2010 British Touring Car Championship

The 2010 Dunlop^[1] MSA British Touring Car Championship season was the 53rd British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) season. It began at Thruxton Circuit on 4 April and finished after 30 races over ten events at Brands Hatch on 10 October.

RML Chevrolet driver Jason Plato claimed the championship with a win in the penultimate race of the season leading home season long rival, Honda Racing Team's Matt Neal. On his way to his second BTCC crown, Plato claimed seven victories through the course of the season (equalling Andy Rouse's all-time record of 60) compared to Neal's five wins. The final victory margin was 31 points. Neal's teammate Gordon Shedden also had a shot at the title heading into the final round but a broken driveshaft immediately prior to the start of Race 2 at Brands Hatch left him too far adrift and he finished the title 42 points behind Plato.

Despite finishing fourth in the outright points chase Arena Motorsport Ford driver Tom Onslow-Cole lost the Independents' Trophy to team mate Tom Chilton. Chilton ended up eight points clear of Onslow-Cole with Motorbase Performance BMW driver Steven Kane finishing just two points behind Chilton.

The combined performances of Neal and Shedden won for the Honda Racing Team the Teams' title. It was the third title for Team Dynamics and the first time they had won the manufacturers crown for long-time partners Honda. The combined performances of Chilton and Onslow-Cole allowed Arena Motorsport to claim the Independent Teams' trophy, breaking a three-year stranglehold on that trophy by West Surrey Racing.

Changes for 2010

The loss of RAC sponsorship after four seasons meant WSR were forced to release both reigning Champion Colin Turkington and Stephen Jelley. Rob Collard returned to the team he'd previously driven for in 2005 and 2006 while Andy Neate embarked on his first full season after a couple of one-off appearances and having missed on out on a WSR seat in 2008. Motorbase Performance continued to compete as Airwaves BMW with Mat Jackson replacing Collard and Steven Kane returning in place of Jonathan Adam. A third entry for former ASCAR Champion Ben Collins appeared at the final meeting of the season on the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit. Forster Motorsport also entered a pair of BMWs for Martin Depper and Arthur Forster.

After their impressive performance with Independently-run Lacettis in 2009, the RML-run Racing Silverline team received works support from Chevrolet and upgraded to a pair of Cruzes for Jason Plato and Clio Cup graduate Alex MacDowall.

With Vauxhall pulling out at the end of 2009, Triple 8 became an Independent team and entered a pair of Vectras with Fabrizio Giovanardi set to continue as lead driver and reigning Clio Cup Champion Phil Glew as his team-mate. However, the team's new sponsor Uniq pulled out after the season-opener at Thruxton, forcing them to release both drivers. For the remainder of the season, the team ran James Nash in one car with the second car making three further appearances, each time in the hands of a newcomer (Daniel Lloyd at Croft, Jeff Smith at Knockhill and Sam Tordoff at Brands Hatch Indy). Andrew Jordan returned to his father Mike's team, now competing as Pirtek Racing and David Pinkney returned with his own team, both of whom also driving Vectras but running the new NGTC engines. Boulevard Team Racing continued to run Martin Johnson in what was to be the Vauxhall Astra Coupe's BTCC swansong.

Team Dynamics received support from Honda, becoming the first Honda works team since 2004. Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden returned to the team while their old Integras were still represented by Tech-Speed. Paul O'Neill was now partnered by John George in place of Martyn Bell with a third Integra entered by Lea Wood from the Brands Hatch GP meeting onwards (although the team sat out Knockhill as did Forster Motorsport). Former Independent's and Production Class Champions Barwell Motorsport and James Kaye returned with a 4th Integra for the final two meetings. TH Motorsport ran Matt Hamilton in a Civic Type-R for the first four meetings before pulling out.

Team Aon continued to run their Ford Focuses with Tom Onslow-Cole now partnering Tom Chilton full-time. The Focuses were converted to run on Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) before the season started.

Tom Boardman and his family-run team returned under the Special Tuning UK banner, driving a SEAT Leon. The team ran Phil Glew in a second Leon with an NGTC engine at Silverstone with Boardman running the NGTC engine at Knockhill.

