BTC Racing and Josh Cook will continue their successful partnership for a second season, as the Brackley-based outfit sets its sights on the 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship title.

The five-time race winner enjoyed the most successful BTCC season of his career in the squad’s Honda Civic Type R (FK8) last year, taking three outright race wins and four podiums on his way to claiming fourth in the overall standings and second in the Independent standings.

Having penned a late deal to pilot the brand-new Type R just weeks before the start of the 2019 season, the 28-year-old claimed a stunning victory in the opening race at Brands Hatch to mark the #66 machine’s debut, following up with a podium finish at Donington Park just three weeks later.

Two further wins followed at the former Jack Sears Trophy winners home track; Thruxton, with the Bath-based racer reaching the top step at each of the series’ two visits to the Hampshire speed bowl.

Notching up more race wins than the manufacturer-backed Honda team, 2019 also signalled a best-ever season for the BTC Racing squad, which recently confirmed an expanded three-car assault on the 2020 title.

With the benefit of an extensive pre-season testing programme in place, coupled with a years' worth of experience and data, Cook is confident that a second year in the BTC Racing line-up offers up his best chance-to-date of clinching the coveted BTCC crown.

“Continuity is so important in this championship. I’ve never had the chance to have two seasons in the same team and car, and it’s such an important piece of the puzzle,” said Cook.

“We didn’t really manage to get any testing in last year. We just rocked up and won the opening round. That was great but each weekend we just had to work it out on track rather than having any knowledge. So the fact that we get to go into this year with all of that data and some winter testing along with our developments should hopefully take us a step forward.

“We went full guns for the overall title last year; we didn’t have an eye on the Independents' until the main one was out of reach. We’re there to try for the overall title. That’s been my aim since I came into the BTCC in 2015, and that will always be my aim. We took more wins than the factory team with no testing. The team were mega and it was a great achievement. We’re arriving with more knowledge this season, and there’s no reason why we can’t take that extra step."

“After a stellar 1st season with the team last year, it couldn’t be a better start to 2020 for BTC Racing in securing Josh for our campaign," said joint Team Principal Bert Taylor. "He showed his talent beyond any doubt in a new car, and with a new team, finishing 4th in the most competitive touring car championship there is.

“To achieve that with no testing is a testament to the ultimate professional Josh is. I’m excited to see what 2020 holds of him and the team. We have our sights set high, and it is all about winning.”

For the final event of the 2019 season, BTCC looks back heads to Brands Hatch for an unforgettable finale, held in October, where Team BMW’s Colin Turkington was crowned a record-equalling four-time BTCC champion in the most dramatic of circumstances.
 
Halfords Yuasa Racing’s Dan Cammish kicked off proceedings in superb style by claiming the most important victory of his BTCC career to-date before Adrian Flux Subaru Racing’s Ash Sutton scored his first win of the season.
 
The 30th and final round of the 2019 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship will live long in the memory with Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed Racing’s Jason Plato winning the race – his first of the year – whilst the fight for the title went down to the wire.
 
Cammish would face heartbreak with around four miles of the season remaining, whilst Turkington scythed his way from 25th on the grid to claim a sixth-place finish, ensuring that he leapfrogged the 30-year-old by just two points in the overall standings.

Honda man Cammish came into the weekend with it all to do – 16 points in arrears to Turkington – and his task seemed even harder when his BMW rival dominated qualifying on Saturday.

Andrew Jordan, Josh Cook and Tom Ingram completed the quintet of drivers with a chance of winning the championship coming into the final weekend, but five soon became three after a frenetic opener at the famous Kent circuit.

Cammish surged from 12th to first as intensifying rain helped to produce one of the most exciting races of 2019.

Pole-sitter Turkington lost the lead off the line to Sutton’s Subaru and the pair began an intriguing battle for the lead in the early stages. Turkington’s BMW 3 Series squeezed back by at Druids a few tours later and the reigning champion was now holding a 28-point advantage in the live standings.

All that was to change, however, when Matt Simpson’s Honda went off at Paddock Hill Bend, bringing out the safety car.

Rory Butcher grabbed the lead at the restart in his AmD-run Honda, as the rear-wheel drive BMWs and Subarus struggled in greasy conditions.

Cammish was scything his way through the order as the handling of the Honda Civic Type R proved to be the standout contender in changeable weather, and he soon disposed of BMW Pirtek Racing’s Jordan. Sutton and Turkington were next to be pushed down the order by Cammish and the moment of truth followed on lap 16.

Race leader Butcher held the inside line through Paddock Hill Bend but Cammish hauled his Honda around the outside at one of the most daunting corners in the world. The Yorkshireman emerged in the lead and never looked back. 

