Both MG Sport and Racing MG ZS EX260s started the Sprint Race
from row six of the grid, after their problems in qualifying, and battled in the
midfield for the majority of the 20-lap race. The race, won by Matt Neal, was
interrupted twice during the latter stages with the safety car being deployed,
and Anthony Reid fought his way through to fifth, while Warren Hughes finished
tenth.
The tight circuit of Mondello Park was a new challenge for MG but
Anthony Reid, having qualified 11th, drove a steady race and made places to gain
valuable points for the Championship. Anthony said: "It was back to the touring
cars of old and good fun. It was hard work for the last five or six laps when
the safety car came out. With the extra weight (54kg) the tyres started to
suffer. I'm pleased as finishing fifth is better than I'd hoped for."
Warren's race was full of incidents in which the MG was in contact on a
number of occasions. Warren explained: "I had a very good first lap but later on
I took a few knocks to the side of the car. I was disappointed with qualifying
so it was always going to be difficult fighting in midfield."
BTCC
Round Nine, Sprint Race, Mondello Park, 20 laps:
1 Matt Neal GB Egg
Sport Vauxhall Astra Coupe 41min50.927secs
2 James Thompson GB Vauxhall
Motorsport Astra Coupe +0.523secs
3 David Leslie GB PSP Proton Impian
+4.520secs
4 Paul O'Neill GB Egg Sport Vauxhall Astra Coupe
+6.756secs
5 Anthony Reid GB MG Sport and Racing MG ZS +8.952secs
6 Andy Priaulx GB Honda Motorsport Civic Type-R +9.156secs
7 Tim
Harvey GB VLM Peugeot 406 Coupe +9.750secs
8 Phil Bennett GB PSP Proton
Impian +11.917secs
9 Tom Chilton GB Barwell Motorsport Vauxhall Astra Coupe
+12.453secs
10 Warren Hughes GB MG Sport and Racing MG ZS
+14.803secs
Mondello Park's 30-lap Feature Race saw MG Sport and
Racing's Anthony Reid running in the lead for much of the race - the cars
starting on wet tryes as rain lashed the track. Following his pit stop Anthony
found himself fighting to make up the places to reach third, before a last lap
an incident with Matt Neal resulted in Anthony slipping to fourth place. Warren
Hughes brought the second MG ZS EX260 home seventh.
Anthony explained:
"It was one of the most exciting races so far this season. On the last lap I was
forced wide by Matt (Neal), which allowed him to get past. I finished fourth but
disappointed not to get third. "
It was another battle for Warren after a
disappointing qualifying session the previous day. On the race Warren said: "It
was full of action. Qualifying scuppered my weekend so it was always going to be
difficult to make progress. I only got seventh but I genuinely believe we could
have done a lot better. It was a real lost opportunity this weekend so I'll be
looking to Croft to make up some points."
Rob Oldaker, managing director,
MG Sport & Racing, gave his view of the weekend: "Interesting qualifying
with the Team Atomic Kitten cars doing better than the works cars but the
weather played its part. Gareth and Colin achieved excellent results but it was
a great shame that Colin was unable to race. Nevertheless, we got better results
than we could have expected from the works cars today. We've picked up a few
more points and not too much ballast for the next round."
Dick Bennetts,
managing director, WSR commented: "The MG Hot Wheels Racing team had a
frustrating qualifying which wasn't helped by the weather. Both Team Atomic
Kitten drivers worked hard to secure excellent results but it was unfortunate
that Colin (Turkington) was unable to race. Overall, it was not a great weekend
although we have managed to gather valuable date from this, our first visit to
Mondello."
Team Atomic Kitten drivers, Gareth Howell and Colin
Turkington, put in a tremendous performance in qualifying. However, Colin
Turkington, on his home turf, was denied the chance to continue his impressive
performance when being struck down with suspected food poisoning, preventing him
taking part in any of today's action.
Gareth Howell had a mixed weekend
when his was unable to capitalise fully on his impressive qualifying positions.
He said: "After such a successful qualifying with Colin and I securing strong
grid positions, we failed to challenge in both races. I was hoping to bank
valuable points and looked favourable for a podium position in the sprint race
when we failed to finish due to a fuel pressure failure. We paid the price in
the feature race as we selected the wrong tyre (slicks) at the start."
BTCC Round Ten, Sprint Race, Mondello Park, 30 laps:
1
Yvan Muller F Vauxhall Motorsport Astra Coupe 1H02min39.376secs
2 James
Thompson GB Vauxhall Motorsport Astra Coupe +0.966secs
3 Matt Neal GB Egg
Sport Vauxhall Astra Coupe +5.750secs
4 Anthony Reid GB MG Sport and
Racing MG ZS +6.078secs
5 Paul O'Neill GB Egg Sport Vauxhall Astra Coupe
+6.397secs
6 Alan Morrison GB Honda Motorsport Civic Type-R
+7.493secs
7 Warren Hughes GB MG Sport and Racing MG ZS
+7.749secs
8 Aaron Slight NZ Barwell Motorsport Vauxhall Astra Coupe
+8.366secs
9 Phil Bennett GB PSP Proton Impian +8.863secs
10 Gareth
Howell GB Team Atomic Kitten MG ZS +10.304secs
Click here for pictures by Kelvin Fagan
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