The British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) is a series of races which take place in 9 different racetracks around the UK. In this BTCC betting guide, we include a list of the best bookmakers for this event, as well as a full breakdown of the event's format and other useful information worth knowing.
- 1 Best Betting Sites for British Touring Car Championship Betting 2022
- 2 British Touring Car Championship Outright Winner Odds
- 3 Championship Format
- 4 Favourite Drivers To Win the 2022 Championship
- 5 Race Calendar for 2022
- 6 Race Lap Records
- 7 Difference Between British Touring Car Championship, NASCAR & IndyCar
- 8 ThePuntersPage Final Say
- 9 British Touring Car Championship FAQs
Best Betting Sites for British Touring Car Championship Betting 2022
Our list of the best betting sites for BTCC will be published soon!
British Touring Car Championship Outright Winner Odds
Odds will start to be available after the season launch, which takes place on the 13th April 2022. We will update this section as soon as possible.
Championship Format
Despite not being as fast as Formula 1 or Moto GP racing, the similarity to the fans' own vehicles makes the sport a great one to watch. Drivers compete using cars which you could easily find your neighbour driving, but with heavily-modified turbocharged engines, as they try to make their way to the podium.
The British Touring Car Championship is based on points which drivers and teams gain from each race. A total of three races take place during each race weekend, of which there are 10. On Saturday of the race weekend, two practice sessions are held. These are then followed by a qualifying session which determines the starting positions for the first race on Sunday, and is 30 minutes long.
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The final positions based on the qualifying round will be the starting positions the following day.
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After the first race is done, the finishing positions will be the starting positions for the second race.
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Before the third race, a draw is made to determine which position will be chosen (from Position 6 to Position 12) to reverse the grid.
The Reverse Grid Draw
The reverse grid draw works as follows: if Position 10 is randomly picked, the driver who ended Race 2 in 10th place will start race 3 in Pole Position. The driver who finished 9th will start Race 3 in 2nd position, while the driver who finished 8th will start the following race in 3rd position. The rest will follow until 1st place. The rest of the table (from 11th place downwards) will start Race 3 in the same position as they ended Race 2.
How Many Points Are Won in Each Race?
Drivers and teams will gain points depending on the final positions in all 3 races on the day, as follows:
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1st place – 20 points
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2nd place – 17 points
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3rd place – 15 points
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4th place – 13 points
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5th place – 11 points
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6th to 15th place – 10 points to 1 point respectively
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Fastest Lap – 1 point
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Lead A Lap – 1 point
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Pole Position after qualifying round – 1 point
At the end of the season, all points are tallied up and a Drivers' Champion is announced. There are prizes for the Best Teams, Best Independent Drivers and Best Independent Teams too.
The Jack Sears Trophy
TOCA, the organiser of the British Touring Car Championship, gives independent drivers the opportunity to win another trophy. The Jack Sears Trophy will be rewarded to the independent driver who managed to overtake the most positions (when comparing the starting and finishing position in a race) over all the 30 races during the season.
For example, if a driver starts the race in 16th position and ends the race 9th, then he managed to improve his position by 7 places. Therefore, he will get 7 points added to his points towards the Jack Sears Trophy. The driver with the most points at the end of the season wins the trophy.
The Goodyear Wingfoot Award
As the current Official Tyre Partner to the BTCC, Goodyear will be giving the Wingfoot Award to the driver who managed to achieve the highest number of points from the qualifying results. For this award, points will be given in line with race points, with the driver in pole position receiving 20 points, the 2nd placed driver getting 17 points, and so on until the 15th place.
Favourite Drivers To Win the 2022 Championship
After winning his second consecutive and third career drivers' title and in 2021, Ash Sutton will surely be one of the favourites to win the 2022 Championship. After placing second last year, his arch-rival Colin Turkington, who has managed to secure 4 titles since 2009 (two of which came back-to-back in 2018 and 2019) will want to bounce back onto the top spot this year.
Tom Ingram will also be up for trying to battle it out for the top spots, especially after great seasons in 2017 and 2018, where he won the title of Independent Drivers' Champion consecutively. During last year's season he was in a tight race for second place against Colin Turkington, Josh Cook, and Jake Hill and ended up having to settle for 4th spot.
Josh Cook will also be worth keeping an eye on throughout the season. Last year he managed to finish on the podium 8 times (5 wins, 1 Silver, 2 Bronze), only failing to make points in 5 of the 30 races. His 5 wins meant he was at par with champion Ashley Sutton, who also ended the season on 5 wins in total. With more consistency, Cook could surely give the other favourites a good challenge.
Jake Hill is one of the drivers who made his BTCC Debut at the tender age of 19, and who has already got 18 podiums and 3 wins to his name – two of which came last year. In fact, the 2021 season was the best one yet for Hill, and he will surely be aiming at improving even more and bagging more podiums and wins throughout the upcoming season.
