The 2010 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season was the 53rd
British Touring Car Championship
The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA
TOCA, formally trading as BARC (TOCA) Ltd, is an organiser of motorsport events in ...
(BTCC) season. It began at
Thruxton Circuit
The Thruxton Circuit is a motor-racing circuit located near the village of Thruxton in Hampshire, England, United Kingdom, about 30 miles north of Southampton.
It has hosted motorsport events including the British Touring Car Championship, B ...
on 4 April and finished after 30 races over ten events at
Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently host ...
on 10 October.
RML Chevrolet driver
Jason Plato
Timothy Jason Plato (born 14 October 1967) is a British racing driver who last competed in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) for BTC Racing. He has twice been BTCC Champion, in 2001 for Vauxhall and 2010 for Silverline Chevrolet. He ...
claimed the championship with a win in the penultimate race of the season leading home season long rival,
Honda Racing Team's
Matt Neal
Matthew Neal (born 20 December 1966) is a British motor racing driver. Neal is a triple BTCC Champion having won the British Touring Car Championship in 2005, 2006 and 2011. Neal is also a record 6 time BTCC Independents Champion having won the ...
. On his way to his second BTCC crown, Plato claimed seven victories through the course of the season 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
Arena International Motorsport was a British motor racing team founded by Mike Earle. Earle originally ran the Onyx Formula One team from the same base in Littlehampton, before selling the team. At the end of 2012 the team's new owners, Capsi ...
Ford driver
Tom Onslow-Cole
Thomas Michael Onslow-Cole (born 16 May 1987 in Kingston, Surrey ) is a British auto racing driver. He won the International GT Open in Pro-Am category in 2018 and in 2019 and the 24H Series in 2015.
It was announced in April 2014 that he wou ...
lost the Independents' Trophy to team mate
Tom Chilton
Thomas James Chilton (born 15 March 1985) is a British racing driver. He has spent most of his career competing in touring car racing; he was a former factory Vauxhall and Honda driver in the British Touring Car Championship, and currently driv ...
. Chilton ended up eight points clear of Onslow-Cole with
Motorbase Performance
Motorbase Performance is a British motor racing team, founded in 2004 by former Production Saloon racer David Bartrum. They are best known for competing in the British Touring Car Championship.
Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain
The team starte ...
BMW driver
Steven Kane
Steven Kane (born 5 June 1980) is a British racing driver who currently competes in the Blancpain Endurance Series and Avon Tyres British GT Championship for M-Sport Bentley driving a Bentley Continental GT3.
Career
Kane, who was born in Ne ...
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
Team Dynamics Motorsport is a UK-based motor-racing team based in Droitwich, Worcestershire; best known for their successes in the British Touring Car Championship, including winning the Overall Drivers title in 2005, 2006 and 2011 with Matt Nea ...
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
Arena International Motorsport was a British motor racing team founded by Mike Earle. Earle originally ran the Onyx Formula One team from the same base in Littlehampton, before selling the team. At the end of 2012 the team's new owners, Capsi ...
to claim the Independent Teams' trophy, breaking a three-year stranglehold on that trophy by
West Surrey Racing
West Surrey Racing is a UK-based motorsport team run by New Zealander Dick Bennetts. He is responsible for masterminding the careers of such names as Ayrton Senna, Mika Häkkinen, Jonathan Palmer, Rubens Barrichello, Maurício Gugelmin and Eddie ...
.
Teams and drivers
The official entry list was announced at the series' Media Day at
Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently host ...
on 23 March 2010.
Team and driver changes
Team changes
*
Vauxhall
Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...
withdrew their manufacturer support from
Triple Eight Race Engineering
Triple Eight Race Engineering, (branded as Red Bull Ampol Racing) is an Australian motor racing team competing in the Supercars Championship. The team has been the only Brisbane based V8 Supercar team since its formation, originally operating ...
due to the economic crisis and the lack of official manufacturers in the BTCC. However, continued as a privateer team.
RML gained the backing of
Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
to run a Works team in the series, while
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
returned as a manufacturer team with
Team Dynamics
Team Dynamics Motorsport is a UK-based motor-racing team based in Droitwich, Worcestershire; best known for their successes in the British Touring Car Championship, including winning the Overall Drivers title in 2005, 2006 and 2011 with Matt Nea ...
.
