Steve Rider has been associated with the BTCC for nearly 30 years and news of the latest record breaking television contract has got the ITV man purring.

The British broadcasting giant has screened the series since 2002 and Rider has been there every step of the way.

“Having been involved in the broadcasting of the BTCC for twenty eight years, this renewed ITV commitment is the most exciting news for the Championship and British motor sport in general,” he said.

ITV will continue to screen the series live on its free-to-air ITV4 and ITV4HD channels until 2022, with at least seven hours of coverage from each race day, whilst the staggering host of highlights and online content will also remain.

“The guarantee of extensive free-to-air live coverage will allow the partnership between ITV and the BTCC to develop to a whole new level, underlining the position of the Championship and its support races as the most consistently competitive and entertaining motor racing on television,” continued Rider.

“The BTCC already has a long term commitment from its main sponsor, full grids, strong, determined personalities, crowds of over thirty thousand and a thirty race Championship, which, in 2015, was only decided in the last few hundred yards of racing,” he concluded. “Now it promises to get even better. Well done ITV.”

To get in the mood for what's to come next season and indeed until well into the next decade on ITV Sport then you can whet the appetite by looking back at the 2015 campaign via the newly launched ITV Hub - watch the BTCC 2015 Season Review (available for the next 4 days) here.

Jordan fires title warning shot ahead of 2016 campaign

The Pirtek Racing Ford Focus was unveiled at Silverstone earlier today (2 December) as driver Andrew Jordan reaffirmed his title target ahead of the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

Jordan’s move to Motorbase created headlines when it was announced back in October and today’s striking car reveal is likely to do the same.

Following on from the well-received special one-off chrome edition of the famous Pirtek livery mid-way through the 2015 season, Red Bull athlete Jordan has worked in close conjunction with long-term backers Pirtek to create the spectacular eye-catching blue chrome effect design that will adorn the Motorbase Ford Focus ST in 2016.

“Moving across to Motorbase for next year we wanted to take the opportunity to change up the livery,” said Jordan. “The idea came from the fans reaction to the chrome livery from earlier this year and we wanted to find a way to incorporate the Pirtek blue.

“I’ve always said that it’s the best looking car on the grid and I think that’s definitely the case now.”

A confident Jordan was in buoyant mood when he spoke to btcc.net during the launch and he’s keen to get down to business as soon as possible.

“I feel at home here and have done from the moment I signed,” he continued. “We spoke with the team last year and then kept a close eye on their progress. We knew how capable the team is and when we realised how good the car was we decided to enter into serious discussions!

“It was an easy decision and one that I feel gives us the best chance of winning the title again. Being the 2013 champion already feels like it was too long ago so winning it again is a must – anything but being champion will feel like a disappointment.

“That’s not to say that it’s going to be easy of course. This championship is so tough and you have to have everything going your way in order to win it. You need luck of course but then you also need to plan meticulously, which is what we did in 2013 and we’re already doing here at Motorbase.”

Part of that planning includes ten test days ahead of the 2016 season, which will see the striking Pirtek racer likely hitting the track at Brands Hatch before Christmas and a schedule of running in warmer climates in the New Year.

“We’re going to go to Portugal in February,” said Team Principal David Bartrum. “We aim to be ahead of the game over the winter as winning the championship is clearly our objective.

“I think the new livery is stunning. You have to stand out in the BTCC and I think the Pirtek car will certainly turn heads. You go racing to win races and championships but you’ve also got to deliver the brand for backers of the team and I think that the new livery says that Pirtek is back and back in a big way.”

BTCC Series Director Alan Gow speaks to btcc.net after a sensational few days, which has seen the championship sign long-term deals with Dunlop and ITV. Click below to hear Alan's thoughts on these record breaking contracts:

Handy Motorsport is said to be on the verge of signing an experienced race-winning BTCC driver to spearhead its challenge next year – who will be announced at the Autosport International Show in January – and the team is also still hopeful of expanding to a two-car operation for 2016.

With the build of a brand new Toyota Avensis based on the new RML Group chassis specification well underway, the Webb Garden Power Equipment and KÄRCHER squad is also working hard to secure the funding to enable team principal Simon Belcher to return to the grid for a third season in the existing Avensis which he piloted to 14 Independents Trophy points finishes in 2015.

"Our plans are, quite simply, for our new car to win races in 2016 and that is why I am bringing a proven race winner into the team – we are very close to having the deal signed and very much looking forward to naming our new driver at the Autosport show," said Belcher.

"We are also working relentlessly to find the additional funding to field a second car for myself to drive, although we have also had good interest from several other drivers for the second seat and I will ultimately do whatever is best for Handy Motorsport."

