How the 2015 British Touring Car Championship title can be won

Honda driver Shedden is seeking a second BTCC crown, and is favourite of the five drivers who go to Brands with a mathematical chance of winning the championship.

Shedden and Plato are joined in the fight by Colin Turkington, Matt Neal and Andrew Jordan - all of whom have won the title before.

The BTCC points system offers a maximum of 67 points over the weekend. There are single bonus points for the fastest qualifier, fastest laps and leading laps during races, while each race offers the following breakdown for the top 10 finishers: 20-17-15-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.

With so many ways to accrue the necessary points, here Autosport highlights the deficits the contenders have to points leader Shedden - and what the Scot needs to do to fend off their advances.

GORDON SHEDDEN
Points: 325

Wins the title if: He has a trouble-free final day. Matching his seasonal average over the course of three races of 36 points would go a long way to sealing a second success. Scoring 44 points would guarantee it.

JASON PLATO
Points: 302 (-23)
Points Shedden needs to deny him: 44

Wins the title if: He has the kind of weekend that has eluded him since Oulton Park, where he won twice and was fifth in race three. That earned him 55 points, a tally he desperately needs to repeat to have a realistic chance of stealing a third title.

If he does, Shedden needs an above-average weekend to maintain his advantage, which could lead to the Scot taking more risks than he'd like.

COLIN TURKINGTON
Points: 293 (-32)
Points Shedden needs to deny him: 35

Wins the title if: He replicates his Snetterton double - and Shedden's disastrous weekend in Norfolk repeats itself as well. It has to be all-out attack, and Turkington has promised as much.

Even if Shedden has a disaster Turkington still needs to beat Plato in a straight fight, and that's a situation that has, miraculously, not occurred at all this season. How the team-mates fare in straight combat with the title on the line, should that situation arise, will be fascinating.

MATT NEAL
Points: 288 (-37)
Points Shedden needs to deny him: 30

Wins the title if: Shedden was to non-score in race one and start race two from the back. Then Neal arguably becomes Honda's best shot.

Honda needs him to score as many points as possible anyway for the manufacturers' and teams' championships and Neal needs to be there to pick up the pieces if disaster befalls Shedden, so expect him to attack when appropriate.

ANDREW JORDAN
Points: 261 (-64)
Points Shedden needs to deny him: 3

Wins the title if: His MG becomes capable of winning three races, let alone one, and his four title rivals basically non-score. Needs a miracle, and he's discounted himself already.