2016 BTCC season review - one more battle until the very last lap
The British Touring Car Championship proved once more that it is one of the most exciting racing competitions worldwide and certainly the most competitive among touring car championships. Eight drivers entered the last round of the championship with chances to win the 2016 title and the season was resolved, same as the year before, in the very last race. The winner was the same – Gordon Shedden.
Gordon Shedden and Sam Tordoff ahead of the rest of the field
Third crown for Gordon ‘Flash’ Shedden
The 37-year-old Scotsman clinched his third BTCC title and second in a row beating Sam Tordoff by just two points. The 27-year-old driver of #600 West Surrey Racing’s BMW was leading for most of the season, starting the last round at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit as the leader, but the driver of the #52 Honda Civic Type R was the one who celebrated at the end. Shedden reached two podiums in the last round, increasing a total number of podiums to six, plus four victories. Tordoff’s performance in the season’s finale wasn’t good, fifth place was his maximum and he lost a title.
Twelve drivers on the list of race winners
The winners at Brands Hatch’s finale were Colin Turkington (two times) and Mat Jackson, who finished fourth and third in the championship classification. In 30 races, twelve drivers were spraying the winner’s champagne, which is a proof how equal were drivers on the 32-car grid. Jackson and Turkington collected five wins each. Honda teammates Shedden (four wins) and Matt Neal (three wins) are the next on the list, ahead of five drivers with two wins (Tordoff, Rob Collard, Andrew Jordan, Adam Morgan and Tom Ingram). The winners in the single race were Jason Plato, Ashley Sutton and Aron Smith.
The best rookie Ashley Sutton wins the Jack Sears Trophy
Eleven manufacturers took part in the 2016 BTCC season
Eleven manufacturers were represented in 2016 BTCC season, four of them as constructors entries – Subaru, Honda, BMW and MG. West Surrey Racing and BMW clinched the championship title, ahead of Team Dynamics with Honda Civic Type R cars and Team BMR with all-new Subaru Levorg GT cars. BMW 125i M Sport was also the championship-winning car in the Teams’ classification where the Team JCT600 with GardX took the title with just 17-points advantage over Halfords Yuasa Racing.
Jack Sears Trophy for Ashley Sutton
Among Independent entries, Motorbase Performance was a dominant team while their two drivers fought for the Independent’s Trophy. At the end, Andrew Jordan was just three points ahead of Mat Jackson. Among seven rookies, who were the contenders for Jack Sears Trophy, Ash Sutton and Michael Epps were fighting until the last race, with Sutton winning the Trophy.
Video : A short review of 2016 BTCC season
Check the full season’s standings
Photos: btcc.net,
