2015 British Touring Car Championship: Difference between revisions
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* [[Chris Stockton]] stepped down from being team owner and driver of [[BTC Racing]], selling the team to Automotive Brands.<ref name="Power Maxed"/> |
* [[Chris Stockton]] stepped down from being team owner and driver of [[BTC Racing]], selling the team to Automotive Brands.<ref name="Power Maxed"/> |
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* [[Marc Hynes]] left the championship to concentrate on the revived [[Manor Motorsport|Manor F1 Team]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.btcccrazy.co.uk/btcc/marc-hynes-takes-btcc-sabbatical-to-concentrate-on-manor-f1/|title=Marc Hynes takes BTCC sabbatical to concentrate on Manor F1|first=Chris|last=Ashby|date=18 March 2015|accessdate=18 March 2015|work=BTCC Crazy|publisher=James Mappin}}</ref> |
* [[Marc Hynes]] left the championship to concentrate on the revived [[Manor Motorsport|Manor F1 Team]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.btcccrazy.co.uk/btcc/marc-hynes-takes-btcc-sabbatical-to-concentrate-on-manor-f1/|title=Marc Hynes takes BTCC sabbatical to concentrate on Manor F1|first=Chris|last=Ashby|date=18 March 2015|accessdate=18 March 2015|work=BTCC Crazy|publisher=James Mappin}}</ref> |
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* [[Alain Menu]], [[Fabrizio Giovanardi]] and [[Jack Clarke (racing driver)|Jack Clarke]] were unable to find a seat after losing their seats at [[Team BMR]] and [[Motorbase Performance]] |
* [[Alain Menu]], [[Fabrizio Giovanardi]] and [[Jack Clarke (racing driver)|Jack Clarke]] were unable to find a seat after losing their seats at [[Team BMR]] and [[Motorbase Performance]] respectively. |
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===Team changes=== |
===Team changes=== |
Revision as of 11:34, 5 April 2015
The 2015 Dunlop[1] MSA British Touring Car Championship (commonly abbreviated as BTCC) is a motor racing championship for production-based touring cars held across England and Scotland. The championship features a mix of professional motor racing teams and privately funded amateur drivers competing in highly modified versions of family cars which are sold to the general public and conform to the technical regulations for the championship. The 2015 season will be the 58th British Touring Car Championship season and the fifth season for cars conforming to the Next Generation Touring Car (NGTC) specification.
Colin Turkington will be the defending drivers' champion.[2] West Surrey Racing will be the defending teams' champion, and MG the defending manufacturers' champions.
Teams and drivers
Driver changes
- Changed teams
- Sam Tordoff, moved from MG/Triple Eight to West Surrey Racing.
- Andrew Jordan, moved to the works MG/Triple Eight from his family run Eurotech Racing.[15]
- Colin Turkington and Jason Plato, both moved to Team BMR from West Surrey Racing and MG/Triple Eight respectively.[17]
- Dave Newsham, moved from AmD Tuning to Power Maxed Racing.[30]
- Jack Goff, moved from Team BMR to Triple Eight Racing.[14]
- James Cole, moved from United Autosports to Motorbase Performance.[19]
- Entering/re-entering BTCC
- Mike Bushell, who raced in the Knockhill round in 2013, will compete his first full season with AmD Tuning.
