Facts and figures from a decade in the BTCC: The Manufacturers

Ahead of the New Year, we took the opportunity to look back across the drivers who have done battle in a strong ten year period for the British Touring Car Championship.

In the second part of the two-part feature, we look back at the key facts regarding the different car manufacturers who have featured on the grid during the past ten years…

Who has been there:

Over the course of the decade, no fewer than 15 different manufacturers have appeared on the BTCC grid although only four have been present every season from 2010 to 2019.

Honda’s programme with Team Dynamics has been unbroken through the years and is the only manufacturer-backed programme to have appeared in each of the ten seasons – although there has been manufacturer-backed entries from the likes of BMW, Subaru, MG, Chevrolet and Toyota.

The advent of the NGTC rules also ensured that a number of non-manufacturer programmes have also featured, with the likes of Mercedes, Audi, Alfa Romeo and Volkswagen all represented by Independent entries.

Racing laps:

The racing laps completed by each manufacturer is of particular importance when looking at the stats from the across the decade because of the differing number of cars representing each individual brand.

Honda cars have appeared on track with a number of teams beyond Dynamics through the years and it means that Honda drivers completed by far the most laps across the period from 2010-2019 – with a combined total of 24,642 laps.

Over the decade, Honda drivers completed the most laps on seven occasions, the only exceptions being 2010 (BMW), 2011 (Ford) and 2014 (Toyota)

Honda’s total for the decade was a full 7,150 laps more than Ford drivers completed in taking second on the list ahead of BMW on 17,294 – with Toyota, Volkswagen and Vauxhall the only other manufacturers who broke the 10,000 laps mark.

At the other end of the scale, Infiniti cars have completed 866 laps thus far, with Alfa Romeo managing 497 through the single season of competition for HMS Racing’s Giulietta.

The figures:
Honda – 24,642
Ford – 17,492
BMW – 17,294
Toyota – 12,321
Volkswagen – 11,493
Vauxhall – 10,375
MG – 8,436
Audi – 7,625
Chevrolet – 7,466
Mercedes – 6,293
Subaru – 5,943
Proton – 2,611
SEAT – 1,433
Infiniti – 866
Alfa Romeo – 497

Race wins:

Given that Honda has been represented by more cars than any other manufacturer through the decade, it should come as little surprise that the Japanese brand has the greatest number of victories, falling just two short of a century.

Alongside Team Dynamics, the likes of BTC Racing, AmD Tuning and Eurotech have all secured race wins with Honda machinery, with the 15 wins secured in 2013 being the best of any manufacturer.

Honda is also the only marque to have taken a win in each of the ten seasons.

Second to Honda was BMW on 53 victories, the majority of which came thanks to WSR, with Ford on 34 and MG on 24. Subaru took an impressive fifth despite contesting only four of the ten seasons.

The figures:
Honda – 98
BMW – 53
Ford – 34
MG – 24
Subaru – 21
Chevrolet – 15
Toyota – 15
Volkswagen – 14
Vauxhall – 12
Mercedes – 10
Audi – 3
SEAT – 1

Podiums:

As with the race win tally, a numerical advantage helps Honda to top the list of podiums across the decade with a grand total of 284 meaning that more than 30% of podiums were scored by drivers in Honda cars.

A total of 43 podiums in 2013 was the best of any manufacturer, with Honda the only brand to score more than 30 podiums in a year – something achieved three times.

BMW once again took second place with 181 ahead of Ford on 97, with the top three being the only marques to enjoy at least one podium every season.

Proton was the only one of the 15 manufacturers to be represented on the grid who didn’t make the podium.

The figures:
Honda – 284
BMW – 181
Ford – 97
MG – 67
Subaru – 55
Vauxhall – 44
Toyota – 43
Chevrolet – 38
Volkswagen – 37
Mercedes – 34
Audi – 14
SEAT – 3
Alfa Romeo – 2
Infiniti – 1

Pole Positions:

Eleven of the manufacturers to have been represented across the past decade have secured a pole position – with Honda once again emerging on top.

A total of 31 poles from a possible 101 means Honda sits 13 clear of MG, with BMW and Ford the only other two manufacturers to have taken more than ten poles through the decade.

Interesting, no manufacturer secured a pole in each of the ten seasons, with seven scored by Honda drivers in 2018 being the best return.

The figures:
Honda – 31
MG – 18
BMW – 11
Ford – 11
Subaru – 9
Chevrolet – 7
Toyota – 5
Volkswagen – 4
Vauxhall – 3
Mercedes – 1
Audi – 1

Fastest Laps:

Honda’s domination of the decade continues when it comes to fastest laps, with a grand total of 87 across the ten year period.

That figure includes the personal best of 14 in 2013, with the total being 17 more than BMW managed in securing second in the list.

The top two were well clear of Ford on 31 and MG on 22, with twelve manufacturers taking a fastest lap.

The figures:
Honda – 87
BMW – 70
Ford – 31
MG – 22
Chevrolet – 17
Subaru – 15
Mercedes – 14
Volkswagen – 13
Toyota – 13
Vauxhall – 11
Audi 5
SEAT – 2

Laps Led:

Sheer numbers ensure that Honda completes a clean sweep of the stats from the decade when it comes to laps led, with the manufacturer having led nearly 500 laps more than any other across the period.

Honda led a total of 1,549 laps across the ten year period and was one of two manufacturers to lead a lap in each of the ten seasons – the other being Ford.

BMW split the pair on the stats however, with the German manufacturer having also broken the 1,000 laps led mark.

Only Infiniti and Proton failed to lead a lap.

The figures:
Honda – 1,549
BMW – 1,016
Ford – 774
MG – 448
Subaru – 386
Toyota – 295
Chevrolet – 273
Vauxhall – 233
Volkswagen – 226
Mercedes – 205
Audi – 119
SEAT – 37
Alfa Romeo – 14

For the purposes of this feature, each manufacturer was represented by each individual car, regardless of whether it was entered as a works car or on an independent basis.