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BTCC 2023: Half-term facts and figures

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With the clock ticking down to the second half of the BTCC season, which kicks off at the end of the month at Croft, it seems like the perfect time to take a look at the key facts and figures from the 2023 campaign to date.

Already this season, seven drivers have scored race wins, 13 have scored a podium finish and there have been a number of records broken.

So here we delve into the data to see what we’ve found out so far this year…

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Ash Sutton is the man to beat in the standings, although his failure to finish the final race at Oulton Park means his advantage at the half-way stage has been trimmed to six points.

Sutton’s team-mate Dan Cammish had been the man to beat after winning round one at Donington Park and would head the pack until round seven when Sutton grabbed the championship lead.

That came during a run of form that saw Sutton break the record for most points scored on a weekend at Brands Hatch (which would later be matched by Jake Hill at Oulton Park), and enjoy a run of four successive race wins.

That would be a record for the NGTC era, with Sutton the first man to win four in a row since the Super Touring years.

Behind Sutton, Tom Ingram has been at the sharp end throughout the campaign, as have Hill and Colin Turkington.

As the graphic below shows, tracking the top 15 in the points, things have calmed down somewhat in terms of positions after the chaotic opening round at Donington Park – with a number of close battles developing.

PODIUM FINISHES

There’s little surprise to see Ash Sutton leading the way in terms of podium finishes after an impressive first half of the year for NAPA Racing UK.

Sutton has scored six wins so far to equal the personal best secured in both 2017 and 2018, and has now moved on to 33 victories in his career – putting him inside the top ten in the all-time winners list and just three wins away from the top six.

Tom Ingram’s nine podium finishes have shown his consistency in the Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 Hyundai even if the defending champion has only made it onto the top step once, with Jake Hill, Colin Turkington and Dan Cammish all taking more wins.

Two for Turkington means he now stands alone in second place in the record books behind Jason Plato.

Amongst the Independent Class drivers, Josh Cook has been the man to beat so far in his One Motorsport-run Honda, having scored a total of seven class wins.

Such has been Cook’s consistency amongst the Independent drivers, he has only been outside the top three twice so far, and his run of success has seen him move into fifth in the all-time list of Independent class wins on 34.

Cook has nearly twice as many podiums as Bobby Thompson, Daniel Lloyd and Aron Taylor-Smith. Of the three, only Taylor-Smith has yet to score an Independents’ class victory.

Andrew Watson and Mikey Doble became the 76th and 77th drivers to take Independent class wins.

Consistency has also been key in the Jack Sears Trophy race, with Dexter Patterson topping the points with eleven top-three finishes in class.

Only once has the Team HARD driver been the first JST driver home but he is still clear of PMR duo Andrew Watson and Mikey Doble – both of whom have multiple class wins.

Sam Osborne has been the first JST driver home five times but only sits in fourth spot in the points.

QUALIFYING AVERAGES

The Motorbase-run Ford Focus has been the car to beat in qualifying so far this year, having taken five pole positions from five so far. Only twice in the NGTC era has a car scored more pole positions in a season; the MG6 in 2014 and the Honda Civic Type R (FK2) in 2017.

Ash Sutton’s run of three successive pole positions means he – unsurprisingly – has the best qualifying average of 1.8 ahead of Jake Hill and Tom Ingram.

They are the only three drivers to have reached the half-way stage of the season having qualified inside the top ten for every round so far.

LAPS LED

Having scored the most wins so far this season, it’s little surprise that Ash Sutton has led the most laps – with his Ford Focus out front for just over 30 per cent of the racing laps to date.

Sutton has also led the most races – the six in which he has been victorious during the first half of the year.

Both Jake Hill and Dan Cammish have led three races, with Colin Turkington, Dan Rowbottom and Adam Morgan out front in two races.

Despite being second to Sutton in the standings, Tom Ingram has led only seven laps so far.

RACE LAPS

At the half way stage of the season, only two drivers have a 100 per cent record in terms of race laps, with Colin Turkington and Tom Ingram having completed each of the 262 laps so far.

The pair are the only drivers to have scored points in every race, although Dan Cammish would also have achieved the feat had he not been excluded from race three at Snetterton.

Behind the top two, Aiden Moffat, Cammish and Dexter Patterson all missed a single lap in the chaotic second race at Donington Park, with Tom Chilton being lapped once at Thruxton.

At the other end of the scale, a tricky season for Jade Edwards means she has completed the fewest racing laps so far with 176.

FAST FACTS

  • Colin Turkington became the second highest scoring driver in BTCC history
  • Colin Turkington now sits second outright in terms of BTCC race wins
  • Colin Turkington scored his 50th BMW win in the BTCC
  • Ash Sutton moved into the top ten in the overall BTCC win list
  • Ash Sutton and Tom Ingram both passed 70 podium finishes
  • Adam Morgan reached 40 BTCC podiums
  • Tom Chilton passed 450 BTCC starts
  • Aron Taylor-Smith and Josh Cook passed 250 BTCC starts
  • Dan Rowbottom passed 100 BTCC starts
  • Tom Ingram passed 2,500 career points
  • Aiden Moffat passed 1,000 career points
  • Sam Osborne scored a first BTCC podium
  • Josh Cook moved up to fifth in terms of Independents’ class wins
  • Colin Turkington has now scored the most wins for a single BTCC team – 54
  • Dan Rowbottom became the 50th driver to score a BTCC win at Thruxton
  • Ash Sutton is now the third on the list of winners at Snetterton
  • Jake Hill scored his first wins at Oulton Park
  • BMW is now second in terms of wins at Oulton Park
  • Ford hit 275 BTCC wins
  • BMW hit 150 BTCC wins
  • Colin Turkington became the second driver after Adam Morgan to start 300 NGTC races
  • Josh Cook passed 250 NGTC races
  • Jake Hill passed 200 NGTC starts
  • Dan Rowbottom passed 100 NGTC starts
  • Colin Turkington passed 3,500 points in NGTC machinery
  • NGTC machinery scored its 1,000th podium