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All change for Rockingham this weekend!

By MJP Media | 11 September 2013

With another set of driver changes announced, it's all change for Tom Onslow-Cole and welcome to Andy Wilmot as the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship heads to Rockingham.

Tom Onslow-Cole after a 2nd place result earlier in the year

As we head for Rockingham this weekend, there are a number of notable features to this circuit which are not found elsewhere. The most significant of these is that Rockingham is the only anti-clockwise circuit on the calendar, meaning that every single bit of suspension setup has to be completely changed from anywhere else. Additionally, no other circuit can boast a 150mph banked curve ending in one of the tightest hairpins known to man. This is not a circuit for the faint-hearted!

Whilst the mechanics are busy changing all the setups for Rockingham, the team managements have been busy as well with a particularly active game of musical chairs being played out for this weekend. The driver changes are almost as quick as the cars and unfamiliar drivers on an unfamiliar circuit could be entertaining to say the least.

Andy Wilmot will drive the VW Passat CC previously driven by Tom Onslow-Cole

The big news is that only a couple of days after news broke that Tom Onslow-Cole wouldn't be in the Team HARD. car for the remainder of the season, the hugely talented and 7 times race winning driver has found a home for the last 3 meetings of the season with Airwaves Racing. Piloting their 3rd NGTC Ford Focus alongside Mat Jackson and Aron Smith, Onslow-Cole gives the Airwaves Racing team a real star quality and the New Malden driver is a perfect match for Dave Bartrum's Motorbase squad which runs the Airwaves team. Tom certainly seemed delighted, saying: "Motorbase is a great team and I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on the Ford Focus NGTC. Unfortunately there isn't the chance to test before Rockingham but with the help of Mat, Aron and the team I'm sure I'll get up to speed quickly."

Not making an appearance this weekend is Aiden Moffatt. Having set the record as being the BTCC's youngest ever driver at the Knockhill meeting, Aiden was always scheduled to miss Rockingham due to existing racing commitments north of the border but will return at Silverstone. Another new face however will make his debut as Andy Wilmot becomes the latest driver to be handed an opportunity by Tony Gilham's Team HARD. The 32-year-old from Dartford has always targeted a future in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, having been a huge fan of the series since he was a young boy.

Colin Turkington is on a charge for the championship title

Last year the BTCC rolled in to 'The Rock' with the championship hotting up with, like this year, Matt Neal at top of the standings. 2012 saw Neal's team-mate Gordon Shedden secure a double victory that rocketed the Scotsman into the lead which would eventually turn into championship victory. The question now is whether history will repeat itself and see the reigning champion emerge at the top of the pile following three intense Rockingham races?

Andrew Jordan is looking to become the first Independent driver to win the overall British Touring Car Championship crown since Colin Turkington back in 2009. Jordan has shown an incredible level of consistency with the Pirtek Racing team and knows that he needs to keep it up at Rockingham to maintain his championship challenge. There is no doubt however after Knockhill that a fourth driver is right in there with a chance of taking the title - Colin Turkington. As in 2009 when he won the title, the Irishman is bang on form behind the wheel of a BMW. You certainly wouldn't bet against Colin and the eBay Motors team in view of the way they have been performing recently. The final 9 races of the 2013 season are going to be action packed and emotional. Whoever takes the title will, as usual, have done it the hard way!

Touring Car content supplied by MJP Media