The Bristol Street Motors BTCC A-Z
The new BTCC season continues this weekend at Snetterton, with Team Bristol Street Motors looking to build on an encouraging start to the year that has resulted in three wins from the opening six races.
Ahead of the third meeting of the season and with the action in full swing, we’ve put together a quick A-Z guide to the championship...
A is for...ACTION!
If there is one thing that is guaranteed from a BTCC race weekend then it’s action, with three short, sharp races where battles rage from the moment the lights go out until the chequered flag drops.
B is for...BRANDS HATCH
Brands Hatch is where it all began back in April 1958 when the first races took place in what was then the British Saloon Car Championship – although a race counting towards the championship had taken place before the series was even launched on Boxing Day 1957 at the same circuit. With the series running various different classes, the April races were won by Jack Sears in an Austin 105 and Tommy Sopwith in a Jaguar 3.4. Sears would beat Sopwith to the title after a shootout at Brands Hatch later in the year.
C is for...CALENDAR
The BTCC calendar comprises of ten race meetings, each of which hosts three races. The season traditionally runs from April through to October and includes events at famous circuits such as Silverstone and Donington Park.
D is for...DROITWICH
Droitwich is where Team Bristol Street Motors is now based, running from the same state-of-the-art facility that was previously home to the factory Honda team.
E is for...EXCELR8
EXCELR8 are our racing partners and the team tasked with trying to reclaim the championship this season. Run by Justina Williams, EXCELR8 debuted in the BTCC in 2019 and also fields various drivers in the MINI CHALLENGE, where it has secured multiple titles.
F is for...FANS
The fans are a major part of the BTCC, which is the biggest four-wheeled series in the UK. Annual trackside attendances over the last five years have averaged over 385,000 whilst the UK television audience across 2023 exceeded 14.8 million.
G is for...GOODYEAR
Tyres in the BTCC are provided by Goodyear, with three different tyre options available in dry conditions – the hard, medium and soft. Only the hard tyre is used at Thruxton due a combination of high speeds and an abrasive track surface, whilst the Donington Park events see only the medium tyre provided. All three compounds must be used at Snetterton whilst for the remaining events, two compounds are available that includes an ‘option’ tyre that has to be run in one of the three races.
H is for...HYUNDAI
The Hyundai i30 Fastback N is the weapon of choice for Team Bristol Street Motors, having been introduced into the series for the first time in 2020. It’s the first time Hyundai has appeared in the BTCC and the car has been a huge success – taking 18 wins, nearly 50 podiums and a championship title in the following years.
I is for...TV
The BTCC has a broadcast deal that is the envy of most championships, with all 30 races shown live on free-to-air TV. Race day action airs on ITV4 and also includes a number of support races, whilst Saturday’s qualifying session benefits from online coverage on YouTube. Post-weekend, races can be enjoyed once again on the ITVX platform.
J is for...JACK SEARS TROPHY
The Jack Sears Trophy is named after the BTCC’s first champion, and is awarded each season to the best performing driver who started the year without an overall podium finish. Every weekend, the best performing eligible driver is awarded a trophy, with the points scored across the campaign in class determining the ultimate champion. Team Bristol Street Motors drivers Ronan Pearson and Nick Halstead are both fighting for the title in 2024.
K is for...KNOCKHILL
Nine of the ten events on the calendar are held in England with Knockhill hosting the annual trip north of the border to Scotland. The circuit overlooking the Firth of Forth is a firm favourite with fans and drivers alike, and is one of the most well-attended events every season.
L is for...LICENCE
In order to run a car in the BTCC, teams need to hold a special licence, with a separate licence required for each car. A total of 27 of these licences – known as TBLs – were handed out for 2024, with the remaining five held by the series organisers TOCA. 21 of those TBLs are now in use.
M is for...MINI
The only support series that competes at every round of the BTCC is the MINI CHALLENGE, with seven rounds for the headline JCW class and three rounds for the entry level Coopers. The series is backed by our sister company Vertu Motors, and is a stepping stone for drivers who dream of one day making it into the BTCC.
N is for...NGTC
NGTC is the name for the current set of technical regulations that were introduced into the BTCC back in 2011. Created in a bid to reduce running costs compares to the rules that they replaced, the NGTC regulations mandate a number of common components across the grid, and also provide teams with the option to run a spec engine if they wish rather than needing to develop their own. The Bristol Street Motors Hyundais run a bespoke engine designed by Swindon Powertrain.
