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BTCC powers on to flat-out Thruxton

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With six different winning drivers from six races in 2016, it’s anyone’s guess who will take the spoils for rounds seven, eight and nine as the BTCC rolls on to Thruxton.

Matt Neal will once again lead the Drivers’ Championship standings following his victory in the final race at Donington Park, holding a slim five point lead over team-mate and reigning champion Gordon Shedden to secure a Team Dynamics 1-2 at the sharp end of the field. Shedden will be confident going to the fastest circuit on the calendar, having visited the top step at least once every year since 2011.

West Surrey Racing will also be hoping to continue its strong early-season form, with all three drivers occupying the top six in the Drivers’ Championship, despite Rob Collard being the only BMW driver to have taken a victory this season.

Triple Eight Racing enjoyed a strong showing at Donington Park, locking out the front row and putting in some impressive race performances, but Thruxton has not been friendly to the MG6 in recent years, with no MG driver ever making it to the top step of the podium at the Andover circuit.

The MG squad will also be hoping for another strong showing from rookie Ash Sutton, who is currently sitting pretty at the top of the Jack Sears Trophy standings with six wins from six attempts. He holds a 28 point lead over nearest contender Matt Simpson in the trophy specifically for the rookie contingent.

Another driver looking to continue his impressive start to the season will be Aron Smith in the Team BKR Volkswagen CC, who’s consistent results has seen him move up to seventh in the points and just 18 behind Neal, while also holding an eight point lead over Motorbase’s Mat Jackson in the Independents’ standings. The CC has winning pedigree at Thruxton, with Jason Plato scoring maximum points in race two last year with Team BMR.

Other outside bets for wins come from the always competitive Motorbase Performance duo of Jackson and Andrew Jordan, last year’s winner Adam Morgan and Tom Ingram, who has had some strong performances this year already, but only finds himself in twelfth after a combination of bad luck and inconsistency kept him out of the top ten in the standings.

Thruxton will also welcome a new face to the series, with sportscar ace Daniel Lloyd joining the newly expanded Eurotech Racing outfit following Andy Neate’s swift departure from the series before Donington Park. Lloyd’s inclusion takes the entry list back up to the magic number 32 after the vacant spot left by Neate saw only 31 compete at Donington.

British Touring Car Championship Entry List – Donington Park

No – Driver – Team – Car – Engine
52 – Gordon Shedden – Team Dynamics – Honda Civic Type-R – Neil Brown/Honda
25 – Matt Neal – Team Dynamics – Honda Civic Type-R – Neil Brown/Honda
99 – Jason Plato – Team BMR – Subaru Levorg – Mountune/Subaru
4 – Colin Turkington – Team BMR – Subaru Levorg – Mountune/Subaru
39 – Warren Scott – Team BMR – Subaru Levorg – Mountune/Subaru
20 – James Cole – Team BMR – Subaru Levorg – Mountune/Subaru
66 – Josh Cook – Triple Eight Racing – MG MG6 GT – Swindon/TOCA
116 – Ashley Sutton – Triple Eight Racing – MG MG6 GT – Swindon/TOCA
100 – Rob Collard – West Surrey Racing – BMW 125i M-Sport – Neil Brown/BMW
31 – Jack Goff – West Surrey Racing – BMW 125i M-Sport – Neil Brown/BMW
600 – Sam Tordoff – West Surrey Racing – BMW 125i M-Sport – Neil Brown/BMW
33 – Adam Morgan – Ciceley Racing – Mercedes A-Class – Swindon/TOCA
16 – Aiden Moffat – Aiden Moffat Racing – Mercedes A-Class – Swindon/TOCA
7 – Mat Jackson – Motorbase Performance – Ford Focus ST – Mountune/Ford EcoBoost
77 – Andrew Jordan – Motorbase Performance – Ford Focus ST – Mountune/Ford EcoBoost
54 – Hunter Abbott – Power Maxed Racing – Chevrolet Cruze – Swindon/TOCA
84 – Kelvin Fletcher – Power Maxed Racing – Chevrolet Cruze – Swindon/TOCA
80 – Tom Ingram – Speedworks Motorsport – Toyota Avensis – Swindon/TOCA
303 – Matt Simpson – Speedworks Motorsport – Honda Civic Type-R – Swindon/TOCA
30 – Martin Depper – Eurotech Racing – Honda Civic Type-R – Swindon/TOCA
55 – Jeff Smith – Eurotech Racing – Honda Civic Type-R – Swindon/TOCA
23 – Daniel Lloyd – Eurotech Racing – Honda Civic Type-R – Swindon/TOCA
12 – Michael Epps – Team HARD – Toyota Avensis – Swindon/TOCA
48 – Ollie Jackson – AmD Tuning – Audi S3 – Swindon/TOCA
14 – Alex Martin – Dextra Racing – Ford Focus ST – Mountune/Ford EcoBoost
11 – Rob Austin – Handy Motorsport – Toyota Avensis – Swindon/TOCA
22 – Chris Smiley – Team HARD – Toyota Avensis – Swindon/TOCA
24 – Jake Hill – Team HARD – Toyota Avensis – Swindon/TOCA
17 – Dan Welch – Welch Motorsport – Proton Gen-2 – Swindon/TOCA
95 – Stewart Lines – Maximum Motorsport – Ford Focus ST – Mountune/Ford EcoBoost
40 – Aron Smith – Team BKR – Volkswagen CC – Swindon/TOCA
38 – Mark Howard – Team BKR – Volkswagen CC – Swindon/TOCA