An Introduction To... British Touring Car Championship

What Is British Touring Car Championship?

For over 50 years the British Touring Car Championship has been one of the premier racing championships in the UK. Originally known as the ‘British Saloon Car Championship,’ the cars racing on the circuit were all recognisable saloon and hatchback models that could be seen on the public roads. The races are all around 30 minutes in length and there are often multiple races in the day to see the cars in action. The relative lack of aerodynamic aids in this category mean that action is always very close and there is plenty of overtaking – often involving a bit of contact! Fantastic TV coverage and an open paddock at the events mean the championship is very inviting in letting the fans get up close with the drivers and the teams. Such good coverage means that driver’s personalities are well known to the fans, with some taking the clean and calculated racer route with others almost becoming a pantomime villain!

One of the most famous eras of the championship was the ‘Super Touring’ years of the 1990s, when a number of manufacturer teams filled the grid, with multi-million pound budgets and Formula One levels of technology to develop the cars. A look down the grid at the time would have shown a number of international drivers, making the championship almost worthy of being a world championship. While this eventually took its toll on the category, the rules now are much more sustainable, reducing budgets without affecting the quality of the racing or the number of brands represented on the grid.

Photo: BTCC cars battle for the lead at Thruxton. ©Ian Gilby 2016

The action in these shorter races makes for an explosive championship, which often keeps many drivers in the hunt for the title until the last race of the season. In the 2019 season, the champion was only confirmed with 2 laps remaining in a tantalising final race. With three 30 minutes races on race day, including a reverse grid for the finale, many drivers get the chance to shine and every top driver must be good at overtaking.

A more detailed look at the circuit, categories of cars, and drivers is below.

Weekend Timetable

Saturday 26th September

Free Practice 1 & 2, followed by qualifying at 15:10 BST (live and free on www.itv.com/btcc)

Sunday 27th September

Whole race day shown live from 11am-6.25pm ITV2, including:

BTCC Race 1, 11:25 BST

BTCC Race 2, 14:45 BST

BTCC Race 3, 17:20 BST

How to watch

In the UK, the whole race day is shown live and free on either ITV2, or usually, ITV4 on Freeview. This program includes the 3 BTCC races plus a number of support races from junior championships including Mini Challenge, Porsche Carrera Cup GB, Ginetta Juniors, and F4 British Championship. With commentary from David Addison and former BTCC Champion Tim Harvey, the action is clearly described and given the excitement it deserves. Teams up and down the grid are given interviews and features throughout the program, helping people get to know the drivers.

Where Do They Race?

Each year the BTCC races at 9 circuits across England and Scotland, including Silverstone and Brands Hatch, as well as lesser known venues Croft and Thruxton. Here is a rundown of the 4 remaining venues on the 2020 calendar:

Silverstone National Circuit, 26-27 September

For Touring Cars, a much shorter layout is used, instead of the full Grand Prix circuit. This is one of the shortest laps of the calendar with only 6 corners, with the Maggotts/Becketts section becoming a tighter right-hander which brings the cars across to the Wellington Straight. This makes for a difficult braking zone where cars are trying to turn and slow down at the same time, often causing cars to run wide. The long run into Brooklands corner is also an action zone, as it is in the F1, with cars using the long straight to get alongside the car in front.

Croft Circuit, 10-11 October

This North Yorkshire circuit may not be well known but it creates some great racing in this championship. Croft is a very fast layout with some of the highest top speeds of the season, and also one of the tightest hairpins. Some touring cars have even braved going side by side at over 100 mph through the left-right flick of the Jim Clark Esses, although it is very risky. The final Hairpin corner always brings excitement to races at this track, often on the very last lap of the race.

Snetterton 300 Circuit, 24-25 October

While the shorter layout is used at Silverstone, the championship uses the longest possible layout for its visit to the Norfolk-based circuit. This 3 mile layout features a wide variety of corner types, with a fast outer ring and a tight centre section where the fans can see the cars in view for a long time. This circuit is narrower than some others used for BTCC but there are still good opportunities to pass, including Montreal hairpin and final corner ‘Murrays’ – named after F1 and BTCC commentary legend, Murray Walker.

Brands Hatch Indy Circuit, 14-15 November

The championship returns to its traditional series finale venue, Brands Hatch, but on the shorter Indy circuit layout for this season. The rollercoaster ride of turn 1, Paddock Hill Bend, makes for an exciting part of any lap of this circuit, with a gravel trap awaiting all those who get it wrong. A good run through this corner is needed to keep momentum back up the hill to Druids hairpin too.

The Indy circuit lap finishes with a tough section through the left-hander of Surtees and straight into the tightening right of McLaren/Clearways where drivers must manage turning along with braking. Certainly a place where you will see a lot of action and mistakes from the drivers – especially if it is wet!

What are the cars like?

The teams of the BTCC use cars from a number of brands that are all familiar cars you could see on the road. The cars, known as Next Generation Touring Cars (or NGTC), are all based on the same chassis as the road equivalent but also have a number of common components used on all cars to keep the costs down for the teams competing. This works well to ensure that a number of teams can build their own cars, even if they are not a large team with manufacturer support. Teams can also develop their own engine or lease a standard unit from the championship. Although these regulations are not used anywhere else in the world (like GT World Challenge’s GT3 regulations are for GT cars) the series is often over subscribed for entries and still close to 30 cars in the grid this season.