Matt Neal – having switched to Dunlop BluResponse wet tyres during the earlier safety car period – made a number of moves on the final lap, bringing Tom Chilton’s Motorbase-run Ford Focus through with him. The experienced duo eventually completed the podium, further relegating BMW’s title contenders in the process.

Things improved even further for Cammish when he moved to the summit of the overall standings with just one race of the campaign remaining.

Cammish led race two from pole position but immediately came under attack from the fast-starting BMW of Turkington after he had blasted through the order from fifth on the grid.

Honda’s Neal fought back from third as they ran through Graham Hill Bend for the first time and contact was made with Turkington’s 3 Series, spinning the latter down the order. Turkington immediately pitted to take a gamble on slick tyres, a decision that ultimately failed to pay off, meaning the incident with Neal handed Cammish the championship lead.

The wet/dry contest eventually went the way of Sutton as he made impressive moves past both manufacturer-backed Hondas, whilst Jordan kept his title hopes alive in second with Cammish settling for third.

The final race of the year belonged to BTCC legend Plato as he grabbed a first victory in nearly two years, a result that has been on the cards for much of the season.

Plato was able to get by early leader Stephen Jelley, before the Vauxhall Astra driver pulled away to take a comfortable victory from Cobra Sport AmD AutoAid/RCIB Insurance’s Rory Butcher and Adrian Flux Subaru Racing’s Sutton, but it was all eyes on the battles behind.

Turkington – starting the race in 25th and eight points behind then standings leader Cammish – ripped through the order from the outset, making up ten places on the opening lap alone. The #1 BMW was soon inside the top ten, just behind the similarly charging Toyota of Tom Ingram, and the duo had swarmed up behind Cammish’s Honda Civic Type R.

Having nipped past Ingram’s Toyota Corolla, Turkington then squeezed by Halfords Yuasa Racing’s Cammish at Druids with four laps to go.

Whilst Turkington was now reducing the points deficit, Cammish was still in command of the overall standings lead knowing that eighth position was good enough for a maiden BTCC title.

With seemingly no end to the drama, Cammish suffered heartache with just a lap and a half of the campaign remaining, having previously been the only driver to have completed every single racing lap of the season so far.

As Cammish sped towards Hawthorn Bend – his brake discs already glowing – the #27 Honda suffered with brake failure and continued straight on and into the barrier at one of the fastest corners on the circuit.
 
In the blink of an eye, Cammish’s championship dreams were over and Turkington’s despair had turned to ecstasy, the Northern Irishman eventually passing the chequered flag to equal Andy Rouse’s record of winning four British Touring Car Championships.

Jordan and Cammish eventually ended up on the same number of points, just two behind champion Turkington, with Jordan technically taking second place due to his higher number of wins.
 
BMW also claimed overall Manufacturers’ honours, whilst Halfords Yuasa Racing was rewarded with the Teams’ title.
 
Butcher and Cobra Sport AmD AutoAid/RCIB Insurance scooped Independents’ silverware, whilst the Scotsman also won the Jack Sears Trophy.

The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship will return in 2020, again comprising of 30 races across ten race weekends. In a shake-up to the calendar, Donington Park will host the opening event on 28/29 March.

Throughout the next fortnight, Motorsport News Editor Matt James will continue to reveal his top ten memories from the last ten years of the British Touring Car Championship. Today's memory: the iconic moment Matt Neal took teammate Gordon Shedden for an excursion onto the gravel at Oulton Park.

When: June 5, 2011

Where: Oulton Park

Team management is never an easy role. Sure, the men at the controls are the ones who have to make the split-second decisions which can have a huge influence on the outcome of the race, but it is the men at the helm of the squad who ultimately carry the can. Never has the responsibility of that role become more apparent to me than at Oulton Park in June, 2011.

Gordon Shedden was set to claim his third win of the season at the controls of his Team Dynamics-run Honda Civic Type R. He was measuring his pace with team-mate Matt Neal riding shotgun behind on the greasy damp surface as the laps ticked by. Surely nothing could stop this Honda rout?

On the very last corner of the very last lap, Neal got a strong run out of Druids and thought he saw a chance. He chucked his hatchback up in the inside of his team-mate, but locked up on the wet surface and cannoned into the side of Shedden.

Both skittered through the gravel and although Shedden eventually made it across the line in sixth place, the damage had been done. Worst of all for them both, their arch-nemesis Jason Plato had nipped through to rob first place in his RML-run Chevrolet.

