Photo: btcc.net

The race for the BTCC title

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Ahead of Sunday’s title decider, relive the race for the title with TouringCarTimes. For only the sixth time since the modern era began in 1991 three drivers head into the final meeting of the BTCC season with a chance of winning the title, as the below chart clearly shows.

Colin Turkington leads the way on 249 points, with Fabrizio Giovanardi second on 236 and Jason Plato third on 221, meaning that the race for the title could well go right down to the wire and race three at Brands Hatch on Sunday.

Turkington took control of the championship following Round Five at Croft in June, taking the lead away from early pace setter Matt Neal, who has since faded away as the Chevrolet’s come on strong and Giovanardi leads the Vauxhall challenge.

Of the three remaining contenders, Turkington has been on top all season, with Giovanardi his main challenger, despite Plato leaving Brands Hatch back in April with a greater total of points.

Toggle between the ‘Cumulative’ and ‘Race by Race’ options to uncover the story of the 2009 season


A strong Snetterton weekend brought double champion Giovanardi right back into the reckoning as the Italian driver bids for a hattrick of BTCC titles. At the Norfolk track the Vauxhall driver picked up 45 points, the most any of three contenders have scored in a single weekend this season. Giovanardi though also has the lowest points haul from a meeting of any of the three, only scoring 12 points at the season opening rounds, in a season that, as the chart shows, has been a rollercoaster of ups and downs for the 42-year-old.

Meanwhile the challenge of 2001 champion Plato has got stronger and stronger as the season wears on taking six podiums from the last nine races. The chart clearly illustrates the Lacetti driver’s progress, going from 59 points off the championship lead leaving Scotland to arriving in Kent just 28 points in arrears, albeit still a sizeable mountain to overcome.

Plato though has just four wins, to Turkington’s six, while Giovanardi nestles in between on five victories. When looking at the consistency of points scoring, it’s a similar story. The Team RAC man again leads the way, having scored points in all but two races, while Giovanardi has missed out on three occasions and Plato on four.

Whichever way the statistics have unfolded throughout the season, it all boils down to just one thing. All three drivers head to Brands Hatch with a chance of putting the stats behind them, and the BTCC Drivers’ title trophy in front of them.

After looking at the chart, why not read TouringCarTimes’ full preview of the season finale.