Team Halfords - News and Announcements

Team Halfords last night indicated that it was all set for the Christmas showdown at Suzuka East. The team has not been out on proper testing yet, putting it at a disadvantage compared to its rivals in the BTCC, but this has not affected team leader ckBrenneke's enthusiasm for the track.

"Last season's meeting at Suzuka holds good memories for us," he told this reporter. "The car [a Civic Type R 2007] had just undergone some major developments that gave us a major handling advantage in the twisty sections of the track, while the boost in power helped us in the straights compared to the Seat Leons. Although they were still pulling away from us, we could hold our own, and it led to our one and only podium of the year, a third place for me in race three, and a personal best fourth for garyp3398."

When asked about the readiness of the new Civic Si Coupe, he replied "the car will be undergoing some rigorous testing over the next week in order to squeeze some more power out of it. Sadly, due to technical problems, garyp3398 [the team's lead test driver] has not been able to spend the time in the seat to develop the car. But, we'll press on, and hopefully have the car in a better position than what we had at Maple Valley."

Halfords currently sits third in the teams championship, thanks to the efforts of ckBrenneke and jenson09. Unfortunately, the team could not get garyp3398's car ready in time for the race. "The fortunate thing for us was that the other teams competing seemed to be in the same position - Driveline and M&M in particular. Other teams hadn't yet finalised their plans for the year, and only Stobart and Plow had their full teams out. So, yeah, I'm happy with what we achieved, and it let us see where the car was in terms of the competition."

Looking to the next round, we asked ckBrenneke if he had any reservations about the advantage of the four wheel drive Subaru Legacy. "Of course, we are left for dead on the grid at the start of the race. The Plow guys got straight into the lead and all they had to do was drive cleanly and consistently to hold the track position. But, I'm certain that the BGTA will be introducing a solution to even up the playing field."

Finally, ckBrenneke added "The main thing for the team is that we get garyp3398 out on track with myself and jenson09 in a stronger car for Suzuka. At this early stage, I can indeed see the drivers championship running away from us, but this is a team sport and we're playing a team game. And we're fully comitted to that ideal."

Postcard from Suzuka: "Luck does (not) come into it!"
Race report
What an amazing raceday! Have to say I was not mega hopeful of lucking into big results after testing proved we were about a second off the pace. BUT one thing this circuit has proven is that consistancy pays off.

Race 1:
After a steady qualifying both Halfords cars were in Lobby B as expected. And so we set off into the unknown with some big names around us. Now, I've done manythings in motorsport but crashing on the formation lap has evaded me until now! While warming my tyres I slid wide at the final turn and hit the wall enough to dent the side of the car but nothing worse. The force turned me through 360 degrees and I was able to carry on, hoping that wasn't an omen!!


So we formed up and with me needing some fresh underpants we started the race with nicky Richy and DAN leading the way.


I think after just one meeting I found my ck replacement! Once again DAN and I conduct some......close proximity driving
He would get ahead of me for a portion of the race.


Sadly the prize for most unlucky driver went to nicky who, after being mugged at the start ended up suffering this horrific smash effectively ending his race 1.


After a loooooong battle with Richy, DAN over-cooked his entry into Turn 1 enough to have this off piste moment. He would drop a number of places, recovering to third.


Once released by DAN and free of pressure from behind, Richy ticked off the laps to the flag, followed by an extatic yours truely!


Race 2:
Richy led the pack off the line but a faster start from myself put me in a commanding position for the first turn with DAN right behind.... but how long would this realisticly last?!?


....the exit of Turn 1!! After sliding wide at the second apex DAN (ever the opportunist!) dived up the inside with an expectant Richy in close proximity


Meanwhile, close behind garyp and murcialagogama had a coming together resulting in the carb fibre Mini fired off the track.


Quick shout out to murcialagoama whose tenacity kept him either VERY close infront of me (before sliding off) or right on my bumper for portions of almost EVERY race!!


Failed pass No.1: Richy slides off into Turn 1 and so as not to make him feel left out I follow him!! DAN leabes us to it while garyp sneaks into contention...

Failed pass No.2: Richy tries to pass out of Turn 2 only to find the door shut...more or less!


This game of cat and mouse continues until
Failed pass No.3: Richy, in a bold move, tried to pass around the outsde in the Esses.

As I attempt to nip back behind him the lightest of braking resulted in enough contact to spear him off the track!

The contact was severe!


DAN remained untroubled to the flag, unaware of the excitement behind.


The Halfords boys brought home their FIRST double podium AND I secured another second place.


