The British Touring Car Championship season review

Turbos versus normally-aspirated cars versus NGTC. Neal versus Plato versus Shedden. Honda versus Chevrolet versus Ford. There were many different battles fought out during the 2011 British Touring Car season, and in the end Matt Neal scooped his third crown.

Chevrolet driver and 2010 champion Jason Plato started the year as favourite, but arch-rival Neal's Honda squad switched to a new turbo engine for its S2000 Civic and stole a march on the field.

Various rules tweaks then pulled them back and helped create tension throughout the paddock. At times the fighting got a little rough - both in and out of the cars between Neal and Plato at Rockingham - before five drivers went to the Silverstone finale with a chance for the title.

Motorbase Ford driver Mat Jackson and Triple 8 Vauxhall man James Nash were outsiders and needed miracles that didn't happen, while a puncture in race one killed off Plato's chances. That left it to Honda team-mates Neal and Gordon Shedden to fight it out, with the experienced Neal delivering to become the sixth man to take three BTCC crowns.

Beyond that, the rule-tweaking and the fact that different cars suited different tracks meant that many combinations had a chance to shine. Eight drivers won races.

The new NGTC cars arrived and improved rapidly, again helped by the rules, after a poor start. Frank Wrathall and Rob Austin were the stars of the new class that represents the future of the series.

It was nevertheless Honda's year in a season of transition. The manufacturer has committed to NGTC for 2012 and the question now is whether RML and Chevrolet will follow.

The top 10 BTCC drivers in focus

1. Matt Neal (Honda [Team Dynamics])
Points: 257
Wins: 7
Other podiums: 6
Poles: 3
Fastest laps: 6

Neal started the season with a stunning pole time around the Brands Indy circuit - where Plato's Chevrolet Cruze had been so strong in 2010 - indicating that the Team Dynamics-run Honda Civic with the Neil Brown turbo was going to be a potent threat.

Things didn't go entirely to plan: Alex MacDowall took him off on the first lap at Brands; there was contact with Plato at Snetterton; and Neal did himself no favours by taking team-mate Gordon Shedden off at the last corner in race two at Oulton Park. But Neal proved adept at scoring points, even on weekends when he wasn't quite the fastest.

With the normally-aspirated cars struggling for straight-line speed, it came down to a duel between Neal and Shedden at the Silverstone finale. Neal took control with what he regarded as the best qualifying lap of the year to take pole, and thereafter looked in control on his way to BTCC title number three.

2. Gordon Shedden (Honda [Team Dynamics])
Points: 249
Wins: 6
Other podiums: 7
Poles: 2
Fastest laps: 2

It was almost a breakthrough year for Shedden, despite an appalling start when he was pitched off the road during free practice at the Brands opener. He got his head down and was often as fast - or faster - than Neal, even if he didn't always make it count in terms of points.

His Oulton Park performance was stunning and he deserved two wins there rather than one, but there was also the odd off weekend. He never quite got on terms with Neal at Croft and went to the final round needing to make up a five-point deficit.

Despite running 9kg lighter, Shedden was outqualified by Neal, and so evenly matched were the pair in the races that he just couldn't make the ground back.

3. Jason Plato (Chevrolet [RML])
Points: 236
Wins: 8
Other podiums: 4
Poles: 4
Fastest laps: 5

Had the rules stayed the same between 2010 and '11, Plato would probably now be a triple champion. The Chevrolet Cruze had the best chassis and the RML squad showed at the end of last season that it was on top of the BTCC version of the car.

But the rules did change, and Plato found himself fighting a power disadvantage, the extent of the handicap varying during the course of the year. As a result, he and RML sometimes pushed things too far. There were punctures at Donington Park and Thruxton, offs at Croft and Donington, and the Neal punt at Snetterton.

Nevertheless, it would be hard to argue anyone else got more out of their machinery, and whenever he had a sniff of victory Plato delivered.

4. Mat Jackson (Motorbase Performance)
Points: 191
Wins: 4
Other podiums: 6
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 7

Jackson had the opposite problem to Plato. The Mountune turbo in his ex-Arena Ford Focus produced plenty of power, but the chassis wasn't on a par with the Honda or Chevrolet, despite Motorbase's fine efforts.

It's probably also fair to say that Jackson wasn't at his best when it came to qualifying, but he is arguably the championship's top racer. Usually able to move forward, Jackson scored four reversed-grid race victories in the first six meetings and topped the standings after Snetterton.