- Richard Hawken and Derek Palmer, Jr., who competed in the HSCC Super Touring Car Championship for historic touring cars in 2014, will enter the championship with Support Our Paras Racing.[9]
- Jeff Smith will return to the BTCC with Eurotech Racing, having last raced for them in 2013.[39]
- Andy Wilmot will return with Welch Motorsport, having last raced at round 8 at Rockingham in 2013 for Tony Gilham Racing.[24]
- Triple WTCC champion Andy Priaulx will return with West Surrey Racing, having last raced in 2002.[8]
- Alex Martin, who competed in Ferrari Challenge in 2014, will enter the championship with Team Parker Racing under the Dextra Racing banner.[26]
- Kieran Gallagher will return with Team HARD, having last raced with the team at Knockhill in 2013.[35]
- Josh Cook, who was runner-up in the 2014 Renault Clio Cup UK, will make his BTCC debut with Power Maxed Racing under the #RacingforHeroes banner.[32]
- Ex-motocross rider Stewart Lines will make his BTCC debut with Houseman Racing, having previously raced in the Mini Challenge, Volkswagen Cup and the SEAT Cupra Championship.[43]
- Nicolas Hamilton, who competed in the ETCC in 2013 and is the half-brother of 2 time Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton, will enter the championship with AmD Tuning.[34]
- Leaving BTCC
- Ollie Jackson and Nick Foster announced that they would not be returning to the BTCC in 2015.[44][45]
- Lea Wood stepped down from his driving duties, to take a management role in his team.[42]
- Chris Stockton stepped down from being team owner and driver of BTC Racing, selling the team to Automotive Brands.[29]
- Marc Hynes left the championship to concentrate on the revived Manor F1 Team.[46]
- Alain Menu, Fabrizio Giovanardi and Jack Clarke were unable to find a seat after losing their seats at Team BMR and Motorbase Performance respectively.
Team changes
- Infiniti will enter the championship, offering factory support and the Infiniti Q50 as a base model.[10] The cars will be run by Pro Motorsport under the banner of "Support Our Paras Racing".[9]
- Aiden Moffat Racing will switch from Chevrolet Cruze to Mercedes-Benz A-Class built by Ciceley Racing.[27]
- After initially announcing a return in 2015, BTC Racing was sold to title sponsor Automotive Brands in February. The team will switch to a saloon version of the Chevrolet Cruze for 2015, having bought Aiden Moffat's 2014 car.[29]
- Team HARD will re-enter the series having bought a single Toyota Avensis, previously owned by United Autosports.[35]
- United Autosports will leave the series after only a single year of participation having sold both TBL to Team HARD and Power Maxed Racing respectively.[35][47]
- Motorbase Performance withdrew from the first half of the season, but aimed to rejoin the series from the Snetterton round onwards.[19]
- Team Dynamics will switch from the Honda Civic Tourer to the Honda Civic Type R.[12]
Rule changes
Organisers outlined a series of rule changes for the 2015 season in October 2014:[48]
- The amount of success ballast will now be implemented to the top ten drivers on the grid and the championship heading into a weekend instead of five. With more drivers now carrying ballast, the weight has been increased with the maximum being 30kgs heavier than before: 75-66-57-48-39-33-27-21-15-9. Rear-wheel drive (RWD) cars will carry their success ballast as far forward in the cabin as possible, in order to better equalise the front to rear weight balance between both drivetrain formats.
- Cosworth and Xtrac will independently analyse the start-line performances and in-gear acceleration of front and rear-wheel drive cars with a view to more equalising them through engine management programming.
- All engines have now been re-tested and re-validated by both TOCA and an independent specialist company – this will result in a boost level being set for each car/engine type for the season. As the larger amount of success ballast will have a greater effect than before, the lap-time boost level adjustment can be dropped.
- Each car must still use the Dunlop soft tyre for one race per 9 events (Thruxton event does not apply as the soft tyre is not used at the venue) but each car must use them three times in race 1, three times in race 2 and three times in race 3 during the course of the season.
- The grid for race 2 at each event will be set in the order of the fastest lap times achieved in race 1. If during race 1 a driver changes one or more tyres of the same type then any quicker lap time (if achieved) after that tyre change will be discounted.