Sadly nicky was once again sidelined by some serious engine troubles. One wanders if he'd killed a black cat whilst walking under a ladder and smashing a mirror.


Race 3:
And so the final reverse grid race. DAN performed an amazing pass, nippin between the 2 Halfords cars in one corner... no contact


A slight tap from nicky was enough to push jenson09 wide and send garyp off on a trip to make a sand castle


Within a lap DAN had broken through and was flying after Richy...


Several laps later of even matched racing and Richy seemed to be slipping back into the clutches of the Civic driver. The driving firm but fair.


On Lap 8 the pass was made.... sort of. This would be an entry into the what happens next quiz.


Richy slid, ran out of road and discovered a less than forgiving barrier. 2nd became 3rd and DAN took his second win of the day with jenson09 scoring yet ANOTHER second place.

Great report and pics, that has to be the best race meeting I have had lol

Me too... THATS what the BTCC is about

Yeah, I hope the rest of the races bring on just as much close racing lol

Nice report Jenson!!!

Proud of you guys, well done

Cheers boss!!!
Thats my best result in any series I've taken part in since we set up the BGT in the first place!! lol

Following on from Team Halfords successful Suzuka meeting jenson09 took to Mugello today to commence testing for the next event.

The team has a new found confidence about it.While its was felt jenson09 lucked into his strong results, it couldn't be denied that that car performed better on the twisty circuit than expected.
The longer, more open Mugello circuit should benefit the car more and allow the drivers to really get their teeth into the racng proper!

jenson09 said:
"It was really good to come away from that race with such a positive feeling. We honestly didn't think we had the car for that track but luck seemed to be on our side and we got the results."
"It makes me happy as I want to prove my worth to the guys for hiring me. Maybe this is the start of something good. Mugello should be good for us too. Its a bigger track and has more open corners which benefits our car with the longer wheelbase. We also seem to have a top end advantage on some of the other cars out there so I hope we can make use of that."
We won't rest on our laurels though. We know there's a tough fight ahead. We're third by only 8 points but that can go in an instant so we have to maintain our push forward and aim for that ellusive first win!"

At last!!!!
After a WHOLE season and god knoews how many GT races jenson09 got the monkey off his shoulders and recorded his first back to back lobby victories in the BTCC
Praise goes to the guys at Team Halfords for providing me with a stunning car to use and the support has been great.
Race three was uined slightly after a collision with Ianmr and the car suffered huge damage when murcielagogama finished the job off!
But hey thats racing!!
Congrats to AJZero for winning the race outright.
Full postcard from... and pics coming soon
2 wins baby!!!!!!

WELL DONE Jenson!!! Great racing thought yoou were on for a triple but it wasnt for happening this time .I think you might be on for a bonus this pay packet.Hopefully next race the rest of the team halfords can join you at the top.Has it really taken untill now to win a lobby race?? Im sure these wont be your last too

In terms of BTCC I think so
I dont even think Ive won a GT race since season 1 either!

nice drive jenson well done on your lobby victories

Hats off to the Bristol docks for tuning the civic i hope you weighed anchor back in the pits

It was a MUCH smaller anchor this time but you'd have to ask Ian who I think was trying to tattoo my ass with rizla logos!!

yea it was great racin....best meet yet??? lol was pushing soo hard in the first race but i just cudnt get by you well done

I had some great racing with Ck, along with a few love taps that civic is a tank, it didnt budge!

Postcard from Mugello
"It's like buses!!"

A day of firsts at Mugello, a circuit that seems to have been so overused of late that a number of drivers were quite literaly falling asleep during races!! But the BTCC meeting, the first major meeting of 2009, may be marked as a turning point in the fortunes of Team Halfords in particular.
Where the results in Suzuka could arguably be put down to luck the two Lobby wins for jenson09 were based soley on performance (wierdly enough!)

Once again qualifying had been not as good for the three orange Civics, enhancing the argument that the team should perhaps aim to build 'qualy specials' (budget considered).

The cars lined up 3rd 6th and 7th for the first rolling start led away by KRI5 ONE in after a closely fought qualifying.


By the first turn, the power of the Honda had forced jenson09 into the lead VERY closely followed by Ianmr in the mighty SEAT. Polesitter KRI5 ONE ran wide and dropped behind AJZero in the Martini SEAT.


Futher back and ck was in the mix fending off a Stobart SEAT and the plucky independent mucielagogama


KRI5 ONE was now forced to defend from nickyf1 who was hoping to have a better weekend that at Suzua!!