The next two rounds destroyed his chances. Despite some great moves, Jackson got himself into trouble at Knockhill and scored just one point. Things got even worse at Rockingham after he was the worst-affected by a lap-one multi-car incident.

Jackson didn't really deserve to lose the Independents' title. That he did was largely down to the fact that he was chasing a bigger prize.

5. James Nash (Triple 8 Engineering)
Points: 191
Wins: 1
Other podiums: 8
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 1

When the Swindon turbo-powered Vauxhall Vectra was on form, Nash and Eurotech driver Andrew Jordan ran right at the front and were in the title fight. As the turbo boost restrictions hit, Nash and Triple 8 seemed to maintain their level better, resulting in both independent drivers' and teams' crowns.

Nash stepped up this year. He and the experienced Triple 8 team formed an effective fighting unit and Nash became adept at digging a qualifying lap out of the bag, or a strong race run, to grab points on weekends when he seemed on the back foot.

Nash admitted to feeling the pressure of maintaining the team's record of winning at least one race every year since 1998, but did just that when he got the chance in the reversed-grid race at Rockingham.

6. Andrew Jordan (Eurotech Racing)
Points: 143
Wins: 1
Other podiums: 6
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 0

At his best, in the early part of the season, Jordan was the quickest Vauxhall driver. Always spectacular, he suffered a little with engine problems from Snetterton. Eurotech recovered at the end of the year, but failed to match the pace the combination had shown earlier.

Donington was the highlight, where Jordan was fighting at the sharp end all weekend and deservedly won race two, chased by Nash. The Brands opener could also have been as good had it not been for two punctures.

Next year the venerable Vectras bow out, and Jordan will get his hands on an NGTC Honda Civic. It will be interesting to see how much trouble he can give works drivers Neal and Shedden.

7. Tom Chilton (Arena Motorsport)
Points: 135
Wins: 2
Other podiums: 1
Poles: 1
Fastest laps: 1

Arena switched from its successful LPG Ford Focuses to the new petrol turbo-powered Global Focus and Chilton led the attack.

Like the Motorbase drivers, Chilton had a powerful Mountune engine, and the team worked on its chassis throughout the season. A podium and four fourths in the first three meetings promised much, but Chilton and Arena couldn't maintain that consistency as they learned the car.

Things came good at Knockhill, where Chilton became the only non-Honda/Chevy driver to top a qualifying session. He went on to win the first race, and followed that up with a reversed grid race victory at the Silverstone finale. Now he and the team look set to switch to the World Touring Car Championship for 2012.

8. Rob Collard (WSR)
Points: 108
Wins: 0
Podiums: 6
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 1

At the beginning of the year, before the turbos started to be reined in, things looked dreadful for Collard, WSR and the normally-aspirated BMWs. Points finishes were often a challenge, but Collard never gave up and when the conditions suited the BMW he ran at the front.

Collard starred in the mixed weather at Oulton Park and he then worked well with his new team-mate Nick Foster at Croft as they tried unsuccessfully to oust Jackson from the lead of the third race.

There were a few scrapes along the way, but Collard deserved his place as runner-up of the NA runners, behind Plato.

9. Alex MacDowall (Chevrolet [RML])
Points: 100
Wins: 0
Podiums: 3
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 1

There were times when MacDowall looked as quick as Plato, but overall his experienced team-mate's efforts to chase the turbos tended to leave the Cumbrian behind.

That was particularly true in the races, and MacDowall admitted to learning from Plato's ability to maximise tyre life over the course of a race.

MacDowall did attract more than his fair share of bad luck with the odd engine issue, but he also got himself into a lot of scrapes. Firing Neal into the Druids gravel on the very first racing lap of the season, and hitting Dave Newsham on the final lap at Snetterton, showed he still has some progress to make when it comes to wheel-to-wheel racing.

10. Paul O'Neill (Tech-Speed Motorsport)
Points: 91
Wins: 0
Podiums: 3
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 0

Said at the start of the year that he'd retire if he didn't win a race in Plato's 2010 title-winning Cruze, but given the turbo/normally-aspirated controversy O'Neill can be forgiven for not falling on his sword.

Without the very latest kit of the works team, Tech-Speed was more often mired in the midfield and O'Neill sometimes found himself racing drivers he should have been well ahead of. He also struggled to get the best out of himself and the car, but found that moving away from Plato's and MacDowall's settings gave him the front-end turn-in he needed.

O'Neill's best performance came at Rockingham, where he qualified second only to Plato and chased him home in race one. Nevertheless, he'll be hoping for more in 2012, whatever he ends up driving.

