BTCC announces capacity 32-car entry list for 2015 season

The British Touring Car Championship has announced a capacity 32-car entry list for the 2015 season, following a winter of significant change for both drivers and teams.

The grid was officially unveiled this morning at the annual media day at Donington Park, after an off-season which saw all but one seat confirmed.

The final announcement came in the shape of Nicolas Hamilton’s half-season deal to race the ex-Robb Holland Audi S3 for AmD Tuning, which will see him drive for the first time at Croft.

It means a likely grid of 29 cars at Brands Hatch next weekend, with Motorbase Performance also sitting out half of the season as they look for sponsorship. Mat Jackson and new signing James Cole are expected to join at Snetterton in August.

There are several stories to catch the imagination on the grid, with a quintet of BTCC champions joined by a triple world champion.

Former World Touring Car Championship master Andy Priaulx returns to the BTCC for the first time since 2002, driving the all-conquering BMW 125i M-Sport for West Surrey Racing alongside Rob Collard and Sam Tordoff, who joins from Triple Eight Racing.

Leaving WSR for pastures new is reigning champion Colin Turkington, who joins the ambitious Team BMR squad with 2014 runner-up Jason Plato, while 2013 champion Andrew Jordan is also embarking on a new challenge, leaving his family-run Eurotech Racing team to join up with constructors’ champions Triple Eight Racing. He will be partnered by Jack Goff, who secured the second plum seat in the MG6 GT after leaving Team BMR.

A change of machinery at Honda Racing Team sees the fearsome-looking Civic Type-R replace the Tourer, while Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden team up for the eighth time in 10 years.

Elsewhere, the grid welcomes Infiniti as a third manufacturer entry, with a pair of Support Our Paras Racing Q50s for series rookies Richard Hawken and Derek Palmer Jr. Team Parker Racing also join the BTCC for the first time, running one of the Motorbase Performance Ford Focus STs for newcomer Alex Martin.

And while no other new teams are joining, there are more new drivers, new cars and several changes behind the scenes.

The Clio Cup alumni are again well represented, with champion Mike Bushell joining AmD Tuning and vice-champion Josh Cook teaming up with Power Maxed Racing.

On the team front, Jeff Smith has become a shareholder in Eurotech Racing and returns to driving duties alongside Martin Depper, while Power Maxed Racing purchased BTC Racing from Chris Stockton and will run two Chevrolet Cruze saloons for Dave Newsham and Cook.

Tony Gilham Racing return to the series with Kieran Gallagher piloting an ex-United Autosports Toyota Avensis, while former motocross racer Stewart Lines replaces Lea Wood at JWT Performance, and Andy Wilmot takes over the second Welch Motorsport Proton Gen-2 from Ollie Jackson.

Also leaving the grid are celebrated 2014 returnees Alain Menu and Fabrizio Giovanardi, who both struggled to make an impact at times last season. Jack Clarke bows out after his best-ever finish of second in the final race of last season, while Marc Hynes withdraws to concentrate on helping resurrect the Manor F1 team, and Nick Foster has retired.

The United Autosports and Rotek Racing teams are also leaving the BTCC after one year.

To complete an off-season of huge change, Aiden Moffat will be in new machinery, driving a Mercedes A-Class built by Adam Morgan’s Ciceley Racing team. However, the status quo is maintained in some line-ups, namely Morgan; the two Audi A4s of Rob Austin and Hunter Abbott; Welch Motorsport’s Dan Welch; the Speedworks Motorsport pair of Tom Ingram and Simon Belcher and Árón Smith and Warren Scott at Team BMR.

The cars will be on track at 13:00 GMT today for the official four-hour test session.

2015 British Touring Car Championship Entry List

No – Driver – Team Name – Car – Engine Builder/Marque
25 – Matt Neal – Honda Racing Team – Honda Civic Type-R – Neil Brown/Honda
52 – Gordon Shedden – Honda Racing Team – Honda Civic Type-R – Neil Brown/Honda
31 – Jack Goff – Triple Eight Racing – MG6 GT – Swindon/TOCA
77 – Andrew Jordan – Triple Eight Racing – MG6 GT – Swindon/TOCA
22 – Derek Palmer Jr – Infiniti Support Our Paras Racing – Infiniti Q50 – Swindon/TOCA
84 – Richard Hawken – Infiniti Support Our Paras Racing – Infinti Q50 – Swindon/TOCA
1 – Colin Turkington – Team BMR – Volkswagen CC – Swindon/TOCA
99 – Jason Plato – Team BMR – Volkswagen CC – Swindon/TOCA
39 – Warren Scott – Team BMR – Volkswagen CC – Swindon/TOCA
40 – Árón Smith – Team BMR – Volkswagen CC – Swindon/TOCA
4 – Mat Jackson – Motorbase Performance – Ford Focus ST – Mountune/Ford EcoBoost (*)
20 – James Cole – Motorbase Performance – Ford Focus ST – Mountune/Ford EcoBoost (*)
6 – Rob Collard – West Surrey Racing – BMW 125i M-Sport – Neil Brown/BMW
7 – Sam Tordoff – West Surrey Racing – BMW 125i M-Sport – Neil Brown/BMW
111 – Andy Priaulx – West Surrey Racing – BMW 125i M-Sport – Neil Brown/BMW
11 – Simon Belcher – Speedworks Motorsport – Toyota Avensis – Swindon/TOCA
80 – Tom Ingram – Speedworks Motorsport – Toyota Avensis – Swindon/TOCA
12 – Andy Wilmot – Welch Motorsport – Proton Gen-2 – Welch/Proton-M
13 – Daniel Welch – Welch Motorsport – Proton Gen-2 – Welch/Proton-M
14 – Alex Martin – Team Parker Racing – Ford Focus ST – Mountune/Ford Duratec
16 – Aiden Moffat – Aiden Moffat Racing – Mercedes A-Class – Swindon/TOCA
17 – Dave Newsham – Power Maxed Racing – Chevrolet Cruze Saloon – Swindon/TOCA
66 – Josh Cook – Power Maxed Racing – Chevrolet Cruze Saloon – Swindon/TOCA
21 – Mike Bushell – AmD Tuning – Ford Focus ST – Mountune/Ford Duratec
28 – Nicolas Hamilton – AmD Tuning – Audi S3 – Swindon/TOCA (**)
23 – Kieran Gallagher – Tony Gilham Racing – Toyota Avensis – Toyota/Xctechr
30 – Martin Depper – Eurotech Racing – Honda Civic Hatchback – Swindon/TOCA
55 – Jeff Smith – Eurotech Racing – Honda Civic Hatchback – Swindon/TOCA
33 – Adam Morgan – Ciceley Racing – Mercedes-Benz A-Class – Swindon/TOCA
54 – Hunter Abbott – Rob Austin Racing – Audi A4 – Swindon/TOCA
101 – Rob Austin – Rob Austin Racing – Audi A4 – Swindon/TOCA
95 – Stewart Lines – JWT Performance – Toyota Avensis – Swindon/TOCA

(* – due to join the championship at Snetterton)

(** – due to join the championship at Croft)