2017 British Touring Car Championship

The 2017 Dunlop^[1] MSA British Touring Car Championship (commonly abbreviated as BTCC) was a motor racing championship for production-based touring cars held across England and Scotland. The championship featured 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 2017 season was the 60th British Touring Car Championship season and the seventh season for cars conforming to the Next Generation Touring Car (NGTC) technical specification.

With both BMW and Vauxhall returning to the series this year as manufacturer outfits - joining the existing Honda, Subaru and MG teams, the 2017 season featured five manufacturer backed teams on the grid for the first time since the end of the popular Super Touring era of the sport.

With a maximum grid of 32 cars for the 2017 season, a full entry list was announced which sees a total of 18 different named teams.

Teams and drivers

Driver Changes

Changed teams

Andrew Jordan will move from Motorbase Performance to West Surrey Racing.^[7]
Matt Simpson will move from Speedworks Motorsport to Team Dynamics.^[14]
Chris Smiley will move from TLC Racing to BTC Norlin Racing.^[33]
Dave Newsham will move from Power Maxed Racing to BTC Norlin Racing.^[34]
Martin Depper will move from Eurotech Racing to Motorbase Performance.^[18]
Jack Goff will move from Team IHG Rewards Club to Eurotech Racing.^[36]
Árón Taylor-Smith will move from Team BKR to MG Racing RCIB Insurance.^[12]
Ashley Sutton will move from MG Racing RCIB Insurance to Team BMR.
Colin Turkington will move from Team BMR to West Surrey Racing.^[8]
Josh Cook will move from MG Racing RCIB Insurance to Maximum Motorsport.^[21]

Entering/re-entering BTCC

2016 Ginetta GT4 Supercup runner-up Will Burns will make his debut in the BTCC with Team HARD.^[29]
Senna Proctor son of former BTCC racer Mark Proctor, will make his debut in the series with Power Maxed Racing.^[2]
Tom Chilton will return to the series with Power Maxed Racing, after a five-year absence, having last raced in the championship in 2011.^[3]
2016 Renault UK Clio Cup champion Ant Whorton-Eales will make his debut in the BTCC with AmD Tuning.^[25]
Luke Davenport will make his debut in the BTCC with Motorbase Performance.^[18]
Stephen Jelley will return to the series Team Parker Racing, after a seven-year absence, having last raced in the championship in 2009.^[19]
Daniel Lloyd will return to the series with MG Racing RCIB Insurance, after taking part in three rounds in 2016 with Eurotech Racing.^[12]
Former Renault UK Clio Cup racer Josh Price will make his debut in the championship with Team BMR.^[11]

Leaving BTCC

Sam Tordoff will leave West Surrey Racing and the series to concentrate on other ventures.
Alex Martin will leave the series and return to the Porsche Carrera Cup GB with Team Parker Racing.^[40]
Stewart Lines vacated his seat at Maximum Motorsport following a cycling accident.^[20]
Warren Scott will step down from driving duties to concentrate on his role as Team Principal of Team BMR. He will also take part in the 2017 British Rallycross Championship.^[41]

Team Changes

Team HARD will switch from Toyota Avensis to Volkswagen CC.^[27]
Power Maxed Racing will switch from Chevrolet Cruze to Vauxhall Astra. The team will also enter the constructor class with manufacturer support from Vauxhall Motors.^[2]
Motorbase Performance will expand to three cars having loaned TBL from Welch Motorsport.^[15]
BTC Racing will return to the series with two Chevrolet Cruze having bought the two TBL from Power Maxed Racing.^[33]^{[N 2]}
West Surrey Racing will receive full manufacturer support from BMW, competing under the Team BMW banner. ^[6]

Mid Season Changes

Daniel Lloyd left MG Racing RCIB Insurance after Oulton Park and was replaced by former MG driver Josh Cook from Croft onwards. Scandinavian Touring Car driver Dennis Strandberg took Cook's place at Maximum Motorsport^[22] at Croft. Stewart Lines then took the race seat from Snetterton onwards.
Brett Smith replaced his father Jeff Smith at Eurotech Racing after the Croft qualifying crash ruled Jeff out for the remainder of the season.^[37]
Rory Butcher replaced the injured Luke Davenport from the Knockhill round for the remainder of the season.^[42]

Race calendar

The provisional calendar was announced by the championship organisers on 15 June 2016, with no major changes from previous seasons.^[43]

Results

Championship standings

Notes

No driver may collect more than one point for leading a lap per race regardless of how many laps they lead.

