The top themes of BTCC 2014
With seven champions, 13 winners and a record number of cars on the grid, the 2014 British Touring Car Championship promises to be one you won't want to miss, as KEVIN TURNER explains
Seven champions, 13 race winners, 31 cars. Those sorts of numbers help to explain why this year's British Touring Car Championship, which kicks off at Brands Hatch this weekend, is shaping up to be one of the best seasons in the series' history.
The NGTC cars, first introduced in 2011, now make up the whole field, and 11 different marques are represented.
With such a competitive pack, trying to predict the champion from the wheel-to-wheel drama is a tough task, but here are the main themes to look out for in 2014.
THE SEVEN CHAMPIONS
For several years after the Super Touring era of the 1990s, the BTCC had to make do with just two or three champions on its grid, often stalwarts Jason Plato and Matt Neal.
That was the case as recently as the start of 2012, but suddenly we have the prospect of seven champions battling it out.
Gordon Shedden and Andrew Jordan are the younger chargers who have taken their first titles over the past couple of years, Colin Turkington returned in 2013, and now we have veterans Alain Menu and Fabrizio Giovanardi making comebacks.
All the champions, aside from the 'oldcomers', remain with the teams they fought for the title with last year, so it's easy to see them doing so again.
The question marks are over Giovanardi's Motorbase Ford Focus squad, which suffered a winless 2013, and Menu's unproven Team BMR-run VW Passat. But Motorbase has been in the fight for the crown before and Menu has already set some impressive times in testing.
Expect Jordan, on a high after his first BTCC title and in a developed version of the successful Civic hatchback, and Plato - winner of more races than anyone else in 2013 - to set the early pace.
CHALLENGERS TO THE STARS
The seven champions shouldn't be the only drivers capable of running at the front this season. Six other BTCC race winners will be lining up at Brands.
Sam Tordoff is perhaps in the best position, given the likely competitiveness of Triple Eight's MG6. He showed promise last season and wants to become a regular challenger this year, but it will be interesting to see what weapons Plato deploys if he feels his team-mate is becoming a real thorn in his side.
After a difficult 2013, Mat Jackson nearly lost his drive this season. Tom Onslow-Cole's late decision to switch to British GT has helped Jackson stay at Motorbase.
On his day, Jackson is one of the best drivers on the grid without a BTCC crown to his name, but he will have a tough benchmark in the shape of Giovanardi.
Rob Austin's eponymous Audi squad is one of the most popular in the paddock. It also tends to struggle for consistency, but he has managed more pre-season testing than usual and proved last year he can reach the top step when things come together.
Aron Smith (alongside Menu at BMR), Rob Collard (with Turkington at WSR) and Dave Newsham (who will drive AmD's new Focus) should be regular points contenders too, despite slightly disappointing seasons in 2013.
THE RETURN OF THE ESTATE
Team Dynamics needed to do something to maintain Honda's interest, with the Japanese firm's Formula 1 project looming in 2015.
The new Civic Tourer seemed perfect. Volvo got plenty of PR from its BTCC estate in 1994 and, with the NGTC rules making the cars very similar underneath, the performance risk seemed small.
But the different rear bodywork has had aerodynamic and weight-distribution consequences that did not initially inspire Neal and Shedden with confidence.
Nevertheless, Honda had the car up and running earlier than many teams and progress in recent weeks has been promising. Shedden was second quickest to Jordan at the official Donington Park test earlier this month.
The slower corners of the Brands Hatch Indy circuit may not be the best place for the station wagon, but it would be a surprise if the works Honda drivers weren't in the hunt when the series returns to Kent in October.
NEW CARS
One of the biggest successes of the NGTC regulations is that it allows teams to build cars without the need for big manufacturers or a difficult homologation process. And that has contributed to the fact that 11 marques will be represented on the grid.
Arguably the most exciting of the new cars is Adam Morgan's Mercedes A-class. The Ciceley Motorsport driver was a consistent threat to the big teams in 2013 and is sure the new Merc is better than the Toyota Avensis it replaces.
Rotek Racing is also developing an Audi S3 Saloon. The team - and indeed driver Robb Holland - are unproven in the BTCC, but have a decent record in endurance events. It would nevertheless be a surprise to see them up at the front early on, particularly as the car only hit the track last Friday.
