The 2012 British Touring Car Championship saw a total of 29 drivers’ complete at least one event throughout the ten event season.
Out of those 29 drivers, 28 drivers secured points finish, with 9 different winners – including three new winners – and another four drivers securing podium finishes, the first year of the NGTC era kicked off in spectacular style.
Looking back over the year, who were the drivers’ of the season?
10. Tony Hughes – Speedworks Motorsport Toyota Avensis.
The likeable gentleman racer may not have set many fireworks off during his second season in the British Touring Car Championship but he produced the type of consistency which the top drivers would be proud of.
He finished 22 out of the 24 races he competed in – having missed Croft and Knockhill – and scoring points in 8 races, Hughes finished the season 25th overall.
With him stepping down from racing in the BTCC, his presence will be missed. His openness, including admitting to TCN that he was there to show that drivers of his age and lack of experience could be competitive in the BTCC, made him a fans favourite.
9. Tom Onslow-Cole – eBay Motors BMW 320si
Onslow-Cole rejoined the WSR run eBay Motors team for the 2012 campaign after his former team, Team Aon decamped to the World Touring Car Championship.
After a slow start in his return to the team who gave him his BTCC debut in 2007, he went 20 races on the trot in the points and this included six podium finishes but no wins.
Sixth place in the Championship was the end result for Onslow-Cole at the end of his sixth campaign in the BTCC.
8. Frank Wrathall – Dynojet
Wrathall continued to mark himself out as a Champion of the future during the 2012 campaign and took his first victory in the final race of the campaign at Brands Hatch and with it 10th in the Championship.
The 2012 campaign was one full of ups and downs, with a number of car related issues meaning he failed to show the full amount of promise which he has.
Snetterton saw him take his first outright pole position and this led to one of the two other podium finishes he took, with his first podium coming in the wet at Thruxton, having held off Jason Plato to the flag.
7. Mat Jackson – Redstone Racing
2012 was all set for Jackson to have a serious stab at the title, as Redstone Racing kept with the proven S2000 Ford Focus while their main rivals all changed to NGTC entries and were expected to have issues with the cars.
Two early season victories at Donington Park and Thruxton – which should have been three had he not over boosted at Donington Park – left the Henley-in-Arden racer right at the top of the standings.
A change in car mid season meant that Jackson was learning about the NGTC Ford Focus and despite solid results coming, he only took two podium finishes in the second half of the season while losing out on two possible victories.
With half a season’s data with the car, Jackson should be at the forefront of the Championship standings once again in 2013.
6. Jason Plato – MG KX Momentum Racing
The 2010 Champion had one of his best seasons’ to date with the new MG6 which was prepared by Triple Eight Race Engineering, with the lateness of the deal meaning that the team and Plato didn’t expect much arriving at Brands Hatch.
A win and a podium at Brands meant that Plato was the Championship leader and he was able to stay with the Honda drivers’ despite how much further their car had been developed.
Plato also had one of the drives’ of the season at Silverstone as he won the final race of the day from 20th on the grid, having won the first race of the day and then retiring from the second race. Plato was officially the king of qualifying with 5 Pole Positions to his name in 2012.
2012 wasn’t the best season for Plato though, as car gremlins during the early part of the season hindered his progress as did a lack of wet weather running towards the end of the season. Dubious driving also cost Plato as he had his fair share of incidents throughout the season.
Plato will be back with a bang in 2013 and with the off season to prepare, could he and the MG6 be the 2013 Champions?
5. Matt Neal – Honda Yuasa Racing Team
The 2011 Champion made history by being the first driver to take a win at the wheel of an NGTC car when he took the win during round 2 of the season at Brands Hatch.
While Neal was racking up the points and finishes (1 DNF in the opening 24 races), Silverstone proved to be a killer for his Championship hopes.
Five wins in the season kept Neal up there, but only one win after the mid season break cost him as did a run of six finishes off the podium.
What also hurt Neal was the turbo boost equalisation – the Honda was frequently the fastest car on overall laptimes and thus, the team ran with the least amount of boost for the majority of the season.
Neal will be back to challenge for his fourth crown and not many would bet against him securing it at Brands Hatch in October next year.
4. Andrew Jordan – Pirtek Racing
One win and fourth in the drivers’ championship doesn’t do justice to the season which Andrew Jordan had in the Pirtek Racing Honda Civic.
His early season qualifying form was consistent – it wasn’t until Knockhill where Jordan started race one outside of the top 4 all season, and he took Pole Position at Thruxton before retiring at the first corner.
His sole victory came at Snetterton after Neal and Plato collided, but 8 other podium finishes laid the foundations for his strongest season to date in the BTCC and is all set to challenge for the outright title in 2013.
He also secured his first Independents’ title in 2012, as part of a season long domination for Honda, and the Independents’ crown was his target from the beginning of the season.
3. Rob Collard – eBay Motors
Rob Collard secured the opening victory of the 2012 campaign and as he got used to the 2.0l turbocharged engine in his WSR run eBay Motors BMW, his performances improved.
He went 16 races on the trot in the points – which was only bettered by his team-mate with 20 races – and in terms of wins, this was his most productive as he secured 3 in total, including his first ever double win at Knockhill.
Four other podiums throughout the campaign kept him towards the front of the field and apart from two DNF’s and one NC, Collard only failed to score in one other race in 2012; the season finale at Brands Hatch. He finished the campaign as the top S2000 runner
With an expected switch of car to an NGTC machine for 2013, Collard could once again figure at the sharp end of the field. His never give up attitude will always have some benefits in the BTCC.
2. Dave Newsham – Team ES Racing
Dave Newsham was voted as the BTCC.net Fans Trophy winner for 2012 and his performances in the Team ES Racing.com Vauxhall Vectra and he finished his second full campaign in the BTCC with a top ten Championship finish.
Pole Position ahead of the season opener at Brands Hatch proved that Newsham and the Vauxhall Vectra had the potential to cause upsets as the season progressed, even with the development of the NGTC cars.
Two podiums during the opening three weekends of the season set the tone for the season and despite a slightly tougher middle part of the season, his first win in the BTCC came at Snetterton.
Another win followed at his home circuit of Knockhill, while he took a further two podium finishes at Silverstone to cap a successful season for the Inverness based racer.
Newsham would be an outright Championship contender given the right car and he hopes to return in 2013, at the wheel of an NGTC car. He has tested the Speedworks Motorsport NGTC Toyota Avensis as he weighs up his options.
1. Gordon Shedden – Honda Yuasa Racing Team
Third in 2010, second in 2011, was 2012 set to be Gordon Shedden’s year? After a tough opening round at Brands Hatch, where he had a retirement then an exclusion which left him trailing in the Championship, it didn’t look likely.
4 wins in the following six races brought the Scotsman back into contention and at the half way point of the season; he had six wins and was right in the mix for the crown.
A tough start to the weekend at Snetterton looked to have derailed his Championship bid but he recovered to secure a strong points haul despite his race exclusion and he headed to Knockhill within striking distance of the Championship lead.
A double win in the wet at Rockingham saw Shedden move to the top of the standings and after that, he never relinquished the Championship advantage, and his performances at Silverstone marked a drive of the Champion.
A double podium at Brands Hatch was enough for Shedden to become the first Scottish Champion since John Cleland in 1995, and it marked out his Childhood dream.
Shedden drove the best he had ever driven in 2012 and will be back for another stab at the title in 2013 and he could follow his team-mate in becoming a back to back Champion.