Team RAC drivers Colin Turkington and Stephen Jelley fronted up to the media at the annual Rockingham Media Day yesterday (Thursday) as the 2009 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship season draws ever closer.
Current Independents champion Turkington was presented on stage by Ian Titchmarsh alongside rivals Fabrizio Giovanardi and Tom Chilton as well as BTCC Series Director Alan Gow.
Stephen Jelley, in his second season in the BTCC, conducted a series of interviews with media keen to hear his thoughts as he seeks to build on his remarkable qualifying session at Brands Hatch last September.
The media day afforded Team RAC the opportunity to unveil two separate media partnerships with Teletext and the Mirror.co.uk.
The hugely popular Teletext service - available via both digital and analogue television - will provide fans with a unique insight into the season of Colin Turkington, who will write previews ahead of each round and analyse every race.
Team RACs partnership with the Mirror.co.uk will see the ever-expanding website publish the thoughts of both Turkington and team-mate Stephen Jelley throughout the season. In addition to interviews, the Mirror.co.uk will produce exclusive video content and feature the people who matter at Team RAC.
Hot laps were also exclusively provided by Team RACs Jelley for key media ahead of the official afternoon testing session.
The afternoon testing session saw Colin Turkington and Stephen Jelley record impressive times, resulting in the Team RAC duo securing the fastest and third quickest efforts on the grid. Turkington set a best-lap of 1:23.609, while Jelley set a best time of 1:24.140 to wow the watching fans.
WSR Team Principal Dick Bennetts, said: The Team RAC cars have been fast and reliable. Colin [Turkington] and Stephen [Jelley] performed excellently in the afternoon testing session to both finish in the top three. We were running to the minimum weight limit as we were keen to put on a show for the fans who gave up their time to support the BTCC.
We head to Brands Hatch for another testing session on Tuesday to work on a set-up suitable for that track. We are in a good place at the moment and everything seems to be coming together for Team RAC at the perfect time.
Kerry Gazzard, RAC Sponsorship and PR Consultant, said: Team RAC are delighted to welcome both Teletext and the Mirror Online on board for the 2009 season. Both media outlets are extremely popular with its audience and we hope they will bring our fans closer to the drivers and Team RAC in general.
Last seasons results were excellent and the team are confident of making a challenge for the overall title this season. With the season starting in a fortnight, Team RAC are well-set to start the season brightly.