Driver changes
Changed teams
*
Rob Collard
Robert Collard (born 1 October 1968) is a British auto racing driver from Hampshire, best known for racing in the British Touring Car Championship, winning two races in a West Surrey Racing MG, and claiming the Independent's Cup title in 2003. ...
:
Airwaves BMW →
WSR
*
John George:
TH Motorsport →
sunshine.co.uk with Tech-Speed Motorsport
*
Mat Jackson
Mat Jackson (born 10 June 1981) is a British racing driver.
Racing career
Early years
Born in Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire, Jackson started racing in karts in his teens, before finishing 4th in the 2000 Renault Clio Cup, his first attempt ...
:
Racing Silverline → Airwaves BMW
*
Andrew Jordan:
VX Racing
Triple Eight Racing was a motorsports team formed in 1996 as Triple Eight Race Engineering, which competed in the British Touring Car Championship and the British GT Championship.
The team's original focus was to design, build and race Vaux ...
→
Pirtek Racing
Eurotech Racing was a British motor racing team based in Tamworth, Staffordshire, founded by Mike Jordan and currently owned by Jeff Smith since December 2014, that last competed in the 2018 British Touring Car Championship
The team won bot ...
*
James Nash:
RML →
Uniq Racing with Triple Eight
*
Matt Neal
Matthew Neal (born 20 December 1966) is a British motor racing driver. Neal is a triple BTCC Champion having won the British Touring Car Championship in 2005, 2006 and 2011. Neal is also a record 6 time BTCC Independents Champion having won the ...
: VX Racing →
Honda Racing Team
*
David Pinkney
David Pinkney is a British businessman and auto racing driver. He competed in the British Touring Car Championship on and off between 1989 and 2011.
Racing career
James Weaver talked David into racing and he started out in the Uniroyal Saloon ...
:
Team Dynamics
Team Dynamics Motorsport is a UK-based motor-racing team based in Droitwich, Worcestershire; best known for their successes in the British Touring Car Championship, including winning the Overall Drivers title in 2005, 2006 and 2011 with Matt Nea ...
→
Pinkney Motorsport
Entering/re-entering BTCC
*
Tom Boardman:
World Touring Car Championship
The FIA World Touring Car Championship was an international touring car championship promoted by Eurosport Events and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It has had several different incarnations, including a sin ...
(
SUNRED Engineering) → Special Tuning UK
*
Ben Collins:
Le Mans Series
The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...
(RML) → Airwaves BMW
*
Martin Depper
Martin Lee Dapper (born 5 July 1968) is a British auto racing driver and businessman. He previously competed in the British Touring Car Championship.
Depper was the 2008 Mini Challenge UK Champion with Forster Motorsport. In 2013, he competed i ...
: Mini Challenge (Forster Motorsport) → Forster Motorsport
*
Arthur Forster
Arthur Forster (born 3 August 1967 in Newcastle upon Tyne) is a British auto racing driver. He is currently competing in the UK MINI Challenge with his own Forster Motorsport team, and competed in the 2010 British Touring Car Championship for t ...
: Mini Challenge (Forster Motorsport) → Forster Motorsport
*
Phil Glew
Philip Glew (born 28 June 1983 in Grimsby) is a British auto racing driver. He has previously competed in the British Touring Car Championship and British GT Championship. He is currently a commentator for ITV Sport's coverage support races on t ...
:
Renault Clio Cup UK (Team Pyro) → Uniq Racing with Triple Eight & Special Tuning UK
*
Shaun Hollamby
Shaun Hollamby (born 4 December 1965 in Pembury, Kent) is a British auto racing driver and race team owner. He is the managing director of AmD Tuning, a performance tuning company and motor racing team based in West Thurrock, Essex. He also c ...
: Dunlop SportMaxx Cup (
AmD Millteksport) → AmD Milltek Racing.com
*
Steven Kane
Steven Kane (born 5 June 1980) is a British racing driver who currently competes in the Blancpain Endurance Series and Avon Tyres British GT Championship for M-Sport Bentley driving a Bentley Continental GT3.
Career
Kane, who was born in Ne ...
:
FIA Formula Two Championship
The FIA Formula 2 Championship is a second-tier single-seater championship organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Held on road racing, racing circuits, the championship was introduced in 2017, following the rebrandi ...
(test driver) → Airwaves BMW
*
Alex MacDowall
Alexander "Alex" Hay MacDowall (born 22 January, 1991) is a British auto racing driver. He is currently competing in the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship season for Aston Martin Racing.
