Plenty of unknowns as BTCC arrives at Donington Park

The BTCC field arrives at Donington Park this weekend with more questions than answers about how 2015 is going to pan out, with the rule changes seen for the first time at Brands Hatch causing a lot of heads to be scratched.

Bad luck, reliability issues, a sprinkling of mistakes and dealing with unfamiliar tyre wear and ballast weight hindered almost all of the front runners at some stage in Kent, and it was the pair of Matt Neal and Jack Goff who came out smelling of roses.

The Honda Racing Team and Triple Eight Racing MG pair sit joint top of the standings going into Donington, with both now set to qualify with the increased maximum of 75kg ballast on board.

Snapping at their heels will be several drivers with less weight, but no less speed.

Neal’s team-mate Gordon Shedden took the maiden win for the new Civic Type-R in race two at Brands, but engine issues sidelined him in race three, while Team BMR’s new man Jason Plato lost a certain win to a puncture in the second race.

Reigning champion Colin Turkington’s progress in the Volkswagen CC was hindered by a spin in the final race, while team-mate Aron Smith ended as the team’s top driver with two podiums, despite being spun around by Goff in race two.

Elsewhere, champion team West Surrey Racing left with a win and a second place for Rob Collard and the returning Andy Priaulx, despite being severely hobbled in straight-line speed and suffering from high wear on the soft tyre. And 2013 champion Andrew Jordan was left frustrated by his inability to convert his testing speed in the Triple Eight MG into pace over the race weekend.

In short, the BTCC is looking as unpredictable as ever as the drivers head to one of the classic tracks on the calendar. The long sweeps and high-speed sections at the Leicestershire track tend to favour more aerodynamic machinery, so both MG and BMR will expect to be strong.

WSR have already been vocal about their top speed deficit and have talked down their chances, while eyes will be on the likes of Tom Ingram, Adam Morgan and Hunter Abbott to see if their promising form at Brands continues this weekend.

The field should grow by two cars, with Dan Welch due to return in the Proton Gen-2 after sitting out Brands Hatch with a broken foot. Also missing at Brands but due to race at Donington is the second Infiniti Q50 of Richard Hawken, who is set to make his BTCC debut.

BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP ENTRY LIST – DONINGTON PARK

No – Driver – Team Name – Car – Engine Builder/Marque

25 – Matt Neal – Honda Racing Team – Honda Civic Type-R – Neil Brown/Honda
52 – Gordon Shedden – Honda Racing Team – Honda Civic Type-R – Neil Brown/Honda
31 – Jack Goff – Triple Eight Racing – MG6 GT – Swindon/TOCA
77 – Andrew Jordan – Triple Eight Racing – MG6 GT – Swindon/TOCA
22 – Derek Palmer Jr – Infiniti Support Our Paras Racing – Infiniti Q50 – Swindon/TOCA
84 – Richard Hawken – Infiniti Support Our Paras Racing – Infinti Q50 – Swindon/TOCA
6 – Rob Collard – West Surrey Racing – BMW 125i M-Sport – Neil Brown/BMW
7 – Sam Tordoff – West Surrey Racing – BMW 125i M-Sport – Neil Brown/BMW
111 – Andy Priaulx – West Surrey Racing – BMW 125i M-Sport – Neil Brown/BMW
1 – Colin Turkington – Team BMR – Volkswagen CC – Swindon/TOCA
99 – Jason Plato – Team BMR – Volkswagen CC – Swindon/TOCA
39 – Warren Scott – Team BMR – Volkswagen CC – Swindon/TOCA
40 – Árón Smith – Team BMR – Volkswagen CC – Swindon/TOCA
11 – Simon Belcher – Speedworks Motorsport – Toyota Avensis – Swindon/TOCA
80 – Tom Ingram – Speedworks Motorsport – Toyota Avensis – Swindon/TOCA
12 – Andy Wilmot – Welch Motorsport – Proton Gen-2 – Welch/Proton-M
13 – Daniel Welch – Welch Motorsport – Proton Gen-2 – Welch/Proton-M
14 – Alex Martin – Team Parker Racing – Ford Focus ST – Mountune/Ford Duratec
16 – Aiden Moffat – Aiden Moffat Racing – Mercedes A-Class – Swindon/TOCA
17 – Dave Newsham – Power Maxed Racing – Chevrolet Cruze Saloon – Swindon/TOCA
66 – Josh Cook – Power Maxed Racing – Chevrolet Cruze Saloon – Swindon/TOCA
21 – Mike Bushell – AmD Tuning – Ford Focus ST – Mountune/Ford Duratec
23 – Kieran Gallagher – Tony Gilham Racing – Toyota Avensis – Toyota/Xctechr
30 – Martin Depper – Eurotech Racing – Honda Civic Hatchback – Swindon/TOCA
55 – Jeff Smith – Eurotech Racing – Honda Civic Hatchback – Swindon/TOCA
33 – Adam Morgan – Ciceley Racing – Mercedes-Benz A-Class – Swindon/TOCA
54 – Hunter Abbott – Rob Austin Racing – Audi A4 – Swindon/TOCA
101 – Rob Austin – Rob Austin Racing – Audi A4 – Swindon/TOCA
95 – Stewart Lines – JWT Performance – Toyota Avensis – Swindon/TOCA

TIMETABLE (ALL TIMES BST)

Saturday:
Free Practice 1: 10.00-10.40
Free Practice 2: 12:50-13:30
Qualifying: 15:35-16:05

Sunday:
Race One (16 Laps) – 11.32
Race Two (16 Laps) – 14.27
Race Three (16 Laps) – 17:17