Race Results MG Works Entry - MG ZS EX260

Green Flag MSA British Touring Car Championship

Rounds 5 & 6 - Thruxton

May 5/6 2002

Sprint Race

Weather/Track: Cloudy/Dry

MG ZS EX260	Car no. 11	Anthony Reid	Position: 3rd
MG ZS EX260	Car no. 12	Warren Hughes	Position: 11th

MG secured some more valuable points as Anthony Reid achieved his second podium finish of the 2002 season. Commenting on his success Anthony said: "The opening laps were fantastic and I can't tell you how good the car is, particularly the handling. Because I was in front of Matt (Neal) I was benefiting from the slipstream created by James (Thompson) and Yvan (Muller). The car is really good through the corners and the brakes are phenomenally good. I was pushing a bit too hard on one lap in sixth gear at 130 mph and had a mass of oversteer. I managed to get it together but then Matt had the momentum to pass and I lost touch with the leaders slightly. But I'm very encouraged."

Warren Hughes had a disappointing result in the Sprint Race when contact was made early on to the rear of his car. Warren said: "I was hit quite hard coming out of the complex on the first lap which almost caused me to spin. I managed to keep going but I lost quite a few places. It damaged the left rear suspension quite a bit so the car wasn't handling too well for the rest of the race."

Feature Race

Weather/Track: Cloudy/Dry

MG ZS EX260	Car no. 11	Anthony Reid	Position: DNF
MG ZS EX260	Car no. 12	Warren Hughes	Position: 10th

Round 6 proved disappointing for the works team.

Warren Hughes said: "The car was much improved for the second race after repairing suspension damage. I was doing some competitive lap times in the first stint before the pit stop. At the pit stop we had a problem changing the front right wheel due to a nut cross-threading. I lost valuable time in the pits and it was game over really for a decent result. It's been a disappointing weekend for me but it means I'm not carrying any weight into the next round."

When running 4^th in the race Anthony exited on lap 21 when contact was made to the rear of his MG. Anthony Reid said: "In the second race I had 42 kg extra (success ballast) but it didn't alter the handling although I could feel the weight was there. The team made a fantastic pit stop and I got back out there to battle with Matt (Neal) and Colin (Turkington). Coming out of chicane and along the pit straight I had a nudge from behind, which spun me around and collected Colin Turkington. Disappointed but I'm really pleased with the progress we've made with the mechanics of the car this weekend."

Commenting on the weekend:

Rob Oldaker, managing director, MG Sport & Racing

"MG has had a mixed weekend really. Firstly, pre qualifying at Le Mans with a 5^th and 8^th against the best in the world is terrific. Today at Thruxton we gained another podium finish but incidents in the feature race meant a disappointing 10^th place for Warren. But look on the positive side, we go to Silverstone with no extra weight."

Dick Bennetts, managing director, WSR

"I'm very pleased with our qualifying positions. Getting a podium in round 5 was fantastic and we were looking forward to a similar result in the feature race. Anthony and Matt Neal's contact however, resulted in Anthony and Colin (Turkington) retiring which was a disappointment for Anthony and the team."