[BTCC] BTCC 2021 season review - including driver rankings, awards etc.

[BTCC frog]

So, Ash Sutton secures the championship in style at the final round. After playing it safe all year and racking up the points, he wins the final race to win the championship by a comfortable margin in the end, and gets five for the season, equal most with Josh Cook. The biggest strength of the Infiniti this year was its ability to carry the weight, and that, along with Sutton’s consistent driving, with only one non-score all season, is why he won in 2021. But that advantage will be gone for next year as success ballast is replaced with some kind of boost system.

Overall, I would say 2021 was quite a dull season, by the BTCC’s high standards. Not just because there wasn’t really a title fight, but also because there was a lot less overtaking and close battling than there usually is. Normally it is easy to name a handful of brilliant fightbacks through the pack at the end of the season, but this year only Ingram at Donington, and Sutton at Snetterton stand out. The BTCC goes hybrid next year, and hopefully that will produce better racing. But considering how brilliant the racing has been for most of the NGTC era, it isn’t really a problem having the odd disappointing season.

Key stories in the off-season included Tom Ingram departing Speedworks to join Excelr8, with Rory Butcher replacing him from Motorbase. Motorbase linked up with MB Motorsport to run four Fords, including race winners Jake Hill and Ollie Jackson. It was all change at Team Dynamics as Matt Neal took a sabbatical and took the role of Team Principal, while Dan Cammish also departed on the eve of the season. Their replacements were three-time champion Gordon Shedden returning to the grid, and Dan Rowbottom who had struggled with Ciceley in 2019. Jason Plato, the driver with the most wins in the championship, also returned with Power Maxed Racing and had a new teammate in Daniel Lloyd. Ciceley Motorsport switched from the FWD Mercedes to the RWD BMW, and signed Tom Chilton to join Adam Morgan. BTC Racing replaced Chilton with Senna Proctor, and also signed Jade Edwards in a third car. WSR expanded back to a three-car operation, with Stephen Jelley joining the team. Team HARD also switched to the new Cupra Leon, and brought back former race winner Aron Taylor-Smith.

The championship began at Thruxton in May, with Sutton taking pole position in a damp session. However, his good work was undone at the complex as Turkington tapped the rear of his car, and paved the way for Josh Cook to claim the first win of the season. Tom Ingram took second in his first race with the Excelr8 Hyundai, and Jake Hill was third for MB Motorsport. The biggest story of the second race was a huge crash for Glynn Geddie in the Team HARD Cupra, triggered by Andy Neate pressing the clutch pedal rather than the brake pedal. It is likely that this crash caused Geddie’s exit from the championship after round three. Josh Cook claimed a second consecutive win while his teammate Dan Cammish, making a one-off appearance for BTC Racing, finished second. Jake Hill was third again, while Dan Rowbottom, a surprise new signing for Team Dynamics, showed his class with some outstanding overtaking. Ash Sutton fought back impressively after a pitstop under the safety car to salvage ninth. The third race was the only race of the season where wet tyres were required. Stephen Jelley started from pole with Tom Oliphant alongside on slicks, but it was Sutton who quickly moved into the lead. Mid-race, the track dried and Jake Hill fought through into the lead, but when rain fell again, Hill slipped back to third behind Jason Plato who took a podium on his first weekend back in the championship. Hill left Thruxton with a one-point championship lead over Cook.

The second round of the season was Snetterton, and Gordon Shedden claimed pole in the top-ten shootout, having returned to the championship after three years out. Unfortunately, he was excluded, and the pole given to Turkington, who won race one from Tom Ingram and Rory Butcher. In race two, Ash Sutton fought back superbly after issues in qualifying to take the victory from Turkington, while Ollie Jackson claimed an impressive podium in third. The third race had Jelley and Oliphant again on the front row, but from fourth place it was Ingram who battled through to win the first race for Excelr8 and Hyundai, while Shedden and Cook both got good results from lowly grid slots. Sutton, Ingram and Turkington fought to the front of the championship.

