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New Team RAC signing Stephen Jelley says the HiQ MSA British Touring
Car Championship’s professionalism and credibility were key factors in
his decision to join the series.
Jelley, confirmed as a Team RAC BMW driver this morning (Wednesday),
will move to the BTCC from the GP2 Asia series he is currently
contesting for Lewis Hamilton’s former team ART. Indeed, his final
round will be at the Malaysian Formula 1 Grand Prix event a week before
the BTCC’s season-opener at Brands Hatch on 30 April.
For
the past two seasons he has driven in the British F3 series for top
team Raikkonen-Robertson, achieving two wins en route to third in the
standings in 2007.
The lure of the BTCC and a position in one of the most successful teams on the grid, however, proved irresistible.
Jelley
told BTCC.net: “You’ve got to look at how professional a championship
is before considering it and I looked at a few other single-seater
series before deciding on the BTCC. It attracts the big crowds, has
plenty of TV, it’s a highly competitive field and the championship is
very well run. And to be a credible driver you’ve got to be in a
credible championship.”
After initial tests in
RAC’s BMW 320si, he also hopes the technical nous he has gained in the
high-tech world of single-seaters will help him achieve a smooth
transition to touring cars – both in terms of car set-up and resilience
on and off the track.
He added: “I had my first
run in the BMW at Pembrey and was actually surprised by some of the
similarities between it and the GP2 car. Sure, the speeds are massively
different and the BTCC car takes a lot longer to brake for corners.
“But
the BMW BTCC car is still very responsive to changes on the suspension
settings and so on – just as any good racing car should be. It requires
a smooth driving style – something you pick up in single-seaters – plus
being able to manage weight transfer and an ability to put down the
power.
“Also, if you look at the likes of (Jason)
Plato and (Fabrizio) Giovanardi and others – they’ve all come from
single-seater backgrounds and that’s made them very steely characters.
They know how to mix it and outfox people on the track but also have an
ability to pick themselves up and bounce back following a difficult
day. The biggest thing I might have to get used to is the pushing and
shoving in the BTCC, but so long as it doesn’t get too rough I’m
looking forward to it.”
Jelley also appears to
have instantly formed a strong working relationship with the RAC crew
as he explained. He added: “It was noticeable as soon as I turned up
for the first test what a friendly atmosphere there is inside the team
and it was the same when we all left at the end of the day which is not
how some teams who I’ve worked with operate!
"Dick
Bennetts (team principal) has had a lot of success previously in F3 so
maybe knows that an F3 driver could get on well with the
rear-wheel-drive of the BMW. We’re already talking the same language.”
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