The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship heads to Leicestershire for the penultimate round of the season and at a track which many thought wouldn’t open in time for the arrival of the premier tin-top series.

In recent months the track has undergone major work in order to get the circuit ready with minor changes to the circuit layout. Shaun Hollamby got his chance to try the layout first hand before the rest of the field.

“The new Goddards Chicane layout is slower on the way in but quicker on the exit”, explained Hollamby. “We will be appoaching the first corner, Redgate, probably 5-10mph quicker than with the old layout, which will catch a few people out!”

The final chicane at Goddards has been moved back after a request from the MSA in an aim to make the circuit safer.

Hollamby will go into this weekends race in a buoyant mood after securing his best ever finish to date last time out at Knockhill when he took his AmD Milltek Golf to 13th at the finish.

“We finished all three race at Knockhill and doubled our Independent Teams and Drivers championship points totals”, said a delighted Hollamby. “We were also much closer to the pace, with our qualifying time just 1.7 seconds from Alex MacDowall’s new pole position record time.

“We had a small problem with a dragging clutch during the first race but, that apart, my biggest problem was keeping the nearside wing mirror intact. I managed to lose it twice in Saturday’s practice sessions! Most importantly, we left Knockhill after a great weekend with a undamaged car and, judging by the response of the Scottish crowd, quite a few more fans!”

Photo Credit: Bob and Steven Knightley

James Mappin is the editor-in-chief covering the British Touring Car Championship. You can contact him at james@btcccrazy.co.uk, on twitter @BTCCCrazy or on his personal twitter account @jamesmappin.