The British Touring Car Championship is one of the best-loved, most illustrious and famous motor racing championships in the world, boasting a coveted history that spans almost seven incredible decades.
Renowned for producing edge-of-the-seat entertainment, the BTCC has become synonymous for drivers racing bespoke versions of roads cars that can be purchased on a forecourt in the United Kingdom. It’s a lasting appeal that to this day continues.
Comprised of ten events and a total of 30 races, the UK’s premier motorsport series travels the length and breadth of the country – competing at the likes of Brands Hatch, Donington Park, Silverstone, Thruxton and Croft – over the course of the season, with the battle for supremacy often going down to the final race of the year.
Marques such as Hyundai, Toyota, BMW and Ford make up the grid, delivering unrivalled thrills. A new introduction for 2026 is a change to the qualifying format, where a short race – held on Saturday afternoon – will decide the grid for the opening encounter the following day.
Former champions of the BTCC include past heroes such as Jim Clark, Andy Rouse, John Cleland, Alain Menu, Matt Neal and Jason Plato, as well as modern day stars such Tom Ingram and Ash Sutton.
Whilst spectator bankings are always packed to capacity at all ten events, fans can also watch all of the tin top action unfold from the comfort of their own home thanks to unprecedented live coverage on ITV4 and ITVX.
The TCR UK Championship is a multi-make national touring car category that is renowned for producing blockbuster door-to-door entertainment at venues across the length and breadth of the UK.
Launched in 2014, the TCR format was introduced to level-up touring car racing on a global scale by pitting production saloons – powered by 1.75 to 2-litre turbocharged engines – that are built by manufacturer-approved constructors against each other.
Such has been its success, TCR racing now takes place in more than 30 different countries around the world. The concept has been on British shores since in 2018 and since its debut it has grown in stature exponentially.
Aligning with the British Automobile Racing Club in 2025, TCR UK has become a staple of the national motorsport landscape and is associated with both the Milltek Civic Cup and the VAG Trophy.
Boasting competitive, fair and close racing courtesy of its carefully calculated balance of performance (BoP), the multi-marque series sees all cars run oil Goodyear tyres and be powered by Carless Racing Fuels and Vital Equipment.
One of the jewels in the crown of the Classic Touring Car Racing Club, the Pre-66 Touring Cars category – which is for cars from the late 1950s and early 1960s – has been dazzling fans for countless decades now.
Rolling back the years to a bygone era, the tin top championship allows drivers and spectators to har back to the early days of the British Saloon Car Championship – the precursor to the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship.
Competitors have an abundance of choice when it comes to selecting a four-seater saloon too as long as the aforementioned machine was marketed at the time to the public before 1st January 1966.
Class A, which is for cars over 2700cc is the place for the ‘big bangers’ such as the Ford Falcon and Ford Galaxy. From there, homes are found for cars of all shapes and sizes – including giant killing machines such as the Ford Lotus Cortina, Mini Cooper, Hillman Imp and Austin A40.
Going wheel-to-wheel at some of the most famed circuits in the UK, two notable events on the Classic Touring Car Racing Club calendar are the Touring Car Rewind events at Oulton Park and Brands Hatch respectively.
Billed as one of the most popular periods in saloon car history, the Group 1 Pre-83 Touring Cars era is still very much alive and kicking today courtesy of the Classic Touring Car Racing Club.
Open to cars that once flourished in the 1970s and early 1980s, the championship has become a haven for plenty of motoring icons down the years.
Cars eligible must have been marketed to the public before 1st January 1983 – with more than 5000 examples manufactured in any 12-month period during the overall production run and/or were homologated by the FIA for competition in Group One category for production cars.
Popular machines from the pages of history include popular classics such as the Ford Escort Mk1, MG Metro, Triumph Dolomite Sprint and Chevrolet Camaro, and more – all of them battling hard on the race track.
Going wheel-to-wheel at some of the most famous circuits in the UK, two notable events on the Classic Touring Car Racing Club calendar are the Touring Car Rewind events at Oulton Park and Brands Hatch respectively.
Widely renowned for delivering action-packed grids and captivating wheel-to-wheel moments, the Pre-93 Touring Cars category is one of the most revered within the Classic Touring Car Racing Club ranks.
Home to hot hatches and saloon cars from the fabled early 1990s, the championship features cars that were marketed to the public prior to the 1st January 1993 and caters for two-wheel drive, four-seater saloon cars.
All competing machines must have more than 5000 examples manufactured in any 12-month period, with the grid including the likes of the E46 M3 from BMW, Cavalier and Astra models from Vauxhall as well as cars from Honda, Rover, Ford and more.
Six categories provide the structure, with classes up to 1400cc, 1600cc, 2000cc, 2900cc, 3900cc and over 3900cc – with the latter including the flame-spitting Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth.
Going wheel-to-wheel at some of the most famous circuits in the UK, two notable events on the Classic Touring Car Racing Club calendar are the Touring Car Rewind events at Oulton Park and Brands Hatch respectively.
Some of the most captivating battles amongst the Classic Touring Car Racing Club ranks can be found here in the Pre-03 Touring Cars category.
Home to some of the more modern saloons that hits the track, the championship welcomes two-wheel-drive, four-seater saloon cars marketed to the public between 1st January 1993 and 31st December 2002 – an exciting period for the lover of tin-tops.
Spectators can expect to see the battle between front and rear-wheel-drive cars, as battlers from either side of the Millennium go head-to-head, with the likes of the BMW E46 Compact taking on the Honda Civic at close quarters.
In addition, the championship also doubles up and amalgamates with the likes of the Pre-93 Touring Cars contingent, guaranteeing bigger grid and even tougher levels of competition towards the front of the field.
