Colin Turkington leads the way in the British Touring Car Championship standings going into Snetterton and at the half-way mark of the season after a frenetic start to the campaign with the title very much still up for grabs.
Defending champion Turkington claimed a stunning double win last time out at Oulton Park to cap off his 50th victory in the championship and put the Portadown driver marginally ahead leaving the Cheshire circuit.
There was also joy for Stephen Jelley but heartbreak for Jake Hill with the Team Parker Racing driver picking up his first win since Rockingham in 2009, a circuit that the championship no longer visits but inheriting it due to Hill tangling with Halfords Yuasa Racing’s Matt Neal who had gained the lead and as a result it denied him a first race win in his BTCC career.
Jelley having success in the older BMW 125i M Sport meant despite it being different teams, a single manufacturer took wins for two different models for the first time since Silverstone 2005.
The BMW left Oulton Park very much on top with Andrew Jordan, Turkington’s nearest rival also in the same team as him albeit under the BMW Pirtek Racing banner. Tom Oliphant despite being down in 11th has also had a great season so far and could help either driver later in the season when the battle for the title comes to a head.
Barring Turkington and Jordan, it is Josh Cook, Rory Butcher and Ash Sutton who will hope for a brilliant second half to the campaign to halt the duo who look to be imperious at times so far.
Cook and Butcher in particular have both picked up victories this season for BTC Racing and Cobra Sport AMD Autoaid/RCIB Insurance Racing respectively. The former won the first race at Brands Hatch Indy as well as the final race at Thruxton and he already looks set for his best campaign in the BTCC yet.
There has also been a welcome return to towards the front for Jason Plato who at times has had some bad luck but has shown himself to be finding consistent form currently sitting in tenth place in the drivers’ championship.
The return to Vauxhall seems to be doing him the world of good with his teammate Rob Collard not so much; but after a couple of years of poor running in the Subaru, Plato will be looking to build on his form in the second half of the season. Can the two time champion finally reach 100 race victories?
The verdict…
This season as expected in the BTCC has brought lots of frenetic action but one team and two drivers in particular have stood out in the form of Colin Turkington and Andrew Jordan who will now do battle for the title. With 5 race weekends still to go before it is all decided, it could still change so is the nature of the championship but at the half-way point of the season there is no looking past a Team BMW/BMW Pirtek Racing driver picking up another Driver’s Championship.
British Touring Car Championship Drivers’ Championship after 15/30 rounds
| 1 | Colin TURKINGTON | Team BMW | 195 |
| 2 | Andrew JORDAN | BMW Pirtek Racing | 162 |
| 3 | Josh COOK | BTC Racing | 148 |
| 4 | Rory BUTCHER | Cobra Sport AmD AutoAid/RCIB Insurance | 147 |
| 5 | Ashley SUTTON | Adrian Flux Subaru Racing | 147 |
| 6 | Dan CAMMISH | Halfords Yuasa Racing | 130 |
| 7 | Matt NEAL | Halfords Yuasa Racing | 125 |
| 8 | Tom CHILTON | Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher | 119 |
| 9 | Tom INGRAM | Team Toyota GB with Ginsters | 113 |
| 10 | Jason PLATO | Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed Racing | 107 |
| 11 | Tom OLIPHANT | Team BMW | 91 |
| 12 | Stephen JELLEY | Team Parker Racing | 83 |
| 13 | Sam TORDOFF | Cobra Sport AmD AutoAid/RCIB Insurance | 76 |
| 14 | Jake HILL | TradePriceCars.com | 71 |
| 15 | Adam MORGAN | Mac Tools with Ciceley Motorsport | 64 |
| 16 | Rob COLLARD | Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed Racing | 51 |
| 17 | Chris SMILEY | BTC Racing | 48 |
| 18 | Aiden MOFFAT | Laser Tools Racing | 48 |
| 19 | Ollie JACKSON | Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher | 22 |
| 20 | Senna PROCTOR | Adrian Flux Subaru Racing | 19 |
| 21 | Bobby THOMPSON | GKR Scaffolding with Autobrite Direct | 17 |
| 22 | Jack GOFF | RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport | 12 |
| 23 | Michael CREES | GKR Scaffolding with Autobrite Direct | 4 |
| 24 | Carl BOARDLEY | RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport | 3 |
| 25 | Mark BLUNDELL | TradePriceCars.com | 2 |
| 26 | Matt SIMPSON | Simpson Racing | 1 |
| 27 | Daniel ROWBOTTOM | Cataclean Racing with Ciceley Motorsport | 1 |
| 28 | Sam OSBORNE | Excelr8 Motorsport | 0 |
| 29 | Nic HAMILTON | ROKiT Racing with Motorbase | 0 |
| 30 | Rob SMITH | Excelr8 Motorsport | 0 |