O is for...OPENNESS
A major selling point of the BTCC for fans is how open the championship is. With the exception of Brands Hatch for space reasons, fans have access to the main BTCC paddock across a race weekend, which means they can see into the garages as teams work on the cars and have plenty of opportunities to meet their favourite driver for a photo or autograph. Such access at Formula 1, for example, would cost thousands of pounds.
P is for...POINTS
Points in the BTCC are handed out to the top 15 drivers in each race on a sliding scale of 20-17-15-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. A number of bonus points are also available, with a single point for pole position in qualifying, for the fastest lap in a race and for leading a lap. That means a maximum of 67 points is on offer each weekend should a driver manage a clean sweep.
Q is for...QUALIFYING
Qualifying for the BTCC takes on a new format for 2024 and now runs across three stages. In stage one, the grid is split in half for ten minutes of running with the quickest six drivers from the two groups going into Q2. Those twelve drivers then have a further ten minutes of running before six more drivers are knocked out, with the six remaining then doing battle to see who scores pole position.
R is for...RONAN
Ronan Pearson is the youngest member of the Team Bristol Street Motors line-up, and competes in the BTCC with the support of Macklin Motors – which operates exclusively in his native Scotland. Ronan is in his second season in the series in 2024 chasing honours in the Jack Sears Trophy and has already scored his first win.
S is for...STREET
The Street is the Bristol Street Motors base on BTCC race weekends, and the place where fans can come to meet the drivers, try their hand on a simulator, pick up their merchandise and check out our latest challenges. You can’t head for the race track and not #MeetAtTheStreet whilst you are there...
T is for...TOM (AND TOM)
Tom Ingram and Tom Chilton are two of the most experienced drivers on the BTCC grid and are key parts of the Team Bristol Street Motors programme. Ingram won the title in 2022 in our first season as title sponsor of the EXCELR8 team, whilst Chilton is a former Independents’ champion in both the BTCC and the World Touring Car Championship – who made his touring car debut all the way back in 2002.
U is for...UNDERSTEER
Understeer is an issue that the Team Bristol Street Motors drivers could face given that the Hyundai is a front-wheel drive model. In layman’s terms, understeer occurs when the front wheels lose traction and a car drifts wider than the driver intends. Forced to either brake or ease off the accelerator, and release some of the steering input, means the car can regain traction – although obviously with a loss of speed and momentum. As a result, a key part of the car set-up is working on avoiding any of the factors that could lead to understeer occurring on track.
V is for...VARIETY
Variety is the spice of life and that is certainly true of the BTCC through the ages, with a diverse range of machinery having appeared in the series – most notably in the 1960s when the likes of the Lotus Cortina and the Morris Mini Cooper would go up against American muscle cars like the Ford Galaxie and Mustang. Even in the more recent past, the series has seen unique entries that have included cars powered by diesel and LPG, a four-wheel drive Audi that dominated in 1996 and even estate models representing Volvo, Honda and Subaru.
W is for...WEEKEND
Each BTCC weekend follows the same format, with Saturday given over to free practice and qualifying before Sunday hosts the three races. The two Saturday practice sessions are run across 40 minutes each, with the second now being used to determine which group drivers go into for the first phase of qualifying, which has already been detailed above. The three races on Sunday are of equal length, but can be extended by up to three laps in the event of a safety car period.
X is for...XTRAC
Xtrac is one of the companies that provide common parts that are used across the BTCC grid, with each car – including the Team Bristol Street Motors Hyundais – running with a sequential six-speed gearbox that is provided by the company. Xtrac also provides gearboxes for a range of other championships across the globe, including Australian Supercars, the World Endurance Championship, NASCAR and IndyCar.
Y is for...YELLOW
Yellow flags (or lights) are one of the most common you are likely to see during a BTCC weekend and are used to signal an incident ahead – which could range from a car being stuck in a gravel trap following a clash, or one that has parked on the side of the circuit having broken down. The yellow flag/lights means drivers should slow down and are not allowed to overtake, whilst a double waved yellow is a warning of a danger on track that could mean a driver needs to take avoiding action.
Z is for...ZONE
Each race track is split up into various zones for the purposes of both timing and also for the lighting systems that have been introduced in a bid to improve on-track safety. Each circuit comprises of up to four timing zones, or sectors, whilst the light zones are used to help provide instructions to drivers and are either in place of, or alongside, traditional flag signals.
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