In its S2000 form, the Chevrolet Cruze was a title-winning machine, but that will be a big ask in NGTC.
Can Chris Stockton (hatchback Cruze) and Aiden Moffatt (saloon) push their single-car teams forward despite a lack of NGTC experience?
NEW DRIVERS
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the wave the BTCC is riding at the moment, some new drivers will join the fray in 2014.
The most exciting, for very different reasons, are Marc Hynes and Tom Ingram.
Former British F3 champion Hynes returns after more than five years out of the cockpit and should certainly have the right kit in Triple Eight's MG6.
The big question is whether he can adapt to front-wheel drive and the hustle and bustle of touring cars. Given that he beat Jenson Button in F3, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Hynes near the sharp end in the later stages of the season.
Ingram is a multiple Ginetta champion and the likeable 20-year-old has joined Speedworks. It's a big step up and the lack of an experienced team-mate may hurt, but Ingram and the Avensis should be able to spring a surprise or two.
Jack Clarke has a solid if unspectacular single-seater record, but should learn quickly from Giovanardi and Jackson in the Motorbase squad, while Glynn Geddie - like his United Autosports squad - was a winner in GTs ahead of his switch to the BTCC.
SUPER TOURING CAMEO
The Super Touring era is still fondly remembered as a high-water mark in tin-top competition.
Last year the new Super Touring Trophy, which caters for cars built between 1970 and 2000, kicked off. Former champions John Cleland and Tim Harvey, period racer Patrick Watts and 2012 BTCC race winner Frank Wrathall all appeared.
This year the Historic Sports Car Club-run series will join the BTCC bill at the Oulton Park round, which for 2014 switches to the longer International layout.
The entry is still growing, with BMW, Ford, Honda, Nissan and Renault machinery set to battle it out. And there's a good chance we'll see some former stars in the race too.
It's a fitting support act for a season that should be the BTCC's best since the massive-budget days of Super Touring.
2014 BTCC entry list # Name Team Car 1 Andrew Jordan Eurotech Honda Civic 4 Matt Neal Honda (Dynamics) Honda Civic Tourer 5 Colin Turkington WSR BMW 125i M Sport 6 Mat Jackson Motorbase Ford Focus 7 Fabrizio Giovanardi Motorbase Ford Focus 9 Alain Menu Team BMR VW Passat CC 10 Rob Collard WSR BMW 125i M Sport 11 Simon Belcher Speedworks/Handy Toyota Avensis 12 Dan Welch Welch Motorsport Proton Gen-2 16 Aiden Moffat Aiden Moffat Racing Chevrolet Cruze 17 Dave Newsham AmD Ford Focus 18 Nick Foster WSR BMW 125i M Sport 20 James Cole United Autosports Toyota Avensis 21 Glynn Geddie United Autosports Toyota Avensis 28 Chris Stockton BTC Racing Chevrolet Cruze 30 Martin Depper Eurotech Honda Civic 31 Jack Goff Team BMR Vauxhall Insignia 33 Adam Morgan Ciceley Motorsport Mercedes A-class 39 Warren Scott Team BMR Vauxhall Insignia 40 Aron Smith Team BMR VW Passat CC 43 Lea Wood Houseman Racing Toyota Avensis 44 Jack Clarke Motorbase Ford Focus 48 Ollie Jackson Welch Motorsport Proton Gen-2 52 Gordon Shedden Honda (Dynamcis) Honda Civic Tourer 54 Hunter Abbott Rob Austin Racing Audi A4 67 Robb Holland Rotek Racing Audi S3 Saloon 80 Tom Ingram Speedworks Toyota Avensis 88 Sam Tordoff MG (Triple Eight) MG6 99 Jason Plato MG (Triple Eight) MG6 101 Rob Austin Rob Austin Racing Audi A4 888 Marc Hynes MG (Triple Eight) MG6 2014 BTCC calendar March 29-30 Brands Hatch Indy April 19-20 Donington Park National May 3-4 Thruxton June 7-8 Oulton Park International June 28-29 Croft August 2-3 Snetterton 300 August 23-24 Knockhill September 6-7 Rockingham September 27-28 Silverstone National October 11-12 Brands Hatch GP
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