BMR on the map with his massive contribution in assisting us in claiming our first ever Teams Championship title along with his fifth Independents Championship crown.

2016 saw BMR bringing Subaru to the championship as a new manufacturer outfit and Colin’s commitment along with his input to the team was a huge asset in aiding us to develop our newly built Subaru Levorg’s.  Colin also made history by bringing the first Subaru BTCC Pole Position backed up by a maiden win for the Subaru Levorg.  His success continued throughout the season claiming further pole positions, race wins and podiums establishing himself in the final three for the overall championship title at Brands Hatch back in October.  He ended the season 4th overall in a battle that nearly saw the Ulsterman claiming his third BTCC title.

Speaking of Colin’s time at Team  BMR owner/driver Warren Scott commented “Colin has been an absolute pleasure to work with over the past two seasons and has brought a tremendous amount of knowledge to the team which has aided BMR in it’s growth and development as a front running BTCC team.

I wish Colin good luck for the forth coming season and would like to thank him for all his efforts and great achievements that he has brought to BMR.”

Speaking of his time with us here at BMR Colin Turkington stated “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Team BMR and will savour the success we shared together over the past two seasons; however, the time has come to part company and apply the focus to each of our own individual goals and needs.
 
I sincerely value the journey we have shared together securing the Teams Championship in 2015, winning my fifth Indy title and of course the thrilling year we have just had with the Subaru Levorg.  I have been fortunate to work with some of the best in the business at BMR and it has been a valuable experience and certainly helped me grow and improve.
 
The BTCC is surely one of the toughest Championships in the world to win and to finish last season with a realistic shot at winning the title in a new car was a tremendous achievement.
 
I wish Team BMR every success going forward and I hope they are just as proud of our two seasons together as I am.”
 
All of us at BMR Racing would like to thank Colin for his tremendous input to the team and we wish him continued success in his future career.
Team BMR will announce their confirmed 2017 plans in the coming weeks and we look forward to seeing everyone at Autosport International over the next few days.


Written by Maddy Turner
Photo credits:  Phil Laughton Photography
 

The Autosport International Show kick starts the new year and BMR Racing and Subaru are delighted to announce their presence at the show.

Europe’s largest motorsport show opens its doors 12th - 15th January 2017 at the NEC and BMR Racing and Subaru can be found at stand 6000 in Hall 6. Exhibits will include the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship-challenging BMR Subaru Levorg and its road going counterpart, as well as the 300PS Subaru WRX STI performance flagship and the BRZ sports coupe and BMR Academy’s Go Karts.

Visitors to the stand will have the opportunity to get up close and personal with the cars and grab the chance of winning an amazing one-off BMR prize package.

We arrived at Brands Hatch for the finale of the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship   with everything to play for with us having two of our Silverline Subaru BMR Racing drivers in championship contention.  Colin was sitting 7th in the table just 37 points behind the championship leader Sam Tordoff and Jason in 8th a further 21 points adrift.

 

The first point of the weekend would be awarded to the pole sitter during the most 

important qualifying session of the year on Saturday afternoon, and as dark clouds loomed overhead it wasn’t going to be straight forward.  The track was initially dry as the cars left the pit lane for the 30 minute shoot out that lay ahead, with Jason instantly placing himself 2nd on the leader board.  There was a stoppage due to Aron Smith’s car rolling onto its roof at Hawthorns, which in turn allowed the wet weather to set in when the circuit went live for the second time. 

 

With Colin in 17th and Warren and James further down the order there was concern that the drivers wouldn’t be able to increase they current times with the track conditions.  The cars returned to the track and did all they could to get temperature in the tyres in a bid to try and increase their lap times.  The rain then halted and the track started to dry but with the clock ticking we were under pressure to get up the order and into a better grid position for the first race of the day.  Colin then put in a storming lap which was more than a second quicker than his competitors and lap after lap he increased his time to ensure that he held onto pole position.  Jason didn’t manage to get a clean lap but impressively still managed a time quick enough to put him in a great 4th position.  James set the 22nd quickest time with Warren just behind him in 23rd.   Post-qualifying Tom Ingram’s Toyota failed the ride height check and his times were disallowed forcing him to the back of the grid and moving our drivers up one place, with Jason now starting behind Colin on the grid for the first of Sunday’s three races.

 

As the lights went out for the first race of the day, the Subaru Levorgs made great starts, as did Rob Austin from 2nd in the front wheel drive Toyota which left Colin immediately fighting for the lead, which he remarkably held onto, as Jason went on the attack to find a way past, eventually safely slotting in behind in 3rd with both James and Warren also getting a good safe start on the opening lap. 

There was drama for Andrew Jordan and Hunter Abbott at Druids on lap two and the safety car was deployed which gave Colin the opportunity to control the pace.  An immense restart from Colin created a gap to Austin as he fought off Jason who in turn was having to defend the MG of Josh Cook.  The gap increased even further for Colin as did his lap times with him setting the fastest lap of the race on lap 7 gaining one more valuable point. 

As the checkered flag fell it was Colin who crossed the line after a lights to flag victory tallying up a staggering 22 points in the process, the maximum achievable and now in 5th for the driver’s title and just 20 points off leader Tordoff.

Jason lost out to Cook on the final corner and brought the car home in an all-important 4th place gaining 13 valuable points in the process.  Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to keep Jason’s hopes of a third driver’s title alive.

 

James finished the race in 23rd place as Warren endured more bad luck from a puncture that dropped him down the order, followed by an off into the gravel trap which he didn’t recover from. 

For race two both Colin and Jason gained additional success weight due to their finishing positions and with both cars being on the soft tyre, there was a whole new set of challenges. 

 

As the lights went out both drivers up front made a great getaway with Jason immediately going on the attack of Austin, as James and Warren moved up the order to 20th and 22nd respectively.

By lap two Jason was right on the tail of Austin looking for a way past the Toyota which enabled Colin to run away with the race up front. 

 

The second safety car of the day was then deployed after a dramatic crash into the tyre wall on the run down to Graham Hill by title contender Matt Neal in the Honda which subsequently took him out of the competition after he suffered concussion and bringing an end to his day.  There was then a lengthy stoppage which allowed the drivers to take a breather.

 

When the race restarted Colin made a break again out in front.  Jason made the move on Austin at Surtees and into second and Gordon Shedden, who was also in contention for championship honours, followed him through in the Honda and was now behind in third.  Jason then closed the gap to his team mate Colin to just 0.8 seconds and was gaining on him with every lap when the team then asked Jason to hold station and act as rear gunner to Colin.  Jason rose to the challenge keeping Shedden at bay and in turn made Colin’s job easier to escape into the distance and enabling him to take race honours once more as they brought the Subaru Levorgs home with a 1-2 for the team with Jason in 2nd.  James brought his Levorg home in 20th with Warren in 23rd.

It was now a three way fight for the championship with just one race to go and Sam Tordoff in his BMW still in the lead, Gordon Shedden in the Honda in 2nd just two points behind and Colin in 3rd and 10 points adrift of the leader. 

The reverse grid draw was made for the final race of the 2016 season by Micky Butler from title sponsor Dunlop UK who he drew the number seven from the barrel which placed the final championship contender Mat Jackson on pole position, placing Jason in 6th and Colin in 7th.
For race three Colin had maximum weight on the car for the second time of the day it was going to be a big ask for him to get past his fellow contenders and into a position of being in the championship lead but he was up for the fight and was prepared to do all he could to finish his season in the best position possible. 

Jason got a great start and instantly tried to get past the Honda of Shedden but it just wasn’t possible whilst Colin was held back in traffic trying to get a clean start and dropped to 10th position.  Both James and Warren both got away without incidents and James was up to 17th with Warren running in 21st.  The safety car however was then deployed for Warren after contact from Dan Welch sent him into the gravel ending his race prematurely.
Racing resumed and Shedden took 3rd from Tordoff and into the lead in the championship standings.  With Jason now running in 8th and Colin in 12th, both struggled with the weight as James moved further up the order to 16thA further safety car was deployed for the stricken car of Dan Welch which left just a couple of laps left to decide who would reign supreme in 2016 and walk away with the title. 

Racing resumed once again and the three remaining Levorgs held their positions with Jason finishing in 10th, Colin 12th and James 16th.  Jackson in his Ford took the race win, with Aiden Moffatt in second and Gordon Shedden took third and the title of 2016 British Touring Car Champion for the third time in his BTCC career.  .  Ultimately it wasn’t enough to get us to the top and Colin finished fourth in the championship with Jason ending his 2016 campaign in 7th.

What a year!!!! All of us at Silverline Subaru BMR Racing would like to take this opportunity in thanking Subaru UK and all of our sponsors for their support over the course of the 2016 season and to also thank the team who have put in lengthy hours of hard work to ensure that we fought a great fight in the championship.  Thanks also to the army of loyal fans who have supported us through thick and thin this year, your support is second to none.  We mustn’t forget the TOCA officials, marshalls, grid girls, photographers and last but not least Fat Goose Catering who have looked after both us and our guests superbly once again this year, huge thanks to you all.
 
We now go into the winter break with an extensive winter testing programme planned as we set to embark on the 2017 season ahead, and I think it’s safe to say we are hungrier than ever for that title!
 
Sponsor and drivers quotations:
 
Paul Tunnicliffe, Managing Director, Subaru UK commented – “When we started the season our expectations were low.  An all-new car, with very little preparation time, we planned on 2016 being a year of learning and experimentation.  In the event, these objectives were blown away.  Certainly, there were dark times, especially early in the season, but, thanks to the skills and dedication of the technical team at BMR and their drivers, these were overcome, and we enjoyed a second half to the season which we never could have anticipated.  By Brands Hatch we were transformed from the cinderellas of the championship, to being the team to beat.  With some justification, we expect to start 2017 as firm favourites.  

“We have attended every round, with dealers as our guests, the project having really captured the attention of those close to the brand.  Even our colleagues in Japan have been watching the races, often live in the middle of the night.  We cannot wait for Donington next March, when we can start all over again”.
 
Rob Henry, Global Brand Manager, Silverline commented – “What an action packed Championship!