Racing career
Early career
MacDowall was born in Car ...
: Renault Clio Cup UK (
Total Control Racing
Total Control Racing (TCR) was a toy brand from Ideal which debuted in the late 1970s, similar to slot car sets, with approximately HO scale cars (and smaller scale semi-trailer trucks) that operated on a slotless track.
Description
The plasti ...
) →
Silverline Chevrolet
*
Andy Neate
Andrew Neate (born 19 August 1974 in Aylesbury) was a British racing driver.
Racing career
After first racing in karting, he drove in Formula First in 1997. In 1999 he went on to the Formula Opel Europa Cup and a year later he drove in the Ford F ...
: Sabbatical (injury) → WSR
*
Jeff Smith: Renault Clio Cup UK (Team Pyro) → Uniq Racing with Triple Eight
*
Sam Tordoff
Samuel Lewis Tordoff (born 19 April 1989) is a British racing car driver best known for his appearances in the British Touring Car Championship. He is the grandson of rally driver and car dealer Jack Tordoff. Tordoff finished second overall in ...
: Renault Clio Cup UK (
Total Control Racing
Total Control Racing (TCR) was a toy brand from Ideal which debuted in the late 1970s, similar to slot car sets, with approximately HO scale cars (and smaller scale semi-trailer trucks) that operated on a slotless track.
Description
The plasti ...
) → Uniq Racing with Triple Eight
*
Lea Wood
Lea Wood (born 18 August 1984) is a British auto racing driver and mechanic, employed at his father's garage based in Hereford. He has competed previously in the British Touring Car Championship.
Racing career
Early years
He started club level ...
:
Welsh Sports and Saloon Car Championship The Welsh Sports and Saloon Car Championship is organised by the BARC and the Welsh Racing Drivers’ Association, the main venue of the championship being Pembrey. 2009 sees the championship travelling to Brands Hatch. The championship has also ra ...
(Team Wood Racing) → Central Group Racing
Leaving BTCC
*
Jonathan Adam
Jonathan "Jonny" Adam (born 4 September 1984 in Lochgelly, Fife) is a British racing driver and a factory driver for Aston Martin Racing. He was the champion of the SEAT Cupra Championship in two of its six seasons – winning in 2007 and in 200 ...
: Airwaves BMW → unknown
*
Martyn Bell
Martyn Bell (born 17 July 1964) is an auto racing driver. Since 2006 he has contested the British Touring Car Championship, but he spent the majority of his career racing BMWs in various championships. He won one overall title and 3 class titles ...
: Sunshine.co.uk with Tech-Speed → Sabbatical (injury)
*
Dan Eaves
Dan Eaves (born 3 June 1975 in Worcestershire) is a British auto racing driver. He competed in the British Touring Car Championship between 2000 and 2005, and again in 2009, winning a total of six races (including a triple-race clean sweep at ...
:
Clyde Valley Racing → unknown
*
Johnny Herbert
John Paul "Johnny" Herbert (born 25 June 1964) is a British former racing driver and current television announcer for Sky Sports F1. He raced in Formula One from 1989 to 2000, for seven different teams, winning three races and placing 4th in t ...
: Team Dynamics →
Superstars Series
The Superstars International Series was a production-based touring car racing championship held between 2004 and 2013. It was managed by the "Superstars World of Racing SpA", SWR, a company of FG GROUP with headquarters in Rome and sanctioned by t ...
(Motorzone)
*
Stephen Jelley
Stephen Jelley (born 12 May 1982) is a British auto racing driver.
Career
Single-seaters
Born in Leicester, Jelley moved up from Formula Ford to the National Class of the British Formula 3 Championship for 2004, taking three class wins. In 20 ...
: West Surrey Racing →
Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain
The Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain is a multi-event one-make motor racing series that takes place in the United Kingdom for the Porsche 911 GT3. Being the fastest and most successful single marque GT championship in the UK, the Carrera Cup ...
(Team Parker Racing)
*
Adam Jones: Clyde Valley Racing → unknown
*
Nick Leason
Nick Leason (born 23 August 1968 in Purley, London) is a British racing driver.
Career
In 2007, Leason drove in the British Touring Car Championship. Leason had initially planned to compete in the Daniels Motorsport-run Vauxhall Astra Coupe ...