For the first time since 1989, a Volkswagen was entered in the BTCC with AMD Racing running Shaun Hollamby in a Super 2000 Golf.

Teams and drivers

The official entry list was announced at the series' Media Day at Brands Hatch on 23 March 2010.^[2][3]

Team	Car	No.	Drivers	Rounds
Constructor S2000 Entries
Silverline Chevrolet	Chevrolet Cruze	2	Jason Plato	All
		20	Alex MacDowall	All
Honda Racing Team	Honda Civic	4	Matt Neal	All
		52	Gordon Shedden	All
Independent Constructor S2000 Entries (LPG Turbo Engine)
Team Aon	Ford Focus ST LPG	21	Tom Onslow-Cole	All
		23	Tom Chilton	All
Independent S2000 Entries (NGTC Engine)
Special Tuning UK	SEAT León	22	Tom Boardman	8
		88	Phil Glew	7
Pinkney Motorsport	Vauxhall Vectra	55	David Pinkney	All
Pirtek Racing	Vauxhall Vectra	77	Andrew Jordan	All
Independent S2000 Entries
Airwaves BMW	BMW 320si	5	Mat Jackson	All
		11	Steven Kane	All
		12	Ben Collins	10
WSR	BMW 320si	6	Rob Collard	All
		44	Andy Neate	All
Uniq Racing with Triple Eight	Vauxhall Vectra	14	James Nash	2–10
		15	Jeff Smith	8
		16	Sam Tordoff	10
		25	Daniel Lloyd	5
		88	Phil Glew	1
		888	Fabrizio Giovanardi	1
Special Tuning UK	SEAT León	22	Tom Boardman	1–7, 9–10
Forster Motorsport	BMW 320si	30	Martin Depper	3–7, 9–10
		37	Arthur Forster	2–7, 9–10
AmD Milltek Racing.com	Volkswagen Golf	99	Shaun Hollamby	All
Independent BTC-T Entries
Boulevard Team Racing	Vauxhall Astra Coupé	27	Martin Johnson	1–7, 9–10
sunshine.co.uk with Tech-Speed Motorsport	Honda Integra Type-R	28	John George	All
		29	Paul O'Neill	All
Central Group Racing	Honda Integra Type-R	43	Lea Wood	3–7, 9–10
WRC Developments with Barwell	Honda Integra Type-R	46	James Kaye	9–10
TH Motorsport	Honda Civic Type-R	98	Matt Hamilton	1–4

Team and driver changes

Team changes

• Vauxhall withdrew their manufacturer support from Triple Eight Race Engineering due to the economic crisis and the lack of official manufacturers in the BTCC.^[4] However, continued as a privateer team. RML gained the backing of Chevrolet to run a Works team in the series, while Honda returned as a manufacturer team with Team Dynamics.

Driver changes

Changed teams

• Rob Collard: Airwaves BMW → WSR
• John George: TH Motorsport → sunshine.co.uk with Tech-Speed Motorsport
• Mat Jackson: Racing Silverline → Airwaves BMW
• Andrew Jordan: VX Racing → Pirtek Racing
• James Nash: RML → Uniq Racing with Triple Eight
• Matt Neal: VX Racing → Honda Racing Team
• David Pinkney: Team Dynamics → Pinkney Motorsport

Entering/re-entering BTCC

• Tom Boardman: World Touring Car Championship (SUNRED Engineering) → Special Tuning UK
• Ben Collins: Le Mans Series (RML) → Airwaves BMW
• Martin Depper: Mini Challenge (Forster Motorsport) → Forster Motorsport
• Arthur Forster: Mini Challenge (Forster Motorsport) → Forster Motorsport
• Phil Glew: Renault Clio Cup UK (Team Pyro) → Uniq Racing with Triple Eight & Special Tuning UK
• Shaun Hollamby: Dunlop SportMaxx Cup (AmD Millteksport) → AmD Milltek Racing.com
• Steven Kane: FIA Formula Two Championship (test driver) → Airwaves BMW
• Alex MacDowall: Renault Clio Cup UK (Total Control Racing) → Silverline Chevrolet
• Andy Neate: Sabbatical (injury) → WSR
• Jeff Smith: Renault Clio Cup UK (Team Pyro) → Uniq Racing with Triple Eight
• Sam Tordoff: Renault Clio Cup UK (Total Control Racing) → Uniq Racing with Triple Eight
• Lea Wood: Welsh Sports and Saloon Car Championship (Team Wood Racing) → Central Group Racing