The third round was on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit, and Daniel Rowbottom shocked many by claiming his first pole position, with teammate Shedden alongside him. However, he fluffed his start and it was Tom Oliphant’s BMW from fourth on the grid which surged into the lead at Paddock Hill Bend and won the second race of his career. Shedden fought back to second with some controversial moves, while Rowbottom claimed a podium with third. The second race was the best of the season, as Oliphant struggled with heavy ballast but repelled the challenge of Rowbottom, Hill, Ingram and Sutton who queued up behind him. This lasted until the final lap, when Ingram nosed up the inside at Paddock to win, while Sutton claimed second on the run to the line and Oliphant was third. The weekend was also notable for a disaster for Turkington, only claiming a few points and dropping a long way from Sutton and Ingram, as the title battle looked to be a straight fight between the two of them.

Round four took place at Oulton Park, and it was Senna Proctor who claimed his first pole for BTC Racing. However, he too fluffed the start and it was Gordon Shedden who took the race lead from Dan Rowbottom. The red flag had to be called late in the race as Jason Plato spun Tom Oliphant, who was then collected by Chris Smiley and Rick Parfitt. On the restart, Rowbottom jumped Shedden for the lead, and despite a determined effort by Shedden to repass his teammate, bringing back memories of Matt Neal and Shedden ten years earlier at Oulton, Rowbottom held on for his first win in the BTCC. Shedden was second and Adam Morgan third. In race two, it was Rory Butcher who fought through to win his first race for Speedworks from fourth on the grid ahead of Rowbottom, while Morgan claimed another third place. Ash Sutton finished eighth and Tom Ingram tenth after both had had problems earlier in the weekend, but when number nine was drawn on the reversed grid, Tim Harvey proclaimed, ‘if Sutton doesn’t win this race, I’ll eat my hat.’ On the first start, Sutton took the lead at Cascades, but there was another red flag as Chris Smiley pushed Sam Osborne onto the grass and caused a large pileup. On the second start, Sutton went to the outside of Proctor who spun him, and Sutton was collected by Carl Boardley on his return to the track. Proctor won his first race for three years, with Jelley and Shedden completing the podium. Bad weekends for Sutton and Ingram saw their advantage at the top reduced massively and Rowbottom taking third, while Turkington dropped down to ninth.

The fifth round of the season was at Knockhill, and Turkington made the most of his low ballast by claiming pole position and a comfortable victory in race one, ahead of the BTC cars of Proctor and Cook. Ash Sutton finished an impressive fourth in the heavily ballasted Infiniti, and so went into the second race as the clear favourite, but Turkington repelled him well until the final round, where he slid wide coming out of the chicane and gifted Ash Sutton another win. Turkington was second and Jake Hill third. Stephen Jelley took his third reversed-grid pole in race three, with Jason Plato alongside him. Jelley led at the start, while Plato was muscled back in the pack. It was Tom Ingram who eventually pulled off the move of the season to pass Jelley into the hairpin and win the race, while Proctor finished second and Jelley third. Also notable from this weekend was Tim Harvey commentating on a mimed lap done by Aiden Moffat while waiting in his car, one of the highlights of the season.

For the sixth round, the BTCC returned to Thruxton, and it was Rowbottom who claimed another pole position from Jake Hill. But a feisty first lap from Josh Cook earned him another victory, his seventh at the track to further cement his title as the ‘King of Thruxton.’ Jake Hill finished second and Tom Oliphant third, while Sutton finished fifth. In race two, Sutton charged with no ballast to claim the lead from Cook and win another race, increasing his lead in the championship, particularly when closest rival Tom Ingram had a puncture on the final lap that dropped him from fifth to twelfth. Josh Cook was second and Tom Oliphant third. In the final race, Adam Morgan was drawn on pole position, and he won for the second time despite controversially missing the final chicane. Colin Turkington was second and Senna Proctor third. The racing here was a welcome consolation for the lack of a Belgian GP which should have taken place on the same day. Another of the highlights of the season took place this weekend, as David Addison claimed Rory Butcher would ‘have to work harder than a fat lad’s arteries,’ to keep Tom Ingram behind him. Sutton’s championship lead increased dramatically after Thruxton.

Round seven took place at Croft, where RWD advantage looked to have been reduced by the new track surface. However, Aiden Moffat still took his first pole for Infiniti, and won his first race for three years after holding of Jake Hill and Senna Proctor. The second race was extremely lively as Moffat struggled with maximum ballast but put up a spirited defence to hold up a whole train of cars behind him and finished second. This train did not include Jake Hill, who won by the largest margin of the season. Josh Cook held onto third. The final race was comparatively processional as Turkington won from pole ahead of Gordon Shedden and Ash Sutton, who further increased his championship lead, while Jake Hill moved into second.

