Halfords Yuasa Racing's Dan Cammish has set the early Snetterton pace in the opening Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship practice session.

Matt Simpson led the way for much of the segment in the previous spec Honda Civic Type R before manufacturer man Cammish stretched his legs in the new Fk8 to top the times by just 0.029s.

It was an incredibly close session, despite being the longest circuit of the BTCC calendar, as Team Toyota GB with Ginsters' Tom Ingram was just a 0.030s further back.

BMW Pirtek Racing's Andrew Jordan was next in the order, followed by the Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed Racing Vauxhall duo of Rob Collard and Jason Plato.

Teams arrived at Snetterton having enjoyed a two-day test at the Norfolk circuit just two weeks ago, but lap times at the head of the field are already more than half a second quicker than last month's benchmark effort from Tom Chilton.

Matt Neal was seventh this morning for Halfords Yuasa Racing, ahead of Team BMW's Tom Oliphant and TradePriceCars.com's Jake Hill, whilst Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher's Chilton rounded out the top ten.

Not only were teams carrying out their own practice programmes following the five-week summer break but they're also preparing for the first ever BTCC weekend to include a trio of Dunlop tyre compounds. Each car will be required to run hard, medium and soft Dunlop Sport Maxx tyres across the three races tomorrow, so tactics will also come into play throughout the day.

The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship will be back on track for FP2 at 12:00 before qualifying commences at 15:00, with the latter being streamed live www.itv.com/btcc.

2019 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Free Practice 1 – Snetterton

1 Dan CAMMISH (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing 1m55.478s
2 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Simpson Racing +0.029s
3 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Team Toyota GB with Ginsters +0.030s
4 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) BMW Pirtek Racing +0.439s
5 Rob COLLARD (GBR) Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed Racing +0.641s
6 Jason PLATO (GBR) Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed Racing +0.727s
7 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.780s
8 Tom OLIPHANT (GBR) Team BMW +0.803s
9 Jake HILL (GBR) TradePriceCars.com +0.817s
10 Tom CHILTON (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher +0.829s
11 Adam MORGAN (GBR) Mac Tools with Ciceley Motorsport +0.877s
12 Rory BUTCHER (GBR) Cobra Sport AmD AutoAid/RCIB Insurance +0.899s
13 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Cobra Sport AmD AutoAid/RCIB Insurance +0.921s
14 Carl BOARDLEY (GBR) RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport +1.034s
15 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +1.041s
16 Jack GOFF (GBR) RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport +1.070s
17 Chris SMILEY (GBR) BTC Racing +1.230s
18 Bobby THOMPSON (GBR) GKR Scaffolding with Autobrite Direct +1.236s
19 Daniel ROWBOTTOM (GBR) Cataclean Racing with Ciceley Motorsport +1.239s
20 Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team Parker Racing +1.359s
21 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +1.455s
22 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher +1.467s
23 Senna PROCTOR (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +1.535s
24 Nicolas HAMILTON (GBR) ROKiT Racing with Motorbase +1.566s
25 Josh COOK (GBR) BTC Racing +1.700s
26 Rob SMITH (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +1.774s
27 Mark BLUNDELL (GBR) TradePriceCars.com +2.150s
28 Michael CREES (GBR) GKR Scaffolding with Autobrite Direct +2.219s
29 Sam OSBORNE (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +3.255s
30 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +3.397s

Cataclean Racing has unveiled a revised look to its Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship Mercedes-Benz A-Class, thanks to a trio of new brands taking up prominent positions on the car's livery.

Cataclean’s American distributor, Holley, has seized the opportunity to be involved in the world’s foremost tin-top championship and its increased American television coverage to highlight two of its key brands: Accel and Superchips.

Holley has been a leader in fuel systems for over 100 years, with its carburettors/injection systems powering every NASCAR Cup team and nearly every NHRA Pro–Stock champion for four decades.

Accel specialises in spark plugs, spark plug wires and ignition boxes along with myriad other products, while Superchips specialises in extra performance from vehicles by installing an engineered performance calibration on a vehicle’s computer, yielding improved fuel economy, optimised shift patterns, and an elevated driving experience.