Leaving BTCC

• Jonathan Adam: Airwaves BMW → unknown
• Martyn Bell: Sunshine.co.uk with Tech-Speed → Sabbatical (injury)^[5]
• Dan Eaves: Clyde Valley Racing → unknown
• Johnny Herbert: Team Dynamics → Superstars Series (Motorzone)
• Stephen Jelley: West Surrey Racing → Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain (Team Parker Racing)
• Adam Jones: Clyde Valley Racing → unknown
• Nick Leason: AFM Racing → unknown
• Liam McMillan: Maxtreme → unknown
• Alan Morrison: Team AON → unknown
• Anthony Reid: West Surrey Racing → Grand Prix Masters/World Sportscar Masters
• James Thompson: Team Dynamics → European Touring Car Cup & World Touring Car Championship (Hartmann Racing)
• Colin Turkington: West Surrey Racing → World Touring Car Championship (West Surrey Racing)
• Harry Vaulkhard: Bamboo Engineering → World Touring Car Championship (Bamboo Engineering)

Mid-season changes

• Phil Glew signed to race for Triple Eight shortly after the media day, but after competing at Thruxton he lost his drive when Uniq withdrew sponsorship from the team. He returned to the series in a second SEAT León run by Tom Boardman's Special Tuning UK team, under the YourRacingCar.com banner, at Silverstone,^[6] but the deal was for the single weekend.
• Fabrizio Giovanardi competed in the opening round for Triple Eight but left the team ahead of Rockingham due to lack of sponsorship.
• James Nash was signed by Triple Eight to be their sole representative from Rockingham onwards.
• Daniel Lloyd joined Triple Eight in a second car at Croft.
• Matt Hamilton withdrew from the round at Croft due to financial difficulties and missed the rest of the season. However he is looking at finding the funds to return in 2011.^[7]
• Jeff Smith joined Triple Eight in a second car at Knockhill.
• James Kaye returned to the series for the final two rounds after four years away, racing a Honda Integra under the 'WRC Developments with Barwell' banner.^[8]
• Sam Tordoff joined Triple Eight in a second car at the final round at Brands Hatch.^[9]
• Ben Collins joined Airwaves BMW in a third car at the final round at Brands Hatch.^[10]

Calendar

All races were held in the United Kingdom. The calendar was announced by the championship organisers on 7 October 2009, with no major changes from 2009.^[11]