ITV’s Ben Edwards had to apologise to any viewers who might have overheard Neal’s x-rated admonishment of himself for the crash as his machine was running towards the tyre wall.

It was immediately an iconic image, similar to the Toyota-based Julian Bailey-Will Hoy clash at the British Grand Prix support race in 1993. Or the Andy Rouse-Hoy crash at Brands Hatch in 1992.

The team personnel were crushed, and team owner Steve Neal (Matt’s father and an ex-BTCC racer) gathered the crew in the garage before race three, and I was accidentally caught up in the middle of it.

He reassured the team that they were all performing at a very high level, they had a level of professionalism that remained undimmed by what had just happened out on the track and told them that they should all carry their heads high into the afternoon’s final race. It was just the rallying cry that was needed, it was appreciated and it was delivered at just the right time. It was proper leadership.

The drivers, who have a strong personal friendship, were curt but courteous afterwards and it was soon put behind them. And that ceasefire carried on until the end of the campaign, when Neal finished top of the points ahead of Shedden.

British Touring Car Championship organisers, TOCA, have officially opened the tender process for the supply of the series’ TOCA engine from 2022, with expressions of interest invited between now and the deadline date of 20 January.

The current engine supply agreement expires at the conclusion of the 2021 campaign, with the next five-year term due to run from 2022 until the end of 2026. The new contract is set to be awarded in June 2020, to ensure that a cost-effective engine with proven reliability is ready in time for the start of the 2022 season and available for use by any BTCC team.

The engine must be designed to comply with 2020 technical regulations, which specify a turbocharged 2.0-litre, four-cylinder in-line unit that fits all current cars, while simultaneously considering the forthcoming integration of hybrid systems in the BTCC.

Any interested parties who would like to submit a tender should contact:

Peter Riches
BTCC Technical Director 
E:  richesst@aol.com
T:  01953 797169

As we head into a new decade, over the next couple of weeks, Motorsport News Editor Matt James will be scouring the last ten years of the British Touring Car Championship for his top ten memories – starting with BTCC legend Jason Plato's record-breaking 62nd race win.

When: April 3, 2011

Where: Brands Hatch

Much like Michael Schumacher’s all-time records in Formula 1, Andy Rouse’s catalogue of success in the British Touring Car Championship set benchmarks that seemed to be an impossible target for those following behind.

Rouse’s record of four titles was finally matched some 34 years after his final championship triumph when Colin Turkington grabbed his crown in 2019.  But earlier in the 2010s there was an equally impressive landmark that was reached by Jason Plato: he topped Rouse’s number of individual race victories, which stood at 60.

At the opening meeting of 2011, Plato recorded back-to-back triumphs at Brands Hatch in his RML-run Chevrolet Cruze to bring his career record to 62 and put himself clear at the head of the standings.

In the final race of 2019, Plato was still on the top step of the rostrum and he has now pushed that win total up to 97. The magic 100 is not far off and given Plato’s return to competitiveness last year in the Power Maxed Racing Vauxhall Astra, he has it very firmly in his gaze.

Plato has only claimed two championships since he joined the category in 1997, and even he admits that it is his win-at-all-costs attitude that has perhaps cost him a shot at some of the overall titles.

“I love winning, and I will do anything to get that feeling,” he told me just after he had reached 60 wins. “In some cases I could have driven for points and, who knows, earned another couple of titles. But that is not what I am about and it is not, in my mind, what the fans want to see. They want to see someone putting everything on the line, and that is what I do.”

Plato’s impact on the BTCC over the course of the last decade simply can’t be underplayed. He has been the heart of the championship battle for most of those seasons and has driven five different makes of machine to victories in that time – Chevrolet, MG, VW, Subaru and Vauxhall. That, in itself, is an enviable record.

But it is the strike rate of wins which puts him well clear of the rest. Matt Neal has also eclipsed Rouse now too, but Plato is more than 30 clear of Neal and more than 40 ahead of Turkington.  Is it an achievement that is ever likely to be bettered? It seems highly unlikely but then, so did Rouse’s record…

In the first BTCC looks back of 2020, it was advantage Colin Turkington in the race for the 2019 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship after the Team BMW star got the better of his title rivals on a sensational rain-affected day at Silverstone.
 
A double win for Tom Ingram around the 1.64-mile National Circuit confirmed the Team Toyota GB with Ginsters star as the fifth and final title contender before the series moved to its season finale at Brands Hatch two weeks after the ninth event of the campaign.
 
It was all still to play for as Turkington led Halfords Yuasa Racing’s Dan Cammish by 16 points, with BMW Pirtek Racing’s Andrew Jordan a further point in arrears.
 