Now into the latter stages of the season, Silverstone saw a fine pole position for Rory Butcher in the return of the top-ten shootout, ahead of Ingram. Butcher was slowed at the start by a wet patch in front of his grid slot, but held onto second and dived down the inside of Ingram into Luffield on lap four for the lead to win. Ingram was second, while Dan Lloyd took his first podium of the season with third and the ever-consistent Sutton was seventh. In race two, it was more difficult for Butcher with maximum ballast, but the cars behind scrapped among themselves and allowed him to win again. Josh Cook won out against Tom Ingram in the best battle of the season and then charged down Butcher, diving down the inside into the final corner, but going wide on exit and allowing him back through. Unfortunately, Cook was then disqualified from second, and Ingram took back that position, while Turkington was third. The reversed grid was number 12, which had the Power Maxed cars on the front row. Lloyd held the lead at the start, while Plato dropped back. Jake Hill took second and soon passed Lloyd to win and make up for a bad qualifying the previous day. Lloyd still took a fine second place while Sutton was third.

Round nine of the season was Donington Park, and the top ten shootout was used again. Gordon Shedden finally took the first real pole of his return, while the surprise of the session was the pace of the Vauxhalls, who claimed second and third on the grid. Shedden won the first race from Lloyd, who held on well behind him, and Rory Butcher finished third. Jake Hill’s championship aspirations took a hit after contact with Adam Morgan dropped him to the back, and effectively ruled the BMW driver out of the weekend. In the second race, Butcher took the lead at the start, but Shedden repassed him with a great dive into the Old Hairpin. Tom Ingram was carving his way through from eleventh with no ballast, and passed Shedden for the lead. However, the move was considered to be push-to-pass and he was penalised back to second, gifting Shedden the 50th win of his career. Rory Butcher finished third, while Turkington spun while running fourth. Ironically, that spin gave him reversed-grid pole and he duly converted into the 60th win of his career, ahead of Hill and Moffat. Sutton went into the final round with a healthy lead over Turkington in second, and looked set to claim his third championship barring any final round disaster.

At Brands Hatch for the finale, Hondas locked out the first four places on the grid, with Proctor on pole, while Sutton qualified ahead of all his rivals in sixth. Josh Cook took the lead from Proctor on the first lap to win, with Proctor second and Shedden third, while Sutton extended his championship lead over Turkington by a point. In the second race, Proctor crashed at Druids after contact with Dan Lloyd, who made a nice pass round the outside to claim second and keep it. Gordon Shedden finished third, while Turkington’s fourth was not enough to stop sixth-placed Sutton from winning his third title, which nobody could claim wasn’t fully deserved by both team and driver. The third race saw Jelley claim his fourth reversed-grid pole of the season, the equal record with Tordoff in 2016, while from fourth, Sutton set out to enjoy himself (as did one of his engineers, who was shown to be playing solitaire on his laptop moments before the start of the race). Sutton dispatched of a slow-starting Butcher before turn one, and passed Tom Chilton, having his best weekend of a horrible season, on the first lap also. Stephen Jelley proved a tougher nut to crack, but Sutton passed him coming out of Clearways a few laps later, and was followed through by Dan Rowbottom. Rowbottom looked to be keeping the gap constant behind Sutton before the safety car was called. Sutton won the race comfortable after ahead of Rowbottom, while Ingram fought back to take a strong third place and round of a great first season with Excelr8. Jelley was spun to the back after contact with Jake Hill, a shame after a strong weekend, while Turkington spun off with suspension damage. Ash Sutton ended the season with a comfortable victory in the championship of 51 points over Colin Turkington, while Josh Cook snatched third at the final round due to his double victory.

