Ashley Sutton - 2017 BTCC Knockhill (Sunday, R2 podium)

The 2021

Kwik Fit Kwik Fit is a car servicing and repair company in the United Kingdom, specialising in tyres, brakes, exhausts, MOT testing, car servicing, air conditioning recharge, oil changes. As of , there are over six hundred Kwik Fit locations in the U ...

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 ...

(commonly abbreviated as BTCC) was a

motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

championship for production-based

touring cars Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition with heavily modified road-going cars. It has both similarities to and significant differences from stock car racing, which is popular in the United States. While the cars do not mo ...

held across England and Scotland. The championship features a mix of professional motor racing teams and privately funded amateur drivers competing in highly modified versions of

family car A family car is a car classification used in Europe to describe normally-sized cars. The name comes from the marketed use of these cars to carry a whole family locally or on vacations. Most family cars are hatchbacks or sedan (automobile), sedans, ...

s which are sold to the general public and conform to the technical regulations for the championship. The 2021 season was the 64th British Touring Car Championship season and the eleventh season for 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) technical specification. Ash Sutton successfully defended his title to become the youngest ever three time BTCC Champion.

Teams and drivers

Driver changes

Entering/re-entering BTCC * Irish driver Árón Taylor-Smith returned to the series after having last raced in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

for MG Racing RCIB Insurance, driving a third car for

Team HARD Tony Gilham Racing (Team HARD. Racing), competing as RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport, ROKiT Racing with Team HARD. and HUB Financial Solutions with Team HARD. currently, is a British motor racing team based in Dartford, Kent and founded ...

. *

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 ...

returned to the series and

Power Maxed Racing Power Maxed Racing is a British auto racing team based in Bidford-on-Avon, Warwickshire. The team has raced in the British Touring Car Championship, since 2015 after purchasing BTC Racing in February 2015. British Touring Car Championship Ch ...

after taking a sabbatical last year due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. *

Sam Smelt Sam Smelt (born 23 August 1996) is a British racing driver, who competes in the British Touring Car Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing. This is his second spell in the championship having last competed in 2018 with AmD Tuning. He previously ...

returned to the series after having last raced in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

for AmD with Cobra Exhausts, driving a new second car for Toyota Gazoo Racing UK. * Musician and

2017 British GT Championship The 2017 British GT Championship was the 25th British GT Championship, a sports car championship promoted by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO). The season began on 15 April at Oulton Park Oulton Park is a hard surfaced track used for moto ...

winner Rick Parfitt Jr. debuted with Excelr8 Trade Price Cars. * Triple BTCC champion

Gordon Shedden Gordon Shedden (born 15 February 1979) is a Scottish auto racing driver, currently competing in the British Touring Car Championship The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Ki ...

returned to the series and

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 ...

, after having last raced in

, replacing

Dan Cammish Daniel Cammish (born 10 April 1989) is a British racing driver currently competing in a Ford Focus for NAPA Racing UK in the British Touring Car Championship. Early life Cammish was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire. He attended Morley High Scho ...

. * 2018 TCR UK winner Dan Lloyd returned to the series after having last raced in

for BTC Norlin Racing, driving a Second car for

. *

Daniel Rowbottom Daniel Rowbottom (born 18 February 1989) is a British racing driver currently competing in the British Touring Car Championship. He debuted in 2019, after spending the previous two and a half seasons in Renault Clio Cup United Kingdom. Daniel R ...

returned to the series after having last raced in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

for Cataclean Racing with Ciceley Motorsport, driving a second car for

to replace

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 ...

. * 2018 British GT4 Championship winner Jack Mitchell debuted with Team HARD with Autobrite Direct at Oulton Park replacing

Glynn Geddie Glynn Geddie (born 17 June 1990) is a British racing driver from Aberdeen, who last competed in the 2021 British Touring Car Championship for Team HARD. After spending his early racing career in GT cars and winning the 2011 British GT Champio ...

. *

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

winner Andrew Jordan returned to the series after having last raced in

for BMW Pirtek Racing, driving an all new first Hybrid car for Toyota Gazoo Racing UK. * 2018 Ginetta GT5 Challenge Group AM winner Nick Halstead debuted with Excelr8 with TradePriceCars.com at Croft replacing Rick Parfitt Jr. *

Andy Wilmot Andrew Wilmot (born 4 September 1980) is a British racing driver. In 2013 British Touring Car Championship season, 2013, Wilmot competed in the British Touring Car Championship for the first time at Rockingham, driving for Tony Gilham Racing, ...

returned to the series after having last raced in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

for Welch Motorsport, driving a sixth car for Excelr8 with TradePriceCars.com at Brands Hatch GP to replace

Jack Butel Jack Butel (born 19 March 1996 in St Saviour, Jersey) is a racing driver from Jersey currently competing in the British Touring Car Championship, driving for Team HARD. He debuted in 2020 after previously competing in the British GT Championshi ...

