2017 BTCC season preview - 60th edition of British premier competition

The British Touring Car Championship celebrates big anniversary this year. The 2017 BTCC season would be the 60th edition of the most popular British racing competition, which was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and renamed to BTCC in 1987.

The 2017 season will kick-off, for the seventh year in a row, at iconic Brands Hatch, at the 1.2-mile Indy Circuit. On April 2, thirty-two drivers will confront at the famous track, driving the race cars of eleven different manufacturers.

Eleven manufacturers will take part in the 2017 BTCC season

Thirty races at ten different race tracks

The 2017 BTCC calendar features, as usual, thirty races, across ten events at nine venues. The season will start and finish at Brands Hatch Circuit.  The 1.2-mile Indy Circuit wil host the season-opening round on April 1-2 while the season’s finale will take part at the 2.4-mile Grand Prix Circuit on October 1.

Between those two events the championship will visit the same circuits as the year before: Donington Park, Thruxton, Oulton Park, Croft, Snetterton, Knockhill, Rockingham and Silverstone.

2017 BTCC calendar

Vauxhall returns to the BTCC grid

On the list of manufacturers, the biggest news is a much-anticipated return of Vauxhall, which left BTCC at the end of 2009. Vauxhall chose Power Maxed Racing as manufacturers’ entry with Vauxhall Astra. Together with Vauxhall, Tom Chilton is also returning to BTCC, after a five-year absence, announcing a double programme this year, with Vauhxall in the BTCC and with Sebastien Loeb Racing’s Citroen in the WTCC.

Another manufacturer who returns to BTCC through the factory support is BMW. West Surrey Racing competed last year among Constructor entries with BMW 125i M Sport car but this time, the team is backed by BMW. Because of that, the team will run two cars under the name Team BMW WSR while the third car, the #77 for Andrew Jordan, will compete under the BMW Pirtek Racing banner.

Other entries eligible to score Constructor’s points are Halfords Yuasa Racing/Team Dynamics (Honda Civic Type R), Adrian Flux Subaru Racing/Team BMR (Subaru Levorg GT) and MG RCiB Insurance Racing/Triple Eight Racing (MG6 GT). On the independents’ side of a grid, eleven teams will fight for trophies. Six more cars on the grid will be Toyota Avensis, Ford Focus, Volkswagen CC, Audi S3, Mercedes-Benz A-Class and Chevrolet Cruze.

32 cars from eleven brands are ready to race

Half of a grid already tasted BTCC victories

Among the drivers listed for the 2017 BTCC campaign, there are five BTCC champions and five rookies. Five entrants who already clinched championship titles are Gordon Shedden, Matt Neal, Jason Plato, Colin Turkington and Andrew Jordan.

In total, sixteen drivers from current grid previously recorded BTCC race victories, collecting 329 wins between them. The rookies eligible for the Jack Sears Trophy points are Senna Proctor, Josh Price, Luke Davenport, Ant Whorton-Eales and Will Burns.

2017 BTCC entry list

Photos: btcc.net,