“We are delighted to be able to welcome Holley, Accel and Superchips to the BTCC,” said Ross Baigent, Managing Director of Cataclean Global Ltd. “We are seeing the benefits of being involved with the championship through increased sales and a far greater presence and awareness, and the boost that the BTCC is enjoying on American television makes this a perfect time for Holley to come on board.”

“The BTCC is working exceptionally hard to help teams maximise their sponsors’ exposure. The fact we have been able to attract a brand such as Holley to BTCC is proof that the package works. This gives Cataclean the chance to work much closer with our American distributor to help it promote Accel and Superchips alongside Cataclean in the UK.

"Equally, Holley recognises it has a great opportunity to utilise and capitalise on the global reach of the championship, raising brand awareness within its domestic US and export markets.

“We are confident that they will enjoy the same rewards that Cataclean has done as we enter the second half of the 2019 season.”

Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher is set to resume its title push this coming weekend as the second half of the 2019 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship season gets underway at Snetterton Circuit (3/4 August).

The Motorbase-run outfit heads to Norfolk in confident form after topping the times during the annual Dunlop tyre test on the Snetterton 300 circuit two weeks ago.

Tom Chilton took top honours from the two-day programme, clocking up the most Km’s and setting the fastest lap-time, with team-mate Ollie Jackson closely paced, posting the third-fastest time overall.

Having unlocked key potential in the Ford Focus RS during the extensive mid-season test, Chilton and Jackson are more determined than ever to close the gap to the championship leaders as the title battle picks up pace once more.

14-time BTCC race-winner Chilton is looking to add more silverware to the race win and three podiums already under his belt this season, with Jackson keen to build on his promising race pace from the first half of the campaign as he pushes for consistent top-ten finishes.

“Coming back from the break we’re keen to keep the momentum of our mid-season test going, and to show our strength for the whole of the second half of the season,” commented Team Manager Oly Collins.

“We had a great test at Snetterton recently with both Tom and Ollie setting the fastest times on each of the two days, which was great. That said we don’t know quite where our competitors were, we only know what we were doing. But we know it was a positive test for us in many ways.

“I feel sure the normal protagonists will be quick with BMW and Honda in particular but hopefully we can repeat that pace this weekend. It looks like the weather may play a part in the results as well as the mix-up of the new tyre regulations for Snetterton, with all three compounds coming into play on Sunday.”

“We managed to qualify third and finish fifth here last year in the 60th-anniversary race which was quite something,” said Chilton. “After setting the fastest time in the test a couple of weeks ago we’re arriving with very positive heads to get our second half of the year underway in the right manner.

“Oulton Park did not go our way at all, but it did mean that we looked at the car closely during the test, and the Focus is in a much better place now. We covered a lot of ground during the two days, and we now have the right set-up for each tyre.

“The BMWs will be the cars to beat for sure this weekend, even with full weight, but we’ll be a good position to give them a run for their money! Hopefully, my years of experience will put us in good stead. Experience equals points; that’s what I’m hoping for. I really want to get a win this weekend; it’s been a while since I’ve taken a win at Snetterton.”

“On paper, it should be a good weekend for us,” said Jackson. “We’ve made great strides forward with the car. I’m feeling at one with it, so hopefully, we can convert that into good results and get the monkey off our back.

“If we can run confidently and comfortably in the top ten and then push for the top five and maybe steal a reverse grid result I’d be really happy with that. I think we deserve a break.

“It’s going to be interesting to see how things play out with the three different compounds. I wouldn’t be surprised if most of the grid runs the same tyre in the same races, so it might not mix things up as much as usual. We’ve got a handle on the set-ups for each now so we should be in a good position for all three races come Sunday.”

Rounds 16, 17 and 18 of the 2019 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship take place at Snetterton circuit, Norfolk on August 3/4. Live coverage of Sunday’s events will be shown on ITV4, ITV4HD and via the ITVhub from 10:45 – 18:30; with itv.com/btcc featuring live timing and streaming of Saturday’s (August 3) qualifying session from 15:00.

Mark Blundell is set for the next rounds of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship competition this weekend (3/4 August) as the UK's premier racing series heads to Snetterton for another trio of races.
 
