The 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (commonly abbreviated as BTCC) was a motor racing championship for production-based touring cars held across England and Scotland. The championship featured a mix of professional motor racing teams and privately funded amateur drivers competing in highly modified versions of family cars which are sold to the general public and conform to the technical regulations for the championship. The 2016 season was the 59th British Touring Car Championship season and the sixth season for cars conforming to the Next Generation Touring Car (NGTC) technical specification. Gordon Shedden successfully defended his title and equaled long-time team mate Matt Neal as a three time Champion.
Teams and drivers
Key Eligible for the Jack Sears Trophy for best rookie of the season
Team Car Engine Drivers Rounds Constructor Entries Silverline Subaru BMR Racing Subaru Levorg GT Subaru/Mountune 4 All 20 James Cole All 39 Warren Scott All 99 Jason Plato All Halfords Yuasa Racing Honda Civic Type R Honda/Neil Brown 25 Matt Neal All 52 All 57 Andy Neate 1 Team IHG Rewards Club BMW 125i M Sport BMW/Neil Brown 31 Jack Goff All Team JCT600 with GardX 100 Rob Collard All 600 Sam Tordoff All MG Racing RCIB Insurance MG6 GT TOCA/Swindon 66 Josh Cook All 116 Ashley Sutton All Independent Entries Motorbase Performance Ford Focus ST Ford/Mountune 7 Mat Jackson All 77 Andrew Jordan All Handy Motorsport Toyota Avensis TOCA/Swindon 11 Rob Austin All Speedworks Motorsport 80 Tom Ingram All Honda Civic Type R TOCA/Swindon 303 Matt Simpson All RCIB Insurance Racing Toyota Avensis TOCA/Swindon 12 Michael Epps All 24 Jake Hill All TLC Racing 22 Chris Smiley 1–5 34 Tony Gilham 8–10 88 Michael Caine 6–7 Dextra Racing with Team Parker Ford Focus ST Ford/Mountune 14 Alex Martin All Laser Tools Racing Mercedes-Benz A-Class TOCA/Swindon 16 Aiden Moffat All WIX Racing 33 Adam Morgan All Goodestone Racing Proton Persona TOCA/Swindon 17 Daniel Welch All Eurotech Racing Honda Civic Type R TOCA/Swindon 23 Daniel Lloyd 3–5 30 Martin Depper All 55 Jeff Smith All Team BKR Volkswagen CC TOCA/Swindon 38 Mark Howard All 40 Árón Smith All AmD Tuning Audi S3 Saloon TOCA/Swindon 48 Ollie Jackson All Power Maxed Racing Chevrolet Cruze TOCA/Swindon 54 Hunter Abbott All 71 Dave Newsham 7–8 84 Kelvin Fletcher 1–6, 9–10 Maximum Motorsport Ford Focus ST Ford/Mountune 95 Stewart Lines All
Driver changes Changed teams Andrew Jordan moved from MG Triple Eight Racing to Motorbase Performance. Stewart Lines moved from Houseman Racing to Maximum Motorsport. Jack Goff moved from MG Triple Eight Racing to Team IHG Rewards Club. Rob Austin moved from Exocet AlcoSense Racing to Handy Motosport. James Cole moved from Motorbase Performance to Team BMR. Hunter Abbott moved from Exocet AlcoSense Racing to Power Maxed Racing. Jake Hill moved from AmD Tuning to RCIB Insurance Racing. Josh Cook moved from Power Maxed Racing to MG Triple Eight Racing. Árón Smith moved from Team BMR to Team BKR.
Entering/re-entering BTCC Maximum Motorsport entered the series, having bought AmD Tuning's Ford Focus ST and the team's second TOCA BTCC Licence (TBL). Double European Hot Rod champion and twice Quaife Intermarque champion, Matt Simpson, made his debut in the BTCC with Speedworks Motorsport in a Team Dynamics-built Honda Civic Type R. 2013 MINI Challenge champion Chris Smiley, made his debut in the BTCC with RCIB Insurance Racing. Andy Neate returned to the series with Halfords Yuasa Racing, having last raced in 2013. 2015 Renault UK Clio Cup champion Ashley Sutton, made his debut in the BTCC with MG Triple Eight Racing. Ollie Jackson returned to the series with AmD Tuning, after a single season away, having last raced with the team in 2012. Former VW Racing Cup driver Michael Epps, made his debut in the BTCC with RCIB Insurance Racing. Renault UK Clio Cup Masters champion Mark Howard, made his debut with the also debuting Team BKR. Actor Kelvin Fletcher, made his debut in the BTCC with Power Maxed Racing. Former Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain driver Daniel Lloyd, made his return in the BTCC with Eurotech Racing after a one-off appearance at Croft in 2010, following the withdrawal of Andy Neate at Halfords Yuasa Racing.
Leaving BTCC Houseman Racing left the series, having sold their TBL, car and race equipment to Eurotech Racing. Mike Bushell left the series having been unable to secure a top drive, instead he opted to return to the Renault Clio Cup UK. Simon Belcher took a sabbatical year from the series, to focus on his team Handy Motorsport. Kieran Gallagher left the series, having intended to switch to the new-for-2016 B-TEC Development Series. However, in March 2016, the series was postponed until 2017. Dave Newsham left the series, having switched to the British Rallycross Championship. Support Our Paras Racing and Derek Palmer Jr. left the series after a single season in the championship. Alain Menu left the series, after replacing Warren Scott at Team BMR in the 2015 season finale. Nicolas Hamilton left the series, after joining Channel 4's Formula One presentation team. Andy Priaulx left the series, having joined Ford's FIA World Endurance Championship LMGTE-Pro program.
