The 2011 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship was the 54th
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. It was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and was renamed as ...
(BTCC) season.
Cars conforming to the
Next Generation Touring Car
Next Generation Touring Car, also known as NGTC and by its Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) designation TCN-1, is an FIA and TOCA specification and classification for production based race cars. The specification covers nationa ...
(NGTC) specification were allowed to compete in the championship for the first time, in a phased transition from
Super 2000 specification to the NGTC specification. The season was also the final time that cars built to the
BTC Touring
In motor racing, BTC Touring (BTC-T) was the set of new regulations for the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) introduced in 2001 BTCC, after the demise of the Supertouring category.
The cars were based on standard bodyshells, but were allow ...
specification were allowed to compete, ending the specification's decade of competition in the BTCC.
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 Ne ...
'
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 ...
claimed his third BTCC title after finishing 8th in the final round of the season, two places ahead of teammate and rival
Gordon Shedden
Gordon Shedden (born 15 February 1979) is a Scottish auto racing driver, currently competing in the British Touring Car Championship for the Halfords Racing with Cataclean team. He has previously won the series on three occasions; in 2012, 201 ...
, who was beaten to the title by eight points. Reigning Champion
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 ...
finished third after suffering a puncture in the first race of the final meeting at Silverstone. With the Hondas claiming a 1–2, this all but eliminated Plato from the title fight.
Joint fourth in the outright championship were Independents' title protagonists
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 ...
and
James Nash, with Jackson finishing fourth on merit of race wins, four to Nash's one. Nash, however, claimed the Independents' title in the first race at Silverstone after Jackson also suffered a puncture. Both however had torrid races after, failing to score points in both races. Nash's team,
Triple 8 Race Engineering
Triple Eight Racing was a auto racing, 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 an ...
also claimed the Independents Teams' championship.
With Neal and Shedden first and second in the Drivers' championship, Honda easily clinched both the Teams' and Manufacturers' championships.
Teams and drivers
The entry list for the 2011 season was revealed at the championship's Media Day held at Silverstone on 24 March 2011.
Driver changes
; Changed teams
*
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 ...
will move from
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 Eddi ...
to partner
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 ...
at Team Aon.
*
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 ...
will move from
Team Aon to race for
AmD Milltek Racing with YourRacingCar.
* After driving for his own team in
2010,
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 ...
will drive an Audi for
Rob Austin Racing.
; Entering/re-entering BTCC
*
Nick Foster
Nick Foster is a British composer and music producer based in London. He is best-known for his work as a composer for television, commercials and film.
Career
Foster’s recent work includes Jack Whitehall & Freddy Syborn’s comedy-drama for ...
will début in the series, partnering
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. ...
at West Surrey Racing.
*
Tony Gilham
Anthony "Tony" Gilham (born 19 May 1979) is a British auto racing driver.
He is the founder and owner of Team HARD. Racing, who currently compete in various championships including the British Touring Car Championship.
Racing career
Early ye ...
will enter the series after three years in the
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 ...
, with Triple 8.
* Having competed for
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 ...
in the
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 ...
,
Liam Griffin will step up into the championship.
*
Tony Hughes will enter the series with Speedworks Motorsport, having driven for the team in the
Ginetta G50 Cup.
*
Chris James, who previously raced in the Mini Challenge, will race for his own Team ES Racing.
*
Renault Clio Cup champion Dave Newsham
David Newsham (born 7 July 1967) is a British auto racing driver and businessman. He is the managing director of Norscott Vending. He raced in the British Touring Car Championship from 2011 to 2017, but in 2016, he competed in the British Rallyc ...
moved into the BTCC with
Geoff Steel Racing.
*
Jeff Smith will move into the series full-time – having finished eighth in the
Renault Clio Cup
The Renault Clio Cup Series is a one-make racing series created and managed by Alpine Racing (until 2020 known as Renault Sport). The championship was born after merge the 4 active Renault Clio national cups at that moment plus the Clio Cup E ...
– after contesting the Knockhill round for Triple 8 in 2010. He will join
Pirtek Racing.
*
Ginetta G50 Cup champion Frank Wrathall will also graduate into the championship with his family-run Dynojet team.
; Leaving BTCC
*
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 ...
will revert to a team principal role within the AmD Milltek Racing with YourRacingCar team.
*
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 ...
will move into sportscars, racing in the SPEED EuroSeries with HMR.
Team changes
*
Rob Austin
Robert Christopher Austin (born 1 February 1981) is a British racing driver who formerly competed in the British Touring Car Championship. He was born in Evesham, Worcestershire.
