Porsche Carrera Cup GB results

Honda Integra (2006)

For 2006 they entered the BTCC for the first time, running a BTC Touring spec Honda Integra Type R owned and raced by David Pinkney. He scored a podium at Knockhill, three further top-five finishes, and 13th place overall.

SEAT Toledo (2006–2007)

For 2007 the team purchased two ex-works, S2000 specification SEAT Toledo cars, debuting one in the final round of the 2006 British Touring Car Championship season, driven by Tom Ferrier.^[2] For 2007 they entered Gareth Howell and rookie Matt Allison,^[3] showing pace but having regular accidents,^[4][5] skipping the Knockhill meeting after the carnage of Brands Hatch saw both cars written off. Howell left midseason,^[6] replaced by Ferrier, while Paul O'Neill joined Allison for the final round.

BMW 320si E90 (2008–2010)

For 2008 the BTCC cars were replaced by factory-specification BMW 320si E90,^[7] driven by Steven Kane and Rob Collard. The team entered no other championships for the season. After a slow start to the season (not helped by several wet-dry races which did not suit the rear-wheel-drive BMWs), Collard scored 2 top-5 finishes at Croft in round 5. This was followed by a 2nd-place finish for Kane at Snetterton.

2009 saw Kane replaced by young Scottish driver Jonathan Adam, who had previously won back to back titles in the SEAT Cupra Championship. Due to new sponsorship with Airwaves, the team began running under the Airwaves BMW banner. 2009 proved a successful season, with Collard winning 2 races and the team finishing 4th in the teams championship.

For 2010, Collard moved to West Surrey Racing, while Motorbase brought in Mat Jackson to replace him. Kane returned to the team, replacing Adam. Together, they were able to take 2 wins and 11 podiums, leading to 4th place in the teams championship for two consecutive seasons.

Ford Focus (2011–present)

In 2011 the team raced as Airwaves Racing and ran a trio of Ford Focus STs, which were previously run by Team Aon the previous year. Although the chassis was built to the S2000 specification, the team used the turbo charged NGTC Engine.^[8] Mat Jackson stayed with the team for a second consecutive season and was joined by rookie Liam Griffin. At the Rockingham and Brands Hatch rounds, the team entered a third car for Porsche Carrera Cup frontrunner Michael Caine. However, he was replaced in the third car at Silverstone by two-time British Touring Car Champion, James Thompson.

In 2012 the team raced under the banner of Redstone Racing, and continued to race with the three Ford Focus STs. Mat Jackson yet again stayed with the team for a third consecutive season. Liam Griffin returned for his second consecutive season with the team. The pair were joined by former Renault Clio Cup racer, Árón Smith. After a fire in Griffin's S2000 Focus meant they were a car short Motorbase built their first car; a NGTC specification global Ford Focus ST Mk.III. This car won its first race at the Silverstone meeting in the hands of Mat Jackson.

For 2013 Airwaves returned as the main sponsor for the team. The team retained Mat Jackson and Árón Smith who both drove new NGTC turbocharged Focus ST MkIII while Liam Griffin continued with the team driving the older S2000 specification turbocharged Focus ST MkII.

David Bartrum pulled off the coup of the year in signing two-times champion Fabrizio Giovanardi as the lead driver for Airwaves Racing in 2014. Another new face in former F2 racer Jack Clarke also looked set to deliver some great results with Clarke piloting the striking lime green livery of Crabbie’s Ginger Beer running under the Crabbie’s Racing title. Mat Jackson’s return to the squad for his fifth season was remarkably only announced at the official championship media day – after a last minute deal was penned that morning.

With BTCC legend Giovanardi and star Jackson spearheading the squad’s assault on the 2014 Championship, all eyes were on Motorbase as serious title contenders. Frustratingly, it quickly became apparent that Giovanardi’s four year absence from the Championship had left too big a gap for the Italian to make up and he failed to deliver the expected results. Conversely Jackson enjoyed another superb season, finishing 4th in the overall Championship standings and runner up in the Independents.

The season also marked Motorbase’s most successful season to date, taking 4th place in the Overall Teams’ Championship whilst incredibly maintaining a 100% finishing record for the #6 Focus ST – the only car to have completed every lap of the racing season. Jack Clarke’s rookie BTCC season built solidly. From a slow start, the Crabbie’s-backed racer showed true class during the season and was rewarded with his maiden podium and Independent race win following a stunning drive in the season finale at Brands Hatch.

2014 also marked the end of an era for Motorbase Performance, with Wrigley’s Airwaves taking the decision to move away from motorsport and the Motorbase squad after six years of success. One of the most successful partnerships in the BTCC, the farewell was suitably commemorated at the squad’s home circuit, Brands Hatch – the circuit where the Airwaves brand had made its debut six years earlier.

