Reid declares new MG to be 2002 title contender.

After Anthony Reid brought the new MG ZS EX259 home in both races at the car's debut British Touring Car Championship meeting at Silverstone, we took the opportunity to ask Anthony for his thoughts and impressions on the car and the BTCC...

How do you feel about the MG ZS EX259 now you've actually had the opportunity to race it and directly compare it to your BTCC rivals?

Anthony Reid: "It's going to be a championship contender next year. That is a definite. It's got all the hallmarks of being a championship-winning car. The chassis is fantastic, it has very good balance - and that's reflected in the lap times we can do on the circuit towards the end of the race. When the other drivers are going slower and slower, we're still doing the same times."

So it is already a car you take into the BTCC and actually race?

AR: "It's a car you can work with, it's got a very good platform, it's taut, responsive, has a balance you can work with - and that's the key to driving quickly. If you can control the balance from the start to the finish of a race, you control the tyre wear, the tyre life stays much better, and your lap times stay consistent to the end of the race - and that's what it all about."

Silverstone was the first opportunity to test all the elements that MG has brought together for this project - Lola, WSR, yourselves the drivers - do you feel you passed that test with flying colours?

AR: "It's been a huge mountain to climb because we only had the car on a circuit one month before the first race, halfway through a championship season, with all the attendant regulations and restrictions to follow. You have to homologate parts, seal the engine - everyone has done a fantastic job to give us the car we had underneath us today at Silverstone. The speed with which the car has gone has been superb - we've been right in there with the Peugeots, the Lexus, and very close to the Vauxhalls, so it's been a real achievement."

So at Silverstone you've been able to run with the people who've been setting the pace in this championship?

AR: "Very much so, that's why I am really buoyed by the car's performance today. Everyone involved is really encouraged, and on a bit of a high because they can see that the ingredients are there to win races in a very short space of time."

On a more personal note, you've been a Touring Car frontrunner for a number of seasons, what is it like to be back in the cut-and-thrust of the BTCC?

AR: "I enjoy it - it's great. I like Touring Car racing because of that cut-and-thrust. There's a bit of contact - but that's part of the sport. The officials will say it's not a contact sport but it is, and contact does occur to a degree. You have to be a tough driver and give as good as you get, and try and keep out of trouble. Those are the elements that I enjoy - plus getting the maximum out of the car and controlling its balance through the race. Just working with a team like WSR and getting the best out of the car by pulling together as a team - these are the sort of elements that are very appealing to me as a driver, and the BTCC gives me that."

Its just two weeks until you are back out in the MG ZS EX259 at Donington Park - are you looking forward to that meeting?

AR: "I'm very much looking forward to Donington Park, though it's a very limited amount of time for what we have to do between races. The cars have to be taken away from here, stripped down and checked over, built back up and prepared. It doesn't give the guys much time to consolidate the position we have achieved here. There's a lot of work to be done for a race just two weeks away - but I'm sure we're going to go a little bit better.

"Donington Park is a circuit I know well, I've won there before, and all the elements that the MG does well are going to come into play there. The car should run strongly in the Feature Race at Donington, and then we go to Brands Hatch - which is a real handling circuit - and we'll definitely be strong there!"