- The Jack Sears Trophy will be awarded to the top 'Rookie Driver' of the year.[49]
Race calendar and results
The provisional calendar was announced by the championship organisers on 18 August 2014. After using the "International" circuit configuration in 2014, the Oulton Park round will revert back to the "Island" layout.[50]
Round | Circuit | Date | Pole position | Fastest lap | Winning driver | Winning team | Winning independent | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | R1 | Brands Hatch (Indy Circuit, Kent) |
5 April | Andy Priaulx | Jason Plato | Rob Collard | Team JCT600 with GardX | Árón Smith |
R2 | ||||||||
R3 | ||||||||
2 | R4 | Donington Park (National Circuit, Leicestershire) |
19 April | |||||
R5 | ||||||||
R6 | ||||||||
3 | R7 | Thruxton Circuit (Hampshire) |
10 May | |||||
R8 | ||||||||
R9 | ||||||||
4 | R10 | Oulton Park (Island Circuit, Cheshire) |
7 June | |||||
R11 | ||||||||
R12 | ||||||||
5 | R13 | Croft Circuit (North Yorkshire) |
28 June | |||||
R14 | ||||||||
R15 | ||||||||
6 | R16 | Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit (300 Circuit, Norfolk) |
9 August | |||||
R17 | ||||||||
R18 | ||||||||
7 | R19 | Knockhill Racing Circuit (Fife) |
23 August | |||||
R20 | ||||||||
R21 | ||||||||
8 | R22 | Rockingham Motor Speedway (International Super Sports Car Circuit, Northamptonshire) |
6 September | |||||
R23 | ||||||||
R24 | ||||||||
9 | R25 | Silverstone Circuit (National Circuit, Northamptonshire) |
27 September | |||||
R26 | ||||||||
R27 | ||||||||
10 | R28 | Brands Hatch (Grand Prix Circuit, Kent) |
11 October | |||||
R29 | ||||||||
R30 |
Championship standings
Drivers' Championship
Pos | Driver | No. | BHI | DON | THR | OUL | CRO | SNE | KNO | ROC | SIL | BHGP | Pen. | Pts | ||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Andy Priaulx | 111 | P | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pos | Driver | No. | BHI | DON | THR | OUL | CRO | SNE | KNO | ROC | SIL | BHGP | Pen. | Pts |
References
- ^ "DUNLOP CONTINUE STRONG PARTNERSHIP WITH BTCC". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- ^ Gallagher, Ian (12 October 2014). "Colin Turkington secures title in first Brands Hatch race". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
- ^ a b Ashby, Chris (5 December 2014). "West Surrey Racing to confirm first 2015 driver imminently". BTCC Crazy. James Mappin. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
- ^ "TEAM JCT600 WITH GARDX LAUNCHED". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 23 March 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
- ^ Ashby, Chris (24 March 2015). "WSR-BMW confirmed as manufacturer/constructor entry". BTCC Crazy. James Mappin. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
- ^ "Rob Collard completes 2015 West Surrey Racing line-up". TouringCarTimes. 13 February 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
- ^ "Sam Tordoff joins West Surrey Racing for 2015". TouringCarTimes. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
- ^ a b Gallagher, Ian (8 January 2015). "Andy Priaulx returns to the BTCC with West Surrey Racing". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- ^ a b c d e "Infiniti to enter BTCC with Support Our Paras Racing". TouringCarTimes. 16 October 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
- ^ a b "Infiniti and "Support Our Paras Racing" enter BTCC in 2015". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 16 October 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
- ^ a b c Gallagher, Ian (8 January 2015). "Honda to return with Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden in 2015". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- ^ a b "Honda Yuasa Racing unveils new Civic for 2015 BTCC". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. 17 March 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
- ^ "Triple Eight MG return with new line-up and sponsors in 2015". TouringCarTimes. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
- ^ a b Gallagher, Ian (25 February 2015). "Jack Goff completes Triple Eight Racing's BTCC line-up". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ a b Gallagher, Ian (7 January 2015). "Andrew Jordan joins Triple Eight Racing for the 2015 BTCC". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
- ^ a b Gallagher, Ian (13 August 2014). "Árón Smith renews contract with Team BMR for 2015". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