DRIVERS STANDINGS
1 Ash SUTTON 357
2 Colin TURKINGTON 306
3 Josh COOK 303
4 Tom INGRAM 300
5 Jake HILL 295
6 Gordon SHEDDEN 251
7 Rory BUTCHER 247
8 Aiden MOFFAT 230
9 Dan ROWBOTTOM 222
10 Senna PROCTOR 206
11 Dan LLOYD 190
12 Stephen JELLEY 174
13 Adam MORGAN 161
14 Jason PLATO 156
15 Chris SMILEY 138
16 Tom OLIPHANT 129
17 Jack GOFF 90
18 Ollie JACKSON 77
19 Tom CHILTON 64
20 Aron TAYLOR-SMITH 33
21 Dan CAMMISH 30
22 Carl BOARDLEY 29
23 Sam OSBORNE 16
24 Sam SMELT 5
25 Jack BUTEL 4
26 Jade EDWARDS 1
27 Jack MITCHELL 0
28 Paul RIVETT 0
29 Jessica HAWKINS 0
30 Nicolas HAMILTON 0
31 Nick HALSTEAD 0
32 Andy NEATE 0
33 Andy WILMOT 0
34 Rick PARFITT 0
35 Glynn GEDDIE 0
MANUFACTURERS – CONSTRUCTORS STANDINGS
1 BMW 869
2 Motorbase Performance/Ford 782
3 Toyota 695
TEAMS STANDINGS
1 Laser Tools Racing 588
2 BTC Racing 531
3 Halfords Racing with Cataclean 472
4 Team BMW 460
5 Ginsters EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com 445
6 MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square 384
7 Adrian Flux with Power Maxed Racing 362
8 Toyota Gazoo Racing UK 252
9 Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport 242
10 Team HARD. with Autobrite Direct 94*
11 Team HARD. with HUB Financial Solutions 47
12 Racing with Wera & Photon Group 28
13 EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com 12
14 PHSC with BTC Racing 3
15 ROKiT Racing with iQuoto Online Trading 0
INDEPENDENT DRIVERS STANDINGS
1 Ash SUTTON 404
2 Tom INGRAM 360
3 Josh COOK 350
4 Aiden MOFFAT 304
5 Gordon SHEDDEN 302
6 Dan ROWBOTTOM 293
7 Dan LLOYD 263
8 Senna PROCTOR 257
9 Adam MORGAN 238
10 Jason PLATO 238
11 Chris SMILEY 220
12 Jack GOFF 185
13 Tom CHILTON 133
14 Aron TAYLOR-SMITH 120
15 Carl BOARDLEY 94
16 Jack BUTEL 55
17 Dan CAMMISH 32
18 Jade EDWARDS 25
19 Rick PARFITT 23
20 Jack MITCHELL 19
21 Nicolas HAMILTON 10
22 Andy WILMOT 3
23 Nick HALSTEAD 2
24 Glynn GEDDIE 0
INDEPENDENT TEAMS STANDINGS
1 Laser Tools Racing 483
2 Halfords Racing with Cataclean 435
3 BTC Racing 430
4 Ginsters EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com 428
5 Adrian Flux with Power Maxed Racing 377
6 Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport 350
7 Team HARD. with Autobrite Direct 268*
8 Team HARD. with HUB Financial Solutions 247
9 EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com 224
10 PHSC with BTC Racing 163
11 ROKiT Racing with iQuoto Online Trading 132
JACK SEARS TROPHY STANDINGS
1 Dan ROWBOTTOM 536
2 Sam OSBORNE 428
3 Carl BOARDLEY 359
4 Jack BUTEL 315
5 Sam SMELT 311
6 Jade EDWARDS 270
7 Rick PARFITT 241
8 Nicolas HAMILTON 187
9 Jack MITCHELL 168
10 Andy NEATE 123
11 Paul RIVETT 47
12 Glynn GEDDIE 47
13 Jessica HAWKINS 36
14 Andy WILMOT 27
15 Nick HALSTEAD 25
GOODYEAR WINGFOOT AWARD STANDINGS
1 Colin TURKINGTON 114
2 Josh COOK 100
3 Dan ROWBOTTOM 99
4 Rory BUTCHER 95
5 Jake HILL 95
6 Senna PROCTOR 93
7 Ash SUTTON 88
8 Gordon SHEDDEN 84
9 Tom INGRAM 75
10 Aiden MOFFAT 68
11 Dan LLOYD 65
12 Tom OLIPHANT 65
13 Adam MORGAN 52
14 Stephen JELLEY 48
15 Chris SMILEY 47
16 Jason PLATO 38
17 Ollie JACKSON 27
18 Jack GOFF 20
19 Tom CHILTON 19
20 Sam OSBORNE 10
21 Dan CAMMISH 4
22 Carl BOARDLEY 3
23 Sam SMELT 1
24 Jade EDWARDS 0
25 Aron TAYLOR-SMITH 0
26 Andy NEATE 0
27 Rick PARFITT 0
28 Glynn GEDDIE 0
29 Jack BUTEL 0
30 Nicolas HAMILTON 0
31 Jessica HAWKINS 0

