High-speed Silverstone could see BTCC champion crowned

The British Touring Car Championship heads to the high-speed Silverstone National circuit this weekend, with the very real possibility of the title being won before the final round for the first time in 17 years.

Series leader Colin Turkington has a 55-point lead over nearest challenger Jason Plato, and the 2009 champion will secure a second title if he extends his lead by another 12 points at the home of the British Grand Prix.

If the West Surrey Racing star was to wrap up the championship before Brands Hatch, it will be the first time the finale has not been a title decider since 1997. Then, the dominant Alain Menu was crowned at Snetterton, and while the BTCC is a very different beast nowadays, Turkington has dominated in a fashion not seen since the Swiss took his first championship.

Triple Eight’s Plato has not been backward in coming forward when talking about the front-wheel drive versus rear-wheel drive battle, and history would have you believe the former double champion will leave Silverstone still with a sniff of a third crown.

Plato won twice in his MG6 GT in both 2012 and 2013, with the second of last year’s wins coming after an epic battle with Andrew Jordan [pictured], who is now almost certainly set to give up the crown he won at Brands Hatch last October.

Behind the top two, Honda Racing Team’s Gordon Shedden remains in contention for a second crown, trailing Turkington by 64 points with six races to go.

The Scot has been the epitome of consistency this year, but much like his team-mate Matt Neal last year, Rockingham was where it all came undone. A first retirement of the season means Shedden is facing an uphill task to be in with a shout in Kent next month.

All of the permutations will play out on a track which makes up in drama what it lacks in complexity. With just four corners and plenty of full throttle sections, the National circuit favours cars with good straight-line speed, an issue which has cropped up plenty of times again in 2014.

WSR is suggesting the “more realistic approach” is for Turkington to maintain his lead ahead of Brands Hatch in a fortnight’s time, as top speed is not one of the BMW 125i’s strengths.

Team boss Dick Bennetts said: “We believe the characteristics of Silverstone are likely to suit some of the other teams better than ourselves.

“We’ll be doing all we can to try and win the title at the earliest opportunity of course but it’s important we don’t let it slip. As long as we keep collecting solid points then we’ll hope to be in a strong position for Brands Hatch but we’re well aware that nothing is certain in the BTCC.”

Aside from the title contenders, Motorbase Performance’s Mat Jackson returns to the scene of his Ford Focus ST’s first win in 2012, and a track he always goes well at.

Jackson, who is looking to maintain a 100 per cent finishing record in his bid for a top four championship finish, said: “Silverstone is a track that I seem to gel with and it’s been very good to me in the past. The Focus has also done well here and I think the National circuit layout suits it well.

“For me, I’m hoping that we can advance in the championship and realistically climb to the top three. We still have a mathematical chance at the title but that is my target and it would be great for the whole team if we can achieve this.”

Elsewhere on the busy grid, the Team BMR outfit should again be ones to watch. A rejuvenated Alain Menu took his first podium on his BTCC return last time out, while team boss Warren Scott ran in the top six in practice at Silverstone last year, before technical woes halted his progress.

Once again, a full grid of 31 cars will take to the track in Northamptonshire. Lea Wood has confirmed his participation after his accident at Rockingham, while Luke Hines returns to the championship with United Autosports, replacing the suspended Glynn Geddie.

BTCC ROUND 9 SILVERSTONE – 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 – Volkswagen CC – Swindon/TOCA
31 – Jack Goff – Team BMR – Volkswagen CC – 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 – Swindon/TOCA
16 – Aiden Moffat – Aiden Moffat Racing – Chevrolet Cruze Saloon – RML/Chevrolet
20 – James Cole – United Autosports – Toyota Avensis – Xctechr/Toyota
23 – Luke Hines – United Autosports – Toyota Avensis – Xctechr/Toyota

SUCCESS BALLAST

Driver – Ballast
Colin Turkington +45kg
Jason Plato +36kg
Gordon Shedden +27kg
Andrew Jordan +18kg
Rob Collard +9kg

TIMETABLE (ALL TIMES BST)

Saturday
Free Practice 1: 09:30-10:10
Free Practice 2: 12:15-12:55
Qualifying: 15:45-16:15

Sunday
Race 1: 11:57 (22 Laps)
Race 2: 14:32 (22 Laps)
Race 3: 17:17 (22 Laps)