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Triple Eight Race Engineering is the most successful team in the prestigious British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) winning twenty titles since their inception in 1996.
The engineering outfit was the first BTCC team in history to win the 'treble' four times running, winning the Team’s, Manufacturer’s and Driver’s Championship Titles in 2001-2004 and repeating the performance in 2008.
888 Racing has competed as an independent team in the BTCC since Vauxhall withdrew their support at the end of the 2009 season. After six rounds of the 2011 Championship 888 currently sits second in the Independent Team’s Championship, just 14 points behind Airwaves Racing. James Nash, who has taken a number of podiums for the Team in 2011, is currently in second in the Independent Driver’s Championship, 19 points behind Airwaves’ Matt Jackson who also leads the overall Championship.
In the break between the last BTCC round at Snetterton and the next round at Knockhill I had the opportunity to speak to 888 Chairman Ian Harrison about 888 Race Engineering in the UK and Australia and the two series in which they compete. In the first of a series of columns based on the interview Ian tells Girlracer about the 2011 BTCC season.
Are you happy with how James Nash has been performing this year?
James Nash, he’s only a young bloke and we keep forgetting that because it feels like he’s been around forever. He’s doing a good job and matured massively. He had a tough season with us last year but he’s really driven well this year. I mean those seven laps he did with Frank Wrathall right behind him at Snett when he finished second were the best seven laps he’s driven for us. They were of a very high quality, very high standard. It’s the best he’s ever driven and he’s moving along really quite well. So he’s definitely a man for the future.
How far do you think you next title is away in the BTCC?
Oh we could win it this year. If we had a bit of following wind we could nick this. It’s going to be very difficult. Let’s be honest we’ve got more chance of winning the Independent’s than anything, but with the way they keep on falling over each other at the front. If Jason [Plato] and Matt [Neal] keep messing it up we could sneak up there. Matt Jackson is the biggest threat in my view but he is a bit inconsistent. It’s not him it’s the car, I don’t know why but some race weekends he’ll be right on it and other weekends he won’t be. So I think we’re in with a bit of a chance this year. The thing is in massive transition really with NGTC and what not. I’d like to think that every year we go into it with a chance, even as an independent entrant.
So are you feeling good about Knockhill?
I think Knockhill will be quite good. The cars are always good around Knockhill. We’ve got more power this year than we had last year because the drag up the hill used to be the killer for us so that’s going to help. Chassis wise I still think we’ve got the best car out there. So Knockhill’s pretty good, Rockingham the cars are strong, Silverstone was a disaster for us but now that we’ve got a better engine it will help. It’s a bit of a non-circuit to be honest... it’s just straights with a few corners. I know most circuits end up being like that but not quite to that degree. Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit we’ll be strong there as well. So the tracks should suit us.
So going forward for this season your expectations are pretty high?
We’ve got to be realistic, you know you’ve got to go in there thinking that you’re in with a chance otherwise you might as well not bother going. So I am optimistic but it’s tempered with a bit of realism. You know we do need a bit of favourable occurrences to happen to allow us to be in with a shout. We’re not many points behind so there’s not a lot in it. By Chelsea Woods
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