Rory Butcher BTCC interview 09 | 08 | 2017

FIFER RORY BUTCHER successfully completed the shakedown of his Shredded Wheat Ford Focus today ahead of his British Touring Car Championship debut at Knockhill, then attempted to temper the expectation of the thousands of fans who will cheer him on at the weekend.

Speaking exclusively to Scotcars’ Jim McGill after the private shakedown at Ford’s test circuit at Dunton in Essex, the 30-year-old from Kirkcaldy gave an insight into the test.

He also highlighted the challenges he faces switching from sportscars to a BTCC racer; the goals he has set himself for the weekend; and the times he’s been given by his brother-in-law, three-time BTCC champ and current series leader, Gordon Shedden.

Jim McGill: How did the shakedown go today?

Rory Butcher: It went really well. The car felt really nice. It’s a brand new shell, brand new engine, new subframe and all the parts are new. It only got painted a few days ago.

You can tell it’s a new car because it feels really nice and tight.

JM: How long did you spend in the car?

RB: We’re strictly limited to about 20kms for a shakedown. Basically it was a series of straightline runs where I was running the power up to the rev limiter and then changing gears.

We did full power runs, then I bedded-in three sets of brake pads, and I did about four practice starts. To be honest, I definitely need to keep practicing them, because there’s such a detailed, specific programme you need to work through. I haven’t quite nailed that yet.

JM: How big a difference is it from driving a sportscar,or a Porsche in the Carrera Cup?

RB: It’s massively different, especially the car I’ve just driven at the Spa 24Hrs (Rory drove a Ferrari 488 GT3, and did around 6hrs driving). The cars I’ve been driving recently are so high-spec and have so much aerodynamic grip, especially at high speed, plus they have huge amounts of power.

So it’s massively different, to be honest. But the touring car ain’t a slow car either. It’s flippin’ quick. What it does have is mechanical grip, which just means I have to drive differently.

To get the most out of the car I need to adapt my driving style.

JM I understand you need to be a bit — how shall I put it? — a bit more brutal with these cars?

RB: I think, certainly in racing terms, you need to be ready to get your elbows out; take a few more risks, and maybe get it up the inside more. In a sportscar, you’d probably think twice before sticking your nose down the inside of another car like they do in BTCC.

Driving wise? I think you’re right. You can hit the kerbs more, and harder, with a BTCC car and be more aggressive on the kerbs: they can take a bit more abuse.

But as for my driving style, I’m still trying to be as smooth as I can, because smooth is fast.

JM: What goals are you setting yourself, given it’s your first time in a BTCC weekend?

RB: It’s a weird feeling because I’m going in to this and I don’t have any real reference as to how I should be performing, or where I’ll end up.

In the Carrera Cup, coming to Knockhill I knew that on a bad day I’d be P5 in quali, and on a good day I could be on the front row.

Touring cars? I’m going in to Saturday and I get two free practice sessions, then straight into quali. I’ve also got 45kgs of ballast — which all newcomers get — for quali and Race 1 on Sunday. So I’ve also got that to deal with.

But heh, I’m not complaining. I’m in the BTCC.

Goals? Personally, I just want to get through the weekend unscathed; do a good professional job; and if I can get any results, even into the points, that would be a bonus.

JM: How quickly has the programme come together?

RB: Really quickly. I only got a phonecall three days before the Dunlop tyre test at Snetterton on July 6. Got a call from David (Bartrum, Motorbase team principal), and of course, I said “yes”.

I came down. The test went well. I got on well with the team, as I did when I raced in British GT with them, and then the BTCC thing just came together pretty seamlessly and relatively quickly.

The biggest issue was the car. At one point, the shell hadn’t even come out the dippers. And it hadn’t been given to the fabricators to have the welding-up of the space frame, rollcage and stuff.

Apparently, there’s 1000 man-hours needed just to create the shell. It’s amazing the work involved. The guys at Motorbase got the car last week, on Wednesday morning and in that time they’re resprayed it all, and got it running on Monday morning.

Now it’s all stickerd-up and looking fantastic. I love the yellow and red livery. It really does look like a fast race car.

JM: Great too to make your BTCC debut at Knockhill. But does that make it easier, or more difficult because there will be people subconsciously putting pressure on you?

RB: I think it actually does make it a bit easier. Obviously I know the track inside-out. So really, what I have to do now is focus on getting my head round the fine details of the car and concentrating on things like my starts and qualifying.

I know there are going to be a lot of people who will have high expectations for me this weekend.

Sure, I want to live up to those expectations, but I know this is my first time in a full-blown BTCC race weekend. And as I said before, I want to get through it doing a professional job. Then I can build on that over the remaining races in the season. Somehow I have to play those expectations down.

JM: Any tips from your brother-in-law (three-time BTCC champ, and current championship leader Gordon Shedden)?

RB: Yeh. I’ve popped into see him and we’ve chatted about it all. Basically he said: “Rory. Your pace is definitely going to be there. But the racing’s going to be very different to anything you’ve experienced before. You will get a shock with the racing. So just be ready for that, and get your elbows out. Get through your first weekend unscathed, and build from there.”

And I’m certainly not going to argue with what the champ says.

JM: You’re obviously in the car for the remainder of the 2017 BTCC season: would you like to continue in the championship in 2018?

RB: Of course. People need to remember, at the moment my job is just to sit in the car while Luke (Davenport) recovers from the injuries he suffered at Croft. I’m basically keeping the seat warm for him.

But obviously, if there are any other opportunities arise in the team for 2018, and assuming I do a good job, then I would love to remain in the British Touring car Championship, and dovetail that with my GT programme.

JM: So, ideally you would like to see yourself running both BTCC and sportscar campaigns next year?

RB: I would love to, yeh. I can’t let go of the GT stuff because I’ve made good inroads with teams and manufacturers, and I’ve had great opportunities over the last two or three years.

It’s been going really well in sportscars, and I really just love the endurance stuff. So, if I can make a sportscar and BTCC programme work, then that would be a dream.

For full details of tickets for the annual visit of the BTCC to Scotland this weekend (Aug 12/13), log-in to the Knockhill website.

Related: Gordon Shedden wins BTCC Snetterton finale

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Jim McGill