Support series champions:
Porsche Carrera Cup GB – Dan Cammish
Mini Challenge UK – Dan Zelos
F4 British Championship – Matthew Rees
Ginetta GT4 Supercup – Adam Smalley
Ginetta Junior Championship – Aston Millar

My driver rankings for the season:
1. Ash Sutton – fantastic season from Sutton, fully deserving of a third title. Super consistent, scoring points in every race bar one, while also claiming five victories. His drove best at Thruxton, in my opinion, particularly round one where he got little reward, and he only had one bad weekend, at Oulton Park, and much of that was down to bad luck. Yes, he had the best car, but he was also the best driver.
2. Josh Cook – has always looked like one of the best on the grid, but this was Cook’s best season yet. Five victories at Thruxton and Brands Hatch where he was superb, and was always at the sharp end of the grid, even with heavy ballast. I believe he scored more points in race ones than any other driver. Worst weekend was Oulton Park.
3. Tom Ingram – probably had the slowest car of the five contenders, and particularly struggled with ballast. But Ingram did a super job early in the season with wins at Snetterton, Brands Hatch and Knockhill with the new Hyundai, and was unlucky to lose a fourth win at Donington. Should be stronger next year with more knowledge of the Hyundai and no success ballast.
4. Jake Hill – Hill was expected to do well with the Ford Focus, but getting into the championship fight was even better than many expected. His best weekend of the season was Croft, where he always goes well, but he was super consistent all year. His worst weekends were Snetterton and the Brands Hatch finale. Fifth in the points was not far off second.
5. Colin Turkington – maybe a little harsh considering he was second in the championship with a difficult BMW, but Turkington overall was luckier than the other contenders with two reversed-grid poles at Croft and Donington, which he converted into wins, and Turkington made more mistakes as well, such as Thruxton, Knockhill and Donington. His best weekend was Snetterton, his worst a nightmare at Brands Indy. This was his worst season in some time, but he was still one of the best out there and should be stronger next year.
6. Jack Goff – driving the slowest car on the grid, it is difficult for Jack Goff to make an impression, but this year he had some fantastic races in the new Cupra, particularly early in the season such as his second place at Brands Hatch. The Cupra seemed to go backwards over the season, while teammate Aron Smith improved to match Goff over the late weekends, but Goff drove his best race of the season in the final race for eighth. Should be back with HARD next year, and hopefully the Cupra will be stronger.
7. Daniel Lloyd – no recency bias here, every weekend is weighted equally, and Lloyd still ends up seventh. He was quietly solid and consistent for the first part of the season, generally on par with Jason Plato, but then had three outstanding weekends to finish the season with four podiums and totally outclassed Plato in that time. He will surely win races if he stays for next season, with Power Maxed possibly switching to RWD.
8. Senna Proctor – despite missing the opening round at Thruxton, Proctor finished tenth in the championship and for a long time ran ahead of the Dynamics cars. He took two pole positions at Oulton Park and Brands Hatch, and finally took his second win at Oulton Park after three years. Consistently strong at almost every meeting.
9. Rory Butcher – seventh in the championship is a little disappointing for Butcher, as I expected him to be right up there challenging from the title. At both meeting at Brands Hatch, he was mysteriously off the pace, at Silverstone he was outstanding, and took another strong win at Oulton Park. Should be stronger next year if he stays with Speedworks.
10. Dan Rowbottom – the surprise of the season. Not much was expected of Rowbottom after his terrible 2019 season with Ciceley, but he was a transformed driver on his return to the championship, with two pole positions and a great victory at Oulton Park. His overtaking was also up there with the best on the grid.
11. Gordon Shedden – perhaps a little harsh to rate him behind his teammate as he scored more points, but Rowbottom was particularly unlucky at a number of meetings, and Shedden also got in too many incidents and scrapes, particularly at Brands Hatch Indy. Late in the season, he adjusted back to the BTCC and became the stronger Dynamics driver once again, with two impressive wins at Donington. Will be a title contender again next season.
12. Aiden Moffat – finished a career-best eighth in the championship, but admittedly he did have the best car. Won his first race in three years at Croft, but was also extremely strong and consistent at many other meetings, including Silverstone and Oulton Park, and showed a huge improvement from 2020 as he further adjusted to RWD.
13. Adam Morgan – perhaps a little more was expected from Morgan than 13th in the championship. While he outclassed teammate Chilton, that was more down to Chilton having a nightmare of a season. Morgan’s two wins were both lucky reversed grid wins, but his best weekend was the double podium at Oulton Park. Had a lot of bad luck late season, and should be stronger next year with more RWD experience.
14. Jason Plato – the driver with the most wins in the history of the championship had a disappointing return as he was generally outclassed by teammate Dan Lloyd. The Astra was a difficult car to drive, and Plato had a great opening weekend at Thruxton, but that proved to be his only podium and he was leapfrogged by Dan Lloyd in the final standings. Could be driving a BTC Honda next season, but won’t be with Power Maxed.