Racing career
Formula 3
His career started in British Formul ...
will enter the series, with his own team running two
Audi A4
The Audi A4 is a line of compact executive cars produced since 1994 by the German car manufacturer Audi, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group.
The A4 has been built in five generations and is based on the Volkswagen Group B platform. The first ...
s to NGTC specification.
* Dynojet will enter the series, running a single NGTC Toyota Avensis.
* Speedworks Motorsport will enter the series, becoming the first team to commit to the new Next Generation Touring Car, running two cars.
*
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 ...
will switch from
BMWs to
Fords, running under the Airwaves Racing banner.
*
Geoff Steel will enter the series running a
BMW for Dave Newsham.
Mid-season changes
; Driver changes
* After originally joining the series as team principal of his own team,
Rob Austin
Robert Christopher Austin (born 1 February 1981) is a British racing driver who formerly competed in the British Touring Car Championship. He was born in Evesham, Worcestershire.
Racing career
Formula 3
His career started in British Formul ...
made his début at
Donington Park replacing David Pinkney, due to the latter's business commitments.
* During the fourth round at Oulton Park,
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 ...
left
AmD Milltek Racing with YourRacingCar and later announced a return to Team Aon alongside Tom Chilton and Andy Neate.
* Prior to the Oulton Park round
Dave Newsham
David Newsham (born 7 July 1967) is a British auto racing driver and businessman. He is the managing director of Norscott Vending. He raced in the British Touring Car Championship from 2011 to 2017, but in 2016, he competed in the British Rallyc ...
left Geoff Steel Racing and moved to
Special Tuning Racing.
*
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 ...
made a return for one round at Croft for his own team
AmD Milltek Racing with YourRacingCar. From Snetterton and onwards
Martin Byford
Martin Byford (born 27 May 1972) is a British racing driver from Colchester. He competed in the BTCC in 2011 for AmD Milltek. He is currently driving for BPM Motorsport in the 2019 Dunlop Endurance Championship with Ashley Woodman.
Racing car ...
took the seat.
*
Daniel Welch entered the series with his family-run team Welch Racing running NGTC Proton Gen-2 from Snetterton and onwards.
* After Snetterton
Tony Gilham
Anthony "Tony" Gilham (born 19 May 1979) is a British auto racing driver.
He is the founder and owner of Team HARD. Racing, who currently compete in various championships including the British Touring Car Championship.
Racing career
Early ye ...
left Triple 8 and at Rockingham he returned with GSR.
* Árón Smith made his series début, replacing Gilham at Triple 8 for the round at Knockhill only.
*
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...
made his series début at
Rockingham for
Airwaves Racing, after six years racing in the
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 ...
.
* Ollie Jackson entered for the final 2 rounds of the season with Triple 8.
*
James Thompson returned for the final round at Silverstone with
Airwaves Racing, replacing Caine.
* John Thorne entered the series with Thorney Motorsport.
; Team changes
* Geoff Steel Racing were absent from Truxton to Rockingham after failing to secure a replacement for the departed Newsham. From Rockingham Tony Gilham was the sole entry for the team, inclung NGTC engine swap for the final round.
* Welch Motorsport entered a single NGTC
Proton Gen-2
A proton is a stable subatomic particle, symbol , H+, or 1H+ with a positive electric charge of +1 ''e'' elementary charge. Its mass is slightly less than that of a neutron and 1,836 times the mass of an electron (the proton–electron mass ...
in the second half of the 2011 season, with a debut at Snetterton. The car was driven by Daniel Welch.
* Triple 8 entered a single car for
James Nash at Rockingham.
* Thorney Motorsport entered the series at the Silverstone round, running NGTC
Vauxhall Insignia
An insignia () is a sign or mark distinguishing a group, grade, rank, or function. It can be a symbol of personal power or that of an official group or governing body.
On its own, an insignia is a sign of a specific or general authority and is ...
for the team owner John Thorne.
Race calendar and results
All races were held in the United Kingdom. The calendar was announced by the championship organisers on 8 September 2010, with no major changes from 2010.
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)
*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
Notes
References
External links
Official website of the British Touring Car Championship**Meeting results fro
BTCC.net*
Brands Hatch Indy*
Donington Park*
Thruxton*
Oulton Park*
Croft*
Snetterton*
Knockhill*
Rockingham*
Brands Hatch GP*
SilverstoneTouringCarTimes
{{ToCA Tour 2011
British Touring Car Championship seasons
Touring Car Championship