BTCC: Holland cautiously optimistic about Snetterton after productive summer testing

Rotek Racing Press Release

Robb ‘Hollywood’ Holland and his Rotek Racing team are hoping for a seismic shift in fortunes as the 2014 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) bursts back into life on the Snetterton ‘300’ circuit (2-3 August).

A lack of pre-season testing led to a tumultuous and troubled beginning to Rotek Racing’s BTCC foray, but this only served to heighten the Nürburgring and Silverstone-based team’s desire to overcome its new-car teething problems and the opposition.

A determined effort to fettle and refine the striking Audi S3 saloon over the six-week mid-season break culminated with a highly productive test at Pembrey in Wales, where Rotek Racing clarified the source of its problems and embarked down a road that it hopes will yield results in the concluding half of the 2014 season.

Snetterton has the honour of hosting Rounds 16, 17 and 18 of the Dunlop-backed BTCC and its 2.99mile ‘300’ configuration is one Holland is extremely familiar with, having made his BTCC bow at the East Anglian venue in 2012.

Situated in the Norfolk countryside, Snetterton, which has been on the BTCC package for over 50 years, encompasses a number of flat out straights and a tight, technical infield section that draws inspiration from some of motorsport’s most iconic corners, such as Monza’s Parabolica and Montréal’s Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve Hairpin.

Heading to Snetterton having clocked up countless testing miles and with prior knowledge and experience of the circuit gives Holland cause for optimism, although the Oakley Motorsports-backed American remains cautious about Rotek Racing’s prospects.

“It’s a great feeling knowing that we have finally clocked up some testing miles at Pembrey last week and to have spent some time on the shake rig and I’ll be interested to see how it all shapes up at Snetterton,” said Holland. “I’m cautiously optimistic that we have made some gains based on my feel in the car and the fact we picked up a bunch of time over the course of the test with some simple, yet fundamental alterations.

“We have a much better understanding of how the car works and a direction to go in for the rest of the season, but we can only hope that Snetterton will be a turning point for the team. This is the first track I’ve competed on before and that prior knowledge and experience, plus the gains made in testing should result in an improvement. I don’t have any specific targets because we haven’t had anybody to compare ourselves to and I’ve been in the business long enough to know that, no matter how much you want it to, things don’t always correlate or translate from one circuit to another.”

Qualifying for Round 16 of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) takes place at 15.20 on Saturday (2 August) and will be streamed live on thewww.itv.com/btcc web page.

This precedes Round 16 itself at 12.02, Round 17 at 14.35 and Round 18 at 16.57 on Sunday (3 August), all of which will be beamed live and in high definition on ITV4 and ITV4HD.

For more on Rotek Racing, visit the official www.rotekracing.com website, ‘like’ the team’s Facebook page or follow @rotekracing on Twitter.

Photo credit: BTCC

BTCC: Hopeful Holland prepares to test thoroughly during BTCC's mid-season break

Rotek Racing Press Release

A disappointing weekend in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) at Croft Circuit (28-29 June) hasn’t quashed Robb Holland’s unwavering optimism heading into what he predicts will be a fruitful six-week mid-season break for Rotek Racing.

An encouraging start to the year has been followed by a series of galling new-car teething problems and the Nürburgring and Silverstone-based Rotek Racing team continues to grapple with its Audi S3 saloon while struggling to understand how to optimise it performance.

Having only experienced the North Yorkshire circuit on a simulator, Holland tentatively negotiated Croft Circuit’s varied confines during free practice on Saturday and had his progress thwarted by indifferent weather conditions and the odd red-flag stoppage.

From 28th on the grid, Holland’s frustration continued in Round 13, the first of Sunday’s three races, as his Oakley Motorsports Audi S3 saloon was hobbled during a traditionally chaotic opening lap.

The start was delayed and the race distance shortened to 14 laps as a result of a suspected technical issue with Croft’s lighting gantry, but the action got underway at the second time of asking, a spectacular series of incidents kicking off as the field converged on Clervaux and Hawthorns for the first time.