“Congratulations to all the drivers, mechanics and support staff who worked so hard to overcome the challenges facing the team at the start of the season.  You all did a great job in getting the team and the drivers so close to the top of the standing table. Enjoy the offseason!”

Warren Scott commented – “I am so immensely proud of what the team have achieved in our maiden year as a Manufacturer team with Subaru UK.  With a new car a lot of credit goes to the drivers who have managed results without any extensive testing and to finish on the points they did driving young cars is remarkable.

“Huge thanks to Subaru UK, all our sponsors and everyone in the team, the results speak for themselves and are proof of how hard everyone has worked to make it all possible.

“We will continue to develop the cars over the winter to ensure that we come out even stronger for the 2017 season”.
 
Colin Turkington commented – “I don’t really know where to start in summing up our weekend, it has all happened so fast and I now find myself in China testing a Chinese Touring Car! I am beaming with satisfaction with a phone full of heart-warming messages and missed calls. So something pretty special must have went on!
 
“I knew I was a significant outsider coming into the season finale, but I still wanted to prepare and plan like it was my crown.

“That has been my approach all season, and I can honestly look back at every weekend and say I give everything I had. I never missed an hour’s preparation and I put 100% into every lap I had the Levorg on track.

“In the end it just wasn’t meant to be, but I am far from disappointed. Yes I was saddened to know that I couldn’t get any more out of race 3 and my chances were over, but overall it was a near perfect weekend.

“It’s been a season of up’s and downs with DNF’s, DNS’s, grid penalties and tough battles but we kept our focus and kept pushing onwards. You can’t start contemplating what if’s or what might have been, all you can do is look back and be proud of the success that we worked so hard for.

“I would like to thank every last member of Silverline Subaru BMR Racing and all my fantastic partners, supporters and fans. 2016 has been a roller-coaster and one that will stand out for me for the rest of my career”.
 
Jason Plato commented – "The finals meeting at Brands Hatch always produces fantastic drama and action and this year was right up with the very best.

“Our Silverline Subaru Levorg's were once again the class of the field on the demanding Grand Prix circuit and produced fantastic results for the team.

“This season has given us all lots to be excited about for the future and I can’t wait to begin testing for next season.

“I’m confident that with the winter test program we have planned we will arrive at the first race of 2017 fully prepared to win the championship.

“I would like to thank all our loyal partners and supporters and in particular, Subaru UK, Silverline Tools and Adrian Flux Insurance and last but not least I would like to thank each and every one of our amazing team”
 
James Cole commented – “I can’t believe how fast this season has flown. Seems like only yesterday we were back here at Brands Hatch with four brand new Subaru Levorg’s. What a roller coaster of a year. 

“I have so many positives to take out of this year and I really can’t wait to get back in the car ASAP and get lots of winter mileage under my belt. 

“I would like to thank the whole team on an amazing job. A special thank you to my three fantastic team mates for all their help and encouragement throughout the year. I’m so excited to see what 2017 brings!!!

Written by Maddy Turner

Photos by Phil Laughton Photography
 

Silverline Subaru BMR Racing’s Colin Turkington, Jason Plato, James Cole and Warren Scott are intent on finishing their 2016 seasons on a high as the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship heads to the iconic Brands Hatch GP Circuit, for the final three rounds this weekend (1-2 October).

Returning to the circuit where the Subaru Levorg’s made their debuts in the BTCC 

Silverstone played host to the penultimate rounds of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship last weekend with both Colin Turkington and Jason Plato in contention for the 2016 championship title.  Between the pair they were looking for a good haul of points in order for them to be in a strong position for the final rounds some two weeks later.

Following Saturday’s qualifying session, Warren came out on top of the four Silverline Subaru BMR Racing drivers placing his Levorg 13th on the grid after jumping up the order on his final lap from 21st.  Jason would line up for race one right behind him with James 23rd so it was all to play for.  Unfortunately Colin was forced to start from the back of the grid following a penalty he picked up last time out at Rockingham, his third of the season.

The Silverline Subaru BMR Racing team arrived at Silverstone today for the penultimate round of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship. Where did the 2016 season go? It only seems like yesterday we were unveiling our brand new Subaru Levorg GT at Media Day back in March and here we are with just over two weeks until a driver is crowned the 2016 BTCC Champion.

Mathematically there are still 134 points up for grabs meaning there are 13 drivers in the title hunt so we are all looking forward to a very close weekends racing. Both Colin and Jason are well inside the top 13, however it's going to be a big ask if either of the Team BMR duo are to lift the coveted trophy at Brands Hatch on finals day.

Currently Jason sits 8th some 59 points adrift of Championship leader Sam Tordoff, with Colin slightly further up the road in 6th with a 48 point differential. Unfortunately it's going to be even tougher for Colin at the home of British Motorsport this weekend as he will be forced to start the opening race from the back of the grid, having picked up his third penalty of the season last time out at Rockingham. Colin & Jason will be looking for a strong set of results in order to grab as many points as they can and try to close the gap to those ahead of them come finals day.

In the past Silverstone has been very kind to all four drivers with both Colin and Jason racking up several wins and podiums at the Northamptonshire venue over the years, and it's also the scene of where both James and Warren have produced their top results after a 9th place finish for Warren in 2014 and the same for James in 2015, albeit in very different machinery. One chink in the armour at Silverstone is that it was also the scene of a huge accident for Warren last year in free practice two, after he hit a concrete wall at high speed through turn one, that resulted with four breaks in two vertebrae in his back, so he will be returning to the scene for the first time since.

One thing that's certain this weekend is that anything can happen in the BTCC and with 12 drivers already having stood on the top step of the podium this year, it really is anybody's guess as to the outcome.

We look forward to seeing many of you there, and don't forget to come along to garages 4A-C at 10.55am on Sunday to support the Brave the Shave campaign. See link below:

https://www.facebook.com/BmrRestartRacing/posts/1181942115214042
 

Silverline Subaru BMR Racing are proud to be supporting an amazing group of fans and colleagues that are braving the shave for Macmillan cancer support standing proudly alongside men, women and children with cancer.

We know that cancer can turn the world upside down and that’s especially true when it comes to appearance. People with cancer go through hair loss and changes to their appearance that can affect everything from the way they look to how they feel.

The group will be joining the team in our garages at 10.55am during the Church Break at Silverstone on Sunday 18th September during rounds 25, 26 & 27 of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.  Our drivers Jason Plato, Colin Turkington, James Cole and Warren Scott will have clippers in hand to start off the proceedings. 

In addition our Chief Designer and Engineer to Jason Plato, Carl Faux has also agreed to brave the shave and with the nickname of ‘Boy Band’ that the team have given him, believe us when we say he has an almighty head of hair to lose and needs your support.  Carl has also impressively roped in the Editor of Motorsport News Matt James to get involved, those of you who know Matt will agree that this will be something to witness!

With Macmillan being Dunlop’s chosen charity we hope to raise some much needed funds to support people who are facing a difficult time.
By braving the shave, we’re making sure that Macmillan can be there for people with cancer and their families.

Here are some of the ways the money you raise could make a massive difference:

Funding Macmillan nurses - One way your support could help people affected by cancer is through funding the amazing Macmillan nurses.

Building and improving information and support centres - Your donations could help to maintain and build new Macmillan information and support centres.

Providing financial support and advice - The money you raise could be spent on employing Macmillan benefits advisers and giving one-off grants to people in financial need.

We would love for our fans to come and support Carl, Matt and our fans Lee Fraser, Levy Santos, Courtney Salmon and Phil Holgate on Sunday at garages 4 A-C at 10.55am and help us to raise as much money as possible for this amazing cause by donating at one of the following links:

 Carl Faux - https://bravetheshave.org.uk/shavers/carl-faux/

 Matt James - https://www.justgiving.com/Matt-James17

 Fans - Lee, Levy, Courtney & Phil - https://bravetheshave.org.uk/shavers/lee-fraser-2/
 

It was a weekend of highs and lows for Silverline Subaru BMR Racing at Rockingham over the weekend for rounds 22, 23 and 24 of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

Qualifying on Saturday afternoon was red flagged half way through the session when the weather made a turn for the worse plunging the circuit into the darkness of thunder, lightning and torrential rain.  Jason Plato was one of the many drivers that endured an off track excursion before the session was delayed for ten minutes allowing the rain to ease and the track to be assessed before the second half of the session recommenced.  As the track improved with every lap Jason brought his car home in 4th albeit with damage after another incident.  Colin set the 5th quickest time making it two Subaru’s in the top five with James and Warren qualifying in 17th and 18th determining their grid position for the first of Sunday’s three races.  Pole Position went to Gordon Shedden in the Honda.

With the weather having greatly improved for race day on Sunday, the crowds flocked to the Northamptonshire circuit to witness the drivers battle it out for points as the championship draws ever closer to the end of 2016 season.

Race One was a fantastic start to the day with both Jason and Colin making up a place on the opening lap resulting in the first podium of the weekend for Jason in third position and Colin just behind him in 4th, that also secured us the Manufacturer Trophy for Subaru.  Both James and Warren received 

contact on the opening lap forcing them both down the order.  James finished the race in 22nd with Warren making a great fight back through the field from 30th to finish in a very respectable 19th.  Pole sitter Shedden took the win.

Race Two wasn’t such a great affair as both Jason and Warren suffered damage on the opening lap forcing Jason into retirement and Warren two laps down in 23rd.  Colin also tumbled down the order after getting caught up in the second corner mayhem and then subsequently had a spin which he impressively controlled avoiding the concrete wall.  He recovered to finish the race in the final point scoring position of 15th.  James excelled making up ten places and was the lead Silverline Subaru BMR Racing driver finishing in 12th and adding to the impressive tally of manufacturer points for Subaru.  When the flag fell it was BMW’s Sam Tordoff who crossed the line for the win.

There was further retirement for Warren in Race Three after an electrical issue with one of the engine control boxes failing.  James brought his car home in 18th whilst teammate Jason had a superb race through from the back of the grid and up to 10th.  Colin once again showed off his outstanding driving skills making his way up to the 3rd and final spot on the podium, his 8th of the season, from 15th on the grid.  Aron Smith took victory in the BKR Volkswagen making it an incredible twelfth driver to stand on the top step of the podium during 2016.