Prior to the race weekend in Norfolk, Blundell completed the two-day official in-season tyre test at the circuit where he clocked up an impressive 144 laps in his Audi S3 to mark a positive performance where progress was evident.
 
"The tests we completed at Snetterton a few weeks ago showed that progress has been made," said Mark. "We do still have a long way to go, but we are heading in the right direction after some positive results in the test. It was the first time we have had some sustained running in the car and it gave us the opportunity to try out a few things we have been wanting to do for a little while.
 
"We have been making more progress internally over the past few rounds, so I am looking forward to racing at Snetterton this weekend. Being an East Anglian circuit, Snetterton is as close as it comes to a home race for me! It is a track that I've enjoyed success at previously and one that I visited on many occasions across my junior career. This weekend will be the first time I've raced its new configuration but it is one I am really looking forward to."
 
As ever, Saturday will have two practice sessions, commencing at 09:30 and 12:00 respectively, before qualifying is streamed live via ITV Sport at 15:00. Sunday will play host to three 12-lap races. The first will get underway at 11:35 with the second at 14:10. The weekend will finish race three at 17:30. All three showpieces will be broadcast live on ITV4.

The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship makes its return at Snetterton next weekend (3/4 August) after its traditional summer break, with Team BMW's reigning champion Colin Turkington holding the initiative.

Last time out, just over a month ago at Oulton Park, the Northern Irishman secured a pair of lights-to-flag victories as he further tightened his grip at the top of the Drivers' standings.

His BMW stablemate, Andrew Jordan, notched a pair of podiums to move into second in the running, ahead of BTC Racing's Josh Cook. Stephen Jelley rounded out a thrilling weekend at the picturesque Cheshire circuit with a popular victory in the finale - his first in the BTCC since 2009.

Snetterton always throws up a treat for the tens of thousands of fans that make their way to the Norfolk circuit, with the very best BTCC action delivered over a sun-soaked mid-summer's race weekend.

As always, for those that can't make it to East Anglia, qualifying and race-day is broadcast live and exclusively via the championship's long-term broadcast partners, ITV Sport, with some eight hours of the best of British motorsport come race-day screened live on ITV4.

The BTCC enjoys exclusive television bragging rights in 2019, as the only major motorsport series to be broadcast on a leading UK free-to-air television network. All ten race weekends are screened live on ITV4, the ITV Hub and streamed via itv.com/BTCC with six hours of programming at every race-day this season.

Snetterton: 3/4 August

Qualifying LIVE: Saturday 3 August
ITV.com/BTCC from 1500

Raceday LIVE: Sunday 4 August
ITV4 & ITV4 HD 1045-1815
ITV4+1 1145-1915
ITV Hub 1045–1815
ITV.com/BTCC 1145-1915

Highlights: Saturday 10 August
ITV4 & ITV4 HD 1030-1200
ITV4 +1 1130-1300
ITV Hub Available anytime for the next 30 days

Highlights: Sunday 11 August
ITV4 & ITV4 HD 0650-0805
ITV4 +1 0750-0905

Highlights: Wednesday 14 August
ITV & ITV HD 2345-0115

Tom Ingram is fired-up to fight for podium finishes and race wins over the second half of the 2019 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship campaign, and the Team Toyota GB with Ginsters star is quietly confident about his chances ahead of the resumption of battle at Snetterton this weekend (3/4 August).
 
Ingram concluded the opening half of the season sitting ninth in the Drivers’ standings amongst the 30 high-calibre contenders in the UK’s premier motor racing series, with Team Toyota GB with Ginsters occupying the same spot in the Teams’ table.
 
That means the 25-year-old Bucks-born ace will travel to Snetterton carrying just 6kg of ballast, and buoyed by a productive two-day test at the Norfolk circuit earlier this month. Logging more than 100 laps of the track’s ‘300’ layout behind the wheel of the #80 Corolla, Ingram placed inside the top five in three of the four sessions.
 
