The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship kicks off this weekend and Team Hard boss Tony Gilham can’t wait to get the season underway.

For 2016 the Rochester based team have expanded from a single car entry to a three car entry, with three up and coming young drivers behind the wheel.

Speaking to Kent Sports News, Tony said: “We have made a positive step, we had a shakedown at our touring car media day, which is a very positive day for the team.

“We just want to get the third car finished and get that out ready now for Mike (Epps). Jake (Hill) and Chris (Smiley) are getting up to speed, we have showed a little bit of pace so far, and we know that we have plenty more to come with the car, the driver and the team.

“We are just gelling, we have expanded quickly, so there are a lot of new boys that have come in, there is lots to do, it is busy times but it is all good fun.”

Jake Hill is competing in his first full season in the British Touring Car Championship, and the car was looking good at testing at Brands Hatch just before Easter, which is a credit to the boys back in the workshop.

Tony added: “It is, it was a car that was used last year by another team and there was some negativity towards it. We have built a lot of NGTC cars between some of the crew that we have got here, so we have had a hand in a few different cars on the grid.

“We have a good understanding of the engine and how the NGTC car works, especially with the GPRM spec which we are running this year. We will see how the RML boys do and then we will look to maybe change over at some point. For now it is sticking with what we know, and getting a solid and reliable car, it is a long term programme for us, so we need to have a solid year and lay some foundations and hopefully keep these young boys racing for years to come.”

With the three young drivers moving into the BTCC for Team Hard, it is a chance for Tony to give talent like Jake, Chris and Michael Epps a chance to shine in a fantastic race series.

“The older drivers are still doing a good job, but we have chosen our drivers this year, we have gone out we looked for talent. We managed to secure a decent budget for myself to get in one of the cars, and after racing a couple of rounds last year the hunger and desire was there for me to look at doing a full season.

“We went and secured some decent funding to do a decent job ourselves, but then when the second license became available we decided to spread what we had for myself to go racing, to give it to two young drivers. With Chris we did a deal nice and early, having worked with Chris before and knowing Jake for a while again we recognised potential there, he deserves a chance and we are giving him the chance this year and let’s see what he can do.”With some new cars out on a 32 car grid for 2016, there is the opportunity for Team Hard to spring a few surprises at Brands Hatch, for the opening round of the season at the weekend.

“That’s the aim and that’s the dream, we don’t doubt in the drivers at all and we don’t doubt in the team. We don’t really have any reservations or doubt, yes we are up against it a little timewise as it is a very busy time of the year and we have a lot of commitments.

“Expanding from three cars to one in a short space of time, has put the pressure on a little bit more but obviously we like a challenge and hopefully we can hit the ground running and can nick a few points.”

It is a much expanded team now, with the addition of two Ginetta’s in the British GT championship alongside their VW Cup and VAG Trophy entries, so there won’t be too much time for Tony and the team across the season.

He said: “It is going to be a busy season, we finished our scholarship yesterday and we got our winner young Toby Davies that was quite an interesting day, so we are looking forward to seeing what he can do this year.

“There is so much potential and talent out there and what we are trying to create is a different concept, whereby we can reward talent and help them secure some funding from the team , with team partners rather than just individuals and saying to them when you raise enough money you can drive one of our cars. We don’t believe in that concept, it is never going to work and it is so hard to go and find the money on your own. If we can do something collectively then all the better.”

Tony wasn’t making any bold predictions for how he thinks the season will go for his team, but was confident that they can have a good season.

He added: “Obviously there is a few new cars on the grid and there are some that are going to come in, the Subaru’s are going to hit the ground running and they have some very good engineers. We are obviously still an underdog and we are a very small team, we are a family team. It is definitely a big challenge ahead, so definitely no bold predictions, just that we want to get as far up the grid as possible and score as many points as possible.

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