A collision between former title-winner Matt Neal and current Champion Andrew Jordan preceded another involving Adam Morgan and Rob Austin, while both Nick Foster and Jack Goff were also punted across the fairway and into the Croft infield.

Holland’s Rotek Racing Audi S3 appeared to be hobbled as it emerged from the dust and debris field and the American pitted on lap six, losing three laps to the main pack before re-emerging and continuing on his way to finish 28th.

Round 14 was another race of attrition and provided just as much incident and intrigue as the preceding BTCC encounter. It was also provided far more amusement for Holland, who was able to get stuck in to some entertaining on-track battles.

Several drivers faltered through contact and unforced errors and Holland was only too happy to pick up the pieces, climbing to 23rd position as he locked horns with the Welch Motorsport Proton Gen-2s of Daniel Welch and Ollie Jackson.

Approximately half a second split Welch and Holland on lap eight, but the latter was in a determined mood and pulled off a superb and clean overtake on the Proton racer to hold 22nd place on the ninth tour of the 2.25mile North Yorkshire circuit.

The fight enraged to the flag but Holland staunchly defended his position and took the chequered flag with Welch and a recovering Simon Belcher one lap down underneath his rear wing.

Round 15 was all too brief for Holland because, having survived the first lap fireworks, a busted wheel nut – a recurrent problem Rotek Racing suffered during the formation lap – forced the Oakley Motorsports-backed driver into retirement after a Safety Car intervention on lap four.

Summing up another character-building race weekend at the pinnacle of British motor racing, Holland said: “It has been a tough weekend for the team and we definitely didn’t have a handle on the car like we expected to, experiencing various small issues that hampered progress at Croft Circuit. For example, we bust a wheel nut during the out-lap in race three, only for it to reoccur again after the Safety Car deployment. We’ve never had that problem before, so it’s weird to say the least. The positive we can take is that we take the car home with no damage, which means we can get cracking with a thorough and comprehensive testing programme on the track, in the windtunnel and on the shake rig. These are all the things we hoped to do during the lead-up to the season so I’m looking forward to getting on with that straight away, seeing if we can make progress and get a better start to the second half of the season than we did in the first.”

The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship now embarks on a six-week mid-season hiatus before heading to Snetterton in the Norfolk countryside for Rounds 16, 17 and 18 of an enthralling 2014 season (2-3 August).

Photo credit: Rotek Racing

BTCC: Holland disappointed as lack of testing hurts Rotek Racing's Croft BTCC build-up

Rotek Racing Press Release

The disappointment continued for Robb Holland and Rotek Racing during an underwhelming build-up to Rounds 13, 14 and 15 of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) at Croft Circuit, another weekend mired by a severe lack of testing.

A season that started in such a positive fashion for Holland has been an uphill struggle for the Rotek Racing operation, as the Nürburgring and Silverstone-based team has had to grapple with new-car teething problems and continues to try and understand how to optimise the new-for-2014 Audi S3 saloon.

Holland tentatively tip-toed around the 2.25mile Croft Circuit in FP1 on Saturday morning, having only experienced the North Yorkshire circuit on a simulator and was 24th fastest after ten laps when his progress was stymied by a red flag stoppage and a short, sharp rain shower.

Undeterred, the American continued circulating and completed 15 laps, but the wet-dry conditions prevented him from clocking up any meaningful mileage behind the wheel of his Oakley Motorsports Audi and there was a slight sense of frustration as he went into FP2.

Dark clouds hung over Croft for the duration of the morning although the intermittent drizzle subsided for the start of the 30-minute second practice session, to the delight of Holland and his Rotek Racing team.

Sadly, consistent track and weather conditions didn’t reap as many benefits as expected and the team went into qualifying bemused as to why the configuration honed at Oulton Park three weeks ago was ineffective at Croft.

Conditions remained dry for qualifying on Saturday afternoon and it was a slow start to the 30-minute session for all the front-wheel-drive runners, who all pitted for new Dunlops after completing a single installation lap.

Holland only began setting representative times after more than ten minutes and steadily picked up the pace in a red flag-affected qualifying until climaxing in 28th position with a best lap of 1m26.926s, recorded on his tenth tour of the North Yorkshire circuit.

