Brands curtain-raiser for most anticipated of BTCC seasons

Trying to come up with new superlatives to describe the emerging 2014 British Touring Car Championship grid over the winter has become something of a challenge. But now the talking stops, and the most eagerly anticipated season in recent history years is very nearly upon us.

You already know the headline figures. Seven champions, 13 previous race winners and two returning legends in Alain Menu and Fabrizio Giovanardi. A record 31 cars on the grid, with no speculative “we’ll be there at Donington” entries to factor in. Two new teams, and a stable set of rules, with all cars equal in specification.

In short, it could hardly be poised better for a classic year.

Predictions, as we know, are notoriously difficult – but we shall attempt them, nevertheless. The teams will have kept their powder dry during testing, but what do we know for sure?

Champions Elect?

Well, we know reigning champion Andrew Jordan goes into the season in fantastic shape, in his Eurotech Racing Honda Civic. Here is a case of driver, team and car in seemingly perfect harmony, following their breakthrough season in 2013.

The conventional wisdom says the current crop of BTCC machinery have a very small sweet spot, and Jordan seems to hit it more often than not.

What of his challengers? The Honda Racing Team pair of Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal will both be gunning to claim the drivers’ crown again, with the added curveball of doing so in the Tourer version of the Civic. There’s little doubt they will sort the car and it will run at the front – but how quickly? It wouldn’t be a surprise if it was straight away.

Triple Eight return with a proven mix of experience and youth, with Jason Plato and Sam Tordoff back behind the wheel of the MG6 GT, alongside Marc Hynes. In Plato, the series has a driver with an uncanny knack of adding a great deal to the circus. Who’d have dreamed he could have run Jordan so close for the title last October, after coming from so far back? It was classic Plato, and he’ll not want to be a close second this year.

In Tordoff, Triple Eight has a star who will only get better and better. Expect him to add plenty of wins this year, even with the depth of quality in the field. And in Hynes they have a driver proven on the international stage, who will be expected to quickly learn the ropes in the BTCC.

West Surrey Racing and lead driver Colin Turkington staged a remarkable title bid in 2013, in the brand new and untried BMW 125i. Now with a year under their belts, and a winter spent improving the beautifully turned-out machine, the 2009 champion is a smart bet for a second crown.

The quartet of former champions would probably provide quite enough competition on their own, before you factor in the small matter of Menu and Giovanardi. The former, champion in 1997 and 2000 and still revered as one of the best touring car drivers in the world, drives the as-yet unproven Volkswagen CC for Team BMR.

Warren Scott’s fledgling outfit has impressed greatly over the off-season following the acquisition of the assets from Tony Gilham Racing, and along with engineer Geoff Kingston, Menu will surely be at the front very quickly.

Fellow double champion Giovanardi seemed less than impressed with the latest generation of BTCC car when TouringCarTimes spoke to him at media day, but only a fool would write him off. The Motorbase Performance Ford Focus ST is a different beast to the Vauxhall Astra he wrestled with on his debut in 2006, but he won races in that, and he will surely do so in 2014.

Race Winners

The focus may be on the seven champions for good reason, but there are many more headline-makers in this bumper field.

Star of social media and the silver screen, Rob Austin returns for a fourth year in his Audi A4 ‘Sherman’, following a winter where he’s not been shy in making positive noises about how well testing has gone. He took his maiden win at Rockingham in September, joining a winners’ list which also includes Dave Newsham, Aron Smith, Mat Jackson and Rob Collard.

Newsham has joined forces with Shaun Hollamby’s AmD Tuning team, in what is effectively a satellite operation to Motorbase Performance. Hollamby snapped up the fourth Ford Focus ST over the winter, and quickly lined up the proven peddler Newsham to drive it.

Smith has switched to Team BMR to drive their second VW alongside Menu, and was in bullish form at media day. The Irishman says he’s the fittest driver on the grid after a winter in the gym, and he has also been making encouraging noises about the car.

It’s been a while since Jackson and Collard’s stars shone brightly in the BTCC, and both will be looking to change that in 2014. Jackson returns in a last-minute deal at Motorbase Performance, while Collard is again with West Surrey Racing.

Young pretenders, new faces, familiar faces 

There is plenty of evidence the future of the BTCC is in good hands, with Jack Goff returning for Team BMR off the back of his first podium at the Brands finale, and Adam Morgan back with Ciceley Racing and the exciting Mercedes A-Class project. The latter has been very fast in testing and keen to play this down, so is certainly one to watch with interest.

Jack Sears Trophy champion Lea Wood also now has the chance to compete on an equal footing in a Toyota Avensis, following his dominant season in the Super 2000 Vauxhall Vectra, plus the youngest ever BTCC racer, Aiden Moffat, returns for a full campaign in the ex-Andy Neate Chevrolet Cruze.

