YORKSHIRE'S CAYGILL LOOKING TO MAKE BIG STRIDES IN SECOND TOURING CAR OUTING AS BTCC HEADS TO BR

• Touring car rookie Josh Caygill targets big steps for BTCC finale • MG6 driver looking forward to Brands Hatch GP Circuit return • Holmfirth racer determined to build on strong Silverstone debut • Headline sponsor SMUK celebrating 18th anniversary

Josh Caygill heads to Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit in Kent this coming weekend, 29th/30th September, for the grand finale of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season – his second race meeting in the UK’s biggest car racing series. After making a solid and consistent debut in the BTCC just over a week ago at Silverstone National Circuit, competing with the AMD with Autoaid/RCIB Insurance Racing team, Yorkshireman Caygill is now setting loftier goals for the last three races of the 2018 season. Relishing his return to the full Brands Hatch GP Circuit, where the 29-year-old claimed Silver Cup race victory in the Blancpain Sprint Cup back in May at the wheel of a Bentley Continental GT3 shared with Aron Taylor-Smith, Caygill is looking forward to the challenge of the track in a BTCC car. Having adapted back to front-wheel drive without any difficulty after two years of rear-wheel drive racing in the Blancpain Sprint Cup and, before that, the Blancpain Endurance Cup, Caygill – who is backed by SMUK, which celebrates its 18th birthday this week, and LSS Waste – aims to conclude his end-of-season foray in the BTCC with some positive results. “I was really quite happy, to be fair, with the way the Silverstone weekend went for us and I don’t think we disgraced ourselves at all”, said the Yorkshireman, “We always knew coming into the BTCC at this stage of the season, as part of a mega-competitive grid, was never going to be a walk in the park but everyone at the team seemed genuinely pleased with how everything went. “Bearing in mind we had 45kg of ballast in the car from the start, being new to the championship, I was fairly satisfied with the progress made through the various sessions. The car was good and it was great working with the team, all the lads did a fantastic job and I really think we’ve got a solid foundation to build on at Brands this weekend.” Making good progress in his maiden BTCC race at Silverstone, climbing through from 30th position on the grid into 23rd place at the conclusion, Caygill’s bid to move further up the order in races two and three at the Northamptonshire venue came unstuck due to unfortunate overheating issues. Even so, the experience gained will be vital heading into what is undoubtedly going to be a hugely action-packed weekend at Brands Hatch where the majority of championship titles in the BTCC are up for grabs. Notably too, Brands Hatch is the ‘home’ track of the AMD squad which is headed by former BTCC racer Shaun Hollamby and based less than 20 miles away in West Thurrock. “It’s great to be ending my first two weekends in the BTCC with a visit to the team’s local track and hopefully we can put on a good show for the fans”, added Caygill, “As at Silverstone, none of us are going to get carried away but if we can improve and keep moving forward I’ll be happy.” Opening free practice for the BTCC runners at Brands Hatch GP Circuit will get underway at 09.30 on Saturday, 29th September, with session two beginning at 12.05. Qualifying, which will be streamed live online at the www.itv.com/btcc website, starts at 15.20. On Sunday, 30th September, race one is scheduled to commence at 11.35, race two will follow at 14.25 and the final race of the BTCC season will start at 17.15. All three encounters will be streamed live online and screened live on ITV4.

Note to editors: Copyright free images courtesy Marc Waller Sponsors: Vancraft / Volkswagen Van Centre West Yorkshire / SMUK Auto Electrical Engineers – the UK’s leader in vehicle safety equipment, cross-rail vehicle compliance and telematics product installations / LSS Waste Management / BHP Clough & Company Chartered Accountants / Integro Insurance Brokers / WoodenSpoon.com / Nebula Creative / Milltek Sport Josh Caygill Media Contact: Marc Orme Tel: +44 (0)7920 886985 Email: marc@marc-orme.co.uk / marcorme1@aol.com