What’s more, the series’ reigning two-time Independents’ Champion achieved a brace of rostrum finishes at Snetterton last year – the first of them, astonishingly, from virtually the back of the grid. Twelve months on, he has his sights firmly fixed on more champagne celebrations.
 
To add a curve ball and extra tactical gamesmanship into the mix, for the first time in BTCC history, drivers will have to use each of the three Dunlop tyre compounds – soft, medium and hard – over the course of race day, which will be broadcast live and in high-definition on ITV4, beginning at 10:45am on Sunday (4 August).
 
“I think we can go into the second half of the season with a justifiable sense of optimism,” said Team Principal Christian Dick. “Given that we entered 2019 with a completely new car, to come away from the first half of the year with 13 points finishes out of a possible 15 – including a hugely popular victory in front of 4,500 members and families from Toyota Manufacturing UK at Donington Park – was a very positive achievement, and puts us in a position to really step things up a gear from Snetterton onwards.
 
“The five-week gap since Oulton Park might officially be termed the BTCC’s summer ‘break’, but I can assure you there has been very little rest back at our Northwich base as we continue to work tirelessly to extract every last thousandth-of-a-second out of the Corolla and narrow the margin to our competitors.
 
“The Snetterton test was very useful, allowing us to put lots of miles on the car around what is one of the BTCC’s trickier circuits to master. We kept our heads down and followed our own programme, and hopefully that will pay dividends when we hit the track in anger.
 
“The tyre situation will certainly inject an element of the unknown and should lead to some exciting racing – not to mention unusual results. Getting that right or wrong could ultimately prove to be the difference between a winning and losing weekend.”
 
“We’ve definitely taken a big step forward with the Corolla,” said Ingram, “and found some more speed over the summer break – both at the factory and on the track – and I would be confident to say we came away from the test with top six pace.
 
“As ever in these scenarios, you don’t really know what everybody else is doing with regards to tyres and ballast, and the quickest lap times were almost certainly set on soft tyres and with no weight. The true order won’t become apparent until we’re in the heat of battle at the race weekend, but we didn’t go chasing any headlines and were happy with where we were. We managed to work through most of our planned programme and overall, it was the best and most competitive the Corolla has felt yet.
 
“We’ve seen in previous years that short-wheelbase cars tend to go well at Snetterton, and I’m excited to go back knowing we have a real fighting chance. I’m optimistic that we’ll be much stronger over the second half of the season than we have been so far, which is what we always said was the goal.
 
“The first half was very much a learning curve, and while we still clearly have more learning to do – there’s plenty more experimenting, understanding and refining yet to come – we’re increasingly getting the Corolla into the right kind of window. I think we’re in a really positive place and am looking forward to genuinely going on the attack over the second half of the season, which will set us up nicely for a proper title tilt next year.”

Honda drivers Dan Cammish and Matt Neal will be hoping for some luck to go with the pace they have shown in their 2019 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship campaign, as the series returns from its summer break at Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk on 3/4th August.

The Halfords Yuasa Racing team is keen to get back to the action, a month on from a mixed weekend at the most recent rounds at Oulton Park, with Cammish scoring two more podium finishes and Neal spinning out of the lead in the final race.

Snetterton circuit has been a happy hunting ground for Honda's BTCC team in the past, yielding six race wins in the last nine seasons. And the track will hold sweet recent memories for Neal, as at the Snetterton meeting in 2018 he took victory in the extended-length 'Diamond Double' race celebrating the BTCC's 60th anniversary.

Cammish, meanwhile, will head for Norfolk with the confidence of a strong performance in a two-day tyre test held at the circuit in July. His Honda Civic Type R was consistently among the quickest cars over both days and he ended the test with second-fastest time.

“A double podium at Oulton has put me back into the Championship hunt and I’ll be looking to keep that form for the second half of the season,” said Cammish. “I ran well in testing at Snetterton recently, being near the top of the time sheets all day, so I go there with my tail held high and looking to keep adding to my points tally and build on my current position.”

“Oulton Park was another weekend where the luck just wasn’t on our side,” said Neal. “The car felt great from the get-go but the day didn’t quite go to plan. But on to Snetterton, I have had some great battles there over the years and obviously want to replicate my 'Diamond Double' win there last year.