All in all a mixed bag for the team but some very crucial points scored.  Colin is now 48 points off the leader Sam Tordoff with Jason 11 points adrift of Colin.

The championship now heads into its final two events the first being at Silverstone in three weeks’ time on the 17th and 18th September for the penultimate rounds.

Colin Turkington said “I come away from Rockingham pleased with my performance but frustrated at what could have been.  My aim before the weekend was to close the points gap to the leaders but unfortunately I was unable to do it.  That said I didn't lose any ground and I'm still determined to give it my best shot over the final two meetings. 

“The car was fast in all conditions and even in the most extreme conditions in qualifying we were seriously competitive.  Banking a solid fourth place finish was a good start to the day, but unfortunately things unravelled in race two with two separate incidents, one of which saw me spearing backwards towards the wall at over 200kph!

“Race three was one of the best I can remember in some time as I moved from a lowly fifteenth grid position onto the podium.  Once again the Subaru was on rails and I was able to slice my way through the field and demonstrate just how good our package is at the moment.  I've got to start the first race at Silverstone from the back of the grid due to picking up two penalties at Rockingham for minor rule infringements, but I'm never one to shy away from a challenge.”


Jason Plato said “To summarise the weekend we were a bit unlucky in race one and then also for race two as in hindsight I could have won that.  The Race two crash at turn two affected my weekend.

“I was pleased with race three and managed to get up the order, although I didn’t officially overtake anyone they all crashed out, I found it difficult to overtake due to the fact that we were too slow in straight line.

“Rock on Silverstone!”
 
James Cole said  “Unfortunately, boost issues were the limiting factor to my Saturday. A sensor problem in both Free Practice One and Two had a serious impact on qualifying preparation, not getting a single lap in Free Practice Two. The small bit of running in Free Practice One showed we had top ten pace.

“Qualifying was without question the most challenging conditions I've ever driven a race car in. Driving around an oval in a thunder storm certainly gets the blood pumping! 

“Race One pretty much ended before it started. Sadly first lap damage due to idiotic drivers is now becoming the norm in BTCC. I sound like a broken record but finishing the first lap of Race One with the rear wheels pointing in different directions isn't what you would hope for. 

“Race Two thankfully was a lot better and moving up through the field was fun. The cars pace in clear air was fantastic and having better lap times on the hard tyres than many of the cars in the top ten was very encouraging. 

“In Race Three I was again on the receiving end of constant contact before eventually getting spun out. 

“What I take away from the weekend is, a bad Saturday is very hard to recover from. In Races two and three the pace of my Subaru was more than good enough to stay comfortably inside the top ten. I just need to focus on qualifying inside that top ten where there is respect between the drivers and driving standards are rarely an issue.  

“It goes without saying the wonderful job Team BMR do to deliver such a great car.  Any frustration I have is as much for them as it is for me."


To learn more about the Subaru Levorg sport tourer, visit www.subaru.co.uk.
 
Written by Maddy Turner
Photos by MJP Media

Silverline Subaru BMR Racing is pleased to provide this clarification in relation to recent statements published on behalf of TOCA.
 
It has always been and is our intention to ensure that the BTCC Regulations as a whole are fully respected by everybody, as we do, for the benefit of all participants.
 
Silverline Subaru BMR Racing made a transparent application for a Homologation Extension to change the design of its inlet manifold based on a reliability issue and performance benefit.
 
The BTCC Technical Working Group including the TOCA officials agreed the Homologation Extension as permitted by the Championship Regulations for the Oulton Park round onwards albeit subject to an initially conservative base boost setting. Other teams and manufacturers have also made similar proper Homologation Extension applications also in accordance with the Regulations.
 
Silverline Subaru BMR Racing understand and support our drivers’ frustration on power levels and boost adjustments that did, in some circumstances, not seem logical given the objective of equalising engine outputs across the championship. This concern was also expressed by senior personnel and high profile drivers from some other teams throughout the season.
 
Since these comments were made the calculus used in determining the resultant boost pressure and any adjustments has been presented to us and all other engine manufacturers.  It is clear to us that the methodology used is based on raw data taken from each and every vehicle in the championship. The maths and processes are in fact a remarkably accurate judgement of the power output of each engine at the test conditions. However, we believe these test conditions do not translate to actual ‘on track’ straight line speed performance and recommend revisions moving forward if we are to achieve the common goal of ‘on track’ speed equalisation. We are looking forward to working with TOCA, the engine builders and all other teams to achieve this common goal.
 
Silverline Subaru BMR Racing support TOCA and the foundation of the processes in place.  We are also, along with many others, assisting where possible to ensure we have a transparent formula in place that results in a robust and accurate method to achieve the parity on circuit which will result in what all the drivers then experience in car.
 
Silverline Subaru BMR Racing are looking forward to the successful climax of the 2016 BTCC season and hope that all involved are as well.
 

Silverline Subaru BMR Racing driver Jason Plato started the weekend on a high qualifying with pole position for what would be his 500th race of his Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship career. 

He set an impressive lap time during the final seconds of the qualifying session on Saturday afternoon and came out on top with team mate Colin securing his place in the top five with James setting the fourteenth quickest time and Warren twenty first.
 

Race One saw Jason take a lights to flag victory and his first race win of the season in his all new Subaru Levorg GT bringing his total wins to a staggering ninety-five. 

Jason led the race throughout managing to hold off the threatening BMW of Jack Goff who took second place with Colin bringing his Subaru Levorg home in third and taking the final spot of the podium.

James brought his car home in a point scoring position of fifteenth but there was dismay for Warren who was tapped into a spin and subsequently forced into retirement from the race.
 
Race Two once again saw Jason lead the race from the off until the chasing pack of Jack Goff in the BMW and Colin in his Levorg were bunched up behind him during a safety car period.  Colin endured a race long battle with the BMW’s of Goff and Tordoff and then Jordan.  The Honda of Matt Neal passed both Colin and Goff and into third after contact was made between the pair at the hairpin. 

With 75kgs on board Jason was eventually passed by both Tordoff and Neal and finished in third position having held them of until the final two laps with Colin was just behind in fourth.

There was disappointed for both James and Warren who had incidents with James being sent into a spin due to contact but managed to bring his machine home in 21st and Warren was tapped from behind and put into the gravel trap and had to retire from the race for the second time of the day.
 
The Silverline Subaru BMR Racing drivers were lucky in the reverse grid draw for the third and final race of the day with Matt Jackson’s number being drawn from the barrel, promoting Colin up to third and Jason to fourth.  James started from 21st and Warren 27th.

Colin got a good start retaining his position whilst Jason lost a place to the BMW of Rob Collard on the run down to the first corner.  After a brief safety car period allowing the cars to bunch up, Colin was on the attack of the Collard, and the BMW of Goff was in turn on the attack of Colin, bringing yet another Subaru and BMW battle.  Then disaster struck when there was contact between Collard and Colin sending them both into a spin and ending their races.

Jason then enjoyed a third place battle with the Honda of Scotsman Gordon Shedden but managed to keep him at bay.  Jackson took the lead, Tordoff came in second and Jason brought home the Subaru Levorg in third for the final podium spot.

James finished in his second point scoring position of the weekend in thirteenth with Warren completing the race in twenty fifth.

Rounds 22, 23 and 24 of the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship take place at Rockingham on 27/28 August, we hope to see you all in the stands.
 
Silverline Subaru BMR Racing comments from Knockhill:
 
Paul Tunnicliffe, Managing Director of Subaru UK commented:  "Another good day's work for the team, with steady progress continuing to be made.  I was particularly delighted for Jason, who, in true JP style, marked his 500th BTCC race with a pole, and a lights to flag victory.  Colin continues to show gritty determination, carrying out crucial overtaking manoeuvres to keeps his title hopes alive.  Personally, I wouldn't bet against us being there or thereabouts come Brands Hatch.  Roll on Rockingham."


Jason Plato commented:  “What a fantastic weekend!

“It was great to get back to standing on the top step of the podium especially as it was on such an amazing milestone in my career. I was on Pole and finished second in my first ever BTCC race in 1997 and nineteen years later went one better in my 500th BTCC race with Pole and a Win.

“To leave Knockhill as top points scorer with a first and two third places was a fine reward for all at Silverline Subaru BMR Team, they have worked so so hard.

“Race One was pretty straight forward, I nail the start, built up a lead and then controlled the pace, but, the safety car was deployed late in the race which eroded my lead and produced a tense last few laps.

“Race Two on the other hand was tense throughout, laden with 75kgs of success ballast I couldn’t breakaway and was under severe pressure throughout the race until I lost rear grip with four laps to go, as it turned out the one of the other cars was laying oil around the circuit and I lost the lead and slipped back to third when Matt Neal rattled inside me at turn seven. Still a good result.

“Race Three was all about being patient and letting the race come to me, I was sat in fifth keeping a watchful eye on the leading three starting to get a bit feisty and slightly desperate as Jackson was holding them up. With Colin and Collard out of the race I was up to third. I then got onto the back Tordoff and we both applied serious pressure to the leader Jackson for some eighteen plus laps. Despite all our efforts neither of us could get past the “Slow in the corners, too fast on the straights’’ Jackson. A second third place podium of the day was a great reward.

“Rockingham can’t come soon enough, hopefully we should be on the pace but we are all very nervous about not having enough straight line speed for the flat out sections to combat the Ford and BMW cars.”
 
Colin Turkington commented:  “I come away from Knockhill focusing on the positives and another strong weekend for the team.  We were fast in every session and I was pleased to qualify strongly with championship ballast in the car for the first time.  This was the best the car has felt all season in race trim and I was really able to bring the fight to the table.  We're moving the Subaru forward at a fantastic rate each time out and considering this was our first time at Knockhill we can all be pretty satisfied. I really enjoyed the intensity of the racing at Knockhill.  I had a car that I could push to the limits and there is no better feeling.

“I’m confident about the remaining three events and I'm committed to giving my best.  We may have lost the points in Race Three but nothing changes – I’m here to challenge for the title."


James Cole commented:  “Before we get onto my weekend I first want to once again congratulate Jason Plato and Colin Turkington on another mega weekend. 

