History/

The first years of the 21st century marked a turbulent time for the BTCC. Several companies – chiefly the US-based Octagon Group – attempted to lead it under the new so-called ‘BTC-spec’ technical regulations devised under Alan Gow who, having led the series to household fame in the Nineties, decided to sell TOCA and take a ‘sabbatical’. The regulations, introduced as a measure to slash costs, took hold in 2001 and the season produced a small grid of BTC cars, boosted in numbers by the addition of the GpN-based Production class.

Vauxhall, who along with Peugeot were the two manufacturers to field official teams, was the dominant force in the top-flight BTC category with its new Astra Coupe. The Triple Eight-engineered car won 25 of the 26 rounds and in a dramatic final round at Brands Hatch, and after a season of bitter rivalry, Jason Plato beat team-mate Yvan Muller to achieve his first title.

In 2002, the Astra was again untouchable, although manufacturer entries from Honda (Civic) and MG (which achieved victories with its WSR-prepared ZSs) kept it on its toes. James Thompson this time beat Muller to the crown. Vauxhall would win the next two titles with Muller and, again, Thompson, the latter’s second crown in 2004 being achieved by a margin of just one point from his French team-mate (thanks to setting the fastest race lap in the season’s very last race). Two significant developments had occurred during this two-year period, however.

With Octagon announcing its withdrawal from the UK, Gow had been lured back mid-2003 by the BARC’s Dennis Carter to re-take charge of the championship. There was a sudden new energy about the BTCC and Gow took no time in announcing that from 2004 onwards cars complying with the same Super 2000 technical regulations raced in the FIA European Touring Car Championship would be permitted into the BTCC. This spelt the end of the GpN-based Production class, but opened the way for new teams and manufacturers to enter the championship and fight for outright honours with cars already available to use.

It was a masterstroke, and SEAT became the latest manufacturer to enter with its S2000-spec Toledo model. Plato, having left the series after his 2001 title, was back on board to make it three champions on the grid (along with Thompson and Muller). Furthermore, Gow had also altered the sporting rules – now there were three rounds at each event for the crowds to savour and Plato was able to win for newcomer SEAT on the first day of the season. Ultimately, though, after going 12 wins without a win mid-season as the competition intensified, Vauxhall’s Astra Coupe again ran out the winner in its final season – the car remains one of the most successful in BTCC history with an incredible 62 wins from 96 starts in the manufacturer’s hands.

Another all-time great car was to follow in 2005 and 2006: the Honda Integra which in Team Dynamics’ hands would achieve 26 wins from 60 starts. Dynamics (running under the Team Halfords banner) developed the car and, with driver Matt Neal, made history by becoming the first privateer team/driver combination since 1991 to defeat the might of the manufacturers and win the outright crown in both seasons. Neal’s chief threat in 2005 was Muller in Vauxhall’s new Astra Sport Hatch and in 2006 Plato in SEAT’s new Leon. It was in 2006 that the BTCC welcomed seven times (and three-times European) touring car champion Fabrizio Giovanardi as a replacement for Muller at Vauxhall. Up until Knockhill that season, Vauxhall had – almost disbelievingly – gone a year without a victory but then came along two in a row – notably its landmark 100th when Giovanardi also achieved his first win in the BTCC and then, next time out at Brands Hatch, the 101st when the Italian crossed the line first.

For 2007, the BTCC took on its latest guise as the championship effectively went fully S2000 (although some smaller teams continue to run the older BTC cars as they are gradually phased out). SEAT with its Leon was joined at the front of the field by S2000 cars from Vauxhall, BMW and Honda. Vauxhall’s new Vectra was a superb machine and, in its first season of development, enabled Giovanardi to win his first BTCC title in the most dramatic of final round showdowns against Plato. The BMW (320si) and Honda (Civic) efforts were entered by privateer teams who were also able to mount serious title challenges thanks to the BTCC’s excellent equivalency rules that, unlike those of other championships, remained untouched throughout the whole of 2007 and undoubtedly helped result in regular grids in the mid-20s (the biggest seen since the early 1990s). As well, Vauxhall’s Vectra and the Honda Civic run by Dynamics were classic examples of teams using the BTCC’s own ‘local homologation’ regulations to enter unique shapes of S2000 car not seen in other series.

Giovanardi and Vauxhall would win a second consecutive crown in 2008 ahead of Plato and SEAT whose Leon was now using diesel-turbo power (Plato having given the technology a first-ever BTCC win at Donington earlier in the season). The man from Modena, though, was unable to become the first driver since the early Eighties to make it three titles in a row as Colin Turkington in his WSR/Team RAC BMW hung to take overall glory in 2009 just ahead of Plato (now in a Chevrolet Lacetti) and Giovanardi. In fact, Plato won all three races on Finals Day in a season that netted him seven victories in all – the first for the Chevrolet name in the BTCC in 25 years and also successes that took him to 53 career wins (just seven shy of Andy Rouse’s all-time record of 60).

For 2010, many will be watching to see if Plato can surpass that record. However, there is plenty more to ponder. Firstly, Dunlop has returned to title-sponsor the BTCC for the next four years. Then the ITV network has confirmed its coverage of the action will break the 120-hours plus mark – a staggering commitment. Furthermore, the BTCC has allowed several teams to use its new, turbo-charged TOCA-branded Next Generation Touring Car engine ahead of full-blown NGTC regulations that will halve the cost of competing being introduced in 2011 (as announced in mid-2009). Chevrolet and Honda have entered official manufacturer-backed teams in the series while, adding to the BTCC’s well-documented ‘green credentials’, a front-running team will for the first time use LPG power, namely Team Aon with its Ford Focus ST – another car to come into the championship in the last 12 months thanks to ‘local homologation’ rules. The 2010 season also begins with a 23-car entry – that’s two more than at the start of 2009, defying an economic climate that has severely affected other, high-profile race series around the world.

It’s the start of a fantastic new decade – indeed a new chapter – in the BTCC’s illustrious history…