BTC Racing’s Josh Cook and Toyota man Ingram also remained within touching distance, as the battle for Britain’s premier motorsport series once again went down to the wire.
 
There was a fantastic underdog story at Silverstone too, as Jack Goff secured the first-ever BTCC victory for Kent-based Team HARD.
 
The day began with Ingram claiming his third and fourth wins for the new-for-2019 Toyota Corolla, as the 26-year-old reignited his championship challenge.
 
Ingram snatched the lead away from pole-sitter Jason Plato in the opening race, as the Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed Racing driver continued to search for his first win of the season.
 
The Vauxhall Astra of Plato dominated the early proceedings in greasy conditions, but the Toyota Corolla of Ingram soon had the double champion in his sights.
 
Plato and Ingram rubbed paintwork on lap four before the 2018 championship runner-up got the job done through Luffield to take the win.
 
Manufacturer-backed Ingram then doubled up, having reclaimed the lead during a dramatic yet shortened Race 2.
 
Team Toyota GB with Ginsters’ Ingram led from the outset before contact with Plato’s Vauxhall Astra let the BMW of Tom Oliphant nip by both of them and into first.
 
Mid-race rain left the field running on slick Dunlop tyres in treacherous conditions, and the safety car was soon called for after the Mercedes A-Class of Adam Morgan spiralled into the gravel and out of the race. 
 
Oliphant’s BMW 3 Series twitched wide on the exit of the first corner at the restart and he was soon shuffled down the order, as Ingram swept into an unassailable lead.

Plato was another who fell away late on, but the same couldn’t be said for the charging title contenders of Turkington and Cammish. Team BMW’s Turkington surged from 14th to second, whilst Halfords Yuasa Racing’s Cammish came from 11th to third.
 
With the rain worsening every lap, a decision was made to red flag the remainder of the contest.
 
Goff then grabbed the headlines in a dramatic wet/dry finale at the famous Northamptonshire circuit.
 
The race commenced in dry conditions but was quickly turned into a very damp occasion as drivers had to choose between the gamble of staying on Dunlop Sport Maxx dry tyres or switching to the Dunlop BluResponse wets.
 
The likes of Cook and Cammish led the way early on and were seemingly strengthening their title credentials, but that all changed when a safety car was called for after the Honda of Matt Simpson spun into retirement.
 
A number of drivers then chose to switch to wet tyres during the safety car period, and it proved to be a masterstroke as the conditions worsened considerably.
 
RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport’s Goff and Laser Tools Racing’s Aiden Moffat were the first to surge through the field and it would quickly become a two-way fight for victory. It was either going to be a first for Team HARD or a first-ever win for the Infiniti Q50, and the moment of truth came shortly after the duo hit the front.
 
Moffat, pushing too hard through Copse, slid wide and spun around whilst trying to catch Goff, meaning the latter could comfortably cruise home for victory.
 
Scotsman Moffat recovered to claim second, whilst Halfords Yuasa Racing’s Matt Neal completed the podium.
 
When the rain clouds eventually drifted away at Silverstone it was Turkington who had enjoyed the better of the day in terms of the title contenders; 14^th, second and seventh place finishes wouldn’t normally represent a particularly outstanding weekend for the three-time champion, but his points return on a dramatic day saw him extend his advantage over the chasing pack.
 
BMW still led the Manufacturers’ standings, whilst Halfords Yuasa Racing topped the Teams’ order heading into the final event.
 
Cook held the top spot in the Independent Drivers’ Championship with Cobra Sport AmD AutoAid/RCIB Insurance holding sway in the Independent Teams’ table. Rory Butcher maintained his lead in the Jack Sears Trophy.
 
For the concluding BTCC looks back, we’ll be reliving all the action from the final day of the season, where one of the most coveted prizes in motor racing was decided in the midst of one of the most dramatic finales in recent years.

It has today (30 December) been announced that Bobby Thompson will be joining Trade Price Cars Racing for his 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship campaign.

The 23-year-old from Hornchurch is the first driver confirmed with the team for what will be its second season in Britain’s premier racing series, with the other half of their new and exciting driver line-up to be announced in due course.

Trade Price Cars Racing will once again field a pair of Audi S3s next year on the back of an impressive 2019 season that included a fine win at Knockhill and ended with the squad sitting fourth in the Independent Teams’ Championship.

As with many young drivers, new signing Thompson started his career in karting before taking the step into car racing, initially in the Ford Fiesta Championship before two meetings in British Formula Ford in 2014, where he picked up six top-ten finishes in as many starts.

