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. It was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and was renamed as ...

(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 Ne ...

and the first time they had won the manufacturers crown for long-time partners Honda. The combined performances of Chilton and Onslow-Cole allowed

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 Eddi ...

Teams and drivers

The official entry list was announced at the series' Media Day at

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 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 producti ...

returned as a manufacturer team with

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 * James Nash: RML → Uniq Racing with Triple Eight *

: 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 ...

→ 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 ...

: 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 *

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 (

) → 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 (Team Wood Racing) → Central Group Racing Leaving BTCC * Jonathan Adam: Airwaves BMW → unknown * Martyn Bell: 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 ...

: 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: 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. ...

(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: Bamboo Engineering → World Touring Car Championship (Bamboo Engineering) Mid-season changes *

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, 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

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 under the 'WRC Developments with Barwell' banner. *

joined Triple Eight in a second car at the final round at

. * 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) *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