Sport   Motorsport   Touring Cars

Lack of news heightens the suspense in the race for BTCC drives

By MJP Media | 2 February 2015

As the 2015 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship draws ever closer, the drama of who will be racing what car has added sparkle as several of the biggest names in the series have yet to confirm their plans.

2014 BTCC Drivers' Champion Colin Turkington

Whilst several well-known drivers such as Nick Foster, Ollie Jackson and 2013 Jack Sears Trophy winner Lea Wood have confirmed they will not be competing, two of the biggest names in British Touring Car Championship racing, Colin Turkington and Jason Plato, haven't decided which seats they will be in for the 2015 season. Turkington won the championship in 2014 whilst Plato is a double champion, winning in 2001 and 2010. Also looking to confirm a drive is fans favourite and 2014 Jack Sears Trophy winner Dave Newsham.

The flipside of this of course is that several teams are still looking for drivers and potentially some cars and licences could be changing hands. What does the picture look like at the moment? Let's consider the main empty seats. First we have the 3rd BMW at WSR alongside Sam Tordoff and Andy Priaulx. We would suggest that if the funding can be sorted it would be inconceivable that Colin Turkington wouldn't defend his title in his current car. But where would that leave Rob Collard?

Andrew Jordan has already signed for MG 888

Over at Chrome Edition Restart Racing, Aron Smith and Warren Scott have confirmed their drives with potentially four drivers fighting over the last two seats. MG 888 has confirmed Andrew Jordan but the second car remains available for a driver with the right qualities and budget. Motorbase Performance also has two potential seats, but negotiations are ongoing for these. Eurotech Racing has a second Honda Civic available to run alongside Jeff Smith.

The two United Autosports Toyotas are currently unoccupied, as is the Avensis of the Houseman Racing team now that Lea Wood has moved to a managerial role. Not to be outdone on the unknown front are the Honda Yuasa Racing team who have their two drivers in former champions Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden, but are yet to unveil which car they will be racing in! On Thursday Rob Austin was able to confirm that he will be racing in his Audi A4 'Sherman' but that it would look very different this year - perhaps just to keep the uncertainty going!

Rob Austin says 'Sherman' will look different in 2015

All in all, the 2015 BTCC season seems to be one of the most amazingly uncertain at this stage in the year. The merry-go-round is certainly in full flow and the question of who will hop off where is impossible to guess. With no fewer than five teams realistically in with a chance of producing a title winner if the right driver is available, this season is going to be epic.

Touring Car content supplied by MJP Media