The variety means that brands such as Hyundai and Infiniti are represented on the grid against the manufacturer supported teams of BMW, Honda and Toyota. In fact, cars of 10 different brands are present on this year’s grid, with another, Cupra, set to join for the 2021 season.

Photo: BMWs race nose-to-tail at Thruxton. ©Ian Gilby 2016

Team BMW with their BMW 330i M Sport, was the car to beat in 2019 securing the top 2 places in the championship, but the Honda Yuasa Racing Civic Type Rs ran them very close, with the top 3 only separated by 2 points after 30 races.

This is another championship that uses a ‘balance of performance’ to ensure a reasonable parity between the performance of the different cars. The strengths of the different chassis types are still apparent though, as is the stronger start of the rear wheel drive BMWs and Infinitis against the front wheel drive cars that make up the remainder of the grid.

Something relatively unique is the success ballast used in the BTCC. This means the top 10 of the championship entering each event must run for Qualifying and Race 1 with up to 60kg of additional weight in the cars. This helps to ensure the same drivers are not always at the front of the grid, giving more drivers the chance to shine, whilst the best drivers are still able to be competitive. The top finishers in Race 1 carry ballast for the second race, with drivers successful in Race 2 carrying ballast in the final race of the event.

As an additional change for the end of the event, Race 3 runs with a partial reverse grid of the results from the second race. The TV coverage shows the Race 2 winner pick a ball out of a hat to decide which of the numbers, from 6-12, are chosen. Driver’s hope to avoid picking the dreaded 12 ball which would force them to start from 12th on the grid weighted down with the additional success ballast from winning race 2!

Who are the drivers?

With up to 30 drivers on the grid, the BTCC has a fantastic mixture of experienced drivers, fast juniors and good club-level racers represented. Reigning champion Colin Turkington and former winners Matt Neal and Ashley Sutton are usually seen in the points positions, with former Fifth Gear host Jason Plato due to return to the grid in 2021. Younger drivers Tom Ingram, Josh Cook, and Rory Butcher are always in the hunt for race wins and hoping to sustain this over a full season to keep in the hunt for the overall championship.

Photo: Fans meet driver Tom Ingram during a pit walk. ©Ian Gilby 2016

The driver with the most to prove in 2020 is Dan Cammish, who came within 2 laps of beating Turkington to the title in 2019. A rare brake failure at the end of the final race saw him end up in the gravel and be pipped to the title by the smallest of margins. Dan has won the championship in the BTCC-supporting Porsche Carrera Cup GB and Formula 4 British Championship, showing that there is a good progression to the BTCC for junior drivers.

The reverse grid races and ballast system often means the race wins can be spread between a large number of drivers on the grid. This reached a peak in the 2018 season, which saw an incredible 17 different race winners from a 32 car grid! Although this is nearer to 10 winners in a usual season, it is great to see how the drivers that may normally be nearer the middle of the grid race when up the front.

A familiar surname on the grid is found with Nicolas Hamilton, who is the younger brother of F1 World Champion Lewis. Nicolas has cerebral palsy, racing with minor modifications to his car including the braking system to allow him to be in the hunt for the points-paying positions.

Things to look out for

The success ballast regulations in the BTCC usually mean the championship challengers have to run more weight for qualifying, requiring a perfect lap from them to be near the front of the grid for Race 1 of the weekend. Expect to see championship leaders including Colin Turkington and Dan Cammish being a little more patient with passes in the first race while running heavier cars. The Race 1 finishing order is used to set the grid for Race 2, so any driver that fails to finish will be starting from the back. Race 2 may start in a familiar order but the ballast means it is harder for the Race 1 winner to defend their advantage and the extra weight might wear out their tyres faster.

The reverse grid nature of Race 3 usually makes for a thrilling finale with a completely different set of drivers fighting at the front of the field. Look out for the podium finishers from Race 2 to try to work their way to the front but remember that they will have be carrying the success ballast. Only twice in over 15 years has the same driver won all three BTCC races in the day proving it is difficult but still possible.

Watch out for an incredible recovery drive from any of the top drivers if they have to start from the back of the grid if they fail to finish in one of the earlier races. The TV coverage is fantastic for this championship, so you can be sure any stand out performances will be shown on the coverage.

Have a go yourself!

The great thing about the BTCC is that the drivers are very approachable and happy to chat to anyone during the pit lane walkabout sessions at the race meetings. With such good TV coverage, you learn a good amount about each of the driver’s personalities and it is easy to pick a favourite.

The ITV4 TV coverage shows all the races from the BTCC live alongside the support race action from a number of championships that also feature large grids and entertaining racing. In particular, make sure you see Ginetta Juniors races featuring 14-17 years in their early years of car racing. These cars may be some of the slowest of the day but the racing is often some of the closest. Drivers that have previously had success in this championship include BTCC driver Tom Ingram and F1 driver Lando Norris. Other championships seen at BTCC events are Porsche Carrera Cup GB, Mini Challenge UK and F4 British Championship. Other events also feature guest championships that highlight some the best club-level racing to be seen in the UK.

Photo: Ginetta Juniors race side-by-side. ©Ian Gilby 2016

The fact you can see the whole days action from home on terrestrial TV is fantastic but it is definitely worth visiting an event in person once people are able to in the future.

If you are looking for some more national racing that is free to watch online and you might want to visit in 2021, next week will be An Introduction To… British GT Championship.