Another driver worth noting – although probably not for his chances of winning the title just yet – is Nicolas Hamilton, who sits behind the wheel of his Cupra Leon. He just happens to be Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton's younger brother, who lives with cerebral palsy, but still continues to push himself both on and off the track, serving as a great inspiration to many! We will be eagerly waiting to see whether he will compete in the 2022 Championship or not.
Race Calendar for 2022
The 2022 season consists of a total of 10 touring car races spread out in the United Kingdom. Below you may find all the race dates and locations:
Race | Location | Date | Circuit Length | Corners |
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Donington Park | Leicestershire, England | 23rd – 24th April 2022 | 1.98 miles | 8 |
Brands Hatch Indy | West Kingsdown, Kent, England | 14th – 15th May 2022 | 1.21 miles | 10 |
Thruxton | Thruxton, Hampshire, England | 28th – 29th May 2022 | 2.36 miles | 11 |
Oulton Park | Little Budworth, Cheshire, England | 11th – 12th June 2022 | 2.23 miles | 12 |
Croft | Dalton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, England | 25th – 26th June 2022 | 2.13 miles | 10 |
Knockhill | Fife, Scotland | 30th – 31st July 2022 | 1.27 miles | 8 |
Snetterton | Snetterton, Norfolk, England | 13th – 14th August 2022 | 2.97 miles | 12 |
Thruxton | Thruxton, Hampshire, England | 27th – 28th August 2022 | 2.36 miles | 11 |
Silverstone National | Silverstone, Northamptonshire, England | 24th – 25th September 2022 | 1.64 miles | 6 |
Brands Hatch GP | West Kingsdown, Kent, England | 8th – 9th October 2022 | 2.43 miles | 11 |
Race Lap Records
Race | Race Lap Record Holder | Time | Average Speed | Year |
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Thruxton | Tom Ingram | 1m 16.206s | 111.29mph | 2020 |
Snetterton | Dan Cammish | 1m 55.682s | 92.39mph | 2019 |
Brands Hatch Indy | Matt Neal | 48.498s | 88.97mph | 2011 |
Oulton Park | Tom Ingram | 1m 12.026s | 93.11mph | 2021 |
Knockhill | Ash Sutton | 50.876s | 89.65mph | 2020 |
Croft | Colin Turkington | 1m 21.781s | 93.54mph | 2020 |
Silverstone National | Ash Sutton | 57.613s | 102.50mph | 2021 |
Donington Park | Ash Sutton | 1m 09.483s | 102.58mph | 2020 |
Brands Hatch GP | Colin Turkington | 1m 31.372s | 95.87mph | 2016 |
Difference Between British Touring Car Championship, NASCAR & IndyCar
Engine Power
The main difference between these great competitions is the car power. In NASCAR, the American sedans normally run on engines which reach up to 750bhp and an average speed of 200mph during races. IndyCar car engines also reach around a maximum of 750bhp but are totally different cars, since IndyCar racing is for open-wheel vehicles (similar to Formula 1 cars).
Racetrack Format
The BTCC racetracks are similar to the ones used in Formula 1, while the NASCAR racetracks are nearly all oval ones – similar to an athletics track. In fact, the NASCAR Cup series consists of 21 oval tracks and only two road courses. For the IndyCar Series, tracks vary between ovals, road courses, and street circuits.
Number of Races
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BTCC hosts a total of 30 races – 3 per race weekend.
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NASCAR has a total of 36 races – 26 races in the first part of the season and 10 NASCAR playoffs races.
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IndyCar normally hosts 17 races, but the 2021 season only consisted of 16.
If you're a fan of motor sport in general, why not take a look at our in-depth guide to betting on virtual motor racing?
ThePuntersPage Final Say
The Championship's popularity in the UK is strong, and that's not surprising at all given the exciting races that fans have witnessed over the years. The fact that drivers are not limited to a particular gender also means that it is one of the few sports in which both men and women can compete freely.
And when it comes to betting, the opportunities here are huge! With three races and a qualifying round per race weekend, punters will be spoilt for choice when it comes to UK online bookies and markets available. Remember to compare odds thoroughly before signing up and placing any wagers!
British Touring Car Championship FAQs
There are a total of 30 races spread over 10 race weekends.
There is a total of 9 different circuits.
The drivers with the most championship titles are Colin Turkington and Andy Rouse, who are both tied on 4 championships each. Last year's champion Ashley Sutton has three (so far).
In 1997, Alain Menu managed to win 50% of the 24 races contested, thus winning 12 races in a season. The highest number of wins from 30 races was achieved by Fabrizio Giovanardi, when he won a total of 10 races in 2007.
The final race will take place at Brands Hatch GP on the 9th of October 2022.