“My own weekend was filled with positives and frustrations. The team prepared a perfect car both days. Myself and my engineer, Richard Owen, are now getting into the nitty gritty of the Subaru's performance to best suit my driving style. 

“Our times in Race One showed real top ten pace, which is where I feel I now should be. Sadly driving standards outside the top ten are in my opinion the worst I've ever seen. A distinct lack of respect between a few of the drivers is really ruining it for most. 

“It only takes a few to spoil the party. Hopefully we will start to see improvements in the next round as having your own race ruined by the actions of others is tiresome. 

“My speed is increasing, my knowledge of the car is improving and I'm certain all of this will be reflected in the results if we can all race properly.”

Written by Maddy Turner
Photos by MJP Media

Silverline Subaru BMR Racing will be celebrating two milestones this weekend (13/14 August) when the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship heads north of the border to Knockhill in Fife with the first being our 100th BTCC race during race two on Sunday afternoon.

We are delighted at how far we have come since joining the BTCC with a single Seat Leon in 2013, and are extremely excited about what the future holds in future years.

The other momentous milestone and a somewhat greater achievement is that Jason Plato will race his 500th round during the opening encounter on Sunday in a championship that has seen him become the most successful Touring Car driver in the history of the BTCC.  In total his BTCC career has amassed nearly two decades and with no fewer than 94 race wins. He also has two drivers’ titles to his name. 

Jason will be looking to add to his 209 podium finishes, 48 pole positions and 85 fastest laps along with his first win in the Subaru Levorg which is certainly high on the agenda.

Rounds 19, 20 and 21 of the 2016 BTCC season take place at Knockhill circuit on 13/14 August.  Live coverage of Sunday’s action will be shown on ITV4, itv.com and also in HD from 11:00 – 1815; with itv.com featuring live streaming online of Saturday’s qualifying session between 15:40 – 16:10.
 
 

The return to the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship was one filled with drama for the start of the second half of the series but it was one that brought fantastic results for Silverline Subaru BMR Racing with us accomplishing four of Subaru Levorg GT’s in the top ten.

Free Practice One was all about trying to get the right balance for the Subaru Levorg GT’s with the cars having not completed many miles during the annual Dunlop tyre test.  The session saw Colin Turkington once again dominate for the first of the two free practice sessions and topping the times, as the machines of Jason Plato, James Cole and Warren Scott all improved for the Silverline Subaru BMR Racing quartet into the second session of the day with Colin remaining the quickest of the four Subaru Levorg’s.

The afternoon’s qualifying session saw Honda’s Gordon Shedden secure his first pole position since Donington Park in 2014 with Colin setting the setting quickest Subaru time just 0.015s short, placing his Subaru Levorg GT on the front row.  However it was disappointing for Jason as he couldn’t get a clear run away from traffic on track and qualified in eleventh spot.  James qualified in the top half of the field with a thirteenth place as did Warren who still managed to set the fifteenth quickest time after an excursion off the track.
With huge crowds flocking into a sunny Snetterton on Sunday, the first of day’s three races got underway with all four cars getting a good clean getaway.  Shedden held the lead into the first corner with Colin hot on his heels in 2nd position, with Jason making fantastic progress up to seventh place, as James moved into eleventh and Warren up into twelth by the end of the opening lap. 

All four drivers held their positions for several laps and by lap eight Colin had almost glued his Levorg GT to the rear of Shedden’s Honda as the duo approached Palmer, when Colin pounced and took the lead of the race.  Warren and James gained a place each and moved up into tenth and eleventh after eight placed Josh Cook received a puncture in his MG.  Jason kept the pressure piled on the Toyota of Tom Ingram seeking any opportunity to pass.
Jason, Warren and James all gained another place each moving up to sixth, ninth and tenth after Sutton followed in Cook’s footsteps and also pitted with a puncture on lap ten placing all four of the Subaru Levorg GT’s up into the top ten.

After a near race long battle Jason made a stellar move on Ingram at Agostini placing him fifth and Colin extended his lead out in front and brought the car home to take the win for Silverline Subaru BMR Racing.  Jason came home in superb fifth place after a fantastic drive, Warren matching his career best of ninth and James placing the fourth car in tenth.  All of us at Silverline Subaru BMR Racing are absolutely delighted with our strongest result so far in 2016 and to have all four of the Silverline Subaru Levorg’s in the top ten for the first time.

There was disappointed at the start of race two as James Cole retired on the out lap with a broken drive shaft and had to abandon his stricken car between the Bomb Hole and Coram.  Moments later the lights went out all three made great starts, but Warren was spun after turn one as he took a hit from behind spinning him across the track.  However for once lady luck was on his side and the chasing pack all avoided further contact enabling him to continue albeit a lot further down the order than he had started.  Colin then ran wide at the newly named Wilson bend allowing the Ford Focus of Mat Jackson to nip up the inside and into the lead.  Jason also ran wide onto the grass dropping down a spot to sixth.

As the leaders headed down the Bentley Straight, Ollie Jackson in the Audi ran wide and made contact with Dan Welch kicking up a cloud of dust as the duo speared across the track.  Unfortunately several unsighted drivers including Sutton, Alex Martin and Hunter Abbott ploughed into the accident ahead of them which blocked the track bringing a red flag to the proceedings.  Thankfully although the cars were a bit worse for wear all of the drivers escaped without injury.  The marshals and officials then had the mammoth task of retrieving the damaged cars and repairing the barriers ready for a restart.
As there was less than a lap contested the grid would line up in the same order as they originally started throwing Colin a lifeline and back to pole position.  As the lights went out for the second time the remaining three Silverline Subaru BMR Racing drivers got off to a good starts as the mayhem unfolded behind him them once again as Mark Howard’s VW and Martin Depper’s Honda both going off the circuit.  With all three Subarus’s safely through the Ford Focus of Jackson on the softer tyres took the lead from Colin, with Jason and Warren holding station in fifth and ninth by the end of the opening lap.

When the pack arrived at Wilson on lap two, Colin escaped a nudge from Shedden’s Honda who subsequently received contact from the Mercedes of Adam Morgan creating a slight gap giving Colin a little breathing space for the remainder of the lap.  However the chain reaction of events caused the chasing pack to bunch up that held up Jason dropping him back down the order to seventh.  More contact ensued between Morgan and Shedden that allowed Jason to regain the advantage and into fifth.  Unfortunately it was Warren that was this time held up as he received contact from the Ford Focus of Andrew Jordan dropping him back down into eleventh, it was then elbows out as everyone sorted themselves out and into their solid positions.  Warren was then sent tumbling down the order to sixteenth by the end of the second lap. 

On lap three Collard, in his weight free BMW, took fifth place from Jason at Nelson.  The remaining three Silverline Subaru Levorg’s proceeded to hold onto their positions throughout the remainder of the race with Colin gaining his second podium of the day in a superb second place.  Jason come home in sixth with Warren just out of a point scoring position in sixteenth.

The luck of the reverse grid draw didn’t swing our way and the highest placed Subaru driver for race three would be Jason on the second row in third position as Sam Tordoff was awarded Pole Position in his BMW.  Colin would start in seventh, with Warren sixteenth as James joined the gird all the way down in in twenty seventh after the team made repairs to his car. 

With the officials hoping for an incident free race after the drama earlier on in the day unfortunately the worst was yet to come.  As the lights went out for what was set to be the final time of the day all the front runners made a clean getaway when disaster would strike for a second time. On the main straight as the cars towards the rear of the field went past the pit garages, contact was made between Howard and Martin forcing several cars to take to the grass in avoidance.  Luckily for us the last gap through was James, and as Hunter Abbot tried to sneak through he clipped the side of Howard’s VW that forced his Chevrolet into a violent series of rolls, whilst he was rolling an unsighted Ollie Jackson hit Abbott’s car mid roll pushing it up onto the barriers and into the ITV camera crew tower sending it and the camera man toppling in the process.  The race was immediately stopped and remarkably the cameraman had a very lucky escape as did all of the drivers involved in the incident.  The circuit officials then had a huge operation in front of them to clear the start line of the stricken cars and repair the barrier.

With the remaining cars re-joining the grid yet again in their original grid positions, pole position man Sam Tordoff was missing from the start line with a component failure creating a clear gap in front of Jason for the start.  The lights went out with Jason getting a great start off the line and a good run up on the inside on Ingram and into the lead by the first corner with Collard following him through into second position. Colin also had a good start making up two places and into fifth with Warren fifteenth and James twentieth by the end of the opening lap.  Jason however was struggling to hold onto the lead out in front allowing Collard to pass him on the inside at Williams as he defended from Jackson.  There was further disappointment on lap three when Jackson finally made the move stick on Jason sending him down the order to third and now under the attack from the Honda of Gordon Shedden with contact being made several times allowing the Scotsman to take the third place away by the start of lap four with Rob Austin also going through placing Jason in fifth with Colin now hot on his heels in sixth.  Warren also dropped down the order to seventeenth and James eighteenth, when disaster would strike for Jackson moving all four Levorg’s up a further place in the race.  For the remainder of the now ten lap race there were no further gains to be made with Jason being the lead Subaru in fourth place as Colin passed Jordan to finish sixth.  James brought the third Levorg GT home in nineteenth with Warren retiring with a boost leak on lap seven.

Colin remains the lead Silverline Subaru BMR Racing driver in the championship standings having moved up a staggering six places from eleventh to fifth and just 34 points adrift of new championship leader Rob Collard, with Jason eleventh and a further 29 points behind.  Warren took his first points of the 2016 season so far in twenty fourth and James right behind him in twenty fifth.

Silverline Subaru BMR Racing also picked up the Team Trophy for outscoring all the other teams over the weekend.

Racing resumes north of the border at Knockhill in Scotland on the weekend of 13/14 August.
 
Silverline Subaru BMR Racing driver quotes:
 
Colin Turkington commented:  “I’m extremely satisfied with another strong performance and claiming my third win of the season was definitely the highlight.  We thought that it could potentially be a tricky weekend for us, but all the summer test miles and hard work really paid off and that is incredibly rewarding.
 