“Carrying mid-corner speed has been our problem since day one and that’s exactly what we’re struggling with here at Croft Circuit,” said Holland. “We came up with a solution at Oulton Park and it worked perfectly there, but we arrived here to find that it has disappeared and it’s quite baffling. The window these cars operate in is very narrow and, if something like the track surface or temperature changes, that can easily throw you out of it.

“We’ve spent today chasing this solution and trying to find out where it went and, while it was a bit better in qualifying because the new tyres give you better grip and allow you to charge into the corners more, it’s tough to play catch up during these race weekends. The fact is, a lack of testing is hurting us and we need to come away from a weekend without damage to repair and clock up some miles with the car to really understand where we need to go with it and focus on moving forwards. It’s frustrating that we thought we made a step forwards, when in fact it’s status quo.”

Round 13 takes place at 12.02, Round 14 at 14.39 and Round 15 at 17.06 tomorrow (Sunday 29 June) and all three races will be beamed live and in high definition on ITV4 and ITV4HD.

For more on Rotek Racing, visit the official www.rotekracing.com website, ‘like’ the team’s Facebook page or follow @rotekracing on Twitter.

Photo credit: Rotek Racing

BTCC: Holland on maximum attack as BTCC heads North East to Croft

Rotek Racing Press Release

Fresh from the ADAC Zurich Nürburgring 24 Hours, Robb ‘Hollywood’ Holland and his Rotek Racing team are on maximum attack as the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) rolls into Croft Circuit in the North East of England (28-29 June).

Croft Circuit, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2014, hosts Rounds 13, 14 and 15 of Britain’s premier motor racing championship.

The charming 2.25mile circuit is situated near Darlington, North Yorkshire and has featured on the BTCC calendar every year since 1997.

Its layout is made up of an intoxicating blend of fast, flowing corners like the Jim Clark Esses and Barcroft, as well as the technical Complex and final Hairpin, and compliments the sort of high-octane, bumper-to-bumper racing action that the BTCC is famed for.

Holland, meanwhile, was on for a career-best 12th place finish in a rain-soaked third race at Oulton Park three weeks ago, until a swipe from a wayward rival caused severe rear-end damage to his Oakley Motorsports-backed Audi S3 saloon that ultimately resulted in a puncture and a separate, race-ending collision with the barriers.

Understandably disappointed to have been denied a solid points finish and, through no fault of his own, conclude yet another tumultuous weekend with more crash damage, the American and his Rotek Racing operation remains on maximum attack and is targeting top 16 results as the BTCC prepares for its lengthy mid-season break.

“In all honesty, I know nothing about Croft Circuit, but I’ll go into free practice having done some simulator work in the UK and, from watching video footage, it looks to be a very interesting and exciting track,” said Holland. “The goal here is to go into the mid-season break without damage and then get some testing done. I’d be happy if I crept into the top 16 because of the setbacks we had at start of season. We always knew it would be a tough fight and the team is still on maximum attack.

“The Audi S3 saloon definitely felt better as the Oulton Park weekend progressed and I raced as high as 12th before being taken out, which gives me confidence in the changes that Rotek Racing made to the car. The alterations were counterintuitive to what we would normally do, but we decided to experiment and it seemed to work out.”

Holland added: “This weekend is no different to the previous three, in that I’ve always had to learn my way around a new circuit. In addition, the team has come away from each race meeting with crash damage to repair, after being on the receiving end of contact, which has forced the cancellation of several tests where we would normally make all the necessary adjustments to the Audi S3 saloon. Instead, we have to learn each track while fettling the car’s setup during free practice on a Saturday, using the entire race weekends as tests with the view of making the car better in the long-term.”

Qualifying for Round 13 of the 2014 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) takes place from 15.45 on Saturday (28 June), while Sunday (29 June) begins with the pit lane walkabout driver autograph session.

This precedes Round 13 at 12.02, Round 14 at 14.39 and Round 15 at 17.06, all of which will be beamed live and in high definition on ITV4 and ITV4HD.

