Five contenders aim to take the 2019 BTCC title
The great finale of the 62nd season of the British Touring Car Championship will take place this weekend at the legendary Brands Hatch. The 3.908-km long Grand Prix Circuit will host the last three races of the season with five drivers coming to Kent as the title contenders.
The three-time champion and defending champ Colin Turkington (West Surrey Racing/Team BMW) leads the championship classification with 297 points on his account, sixteen more than Daniel Cammish (Team Dynamics/Halfords Yuasa Racing). Andrew Jordan (West Surrey Racing/BMW Pirtek Racing) is just a point behind Cammish.
Josh Cook (BTC Racing) sits in fourth place in the championship with 263 points as only one among the top 5 drivers from independent teams. Tom Ingram (Speedworks Motorsport/Team Toyota GB) rounds the list of the contenders with 236 points, which gives him just mathematical chances for the title because 67 points remained on offer.
Tom Ingram, Dan Cammish, Colin Turkington, Andrew Jordan and Josh Cook
Tens of thousands of fans are expecting to come at Brands Hatch on Saturday and Sunday (October 12-13) and all eyes would be on the #1 BMW 330i M Sport (Turkington), the #27 Honda Civic Type R (Cammish), the #77 BMW 330i M Sport (Jordan), the #66 Honda Civic Type R (Cook) and the #80 Toyota Corolla GT (Ingram).
The other twenty-five drivers also have something to fight for because all the other championship titles (Manufacturers – Constructors, Teams, Independent drivers and teams, Jack Sears Trophy and Dunlop #foreverforward Trophy) are still undecided.
Colin Turkington is coming to Brands Hatch as the championship leader
The reigning champion Colin Turkington has led the way for much of the season, scoring five wins and eight podiums in 27 races with an aim to defend the title. However, all of that is now depending on the last three races. If Turkington succeeds to defend the title, he would equal the record of the only four-time BTCC champion Andy Rouse.
“The key is going to Brands with a chance, and that’s the position I’m in. You only have to watch one race day to see how unpredictable the BTCC is. You scrap as hard for second place as you do for 20th. It’s positive that I go with some points tucked away, but we need to be on the case at Brands. It’s the last step and I’m looking forward to the challenge,” said Colin Turkington.
“It’s not a million miles away, 16 points. If you’d said that in the middle of the season, I wouldn’t have believed you. The team have been great, I’ve been consistent and we’ve put up a fight. The BMW is the fastest thing out there when it’s like-for-like – they’ve done a fantastic job. They’re still scrabbling around though, trying to get the job done. I’ll keep hanging in there and make myself a nuisance,” said Dan Cammish.
Josh Cook is the best among independent drivers
Andrew Jordan has won six races so far in 2019, more than any other driver, but he’s only in the third place ahead of season’s finale. However, his chances to take his second BTCC title are big.
BTC Racing’s Josh Cook has one eye on the BTCC outright title but also is watching on the other side because he had to defend a 22-point advantage over Rory Butcher to take the trophy for the best Independent driver. Rory Butcher will be looking to secure the Jack Sears Trophy too, but Team BMW’s Tom Oliphant is very close, just eleven points behind.
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Photos: BTCC,