Round		Circuit	Date	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning driver	Winning team
1	R1	Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire	4 April	Gordon Shedden	Gordon Shedden	Fabrizio Giovanardi	Uniq Racing with Triple Eight
	R2				Jason Plato	Fabrizio Giovanardi	Uniq Racing with Triple Eight
	R3				Rob Collard	Steven Kane	Airwaves BMW
2	R4	Rockingham Motor Speedway, Northamptonshire	25 April	Tom Chilton	Rob Collard	Matt Neal	Honda Racing Team
	R5				Jason Plato	Jason Plato	Silverline Chevrolet
	R6				Matt Neal	Matt Neal	Honda Racing Team
3	R7	Brands Hatch (GP), Kent	2 May	Tom Chilton	Tom Chilton	Tom Chilton	Team Aon
	R8				Matt Neal	Tom Onslow-Cole	Team Aon
	R9				Matt Neal	Mat Jackson	Airwaves BMW
4	R10	Oulton Park, Cheshire	6 June	Tom Onslow-Cole	Gordon Shedden	Tom Onslow-Cole	Team Aon
	R11				Jason Plato	Jason Plato	Silverline Chevrolet
	R12				Gordon Shedden	Matt Neal	Honda Racing Team
5	R13	Croft Circuit, North Yorkshire	20 June	Tom Chilton	Gordon Shedden	Gordon Shedden	Honda Racing Team
	R14				Paul O'Neill	Gordon Shedden	Honda Racing Team
	R15				Jason Plato	Andrew Jordan	Pirtek Racing
6	R16	Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit, Norfolk	8 August	Alex MacDowall	Jason Plato	Jason Plato	Silverline Chevrolet
	R17				Jason Plato	Jason Plato	Silverline Chevrolet
	R18				Tom Onslow-Cole	Gordon Shedden	Honda Racing Team
7	R19	Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire	22 August	Tom Onslow-Cole	Tom Onslow-Cole	Tom Chilton	Team Aon
	R20				Tom Onslow-Cole	Tom Chilton	Team Aon
	R21				Tom Onslow-Cole	Tom Onslow-Cole	Team Aon
8	R22	Knockhill Racing Circuit, Fife	5 September	Alex MacDowall	Alex MacDowall	Gordon Shedden	Honda Racing Team
	R23				Tom Chilton	Matt Neal	Honda Racing Team
	R24				Paul O'Neill	Jason Plato	Silverline Chevrolet
9	R25	Donington Park, Leicestershire	19 September	Tom Chilton	Tom Chilton	Gordon Shedden	Honda Racing Team
	R26				Jason Plato	Tom Onslow-Cole	Team Aon
	R27				Jason Plato	Matt Neal	Honda Racing Team
10	R28	Brands Hatch (Indy), Kent	10 October	Jason Plato	Jason Plato	Jason Plato	Silverline Chevrolet
	R29				Rob Collard	Jason Plato	Silverline Chevrolet
	R30				Mat Jackson	Andrew Jordan	Pirtek Racing

Championship standings

• No driver may collect more than one "Lead a Lap" point per race no matter how many laps they lead.
• Race 1 polesitter receives 1 point.

Drivers Championship

(key)

