BTCC
BTCC: Thruxton Ford Mondeo Story
August 2, 1998 Thruxton - Rounds 17 & 18 Andover, Hampshire UK Ford Mondeo Racing's Craig Baird came down with a bump from recording his best BTCC result to date at Snetterton last weekend, when he walked away from an enormous ...
Edited: Apr 10, 2006, 6:41 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
August 2, 1998 Thruxton - Rounds 17 & 18 Andover, Hampshire UK Ford Mondeo Racing's Craig Baird came down with a bump from recording his best BTCC result to date at Snetterton last weekend, when he walked away from an enormous opening lap accident in round 17 of the Auto Trader RAC British Touring Car Championship at Thruxton. After a difficult qualifying session, the New Zealander started the Sprint Race from the last row of the grid, but didn't get past the first corner, as he was spun and pitched backwards into the tyre wall, his Ford Mondeo leaving the circuit at a recorded 147kph onto an impact in excess of 6g. But the Mondeo proved its strength, allowing Baird to walk away without injury. "It was a big one", confirmed the Kiwi a little later, "but I'm fine. I just hope the guys can repair it." The team decided not to attempt repairing the badly damaged Mondeo for the day's second race, preferring instead to recover the car to their HQ. "We have to take it back and properly assess the damage", explained Ford Mondeo Racing team principal Dick Bennetts. "It will have to go on the jig before we can be completely sure the shell or roll cage has not been compromised." This left Will Hoy carrying Ford's hopes for points in both races, the former BTCC champion making the most of lowly grid positions to come home 10th and 12th, having to recover from a high speed puncture in the second race, which lost him the competitive position he had fought for in the opening laps. "My start was good in both races and I was quicker than most through the slower corners, particularly the complex", commented Hoy. "I got held up by Plato in the first race, then in the second race I got a puncture coming out of Goodwood and the tyre deflated almost instantly, so I had to get in to the pits early. I think we called the wrong tyres, because then I had an imbalance, which gave me big oversteer in the fast corners. "I'm looking forward to Knockhill and Brands, because they're much tighter, shorter circuits, which will suit the Mondeo much more as outright speed is less of an issue." Having worked hard in the three day break between Snetterton and Thruxton to resolve a straight-line speed problem, the team now faces a major repair task before travelling North of the border, for the Championship's annual visit to Knockhill circuit in Fife, Scotland. "It's a lot of work", summarised Dick Bennetts. "We've done an initial inspection of the damage, but we have much more to do before we go to Knockhill. We know Thruxton, with its high average speeds and fast corners, is not the best for the Mondeo, but it's very disappointing to come away without a good result and difficult for Craig to have to miss a race like this. Knockhill, but especially Brands, should be better for us." Ford Mondeo Racing is back in action for rounds 19 & 20 of the Auto Trader RAC British Touring Car Championship, at Knockhill Circuit in two weeks time, on August 15/16.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article BNS: NHIS Kelly Moore Review
Next article Winton Preview
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Craig Baird
No border exemption for Supercars race director Schenken
Supercars
Supercars
No border exemption for Supercars race director Schenken
Supercars confirms new Driving Standards Advisor
Supercars
Supercars
Supercars confirms new Driving Standards Advisor
Highlands 101: Baird/Almond win, Denyer/Morcom seal title
GT World Challenge Australia
GT World Challenge Australia
Australian Endurance - Highlands
Highlands 101: Baird/Almond win, Denyer/Morcom seal title
Latest news
Ducati: Aprilia got “unlucky” in Australian GP, can win every race from now
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
1 h
Ducati: Aprilia got “unlucky” in Australian GP, can win every race from now
Why Monza win from 19th still isn't the best of Kimi Antonelli's dominant F1 2026 season
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
2 h
Why Monza win from 19th still isn't the best of Kimi Antonelli's dominant F1 2026 season
What happened to Austin Hill at the end of Talladega NASCAR Cup race?
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
3 h
What happened to Austin Hill at the end of Talladega NASCAR Cup race?
Sesks tight-lipped on WRC future after ERC season finale triumph
WRC
WRC WRC 3 h
Sesks tight-lipped on WRC future after ERC season finale triumph
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe