A full BTCC grid before Christmas – is the rumour mill finished?

This week’s announcement about the destination of the 32 TBLs for the 2016 British Touring Car Championship season means the grid is taking shape earlier than ever before – and it also means a few plans may have been dashed.

Gone are the long winters of rumours about new teams entering the championship – that’s all sorted weeks before we’ve even thought about buying our Christmas presents (or is that just me?). Any changes between now and next April will only happen if teams cannot fulfil their TBL for unforseen reasons, as we saw with Motorbase Performance last season.

The driver market, too, is also less fluid than we’ve become accustomed to, with a good few of the big hitters already tied into deals with their teams. However, the TBL list does mean the plans some teams had to expand (or just the suggestion that they might) look like they have been dashed.

First up is Eurotech Racing, who announced their plans to run three Honda Civic Type-Rs next year, but will have to be content with one fewer after they were only awarded two TBLs.

AmD Tuning were hoping to expand to a three-car outfit, running their existing Ford Focus ST and Audi S3 alongside a second S3 which they have in build. They only have two TBLS, although this is still an increase on 2015 as the second car of Nic Hamilton was classed as a guest entry.

The Kent-based outfit will now have to decide whether to run the Ford and the Audi, or perhaps park the venerable Focus and become an all-S3 outfit.

Simon Belcher’s Handy Motorsport outfit also recently announced their plans to add a second car, and have started work on the build of a second Toyota Avensis. However, they have only been awarded one TBL by TOCA.

There had been some speculation than Motorbase Performance would look to expand back to a three-car outfit, as they did in 2014 with Mat Jackson, Fabrizio Giovanardi and Jack Clarke. However, they also only have two TBLs, and with Andrew Jordan already confirmed for one seat, it means either Jackson or James Cole will miss out.

The list also shows a statement of intent from Rob Austin Racing. Team boss/driver Austin previously said the options for the team were to build a new car, or for him to move and drive elsewhere. The team have been granted two TBLs on the list, signalling their intention to continue as a constructor.

There are few surprises elsewhere. Both Welch Motorsport and Support Our Paras Racing will formally drop to one car after their well-documented problems in 2015, with the expansion of Honda Yuasa Racing and Speedworks Motorsport the obvious headlines.

The only drivers formally confirmed in their seats for 2016 so far are Aiden Moffat and Andrew Jordan. However, this paints a slightly unrealistic picture. Both Jason Plato and Colin Turkington have deals in place with Team BMR, with both Matt Neal and champion Gordon Shedden’s return to Honda Yuasa Racing just a formality.

However, an intruiging winter still awaits us – experience tells us to expect nothing less, especially with the likes of Triple Eight Racing and West Surrey Racing yet to announce any drivers. Watch this space, as they say.

But what the current situation shows us is the NGTC rules have been working, and continue to work. Next, just that thorny issue of actually getting all 32 cars on the circuit at the same time…