Pos	Driver	THR			ROC			BHGP			OUL			CRO			SNE			SIL			KNO			DON			BHI			Pts
1	Jason Plato	2	4	3	3	1*	5	8	Ret	Ret	10	1*	6	3	3	16	1*	1*	5	3	4	9	6	3	1*	Ret	3	3	1*	1*	9	260
2	Matt Neal	12	2	Ret	1*	9	1*	5	Ret	2	8	2	1*	4	2*	Ret	Ret	9	3	8	5	4	4	1*	3	5	8	1*	3	2	Ret	229
3	Gordon Shedden	Ret*	11	4	2	13	Ret	2	2*	9	2	Ret	10	1*	1*	9	4	8	1*	10	7	5	1*	2*	9	1*	2*	6	2	NC	8	218
4	Tom Onslow-Cole	13	12	7	8	7	7	3	1*	10	1*	3*	5	8	5	2	6	3	16	2*	3*	1*	7	7	2*	8*	1*	9	Ret	Ret	Ret	200
5	Tom Chilton	Ret	Ret	8	11	6	Ret	1*	DSQ	6	5	6	4	18	11	4	3	2	4	1*	1*	6	5	4	10	2	4	5	7	5	3	191
6	Steven Kane	NC	8	1*	5	3	3	11	7	3	6	5	2	11	Ret	3	7	4	6	9	8	7	3	5	Ret	6	6	4	11	6	2	169
7	Mat Jackson	3	5	2	13	4	Ret	10	11	1*	4	4	7	9	Ret	7	2	5	7	13	10	3	10	6	5	3	5	8	13	8	4	155
8	Rob Collard	Ret	9	Ret*	10	2	6	4	12	4	3	15	8	2	8	17	10	7	2	6	2	12	Ret	Ret	6	16	7	2	5	3	6	144
9	Paul O'Neill	4	3	6	6	8	2	6	4	Ret	Ret	Ret	9	5	4	5	11	Ret	8	7	6	2*	8	10	4	Ret	12	Ret	6	4	5	136
10	Andrew Jordan	14	15	14	7	5	4	Ret	5	5	Ret	16	Ret	10	7	1*	9	6	Ret	5	17	Ret	9	8	8	Ret	9	7*	9	7	1*	101
11	Alex MacDowall	7	6	9	12	12	Ret	7	3	Ret	7	9	Ret*	13	9	10	NC	Ret	13	4	9	10	2	9	7	4	11	Ret	4	Ret	11	83
12	James Nash				Ret	10	8	Ret	10	7	9	7	3	6	13	11	5	10	Ret*	11	11	8	Ret	11	11	17	10	10	8	9	7	52
13	Tom Boardman	5	16	13	4	Ret	10	9	6	8*	Ret	8	Ret*	12	6	6	8	Ret	11	12	12	Ret	Ret	14	Ret	7	13	Ret	10	13	Ret	48
14	Fabrizio Giovanardi	1*	1*	5																												38
15	David Pinkney	8	10	10	18	16	Ret	Ret	8	Ret	Ret	10	11	Ret	DNS	Ret	Ret	11	9	Ret	Ret	11	11	Ret	Ret	10	18	13	DNS	DNS	DNS	12
16	Phil Glew	6	7	Ret																14	13	13										9
17	Daniel Lloyd													7	14	8																7
18	Andy Neate	10	14	11	Ret	11	9	14	Ret	13	11	17	DSQ	17	10	Ret	13	13	10	15	Ret	14	12	12	13	15	15	Ret	12	10	12	6
19	Martin Johnson	11	19	Ret	9	15	11	Ret	Ret	DNS	15	NC	14	16	15	Ret	Ret	12	DNS	18	16	15				11	Ret	DNS	18	DNS	15	2
20	John George	9	17	Ret	16	Ret	15	Ret	DNS	Ret	12	Ret	DNS	15	Ret	12	12	Ret	12	17	14	Ret	Ret	13	12	12	16	12	19	14	14	2
21	Matt Hamilton	Ret	13	12	15	14	12	12	9	12	Ret	12	13																			2
22	James Kaye																									9	14	Ret	16	Ret	Ret	2
23	Sam Tordoff																												17	11	10	1
24	Lea Wood							13	Ret	11	13	11	12	Ret	17	13	14	14	Ret	16	Ret	Ret				13	17	11	15	15	Ret	0
25	Martin Depper							15	Ret	14	14	14	Ret	14	12	Ret	15	16	Ret	20	15	Ret				DNS	DNS	DNS	Ret	Ret	13	0
26	Ben Collins																												14	12	Ret	0
27	Arthur Forster				17	17	13	Ret	Ret	15	16	13	15	NC	Ret	15	17	Ret	14	19	Ret	16				18	20	14	20	16	Ret	0
28	Shaun Hollamby	Ret	18	Ret	14	Ret	14	Ret	Ret	DNS	NC	Ret	Ret	Ret	16	14	16	15	15	DNS	DNS	DNS	13	16	15	14	19	Ret	21	17	Ret	0
29	Jeff Smith																						14	15	14							0
Pos	Driver	THR			ROC			BHGP			OUL			CRO			SNE			SIL			KNO			DON			BHI			Pts

• Note: bold signifies pole position (1 point given in first race only, and race 2 and 3 poles are based on race results), italics signifies fastest lap (1 point given all races) and * signifies at least one lap in the lead (1 point given all races).

