Robb 'Hollywood' Holland ready for BTCC bow

Robb ‘Hollywood’ Holland is anxious to begin his maiden full-time Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) campaign and is brimming with excitement ahead of the 2014 season-opener on the world-famous Brands Hatch Indy circuit (29-30 March).

The American Rotek Racing team, which operates from bases at the Nurburgring and Silverstone, took the wraps off its striking Oakley Motorsports-liveried Audi S3 saloon during the official BTCC Media Day at Donington Park last week (Tuesday 18 March).

Having spent countless man-hours on the build, applying a meticulous attention to detail, the car ran faultlessly during its track debut on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit last Friday (21 March), to the delight of the hardworking Rotek Racing team.

Robb Holland,Rotek Racing

Photo by: Pat Cranham

As a result, Holland – the first American to enter the BTCC full-time – is brimming with optimism as he heads ‘down the Hatch’ for the opening round of the highly-anticipated 2014 season, which will boast a capacity 32-car grid that features no fewer than seven former Champions.

“I’m incredibly excited about launching my first full-time BTCC campaign and I’m anxious to run on track and get the racing underway on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit,” said Holland. “I hope this will be the start of a very long and prosperous relationship with the championship.

“I was always adamant that we shouldn’t cut corners to make any arbitrary deadlines and those high levels of preparation and attention to detail have really paid off. The Rotek Racing Audi S3 ran flawlessly and without issue for the duration of the test day at Silverstone on Friday (21 March). Nothing prevented us from running, which means reliability is one less thing to worry about at Brands Hatch. This is great when you’re running with a brand new car, in a brand new series and on a new race track.

Holland continued: “Of course, it’s impossible to tell whether we have pace because we have yet to share a circuit with other touring cars and there were no laptimes to reference on Silverstone’s Grand Prix layout. However, the car felt solid and I think we’re in the ballpark.”

Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) free practice will take place at 10.00 and 12.40 on Saturday (29 March), with qualifying for Round 1 scheduled for 15.40.

Sunday (30 March) begins with the BTCC's pit lane walkabout driver autograph session at 9.10, while Rounds 1, 2 and 3 of the 2014 season get underway at 11.47, 14.17 and 17.02 respectively.