15. Tom Oliphant – probably the unluckiest driver of the season, as he was taken out of three race ones, compromising the rest of the weekend. The championship standings don’t show it but he was generally slightly better than Jelley, and early season he was almost on par with Turkington, with a great win at Brands Hatch. Faded massively late season, and is unlikely to be back with WSR.
16. Chris Smiley – the BTCC’s ‘hard man’ had another mega consistent season, but got in too many incidents and obtained lots of penalty points. He was probably strongest at Knockhill, where he qualified an impressive third, but also did well at Silverstone and Brands Hatch Indy. Unlucky not to claim a podium this season, but was some way off Ingram.
17. Stephen Jelley – from the unluckiest driver in the past, Jelley became the luckiest driver on the grid as he took four reversed-grid poles but zero wins. The points standings don’t show it but he was not quite as good as Oliphant this season. His best weekend was Oulton Park where he finished second in the final race, while he deserved more from the Brands finale.
18. Aron Taylor-Smith – early in the year, Taylor-Smith was one of the biggest disappointments as he never got near to Goff’s pace. His pace picked up, but unfortunately only as the Cupra went backwards, so his final points tally is a long way behind Goff’s despite the two being at a very similar level over the second half of the year. Very close gaps mean he is unlucky not to be higher on this list.
19. Ollie Jackson – after what looked like a breakthrough season in 2020 for Jackson with two race wins, he struggled again in 2021, with only one podium at Snetterton. Although he had a lot of bad luck with other cars taking him out, he was still never on Hill’s level. Jackson was, however, very good at making up lots of places on the first lap, most notably at Croft. Quite an anonymous season.
20. Tom Chilton – the biggest disappointment of the season was Tom Chilton’s inability to adjust to RWD, as he finished a lowly nineteenth in the championship for Ciceley. He only had five top-ten finishes, but three of those came in the final round, so maybe Chilton is finally starting to find his feet. Hopefully he will be back with FWD in 2022.
21. Sam Osborne – a very anonymous season from the third of the Ford drivers, who had no weekends or races that stood out as being very good or very bad. He had a few strong qualifying sessions, such as Oulton Park and Donington, but rarely stood out in races. Osborne will almost certainly be back with Motorbase next season.
22. Carl Boardley – the reason for rating him below Osborne and Chilton was that he drove the fastest car, but while he looked like he had made significant improvement early in the season with a particularly good weekend at Oulton Park, too often he was stuck with the backmarkers, and really struggled late season. Probably won’t be back next year.
23. Jack Mitchell – another with a very anonymous season, Mitchell ranks above the backmarker group because he was driving the slowest car and was close to his teammates Goff and Taylor-Smith a few times. But more would have been expected from Mitchell, and it is unlikely he will return next season. There may still have been problems with his car related to Geddie’s huge crash at Thruxton.
24. Jack Butel – another consistent season from Butel, but he sets himself above the rest of the backmarkers because he showed some genuine improvement in the middle of the season, with points finishes at Knockhill and Thruxton. He very rarely got close to Smiley’s pace, but had a stronger second season than his first.
25. Sam Smelt – another big disappointment from the season was Sam Smelt’s struggle for pace, as he only scored five points while his teammate won three races. Often, Smelt looked quick in practice sessions, such as his fifth place at Croft, but never seemed to be able to translate that pace into qualifying or the races. His seat appears to be at risk for next season.
26. Jade Edwards – it was good to see Jade Edwards getting a full season in the BTCC, and she looked fast a few times with good qualifying results at Thruxton and Donington and a point at Snetterton. But she was driving a car that finished second in the teams’ championship, so should have scored a few more points, and made a few too many mistakes as well. I think she will improve with more experience in the BTCC.
27. Rick Parfitt – this season will probably turn out to be Parfitt’s only season in the BTCC, but it was nice that he was able to fulfil a lifelong dream by competing. Parfitt made a few mistakes early in the season, most notably at Oulton, and generally showed little pace, but nevertheless I’m glad he got the chance to compete.
28. Nic Hamilton – obviously it is much more difficult for Hamilton in this championship than any other driver, due to his disability, but I have not factored that into these rankings so he ranks here because he was the slowest and usually finished at the back, although he did have the slowest car. Made a few mistakes as well, most notably hitting another car at the restart at Croft.
29. Andy Neate – announced his retirement from the BTCC at Brands Hatch, and it was probably the right time. Neate has always been a controversial driver as he has often caused incidents in the past, but pressing the clutch pedal instead of the brake pedal at Thruxton was perhaps the worst and ‘departed from the standard of reasonably competent driver’. For the rest of the season, he was fairly anonymous but did well to return after an illness mid-season.
The rest of the drivers are unranked as they competed in too few races.
My awards for the season:
Driver of the season – Ash Sutton
Team of the season – Team BMR/Laser Tools
Most improved driver: Dan Rowbottom
Most improved team: BTC Racing
Drive of the season: Tom Ingram, Donington Park
Overtake of the season: Tom Ingram, on Stephen Jelley at Knockhill
Best race of the season: Race two, Brands Hatch Indy
Best weekend of the season: Brands Hatch Indy
Best moment of the season: Tim Harvey’s commentary on Aiden Moffat’s visualised lap.

