BTCC: The dream BTCC calendar
The 2016 BTCC calendar will once again see the same circuits feature in the same order for the fifth year in succession. Why? Simple – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
However, with silly season now in full swing, instead of focusing on who will be driving, for whom, and in what (although we will get to that, we promise), why not have a bit of fun ourselves and have a look at where we’d like to see the BTCC go in the future.
Obviously all of these choices have been made with a rather large pinch of salt, but should any of them ever happen, I can think of at least one person who would be booking his tickets at the earliest opportunity…
Rockingham Oval
As stated above, this list is a bit of fun, and what’s more fun than letting 32 BTCC drivers loose on a 200mph oval? OK so you won’t be seeing a VW CC or an MG6 blasting through Turn 4 at the same speeds seen by Tony Kanaan en route to the lap record in 2001 (a blistering 24.719 seconds at an average of 215.397mph in his ChampCar), but a race on the oval could see some interesting new techniques for the drivers to master.
Before I delve any deeper, I must admit that I am a NASCAR fan, so the idea of cars “going around in circles” doesn’t phase me in the slightest, and having been to almost every ASCAR/SCSA/Days of Thunder race held at Rockingham between 2001 and 2006, I know that Rockingham can bring up some fantastic racing.
Jason Plato has experience of the 1.479 mile oval, having contested a full ASCAR season during his BTCC sabbatical in 2002, finishing 3rd in the championship behind champion Nicolas Minassian and Kelvin Burt. Plato wasn’t the only BTCC driver to compete that year, with future SEAT team-mate Darren Turner winning six races along the year and even Matt Neal joining the fray at the season finale, ironically as Plato’s team-mate racing for Bintcliffe Sport ASCAR, run by 1997 BTCC Audi driver John Bintcliffe.
Silverstone Grand Prix
A little bit more likely that an oval race would be for the BTCC to return to the full Silverstone layout for the first time since 1996.
Obviously Silverstone has changed a lot in the last 20 years, with one of the greatest corners in all of British motorsport, Bridge, no longer a part of the circuit that has hosted the British Grand Prix for over 60 years. Despite that, there is still the challenge of the fast Maggots and Becketts complex, alongside the newer tight and twisty “Arena” portion of the circuit. The full circuit has been used for touring car races in recent years, with the Super Touring Car Challenge competing on the Grand Prix circuit each year at the Silverstone Classic.
Clocking in at an extra two miles in length than the National circuit, currently used by the BTCC, with an additional 12 corners to get to grips with, a switch to the GP circuit would completely change the nature of the racing at Silverstone, most notably by severely reducing the number of laps contested – unless of course it was an endurance style race with pitstops… but that’s another suggestion for another day.
Pembrey
It’s been almost 25 years since the BTCC last visited Wales, with most Welsh BTCC fans having to settle for Oulton Park as their “local” race, and even that’s quite a trek (trust me, I know), so it seems only fitting that at least one Welsh circuit was included on this list. With only a handful to choose from, the “Home of Welsh Motorsport” was the choice, beating off Anglesey and the Circuit of Wales – should it ever actually get built.
Should Pembrey ever return, you’d have to think West Surrey Racing would go in to the weekend full of confidence, with BMW holding a 100% win record in the two BTCC events held at the circuit in 1992, won by Tim Harvey, and 1993, won by Joachim Winkelhock.
Now largely used as a test venue, the last major event held there was British Formula Three in 1999, where the winner was a 19-year-old called Jenson Button…
Dundrod Circuit
Street circuits always seem to turn heads, and whenever anyone mentions street circuits in the BTCC there’s only one that springs to mind – Birmingham. However, I’d like to break from tradition and bring in the form of motor racing that I am equally enthusiastic for – motorcycle road racing.
The Dundrod Circuit – home of the Ulster Grand Prix – would be my choice of venue. I know it’s not the 37.73 mile beast that the Isle of Man is, but Dundrod is just as impressive. Known as the World’s Fastest Road Race, the lap record currently sits at a blistering average speed of 133.977mph around the 7.4 mile loop in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, set by Bruce Anstey.
Home of the RAC Tourist Trophy for Sportscars between 1950 and 1955, as well as the non-championship Formula One Ulster Trophy from 1950 to 1953, the circuit has some history with cars, and seeing the likes of Honda Civics, BMW 1-Series and Mercedes A-Classes going to war would certainly turn some heads.
Hockenheim
Some top level series in Britain these days have adopted the idea of an “away day” meeting, with the British GT Championship visiting Spa, while the British Superbike Championship heads over to Assen once a year, so what if the BTCC joined the party?
The choice of circuits is endless, with many potential venues putting up good arguments. There’s Monza with the iconic Parabolica, which very nearly got the nod in this list, or there’s the Nurburgring, Zandvoort, Imola etc…
But for me it has to be Hockenheim. For some reason I just love the circuit, and the stadium section would be brilliant if it came down to a last lap duel between Jason Plato and Matt Neal for the win. Even if the event only ran the shortest layout of the circuit, it would still be an interesting prospect to see how Britain’s top motorsport series would be received on the continent.
