We’re in an almost unprecedented time. With still (just) over two weeks remaining until media day, almost everything has dropped into place ahead of the 2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship. 31 driver and team combinations have been announced, with just Silverline Subaru BMR Racing’s fourth Levorg driver still to be revealed.
It’s been a pre-season of incredible announcements, with two further manufacturers giving their support to the series meaning that, for the first time since 1999 (Nissan, Ford, Volvo, Honda, Renault, Vauxhall), there will be five works’ teams on the grid. Of the five it’s arguably Halfords Yuasa Racing (Team Dynamics) who go into the season as the team to beat. Once again reigning champion Gordon Shedden is joined by vastly experienced triple champ’ Matt Neal in a pair of Honda Civic Type-Rs. The Civic has been the car to beat in recent years, taking five of the last six titles in the hands of Shedden (three times), Neal and Andrew Jordan. Dynamics do have a new arrival this year however, with Matt Simpson and his Civic switching to the team after a character building debut season with Speedworks. Team BMW (West Surrey Racing) look as if they will be Shedden and co’s closest rivals this year, with Dick Bennetts’ Sunbury-on-Thames based squad becoming a works backed BMW outfit for the first time. Manufacturer support wasn’t the only coup WSR pulled off pre-season either, with double champion Colin Turkington returning to the team after a hugely impressive year with Subaru. Few drivers can match Turkington’s ability in a rear-wheel-drive touring car, and the Northern Irishman, engineer Kevin Berry, WSR and the BMW 125iMSport are a proven winning combination. Turkington is joined under the Team BMW banner by one of the championship’s great entertainers, Rob Collard. Collard took the Dunlop #ForeverForward award last season for the most successful overtaking manoeuvres, but for 2017 he’ll hope to finally nail his qualifying pace and put together a serious title assault. 2013 Champion Andrew Jordan completes a formidable lineup, with his car competing under the Pirtek Racing banner in his, now trademark, chrome blue and yellow livery. Silverline Subaru BMR Racing (Team BMR) shocked everyone three winters ago by bringing 90s hero Alain Menu back to the series, they then shocked everyone again the following year by signing reigning champion Colin Turkington, and his fierce title rival Jason Plato, before outdoing themselves at this stage in 2016 by becoming a manufacturer backed Subaru entry with four stunning Levorg GTs. By those standards this has been a very quiet winter, with Plato once again joined by James Cole in two of the cars which, after extensive development, almost took the Championship title despite missing an entire round. 2016 Jack Sears Trophy winner, Ash Sutton, who took a memorable victory in the summer downpour at Croft - the first time he’d ever raced a touring car in wet weather - makes the switch from sister team MG Racing RCIB Insurance (Triple Eight), in what looks like a great move for both team and driver. The identity of the fourth Subaru driver is still to be announced, as it looks more and more likely that team boss, Warren Scott, will take a step back to focus on managing the series’ fastest growing outfit. Sutton’s departure from MG signalled another complete change of driver lineup for the third consecutive year. Árón Taylor-Smith moves up to the team after an excellent year with BKR, whilst Daniel Lloyd has managed to secure a full-time drive for the first time, after showing serious pace in limited appearances with Eurotech Racing last season. The works entries are completed by Vauxhall, making a return to the Championship they dominated for much of the early 21st century. Adam Weaver’s Power Maxed Racing team will run two brand new Astras for rookie Senna Proctor - stepping up from the Clio Cup - and former Sonic the Hedgehog impersonator (amongst other things) Tom Chilton. Chilton will combine his BTCC campaign with a drive for Sebastien Loeb Racing in the World Touring Car Championship, a grueling schedule, but with no conflicts his aims of race wins from the start could make a potential title challenge possible. Aside from the works backed teams there are a host of independent entries, all of whom will harbour serious Championship ambitions. The indy fight is spearheaded by Team Shredded Wheat (Motorbase Performance), with a big name sponsor onboard, plenty of pre-season testing and