Please give your own driver rankings (or just a top ten) and nominations for the awards. You can also add your own awards if you wish.

[crmalcolm]

Not a criticism of a very well-thought out summary of the season. But I would rate a few of the drivers slightly differently.

Hamilton would finish above Mitchell in my rating - mainly based on the Jack Sears standings as a differentiator.

I would also give credit to Cammish, personally ranking him around 15th in the standings. I know he only drove one weekend, but that was enough to outscore Osborne, Smelt and Boardley who were all in good cars all season. Those points seem to be the difference that allowed BTC Racing to get 3rd in the Independent Teams, and helped towards the 2nd in overall Teams'.

[BTCC frog]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

Not a criticism of a very well-thought out summary of the season. But I would rate a few of the drivers slightly differently.

Hamilton would finish above Mitchell in my rating - mainly based on the Jack Sears standings as a differentiator.

I would also give credit to Cammish, personally ranking him around 15th in the standings. I know he only drove one weekend, but that was enough to outscore Osborne, Smelt and Boardley who were all in good cars all season. Those points seem to be the difference that allowed BTC Racing to get 3rd in the Independent Teams, and helped towards the 2nd in overall Teams'.

Mitchell was behind Hamilton in the Jack Sears Trophy because he missed the first three rounds. I think he outqualified Hamilton and finished ahead of him in every race they both finished, so Mitchell rates higher for me.

And I was very impressed with Dan Cammish's cameo appearance at Thruxton, but I don't like to rate drivers who only did one or two rounds. If it was done on average rating throughout the season, Cammish would rate as number one, which wouldn't be right, but if it was on total rating he would be last (apart from the others with only one or two rounds). So I think it is better to just leave him as unranked. If I was ranking the unranked drivers, it would be:
1. Dan Cammish
2. Jessica Hawkins
3. Paul Rivett
4. Glynn Geddie
5. Andy Wilmot
6. Nick Halstead

But this is separate from the main rankings.

[Nononsensecapeesh]

Originally Posted by BTCC frog

Mitchell was behind Hamilton in the Jack Sears Trophy because he missed the first three rounds. I think he outqualified Hamilton and finished ahead of him in every race they both finished, so Mitchell rates higher for me.

