Battle begins as BTCC heads for Brands

Nearly six months after Gordon Shedden secured the BTCC title for the third time at Brands Hatch, the Kent circuit is gearing up for the start of the 2017 campaign as the new season gets underway this weekend.

It’s a phrase often muttered as this time of year, but there is little doubt that the campaign ahead promises to be one of the most open in recent memory, with a raft of changes having taken place over the course of the winter that promise to shake up the grid.

Interestingly though, there has been no major change once again when it comes to the defending champion, with Shedden back with Team Dynamics and Honda for another season.

The works Civic Type-R features a dramatic new livery for this season and it’s largely been a case of evolution rather than evolution with the car; allowing the team to spend much of it’s pre-season programme focusing on getting the car to work with Dunlop’s new tyre.

Although the Civic isn’t always the quickest car, it’s one of the most consistent which is one of the major reasons why Shedden heads into 2017 looking to secure the championship title for a third straight season.

Historically the opening meeting hasn’t always been an enjoyable one for the Scot but he’s won at Brands Hatch for the past two seasons and will be keen to get his season underway in style, as will team-mate Matt Neal who has already expressed confidence that the Honda squad will be near the front of the pack.

The pair certainly won’t have it easy however, with West Surrey Racing in particular set to provide strong opposition amongst the manufacturer-backed outfits.

Although the team’s main title challenger from last year has moved on after Sam Tordoff took the decision to move over to British GT, the BMW squad heads into 2017 in arguably the best shape it has ever been in – with all three drivers in the line-up having secured championship silverware.

Much will be expected of Colin Turkington on his return after two years away at BMR with many predicting that the Northern Irishman will be a good bet for a third overall title, although team newcomer Andrew Jordan will also hope to take advantage of the new engine that has been developed for the BMW over the winter to launch a championship bid of his own.

WSR veteran Rob Collard also shouldn’t be discounted as he looks to add an overall title to his resume, with the senior member of the BMW line-up looking to build on one of the best seasons of his career last year – where he found himself firmly in championship contention for much of the season.

WSR’s gain in re-signing Turkington is certainly a loss for Team BMR – as is ace engineer Kevin Berry’s decision to follow the two-time champion – but the Subaru squad will also make the trip to Brands Hatch in confident mood.

It’s hard to imagine that Jason Plato will be anything other than a championship contender and will certainly have the bit between his teeth after a 2016 campaign that was one of the most challenging of his career, whilst big things will be expected of reigning Jack Sears Trophy holder Ash Sutton as he makes the move over from Triple Eight.

The MG team’s revised line-up of Aron Taylor-Smith and Dan Lloyd also have the potential to start the season well, although the pair have only completed limited pre-season testing and is remains to be seen what impact (if any) that will have this weekend. It’s a similar story at Power Maxed Racing, with points surely the main aim for the new Vauxhall Astras of Tom Chilton and Senna Proctor as the team embarks on it’s biggest season to date in the series.

Away from the ‘manufacturer’ teams, there’s little doubt that the two Toyota teams head for Brands Hatch in good shape, with both Tom Ingram and Rob Austin having completed plenty of running during the winter.

Ingram topped the times on Media Day and whilst that will ultimately count for little when the real action gets underway, it would be a huge shock if his Speedworks-run Avensis wasn’t in the mix towards the front.

A season of front wheel drive experience should also help Austin and Handy Motorsport build on what was an encouraging 2016 campaign, and the former single-seater racer will expect to challenge well inside the top ten.

It’s a similar scenario for local team Motorbase, with perennial contender Mat Jackson the most likely of the three Shredded Wheat-backed drivers to challenge for podiums, although there is the possibility of the similar Focus cars of Team Parker pairing Stephen Jelley and Josh Cook battling for strong points.

Add into the mix the Eurotech Hondas, the Ciceley and Laser Tools Mercedes, the BTC Chevrolets, Team HARD. VWs and the AmD Audis and the strength in depth this season is clear to see.

It means that when the field descends on Brands Hatch for the first three races of the year, it really is more open than ever – with picking a winner being nigh on impossible.

Let battle commence…

2017 British Touring Car Championship entry list – Brands Hatch

No – Driver – Nat – Team – Car – Engine

2 – Tom Chilton – GBR – Power Maxed Racing – Vauxhall Astra – Swindon/TOCA
3 – Mat Jackson – GBR – Motorbase Performance – Ford Focus ST – Mountune/Ford
4 – Colin Turkington – GBR – Team BMW – BMW 125i M Sport – Neil Brown/BMW
5 – Rob Collard – GBR – Team BMW – BMW 125i M Sport – Neil Brown/BMW
7 – Stephen Jelley – GBR – Team Parker Racing – Ford Focus ST – Mountune/Ford
10 – Ant Whorton-Eales – GBR – AmD Tuning – Audi S3 – Swindon/TOCA
11 – Rob Austin – GBR – Handy Motorsport – Toyota Avensis – Swindon/TOCA
12 – Michael Epps – GBR – Team HARD – Volkswagen CC – Swindon/TOCA
16 – Aiden Moffat – GBR – Aiden Moffat Racing – Mercedes-Benz A-Class – Swindon/TOCA
17 – Dave Newsham – GBR – BTC Racing – Chevrolet Cruze – Swindon/TOCA
18 – Senna Proctor – GBR – Power Maxed Racing – Vauxhall Astra – Swindon/TOCA
20 – James Cole – GBR – Subaru Team BMR – Subaru Levorg GT – Mountune/Subaru
22 – Chris Smiley – GBR – BTC Racing – Chevrolet Cruze – Swindon/TOCA
23 – Daniel Lloyd – GBR – Triple Eight Racing – MG 6 GT – Swindon/TOCA
24 – Jake Hill – GBR – Team HARD – Volkswagen CC – Swindon/TOCA
25 – Matt Neal – GBR – Team Dynamics – Honda Civic – Neil Brown/Honda
28 – Josh Price – GBR – Subaru Team BMR – Subaru Levorg GT
30 – Martin Depper – GBR – Motorbase Performance – Ford Focus ST – Mountune/Ford
31 – Jack Goff – GBR – Eurotech Racing – Honda Civic – Neil Brown/Honda
33 – Adam Morgan – GBR – Ciceley Racing – Mercedes-Benz A-Class – Swindon/TOCA
40 – Árón Taylor-Smith – IRL – Triple Eight Racing – MG 6 GT – Swindon/TOCA
48 – Ollie Jackson – GBR – AmD Tuning – Audi S3 – Swindon/TOCA
52 – Gordon Shedden – GBR – Team Dynamics – Honda Civic – Neil Brown/Honda
55 – Jeff Smith – GBR – Eurotech Racing – Honda Civic – Swindon/TOCA
61 – Will Burns – GBR – Team HARD – Volkswagen CC – Swindon/TOCA
66 – Josh Cook – GBR – Team Parker Racing – Ford Focus ST – Mountune/Ford
77 – Andrew Jordan – GBR – Team BMW – BMW 125i M Sport – Neil Brown/BMW
80 – Tom Ingram – GBR – Speedworks Motorsport – Toyota Avensis – Swindon/TOCA
99 – Jason Plato – GBR – Subaru Team BMR – Subaru Levorg GT – Mountune/Subaru
116 – Ashley Sutton – GBR – Subaru Team BMR – Subaru Levorg GT – Mountune/Subaru
300 – Luke Davenport – GBR – Motorbase Performance – Ford Focus ST – Mountune/Ford
303 – Matt Simpson – GBR – Simpson Motorsport – Honda Civic – Neil Brown/Honda