For more on Rotek Racing, visit the official www.rotekracing.com website, ‘like’ the team’s Facebook page or follow @rotekracing on Twitter.

Photo credit: Rotek Racing

BTCC: Robb 'Hollywood' Holland draws many positives from Oulton Park

Rotek Racing Press Release

It was a weekend of ups-and-downs for Rotek Racing’s Robb ‘Hollywood’ Holland
in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship this weekend at a weather contrasting Oulton Park (7-8 June).

Following a heavy crash at Donington Park in April, the Rotek Racing team were tasked with rebuilding the newly acquired Audi S3 Saloon in time for the fourth meeting of Britain’s premier race series.

Saturday’s (7 June) qualifying was held under wet conditions due to a pre-event downfall, which produced unpredictability and excitement to the 30-minute session.

Holland struggled with the conditions and positioned his Audi 27th.

In complete contrast to Saturday’s events, Sunday’s opening race was held under sunny and warm conditions and gave drivers their first opportunity of the weekend to run on the Dunlop slick tyres.

Bolting off the line as the lights went out for the first time of the weekend; Holland climbed three positions on the opening tour of the 2.69mile International Circuit and was quick to latch onto the rear bumper of Martin Depper.

The American-driver continued to battle with some of the more experienced racers in the field and crossed the line 22nd, five places up from his original starting position.

For race two, Rotek Racing and Holland had implemented several set-up changes to improve the performance of his Oakley-liveried S3, which paid dividends when he again continued to climb the leader board to finish the session 22nd after battling with double championship winner, Fabrizio Giovanardi.

With the set-up changes working wonders for both team and driver, race three was shaping up to be a positive outing, but minutes before the session, the heavens opened and washed away any previous rubber laid down by the day’s previous events.

With plans now thrown out the window, Holland lined-up 22nd equipped with wet weather tyres and immediately sprinted off the line and into Old Hall Corner for the first time.

With a lot of water spray emulating from the drivers, visibility became a problem as several drivers collided with each other and in turn thrown off the track and into the barriers.

Holland kept his nose clean and was rewarded handsomely when the field crossed the line for the first time, the live timings recorded that the Nürburgring veteran had climbed ten positions.

Having previously struggled with the wet conditions during Saturday’s Free Practice sessions, Holland took to the track like a duck to water and was in line for a season best finish, but a driver behind suffered a mechanical issue and collided with the rear of Holland’s Audi.

Initially the Rotek Racing driver was able to continue, but the flailing rear bumper damage caused a tyre to fail, which in turn sent him into a high-speed spin at Cascades and into the barriers.

Holland’s race had come to a premature end, but there were many positives to take from the weekend.

“It’s been an up-and-down day,” said Holland. “We were looking to make progress in terms of set-up changes we were making throughout the day and started race one with a car that wasn’t quite on the pace, but we were expecting that. We wanted a baseline to figure out what needed to be done for race two and three.

“I had a good start and race in the second round as the changes really made the car come alive, which pleased me immensely as we ran our fastest laps of the weekend. We were substantially quicker and were lapping within the one-minute forty-fours, so I was really looking forward to taking that to the third and final race, but the heavens decided to open and throw all our plans out the window.

Holland continued: “Race three was a case of survival, which we did really well on the first few opening laps. We had moved up ten places on the opening lap and I was really happy with that, but unfortunately after the safety car, someone locked up behind me and shunted my rear, which damaged the bumper and caused one of my tyres to fail at the high-speed, spinning me off and into the barrier. There’s no major damage, no was near as bad as Donington Park, so it should be a weeks repair and then we can go testing and get ready for Croft.”

The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship resumes in three weeks’ time at North Yorkshire’s Croft Circuit (28-29 June).

For more on Rotek Racing, visit the official www.rotekracing.com website, ‘like’ the team’s Facebook page or follow @rotekracing on Twitter.

Photo credit: BTCC

BTCC: Rob Austin Audi qualified sixth at Oulton Park

By Tarek Ramchani

Oulton Park is playing host to the fourth round of the 2014 British Touring Car Championship. Three Audi NGTC race cars are on site from Rob Austin Racing and Rotek Racing.