“Coming from P2 to win in race one was a special moment and it was made even more significant as the whole team finished inside the top ten.  I gave it my all throughout the three races and despite some pretty scary moments I was able to take home a big haul of points. I’ve been looking forward to Knockhill for some time and my aim is to build on this momentum and see how far up the leader board we can climb.” 
 
Jason Plato commented:  "Snetterton produced another mega milestone for Silverline Subaru BMR Racing with all 4 cars finishing in the top ten, a truly fantastic reward for the team for all the hard work everyone has put into our Subaru project. 

“Personally Snetterton was a disappointment for me as we struggled to find the sweet spot on setup. We were close but not totally in the groove, I'm looking forward to making progress at Knockhill. 

“Huge congrats to Colin, he is certainly on a roll at the moment.”
 
 
James Cole commented:  “I was very happy with my performance over the Snetterton weekend. The two day tyre test certainly helped me get a deeper understanding of the Subaru Levorg. I am now starting to extract the last little bits, which has improved my pace. 
 
“Finishing P10 in race one should have been only the start of what looked to become a successful weekend. Saving my soft tyres for race two and the potential of a reverse grid upset for race three was certainly on the cards. Sadly a drive shaft failure on the warm up lap in race two put an end to my weekend early. 
 
“As much as the weekend ended in disappointment there is still so much potential to extract from the package we have. I'm very optimistic for the future and understand that first year cars have their issues from time to time. I'm prepared to endure some pain now and reap the rewards in the future!”
 
 
Warren Scott commented:  “I am very pleased with the team’s performance as a whole over the weekend and I am overjoyed with my own performance.  To qualify one second off pole position on a two second lap is something I’m delighted with.

“My first race went extremely well with my ninth place finish, I had a difficult start in race two and finished just outside the points and there was obvious disappointment in race three with having to retire but overall I am extremely pleased the move forward in my own personal speed. 

“Snetterton was great for the team and with Colin now lying fifth in the championship and us moving up the overall team’s order I am very much looking forward to an exciting to finish to the year.”
 
Written by Maddy Turner

Photo credits MJP Media
 
 

Silverline Subaru BMR Racing and our driving quartet of Jason Plato, Colin Turkington, Warren Scott and James Cole, have our sights set on a return to the podium next weekend (30-31 July), as the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) returns at Snetterton after the annual six-week summer break. 

During the lengthy sabbatical we made further developmental progress as the team headed to Norfolk for the two day Dunlop tyre test at Snetterton earlier this month. 

The first half of the season has been a challenge for us all at Silverline Subaru BMR Racing and we all can’t wait to get back out on track to continue our strive for success.  We are looking to add to the nine podiums already secured this season between Colin and Jason with particularly strong performances from the previous two rounds at Oulton Park and Croft.

Colin currently holds both the qualifying and race lap records around the Snetterton 300 circuit and the team enjoyed tremendous success in 2015 with a podium lock out in race 1.  The team visited the podium in all three races in addition to being awarded the Team Trophy.

We are all confident there are further gains to come from the all new Subaru Levorg GT at the next five rounds and we are looking forward to continuing our development with Subaru UK, Silverline Tools, Adrian Flux and our technical partners who are very much enjoying the journey with us.

Team Manager Alan Cole commented “Snetterton is going to be a tricky weekend for us with the new car but we are certainly looking forward to the challenge”.

Written by Maddy Turner
Photo Credits - Jakob Ebrey

Saturday mornings practice sessions showed that the cars had good pace with the lap times improving as the morning went on.  The afternoons qualifying session saw double BTCC champion Colin Turkington dominating from early on and gradually improving his times throughout the 30 minute shoot out and showing an outstanding performance being the fastest out of the four Subaru Levorg GT’s with a time of 1m23.608s.

This was Colin’s second consecutive British Touring Car Championship pole position start for Silverline Subaru BMR Racing, placing him in the hot seat for the opening race of the day for round 13 on Sunday.  There was disappointment for Warren as he fought hard to be the highest placed of the Subaru Levorg GT’s and ended up having a brief sideways off into the wall, however the car was repaired and he completed the remainder of the session.  James was also left deflated after setting an impressive time of 1m24.20s before having it disallowed for track limits.  Jason set the 4th quickest time but disappointingly his bid for pole position was hampered by a fuel surge problem that we are working on rectifying with TOCA.  Warren qualified in 21st and James in 25th with a gap of just 1.4 seconds between the quartet.            

The opening encounter on Sunday brought a historical 1-2 finish for Silverline Subaru BMR Racing, during a race that was plagued with incidents and three safety car periods.  Starting from pole position Colin had a great start with 2nd place starter Daniel Lloyd attempting a move around the outside of the circuit into the first corner, however Lloyd turned in too early and across the nose of Colin that resulted in contact with the front of the Subaru which subsequently sent the Honda into the tyre wall.  Thankfully Colin escaped without damage and retained his lead. The incident also caught up a number of other cars and brought a safety car to the proceedings.  Jason had an equally impressive start to the race moving to the inside line and tucking up behind Colin and settling in 2nd place. 

When racing resumed on lap 3, Colin held off Jason with both cars setting superb lap times, with the fastest of the race set by Colin on lap 5.  By lap 8 there was a second safety car period after Mark Howard lost control into the first corner and went hard into the tyre wall.  With Warren running in 18th and James in 23rd racing resumed on lap 10, but it was short lived after Kelvin Fletcher first tagged Dan Welch at the hairpin, that resulted in Fletcher spearing James off on the outside of the track ripping the wheel and suspension off the rear of his Levorg and putting an end to his race.
 

The third safety car period began on lap 13 to retrieve the stricken Mercedes of Aiden Moffatt.  The safety car came in at the end of lap 16 so Colin did all he could to make a break from the now bunched up chasing pack and led home the Subaru’s for a 1-2 finish with a gap of 1.3 seconds to Jason.  Warren came home in 16th place and just one place short of a point scoring position.  

A delighted Colin collected the winner’s trophy for the 38th time in his BTCC career and a second time for us at Silverline Subaru BMR Racing.  An ecstatic Paul Tunniciffe, Managing Director of Subaru UK, also took to the podium for the second time in 2016 to collect the winning manufacturer trophy for Subaru UK.  

 

 

Following on from the superb results from the opening race, Colin would be lining up on Pole Position once again albeit with an extra 75kgs of success ballast on board, with Jason alongside him on the front row with 66kgs.  Warren would start from 16th with James having plenty of work to do from 26th after the team did a stellar job repairing the rear of his Subaru Levorg GT.

As the lights went out it was Jason who got off to a flyer and shot into first place as Colin tucked in neatly behind him in 2nd.  Further down the field the usual first corner mayhem struck again and once again James was forced off the circuit and into the gravel trap that resulted in yet another short safety car period for the next lap. 

Jason set the fastest lap on the restart at the end of lap 3, and led by six tenths of a second before Colin retook the lead on Lap 5.  With the rear wheel drive BMW’s of Jack Goff and Rob Collard looming ever nearer and hot on our tails, the pressure was on and with our Silverline Subaru BMR Racing drivers having a ‘free to race, no team orders policy’ the battle continued for the lead until lap 8 when Jason went for a gap in an attempt to pass up the inside of Colin at Tower but the two cars made contact sending Colin sideways, which in turn slowed up Jason and Goff, allowing Collard through from fourth to take the lead forcing Jason back into 2nd and Colin into 3rd.  Warren was running in 19th until contact on lap 12 sent him into a spin at Hawthorn, however he managed to re-join the race before further contact from Kelvin Fletcher caused yet another spin on lap 15.  Jason doubled up with another podium in 2nd with Colin right behind him in 3rd. Warren finished the race in 26th place in his rather battle scarred Levorg.

The reverse grid draw selection was made by Team BMR guest and 23 times Isle of Man TT Champion John McGuinness.  Number 8 was pulled out of the bag placing Sam Tordoff on Pole Position.  Colin would be the highest placed Subaru in 6th, with Jason in 7th.  Warren would take his finishing position from race two placing him 26th with James at the back of the grid in 32nd after his non finish.

As the cars took to the grid the rain started to fall, and with it only being light the stewards hadn’t called a wet race so it was up to the teams to choose which tyres to run, so a few took a big gamble and ran on slick tyres.  However all four Subaru Levorg pilots elected for wets and it soon became apparent that was the right choice as the heavens opened early on in the race. 

Once again all four made a great start, but unfortunately it was Warren this time that was forced wide and into the gravel trap on turn one bringing an early safety car.  Colin had made his way up to 4th, as Jason lost a few places and sat in 11th. James remained at the tail of the field having not made any advantage thus far.

When racing resumed on Lap 3 Colin found a way past the BMW of Goff around the outside moving up to 3rd.  With Jackson on slicks he and Moffatt made contact on lap 5 the safety car was deployed once more whilst Moffatts Mercedes was lifted to safety.   At the end of lap 9 Ash Sutton made a move in the MG making contact with Colin which then gave an advantage to the BMW of Collard and forcing Colin back into 5th place.   

The safety car was deployed once again between lap 14  and lap 17 to retrieve the car of Hunter Abbott after contact with Jeff Smith bunching up the field once again.  The last two laps would be a sprint to the line with Colin finishing in a great point scoring position of 7th, Jason 10th and James 21st. Rookie Sutton took the win, the first of his BTCC career.

The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship now takes it annual summer break and reconvenes at the testing twists and turns of Norfolk’s Snetterton Circuit in six weeks’ time over the weekend of the 30th and 31st of July.

In the meantime Jason Plato will be attempting the Hill Climb at Goodwood this week with Colin Turkington’s’ car on display at the Subaru UK stand.
 
Quotes from the Silverline Subaru BMR Racing drivers:
 
Warren Scott  – “Once again I am absolutely over the moon with the results for the team over the weekend, I think it really shows how far the guys have brought the Levorg’s on.  We’ve still got a lot to do in the second half of the season but we’re feeling very confident with the challenge that lies ahead.”