Joining the championship are renowned sportscar outfit United Autosports, with GT expert Glynn Geddie partnering James Cole, who will be looking to make an impression after his aborted 2013 campaign. They are joined by Rotek Racing and Robb Holland, the first ever American driver to take on a full season in the BTCC. They will be hoping their Audi S3 goes as well as it looks, after missing out on running at media day.

Another GT expert in Hunter Abbott joins Rob Austin Racing, while also graduating to the series with Speedworks Motorsport are Ginetta Supercup champion Tom Ingram, who is certainly one to watch, and Renault Clio Cup masters champion Simon Belcher. The new faces are completed by former Formula Two and Formula Palmer Audi race winner Jack Clarke, driving the third Motorbase Ford.

Returning for the first time in six years, BTC Racing have a beautifully turned out Chevrolet Cruze, and a renowned giant-killer in Chris Stockton behind the wheel. We also have Martin Depper back for a second shot at the BTCC alongside champion Jordan, and the Welch Motorsport pair of Dan Welch and Ollie Jackson will also be aiming for some giant-killing results in their Proton Gen-2s. Last, but not least, previous podium finisher Nick Foster completes the line up at West Surrey Racing.

Dare we predict?

A final thought, courtesy of the good touring car fans of Twitter. Of the seven champions, four have won the title more than once, but only two – Neal and Plato – have won it under different sets of regulations. And only Neal and Giovanardi have won back-to-back titles. So if we are to pick a winner, perhaps it will be a case of age before beauty?

Round 1 – Brands Hatch Entry List

No – Driver – Team Name – Car – Engine Builder/Marque
4 – Matt Neal – Honda Racing Team – Honda Civic Tourer – Neil Brown/Honda
52 – Gordon Shedden – Honda Racing Team – Honda Civic Tourer – Neil Brown/Honda
88 – Sam Tordoff – Triple Eight Race Engineering – MG6 GT – Swindon/TOCA
99 – Jason Plato – Triple Eight Race Engineering – MG6 GT – Swindon/TOCA
888 – Marc Hynes – Triple Eight Race Engineering – MG6 GT – Swindon/TOCA
1 – Andrew Jordan – Eurotech Racing – Honda Civic Hatchback – Neil Brown/Honda
30 – Martin Depper – Eurotech Racing – Honda Civic Hatchback – Neil Brown/Honda
5 – Colin Turkington – West Surrey Racing – BMW 125i M – Neil Brown/BMW
10 – Rob Collard – West Surrey Racing – BMW 125i M – Neil Brown/BMW
18 – Nick Foster – West Surrey Racing – BMW 125i M – Neil Brown/BMW
6 – Mat Jackson – Motorbase Performance – Ford Focus ST – Mountune/Ford
7 – Fabrizio Giovanardi – Motorbase Performance – Ford Focus ST – Mountune/Ford
44 – Jack Clarke – Motorbase Performance – Ford Focus ST – Mountune/Ford
33 – Adam Morgan – Ciceley Racing – Mercedes-Benz A-Class – Swindon/TOCA
80 – Tom Ingram – Speedworks Motorsport – Toyota Avensis – Swindon/TOCA
11 – Simon Belcher – Speedworks Motorsport – Toyota Avensis – Swindon/TOCA
101 – Rob Austin – Rob Austin Racing – Audi A4 – Swindon/TOCA
54 – Hunter Abbott – Rob Austin Racing – Audi A4 – Swindon/TOCA
39 – Warren Scott – Team BMR – Vauxhall Insignia – Swindon/TOCA
31 – Jack Goff – Team BMR – Vauxhall Insignia – Swindon/TOCA
9 – Alain Menu – Team BMR – Volkswagen CC – Swindon/TOCA
40 – Aron Smith – Team BMR – Volkswagen CC – Swindon/TOCA
48 – Ollie Jackson – Welch Motorsport – Proton Gen-2 – Welch/Proton-M
12 – Daniel Welch – Welch Motorsport – Proton Gen-2 – Welch/Proton-M
43 – Lea Wood – JWT Performance – Toyota Avensis – Swindon/TOCA
17 – Dave Newsham – AmD Tuning – Ford Focus ST – Mountune/Ford
67 – Robb Holland – Rotek Racing – Audi S3 Saloon – Swindon/TOCA
28 – Chris Stockton – BTC Racing – Chevrolet Cruze Hatchback – RML/Chevrolet
16 – Aiden Moffat – Aiden Moffat Racing – Chevrolet Cruze Saloon – RML/Chevrolet
20 – James Cole – United Autosports – Toyota Avensis – Xctechr/Toyota
21 – Glynn Geddie – United Autosports – Toyota Avensis – Xctechr/Toyota

Timetable (GMT Saturday, BST Sunday)

Saturday
Free Practice 1: 10:00-10:40
Free Practice 2: 12:40-13:20
Qualifying: 15:40-16:10

Sunday
Race 1: 11:47 (24 Laps)
Race 2: 14:17 (24 Laps)
Race 3: 17:02 (24 Laps)