The top ten BTCC drivers of 2010

10. Rob Collard

Lightning on his day, but should have been the best-placed BMW man, especially after an 11th hour move from Motorbase to replace 2009 champion Colin Turkington at WSR. The experience of Dick Bennett's outfit did help his race pace, but too many opportunities were missed in qualifying, and he was involved in too many midfield incidents as a result.

Collard performed heroics at Snetterton when an early hit from Onslow-Cole forced him to hold his door shut for 15 laps while still changing gear and steering, and he was deeply unlucky to be denied a win at Thruxton when Neal spun him into the wall.

9. Mat Jackson

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The year promised so much for Jackson, who moved to Motorbase to drive a BMW like the one in which he finished as runner-up in 2008. Unfortunately, such expectations went unfulfilled.

A tremendous win on carefully-preserved wet tyres on a drying track at Brands Hatch was an obvious highlight, but mistakes were more prevalent too as he sought to make up for the deficiencies of the BMW brought about by winter rules tweaks. Spinning out of third place at Brands Hatch on the season's final day was typical of his year.

8. Tom Chilton

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Was the king of qualifying and he took four poles during the season, but the fact that only one of them was converted into a 'genuine' win - at Brands Hatch in May - was a worry. Unfortunately his most successful round, a double win at Silverstone, was shrouded in controversy as he was gifted one (or, depending on how much of a cynic you are, two) victories by team orders and Tom Onslow-Cole.

Whatever he achieved after that was always going to be - unfairly - tainted, and when he became independents champion at Brands Hatch, the talk was of whether his team-mate's treble retirement had been totally necessary.

7. Andrew Jordan

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Freed from the high-pressure environment of Triple 8 and back with his father Mike's revived Eurotech outfit - complete with the best-looking car in the championship - Jordan seemed his old self again and thrived. He took no time at all to get used to driving a turbocharged car following the team's adoption of the NGTC-spec TOCA engine and took wins at Croft and Brands Hatch - the latter without a working alternator.

Unfortunately that engine was the cause of a multitude of problems; in particular overheating and a major vibration that had a major affect on handling. He'd have been better than 10th in the points otherwise.

6. Steven Kane

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Returned after a year on the sidelines thanks to the benevolence of Motorbase team principal David Bartrum and more than justified his selection by taking his maiden series win at the Thruxton season-opener - heading home Mat Jackson for the team's first one-two finish as well.

Sometimes lost his way during practice and qualifying, but showed grit and determination to fight his way into the points and failed to make the podium at only two of the 10 rounds during the season. Only missed out on the independents title at the final race of the year.

5. Paul O'Neill

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Came into 2010 with more confidence than ever before and it showed as he raised his game even further after an impressive '09 season. That he managed to qualify his five-year-old Honda Integra-R in the top 10 at every round speaks volumes of the heroics he and Marvin Humphries' Tech-Speed operation pulled off.

A podium at Thruxton was perhaps unsurprising given the Integra's slippery shape, but his second places at Rockingham, where handling and tyre life are all-important, was simply stunning. Deserves a works seat.

4. Tom Onslow-Cole

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Brought LPG power to the Arena Ford squad and reaped the benefits, or at least he did whenever team orders didn't dictate otherwise. He was rarely a match for his team-mate Tom Chilton in qualifying, but from round three onwards had the excuse of carrying ballast. He did out-race Chilton though, ballast and all, and won four times.

Best of those victories was his emotion-filled Donington drive from eighth on the grid. Arrived at the last round with an outside title shot but three mechanical failures put him out of the reckoning and even cost him the indie title too. If only he'd been free from instruction at Silverstone...

3. Gordon Shedden

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'Flash' Gordon lived up to his nickname in what was his most complete season of touring car racing to date. Benefitted hugely from having a team-mate in the shape of Neal, with whom he could work with rather than just compete against.

Had a tendency to drop like a lead weight whenever carrying ballast during the early rounds, but eradicated this by mid-season to take a superb double win at Croft and ended the year with five wins to his name - including a home success at Knockhill. Has re-signed for Honda for 2011 and thoroughly deserves it too.

2. Matt Neal

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In many ways the defining moment of the season came during the winter when Neal, Vauxhall contract having expired, moved back to his father's Team Dynamics operation and then benefitted from the cash injection from Honda that transformed the aero balance of the Civic.

Still a wily old fox, he took no prisoners and was routinely accused of being too aggressive by his victims. The speed that took him to two titles is still very much in evidence though and five wins were a testament to his skills behind the wheel. The highlight came at Rockingham where he won once in the wet, and later on in the dry for a first double since the Integra days.

1. Jason Plato

A breakthrough test at Snetterton in July ensured that he had the best car in the BTCC for the second half of the season. In truth, he had already done the hard work by then in racking up the points consistently to keep him in touch with arch-rival Matt Neal's well-sorted Honda. After that he was in a class of his own, a charge from last to third at Donington after elimination in a race one pile-up was the drive of the season and a testament to both Plato and the RML-run Chevrolet team.

There were precious few innocuous touches and even less rants about rivals. Instead he simply focused on driving and was more potent than ever as a result. He simply won't have to wait another nine years for a third title.

2010 BTCC season summary

2010 BTCC final points standings

*For the full analysis of the BTCC season, including an in-depth look at the new Next Generation Touring Car, buy this week's AUTOSPORT magazine - or get the online version, here.