British Saloon Car Championship
 |
|
| Category | Touring cars |
|---|---|
| Country |
 United Kingdom |
| Inaugural season | 1958 |
| Classes | Manufacturers & Independents |
| Drivers | 32 (2017) |
| Teams | 17 (2017) |
| Constructors |
Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Ford, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, MG, Subaru, Toyota, Vauxhall, Volkswagen Note: The constructors in bold are currently represented in the Manufacturers Championship. |
| Engine suppliers | Turbocharged 2.0 litre I4 |
| Tyre suppliers | Dunlop |
| Drivers' champion |
Gordon Shedden
|
| Teams' champion | Halfords Yuasa Racing |
| Makes' champion |
Honda
|
| Official website | btcc.net/ |
 Current season
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The British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by . It was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and was renamed as the British Touring Car Championship in 1987. The championship has been run to various national and international regulations over the years including FIA Group 2, FIA Group 5, FIA Group 1, FIA Group A, FIA Super Touring and FIA Super 2000. A lower-key Group N series for production cars ran from 2000 until 2003.
The championship was initially run with a mix of classes, divided according to engine capacity, racing simultaneously. This often meant that a driver who chose the right class could win the overall championship without any chance of overall race wins, thereby devaluing the title for the spectators – for example, in the 1980s Chris Hodgetts won two overall titles in a small Toyota Corolla prepared by Hughes Of Beaconsfield, at that time a Mercedes-Benz/Toyota main dealer when most of the race wins were going to much larger cars; and while the Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500s were playing at the front of the field, Frank Sytner took a title in a Class B BMW M3 and John Cleland's first title was won in a small Class C Vauxhall Astra.
In 1990, the BTCC introduced a class for cars with an engine displacement up to 2.0 litres which would later be adopted by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile and become the Super Touring regulations that were used in various championships in Europe and around the world. In their first year, these cars were run alongside a second class which continued to allow larger engines and was once again dominated by the Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500, however from 1991 they became the only cars eligible to compete. The new one-class system was popular with manufacturers from the beginning with six manufacturer supported teams from BMW, Ford, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota and Vauxhall entered in the championship. During the first seasons, the cars weren't fitted with aerodynamic aids such as a front splitter or a rear wing which were allowed from 1995 after Alfa Romeo caused controversy a year earlier, when they entered the 155 fitted with a rear wing - an item that was delivered with the road-going version of the 155, however unfitted in its boot. The continuously high number of manufacturer-backed teams meant rapid development on the cars and quickly growing costs to compete which caused several manufacturers to withdraw from the championship until the 2000 season, when only Ford, Honda and Vauxhall remained in the championship. To this day, the 'super touring era' during the 1990s is still looked at as the most successful period of the BTCC. The high number of manufacturer-backed teams provided very close competition, close and hard fought racing on track and many spectators at the circuits.
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