The lead up to the 2015 season would prove to be the most challenging yet for Bartrum. With the loss of Wrigley’s Airwaves, a new title sponsor was in place for the Kent squad before a last minute change of direction saw them pull out just weeks ahead of the start of the season.

With new signing James Cole already announced and confirmed alongside the returning Mat Jackson and the squad mid-way through a joint Ford EcoBoost development programme with engine builders, Mountune, Team owner David Bartrum had to make the momentous and difficult decision to take a half year sabbatical from the BTCC. With support and agreement from TOCA and the team’s technical partners, Motorbase pushed on with the EcoBoost project before making it highly anticipated return to the grid at Snetterton for the second half of the season.

The teams’ return was watched with interest and it soon became apparent that the new EcoBoost engine and chassis improvements had brought a new lease of life to the Focus ST. After a promising start at Snetterton and Knockhill, Mat Jackson was the man of the moment – taking a maiden BTCC qualifying pole for Motorbase at Rockingham – before making it 3 in a row with a repeat performance at Silverstone and Brands Hatch.

In an incredible final three race meetings Jackson and Motorbase took an unrivalled 4 outright race wins and 4 podium finishes – smashing lap records along the way. Cole also enjoyed his most successful BTCC results in three years – taking a career best 9th place finish at Silverstone, a day best remembered for Motorbase claiming pole position in all three BTCC races.

2016 would prove to be the best year to date for Motorbase Performance. The team made a huge signing with 2013 BTCC champion Andrew Jordan joining the squad alongside Jackson.

Back for this seventh consecutive season with the team, Mat Jackson was almost untouchable. Taking a joint-top number of race wins (5 outright) for the season, Jackson also led the most laps out of the 32-strong-grid in his #7 Focus ST. Jordan proved to be a welcome addition to the team and settled in well, taking his first win in over two years at Thruxton. With both drivers consistently on form Motorbase took an early lead in the Independent Teams Championship and already had an unassailable lead by the time the BTCC grid left Rockingham.

Heading into the season finale at the squad’s local Brands Hatch circuit, both Jackson and Jordan were still in contention for the overall drivers’ title. An action-packed race day delivered high drama for both with a heavy shunt ruling Jordan out of the title race whilst Jackson claimed his fifth outright win of the season – propelling him into 3rd overall – the highest placed Independent Driver and just 16 points off Championship winner, Gordon Shedden.

Celebrating a sensational double Independent Title win – taking both the Indy Teams’ and Drivers’ crowns in front of an elated home crowd marked a very special moment in Motorbase’s 10th Anniversary of competing in the BTCC. The weekend topped off Motorbase’s most successful BTCC campaign to date after an incredible year that saw Jackson and Jordan jointly amass an impressive tally of 7 outright race wins, 7 outright podiums, 15 Independent race wins and 21 Independent podiums in the mountune-powered Ford Focus STs.

For 2017, Motorbase Performance boss David Bartrum decided the time had come to focus all efforts on the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

Soon after, the well-known consumer brand Shredded Wheat was confirmed as title sponsor for a multiple-year campaign and the Kent-based squad unveiled a three-car assault with Mat Jackson at the helm, joined by BTCC regular Martin Depper and rookie Luke Davenport.

With a renewed energy, the squad set off the season all guns blazing but the results failed to materialise with the three Team Shredded Wheat Racing with duo Ford Focus STs struggling against the competition. After a promising weekend at Oulton Park with newcomer Davenport claiming Jack Sears Trophy honours as the top scoring rookie of the weekend, disaster struck at the next meeting in North Yorkshire. During a wet qualifying session at Croft circuit, 24-year-old Davenport was involved in a season-ending accident and suffered life threatening injuries. Thankfully, following tremendous care from the TOCA safety team and staff at the James Cook hospital in Middlesbrough, he made a full recovery but a return to racing was off the cards.

Former Motorbase GT racer Rory Butcher was drafted in to replace the stricken driver for the final 4 meetings of the season, with the scot making his BTCC debut at his local circuit, Knockhill and his rousing performance was rewarded with two top ten finishes and the Jack Sears Trophy honours.

The second half of the season proved more fruitful for the Motorbase team, with Jackson taking 7 Independent race wins across the ten race meetings. After a challenging year, Team Shredded Wheat Racing with DUO eventually ended the 2017 BTCC season in 6th place overall in the Teams Championship and 3rd in the Independent Teams’ standings.

