Author: Chris Ashby

After a short summer break, the circuit racing calendar for the British Automobile Racing Club is alive and kicking. Last week we were in Zandvoort for our annual away day – now we restart the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship with our very own jewel of the north – Croft – hosting Britain’s premier racing series.

There is a titanic clash between Ash Sutton and Tom Ingram brewing at the top of the table, but Croft is always one to help shake-up the race to the title. Can the chasing pack of Dan Cammish, Dan Rowbottom, Jake Hill and Adam Morgan slingshot their way up the order after the three rounds in Yorkshire?

Joining us in the trip up north will be fellow BARC championships – Vertu MINI Challenge, Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain and a guest series in the shape of the rapid Legends. Plenty for all tastes and interests!

When is the next BARC weekend?
This weekend – 2-3 August

Where are the events being held?

Croft Circuit
Address: West Ln, Dalton-on-Tees, Darlington DL2 2PL

What is racing this weekend?

Out on track this weekend: Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, Vertu MINI Challenge, Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain and guest series – Legends Cars Elite Cup.

How can I watch?

Wanting to soak up the on-track action in person at Croft? As well as the racing there is lots to do for the whole family. Tickets are available on the day or on the Croft website from £21 for a Saturday ticket or £38 for a Sunday ticket – with weekend options available from £57. Children under 12 go free with discounts or teens.

Tickets can be purchased here: https://croftcircuit.co.uk/racing/btcc

If I can’t get to Croft or I am outside of the UK?

The TOCA Croft race weekend package will be broadcast live and for free on ITV4 and ITVX on Saturday and Sunday in the UK.

Qualifying will be available to all on ITVX on Saturday while race day will move to ITV4 in the UK. The uninterrupted coverage will feature all the on track drama with commentary, analysis and features throughout Sunday with coverage starting just ahead of the first BTCC race at 11:30. This will be the first race in recent memory without Steve Rider anchoring the coverage.

International audiences will be able to watch the action on YouTube with races live on the RACER network in the US and Canada.

What time are things happening on track?

Free Practice and Qualifying head the order on Saturday with on track action from 09:30 with the first race at 11:30. On Sunday we begin with the pit lane walkabout, with the first race beginning at 12:10.

Do you have any more information?

We have a few other handy links that might be useful to help you enjoy your weekend. Wherever you are!

Live Timing and Commentary: https://www.tsl-timing.com/event/253103
Timetable*: https://www.barc.net/event/toca-race-meeting-croft-august-2-3/
Live Coverage: https://www.itv.com/btcc

* Subject to adjustments prior and during the race meeting

The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship returns to action after the summer break – with drivers ready to ignite the title tilting battle. Will it be Ash Sutton for a record-breaking fifth, or is Tom Ingram hoping to double-up his own crown count.

With plenty of points on offer, expect a whole host of drivers to claw their way into the fight and be in with a shout at the finale too. Croft always helps to shape BTCC the season. But why is it a special place? Let’s take a look back.

Croft is nestled in North Yorkshire – just a stone’s throw from Darlington. The former airfield is relatively flat – but does provide close, hard-fought racing on the technical circuit. The 2.127 mile venue first hosted the British Saloon Car Championship back in 1968 with the likes of Gordon Spice, John Fitzpatrick, Roy Pierpoint and eventual champion Frank Gardner doing battle.

That initial stint lasted until 1971, with a major Croft regeneration for competitors and spectators following in the seventies and eighties. To bring it in line with other venues, the circuit went through extensive work including investment in the pits paddock and circuit itself. With a deprived north of England tin-top following chomping for saloon car action – the return of the BTCC in 1997 was a hugely popular move.

Welcome Back

In the height of the Super Touring era – with eight manufacturers locking horns with each other, the championship made its way to Croft. Current ITV4 pundit Tim Harvey, who was driving for Peugeot in the 1997 season remembers the first meeting back fondly, talking to BARC a few years ago.

“It was certainly an interesting one. The one thing no venue can control is the weather, and Croft didn’t drain well back in those days – it’s much, much better now – but it’s testament to the circuit’s strength-of-character that the race meeting went ahead and went well, and Croft has remained a favourite on the BTCC calendar ever since.”

But why is it so popular with the drivers and spectators? “Croft always generates great action, with plenty of opportunities for overtaking and, dare I say it, incidents! It’s a difficult circuit to master; the first half of the lap is a high-speed challenge, before you get to the Complex, where you need to slow it all down. There’s a bit of everything, which is what the drivers really appreciate.”