Rob Austin the team owner and driver of the #101 Audi A4 qualified in a strong sixth place. "Sherman" performed well in the two practice sessions earlier today and was able to do the same in qualifying. The Fast Exocet backed Audi was the best among the truly privateer cars in the field right behind factory and semi-works entries from BMW, MG and Honda. Rob Austin best time was a 1:43.632.

Hunter Abbott qualified twenty-fourth with the #54 Audi A4 run by Rob Austin Racing under Alcosense Breathalysers Racing banner. Hunter Abbott a rookie in BTCC is still learning and improving in a very healthy and demanding field.

Robb Holland who is returning in British Touring Cars after missing the Thruxton round ended in twenty-seventh position. The Audi S3 Sedan was fully rebuilt after the big crash at Donington Park in the second round of the championship.

Pole postion went to Colin Turkington with a BMW 125i ahead of Jason Plato with MG in second and Gordon Shedden with the factory Honda Civic in third.

All three races are set for tomorrow, we wish the best of luck to all three Audi drivers.

Photo credit: Phil Laughton Photography

BTCC: Hollywood' Returns - Holland set for BTCC comeback at Oulton

Rotek Racing Press Release

Robb Holland and his Rotek Racing team is ready and raring to return to the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) for the fourth round of the 2014 season at Oulton Park in Cheshire (7-8 June).

‘Mr Hollywood’ was lucky to escape injury in a heavy collision with the wall at Donington Park in April and was a notable absentee from the championship’s most recent outing on Hampshire’s ultra-high speed Thruxton circuit last month (3-4 May).

The incident, which ironically occurred at Hollywood corner, saw Holland shoot off the track and into an unprotected concrete wall at barely unabated speeds and Rotek Racing had the impossible task of repairing its extensively damaged Audi S3 saloon and sourcing parts for a brand new model that had its global launch in the spring.

The NGTC-spec S3 saloon has turned heads since its unveiling due to its striking blue livery and its supreme build quality, and Rotek Racing has taken as much care as it did during the car’s initial build to ensure it makes a triumphant return to the BTCC fray at Cheshire’s picturesque Oulton Park circuit this weekend (7-8 June).

For the first time since 1996, the BTCC will take to Oulton Park’s extended ‘International’ configuration, which incorporates the banked Shell Oils hairpin. Regarded by many as a mini Nürburgring Nordschleife, the circuit is narrow and undulating and requires a ballsy approach that makes it a favourite among drivers and fans alike.

It’s invariably one of the best attended and atmospheric events of the season and an enhanced support race bill that includes a blast from the BTCC’s illustrious past in the form of the HSCC Super Touring Car Championship will only add to the spectacle.

Holland made the trip from Rotek Racing’s Nürburgring base to Cheshire earlier than usual and spent Tuesday at Oulton Park to learn the lay of the land before taking to the circuit in anger with an upgraded and fettled Audi.

“I should feel right at home at Oulton Park, because it looks challenging in the same ways as the Nürburgring Nordschleife, with a few blind crests and an abundance of elevation and camber changes” said Holland. “Fast, flowing circuits suit me very well, but I think we might struggle a bit with the handling of the Audi S3 saloon, as we tend to suffer with high-speed instability and there are a lot of quick corners.

“It feels like a long time since I’ve been in the car and I’ve been unable to get any testing in since Donington Park. From the team’s standpoint, got all of the car’s mechanicals are 100 per cent and the package is exactly where we wanted it to be initially. We had a choice of putting it back together the way it was or enhancing it. The bodywork wasn’t quite right, so we’ve cleaned that up and the car looks even better than it did before. In addition, we had some overheating issues and decided to improve the airflow through the front-end, which should give us more horsepower.”

Holland added: “Ideally, I’d like to take another step forward from where we was at Donington Park and hopefully move nearer to scoring our first points in the BTCC. However, the priority is to try a few new things, so we’ll be treating the weekend as an extended test.”

Rounds 10, 11 and 12 of the 2014 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship will be broadcast live and in high definition on ITV4 and ITV4HD, starting at 11.15 on Sunday (8 June).