Jason Plato - “Another great weekend for us, we are making great progress with the Subaru Levorg. To be as competitive as we are at this early stage in the cars development is very exciting as we know there is still so much more performance to unlock.   Race one was another historic milestone for the team with our first one-two, it was a shame that Colin didn't see my move for the lead in race two as I'm sure we would have had produced another one-two.   The wet race three was a learning curve for me as it was my first wet race in a rear wheel drive touring car. After the first few laps I recalibrated my driving style and was thereafter setting fastest laps.  I can't wait for Snetterton to come, I really believe the second half of the season will belong to us.  Huge thanks to everyone in the team, our success is a result of their huge efforts. Cheers boy’s n girls.”

Colin Turkington - “I'm really pleased to continue my race winning form at Croft and make further strides with the development of the Subaru Levorg.  We did the hard work on Saturday claiming another pole position and that helped set me up for a good race day. Wins don't come easy in the BTCC and I had to work really hard for this one, especially with three safety car periods.  Croft was a track that played to our strengths, but it was still an amazing job by the team to turn up and deliver the results that everyone expected.  Two podiums in any race weekend is a good return and overall I'm happy to walk away with a good haul of points and another victory."
 
James Cole - “I received a tweet on Sunday night from a Subaru fan, saying ‘If James didn’t have bad luck he’d have no luck at all…’ couldn’t have summed it up better myself.  It’s amazing how your weekend can be shaped by one decision.  From being seventh in qualifying with a minute to go to twenty fifth sixty seconds later because of a judicial decision is a tough pill to swallow.  My aim for Croft was to qualify solidly inside the top ten and get three solid results, which would have been a great step forward from Oulton Park.  The positives to take out of the weekend are we achieved our aim only to get it taken away.  With the championship being as competitive as it is, it was always a tough ask to carve through the field, even with a proven place.”

To learn more about the Subaru Levorg sport tourer, visit www.subaru.co.uk
 
Written by Maddy Turner

Photo credits MJP Photography
 

Silverline Subaru BMR Racing’s Colin Turkington, Jason Plato, Warren Scott and James Cole have their sights set on further success as the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship heads north for rounds 13, 14 and 15 at the Croft circuit this weekend (18/19 June).



With outstanding results from Oulton Park with the team taking their maiden win and a podium hat trick, the team are oozing with confidence after considerable strides forward were made with the teams Subaru Levorg GT.  All four cars will start the weekend ballast free as they currently sit outside the top ten in the championship.

Since the BTCC’s maiden visit to Croft in 1997, our very own double BTCC champions Colin Turkington and Jason Plato have enjoyed success at the Yorkshire track by amassing a combined 14 wins and countless podiums.  Colin also holds the current qualifying and race lap record set in 2014.
Off the back of their most successful meeting yet for 2016 the Silverline Subaru BMR Racing team are full of confidence that the Levorg will hit the ground running this weekend at the mid-season point of the championship.



Qualifying will be streamed live on the ITV website from 4.00pm this Saturday whilst live coverage of Sunday’s events will be shown live on ITV4 from 10.55am

Quotes from the Silverline Subaru BMR Racing drivers pre-Croft:

Colin Turkington: “I’ve found great success in recent BTCC years at Croft and I look forward to it every year.  It’s always the last event before the halfway point and it’s a good opportunity to make your intent known to the rest of the pack.  Following on from our success at Oulton I will certainly arrive at Croft aiming high and it’s important to capitalise when we have no success ballast.  I’ve got some wind in my sails at the moment and I don’t intend on taking my eye off the ball.”

Jason Plato: “I’m really looking forward to Croft, the Subaru Levorg came alive at Oulton Park and we are excited at the prospect of continuing where we left off.  If all goes well, I expect us to be challenging  for podium places.”

James Cole: “The Subaru Levorg should really suit the Croft circuit.  It’s very much a RWD circuit and I believe we have the best RWD on the grid.  Oulton Park was a great weekend for BMR and we are very much hoping for the same again.  Every mile I have in the car I improve and I’m hoping we see all four Subaru’s far up the grid this weekend.”

Warren Scott: “Having had the weekend we had at Oulton Park the team are really looking forward to Croft and we head there feeling confident that we can challenge towards the front.  The circuit should suit the Levorg and with the cars now showing good pace we are all hoping for another great weekend.”


Written by Maddy Turner

Photo credits:  MJP Media

After three previously challenging weekends in the opening rounds of the BTCC series, the Silverline Subaru BMR Racing team made some changes to the chassis and engine after withdrawing from the proceedings at Thruxton.  A two day test followed in Wales to ensure that the gremlins were put to bed before travelling to Oulton Park.  Speaking of the test Team Manager Alan Cole commented “Recent progress was made with the chassis and engine after a two day test at Pembrey.  We would like to thank Mountune who have put in a huge effort to produce a competitive engine in such a short space of time.”

The Silverline Subaru BMR Racing team then backed that up when they entered the history books at Oulton Park at the weekend with Double Champion Colin Turkington scoring the team’s first Subaru win in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

With all four cars having shown good pace in the two Saturday morning free practice sessions, the team went into the afternoons qualifying session feeling confident of a good result.  Colin Turkington delivered the goods producing a blistering 1m:26.264s lap around the 2.26 mile Cheshire circuit, setting the team’s first Silverline Subaru pole position.  Jason was running in 2nd place for the first part of the session and eventually qualified in an impressive 6th with a time of 1m:26.366s.  James set the 18th quickest time with Warren qualifying in 23rd and just 1.025s adrift of Colin’s benchmark time.

 

    

For the opening race of the weekend Colin made a great start from pole position fighting off challenges from Sam Tordoff in the BMW during the opening stages, before stretching his lead with a lights to flag victory and making it the team’s first ever win in the Subaru Levorg GT sports tourer.  Jason endured a great battle with Honda’s Gordon Shedden after finally making the move on lap 12 and placing him in 3rd position, making it a double podium for the Silverline Subaru BMR Racing team.  Warren and James both drove a great race and finished in 17th and 18th respectively.  The team were also handed the manufacturer win that was greatly received by the Managing Director of Subaru UK Paul Tunnicliffe.

For race two all four drivers would start in their finishing positions from the opener.  With Colin back on pole and Jason set to line up in 3rd, both drivers made a great start but Tordoff immediately took the lead leaving Colin and Jason battling for 2nd.  Colin held off Jason and took the place ahead of his team mate in 3rd, making it another outstanding double podium with celebrations all round for the team.  Warren brought his car home in 19th as James retired from the race after suffering a hit from behind causing him braking issues.

The reverse grid for Race 3 would see Honda’s Matt Neal drawn on pole position with Jason set to line up in 5th, Colin 7th, Warren 18th and James 31st.  The 15 lap final shoot out was a great end to the day with an exciting battle for 3rd position between several competitors including Jason and Colin, which lingered throughout the entire race.  A last gasp opportunity at Lodge corner would see Jason passing around the outside of several drivers that produced a hat-trick of third place finishes.  Colin held onto a fantastic 7th place as both James and Warren pitted dropping them both down the order and as the flag fell Warren crossed the line in 24th with James retiring in pit-lane.

Silverline Subaru BMR Racing were awarded the Team Trophy for the weekend.

The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship now moves on to Croft in Yorkshire in two weeks’ time (18th & 19th June).

Paul Tunnicliffe Managing Director of Subaru UK commented “After the disappointment of Thruxton this result tasted very sweet indeed.  We always had faith in the car, the team and drivers, and knew that this day was bound to come.  With scope for more development, we are confident that this will be no flash in the pan.”

Warren Scott commented “Firstly I would like to say a huge thank you to Subaru UK, Jason, Colin, James and everyone in the team at Silverline Subaru BMR Racing along with all of our sponsors for getting us here.  I am very proud of everyone involved in the project and everyone should remember that these cars are only six months old and we have just won our first race.  We are all absolutely delighted”. 

Colin Turkington commented “Oulton Park was the moment we’ve all been waiting on and worked so hard for.  The true potential of the Subaru Levorg finally came to the fore and it was a weekend none of us will forget in a hurry.  I’m so pleased for everyone involved and I hope in some small way this repays the incredible efforts over the past five months.   It was a special feeling to make history and deliver the maiden win for Subaru in the BTCC and in truth it hasn’t quite sunk in yet.  I can’t imagine anyone expected such rapid progress, but we knew it was only a matter of time.  It’s even more encouraging to see the cars run so well with success ballast after race one and we’re even more convinced the Subaru Levorg will become a real championship challenger.”

Jason Plato Commented “What a fantastic weekend for everyone at Silverline Subaru BMR Racing.  We should be enormously proud of our successes at Oulton Park.  We really have arrived in some style.  The future is very bright for us all and I can’t wait to get back in the car for Croft."

James Cole Commented “Is it Croft yet!!??  I cannot wait to get back in this fantastic car and tackle the next circuit.  A massive congratulations to Colin, Jason and the rest of the Subaru Silverline BMR Racing team on such an amazing weekend.  Sadly for myself the cards didn’t fall for me like I’d hoped.  Oulton Park is a circuit I know well and really expected better.  A few issues pre-qualifying put our car on the back foot going into qualifying, which in reality at the moment effected my whole weekend.  We have a fantastic car, we just need to make it a little faster in race pace; if we can do this we will be such a force to be reckoned with….. So, is it Croft yet!!??”

Written by Maddy Turner
Photo Credits to MJP Media

To learn more about the Subaru Levorg sport tourer, visit www.subaru.co.uk

Silverline Subaru BMR Racing endured a challenging weekend at Donington Park for rounds 4, 5 and 6 of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.
 
With the very small time frame between Brands Hatch and Donington Park, the team were once again remaining realistic about using the opportunity to focus on developing the cars during the weekend to make as much progress as possible with the new Subaru Levorg GT sports tourers.  With the cars having had very little time out on track, each session is being used to learn about the cars to make improvements in a bid to find the right set up to ensure that we move forward to produce the best package possible.
 
Saturday’s qualifying session looked to be a tricky one with a constant change in weather and subsequent track conditions.  Colin set the quickest time out of the Subaru Levorg drivers setting the 11th fastest overall lap time of 1:14.160 followed by Warren in 16th, James 17th and Jason 18th.
  
