
The new car that could shake up the BTCC pecking order
Following the runaway success of West Surrey Racing's new BMW last year, Motorbase Performance has produced an all-new BTCC weapon based on the latest Ford Focus for 2020, which lead driver Rory Butcher is confident it will give him a title shot
Age is just a number, so the saying goes. While it's often a throwaway comment muttered to play down the frequency with which birthdays come and go, it does ring somewhat true in the British Touring Car Championship.
Jason Plato extended his series record to a staggering 97 race wins with victory in the Brands Hatch finale last season. A day short of his 52nd birthday, he became the BTCC's oldest race winner.

Matt Kew is Autosport’s F1 Editor, a role he has held since March 2022 following stints covering Formula E, Extreme E and the British Touring Car Championship.
Matt joined Autosport in 2018 to work predominantly on the magazine, but his relentless quoting of Alan Partridge meant office colleagues soon thought he would be better-suited to increased field work.
Needless to say, Matt had the last laugh when he won the Motorsport UK Young Journalist of the Year Award in 2019.
His interest in motorsport was sparked by regular trips to watch ASCAR crash around Rockingham’s banked oval.
Matt read politics and philosophy at the University of Sheffield - receiving first-class honours for his dissertation assessing the lack of female participation in top-tier motor racing.
He covered a wide variety of national race and rally meetings for Autosport as a freelancer before joining full-time. His best efforts to argue the merits of historic racing are undone by a questionable taste in music and James Bond actors.
More from Matt Kew
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Bourdais “surprised” Cadillac was beaten on pace in Daytona 24 Hours
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Daytona 24: MSR Acura opens GTP era with win, Proton snatches LMP2 by 0.016s
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Autosport writers' most memorable moments of 2022
The season just gone was a memorable one for many of our staff writers, who are fortunate enough to cover motorsport around the world. Here are our picks of the best (and in some cases, most eventful) from 2022
How the BTCC's new hybrid era aced its first test
Expectations were high for the start of the British Touring Car Championship’s hybrid power era, and despite nerves and problems to solve prior to its debut the new rules gained widespread approval. Here’s how the first test at Donington Park was passed and the thorough examinations that are to follow
The Ford BTCC superteam combining two reigning TOCA champions
Reigning BTCC champion Ash Sutton and Porsche Carrera Cup GB victor Dan Cammish form a potent line-up at the Motorbase-run NAPA Racing team as the series adopts hybrid power. With Sutton bringing the key components of his title-winning Laser Tools Racing set-up, and Cammish eager to prove a point on his return, their dynamic is set to be one of the season's major talking points
The stalwart tin-top boss still shaping careers more than 40 years on
Veteran team manager Marvin Humphries and former Tech-Speed team boss has worked not only with stars of the British Touring Car Championship, but legends including Gil de Ferran, Hans Stuck and Tom Sneva in a long and varied career that has spanned five decades across tin-tops, single-seaters and sportscars
The grassroots rise that shaped an understated BTCC star
Having started out in club-level competitions alongside his own university engineering studies, Josh Cook's journey to becoming an established frontrunner in the British Touring Car Championship is atypical. But it's these experiences that have moulded the 30-year-old into a humble star, respected throughout the paddock
Ranking the top 10 BTCC drivers of 2021
A refresh in equipment and some returning faces helped contribute to a supremely competitive 2021 British Touring Car Championship campaign. Ash Sutton was crowned a three-time champion, successfully defending his 2020 title, but faced stiff competition in the final year before the switch to hybrid. Autosport picks out the best performers
Why the BTCC's ballast increase couldn't stop champion Sutton
Ballast will be gone from the BTCC next year as hybrid power enters the scene, but for its final season the maximum was increased from 60kg to 75kg. Despite having to carry that nearly all season, Ash Sutton was always the favourite to pocket a third title - the 27-year-old getting his reward for a season of speed tempered by savvy to nail his opportunities
The much-loved tin-top superstar bowing out at 59
OPINION: It's not often that a driver achieves widespread affection for their personality, as well as their on-track performances. One such individual is Gabriele Tarquini, who will soon bring the curtain down on a remarkable career that has yielded touring car titles on the European and global stage - and, famously, in Britain too

BTCC News: BMW team warns that shunt could wreck season
BTCC News: Opening rounds unlikely to be allowed to host full crowds

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