For more on Rotek Racing, visit the official www.rotekracing.com website, ‘like’ the team’s Facebook page or follow @rotekracing on Twitter.

Photo credit: Rotek Racing / Jakob Ebrey Photography

BTCC: Robb 'Hollywood' Holland ready for BTCC bow

Rotek Racing Press Release

Robb 'Hollywood' Holland is anxious to begin his maiden full-time Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) campaign and is brimming with excitement ahead of the 2014 season-opener on the world-famous Brands Hatch Indy circuit (29-30 March).

The American Rotek Racing team, which operates from bases at the Nurburgring and Silverstone, took the wraps off its striking Oakley Motorsports-liveried Audi S3 saloon during the official BTCC Media Day at Donington Park last week (Tuesday 18 March).

Having spent countless man-hours on the build, applying a meticulous attention to detail, the car ran faultlessly during its track debut on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit last Friday (21 March), to the delight of the hardworking Rotek Racing team.

As a result, Holland – the first American to enter the BTCC full-time – is brimming with optimism as he heads 'down the Hatch' for the opening round of the highly-anticipated 2014 season, which will boast a capacity 32-car grid that features no fewer than seven former Champions.

"I'm incredibly excited about launching my first full-time BTCC campaign and I'm anxious to run on track and get the racing underway on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit," said Holland. "I hope this will be the start of a very long and prosperous relationship with the championship.

"I was always adamant that we shouldn't cut corners to make any arbitrary deadlines and those high levels of preparation and attention to detail have really paid off. The Rotek Racing Audi S3 ran flawlessly and without issue for the duration of the test day at Silverstone on Friday (21 March). Nothing prevented us from running, which means reliability is one less thing to worry about at Brands Hatch. This is great when you're running with a brand new car, in a brand new series and on a new race track.

Holland continued: "Of course, it's impossible to tell whether we have pace because we have yet to share a circuit with other touring cars and there were no laptimes to reference on Silverstone's Grand Prix layout. However, the car felt solid and I think we're in the ballpark."

Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) free practice will take place at 10.00 and 12.40 on Saturday (29 March), with qualifying for Round 1 scheduled for 15.40.

Sunday (30 March) begins with the BTCC's pit lane walkabout driver autograph session at 9.10, while Rounds 1, 2 and 3 of the 2014 season get underway at 11.47, 14.17 and 17.02 respectively.

For more on Rotek Racing, visit the official www.rotekracing.com website, 'like' the team's Facebook page or follow @rotekracing on Twitter.

Photo credit: BAM Motorsports Group

BTCC: Rotek Racing Audi S3 revealed at Donington

By Johan Laubscher

The highly anticipated Audi S3 from Rotek Racing broke cover at the official BTCC Media Day at Donington on Tuesday.

Rotek Racing’s new Audi S3 has been built to the NGTC regulations and will be competing in the 2014 British Touring Car Championship, with Robb Holland behind the wheel.

A total of thirty-one cars have been entered for the 2014 BTCC, including three Audis: Rotek Racing’s Audi S3 and the two Rob Austin Racing Audi A4 NGTC cars. 

Rob Austin Racing was also present at the BTCC Media Day on Tuesday. Their two Audi A4 NGTC cars are driven by Rob Austin and Hunter Abbott.

The opening round of the BTCC will be taking place at Brands Hatch from 29-30 March.

Photo credit: Rotek Racing

BTCC: Rotek Racing fans have voted for the Audi S3 livery

By Tarek Ramchani

Rotek Racing will be debuting in the demanding British Touring Car Championship with a brand new Audi S3 (Sedan) this season. The American team will enter a single car for team owner and driver, Robb Holland.

Rotek Racing recently asked their fans on Facebook to vote for the livery of their Audi S3 BTCC challenger. The fans were given no less than twelve options to choose from. In the end it was Option 1 (pictured above) that took the highest number of votes, with 786 votes, ahead of Option 12 with 692 votes in second and Option 4 in third with 395 votes (both pictured below).

You can see all of the Rotek Racing liveries right here.

Photo credit: Rotek Racing