Race 1 saw Warren involved in an incident with Ollie Jackson at Redgate, which fired them both into the gravel, with the race coming to a dramatic end for the team after it was eventually red flagged following James’ Subaru Levorg catching fire as one of the fuel ancillary systems failed.  James escaped without injury with the assistance of the marshals and fire crew, but unfortunately the car sustained a great deal of damage putting an end to James’ weekend.  Colin was once again the quickest driver of the quartet finishing in 10th position and scoring points for the team with Jason just out of the point scoring zone in 17th.  Warren was able to return to track after his earlier excursion and ended the race in 25th place.  Mat Jackson was handed the win ahead of Josh Cook and Tom Ingram.
 
Race 2 commenced with the drivers lining up in the positions that they finished the previous race and with Colin being 10th on the grid he was in for a chance of another top ten position.   Despite making a great start, unfortunately Colin sustained contact on his right rear causing a puncture and sending him into the gravel.  Warren finished 19th ahead of Jason in 20th.  The race was won by Rob Collard with Aron Smith and Gordon Shedden completing the podium.
 
For Race 3 Warren and Jason both started on row 10 of the grid in 19th and 20th positions with Colin starting all the way down in 27th due to his earlier non finish.  Despite his starting position, Colin progressed through the field from the back of the grid making up an impressive nine places and finishing in 18th place, just behind  Jason in 16th.  Unfortunately Warren retired from the race upon instruction from his pit crew following the same component failure that was seen on James’ car in race 1.  Matt Neal took the honours from Gordon Shedden and Sam Tordoff.
 


Photo credits:  Jakob Ebrey

Jason Plato said:  “Donington proved to be very productive for Silverline Subaru BMR Racing. We continue to gain valuable insight into the development of the team’s Subaru Levorg's. We achieved a great deal this weekend, which will accelerate our performance on track in the coming weeks. We know the areas we need to improve upon and are working flat out to find solutions. 
 
“I'm still confident that our target of challenging for podiums will arrive before mid-season. 
 
“Everybody at Silverline Subaru BMR Racing is up for the challenge and is feeling a certain degree of inner calm that success is just around the corner.”
 
 
Colin Turkington said:  “We walk away from Donington with a few more grey hairs, but with an abundance of information and a deeper understanding of the Subaru Levorg.  Changeable conditions on Saturday provided a new set of challenges, but we coped remarkably well and my confidence with the car is growing all the time. 
 
“Having only completed a shakedown run with the cars since the last event, I was happy to once again qualify just outside the top 10.  I enjoyed a typical BTCC battle in Race 1 and it was pleasing to bring the car home in 10th position and score a few more championship points. An early puncture ruined any chances of advancing in Race 2 but again in Race 3 I was able to show the strengths of the car and progress through the field.  
 
“It's onwards and upwards from here and I'm already looking forward to getting back in the car at Thruxton. We know there is work to do to close the gap to the front runners, but we have the people, skills and experience to make that happen.”
 

James Cole said:  “I came away from Donington with only positive thoughts about the future with Team BMR and the Subaru Levorg.
Despite our little problem on Sunday we are starting to see the cars’ potential - this process just takes time.
 
“Saturday was a very productive day for the team and me, I enjoyed the mixed conditions of qualifying, and making the decision very early to go from wet tyres to dry tyres on a damp track really showed the cars handling strengths. It filled me with a lot of hope for the coming rounds.
 
“I’m thankful to walk away with just a few singed hairs after a scary race one.”
 

Warren Scott said:  We are pleased with the information that we are getting from the cars despite it being a tricky weekend and only two weeks after the launch of the Subaru Levorg’s, and I am confident that we are showing signs of real improvement. 
 
“The general reliability of the cars is very good and the future looks impressive for all of the Silverline Subaru BMR Racing drivers.  We look forward to improving on the issues found to get the cars closer to the front of the grid.”
 
 
 Alan Cole, Team Manager said:  “We learned some valuable lessons at Donington Park and the team did a great job despite it being a tough weekend.  We will continue to improve the car as much as possible before Thruxton where we meet in just over two weeks time.”

 
Rounds 7, 8 and 9 of the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship will take place at Thruxton in Hampshire on 7/8 May.
 
To learn more about the Subaru Levorg sport tourer, visit www.subaru.co.uk.
 
 

Silverline Subaru BMR Racing are delighted to announce that MOMO UK have been appointed as the official steering wheel partner for the Subaru Levorg Sports Tourers being campaigned in the British Touring Car Championship.
 
The team run by Warren Scott made an exciting start to the season with the new cars achieving race finishes with point scoring positions on their first outing at the opening round, which is made even more impressive by the fact all 4 cars were built in only 87 days!
 
On completion of the technical partnership, Warren said “I am very pleased to have MOMO UK on board as a technical partner. The BMR drivers have used MOMO steering wheels in the past and both Jason and I love the more traditional round steering wheel so it made perfect sense to remain with something that we feel comfortable with. Both Colin and James requested to use a modern flat bottomed design with ergonomic thumb grips as this is something that they have experienced with their rear wheel drive history”.
 
With the next round of the series taking place at Donington Park this coming weekend, Silverline Subaru BMR Racing are feeling confident about pushing the cars further up the grid with the assistance of MOMO UK helping to steer them to glory.

Subaru Silverline BMR Racing left Brands Hatch on a high on Sunday evening following rounds 1, 2 and 3 of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.
                                           
Having achieved the mammoth task of building the four new Subaru Levorg GT sport tourers in just 87 days, we arrived at the circuit having only completed a very short shakedown session on one of the machines and were entering the unknown on Saturday morning with the weekend being utilised to develop the cars.
 
The plan for the free practice sessions on Saturday was to run all four cars on different set ups to gather as much information as possible in order to obtain valuable data to put us in the best possible position for qualifying later on in the afternoon.
 
The whole team were pleased with the overall qualifying results with Colin Turkington achieving the highest placed position out of the four drivers after a monumental effort, with just 30 seconds remaining on the clock, he shot up the order to an outstanding 11th place.  Jason Plato, Warren Scott and James Cole were all close together qualifying 23rd, 27th and 29th.
 
The team continued with their preparation schedule working late into the night in order to be fully prepared for the challenge that awaited them on the first race day of the 2016 season the following morning. 
 
As dawn broke an excited Brands Hatch crowd filled the Kent venue on Sunday morning for the opening race of the year. 
 
With all four cars ready to start the race Warren incurred damage to a development part on the green flag lap which again proved to the team that this first weekend was more about learning the cars rather than pushing it to the max and grabbing points.
 
Colin gained damage from contact with a fellow competitor at Graham Hill bend early on in the race and was subsequently forced to come in for repairs. The decision was taken to retire the car from the race to ensure that everyone had plenty of time to have the number 4 machine fixed and ready for Race 2 later in the afternoon.  Both Jason and James completed the race, albeit some way down the order, with Jason finishing in 21st and James in 25th. The race was won by Speedworks Tom Ingram as the two Halfords Yuasa team mates completed the other podium positions.
 
For Race 2 the drivers lined up on the grid in the order that they finished the opening race, placing Jason 23rd and James 25th. Both Colin and Warren’s car repairs were complete and they would line up in 26th and 32nd.  
 
All four got off to a great start, however Colin was caught out in the latter stages of the race along with a whole host of other drivers when oil was spilt onto the circuit at Graham Hill bend dropping him back down the order.  
 
Jason was the highest placed Subaru Levorg making up ten positions in the race to an impressive 13th place and a point scoring position with James in 19th, Colin 20th and Warren in 21st.  
 
The second race of the day showed that the car had made real progress as Jason attained the 2nd fastest lap time of the race.  Gordon Shedden took the victory with fellow team mate Matt Neal following in 2nd with Aron Smith taking the 3rd spot on the podium and taking a maiden independent win for new to the series Team BKR.
 
Race 3 brought a fantastic end to the day for the team with Colin scoring points and bringing his Subaru Levorg home in 12th place. Jason finished in 16th with James 18th and Warren in 19th place. It was great to see all four cars running competitively and all gaining ground from their starting positions.
 
Everyone here at Subaru Silverline BMR Racing are pleased with the progress of the Subaru Levorgs during their first weekend of racing and we now look forward to Donington Park in just two weeks’ time, where we will be aiming to further develop the four machines.
 
Colin Turkington said:  “Brands Hatch was a real success in my eyes. I was able to qualify just outside the top ten, make progress through the field in all three races, constantly improve lap times and score a handful of points.  The car has come out of the box incredibly strong but not by chance.  The work done by Subaru Silverline BMR Racing has been nothing short of exceptional.  I really enjoyed driving the Levorg and am expecting great success to come our way.”


Jason Plato said:  “What a weekend… what a debut for Subaru Silverline BMR Racing! Our plan was to shoot for reliability, collect data, develop the car but most of all to finish races. To score points on our debut was the icing on the cake for the monumental effort that everyone at the team has put in since December. We can take great positives from the weekend, we even witnessed a glimpse of real pace at this early stage of development in the Levorg as I posted the second fastest lap in Race 2 which was only just over 1 tenth of a second off the fastest lap.  
“We should be so so proud. A huge thank you to everyone that has helped in the birth of our baby! Special mentions also should go to our partners Subaru, Silverline Tools and Adrian Flux Insurance, without their support none of this could happen. I would also like to personally thank Warren Scott for his total support and vision. BTCC Championship Trophy….. We’re coming to get you!"
 
James Cole said:  “Now having time to reflect on a manic 1st weekend of the BTCC my main feelings are of pride for Subaru Silverline BMR Racing and excitement for the year ahead. Such a massive achievement by the whole team to design and build 4 cars in such a short amount of time and have all 4 running almost faultlessly is nothing short of amazing.
 
“For myself jumping back into a RWD I automatically felt straight at home, I wish it was Donington Park tomorrow!! We can all see the potential in the Subaru Levorg and can see the team moving further up the grid in no time!”
 
Warren Scott said:  “I am extremely proud of each and every team member at Subaru Silverline BMR Racing with what we have achieved this weekend.  The team has worked incredibly hard with very little sleep over the last few weeks and they’ve all pulled together to produce an incredible package. 
 
