It’s back to race action this coming weekend (the 9th/10th June) for the MG KX Momentum Racing team, after a six week break in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC). The fourth instalment of Britain’s premier four-wheeled Motorsport series comes from the popular Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire.
Despite the recent break, it hasn’t been a case of downing tools for the Oxfordshire based Triple Eight squad, as they have made good use of the time to catch-up on some of the pre-season testing, which was missed due to the late start to the season the team had debuting the all new NGTC-spec MG-6.
The team firstly headed to the MIRA test venue with Andy Neate to ensure they had overcome the technical gremlins that blighted the Buckinghamshire resident’s Thruxton race weekend. Assured that this had been achieved, the MG KX Momentum Team next headed to Rockingham. A full day’s running with two cars was achieved, with both drivers declaring themselves happy and confident progress had been made with the MG-6, in what was the team’s first chance to test and really experiment with an NGTC-spec car.
The team is now concentrating on ensuring a solid race weekend is achieved for both cars at the popular Oulton Park circuit. With the championship fight starting to take shape, where Jason Plato leads the Honda duo of Gordon Shedden and his old foe Matt Neal in the title chase, the team know the importance of fighting at the front with both MG-6 cars for the remainder of the season.
Jason Plato (#99), BTCC Standings: 1st – 129 points:
“Oulton Park can’t come soon enough; to say my tail is in the air would be an understatement. We had a successful test at Rockingham recently and have more knowledge about the MG6. I genuinely believe we are homing in on the sweet spot in the chassis. Oulton is one of my favourite circuits on the BTCC calendar; podiums are definitely in the script.”
Andy Neate (#49), BTCC Standings: 19th – 12 points:
“I’m looking forward to getting back to racing after the extended break in the series. The break came at good time for me though; as it gave us a chance to solve the technical issues I’ve been struggling with and then get some much needed test mileage under our belts. Oulton was my strongest race weekend last year and so I’m really heading there with the aim of kick starting my season and fighting for a good haul of points.“
Ian Harrison, Team Principal, BTCC Standings: Teams – 5th – 140 points, Manufacturers – 2nd – 235 points:
“It’s been nice to pause slightly and catch our breath after a flat out start to the season. From a standing start in February to the first race in March and to then go onto complete the first nine races of the season in just six weeks has been tough. Given that, to be leading the drivers’ championship is quite incredible. There’s a long-way to go. We need both cars up there from now on, as we have been haemorrhaging points with mainly technical issues. Hopefully these are under control now as we head towards mid-way point of the season.”