:
AFM Racing → unknown
*
Liam McMillan
Liam McMillan (born 2 March 1990 in King's Lynn) is a British racing driver.
Racing career
McMillan first competed in saloon racing in 2006, competing in the 750 Motor Club's SAXMAX Championship. McMillan dominated the championship starting ev ...
: 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
The FIA European Touring Car Cup was an annual touring car racing event, which had been held at various locations across Europe from 2005 to 2017. Unlike in previous years where it was a one-off event, in 2010 the series was a three round event.
...
&
World Touring Car Championship
The FIA World Touring Car Championship was an international touring car championship promoted by Eurosport Events and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It has had several different incarnations, including a sin ...
(Hartmann Racing)
*
Colin Turkington
Colin Henry Turkington (born 21 March 1982) is a British racing driver from Northern Ireland who competes in the British Touring Car Championship for Team BMW. He is a 4 time BTCC champion, winning the title in 2009, 2014, 2018 and 2019, havi ...
: West Surrey Racing → World Touring Car Championship (West Surrey Racing)
*
Harry Vaulkhard
Harry Vaulkhard (born 14 October 1985) is a British auto racing, racing driver. In 2010 he raced in the World Touring Car Championship for Bamboo Engineering.
Career
Early career
Harry's father, Nigel Vaulkhard, was a successful businessman ...
:
Bamboo Engineering → World Touring Car Championship (Bamboo Engineering)
Mid-season changes
*
Phil Glew
Philip Glew (born 28 June 1983 in Grimsby) is a British auto racing driver. He has previously competed in the British Touring Car Championship and British GT Championship. He is currently a commentator for ITV Sport's coverage support races on t ...
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
The SEAT León (), also spelled Leon in some other languages (named after the city of León, which also means "Lion" in Spanish), is a hatchback compact car built by the Spanish car manufacturer SEAT since October 1999.ETKA
The first two León ...
run by
Tom Boardman's Special Tuning UK team, under the YourRacingCar.com banner, at
Silverstone
Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...
, but the deal was for the single weekend.
*
Fabrizio Giovanardi
Fabrizio Giovanardi (born 14 December 1966 in Sassuolo) is an Italian racing driver. During his career he has won ten touring car titles, including European and British crowns making him the most successful touring car driver worldwide. He has ...
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
Croft may refer to:
Occupations
* Croft (land), a small area of land, often with a crofter's dwelling
* Crofting, small-scale food production
* Bleachfield, an open space used for the bleaching of fabric, also called a croft
Locations In the Uni ...
.
*
Matt Hamilton withdrew from the round at
Croft
Croft may refer to:
Occupations
* Croft (land), a small area of land, often with a crofter's dwelling
* Crofting, small-scale food production
* Bleachfield, an open space used for the bleaching of fabric, also called a croft
Locations In the Uni ...
due to financial difficulties and missed the rest of the season. However he is looking at finding the funds to return in 2011.
*
Jeff Smith joined Triple Eight in a second car at
Knockhill
Knockhill Racing Circuit is a motor racing circuit in Fife, Scotland. It opened in September 1974 and is Scotland's national motorsport centre. The circuit is located in the countryside about north of Dunfermline. It is the only FIA appro ...
.
*
James Kaye
James Kaye (born 18 February 1964 in Harrogate, North Yorkshire) is a British auto racing driver. He has been a stalwart competitor of Hondas in various championships since 1995, and has had 2 lengthy spells in the BTCC. He won the BTCC indepe ...
returned to the series for the final two rounds after four years away, racing a
Honda Integra
The , marketed in North America as the Acura Integra, is an automobile produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Honda from 1985 until 2006, and then since 2021. It succeeded the Quint as a more luxurious and sport-oriented derivative o ...
under the 'WRC Developments with Barwell' banner.
*
Sam Tordoff
Samuel Lewis Tordoff (born 19 April 1989) is a British racing car driver best known for his appearances in the British Touring Car Championship. He is the grandson of rally driver and car dealer Jack Tordoff. Tordoff finished second overall in ...
joined Triple Eight in a second car at the final round at
Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently host ...
.
*
Ben Collins joined Airwaves BMW in a third car at the final round at Brands Hatch.
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.
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
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
)
*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
Independent Teams Trophy
References
External links
Official website of the British Touring Car ChampionshipBTCC PagesCrash NetAutosport
{{ToCA Tour
British Touring Car Championship seasons
Touring Car Championship