Going wheel-to-wheel at some of the most famous circuits in the UK, two notable events on the Classic Touring Car Racing Club calendar this year are the Touring Car Rewind events at Oulton Park and Brands Hatch respectively.
The Burton Power Blue Oval Saloon Series of the Classic Touring Car Racing Club is a celebration of all things Ford.
The legendary blue oval marque has produced some of the most recognisable and most revered cars ever to hit the road and racetrack – and the Blue Oval Saloon Series has many of the heroic cars rolling down the pit lane.
The series boasts seven classes for four seater saloon cars manufactured by the Ford Motor Company, based on standard production shells marketed to the public before the 1st January 2011.
Everyone from Class F up to 1400cc through to Class A for cars over 3,601cc are welcome on the grid. Anglias and Cortinas, through to Escorts, Sierras and Fiestas pack the entry list, along with the odd Mustang, Mondeo or Focus adding to the variety and spectacle.
Going wheel-to-wheel at some of the most famous circuits in the UK, two notable events on the Classic Touring Car Racing Club calendar this year are the Touring Car Rewind events at Oulton Park and Brands Hatch respectively.
If flame-snorting, no-holds-barred action is for you then look no further than the Classic Touring Car Racing Club’s Classic Thunder championship.
Home to four-seater saloon cars based on the standard production shells marketed before the 1st January 2011, the series provides plenty of choice for competitors and plenty of variety for spectators to admire with crowds set to reminisce over their childhood pin-up poster cars.
Multiple classes cater for all engine sizes with historic cars up to 4000cc, such as the fire-breathing Aussie V8 inspired Holden’s and Ford Falcon’s going toe-to-toe with the likes of the ‘Godzilla’ themed Nissan Skyline.
With a nod to touring car racing of yesteryear, these classes and others on the BARC billing at some venues will run together providing a grid full of touring car heroes and icons of all different shapes and sizes.
If the weather gets a little wet – expect to see some giant-killing, as the rain will provide a great leveller for the underpowered machines, with the drivers looking to make the most of their usable power.
The Rikki Cann Motorsport Historic Thunder series is home to more ‘monster machines’, with the tin-top series delivering flame-snorting and no-hold-barred action that is similar to the Classic Thunder series.
Open to tin top machines that were marketed prior to the 1st January 1983, the Classic Touring Car Racing Club-run championship has become a smash-hit since it was launched a few years ago.
With a nod to touring car racing of yesteryear, these classes and others on the BARC billing at some venues will run together providing a grid full of touring car heroes and icons of all different shapes and sizes.
If the weather gets a little wet – expect to see some giant-killing, as the rain will provide a great leveller for the underpowered machines, with the drivers looking to make the most of their usable power.
Going wheel-to-wheel at some of the most famous circuits in the UK, two notable events on the Classic Touring Car Racing Club calendar this year are the Touring Car Rewind events at Oulton Park and Brands Hatch respectively.
Undoubtedly one of the most popular categories that runs under the Classic Touring Car Racing Club banner, the Super Tourer Series is one that is always attracts a crowd.
If there was ever a period for the British Touring Car Championship, the mid to late nineties was the time – with world class drivers, a whole list of automotive manufacturer teams and almost bottomless pit budgets – the series was a motorsport spectacle that challenged Formula One for viewership.
Fast forward to the modern era – more than 25 years on since the end of the Super Touring formula, the Super Tourer Series is keeping the memories alive, with the iconic cars still racing and being competed hard by some of the best drivers in national motorsport.
Cars such as the Vauxhall Vectra driven by the likes of John Cleland and Jason Plato in period will race bumper-to-bumper with BMWs, Fords, Hondas, Nissans and Peugeots from the same era.
Going wheel-to-wheel at some of the most famous circuits in the UK, two notable events on the Classic Touring Car Racing Club calendar this year are the Touring Car Rewind events at Oulton Park and Brands Hatch respectively.
The Vertu MINI CHALLENGE JCW is one of the county’s leading single-make categories and it continues to provide close competitive racing as well as a ladder of progression for rising talent that aims to step up into the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship.
Renowned for producing action-packed racing and bumper grids, the tin top championship is firmly established as a leading light within the national motorsport scene.
Providing a combination of class structure, cost effectiveness, professionalism and unrivalled exposure, the MINI CHALLENGE JCW is the ideal stepping stone for those wanting to pursue a career in racing.
Using the latest version of MINI’s two-litre hot hatchback, every cars runs Goodyear slick tyres, a Quaife sequential gearbox, three-way adjustable Nitron dampers and Alcon brakes. The top of the tree is the 265bhp JCW Class, which is supported by the halfway house 225bhp JCW Sport Class.
Featuring on the support bill of the BTCC at several race meetings, former champions include Dan Zelos, Ant Whorton-Eales, Tom Ovenden and Sam Weller.
Providing the ideal stepping stone up the tin-top ladder, the Vertu MINI CHALLENGE Trophy is the perfect place to graduate from the Junior Saloon Car Championship or even kick-start your motorsport career.
Boasting capacity grids and producing ultra-competitive racing, the Trophy Championship uses an older generation MINI Cooper that produces 130bhp and runs on Goodyear racing tyres.
The car suits a variety of racers, from drivers new to motorsport, or those stepping up from junior tin-tops, have some karting experience, or those who just want ultra-close, fair racing on a high-profile stage with modest budgets.
Sharing the billing with the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship on select weekend’s, the single-marque category also races on the same bill as the British Truck Racing Championship as well.
Former champions of the Vertu MINI CHALLENGE Trophy include Harry Hickton, Alex Keens, Nelson King and Dominic Wheatley.