A huge coup saw Motorbase secure two well-known, front-running drivers for its 2018 BTCC line-up in the shape of Touring Car star Tom Chilton (straight off his hugely successful WTCC campaign) who was paired alongside Mat Jackson in the Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher Fords. 2016 BTCC runner-up Sam Tordoff was also added to the squad, making his highly-anticipated return to the series after a years’ sabbatical.

The new season also signalled the unveiling of the new Ford Focus RS machine, with the Motorbase outfit bringing the iconic RS badge back to the championship after a 25 year absence. The Sierra Cosworth RS500 dominated the Championship during the late eighties, securing the former Class A title for Robb Gravett back in 1990.

A shock, last minute departure for Jackson just weeks before the start of the season opened the way for BTCC race winner James Cole to return to the Motorbase fold, with the trio set up as one of the strongest squad’s on the grid. Lining up against one of the most competitive grids ever seen in the BTCC, the season delivered mixed blessings for the team.

Tordoff’s unquestionable pace was rarely rewarded with the deserved results, with a series of unfortunate incidents marring the Yorkshireman’s successes. Although, a challenging season overall, the JCT-backed driver remained unmatched in qualifying – ending the season as the highest-placed qualifier over the year – with an average starting position of 6th. Also securing the Ford Focus RS maiden pole position at Rockingham (poignantly, the BTCC’s last-ever visit to the circuit) and leading a spectacular Motorbase 1-2 at the following round on the Silverstone National circuit.

Chilton’s debut Motorbase season was a huge success. Settling well into the team and the Focus RS, the 13 times-race winner added yet another win to his tally, collecting a maiden victory for the Ford Focus RS at Knockhill along with 5 podiums, eventually ending the season 3rd in the Overall Championship standings, and as Runner-up in the Independent Standings.

Numerous top ten finishes for Cole delivered a steady stream of points and the Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher squad finished a credible 4th overall in the Teams Standings – as the highest-placed Independent Team – also claiming 2nd in the Independent Teams’ championship with the newly-developed Ford Focus RS marking a solid debut season with 2 Independent race wins and 11 podiums.

Motorbase continued to field three Ford Focus RS machines in 2019 but with a changed driver line-up.

Chilton was joined by former AmDTuning.com driver Ollie Jackson in a move that saw him return to Motorbase, having driven for the squad previously in the Porsche Carrera Cup UK.

Nicolas Hamilton, half brother of six-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton, piloted the third car under the ROKiT Racing banner. Hamilton contested eight rounds before sponsorship issues saw him vacate the seat for the final two rounds at Silverstone and Brands Hatch GP, where Michael Caine took over the car, now featuring backing from Pro Alloy.

Chilton scored double podiums at the Brands Hatch opener before claiming a third and the team’s only outright win of the year at Croft. He finished 10th in the standings after snaring his fifth podium at the Brands Hatch finale.

Jackson scored seven top 10 finishes, with a best of fourth at Snetterton, on his way to 19th in the championship.

For 2020, the team embarked on a huge project in developing a brand new car using the latest Ford Focus ST Mk4 chassis.

Easily the squad’s biggest undertaking in terms of car design saw the team use CAD for the first time to construct its new contender.

Three new cars were built for the season driven by the returning Rory Butcher, Ollie Jackson and Andy Neate, who made his return to the BTCC full-time after an eight-year sabbatical.

The car made its debut in testing in February/March but did not race until August due to the Covid-19 pandemic delaying the start of the BTCC season.

It proved to be an instant success propelling Butcher to two podium finishes in the opening meeting at Donington Park.

Butcher would go on to take the next two pole positions in qualifying at Brands Hatch GP and Oulton Park.

Jackson also shone in the Focus scoring a second career BTCC podium with a third at Brands Hatch.

Oulton Park saw Butcher claim another two podiums, including the car’s maiden win in Race 1 at the Cheshire circuit.

Butcher went on to win the final race at Knockhill and take third in the final race at the following meeting in Thruxton, to put him firmly in the title race.

Silverstone however proved a bittersweet meeting for the team as Butcher, who claimed third in Race 1, was spun by Ash Sutton in Race 2 before suffering a huge airborne crash in Race 3, almost writing off the car.

In the same race as the Butcher crash, team-mate Jackson went on to record a famous win his first in the BTCC.

Jackson would go on to accrue another win at Snetterton while Butcher scored the team’s fifth win in the final race of the season at Brands Hatch Indy.

Motorbase scored 11 podiums in total to claim fourth in the team’s championship and second in the independent teams’ title race. Butcher secured fifth in the championship with Jackson in 12th.

Neate scored three points on his way to 23rd in the championship.

BTCC results