- ^ a b c Gallagher, Ian (17 February 2015). "Colin Turkington and Jason Plato sign for Team BMR". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- ^ Ashby, Chris (9 January 2015). "Warren Scott remaining coy on Team BMR driver line-up". BTCC Crazy. James Mappin. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f "Motorbase will miss first half of 2015 BTCC". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. 16 March 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- ^ Gallagher, Ian (21 January 2015). "Motorbase to run Ford EcoBoost engines in 2015 BTCC". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
- ^ a b "Simon Belcher confirms 2015 BTCC drive". TouringCarTimes. 14 November 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
- ^ "SPEEDWORKS SIGN RENOWNED ENGINEER GEOFF KINGSTON FOR 2015 CAMPAIGN". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
- ^ "TOM INGRAM SECURES SPEEDWORKS RETURN". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 3 March 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
- ^ a b c "ANDY WILMOT SIGNS FOR WELCH MOTORSPORT". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
- ^ a b Gallagher, Ian (13 March 2015). "Welch Motorsport to stick with self-built Proton engines". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
- ^ a b c Gallagher, Ian (20 November 2014). "Alex Martin to race for Motorbase Performance in 2015". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
- ^ a b c d e "Ciceley Racing building Mercedes for Aiden Moffat". TouringCarTimes. 22 October 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
- ^ "LASER TOOLS RACING CONFIRMS MERCEDES FOR 2015". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 24 October 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
- ^ a b c "Ownership change for BTC Racing". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
- ^ a b Gallagher, Ian (23 February 2015). "Dave Newsham joins Power Maxed Racing". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ a b Ashby, Chris (1 December 2014). "Josh Cook set to graduate to BTCC with newly-formed #RacingforHeroes team". BTCC Crazy. James Mappin. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
- ^ a b Gallagher, Ian (4 March 2015). "Josh Cook to make BTCC debut with Power Maxed Racing". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ^ a b Gallagher, Ian (12 November 2014). "Mike Bushell joins AmD Tuning for 2015 season". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
- ^ a b "Nicolas Hamilton gets BTCC deal for 2015". Downforce Radio. Jake Sanson. 16 March 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
- ^ a b c d e Gallagher, Ian (6 February 2015). "Kieran Gallagher to drive for Tony Gilham Racing in 2015". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
- ^ "JEFF SMITH RETURNS TO EUROTECH". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
- ^ Gallagher, Ian (25 March 2015). "Jeff Smith hopes Eurotech engine switch pays off". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
- ^ Gallagher, Ian (2 March 2015). "Martin Depper remains with Eurotech for 2015". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
- ^ a b "Jeff Smith returns to BTCC with Eurotech Racing". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
- ^ a b Gallagher, Ian (17 October 2014). "Rob Austin Racing already looking to 2015 season". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- ^ Gallagher, Ian (11 February 2015). "Hunter Abbott re-signs with Rob Austin Racing for 2015". Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
- ^ a b Gallagher, Ian (29 January 2015). "Lea Wood steps down from driving for 2015 season". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
- ^ a b "JWT Performance signs Stewart Lines". TouringCar Times. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. 11 March 2015. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
- ^ Gallagher, Ian (4 January 2015). "Ollie Jackson rules out 2015 BTCC return". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
- ^ Turner, Kevin (7 January 2015). "WSR BMW British Touring Car Championship racer Nick Foster retires". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
- ^ Ashby, Chris (18 March 2015). "Marc Hynes takes BTCC sabbatical to concentrate on Manor F1". BTCC Crazy. James Mappin. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
- ^ "Power Maxed Racing confirms second car for 2015 season". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- ^ "Regulation reminder: What's changed for 2015?". Chris Ashby. BTCC Crazy. 30 March 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
- ^ "Impressive 2015 BTCC entry list confirmed". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
- ^ "BTCC 2015 calendar confirmed". Crash.net. Crash Media Group. 18 August 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2014.