And I was very impressed with Dan Cammish's cameo appearance at Thruxton, but I don't like to rate drivers who only did one or two rounds. If it was done on average rating throughout the season, Cammish would rate as number one, which wouldn't be right, but if it was on total rating he would be last (apart from the others with only one or two rounds). So I think it is better to just leave him as unranked. If I was ranking the unranked drivers, it would be:
1. Dan Cammish
2. Jessica Hawkins
3. Paul Rivett
4. Nick Halstead
5. Andy Wilmot
6. Nick Halstead

But this is separate from the main rankings.

You've put Halstead twice.

[BTCC frog]

Originally Posted by Nononsensecapeesh

You've put Halstead twice.

Thanks, edited now.

[Nononsensecapeesh]

Originally Posted by BTCC frog

Thanks, edited now.

You're welcome.

[BTCC frog]

Autosport's top ten of the season:
1. Ash Sutton
2. Colin Turkington
3. Josh Cook
4. Tom Ingram
5. Jake Hill
6. Rory Butcher
7. Gordon Shedden
8. Daniel Rowbottom
9. Senna Proctor
10. Dan Lloyd

So effectively they just took the championship standings but swapped around Butcher and Shedden and removed Moffat because he was in the best car. I believe Turkington is too high, as he was generally luckier this season than the three behind him, and I also think Jack Goff should be in the top ten at least.

[Evantra]

1. Sutton
2. Ingram
3. Cook
4. Hill
5. Proctor
6. Rowbottom
7. Moffat
8. Turkington
9. Lloyd
10. Smiley

Expected a lot more from Shedden, Butcher and Morgan to put them in the top 10.

[S griffin]

Hard to pick anyone other than Sutton for driver of the season. I'll have to think some more if I am to rank the others in order

[Matt K]

My Top 10 would be:
1. Sutton
2. Ingram
3. Cook
4. Turkington
5. Hill
6. Proctor
7. Moffat
8. Butcher
9. Rowbottom
10. Lloyd

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by BTCC frog

Autosport's top ten of the season:.........


.........So effectively they just took the championship standings but swapped around Butcher and Shedden and removed Moffat because he was in the best car. I believe Turkington is too high, as he was generally luckier this season than the three behind him, and I also think Jack Goff should be in the top ten at least.

Surely if one follows the line of thinking that Moffat was removed because he was just driving the best car, then wouldn't that also affect Sutton.

Personally, I don't accept that because they had to get the best out of possibly the best car. One only needs to look at Boardley's results considering he was supposed to be driving the same car.

[S griffin]

I think Turkington was unlucky that the BMW wasn’t quite as good this year, although a couple of rare mistakes didn’t help him. Overall he did well to keep in mathematical contention till the end.

[Millvi]

https://youtu.be/TaT7ZdTwIX8

‘On The Limit’ coming soon and following Sutton, Taylor-Smith and Chilton.

I’ll be fascinated to see if Chilton remains all smiles and full of his usual excited puppy dog enthusiasm, or that mask slips.

There were brief hints from last year’s filming of the tension in the Excelr8 garage between Proctor and Smiley.

[S griffin]

I feel like I need to wait for the season review on ITV4 or the DVD to come out before ranking. I actually can’t remember a great deal about this season, which is unusual for me. Was a bit of a blur looking back

[BTCC frog]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

Surely if one follows the line of thinking that Moffat was removed because he was just driving the best car, then wouldn't that also affect Sutton.

Personally, I don't accept that because they had to get the best out of possibly the best car. One only needs to look at Boardley's results considering he was supposed to be driving the same car.

Interestingly, my mathematical model rates the Infiniti as narrowly the fifth-best car on the grid, behind the Toyota, the WSR BMW and BTC and Dynamics Hondas (although the difference between them is small), so suggests it was Sutton's driving that made the difference. However, Sutton is not rated as the best driver of the season as the Hyundai has a much lower rating than the other title contenders, so Ingram rates as the best driver. I am sceptical about this, because it also predicts that Ingram would have comfortably won the championship if he had remained with Speedworks, and unless Toyota have massively increased their injection of cash into the team without us knowing, this seems unlikely. More likely is that Ingram's car was quicker than the other Hyundais, as his lack of teammates makes that rating quite uncertain.

[redshoes]

Motorsport News top ten, compiled from votes of the drivers who finished in the top 10 of the championship.

1. Sutton
2. Ingram
3. Cook
4. Hill
5. Rowbottom
6. Turkington
7. Lloyd
8. Procotor
9. Moffat
10. Shedden

[S griffin]

Interesting list. Turkington should be above RowBo though