MOTORSPORT

MG WINS FIRST BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP MANUFACTURER TITLE

Just three years after returning to the British Touring Car Championship, MG lifted the prestigious Manufacturer's Championship at Brands Hatch last weekend.

The MG/Triple Eight team ended Honda's four-year dominance by taking the crown in a thrilling season-finale at the famous Kent circuit on Sunday

Drivers Jason Plato and Sam Tordoff racked up seven wins and 20-podium finishes between them in the 30-race calendar to see off rivals Honda by 95 points.

The BTCC programme has been a key part in re-establishing the MG brand in the UK and globally, raising awareness on TV, online and in national and local press.

The MG6 GT race car was designed to resemble the road car as closely as possible and in addition to the on-track programme, MG have also operated a very successful mobile showroom next to the track, enabling BTCC fans can see, touch and find out more about the latest MG6 and MG3 products.

MG Sales and Marketing Director Guy Jones said “Everyone at MG is delighted with this victory and the team’s success in placing the iconic MG brand, with its rich history of motorsport, back at the top of such a prestigious, exciting and challenging championship as BTCC. I want to thank everyone who worked so hard to make this a success both on and off the track. The team here at MG, Ian Harrison and the team at Triple Eight, the drivers Jason Plato and Sam Tordoff, Tesco, Castrol and all our other sponsor partners”.

MG fans worldwide are celebrating today as the iconic British brand celebrated its maiden manufacturer’s title in the prestigious Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship in the season finale at Brands Hatch. The victory was an incredible result for MG, following the brands race to the grid after the rapid formation of the team in 2012 and ending the four year dominance of Honda in the Championship.
MG Sales and Marketing Director Guy Jones said “Everyone at MG is delighted with this victory and the team’s success in placing the iconic MG brand, with its rich history of motorsport, back at the top of such a prestigious, exciting and challenging championship as BTCC. I want to thank everyone who worked so hard to make this a success both on and off the track. The team here at MG, Ian Harrison and the team and Triple Eight, the drivers Jason Plato, Sam Tordoff, Tesco, Castrol and all our other sponsor partners”. 
This programme has been a key part in re-establishing the MG brand in the UK and also globally. It has raised awareness of the brand with TV, online and press coverage that is not only followed in the UK but also across the world. The MG6 GT race car was designed to resemble the road car as closely as possible and in addition to the on-track programme, we have also operated a very successful mobile showroom next to the track, so BTCC fans can see and touch the latest MG6 and MG3 products.
MG literally raced to the grid in 2012 where the MG6 GTs turned their wheels in anger for the first time in the opening race and yet the team was winning races from that initial weekend. The goal was to win the manufacturers championship but to do this meant defeating the established and highly successful Honda team, reigning champions for the past four years. It is therefore a great achievement and credit to all at Triple Eight to achieve this in just three seasons.
The news of MGs maiden victory was announced during a dramatic action packed weekend at the final weekend of the championship at Brands Hatch that saw MG drivers Jason Plato and Sam Tordoff start the weekend by taking pole and P2 in qualifying to lock out the front row of the grid in race one. 
The opening lap of the first race saw Sam pass Jason off the start line before a huge multi-car accident on the first lap. The MG duo showed their class in the first race delivering an impressive one-two. 
Race two secured the manufacturers championship for MG before a rain soaked race three in near zero visibility conditions, where Sam finished an impressive fourth and Jason an amazing seventh after starting from the back in the pit-lane. Jason finished second in the driver’s championship and remains the most successful driver in the history of BTCC.
Click here to read the full race report.

13th Oct 2014
MG fans worldwide are celebrating today as the iconic British brand celebrated its maiden manufacturer’s title in the prestigious Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship...

12th Oct 2014 
MG Win BTCC Manufacturer's Championship 
MG have won the 2014 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship Manufacturer's Championship. The Triple Eight run team secured MG their maiden title after sealing a...

3rd May 2012 
MG still leads the BTCC championship after aqua event at Thruxton. Jason Plato in his racing MG6 GT still leads the 2012 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship after a rain-soaked round at Thruxton at the weekend. Plato scored a 3rd, 2nd and 4th in the Thruxton event which retains his four point lead in the championship. He now has 129 points.
The rain Gods and electrical gremlins didn’t do team mate Andy Neate any favours. He’s now 19th on the leader board with 12 points but like Plato, Neate is looking forward to the six week break with plenty of testing time before the next round at Oulton Park, Cheshire on June 10.

MG kör BTCC kommande säsong
 

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Vi har tidigare skrivit om MG:s snarast katastrofala försäljningssiffror. Kanske kan en satsning i brittiska touringmästerskapet BTCC hjälpa upp siffrorna, särskilt när stora namn finns på förarlistan?
Brittiska super-touringmästerskapet BTCC har varit en del av motorsportvärlden i över 50 års tid. Kanske minns vi svenskar bäst de år då Rickard Rydell körde mästerskapet på 1990-talet, bland annat när Volvo deltog med 855, 850 och senast S40. Rydell vann mästerskapet 1998.

Efter att ha lidit av sjunkande deltagarsiffror och minskat antal biltillverkare i serien har BTCC:s startfält formligen exploderat de senaste åren. Till året som kommer är Audi, Chevrolet, BMW, Ford, Honda, Proton, Seat, Skoda, Toyota, Vauxhall och Volkswagen representerade på startgridden. De riktigt brittiska biltillverkarna har dock lyst med sin frånvaro, tills nu. Nu meddelar nämligen (förvisso kinesiskägda) MG att man tänker delta i BTCC-serien kommande säsong.

Vi har tidigare rapporterat om att försäljningssiffrorna för nya brittisktillverkade modellen MG6 inte alls har levt upp till förväntningarna. Kanske kan en förklaring vara bristen på marknadsföring, och det är nog det man tänkt sig att åtgärda med BTCC-deltagandet. Och det är inga duvungar man har placerat i förarstolen.

Försteförare för det nya MG-stallet är nämligen Jason Plato, som genom åren har 68 segrar på sitt samvete. Dessutom har Plato vunnit mästerskapet två gånger, senast 2010 i en Honda. Plato är också känd för allmänheten som en av programledarna för brittiska bil-tv-programmet Fifth Gear. Han får sällskap av Andy Neate, som första gången körde BTCC 2001, och som genom åren bland annat kört för Vauxhall och Mitsubishi.

Bilarna baseras på just MG6 och har förberetts av Triple 8 Race Engineering, som under flera år arbetat med Vauxhalls BTCC-team.