Five things we learned from the BTCC's return | GRR
The first round of the 2020 British Touring Car Championship is finally in the books, and boy was it worth the wait.
While we’d had three rounds of the Formula 1 calendar to quench our motorsport thirst, it just wasn’t quite the same without the rapid panel-bashing encounters that British motorsport fans have grown to love over the last few decades. And it really didn’t take long for the panel bashing to start in earnest, almost as if the (slightly reduced) field of tin-top heroes were making up for lost time.
Surreal scenes as BTCC returns
One of the first things to stand out as the BTCC returned was, in a similar vein to almost every major sport in recent months, just how surreal everything looked without the paying public on the spectator banks. Unfortunately for both the championship and the circuit, just three days prior to the opening meeting the BTCC was deemed elite sport, and as such had to adhere to government guidelines and be run behind closed doors – much like the British Grand Prix taking place 60 miles away down the M1.
While the media on site could enjoy luxuries they couldn’t before – a Sunday lie-in and no queue getting in – many drivers spoke of the lack of the atmosphere that a BTCC crowd brings. If there’s one thing you can say about BTCC fans, it's that they have incredible passion for the sport, and to see the circuit totally empty was a little shock to the system. But this is the “new normal”, and it’ll be interesting to see if we have any fans at the circuit by the time of the season finale in November…
Can Dan Cammish challenge this year?
The more things change, however, the more they stay the same as once the lights went out it was business as usual. Going into the weekend the smart money was on Colin Turkington to become the first driver since Andy Rouse in the mid-1980s to win a hat-trick of titles. Starting from pole, the Northern Irishman was on course to live up to the hype, but Honda’s Dan Cammish was sure to prove he was up for a fight in 2020.
Having been 2019’s nearly man – careening off into the gravel at Round 30 while in a championship winning position – Cammish got his elbows out early, with a firm, but fair, move on the reigning champion to take the lead and hold out to get his 2020 campaign off on the foot he’d hoped last season would have ended. The Honda struggled off the line in race two, with Turkington using the might of the BMW’s rear-wheel-drive off the line to leap into the lead, and never looked back.
Is Ash Sutton back?
Meanwhile, looking to follow the Honda through to the sharp end was Ash Sutton in the newly revamped Infiniti Q50. Having proven he can get the absolute best out of a subpar car in the Subaru in previous years, the 2017 champion was relishing the opportunity to have some fun in something competitive once again. Unfortunately for Sutton, the argy-bargy nature of the BTCC, that many fans love it for, came back to bite him and following a concertina involving himself, Turkington and the Toyota Corolla of Tom Ingram, he found himself facing the wrong way and stone dead last. He would eventually recover to 14th and salvage two points for his efforts.
What followed was a masterclass across the next two races, as he was consistently the fastest man in the field by some margin. He clawed his way up the field – in rather robust fashion at times – to fifth for race two, before a comfortable victory margin, by BTCC standards, of two seconds in race three.
New cars add more variety
It was also a strong day for new cars, as the BTCC welcomed Hyundai to the championship for the first time thanks to Excelr8 Motorsport. Chris Smiley took the brand new, and phenomenal looking, Hyundai i30 Fastback N to the podium at its very first meeting thanks to a favourable reverse grid draw for race three. Meanwhile, Rory Butcher threw his name into the championship contender’s pot as he secured a brace of podiums for Motorbase Performance’s all-new Ford Focus ST Mk4.
As opening rounds go, this weekend had everything. Action up and down the field, and, for the most part, good clean racing. Other than Sutton’s spin, the only real gravel trips were for those in the lower portion of the field, with Nic Hamilton suffering in races one and two, before newcomers Jack Butel and Ollie Brown had a coming together at the start of race three.
Turkington still the man to beat...
If the smart money was on Turkington at the start of the weekend, it would be a brave man to bet against Ash Sutton after his grit and determination over the course of the three races, and he would almost certainly have been leading the points had it not been for his race one spin.
Instead, the man who leads the title race is someone who knows exactly how to play the game and to maximise each weekend, Colin Turkington. Dan Cammish comes away from Donington Park just six points behind Turkington, with Sutton a further three behind. Rory Butcher and Tom Ingram round out a top five in the points separated by just 10 points, while Honda and BMW are locked firmly neck-and-neck in the Constructors Championship. With another 24 races to complete over the coming three and a half months, this is set up perfectly to be a season to remember for positives, rather than the pandemic-induced negatives.