Any other business...

The 2011 season was a bit of a mixed bag for Tom Boardman. Sometimes Special Tuning Racing's SEAT Leons were right on the pace, other times well off, and Boardman wasn't always sure why.

There were also a lot of reliability niggles, and Boardman was involved in a number of on-track incidents, both as an innocent victim and as perpetrator.

Boardman's Knockhill win came after taking Plato out of the lead © LAT

Even Boardman's breakthrough victory in the reversed-grid race at Knockhill produced a clash of emotions. On the one hand, it was fine reward for the team after all the bad luck, but on the other the way in which Boardman removed Plato from the lead was not pleasant.

One of the finds of the season, despite all the controversy surrounding NGTC, was series debutant Frank Wrathall. It's impossible to know the 2010 Ginetta G50 Cup champion's precise level due to the bigger tyres, brakes, extra power and more weight his ever-developing car had to run, but Wrathall certainly didn't look overawed when near the front.

Dynojet made the most of the testing that series boss Alan Gow allowed the team to undertake, and there was a marked improvement in pace and reliability of its Toyota Avensis from Snetterton onwards.

Four podiums showed Wrathall's racecraft, but next year will provide a new challenge as established teams such as Dynamics build their own NGTC challengers.

Starting the year with the plucky AmD Milltek squad, Tom Onslow-Cole was an absolute star, hurling its Volkswagen Golf around and scoring points as early as Donington Park.

The nature of his departure - midway through the Oulton Park weekend - didn't really do justice to the team and Onslow-Cole initially seemed to struggle (even taking into account extra ballast) when he rejoined the Arena Ford team.

Rookie Foster out-paced his WSR BMW team-mate Collard at Croft © LAT

Nevertheless, he did bring experience and feedback to help push the Global Focus forward. Onslow-Cole was back to his competitive self by season's end and took two podiums.

Former GT and rally driver Nick Foster had an impressive debut campaign. Foster kept working hard despite the disadvantages of his normally-aspirated WSR BMW package, and he had a good benchmark in Rob Collard.

His best moment probably came at Croft, where he lost narrowly to Jackson, but he also outpaced Collard at Rockingham and usually showed himself to be an accomplished racer.

This season was Foster's first of a three-year BTCC plan, and on the evidence of 2011 he deserves his place on the grid.

Dave Newsham, the 2010 Renault Clio Cup champion, left the Geoff Steel Racing BMW squad after just two meetings of his rookie BTCC season to join Special Tuning Racing.

Newsham suffered an unfortunate number of technical issues with the SEAT Leon, but when things were running well he showed his class. He deserved more at Snetterton, but was tapped at the final corner by MacDowall.

He finished the season on a high by taking two well-earned top-sixes at Silverstone and would surely only improve if he returns to the series in 2012.

One of the characters of the paddock, Rob Austin had even less time to prepare his NGTC Audi than Wrathall had with the Toyota. As a result, reliability was woeful for the first half of the year - which featured a split with original driver David Pinkney.

Austin and his NGTC Audi got much quicker as the year went on © LAT

Even when Austin did start to show good speed, there were a few scrapes that meant he rarely matched Wrathall's results.

The rear-wheel-drive Audi often struggled to get heat into its tyres in qualifying, but that made it kind on them in the race, so Austin was often able to move forward, and he lost out to Nash in the reversed grid Rockingham race by less than 0.4s. It would be a shame if he didn't get another chance.

Former BTCC champion James Thompson and ex-Porsche Carrera Cup GB frontrunner Michael Caine were the highest-profile drivers to dip into the BTCC in 2011, both driving a third Motorbase Ford Focus.

Caine made a solid debut at Rockingham and scored a point, before fighting in the midfield at Brands Hatch, while Thompson appeared at Silverstone's National circuit for the final round. Despite a successful test at Brands beforehand, Thompson struggled to get on the pace and only got the car to his liking for the final race.

Jeff Smith (Eurotech Vauxhall), Andy Neate (Arena Ford) and Dan Welch (Welch Proton) all showed flashes of pace, but lacked consistency, while former Renault Clio Cup champion Martin Byford rarely got a clean run to show what he could do in AmD Milltek's Golf.

Lea Wood struggled with his old Honda Integra (with extra ballast, despite being of 2005 vintage), but drove brilliantly in the wet at Oulton Park, and Aron Smith showed potential when he appeared in a one-off with Triple 8 at Knockhill.