Team changes Eurotech Racing switched from a Honda Civic to a Honda Civic Type R. The team was set to expand to a three-car outfit, having bought Houseman Racing's TBL, car and race equipment. However, in March 2016, the team confirmed that they had postponed the expansion to 2017. However, after the withdrawal off Andy Neate at Halfords Yuasa Racing, the team received a third TBL on loan. Halfords Yuasa Racing and Speedworks Motorsport were both granted an additional TBL each on 4 November 2015 for the 2016 season. Team BMR switched from a Volkswagen CC to a Subaru Levorg Sports Tourer, having gained manufacturer support from Subaru. Handy Motorsport was set to expand to a two-car outfit, having gained an additional TBL from Exocet AlcoSense Racing. However, in February 2016, the team confirmed that the expansion had been put on hold for 2017 and instead the team will run a single car during the season. Team HARD expanded to a three-car outfit, having gained two additional TBL's following the withdrawal of Exocet AlcoSense Racing and Support Our Paras Racing from the championship.
Race calendar
The provisional calendar was announced by the championship organisers on 27 July 2015, with no major changes from previous seasons.
Round Circuit Date 1 R1 Brands Hatch(Indy Circuit, Kent) 3 April R2 R3 2 R4 Donington Park(National Circuit, Leicestershire) 17 April R5 R6 3 R7 Thruxton Circuit(Hampshire) 8 May R8 R9 4 R10 Oulton Park(Island Circuit, Cheshire) 5 June R11 R12 5 R13 Croft Circuit(North Yorkshire) 19 June R14 R15 6 R16 (300 Circuit, Norfolk) 31 July R17 R18 7 R19 Knockhill Racing Circuit(Fife) 14 August R20 R21 8 R22 Rockingham Motor SpeedwayNorthamptonshire) 28 August R23 R24 9 R25 Silverstone Circuit(National Circuit, Northamptonshire) R26 R27 10 R28 Brands Hatch(Grand Prix Circuit, Kent) 2 October R29 R30
Results
Round Circuit Pole position Fastest lap Winning driver Winning team Winning independent 1 R1 Brands Hatch Indy Tom Ingram Jack Goff Tom Ingram Speedworks Motorsport Tom Ingram Ashley Sutton R2 Andrew Jordan Gordon Shedden Halfords Yuasa Racing Árón Smith Ashley Sutton R3 Adam Morgan Adam Morgan WIX Racing Adam Morgan Ashley Sutton 2 R4 Donington Park Ashley Sutton Mat Jackson Mat Jackson Motorbase Performance Mat Jackson Ashley Sutton R5 Sam Tordoff Rob Collard Team JCT600 with GardX Mat Jackson Ashley Sutton R6 Jack Goff Matt Neal Halfords Yuasa Racing Aiden Moffat Ashley Sutton 3 R7 Thruxton Circuit Tom Ingram Adam Morgan Adam Morgan WIX Racing Adam Morgan Michael Epps R8 Sam Tordoff Andrew Jordan Motorbase Performance Andrew Jordan Daniel Lloyd R9 Aiden Moffat Mat Jackson Motorbase Performance Mat Jackson Ashley Sutton 4 R10 Oulton Park Colin Turkington Jason Plato Colin Turkington Silverline Subaru BMR Racing Tom Ingram Daniel Lloyd R11 Rob Collard Sam Tordoff Team JCT600 with GardX Tom Ingram Daniel Lloyd R12 Rob Collard Matt Neal Halfords Yuasa Racing Tom Ingram Ashley Sutton 5 R13 Croft Circuit Colin Turkington Colin Turkington Colin Turkington Silverline Subaru BMR Racing Andrew Jordan Ashley Sutton R14 Jack Goff Rob Collard Team JCT600 with GardX Mat Jackson Ashley Sutton R15 Ashley Sutton Ashley Sutton MG Racing RCIB Insurance Tom Ingram Ashley Sutton 6 R16 Gordon Shedden Hunter Abbott Colin Turkington Silverline Subaru BMR Racing Mat Jackson Michael Epps R17 Rob Collard Mat Jackson Motorbase Performance Mat Jackson Matt Simpson R18 Gordon Shedden Gordon Shedden Halfords Yuasa Racing Rob Austin Ashley Sutton 7 R19 Knockhill Racing Circuit Jason Plato Colin Turkington Jason Plato Silverline Subaru BMR Racing Tom Ingram Ashley Sutton R20 Adam Morgan Matt Neal Halfords Yuasa Racing Mat Jackson Matt Simpson R21 Gordon Shedden Mat Jackson Motorbase Performance Mat Jackson Matt Simpson 8 R22 Rockingham Motor Speedway Gordon Shedden Gordon Shedden Gordon Shedden Halfords Yuasa Racing Mat Jackson Ashley Sutton R23 Rob Collard Sam Tordoff Team JCT600 with GardX Andrew Jordan Ashley Sutton R24 Árón Smith Árón Smith Team BKR Árón Smith Ashley Sutton 9 R25 Silverstone Circuit Ashley Sutton Tom Ingram Adam Morgan Tom Ingram Speedworks Motorsport Tom Ingram Mark Howard R26 James Cole Andrew Jordan Motorbase Performance Andrew Jordan Michael Epps R27 Ashley Sutton Gordon Shedden Halfords Yuasa Racing Mat Jackson Ashley Sutton 10 R28 Brands Hatch GP Colin Turkington Colin Turkington Colin Turkington Silverline Subaru BMR Racing Rob Austin Ashley Sutton R29 Matt Neal Colin Turkington Silverline Subaru BMR Racing Aiden Moffat Michael Epps R30 Jack Goff Mat Jackson Motorbase Performance Mat Jackson Matt Simpson
Championship standings Points system 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 201715131110987654321111Source: Notes No driver may collect more than one point for leading a lap per race regardless of how many laps they lead.
Drivers' Championship (key)