The 2014 British Touring Car Championship will see a record-breaking total of 31 cars grace the grid for the new season.
The 2014 line-up was officially announced at the championship’s media day at Donington Park on Tuesday (18 March), ahead of the official test session which occurred later in the day prior to the new season’s opening round at Brands Hatch on 29/30.
The grid features a mouth-watering field consisting of seven former champions, with returning former double title-winners Alain Menu and Fabrizio Giovanardi joining Jason Plato, Matt Neal, Colin Turkington, Gordon Shedden and Andrew Jordan, the latter topping the afternoon test carrying the #1 plate on his Eurotech Honda Civic.
Six rookies also join the field, with Ginetta GT Supercup reigning champion Tom Ingram joined by fellow BTCC newcomers Simon Belcher, Hunter Abbott, Glynn Geddie, Jack Clarke and 1999 British F3 champion, Marc Hynes.
Of the 32 new allocated TOCA BTCC Licences (TBLs), one has been retained by the series organisers which can be handed to any new driver or team to enter during the 2014 season.
Series boss Alan Gow said: “Our huge entry list is a clear demonstration of the success of the championship and the NGTC regulations. 31 cars on the grid is a modern-day BTCC record and the quality of the field, including seven champions, is also at a real high.
“I have no doubt that 2014 will prove to be one of the most exciting and competitive season’s in the illustrious history of the BTCC.”
2014 British Touring Car Championship Entry List:
No./Driver/Team/Car/Engine Builder/Marque
4 – Matt Neal – Honda Racing Team – Honda Civic Tourer – Neil Brown/Honda
52 – Gordon Shedden – Honda Racing Team – Honda Civic Tourer – Neil Brown/Honda
88 – Sam Tordoff – Triple Eight Race Engineering – MG6 GT – Swindon/GM
99 – Jason Plato – Triple Eight Race Engineering – MG6 GT – Swindon/GM
888 – Marc Hynes – Triple Eight Race Engineering – MG6 GT – Swindon/GM
1 – Andrew Jordan – Eurotech Racing – Honda Civic Hatchback – Neil Brown/Honda
30 – Martin Depper – Eurotech Racing – Honda Civic Hatchback – Neil Brown/Honda
5 – Colin Turkington – West Surrey Racing – BMW 125i M – Neil Brown/BMW
10 – Rob Collard – West Surrey Racing – BMW 125i M – Neil Brown/BMW
18 – Nick Foster – West Surrey Racing – BMW 125i M – Neil Brown/BMW
6 – Mat Jackson – Motorbase Performance – Ford Focus ST – Mountune/Ford
7 – Fabrizio Giovanardi – Motorbase Performance – Ford Focus ST – Mountune/Ford
44 – Jack Clarke – Motorbase Performance – Ford Focus ST – Mountune/Ford
33 – Adam Morgan – Ciceley Racing – Mercedes-Benz A-Class – Swindon/GM
80 – Tom Ingram – Speedworks Motorsport – Toyota Avensis – Swindon/GM
11 – Simon Belcher – Speedworks Motorsport – Toyota Avensis – Swindon/GM
101 – Rob Austin – Rob Austin Racing – Audi A4 – Swindon/GM
54 – Hunter Abbott – Rob Austin Racing – Audi A4 – Swindon/GM
39 – Warren Scott – Team BMR – Vauxhall Insignia – Swindon/GM
31 – Jack Goff – Team BMR – Vauxhall Insignia – Swindon/GM
9 – Alain Menu – Team BMR – Volkswagen CC – Swindon/GM
40 – Aron Smith – Team BMR – Volkswagen CC – Swindon/GM
48 – Ollie Jackson – Welch Motorsport – Proton Gen-2 – Welch/Proton-M
12 – Daniel Welch – Welch Motorsport – Proton Gen-2 – Welch/Proton-M
43 – Lea Wood – JWT Performance – Toyota Avensis – Swindon/GM
17 – Dave Newsham – AmD Tuning – Ford Focus ST – Mountune/Ford
67 – Robb Holland – Rotek Racing – Audi S3 Saloon – Swindon/GM
28 – Chris Stockton – BTC Racing – Chevrolet Cruze Hatchback – RML/Chevrolet
16 – Aiden Moffat – Aiden Moffat Racing – Chevrolet Cruze Saloon – RML/Chevrolet
20 – James Cole – United Autosports – Toyota Avensis – Xctechr/Toyota
21 – Glynn Geddie – United Autosports – Toyota Avensis – Xctechr/Toyota