He added: "I would obviously love to race in the BTCC for a third season and if it doesn’t happen for next year, as our primary focus is on the new car and driver partnership, I will be working like crazy to make it happen in 2017 as I have unfinished business after my 2015 season was ruined following the qualifying accident at Thruxton back in May."

In order to run two cars next year Handy will have to successfully purchase or lease a TBL from another outfit to facilitate its planned development, after BTCC organisers recently confirmed the list of TOCA BTCC Licence (TBL) holders for 2016.

Handy Motorsport, which enjoys technical support from vastly experienced squad Speedworks Motorsport, ended its sophomore year in the BTCC in 10th position in the Independents Team Trophy – an improvement of six positions on 2014. In the outright BTCC HiQ Team Standings, Handy concluded the most recent campaign 15th overall.

We look back at Andy Priaulx and Jason Plato’s victory in last weekend’s ROC Nations Cup

BTCC's Andy Priaulx and Jason Plato topped the world of motor sport last weekend as our tin-top greats stormed to the 2015 ROC Nations Cup title at London’s former Olympic Stadium. It was a major coup for the BTCC as our boys defeated Team Germany’s Sebastian Vettel and Nico Hülkenberg by two heats to one in a thrilling final.

On a bitterly cold evening in the British capital, legends from the world’s biggest motor sport series teamed up in pairs to battle for national and regional pride. They raced a mix of cars – including the Mercedes-AMG GT S, Ariel Atom Cup, Radical SR3 RSX, KTM X-Bow, ROC Car, Euro NASCAR, RX200 and RX150 – on a brand new Olympic cycling-style pursuit track.

And what an evening of action it was – as Priaulx and Plato prevailed in the final against the might of Team Germany. In the first heat Priaulx delighted the home fans as he beat off the challenge of four-time F1 world champion Vettel. His fellow F1 star Hülkenberg struck back by beating Plato in the second heat, but Priaulx was just too strong for this year's Le Mans winner in the finale as they became the first English team ever to win the ROC Nations Cup final.

Afterwards a delighted Priaulx said: “I had a great night. Germany have won it a few times so it’s nice to have a turn – and nice for me to win a race for once! I’ve been to the ROC Nations Cup final three times so to do the job is great. This competition is tough and it gets tougher every year so you have to be on your A game here because every race is like a qualifying session.

“It’s so easy to make mistakes but I’m really chuffed. Thanks to Fredrik Johnsson and all the guys at ROC for bringing us here. It’s brilliant to get the chance to race in front of our home crowd in London – what more could we ask?”

Plato added: “I made a few mistakes so Andy’s pushed me through it but it’s a fantastic feeling to win at home. Team Germany beat us in the final the last time we did it together so it’s actually an excellent rivalry. So this has to go down as one of the highlights of my career - to race against the calibre of these guys, who are the best in the world, and to have the positivity of racing in this venue. It can’t be underestimated what it means to race in front of your home crowds. We’re in an iconic stadium and you can hear them as you cross the line.”

Beaten finalists Team Germany also had a fine evening’s work, but they couldn’t quite add to the six ROC Nations Cup titles that Vettel won together with Michael Schumacher from 2007 to 2012.

Vettel said: “It hurts – a lot – but Andy drove fantastically tonight, so well done. They deserved to win and it’s especially nice in front of your home crowd. If you’re in the final you want to win but someone has to lose and unfortunately it was us today. We tried everything but it was their day so I’m also very happy for them.”

Hülkenberg added: “In the final I was struggling with the back end of the car so I was getting sideways but Andy was on great form and did a great job. So congratulations to them. To lose in the final does bother me. This is a fun event, but if you get so far you want to do it.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f0ZK6ksg4A

PHOTO/VIDEO CREDIT: Race of Champions

 

The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship may have been void of wet race days during the 2015 season, but Josh Cook and Dunlop certainly made up for it during a recent trip to the iconic Holy Island causeway

Dunlop and BTCC star Josh Cook put the new Winter Sport 5 tyre under extreme pressure by crossing one of the UK’s wettest roads whilst towing a wakeboarder as the road floods.

The causeway can flood in just a few minutes and over a hundred cars have been lost to the tide on the road. Dunlop designed the challenge to put the tyres under extreme pressure and push their performance to the limit in extreme wet weather circumstances. During the challenge the tyres were subjected to road conditions so severe that the surface water became deep enough to wakeboard on.

Located in the North East of England, The Holy Island causeway is a 1km long tidal road that connects the historical site of Lindisfarne to the UK mainland. The causeway floods twice a day as the tide sweeps in from the North Sea and covers the road within a matter of minutes.

