Silly season round-up for the 2015 BTCC

TouringCarTimes takes a look at how the BTCC grid is shaping up ahead of the 2015 campaign and the start of the motorsport year at the Autosport International Show.

The closing months of 2014 have provided a rumour-packed silly season, quite at odds with the same period last year when many driver/team combinations were already known.

With drivers leaving top teams, sponsors departing and uncertainty over the plans of some of the series’ top names, it’s fair to say the makeup of the 2015 grid is far from certain.

However the grid is made up, they will race under a raft of rule changes which will be introduced at the start of the season.

Here’s a recap of what we do know:

West Surrey Racing: It’s been a tricky off-season so far for 2014’s top team, with the loss of title sponsor eBay. It means double champion Colin Turkington faces an uncertain future, in echoes of 2010 when he was also unable to defend his title. Turkington tweeted last week to say he has no news on his 2015 plans at present.

The one area of certainty for the team is that Sam Tordoff will race the BMW 125i after two years at Triple Eight. The team has also spoken to multiple world champion Andy Priaulx, who would make an intriguing addition to a grid he last graced in 2002.

Triple Eight: It’s all change at 888, with both Jason Plato and Sam Tordoff leaving the team. This will also mean a change in sponsorship, with the title sponsorship previously coming from Plato’s deal with Tesco. Plato is yet to confirm his 2015 plans, and there’s also been no word on Marc Hynes to date.

The team hasn’t confirmed any drivers yet, but did share a tweet from Clio Cup driver Paul Knapp about joining the BTCC. Knapp has only competed in a handful of circuit races after joining the Clio Cup halfway through 2014.

Honda Racing Team: Nothing confirmed to date, although Matt Neal has already tweeted to say he will be racing a “new model” in 2015. This is expected to be the new Civic Type-R, a car team-mate Gordon Shedden has said he’d like to race.

Eurotech Racing: Jeff Smith will return to the series after becoming a shareholder with the team. Andrew Jordan is expected to reveal his plans this week, with Red Bull backing.

Motorbase Performance: Another team which will look a little different in 2015, after the departure of long-term title sponsor Airwaves. The team has signed former Porsche Carrera Cup racer Alex Martin to race one of its three Ford Focus STs, but hasn’t announced any other drivers.

Team BMR: A team which was very quick out of the blocks to make its first driver announcement way back in August. Aron Smith will return for a second year with the fledgling squad, but no other drivers have been confirmed.

Rob Austin Racing: The team will return in 2015 with two Audi A4s, one for owner/driver Rob Austin and a second potentially for 2014 team-mate Hunter Abbott.

Ciceley Racing: The newest winners in the BTCC paddock will again run their Mercedes A-Class for Adam Morgan, and they are building a second car for Aiden Moffat.

AmD Tuning: Clio Cup champion Mike Bushell has signed to race for the team, replacing the outgoing Dave Newsham. For his part, Newsham is yet to confirm a drive for 2015.

Speedworks Motorsport: The team will once again run a Toyota Avensis for Simon Belcher under the Handy Motorsport banner. No drivers have been confirmed for the second Avensis.

United Autosports: The team faces an uncertain future after co-owner Zak Brown put his share up for sale.

JWT Performance: One of the smallest outfits on the grid, JWT Performance have said they hope to be back in 2015 with driver Lea Wood in the Toyota Avensis.

Aiden Moffat Racing: Scottish youngster Aiden Moffat will race a Ciceley Racing-fettled Mercedes A-Class in 2015, replacing the ex-Andy Neate Chevrolet Cruze, which in turn has been sold to BTC Racing.

BTC Racing: The team announced it had bought the Cruze shell in November, and intends to run it in place of the hatchback version it struggled with in 2014.

Rotek Racing: No word yet on the 2015 plans for another of the BTCC’s new teams, which joined the championship with Robb Holland in 2014.

Welch Motorsport: Andy Wilmot will race for the team in 2015 in place of Ollie Jackson, who has said he won’t be returning to the BTCC in 2015. Expect Dan Welch to continue in the second Proton Gen-2, which could again be powered by a TOCA engine.

Infiniti Support Our Paras Racing: A new team for 2015 and entered as a manufacturer, the team will field two Infiniti Q50s for Richard Hawken and Derek Palmer Jnr. The team is supporting injured servicemen from the Parachute Regiment.

#RacingForHeroes: Another new team, which plans to run Clio Cup runner-up Josh Cook. However, no further details have been made public since the announcement in early December, including the make or model of car they will use.