That first meeting for the BTCC in 1997 saw a dominant display from Alain Menu – driving for the Williams Renault team. The Swiss ace put it on pole twice and won both races, oh… and captured the fastest lap in the second race. It was some performance from the Laguna driver, with only Gabriele Tarquini able to stop the clean sweep as the Italian punched in the fastest lap in race one for Honda.

Jordan joins the winners circle

Fast forward now to 2010. Manufacturers were still present in the BTCC with Chevrolet, Honda dominating the order, but a thorn in their side was a young Andrew Jordan who was constantly hounding the top spots in his Triple Eight run Vauxhall Vectra. The 2013 BTCC Champion took his first ever championship win in 2010 and backed that up with another win in 2014.

Subaru drivers simmer

In 2016, who can forget the clash between the two Subarus of Jason Plato and Colin Turkington. More on Colin shortly.The two character extremes came to blows after a coming together on track. A late lunge from Plato into Tower on Turkington held them both up, allowing the BMW of Rob Collard to nip up the inside and benefit from two position gains. It took a while for things to melt after that icy encounter between the Levorg drivers!
Sutton takes to the top step

Also in 2016 a star was born. In the MG6, a young Ash Sutton in his debut season got his elbows out in a rain soaked final race of the day to seal his first win in the demanding touring car championship. He has since gone on to win a further six races at the northern England circuit with further wins coming in the Subaru Levorg and more recently the NAPA Ford Focus.

‘King of Croft’ – Colin Turkington

Colin Turkington the undisputed King of Croft. The Northern Irishman has an incredible 15 wins with the first coming at the wheel of a front-wheel-drive Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch in 2005. Infact his first ever BTCC podium was at Croft in 2002 in the Atomic Kitten-backed MG. The Yorkshire circuit really does hold a special place for Colin, with the remainder of those victories coming in rear-wheel-drive machines – a drivetrain suited to the start-stop nature of the more technical sections.

A further 14 wins in Subarus and BMWs propelled him to the top of the all time winners list at the Yorkshire venue. His most recent coming only last year. Will Turkington return in 2026 or is that marker ready to be reeled in by Ash Sutton? If Sutton was to win all three races in a weekend it would take him another two and a bit seasons to pass another four-time champion! We will wait and see!

Who will be the King of Croft this weekend? Tickets are available on the gate or online at https://croftcircuit.co.uk/racing/btcc – you don’t want to miss out!

The British Touring Car Championship has announced its technical regulations for the next five-year cycle, with this latest evolution set to commence at the start of the 2027 campaign.

This season marks the 15th year since the NGTC regulations were first introduced, with the aim of them being to reduce costs and promote greater parity among competitors. 

Despite there being one remaining year of the existing specifications, series organisers TOCA has put together an evolution of these successful regulations for a further five years – running up until at least the end of 2031.

The goal of the new regulation cycle was to protect the assets of teams by maintaining eligibility for existing machinery, whilst introducing additional car and engine options, thereby expanding opportunities.

From 2027, providing that the vehicle brand is sold within the UK, then any model from that brand can be entered – as long as the car is originally equipped with an internal combustion engine as its primary means of motive power and, of course, conforms to the size and body regulations as per currently.
 
This change will allow a wider variety of cars to enter the BTCC, thus providing teams with greater flexibility and availability in choosing models that fit their goals, as well as giving spectators the experience of seeing cars compete that they may not have seen before.

In addition to that, TOCA has unlinked the engine requirements to each respective car, meaning that any BTCC-homologated engine can be used – not necessarily that from the original manufacturer of that specific car. 

Registered BTCC engine builders will also be bound to supply its engine to any interested team(s) if requested, although no engine supplier can provide more than 50% of the entered cars – with the exception of the TOCA engine, which is always made available to all teams.

Opening up engine availability and supply will enable teams and engine builders to more easily select their optimum base engine and share development costs.

A number of other technical regulations have received modest amendments with the full document due to be released over the coming weeks.

“We’re pleased to announce the BTCC’s technical regulations for the next five-year cycle, to commence in 2027, and I thank all our teams for their invaluable input over the last two years to bring them to fruition,” said Alan Gow, BTCC Chief Executive.

“Every team wanted the BTCC to continue with the evolution of our great technical regulations… that was unquestioned. Therefore, our current stakeholders now have the assurance that their major components and capital investment will remain valid through 2031. 
 
“This evolution of the regulations also provides teams with more options, through opening the door to a host of new models and engines that can now be eligible for the BTCC.
 
“We value these successful regulations, which will have largely been in place for almost 20 years at the conclusion of this next cycle. The BTCC technical regulations, like the BTCC itself, is a true British success story.”