Drivers' Championship

(key)

Manufacturers'/Constructors' Championship

Teams' Championship

Independents Drivers' Trophy

Independent Teams' Trophy

Jack Sears Trophy

Footnotes

^ Team was known as BMR Racing Academy for rounds 1-5.
^ Power Maxed Racing use two TBL leased out by TOCA

References

^ "DUNLOP CONTINUE STRONG PARTNERSHIP WITH BTCC". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
^ a b c d e "POWER MAXED RACING AND VAUXHALL IN BTCC FROM 2017". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 22 November 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
^ a b "TOM CHILTON RETURNS TO BTCC WITH PMR". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 19 December 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
^ "SENNA PROCTOR SIGNS FOR POWER MAXED RACING". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 6 December 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
^ Hudson, Neil (11 September 2017). "Rob Huff back in the BTCC with Power Maxed Racing". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
^ a b Salisbury, Matt (24 February 2017). "BMW confirms manufacturer backing for West Surrey Racing". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
^ a b c d e "ANDREW JORDAN JOINS WSR FOR BTCC TITLE ASSAULT". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 15 November 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
^ a b "TURKINGTON RETURNS 'HOME'". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 14 February 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
^ "COLLARD COMPLETES WSR BMW LINE-UP". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 20 February 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
^ a b c d e f Gallagher, Ian (7 February 2017). "Ashley Sutton joins Jason Plato and James Cole at Team BMR". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
^ a b c "Teenage Clio graduate Price gets fourth BMR Subaru for 2017 BTCC". Autosport. Autosport. 16 March 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
^ a b c d e f g Gallagher, Ian (6 February 2017). "MG names Aron Taylor-Smith and Dan Lloyd for 2017". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
^ Gallagher, Ian (5 June 2017). "Dan Lloyd, Triple Eight announce split". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
^ a b c d e f g h "SIMPSON JOINS FORCES WITH TEAM DYNAMICS FOR 2017". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
^ a b c d "MOTORBASE TO FIELD THREE-CAR BTCC SQUAD". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 5 December 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
^ "MOTORBASE ANNOUNCES SHREDDED WHEAT AS NEW TITLE SPONSOR AND RETAINS MAT JACKSON". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 14 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
^ "Rory Butcher joins Motorbase Performance for remainder of the season". btcccrazy.co.uk/. BTCC Crazy. 7 August 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
^ a b c d Salisbury, Matt (12 January 2017). "Motorbase Performance confirm 2017 line-up". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
^ a b c "BTCC RETURN FOR STEPHEN JELLEY". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 1 February 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
^ a b c "BTCC racer Lines injured in bike crash, Parker to run his Ford". Autosport. Autosport. 1 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
^ a b "COOK LINES UP IN MAXIMUM MOTORSPORT'S FORD FOCUS". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 21 February 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
^ a b Salisbury, Matt (9 June 2017). "Dennis Strandberg secures Maximum seat for Croft". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
^ Salisbury, Matt (20 July 2017). "Stewart Lines steps back into BTCC seat". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
^ a b c d Ashby, Chris (23 November 2016). "Ollie Jackson re-signs with AMD Tuning for 2017". BTCC Crazy. James Mappin. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
^ a b Salisbury, Matt (12 January 2017). "Ant Whorton-Eales to debut with AmDTuning.com". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
^ a b c "HANDY MOTORSPORT TO LAUNCH 2017 PROGRAMME AT ASI AFTER RETAINING ROB AUSTIN". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 11 January 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
^ a b c d e Salisbury, Matt (9 November 2016). "Team HARD in Volkswagen return for 2017". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
^ "EPPS BACK WITH TEAM HARD FOR 2017". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
^ a b Salisbury, Matt (11 November 2016). "Will Burns to make BTCC debut with Team HARD". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
^ "Jake Hill targets podiums after securing Team HARD return". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
^ a b c d "MOFFAT ANNOUNCES MERCEDES ENTRY WITH LASER TOOLS RACING". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 15 November 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
^ a b "CICELEY MOTORSPORT UNVEILS NEW SPONSOR AND NEW LOOK". BTCC. 4 March 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
^ a b c d e f "BTC NORLIN RACING JOINS GRID". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 13 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
^ a b "NEWSHAM COMPLETES BTC NORLIN RACING LINE-UP". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 20 December 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
^ a b c "JEFF SMITH CONFIRMED AT EUROTECH". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 9 January 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
^ a b "JACK GOFF JOINS EUROTECH RACING". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 23 January 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
^ a b "BRETT SMITH TO TAKE OVER EUROTECH RACING SEAT". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
^ a b Gallagher, Ian (5 October 2016). "Tom Ingram to stay with Speedworks Motorsport in 2017". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
^ a b Gallagher, Ian (27 February 2017). "Speedworks to run facelifted Avensis for 2017 BTCC season". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
^ "Alex Martin confirms switch to Porsche Carrera Cup GB". touringcars.net. 6 January 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
^ "WARREN SCOTT TO COMPETE IN BRITISH RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP FOR 2017". Retrieved 7 March 2017.
^ "Rory Butcher joins Motorbase Performance for remainder of the season". btcccrazy.co.uk/. BTCC Crazy. 7 August 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
^ "2017 British Touring Car Championship calendar revealed". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2016.

External links

Official website
TouringCarTimes