Monster Energy athlete, Nick Davies, wake-boarded behind the car driven by current Jack Sears Trophy winner Cook in a crossing attempt that took place two hours after the 'safe' crossing times ended.

The leading high-performance tyre brand created the challenge to celebrate the launch of its new Winter Sport 5 tyre that offers excellent grip and performance to combat a variety of winter driving conditions, including wet, ice and snow-covered roads.

Tony Ward, Dunlop Marketing Manager commented: “With heavy rain and other extreme weather becoming more common in Europe, excellent grip is essential for driving in winter. We wanted to show how the tyre can perform in surface water deep enough for water sports. The challenge was designed to show that even in the most extreme of wet conditions the tyre provides excellent grip, good enough to pull a wakeboarder. The aquaplaning resistance of the tyre is crucial in a challenge like this and the tyre really has proven that its ability to disperse the water quickly and precisely enables it to resist aquaplaning and losing control in the one moment it matters the most.”

The Winter Sport 5 is the fifth tyre in an award-winning Dunlop winter sport range and builds on the success of its predecessors, particularly the dynamic Winter Sport 4D. The tyre, which is recommended in the Auto Express Winter Tyre Test 2015, was designed to help consumers continue to navigate unforeseen winter roads and conditions. Dunlop created the most unforeseen UK winter road, a tidal road that floods in just a few minutes.

Watch the video below:

Speedworks Motorsport has announced the first of its drivers for the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship campaign, with multiple Quaife Intermarque and European Hot Rod Champion Matt Simpson graduating to the UK’s premier series in a newly-built Honda Civic Type R.

Simpson is a two-time European Hot Rod Champion, a former runner-up on the World Championship stage and more recently a double Quaife Intermarque title-winner. The 34-year-old recently tested a Civic Type R at Donington Park, and despite enjoying the experience enormously he is under no illusions as to the huge challenge ahead.

“BTCC cars are heavier and more powerful than what I’ve been accustomed to,” acknowledged the West Drayton ace, who will also be eligible for the Jack Sears Trophy for newcomers. “I also have to get used to dealing with front-wheel-drive so I know it will be a steep learning curve in the first year, but the BTCC is the next step and the pinnacle of saloon car racing.

“Obviously my aim is to be BTCC Champion one day, although that won’t happen overnight, and for the time being I’m just looking forward to settling into the series and getting to grips with the famously cut-and-thrust nature of touring car racing. If we can consistently improve and edge closer to the front of the grid as the season progresses, hopefully by the end of it we can be scoring some strong finishes.”

Simpson’s Honda will initially run under the Simpson Race Exhausts banner alongside Speedworks’ Toyota Avensis, whose driver will be confirmed in due course.

This year witnessed a genuine breakthrough for Speedworks, as in its fifth season in the all-action, ITV4 live-televised BTCC, the plucky independent squad achieved its maiden podium finish when Tom Ingram piloted its heavily-revised machine to runner-up spoils at Rockingham, following a captivating duel for victory with two-time champion Jason Plato.

The British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) SuperStar enjoyed the experience so much that he replicated the result in the Brands Hatch finale a month later. Buoyed by its tremendously popular success, Speedworks is doubling up in 2016 after acquiring a second TBL (TOCA BTCC Licence) and adding a Team Dynamics-supplied Civic Type R to its stable – meaning Simpson will be behind the wheel of the same model of car as that which propelled Honda Yuasa Racing’s Gordon Shedden to the title this season.

“We are absolutely delighted to be expanding our presence on the BTCC grid, which will make Speedworks a more potent force than ever before,” contended the Northwich, Cheshire-based outfit’s team principal Christian Dick. “I am extremely pleased that Matt and his family are coming on-board with us, as we have known them for a while now and have been watching Matt’s progress with great interest. We’re sure that we can get the best out of him and deliver a solid package.

“Due in no small part to Team Dynamics being the most successful BTCC team in the paddock, we have entered into an agreement with them to produce for us a new NGTC Honda Civic Type R, with components used in 2015 and to the same specification as their championship-winning car. This agreement also extends to downstream technical support, and we are looking forward to working with them over the coming years and forging a strong partnership.”

Keep in touch with Matt and the team via the following social media feeds:

Matt Simpson

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MattSimpsonMotorsport

Twitter: @Mattsimpson303

Simpson Exhausts

Facebook: www.facebook.com/SimpsonRaceExhausts

Twitter: @SimpsonExhausts

Instagram: simpsonraceexhausts