“During the recent test we ran through a number of changes on the car and feel confident that we should have good race pace come the weekend.”

The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) races back into action at Snetterton this weekend (3/4 August) from its annual summer break, with BMW and its star drivers firmly intent on preserving their positions at the head of the pack.
 
Following a successful outing at Oulton Park, yielding a brace of victories for Colin Turkington – including his milestone 50^th BTCC triumph – two podium finishes for Andrew Jordan and a career-best points haul for Tom Oliphant, BMW sits atop the Manufacturers’ classification, with Team BMW setting the pace in the Teams’ table.

Turkington similarly headed into the five-week hiatus leading the way in the chase for the Drivers’ crown, 33 points ahead of team-mate Jordan in second. The Northern Irishman has a record-equalling fourth championship title in his sights in the UK’s premier motorsport series this year – and four previous victories at Snetterton to his name.
 
Team BMW stablemate Oliphant has also shone there in support series in seasons past – in addition to tallying a double top ten finish in his BTCC rookie campaign last year – while BMW Pirtek Racing’s Jordan has two race wins in Norfolk on his CV.
 
Between them, the trio covered almost 300 laps of Snetterton’s ‘300’ layout – the longest circuit on the calendar at 2.97 miles – during a two-day pre-event test earlier this month, with Turkington placing inside the top six in three of the four sessions.
 
This weekend, an extra challenge will be thrown into the mix as – for the first time ever – all drivers must use each of the three Dunlop tyre compounds over the course of the three races. All of the race day action will be broadcast live and in high-definition on ITV4 on Sunday, 4 August, beginning at 10:45am.
 
“I feel like we’re going into Snetterton well-prepared,” said Team BMW's Turkington. “The test was great seat time and our first opportunity to really try out some big changes on the new BMW 3 Series, which is something we never have time for at race weekends. It was nice to tick a few boxes, and the chassis handled really well.
 
“I enjoy Snetterton as a circuit – it’s quite technical with some great corners where the driver can really make a difference, and it isn’t easy to put three good sectors together. I will also start the weekend with quite a heavy car due to success ballast for leading the championship; that’s another factor to consider, but we have a plan... The competition always steps up a level over the second half of the year, and I have no doubt that it will be a very hard-fought battle but I’m fully focussed on getting the maximum out of myself and delivering the best performance I can. We’re not setting any outlandish targets, but what we do need to do is keep scoring consistently well across all three races each weekend. That’s the key in the BTCC.”
 
“As with every track this year, Snetterton will be a step into the unknown for us with the BMW 3 Series, but the first five circuits have all suited the car pretty well and I’ve always liked competing there,” said Oliphant. “The test was very positive. You can never trust the lap times because people are playing around with success ballast and different tyres, but from our side, it was a very productive couple of days.
 
“We tried out a variety of concepts across the three cars and learnt a lot, and we’ve discovered a direction we are eager to pursue over the second half of the season. Tyres are definitely going to be the talking point this weekend. Having to run all three compounds will really throw a curve ball into the mix and will make for some interesting results – scoring well across all three races will be a huge challenge – but I’m feeling very comfortable and settled in both the team and the car and I’m ready to properly take the fight to my two team-mates. We went into the summer break in a good place, and we are returning in a good place. The goal now is to keep that momentum going while learning as much as possible to set ourselves up for a concerted assault in 2020. I’m really looking forward to it.”
 
“Snetterton generates good racing; it’s tricky to get the most out of the lap due to its mixture of low, medium and high-speed corners, but the BMW 3 Series seems to be in the ‘sweet spot’ everywhere we go at the moment so I’m feeling confident,” said BMW Pirtek Racing's Jordan. “We spent the second day of the test fine-tuning for the race weekend, and the car felt good. The emphasis is very much on consistency, which will be a challenge at Snetterton due to the tyre situation and it will be interesting to see what people do strategy-wise.
 
“Ballast will be more of a handicap than at most tracks due to Snetterton’s stop-start nature and heavy braking areas; I think Colin and I will certainly feel that in qualifying and race one, but we just have to make the best of the situation. I really need to start eating into Colin’s points advantage now. This is the best chance I’ve had to take the title since my championship-winning year in 2013, so it’s time to get stuck in!”

