Round 1: Grid 10th Finished 9th
Round 2: Grid 10th Finished 7th
Round 3: Grid 3rd Finished 7th

James Pickford's BTCC debut in Round 1 turned out to be quite a lonely race for the 2004 SEAT Cupra Champion as he lost his engine on the grid after breaking hard to avoid his team mate, Luke Hines, who had made a slow start. Within a few seconds he'd fired up the engine again and was on his way and chasing hard to catch the back of the field up. James marked his first BTCC race with a solid top 10 finish and a best lap quicker
than team mate Jason Plato.

Round 2 saw no such dramas for the 25-year old Macclesfield driver, as a good start saw him initially battle with former SEAT Cupra rival Gavin Smith (Vauxhall) before closing on his SEAT team-mate Luke Hines. When Luke ran wide on lap 14, James grabbed the opportunity to move into 7th, where he stayed to the chequered flag.

Starting the final race of the day from 3rd on the grid, James was squeezed to the edge of the track on the run down to Redgate corner. He was forced to back off the throttle, which saw four cars overtake him, yet James fought back posting a quicker lap time than Jason Plato whilst sitting on his tail the whole race on his way to a confident 7th
position.

James said: "I've learnt more in one weekend here than I have ever done before in a whole year of motor racing. I'd only done one practice start in the Toledo prior to this morning, so sitting on the grid for my first British Touring Car Championship race was nerve-racking. I enjoyed the second race a lot more. I had a good battle with Luke, and I
was pleased with the pace I was able to maintain compared to Jason, who I see as my benchmark in touring cars. I had another bad start in the final race and got squeezed towards the grass, but overall today was a great experience for me and I now know what to expect during the rest of the season."

2005 BTCC points (after Round 3)

Drivers
1. Matt Neal 42pts
2. Yvan Muller 40pts
3. Dan Eaves 31pts
4. Rob Collard 29pts
5. Jason Plato 17pts
6. Gavin Smith 14pts
7. Colin Turkington 10pts
8. James Pickford 10pts
9. Luke Hines 9pts
10. Mark Proctor 2pts

Manufacturers
1. Vauxhall 91pts
2. SEAT 72pts

Teams
1. Team Halfords 70pts
2. VX Racing 54pts
3. WSR 28pts
4. SEAT Sport UK 28pts
5. Fast-Tec Motorsport 6pts

Rounds 4,5 and 6 of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship take place at Thruxton on Sunday 1st May.