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TEAM VERTU SEEKS TO BUILD MOMENTUM AT BRANDS HATCH
Team VERTU will look to add it to its victory in the season opener at Donington Park when the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship heads to Brands Hatch this weekend for the second round of the campaign.
The EXCELR8-run team makes the trip to the iconic Kent circuit on the back of a productive opening round two weeks ago, where Tom Chilton scored victory in the final race – the first under the Team VERTU name – and team-mate Tom Ingram bagged a hat-trick of second place finishes.
It leaves Ingram and Chilton sitting second and third in the standings, with Team VERTU in a share of the lead in the Teams’ Championship with three of the 30 races complete.
Ingram lies seven points off the championship lead after the opening weekend as he returns to the circuit where he scored the first of his 33 BTCC victories back in 2016.
The 2022 title winner has scored at least one podium finish on every visit to the shorter Brands Hatch Indy layout since joining forces with the team back in 2021, and will seek to maintain that form to strengthen his early season challenge.
Chilton heads to Brands Hatch buoyed by an opening weekend win for the second time in three seasons – capping his strongest start to a campaign since joining the team in 2022.
The most experienced driver on the grid returns to Brands Hatch looking to replicate the podium finish he picked up last year, and has his sights firmly fixed on adding to his silverware collection.
Chilton has already secured nearly a dozen top three finishes around the Brands Hatch Indy circuit, which he admits is amongst his favourite venues on the BTCC schedule.
Adam Morgan’s first weekend with Team VERTU yielded a pair of top ten finishes after a fine recovery from a tough qualifying session was followed by an unfortunate race one retirement.
Showing his pace to come through the field in races two and three to grab a best finish of fifth, Adam gained more places than any other driver at Donington and will hope to now run at the front throughout during the second meeting of the year.
With a weekend of experience in the car under his belt after the season opener, Michael Crees will also hope to impress at his home circuit, where he has scored points in all three of his previous appearances on the Indy layout.
Despite the fact he only drove his car in anger for the first time in free practice at Donington, Crees picked up three solid race finishes with a best result of 17th, and will aim to score his first points of the year in front plenty of home support.
Sunday’s three races are scheduled for 11:30, 14:05 and 17:10 and will all air live on ITV4 and ITVX, with viewers outside the UK able to stream the action on YouTube.
Tom Chilton, #3 Team VERTU Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“Donington Park was a great way to kick off the season as we showed strong pace from the moment we hit the track. Winning race three was the icing on the cake, and means I now head into my home event feeling even more confident.
“It’s no secret that I love Brands Hatch and have done ever since scoring a podium on my BTCC debut. The Indy circuit may be short, but that only makes it more of a challenge when the grid is so close and the tiniest of margins can make a massive difference.
“Qualifying on Saturday will be important but I know we have a great race car, and I’m fully focused on trying to push for another trophy this weekend to maintain my strong start.”
Adam Morgan, #33 Team VERTU Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“I’m feel quietly confident ahead of Brands Hatch, where I think I’m actually going to benefit from having a bit of drama at Donington Park because it means I’m going to carry full boost into the weekend. When you add that to the fact I’ve got a very competitive car to start with, I think it’s key that we try and get into Q3 on Saturday so we can claw back some of the points we lost during the first meeting.
“The fact I tested the car around the Indy circuit before the season is a positive but I’ve only had limited running on the hard tyre, which is a feature for the first time this season. I’ll need to see how that performs, but I think the difference in pace between the soft tyre and the hard tyre will be quite noticeable and it’ll be interesting which way people go with strategy.
“I think it’ll largely depend on what happens in qualifying, but we’ll just focus on ourselves and try to pick up three strong results.”
Tom Ingram, #80 Team VERTU Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“I’m feeling good going into the weekend and am relaxed about what we can hope to achieve on the back of a good start at Donington Park. Obviously we need to take into account the fact that we will carry less boost into qualifying and the impact that may have, but hopefully we can still make the most of the pace we have in the car to qualify towards the front.
“With the hard and soft tyre being the two options this weekend, the strategy is going to be quite interesting in terms of how people approach race day but our focus will remain the same as it always is – to deliver three strong races and maximise the points available, as that is what is going to be key come the end of the season.”
Michael Crees, #777 Team VERTU Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“I’m really excited about the opportunity to race at my home track again this weekend and after a solid outing at Donington Park, I want to try and fight for some points.
“To qualify P17 out of 24 cars at the opening meeting was good considering I hadn’t driven the car before first practice and it’s given me something to build on this weekend at a circuit where I’ve had some good results in the past.
“I’ve always loved racing in front of the fans but there is something extra special when it’s your home circuit and you have extra support there from your family, friends and sponsors. Hopefully I can put on a good show for them all this weekend and get into that top 15.”
Justina Williams, Team VERTU Team Owner, said:
“Donington Park was a great way to the start season but we can’t afford to relax as we head to Brands Hatch where we know the competition will be ready to come out fighting.
“Saying that, it’s a circuit where we know our package has been strong in the past and I’m confident that all four drivers will able to deliver the goods on track to maintain our early position near the head of the standings.”
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