With a long-term ambition to make it into touring cars, Thompson reverted back to tin tops for 2015 with an entry into the Volkswagen Racing Cup, securing his maiden win at Snetterton en-route to tenth in the championship standings.

Improving to fifth place overall twelve months later, Thompson then became the man to beat in the series in 2017 as he stormed to the championship title in impressive fashion, taking six wins and only failing to make the podium four times all season.

This opened the door for a dream move into the BTCC and, in two seasons in the series to date, the 23-year-old has shown his pace with a number of top-ten finishes at the wheel of a VW CC; his best result being sixth during the 2019 season opener at Brands Hatch.

Now at the wheel of the Trade Price Cars Racing Audi, Thompson will hope to regularly challenge for top ten finishes, with his ultimate goal being to fight for a first podium and to launch a bid for the Jack Sears Trophy - which is open to drivers who have yet to secure a top-three finish in the series.

Thompson will make his Trade Price Cars Racing debut following the team’s pre-season testing programme, when the 2020 campaign kicks off at Donington Park on the weekend of 28/29 March.

"It’s great to have signed a deal with Trade Price Cars Racing and I’m really looking forward to the new season,” said Thompson. “As a new team, they had a fantastic year with plenty of success on track, and my goal is to help them to build on that in 2020 and fight for more trophies.

"I’ve been able to learn a lot during the two seasons that I’ve spent in the BTCC so far, and I think I’ve shown I have the pace to run inside the top ten. The goal now is to do that on a regular basis and I think it’s something that we can do with ease based on how the car performed this year with Jake [Hill].

"If I can get onto the podium during the season then it would be fantastic, and the Jack Sears Trophy has to be my aim for the year as a whole. I was third in the standings this year, and I’m confident that I can build on that and fight for the title."

"We’re delighted to confirm Bobby as our first driver for the 2020 season,” said Trade Price Cars Racing’s team owner Dan Kirby. “When we announced that we were going to join the BTCC grid twelve months ago, he was a driver who we tried to get on board, and although it was close, we weren’t quite able to get the deal done.

"He is someone who we have kept a close eye on throughout the year and it’s fantastic that we’ve now been able to get a deal sorted to bring him onboard. He is is a driver who has shown real potential during his time in touring cars and I’m confident that when he gets behind the wheel of our Audi, he will be able to take a step forward and regularly fight inside the top ten.

"He certainly has the talent to make it onto the podium and I think that is a realistic goal for him to aim for. With Bobby as part of our new-look driver pairing for 2020, I think another good season lies ahead."

We would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

From marshals to fans to drivers to teams and everyone in between we would like to thank you for playing your part in the 2019 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship.

Rory Butcher, AmD, Halfords Yuasa Racing, Team BMW and of course, Colin Turkington, all took home silverware at the end of another exciting campaign, but there were many more memories and unforgettable moments made in the BTCC this year.

Autosport International, in January, will kickstart preparations for the 2020 campaign with many more announcements and car unveilings being made thereafter as we build towards the opening rounds at Donington Park.

So, from everyone involved in the BTCC… once again, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year – bring on 2020!

The 2019 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship saw BMW take its fourth consecutive win in the Manufacturers’ title fight.

This commemorates the marque’s sixth win in its BTCC career, giving BMW the second most official Constructor wins in the series’ history.

In the following events, the Bavarian marque dipped in the standings before regaining the advantage after event four of the season, at Croft, which seemed to put the fire back behind BMW as it dominated the title race for the remainder of the season.
 
The Brands Hatch finale event saw BMW take the 2019 title, with main rival Honda 41 points in arrears, as well as taking the coveted Drivers’ Championship through Colin Turkington. 

In Manufacturers' titles, BMW is only bettered by Vauxhall, who holds a record nine victories, having overtaken Honda who remains on five. In addition to this, Vauxhall also holds the record for most consecutive titles, five (2001-2005), which BMW has the chance to equal in 2020.

https://twitter.com/BMWUKMotorsport/status/1183434461951746049?s=20

Halfords Yuasa Racing took the Teams’ title in the 2019 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship for the fifth time as a constructor entry. In addition to this, the accolade marks the seventh win during Team Dynamics’ BTCC career.

Team BMW retained their lead for the initial post-break event, but for the rest of the campaign, the Worcestershire-based Honda team topped the tables.

Interestingly, looking back at previous records, the team has always won the title for at least two consecutive years, will they retain this record for 2020…?

A monumental effort by all to secure the 2019 @BTCC Teams’ Trophy 🏆#BTCC #TeamDynamics https://t.co/WG80hoWvXU

— Team Dynamics Motorsport (@TeamDynamics) October 13, 2019