Silverstone preview: three-way shoot-out

The question now is whether Rickard Rydell can break through his own personal picket line [Anthony Reid and Alain Menu] to set up a fitting fairy-tale ending to the most exciting BTCC title fight for years.

The odds are certainly against the Swede who needs to score somewhere near maximum points this weekend, while keeping his fingers crossed that his fellow Mondeo drivers suffer some of the bad luck that has dogged his own season.

A Rydell title may seem far-fetched, but the man who still puts in the odd stint in the family flower business in Gothenburg has always bloomed at Silverstone (Very poor - Ed). He won the equivalent races last year on his final appearance for Volvo and even Menu acknowledges that "Rickard is very good at Silverstone."

The trickier bit could be keeping Menu and Reid out of the top five places where they need to be to further their own causes. There the Swede might find some unlikely allies. Earlier in the year, the Silverstone wins went to James Thompson and Yvan Muller in a Honda and Vauxhall respectively.

It's not a circuit on which any of the cars seemed to have a big advantage last time out, so the three title contenders are certain to find every bit of track they try to use disputed by drivers who may not be able to win the championship, but have plenty of compelling reasons of their own for wanting to finish the season on a high.

The Honda and Vauxhall drivers are locked in combat as they battle to avoid the manufacturers' championship wooden spoon. Thompson's Honda career appears to be drawing to a close and he's desperate to go out on a high. His team mate Tom Kristensen feels that his results this year have not reflected his talent and the only way to put a late shine on his up and down season is, you've guessed it, by winning.

Muller won the feature race here in June and though he can no longer win the title he can nick third or even second place to spoil Ford's party. Vauxhall's other top driver Jason Plato says Silverstone is his track, and he is always super-quick here. Having had team orders imposed on him earlier in the year, the fledgling star of Channel 4's Driven programme would dearly love a crack at overhauling Vauxhall number one Muller in the points.

A difference of just 14 points and 40kg (in the Briton's favour) between the Luton lungers says Plato's wish is achievable.

And don't forget Gabriele Tarquini, Vincent Radermecker, Matt Neal and David Leslie - all capable of top six slots or better and all with great reasons for pulling out all the stops. The odds still favour Reid and Menu, but anyone who reckons they can have a serious stab at setting out the Silverstone script in advance is in dreamland. When night falls and the floodlights are fired up there will be 11 wide-awake drivers all set to give the BTCC's Super Touring era the send-off it deserves.

Class B will play its part too. The Super Production drivers have produced great racing in the past two meetings and with another big grid, they're sure to be at it again, battling among themselves and throwing that extra little variable into the equation every time the big boys come round to pass. And with part of the circuit in darkness (the floodlights run round from Abbey to Copse) they could play a larger than usual part in the overall battle.

There's still a title to be won here too, as James Kaye tries to overcome an 11-point deficit to Alan Morrison. Barwell Motorsport Honda Accord driver Kaye will have assistance from team mate Mark Lemmer, while Morrison gets support from fellow Bowman Motorsport Peugeot driver Dan Eaves. Alfa men Gavin Pyper and Tom Ferrier will be in the thick of it again, and the Nissan strength stays at three with former Renault Spider champion Bryce Wilson at the wheel of the RJN Motorsport Primera debuted by Andy Middlehurst at Oulton Park.

The whole meeting is compressed into a one-day schedule, with the 15-lap sprint race starting at 6.30pm on Saturday evening and the 30-lap feature race getting the green light at 10.10pm.