EXCELR8 Motorsport showed plenty of positives during two days of intensive running at its home circuit of Snetterton recently, fielding both of its MG6 GTs in the official Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship Dunlop tyre test.

Across the two full days, EXCELR8 managed to garner a substantial amount of data to help continue what has already been an impressive learning curve with the twin MGs.

Both drivers, Rob Smith and Sam Osborne, took part in the test and were joined by seasoned touring car racer Daniel Lloyd, who undertook some comparison and setup work for the team.

The first milestone was completed even before the test got underway, with EXCELR8 having to make major repairs to Smith’s chassis following his heavy crash during race two at Oulton Park, which damaged all four corners of his car. The team managed to repair the damage in just five days, reinforcing the squad’s technical ability.

Across the two days, each driver racked up substantial mileage around the three-mile Snetterton 300 Circuit, which represents the longest lap of the entire BTCC calendar. Combined, the two MGs completed 267 laps – equating to 801 miles of running – with Smith completing 134 tours in total, and Osborne 133.

The net result was a gain of around half-a-second on Wednesday afternoon, meaning EXCELR8’s fastest time was just two seconds away from the outright quickest of the test.

The team’s data suggests the changes amount to a 0.6 second deficit per mile to the fastest cars when on the same tyres. This highlights the team’s strong rate of improvement from the first round at Brands Hatch, where the margin was just over one second per mile around the 1.2-mile Indy Circuit.

EXCELR8 Team Manager Oliver Shepherd said he was happy with the results of the test, and the progress of the team and drivers at the mid-way point in the season.

“The two-day test was really, really good for us. The biggest key thing was the consistency lap-to-lap, on the same track and the same conditions so the drivers could get their seat time in and boost their confidence. The biggest hurdle both Sam and Rob have had so far is that they get 80 minutes of practice each weekend, and within that they have to fit in tyre scrubbing runs and brake setup work, and then they’re straight in to qualifying. That leaves very little time for them to just go out and drive and learn.

“Having Daniel Lloyd with us was also very useful. He used to race these cars and he represents a very good historical reference against where we have the MGs now. His feedback has been incredibly useful and we’ve found some good directions with the car. Plus Rob’s car ran faultlessly across the two days after the rebuild work, which says a lot about the technical team we have in place now.

“Being able to play with a few different setup ideas was so valuable, and having the time to quantify the results of each change so we truly know what’s good and what’s bad. So far the lap time deficit between us and the fastest cars has halved since the start of the season, and we have to be happy with that progress. The aim is to now continue that rate of improvement and we’re confident we can be pushing into the midfield before the end of the season.”

The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship resumes this weekend (3/4 August) at Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk.

Britain's premier motorsport series resumes following mid-season break

The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship makes its return at Snetterton next weekend (3/4 August) after its traditional summer break, with Team BMW's reigning champion Colin Turkington holding the initiative.

Last time out, just over a month ago at Oulton Park, the Northern Irishman secured a pair of lights-to-flag victories as he further tightened his grip at the top of the Drivers' standings.

His BMW stablemate, Andrew Jordan, notched a pair of podiums to move into second in the running, ahead of BTC Racing's Josh Cook. Stephen Jelley rounded out a thrilling weekend at the picturesque Cheshire circuit with a popular victory in the finale - his first in the BTCC since 2009.

Snetterton always throws up a treat for the tens of thousands of fans that make their way to the Norfolk circuit, with the very best BTCC action delivered over a sun-soaked mid-summer's race weekend.

As always, for those that can't make it to East Anglia, qualifying and race-day is broadcast live and exclusively via the championship's long-term broadcast partners, ITV Sport, with some eight hours of the best of British motorsport come race-day screened live on ITV4.

Half-way house
With five events down and five to go, Britain's premier motorsport series has seen seven different drivers, representing six different marques take top honours so far this season, with a further 19 drivers making the podium.

Unpredictability has long been a staple of the BTCC, as is borne out by those numbers. That said, at the very sharp end where margins are finest, the new BMW 3 Series has proven to be a potent force throughout the first half of the campaign, taking nine of the 15 available winners' trophies up to this point.

