Things Looking Rosy for the BTCC?

So as the British Touring Car Championship enters one of its several month-long breaks during the season, perhaps now is a good time to ponder the current state of the series.

Motorsport in the United Kingdom is currently undergoing mixed fortunes. Some categories are thriving, such as British GT which is seeing near capacity grids, and the new BRDC Formula 4 series has got off to a good start too. However others are not fairing quite so well. Last year Formula Renault UK folded because of a lack of entries and British Formula 3 is currently going through a sticky patch with dwindling cars forcing the series to be reduced to just four weekends this year.

At the moment, in terms of entries, the BTCC is flourishing. Twenty-seven cars lined up on the grid at Thruxton last weekend, close to record numbers. Despite there just being the two manufacturers represented with works teams, a further eight marques have privateer entries. What’s more, Kia are rumoured to be entering the sport in the near future and there are set to be more teams and drivers arriving later on in the season. The series is becoming ever more popular with fans too, as ITV is dedicating ever-increasing air time to it.

So far, so good. And what about the racing? Well, Thruxton provided three intriguing races which saw battles throughout the order. Throw in a bit of contact and a couple of unexpected late-race punctures, and there was all the drama and excitement a racing fan could hope for.

Except, there is one tiny complaint. Honda seem to be walking away with things. Okay, Jason Plato’s MG was pretty good at Brands Hatch taking two wins, but since then the Hondas have been well and truly on top with only Colin Turkington’s BMW taking a reversed grid race three victory at Donington preventing them from achieving a clean sweep. Not only are the two works drivers fighting at the front, but Andrew Jordan’s Pirtek Racing machine is also right up there as well.

A key feature of the BTCC over the years has been a closely fought title battle - some times as many as five drivers have gone into the final round still in contention. Now I’m not suggesting the Hondas will dominate the remainder of the season, but it would be good from a fans’ point of view if some of the other teams and drivers take a step forward over this five-week break and really take the fight to them. And that would mean things are certainly looking pretty rosy for the series.

 

Grass route Karting is the issue, to expensive and not accessable eonough to the masses. The knock on effect is that the next steps be that open wheel racing or tin tops is subsequently becomes even more expensive. In relation to the BTCC, it does seem to have recovered and things look positive.