British Touring Cars - Snetterton

Snetterton Circuit - Norfolk - Sunday 4th August 2013

I've recently got into watching the British Touring Cars Championships, if you thought Formula 1 was the epitome of motor racing then compared to BTCC, Formula 1 is like spending a whole day in a Library. If you're into cars this is where the action is. What's good about it is the cars themselves, you can relate to them, we can all own one that's similar. And watching these drivers throw a Honda Civic, Toyota Avensis or Vauxhall Invicta around a racing track is something to behold.


Snetterton is quite a way from Hipperholme, so it was an early start Sunday morning, but with a good weather forecast promised, camping chairs and coolbag safely packed, off we went. The M62, A1, A15 and A11 were clear giving us a good run down country, and the access to the Circuit was effectively managed, so we were safely ensconced by 10:40. After wandering around the circuit we found what seemed to be a relatively good place to set up the chairs and enjoy the racing. We sat on the raised viewing bank at Palmer, which gave a good view over some of the main corners of the track. There was also a giant screen directly in front of us, so all in all not a bad place to sit.

After the summer break it was expected the MG KX Momentum Racing team would do well at Snetterton having enjoyed the best times in the test runs a few weeks earlier. This was to be proven as the MG6 car (pictured left) was 1st and 2nd in the first race with Sam Tordoff leading from start to finish.

The second race I expected would be similar to the first; the MG6s were in pole position and looking to be unbeatable. But boy, was I wrong! Jason Plato in the MG6 pulled out after a couple of laps with engine problems, Tordoff went from front to rear of the field in quick succession, and span off on the last lap, finishing in 18th place leaving the Honda Civic of Andrew Jordan to win the race for Pirtek Racing (pictured right)

Race 3 was just as good if not better than Race 2, some spectacular crashes and spin offs, with the pick being Jason Plato's MG6 barrel rolling at Oggies. The race was eventually won by Gordon Shedden in the Honda Civic of Yuasa Racing team.

To read the official review of the races please go to the BTCC official site.

After racing, getting out of the circuit was relatively easy, shame about the A11 though, got stuck in a queue for over an hour. Once onto A15 and A1 it was a quick run back to West Yorkshire.

All in all a really good day out, bit of sunburn too!! Looking forward to Knockhill in a few weeks.