The championship is notoriously tight, competitive and fiercely-fought and this is evidenced over the course of any given round. When it comes to the quest for the coveted Drivers' Championship crown, the cream always rises to the top.

It may be of little surprise, then, that three-time and incumbent champion Colin Turkington is currently setting the pace, having already won four times as many races as he did in his title-winning 2018 campaign.

Everything can, and often does, change over any given race weekend with 67 points on offer in the BTCC. BMW Pirtek Racing's Andrew Jordan sits second, with a 33-point deficit, while the independently-run Hondas of Josh Cook and Rory Butcher and 2017 champion, Subaru's Ash Sutton, sit fewer than 15 points further back.

As far as a form guide goes, last year at Snetterton, it was a win apiece for Sutton, Jack Goff and Matt Neal – the latter in the 60th anniversary Diamond Double finale, celebrating 60 years of the BTCC. It was a best result of sixth for Turkington, albeit wielding the BMW 1 Series rather than the current 330i M Sport.

Mid-season test
A complement of 32 drivers completed more than 3100 laps over the annual mid-season two-day test at Snetterton at the end of July, and it was Motorbase man Tom Chilton who set the pace in his Ford Focus RS.

Chilton’s 1:56.144s benchmark lap was recorded early on the opening day of running and ended up just 0.118s faster than Halfords Yuasa Racing’s Dan Cammish overall.

“To be honest we really gave it some out there,” said Chilton. “We’re obviously testing different compounds and set-ups, but this is a real chance for us to push forwards with the car. We had a pre-season test in Spain but the conditions weren’t great there, so this is a vital few days in preparation for the rest of the season.”

Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher made it an impressive double when Ollie Jackson set the pace on the final day, albeit just shy of Chilton and Cammish’s respective efforts from Tuesday.

“It has been a really productive test,” said Jackson. “We’ve learnt a lot and written some things off too, but we seem to be in good shape for the remainder of the year.

“We haven’t really been rewarded with the results we’ve deserved so far this season. We have had some bad luck and made a few minor errors that have been unduly punished, so overall we just haven’t had the rub of the green.

“Of course, topping the times in testing doesn’t win you any points, but it’s a good feeling and a great boost ahead of the event here in a few weeks’ time.”

Honda man Cammish enjoyed a strong showing on both days, claiming second spot on each occasion.

Reigning champion and last year’s runner-up were next in the order as Team BMW’s Colin Turkington and Team Toyota GB with Ginsters’ Tom Ingram clocked up the mileage around the Snetterton 300 layout.

As ever with a tyre test, however, overall lap times are not a clear benchmark in relation to competitiveness as each and every team and driver worked through their respective programmes.

Timetable and tickets
All three BTCC races on Sunday, 4 August alongside the rest of the day’s action will be broadcast live, free-to-air and in high-definition by the series’ longstanding partner ITV, on ITV4, via the ITV Hub and streamed live online at itv.com/btcc. Those in attendance at the circuit can stay in touch with the commentary and live timing from every session, available at btcc.net/live and via the Official BTCC App throughout the weekend.

The support series on the TOCA package are also guaranteed to thrill, from the tin-top stars of the future in the Renault UK Clio Cup, budding Formula 1 aces in the F4 British Championship, the ever-entertaining Porsche Carrera Cup GB, precociously talented 14-to-17-year-olds in the Ginetta Junior Championship and the spectacular Michelin Ginetta GT4 SuperCup. A total of 13 support series races will complement the three high-octane BTCC encounters, making for an action-packed weekend.

Adult tickets are priced at £28 for Sunday 4 August, or £38 for the full weekend, with accompanied 13-to-15-year-olds getting in for £17 and £23 respectively. There is no charge for accompanied children under the age of 13. Pre-orders can be made online at www.snetterton.co.uk or over the phone (0843 453 9000) up to 12:00 on Thursday, 1 August. After this date, tickets can still be purchased on the gate.

More information on all of Snetterton’s driving experiences and racing events can be found at www.snetterton.co.uk.