. Changed teams *

will move from Carlube TripleR Racing with Mac Tools to Excelr8 Trade Price Cars. *

Carl Boardley Carl Boardley (born 7 December 1975) is an English motor-racing driver, and four time National Hot Rods (oval racing) World Champion. On 5 July 2009 he won the National Hot Rod World Championship for his fourth World title in a row. His young ...

will move from HUB Financial Solutions with Team HARD to Laser Tools Racing. *

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 ...

will move from

BTC Racing BTC Racing is a British auto racing team based in Brackley, Northamptonshire owned and run by Steve Dudman. The team is best known for competing in the British Touring Car Championship. British Touring Car Championship Lexus IS (2006–2007) T ...

to Ciceley Motorsport. *

Jade Edwards Jade Edwards (born 31 March 1990 in Ascot) is a British racing driver who currently competes in the British Touring Car Championship for BTC Racing. She has previously competed in the Renault Clio Cup UK, British GT Championship The British ...

will move from Power Maxed Car Care Racing to

. *

Tom Ingram Tom Ingram (born 20 August 1993) is a British racing driver, currently racing in the British Touring Car Championship. Having won the Ginetta Junior Championship in 2010 and the G50 class of the Ginetta GT Supercup in 2011, Ingram was named ...

will move from Toyota Gazoo Racing UK to Excelr8 Trade Price Cars. *

Rory Butcher Rory Butcher (born 16 March 1987) is a Scottish racing driver from Kirkcaldy; Scotland, currently competing in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) for Toyota Gazoo Racing UK, having made his debut in the BTCC for Motorbase Performance ...

will move from

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 ...

to Toyota Gazoo Racing UK. * Sam Osborne and

Ollie Jackson Oliver Jackson (born 26 April 1984 in Whitechapel, London) is a British racing driver who currently competes in the British Touring Car Championship. Personal life Ollie Jackson is from Reigate, Surrey and was educated at Epsom College. He the ...

will swap their seats between MB Motorsport and

. *

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 ...

will move from

Team Parker Racing Team Parker Racing is a motorsport team based in Leicestershire, in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1997 it has previously competed in Formula Vauxhall Junior, British Formula 3, GT World Challenge Europe, and, more recently, in the British Tour ...

to Team BMW. *

will move from

after the withdrawal of

Michael Crees Michael Sean Crees (born 7 September 1983) is a British racing driver from England currently competing in the 2022 British Touring Car Championship with CarStore Power Maxed Racing. Racing career A relative latecomer to racing, Crees joined th ...

at Thruxton. *

Senna Proctor Senna Proctor (born 12 August 1998 in Driffield) is a British racing driver, currently competing in the British Touring Car Championship for BTC Racing. He is the son of Mark Proctor. Racing career Early career In 2014 he competed in the ...

will move from

Excelr8 Motorsport EXCELR8 Motorsport is a British racing team that is headed by Justina Williams, and is currently competing in both the MINI CHALLENGE and British Touring Car Championship. The team has successfully competed in the MINI CHALLENGE since 2010 rac ...

to replace

at Snetterton. *

Jessica Hawkins Jessica Hawkins (born 16 February 1995 in Headley, East Hampshire) is a British racing driver and stunt driver from East Hampshire, England. She currently competes in the W Series, as well as the British Touring Car Championship. Biography H ...

will move from Power Maxed Car Care Racing to Racing with Wera & Photon Group to replace

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 ...

at Snetterton. *

Paul Rivett Paul Rivett (born 27 August 1978 in Kent) is a British racing driver who competed in the British Touring Car Championship The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, cur ...

will move from GKR TradePriceCars.com to Racing with Wera & Photon Group to replace

at Knockhill and Thruxton. Leaving BTCC * Bobby Thompson will leave due to budget reasons. *

will take a year sabbatical from the series, being replaced by

. *

will leave the series after parting company with BTC Racing.

Team changes

* Team HARD. will switch from running the

Volkswagen CC The Volkswagen CC, originally marketed as the Volkswagen Passat CC in its first generation, is a variant of the Volkswagen Passat that trades headroom and cargo space for a coupé-like profile and sweeping roofline. The CC debuted in January 200 ...

to the new Cupra León. * TradePriceCars.com will merge with

and will switch from running the Audi S3 Saloon to Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performance. * Ciceley Motorsport will switch from running the

Mercedes-Benz A-Class The Mercedes-Benz A-Class is a subcompact car produced by the German automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz as the brand's entry-level vehicle. The first generation (internally coded W168) was introduced in 1997, the second generation (W169) in ...

to WSR-prepared BMW 330i M Sport cars. *

will switch from running the Honda Civic Type R (FK2) to four

Ford Focus ST The Ford Focus is a compact car (C-segment in Europe) manufactured by Ford Motor Company since 1998. It was created under Alexander Trotman's Ford 2000 plan, which aimed to globalize model development and sell one compact world car, vehicle world ...

cars, two of which will be entered under the Motorbase banner. *

will return to the Independents Championship for the first time since 2006, following the withdrawal of works backing from

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 ...

. *

sold their TBL to

and will leave the championship.

Race calendar

The championship calendar was announced by the championship organisers on 20 July 2020, before it was rescheduled on 14 January 2021 in order to maximise the opportunity for spectators and guests to attend, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Season report

The first two races of the season were won by Josh Cook. Defending champion Ash Sutton won the third race after a battle with Jake Hill in mixed weather conditions.

Results

All drivers raced under British licences.

Championship standings

;Notes *No driver may collect more than one point for leading a lap per race regardless of how many laps they lead.

Drivers' Championship

Manufacturers'/Constructors' Championship

Teams' Championship

Independent Drivers' Championship

Independent Teams' Championship

Jack Sears Trophy

Notes

References

External links

*
TouringCarTimes
{{BTCC seasons British Touring Car Championship seasons Touring Car Championship