The 2011 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship was the 54th British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) season.
Cars conforming to the Next Generation Touring Car (NGTC) specification were allowed to compete in the championship for the first time, in a phased transition from Super 2000 specification to the NGTC specification. The season was also the final time that cars built to the BTC Touring specification were allowed to compete, ending the specification's decade of competition in the BTCC.
Team Dynamics' Matt Neal claimed his third BTCC title after finishing 8th in the final round of the season, two places ahead of teammate and rival Gordon Shedden, who was beaten to the title by eight points. Reigning Champion Jason Plato finished third after suffering a puncture in the first race of the final meeting at Silverstone. With the Hondas claiming a 1–2, this all but eliminated Plato from the title fight.
Joint fourth in the outright championship were Independents' title protagonists Mat Jackson and James Nash, with Jackson finishing fourth on merit of race wins, four to Nash's one. Nash, however, claimed the Independents' title in the first race at Silverstone after Jackson also suffered a puncture. Both however had torrid races after, failing to score points in both races. Nash's team, Triple 8 Race Engineering also claimed the Independents Teams' championship.
With Neal and Shedden first and second in the Drivers' championship, Honda easily clinched both the Teams' and Manufacturers' championships.
Teams and drivers The entry list for the 2011 season was revealed at the championship's Media Day held at Silverstone on 24 March 2011.
TeamCarEngineDriversRounds Constructor S2000 Entries Silverline Chevrolet Chevrolet Cruze LT Chevrolet/RML 1 Jason Plato All 20 Alex MacDowall All Constructor S2000 Entries (NGTC Engine) Honda Racing Team Honda Civic Honda/Neil Brown 2 Matt Neal All 52 Gordon Shedden All Independent Constructor S2000 Entries (NGTC Engine) Team Aon Ford Focus Mk.III Ford/Mountune 4 Tom Onslow-Cole 5–10 5 Tom Chilton All 44 Andy Neate All Independent NGTC Entries Dynojet Toyota Avensis Toyota/XCtechR 11 Frank Wrathall All Rob Austin Racing Audi A4 Audi/Ric Wood 12 David Pinkney 1 13 Rob Austin 2–3 Audi/Lehmann 4–10 31 Chris Swanwick 9–10 Welch Automotive Proton GEN•2 TOCA/Swindon 42 Daniel Welch 6–10 Speedworks Motorsport Toyota Avensis TOCA/Swindon 50 Tony Hughes 1–2, 4, 6, 9–10 Thorney Motorsport Vauxhall Insignia TOCA/Swindon 67 John Thorne 10 Independent S2000 Entries (NGTC Engine) Airwaves Racing Ford Focus ST Mk.II Ford/Mountune 6 Michael Caine 8–9 James Thompson 10 7 Mat Jackson All 66 Liam Griffin All 888 Racing withCollins Contractors Vauxhall Vectra TOCA/Swindon 14 James Nash All 34 Tony Gilham 1–6 48 Ollie Jackson 9–10 88 Árón Smith 7 Special Tuning Racing SEAT León SEAT/Lehmann 17 Dave Newsham 4–10 22 Tom Boardman All Geoff Steel Racing BMW 320si TOCA/Swindon 34 Tony Gilham 10 Pirtek Racing Vauxhall Vectra TOCA/Swindon 55 Jeff Smith All 77 Andrew Jordan All AmD Milltek Racing.com Volkswagen Golf Volkswagen/Lehmann 99 Tom Onslow-Cole 1–4 Shaun Hollamby 5 Martin Byford 6–10 Independent S2000 Entries WSR BMW 320si BMW/Schnitzer 8 Rob Collard All 18 Nick Foster All Geoff Steel Racing BMW 320si BMW/Schnitzer 17 Dave Newsham 1–2 34 Tony Gilham 8–9 GoMobileUK.comwith tech-speed Chevrolet Cruze LT Chevrolet/RML 28 John George All 29 Paul O'Neill All Team ES Racing Chevrolet Lacetti Chevrolet/RML 78 Chris James All Independent BTC-T Entries Central Group Racing Honda Integra Type-R Honda/Neil Brown 43 Lea Wood 4–6, 8–10
Driver changes Changed teams Andy Neate will move from West Surrey Racing to partner Tom Chilton at Team Aon. Tom Onslow-Cole will move from Team Aon to race for AmD Milltek Racing with YourRacingCar. After driving for his own team in 2010, David Pinkney will drive an Audi for Rob Austin Racing.
Entering/re-entering BTCC Nick Foster will début in the series, partnering Rob Collard at West Surrey Racing. Tony Gilham will enter the series after three years in the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain, with Triple 8. Having competed for Motorbase Performance in the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain, Liam Griffin will step up into the championship. Tony Hughes will enter the series with Speedworks Motorsport, having driven for the team in the Ginetta G50 Cup. Chris James, who previously raced in the Mini Challenge, will race for his own Team ES Racing. Renault Clio Cup champion Dave Newsham moved into the BTCC with Geoff Steel Racing. Jeff Smith will move into the series full-time – having finished eighth in the Renault Clio Cup – after contesting the Knockhill round for Triple 8 in 2010. He will join Pirtek Racing. Ginetta G50 Cup champion Frank Wrathall will also graduate into the championship with his family-run Dynojet team.