“We have made some progress this weekend and other than my car having a small mechanical issue with a development part in the first race, the cars have proved to be reliable and we’ve had the added bonus of scoring some points which we didn’t expect to happen in the opening rounds.”
 
Rounds 4, 5 and 6 of the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship will take place at Donington Park on 16/17 April.
 
To learn more about the Subaru Levorg sport tourer, visit www.subaru.co.uk.
 

Team BMR are pleased to announce their latest recruits to join the ranks in the Renault UK Clio Cup in the form of Mike Bushell and Josh Price.  Team Pyro drivers Mike and Josh will join fellow team mate Senna Proctor carrying the Team BMR logos, along with the RCIB Insurance Racing brand during their 2016 campaigns.
 
With the Clio Cup grid shaping up to be one of the most competitive in recent years, competition will be tough, but with two recent big announcements in the past week, the BMR drivers are feeling confident heading into this weekend’s opening rounds of the 2016 season.
 
Team BMR owner and BTCC driver Warren Scott commented “I am delighted to add two new rising stars to the BMR family with the support of Mike Joseph of RCIB Insurance, and everyone at BMR is really looking forward to watching their journey in what looks to be a very exciting season of the Renault UK Clio Cup”.
 
After a season competing in the British Touring Car Championship Mike Bushell announced his return to the Clio Cup grid earlier this year.  Mike commented “It's great to be approached by Warren and Team BMR, I had made an early decision to move back to the Clio Cup after having a turbulent season in the BTCC and was left unsure of whether I would have a future in BTCC.

With an opportunity like this, I'm hungrier than ever to win and reward their faith in me and achieve some great results for Team BMR"


Josh Price added “It's a real honour to be approached by Warren and Team BMR to be a part of their junior programme and hopefully this is a stepping stone towards my goal of competing in the BTCC. To be representing RCIB Insurance Racing is also a huge boost for me as they have a huge presence in the UK motorsport scene these days"
 
Price’s Manager, former Team BMR BTCC driver and 2012 Clio Cup Champion Jack Goff commented "I have been looking after Josh since he moved out of karting and into car racing. Following his first day in the Clio I could tell he has a natural talent and feel for what the car is doing underneath him. His karting record speaks for itself, but I feel that 2016 could be the year that he cements his name in the saloon car ranks. With my connections at BMR and RCIB Insurance from my past years with them, it's nice to be able to now help out Josh in his early years in car racing and it will be good to still be working alongside Mike Joseph at RCIB who has helped me massively over the years". 
 
The 2016 season is significant in UK Clio Cup history as it marks 25 years since the championship was founded in 1991. 
 
The season commences this coming weekend (Sat 2/Sun 3 April) for the start of its 2016 season at Kent’s world-famous Brands Hatch circuit in front of a bumper Dunlop British Touring Car Championship crowd.
 

Team BMR reveal the car design of the BMR Subaru Levorg 

Team BMR are excited to announce former Ginetta Junior star Senna Proctor will return to Team BMR in association with Team Pyro to compete in the 2016 Renault UK Clio Cup Championship.

The 17 year old competed in the Ginetta Junior series in 2015 driving under the Team BMR banner, under the supervision of Team Owner and BTCC driver Warren Scott, in a bid to bring young British drivers through the TOCA support packages with a view to them progressing up the ladder.  Warren commented “I am delighted that Senna is with us again this year and I’m really looking forward to another exciting season of the Renault UK Clio Cup.  The team at Pyro did an outstanding job looking after Ashley Sutton in the Clio last year so I’m confident that between us we are capable of growing another champion in 2016.”

The next gradual step for Senna was to progress through to the Clio Cup having just missed out on the Ginetta Junior title last year after initially being crowned Champion at the final race at Brands Hatch GP circuit last October only to have the crown taken away from him when the race result was amended after a fellow competitor received a time penalty for a jump start.  “I was very honoured to drive for BMR last year in my 2nd season in Ginetta Juniors, but for them to extend their deal with me for the next couple of years is fantastic news & a huge boost to my career as they guide me towards the BTCC Championship, it is an honour to race for such an incredible team & I’m looking forward to working with championship winning team, Team Pyro‘’ said Senna.

Senna has signed to pilot a race spec version of the Clio Renaultsport 220 Trophy and will be run by Team Pyro on what is expected to be a full grid again this year.  Pyro boss Mark Hunt said “We have a two year plan for Senna to become Clio Cup Champion and from his performances’ in the junior TOCA support series I see this being possible.  We will start with an intensive test programme and would like to hit the ground running come Brands in April.  It helps that we are starting with a racer that understands the TOCA paddock and also has a sensible but sharp head on his shoulders.”

2016’s Renault UK Clio Cup are looking to build on an exceptional 2015 for the championship which celebrated its biggest grid sizes in two years and concluded with arguably the most dramatic title finale in its history with Team BMR/Pyro Driver Ashley Sutton taking the victory.

All 18 of the Clip Cup’s races will again take place at the high-profile Dunlop British Touring Car Championship’s events in 2016, meaning it’s drivers, teams and sponsors continue to enjoy unrivalled levels of exposure with huge trackside crowds and live TV coverage on ITV4.

2016’s Renault Clio Cup season launch will be held at Rockingham circuit in Northamptonshire on Wednesday 23rdMarch.

Team BMR are pleased to confirm that Mountune have been chosen as the exclusive engine partner to develop and build the teams engines for the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship campaign.

Following the announcement earlier this week that the team will enter as a constructor team with Subaru UK and Ireland, the new Subaru Levorg will feature the Subaru Boxer engine which will be developed and built as a two-litre, direct injection, turbocharged engine.

Kevin Berry, Chief Engineer of Team BMR commented “Having looked at all the options available to us for 2016 I am excited that Mountune are on board to develop and build our engine for this project.  With the extensive experience that Mountune have in the BTCC and NGTC regulations, I am extremely confident that Mountune have the expertise and ability to produce a great race engine from this unique Subaru base”.

David Mountain, Technical Director of Mountune Racing commented “We are thrilled to have been chosen to build the engines for BMR’s 2016 championship campaign, and very happy to be partnered with a manufacturer team.” said Mountain.  “The development team here at mountune will be working around the clock getting the four Boxer engines ready for pre-season testing and are all looking forward to seeing them perform out on track during this years championship.”

Mountune have a successful history of 35 years in the motor sport industry and with the hugely experienced members of the team, based at their headquarters in Hertfordshire, we expect it to be a very exciting season.

Warren Scott, Team Principle of Team BMR concluded “I am very pleased and excited to be working with Mountune on the development of the engine and I’m positive that with the very small time frame that we are faced with they will produce a great engine in time for the Official BTCC Media Day on 22nd March at Donington Park”.

All of us at Team BMR are delighted with the response to our exciting news.  Thank you for all of the messages, emails and phone calls of the support that we have received this week, we can’t wait for the season to begin.

Team BMR will carry the Subaru badge as it enters as a constructor team from 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.  Team BMR will join the grid and the fight for the Manufacturers/Constructors title this year, bringing in Subaru as a brand new manufacturer to the championship and going head to head with Honda, MG and BMW.

Speaking of the new partnership, Team Principle Warren Scott enthused "I am extremely delighted that BMR are to become a manufacturer team in only our 4th year of competing in the BTCC, I have had aspirations of becoming a race winning team with factory support from the very beginning and I am immensely proud of the team for giving Subaru the confidence in partnering BMR".

Team BMR will be switching to the new Subaru Levorg Sports Tourer for the 2016 BTCC season and will be developing the car and engine, supported by the global resources of Subaru and Subaru UK.

Paul Tunnicliffe, Managing Director for Subaru UK & Ireland said “We’re very excited to have teamed up with BMR for the 2016 championship, the first time a Subaru has competed in BTCC. We were keen to enter our new Levorg Sport Tourer as it offers class leading aerodynamics and handling prowess in standard form. It can be easily developed into rear-wheel drive to comply with the BTCC regulations so we can’t wait to see how it goes against very established competition”.

For Subaru it will be their first step into The British Touring Car Championship with the current Independent Teams Champions for at least the next 3 year term, reflecting its current brand promise, ‘proudly retaining the unstoppable drive to lead’: leading with Team BMR and a winning driver line up.

Jason Plato said “Part of my role when joining BMR was to help secure a manufacturer deal.  The iconic Subaru brand has always been right at the top of my wish list, obviously it goes without saying that I am very excited about our future together and I'm confident that BMR will produce a fantastic package for me to fight for the Championship. This really is exciting times for us all... I can't wait for the season to begin”.

Colin Turkington said “Continuing with Team BMR for the 2016 season was an easy decision for me and represents a great opportunity to build on our strong maiden campaign. I can't wait to get started with the development of the new Subaru Levorg BTCC race car and I'm more motivated than ever to win.  This announcement is huge news for the Championship and equally for me”.

The announcement confirms the status of Team BMR on the grid.  A front running organisation, popular amongst fans and recognised by global manufacturers.

Alan Gow, BTCC Series Director commented “We are delighted to welcome another manufacturer to the BTCC and particularly one with such an incredible motor sport heritage. Subaru is an iconic brand with a huge following and its introduction to the BTCC is certain to excite our many fans around the world. I am sure the collaboration with Team BMR and its hugely experienced and talented driver line-up will make for a very successful partnership.”

With the start of the season just two months away the team are working flat out to get the cars built and ready in time for testing to commence in the next few weeks.  The official reveal will be during the official BTCC Media Day at Donington Park on Tuesday 22nd March, ahead of its race debut at Brands Hatch for the first round of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship on the 2nd and 3rd April.

Carl Faux, Chief Designer said “It’s an honour to be leading not only the BMR Racing’s first car build but to be able to do this with Subaru’s new Levorg model is a real privilege. Engineering challenges is what the project presents.  A new car, new engine and all the new generation TOCA components requires a methodical approach.  Establishing a 3 year programme means we can focus on getting the basics right early before developing the package further over the following years”.

The road going Levorg GT uses the renowned Subaru Symmetrical All-wheel drive system and is powered by an all new 1.6T direct injection engine.  Prices start at £27,495 on the road.

Further information on the Subaru Levorg and other makes of cars including the latest news, images, archives and links can be found at www.subarumedia.co.uk