Manufacturers/Constructors Championship

Teams Championship

Independents Trophy

Pos	Driver	THR			ROC			BHGP			OUL			CRO			SNE			SIL			KNO			DON			BHI			Pts
1	Tom Chilton	Ret	Ret	8	11	6	Ret	1	DSQ	6	5	6	4	18	11	4	3	2	4	1	1	6	5	4	10	2	4	5	7	5	3	249
2	Steven Kane	NC	8	1	5	3	3	11	7	3	6	5	2	11	Ret	3	7	4	6	9	8	7	3	5	Ret	6	6	4	11	6	2	247
3	Tom Onslow-Cole	13	12	7	8	7	7	3	1	10	1	3	5	8	5	2	6	3	16	2	3	1	7	7	2	8	1	9	Ret	Ret	Ret	241
4	Mat Jackson	3	5	2	13	4	Ret	10	11	1	4	4	7	9	Ret	7	2	5	7	13	10	3	10	6	5	3	5	8	13	8	4	221
5	Paul O'Neill	4	3	6	6	8	2	6	4	Ret	Ret	Ret	9	5	4	5	11	Ret	8	7	6	2	8	10	4	Ret	12	Ret	6	4	5	208
6	Rob Collard	Ret	9	Ret	10	2	6	4	12	4	3	15	8	2	8	17	10	7	2	6	2	12	Ret	Ret	6	16	7	2	5	3	6	201
7	Andrew Jordan	14	15	14	7	5	4	Ret	5	5	Ret	16	Ret	10	7	1	9	6	Ret	5	18	Ret	9	8	8	Ret	9	7	9	7	1	149
8	James Nash				Ret	10	8	Ret	10	7	9	7	3	6	13	11	5	10	Ret	11	11	8	Ret	11	11	17	10	10	8	9	7	112
9	Tom Boardman	5	16	13	4	Ret	10	9	6	8	Ret	8	Ret	12	6	6	8	Ret	11	12	12	Ret	Ret	14	Ret	7	13	Ret	10	13	Ret	97
10	David Pinkney	8	10	10	18	16	Ret	Ret	8	Ret	Ret	10	11	Ret	DNS	Ret	Ret	11	9	Ret	Ret	11	11	Ret	Ret	10	18	13	DNS	DNS	DNS	46
11	Andy Neate	10	14	11	Ret	11	9	14	Ret	13	11	17	DSQ	17	10	Ret	13	13	10	15	Ret	14	12	12	13	15	15	Ret	12	10	12	45
12	Fabrizio Giovanardi	1	1	5																												40
13	John George	9	17	Ret	16	Ret	15	Ret	DNS	Ret	12	Ret	DNS	15	Ret	12	12	Ret	12	17	14	Ret	Ret	13	12	12	16	12	19	14	14	21
14	Phil Glew	6	7	Ret																14	13	13										19
15	Matt Hamilton	Ret	13	12	15	14	12	12	9	12	Ret	12	13																			17
16	Lea Wood							13	Ret	11	13	11	12	Ret	17	13	14	14	Ret	16	Ret	Ret				13	17	11	15	15	Ret	15
17	Martin Johnson	11	19	Ret	9	15	11	Ret	Ret	DNS	15	NC	14	16	15	Ret	Ret	12	DNS	18	16	15				11	Ret	DNS	18	DNS	15	14
18	Daniel Lloyd													7	14	8																12
19	James Kaye																									9	14	Ret	16	Ret	Ret	6
20	Martin Depper							15	Ret	14	14	14	Ret	14	12	Ret	15	16	Ret	20	15	Ret				DNS	DNS	DNS	Ret	Ret	13	6
21	Sam Tordoff																												17	11	10	5
22	Shaun Hollamby	Ret	18	Ret	14	Ret	14	Ret	Ret	DNS	NC	Ret	Ret	Ret	16	14	16	15	15	DNS	DNS	DNS	13	16	15	14	19	Ret	21	17	Ret	3
23	Ben Collins																												14	12	Ret	2
24	Arthur Forster				17	17	13	Ret	Ret	15	16	13	15	NC	Ret	15	17	Ret	14	19	Ret	16				18	20	14	20	16	Ret	2
25	Jeff Smith																						14	15	14							2
Pos	Driver	THR			ROC			BHGP			OUL			CRO			SNE			SIL			KNO			DON			BHI			Pts

Independent Teams Trophy

References

External links

• Official website of the British Touring Car Championship
• BTCC Pages Archived 2010-03-05 at the Wayback Machine
• Crash Net
• Autosport

This page was last edited on 10 October 2023, at 20:41