GoMobileUK.com with Tech-Speed Motorsport are hoping for a competitive but consistent start to their 2011 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship campaign when the season begins this weekend at Brands Hatch. The team have switched their BTC spec Honda Integras for newer S2000 spec Chevrolet Cruzes, the very car that powered Jason Plato to championship glory last season.

The Leamington-Spa based team heads to the season opener on the back of successful pre-season tests at Brands Hatch, Snetterton and Silverstone in recent weeks and will hope to replicate the kind of results it enjoyed in the opening round of the 2010 season twelve months ago.

Paul O’Neill will once again lead the team and is keen to make a good start to what many people expect to be a season where he mounts a serious title challenge.

He said: “Hopefully I’ll be able to qualify inside the top six, although it won’t be an easy task against the turbo-engined cars. If we can come away at the end of race day with three good top ten finishes and some solid points on the board, a bit like we did in the opening round at Thruxton last year, then I’ll be happy. The car felt good when we tested at Brands Hatch, and at Silverstone last week, I was only two-tenths of a second behind Jason in the works car. If we can do similar this weekend, we’ll be in a good position.”

O’Neill’s team mate for a second season, John George, is also hopeful of a solid start but admits getting used to the new car is his primary aim of the weekend.

George said: “I think we need to see how the turbo-powered cars perform in practice and then we will know where we stand but my aim for the weekend is to bring home three solid results. The car felt good in the test we did at Brands Hatch a few weeks ago and I’m confident that we can build on the work we have done so far in testing. I want to try and get into the top ten at least once but in my first race weekend with the car, the most important thing is to bring home three finishes and get the maximum time possible behind the wheel so I can continue to learn all about the Cruze.”

Tech-Speed team boss Marvin Humphries is also optimistic about the team’s chances going into the opening round of the season as it looks to kick-start its challenge on the Independents’ championship with a strong start to the year.

He said: “We had a successful run at Silverstone last week on media day and are looking forward to the start of the season. The Brands Hatch test a few weeks back was our first chance to run the Chevrolet but the day went okay and we are in good shape for the opening rounds. How we get on may depend on the turbo cars a bit but we’re confident of a good weekend.”

The opening three rounds of the 2011 season will feature extensive live coverage on ITV4 and ITV.com on Sunday, with a live broadcast running from 11:00-18:00.

Photo Credit: Pete Mainey (www.psmmotorsportimages.co.uk)

Tom Surgay is the Porsche Carrera Cup GB correspondant for 2011. Tom's currently studying English Language with Journalism at Huddersfield University. You can contact him at tom@btcccrazy.co.uk or on twitter @tsurgay.