This was the view Ianmr had for the duration of the event. And boy did that rear bumper get closely inspected on occasion!!


Perhaps the most frustrating aspect was that while the M+M driver could catch jenson09 in the coners, the sheer power on the long Mugello straight meant the Honda would simply pull away.


The main incedent during race one was the coming together of the resurgent KRI5 ONE an AJZero. As the Ultimate motorsport driver attempted to pull in behind AJ he just caught the back and put the SEAT man into a series of spins that pitched him into the pit wall. Jokes about skid marks were not well received!


One brave photographer caught the moment AJ slid down the wall, still spinning at speed. KRI5 ONE sportingly slowed right down and waited for AJZero to collect himself. (Top Man!)


This amateur image shows AJZero finally coming to rest under the lights gantry


This handed third to independent murcialagogama in the carbon fibre Mini. He would collect another third place in Race 2.


Back at the front and things were getting tight. The nerves were kicking in for jenson09 who hadn't won a race in any catagory for quite some time. The jokes from Plow Motorsport about the civic 'waying anchor' in the corners were never more true as Ianmr misjudged a braking move and slid into the back of jenson09. The Honda driver, foot to the floor, collected this slide and retained the lead thanks to Ianmr's sportsmanship.


One lap later and the Holfords man broke his duck!!! An emotional jenson09 was simply speachless afterwards but thanked the team for their efforts and Ianmr for keeping him honest throughout.


Meanwhile further back and ck, after a frustrating event, lost 5th to nickyf1 with fellow Halfords driver garyp just missing out on a podium.


A positive start to the meeting but the best was yet to come!
Race 2 and 3 reviews... coming soon

o what a great race and great report cant wait for the rest :D

certainly was an exciting race, I remember driving through all the smoke left by AJ and KRI5 and moving up into third.. before shortly losing it to Ck, then making contact with him and dropping to 6th..

got to admit it tho that was a gr8 meeting and i really did enjoy the racing even with all the accidents no body complained have to hand it to every one in B lobby top racing! thanks

b lobby stands for better racing lol

Team Halfords: Road Atlanta - preview/b]

After a mixed event at Mugello the team looks onward to the next round. While jenson09 left the Italian track with the clear knowledge that the car was capable of a trio of wins, ckbrenneke suffered with an ill handling car and contact in every race. garyp had a relatively quiet race, narrowly missing two podiums.
Team Halfords now comes across the pond to Road Atlanta, a favourite of suprise points leading driver jenson09. He talks with us about the track and the teams hopes.

[b] So jenson, how does it feel to be points leading driver in the team?
Bizarre! I came into the team late and hadn't much time to test the car. Hats off to the guys for providing such a good base set up really.

Alot of teams have been concerned about the pace of the 4WD cars. What's your take on that?
Well certainly on the tighter, twisy stuff they've had a traction advantage. BUT, we're coming to some more 'open' tracks which should either even us all out or certainly reduce the advantage. I know from testing we seem to have an advantage in straightline pace. That should help us out.

Mugello was your best result in the BTCC. How did it feel to break your duck?
Well, its my best result in ANY series sofar. I've had seconds in the BGT before, the last was probably Laguna last season. I lost out to Selective Rogue in the last corner.
I sooo didn't want a repeat of that! Ianmr was really pressuring me all race
but never did anything I'd call out of order....the odd tap was a welcome reminder he was there!
Crossing that line was amazing though. I had to keep from deafening the lobby!
Race 2 was more straight forward. Pole was an advantage and the rest of the field was tucked up behind murcielagogama so it wasnt untill quite late in the race I felt could end up under pressure

Were you disappointed not to do the triple?
Yes and no.
Of course it would've been good for the team to have that. But for me I think it gives me something else to aim for. It would be VERY easy to get complacent and we'd suffer if we did. It's still so early in the seasn so nothing can be ruled out. We're not that far behind after all!

Your thoughts on Road Atlanta?
Fantastic track!! It has a bit of everthing. From the long straights ala Donington, quick chicaney jumps like Knochill and the twisty stuff through the trees, see Oulton Park. Its one of the best tracks on the calendar.
I've a good feel about this one. I know we're close in terms of testing so I'd like to think A Lobby isn out of the question.

Is rubbin' racin'?
Hahaha! Well you're talking to someone from the Plato/Neal school of driving.. so yes is certainly is!!

heh heh, nice one.

can't wait for road america either, lookin forward to racin with the halfords boys again

Have fun at Road America, although you'll be pretty lonely, as we'll be smashing each other off the road at Road Atlanta.