Leaving BTCC Shaun Hollamby will revert to a team principal role within the AmD Milltek Racing with YourRacingCar team. Steven Kane will move into sportscars, racing in the SPEED EuroSeries with HMR.
Team changes Rob Austin will enter the series, with his own team running two Audi A4s to NGTC specification. Dynojet will enter the series, running a single NGTC Toyota Avensis. Speedworks Motorsport will enter the series, becoming the first team to commit to the new Next Generation Touring Car, running two cars. Motorbase Performance will switch from BMWs to Fords, running under the Airwaves Racing banner. Geoff Steel will enter the series running a BMW for Dave Newsham.
Mid-season changes Driver changes After originally joining the series as team principal of his own team, Rob Austin made his début at Donington Park replacing David Pinkney, due to the latter's business commitments. During the fourth round at Oulton Park, Tom Onslow-Cole left AmD Milltek Racing with YourRacingCar and later announced a return to Team Aon alongside Tom Chilton and Andy Neate. Prior to the Oulton Park round Dave Newsham left Geoff Steel Racing and moved to Special Tuning Racing. Shaun Hollamby made a return for one round at Croft for his own team AmD Milltek Racing with YourRacingCar. From Snetterton and onwards Martin Byford took the seat. Daniel Welch entered the series with his family-run team Welch Racing running NGTC Proton Gen-2 from Snetterton and onwards. After Snetterton Tony Gilham left Triple 8 and at Rockingham he returned with GSR. Árón Smith made his series début, replacing Gilham at Triple 8 for the round at Knockhill only. Michael Caine made his series début at Rockingham for Airwaves Racing, after six years racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain. Ollie Jackson entered for the final 2 rounds of the season with Triple 8. James Thompson returned for the final round at Silverstone with Airwaves Racing, replacing Caine. John Thorne entered the series with Thorney Motorsport.
Team changes Geoff Steel Racing were absent from Truxton to Rockingham after failing to secure a replacement for the departed Newsham. From Rockingham Tony Gilham was the sole entry for the team, including NGTC engine swap for the final round. Welch Motorsport entered a single NGTC Proton Gen-2 in the second half of the 2011 season, with a debut at Snetterton. The car was driven by Daniel Welch. Triple 8 entered a single car for James Nash at Rockingham. Thorney Motorsport entered the series at the Silverstone round, running NGTC Vauxhall Insignia for the team owner John Thorne.
Race calendar and results All races were held in the United Kingdom. The calendar was announced by the championship organisers on 8 September 2010, with no major changes from 2010.
Round Circuit Date Pole position Fastest lap Winning driver Winning team 1 R1 Brands Hatch (Indy), Kent 3 April Matt Neal James Nash Jason Plato Silverline Chevrolet R2 Matt Neal Jason Plato Silverline Chevrolet R3 Matt Neal Matt Neal Honda Racing Team 2 R4 Donington Park (National), Leicestershire 17 April Matt Neal Matt Neal Matt Neal Honda Racing Team R5 Tom Boardman Andrew Jordan Pirtek Racing R6 Mat Jackson Mat Jackson Airwaves Racing 3 R7 Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire 1 May Gordon Shedden Mat Jackson Gordon Shedden Honda Racing Team R8 Alex MacDowall Matt Neal Honda Racing Team R9 Jason Plato Jason Plato Silverline Chevrolet 4 R10 Oulton Park (Island), Cheshire 5 June Gordon Shedden Dave Newsham Gordon Shedden Honda Racing Team R11 Gordon Shedden Jason Plato Silverline Chevrolet R12 Matt Neal Mat Jackson Airwaves Racing 5 R13 Croft Circuit, North Yorkshire 19 June Jason Plato Mat Jackson Matt Neal Honda Racing Team R14 Matt Neal Matt Neal Honda Racing Team R15 Rob Collard Mat Jackson Airwaves Racing 6 R16 Snetterton (300) Circuit, Norfolk 7 August Jason Plato Jason Plato Jason Plato Silverline Chevrolet R17 Rob Austin Gordon Shedden Honda Racing Team R18 Mat Jackson Mat Jackson Airwaves Racing 7 R19 Knockhill Racing Circuit, Fife 4 September Tom Chilton Tom Chilton Tom Chilton Team Aon R20 Mat Jackson Gordon Shedden Honda Racing Team R21 Frank Wrathall Tom Boardman Special Tuning Racing 8 R22 Rockingham Motor Speedway, Northamptonshire 18 September Jason Plato Frank Wrathall Jason Plato Silverline Chevrolet R23 Gordon Shedden Gordon Shedden Honda Racing Team R24 Jason Plato James Nash 888 Racing with Collins Contractors 9 R25 Brands Hatch (GP), Kent 2 October Jason Plato Jason Plato Jason Plato Silverline Chevrolet R26 Jason Plato Jason Plato Silverline Chevrolet R27 Matt Neal Matt Neal Honda Racing Team 10 R28 Silverstone (National), Northamptonshire 16 October Matt Neal Mat Jackson Matt Neal Honda Racing Team R29 Mat Jackson Gordon Shedden Honda Racing Team R30 James Thompson Tom Chilton Team AonSource:
Championship standings Points system 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th Fastest lap Lead a lap151210865432111 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)