Mat Jackson signed up at his earliest ever date they will be strong from the first flag. Jackson, so often the bridesmaid, deserves a Championship. There, I’ve said it. Few drivers can match his consistency, sheer pace and racing guile - and that’s before you get to his violent warm ups! The Henley-in-Arden based driver is joined at David Bartrum’s side by Martin Depper, who moves from Eurotech Racing, and former British GT man Luke Davenport. Continuity is the name of the game at Speedworks, with Tom Ingram sticking with Christian & Amy Dick’s outfit for a fourth season. His Avensis has overgone a radical overhaul in the winter, with a facelift and new aero package being immediately obvious. Leaving Speedworks however is Rob Austin, who ‘goes it alone’ with Simon Belcher’s Handy Motorsport squad for the first time. It took the (self crowned) ‘King of Cool’ time to adjust to front-wheel-drive after pioneering the NGTC Audi A4, however building on a strong finish to last season could make independent glory a realistic outcome. Austin and Ingram will be the only two Avensis drivers left on the grid, with RCIB Insurance Racing (Team HARD) replacing all three of their ageing cars with the VW CCs previously ran by BKR. Once again rapid young guns Jake Hill and Michael Epps will pilot two of the cars, with 2016 Ginetta GT4 Vice-Champion Will Burns joining Tony Gilham’s ambitious side. Burns will hope to impress every bit as much as Hill and Epps did in their first full seasons in the Championship. In ageing machinery, and with some of the Championship’s lowest budgets, both drivers spent much of the season battling with the big guns - and looked far from out of place. They have big futures ahead of them in touring car racing. Quote me on that in ten years time if you want. I’m right. Hill’s former team AMDTuning have another exciting young talent in their ranks, with last year’s Clio Cup Champion Ant Whorton-Eales signing up with Shaun Hollamby’s side. He’s joined behind the wheel of the Audi S3 saloon by the returning Ollie Jackson as the team expand to two identical cars for the first time. Also running two identical cars, but under different banners, are Cicely Motorsport. Once again Adam Morgan is (I assume) running under the Wix Racing name, alongside the - still very young - Aiden Moffat. The Scotsman may be entering his fourth full season in the series, but he’s still only 20 and is improving all the time. Morgan meanwhile is another who will have his sights firmly set on securing the independent title, after another impressive, race winning, year with the Mercedes A-Class. Also with his eyes on independent glory will be Jack Goff, who moves to partner Jeff Smith at Eurotech Racing having left WSR. The adaption to rear-wheel-drive proved a troublesome one for Goff, and he should be much more at home in the Tamworth based team’s Civic Type-R. A new team name for 2017 was BTC Norlin Racing (BTC Racing), running a pair of ex-Power Maxed Chevrolet Cruze’s for Northern Irishman Chris Smiley, and fans’ favourite Dave Newsham. Renowned as one of the Championship’s ‘good guys’ fans were delighted to see Newsham secure a full-time return to the grid, in a car he’s driven impressively before. Smiley meanwhile will look to banish memories of a difficult half season with Team Hard last year, in an outfit he’s played a major role in building. Team Parker Racing complete the grid, with Stuart Parker’s side expanding to a two car outfit for the first time. Race winner with WSR in 2009 Stephen Jelley makes a welcome return to the series, and he’s joined by Josh Cook who will drive under the Maximum Motorsport banner. Cook has been one of the BTCC’s star performers for the past two seasons, yet looked to be out of a drive before Stewart Lines stepped aside. He’ll now look to repay the Brummies’ belief by finally getting the Maximum name into the points - a task that shouldn’t be too hard for someone of Cook’s ability. There you have it then. 31 drivers, 16 race winners, 11 different manufacturers and 5 works backed teams. You’d be a stupid man to predict anything. Predictions Thankfully I am quite stupid, so here we go: Champion: Colin Turkington Independent Champion: Mat Jackson Manufacturers Champions: BMW Teams: Team BMW Independent Teams: Team Hard Jack Sears Trophy (Rookie): Ant Whorton-Eales
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April 2020
CategoriesAuthorI'm Fraser, 22, Sons fan who is now living the dream of reporting on Dumbarton for the Lennox Herald. |