It’s only 16 days until the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – DPS Group Raceday – in association with Homecoming Scotland 2014 gets underway at Knockhill and we caught up with Aiden Moffat, who pilots the number 16 car in this year’s series, funnily enough.
If you are an avid reader of the Scottish Sun, you may have seen the article that depicts the birth of a new Scottish superhero, called Saltire. Well, young Aiden Moffat at the tender age of 17, aside from already being somewhat of a local hero, could undoubtedly become one of Scotland’s most famous racing heroes, given time. Aiden made his Touring Car debut last year at Knockhill (aged 16), becoming the youngest ever BTCC racer, ahead of Tom Chilton who made his BTCC debut in 2002, when he was 17 years if age.
“It wasn’t the best weekend for us, to be honest. We had engine problems in practice and missed the second practice session, and qualifying. We had to rebuild the engine overnight and managed to complete the repairs in time to start at the back of the grid for race one.
“We finished 21st in the opening race, but there was still issues with the car and that was effectively the end of our weekend,” he recalled.
Moffat now has 23 race starts to his name and with more to come; the young Dalkieth racer is targeting progression up the BTCC order.
“This year was always going to be a progressive year, one for learning and next year we aim to up the ante once again,” he said.
The ‘progression’ that Aiden is looking for seems to be on the horizon, following a decent weekend at Snetterton last time out.
“We equaled our best results at Snetterton and the car felt the best it has since we entered the Championship.”
The Laser Tools Racing team recently signed a partnership with the Ciceley Motorsport team, who run the Wix Racing Mercedes-Benz of Adam Morgan. The Ciceley Team will do all of the preparation and setup work on Aiden’s RML-built Chevrolet Cruze for the rest of the season. And that partnership seems to be bearing fruit already, with Aiden finishing the latest official Dunlop test 2nd on the time sheets behind, former double champion, Alain Menu.
“The car was back up to full-boost for the Snetterton test and l’m starting to feel confident with the car. With the car running well, l was able to try a few different driving styles and techniques on track, and found something extra within myself too.
“But heading to Knockhill, this will be the first track that I’m completely comfortable with; it’s like a home from home for me and with the car sporting a huge Saltire on the roof, I’m hoping for some good support,” said Moffat.
We asked Aiden for a prediction for his home round and youngster was measured with his response.
“I know this is going to sound crazy and daft, but a top 15 finish for us has to be the aim. In any other Championship you’d want to be competing for wins, but the BTCC is just so competitive. The level of drivers, cars and teams is really strong, with times between all the drivers very tight. That said, once we achieve that goal, we’ll set a new one and progress from there.”
“I’m really looking forward to this next round; Knockhill is one of my favourite tracks, and it would be the perfect place to achieve and set some new goals,” concluded Moffat.
Aiden may not be in the ‘superhero’ bracket, quite yet; but given time and the right backing, who knows what he can achieve in a motorsport career that has only just begun. He certainly has one major attribute on his side… TIME!!
You can see Aiden and his fellow BTCC rivals in action at Knockhill on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th August (Raceday). Aiden will also be part of the unique Forth Road Bridge Crossing taking place on Thursday 21st August at 11am – a free event. Tickets for the BTCC at Knockhill can be booked online with advanced discounts available via the Knockhill.com website (or by calling 01383 723337).
It promises to be a monumental weekend for all concerned and hopefully a home-win could be on the cards for Scots race fans.