British Touring Car Championship Series Director Alan Gow says that the 31-car entry list for the 2014 season is a “clear demonstration of the success of the championship” after a record grid was revealed at the annual media day event.
31 drivers will take to the grid in the 2014 BTCC – a record for the single-class era of the championship. In addition, for the first time since 1999 all drivers and teams will be competing using machinery built to a single set of technical regulations.
“Our huge entry list is a clear demonstration of the success of the championship and the NGTC regulations,” said Gow. “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. That calibre of driver wouldn’t be here if they didn’t see that the championship is in rude health, but we also have to remember that many of those have the BTCC to thank for making them household names in the first place.
“The long-term value of the NGTC cars, as well as our new TBL system, is also proven,” added Gow. “Adam Morgan’s Mercedes for example is made up mainly of internal parts that came from his car last season, whilst Lea Wood will now be using the Toyota shell previously raced by Morgan. This car and its parts originated from one of the first NGTC machines used in 2011, which is testament to the way the rules have allowed some teams to join the championship that wouldn’t have been able to previously.
“Such has been the success in fact that from this point onwards the term ‘NGTC’ will no longer be a factor in the BTCC, because the next generation of touring cars are here now.
“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.”
The official announcement of the entry list means there are 14 models of car from 11 different manufacturers, with two official manufacturer teams entered (Honda and MG).
In addition, with stability in the regulations and a strong field of drivers and cars, BTCC organisers have made few changes to the format for 2014. Drivers will still have to nominate in which race they will use the mandatory ‘soft’ tyre on each race weekend, with series sponsors Dunlop now revealing which drivers are using the tyre via social media at 10:00 on race day mornings.
TouringCars.Net will bring further reaction to the media day and pre-season news over the course of the week.
Full 2014 BTCC Entry List
No. | Driver | Nat | Entrant | Car |
1 | Andrew Jordan | Pirtek Racing | Honda Civic | |
4 | Matt Neal | Honda Yuasa Racing | Honda Civic Tourer | |
5 | Colin Turkington | eBay Motors | BMW 125i M Sport | |
6 | Mat Jackson | Airwaves Racing | Ford Focus | |
7 | Fabrizio Giovanardi | Airwaves Racing | Ford Focus | |
9 | Alain Menu | CHROME Edition Restart Racing | Volkswagen Passat CC | |
10 | Rob Collard | eBay Motors | BMW 125i M Sport | |
11 | Simon Belcher | Handy Motorsport | Toyota Avensis | |
12 | Dan Welch | STP Racing with Sopp & Sopp | Proton Gen-2 | |
16 | Aiden Moffat | Laser Tools Racing | Chevrolet Cruze | |
17 | Dave Newsham | AmD Tuning.com | Ford Focus | |
18 | Nick Foster | eBay Motors | BMW 125i M Sport | |
20 | James Cole | United Autosports | Toyota Avensis | |
21 | Glynn Geddie | United Autosports | Toyota Avensis | |
28 | Chris Stockton | Power Maxed Racing | Chevrolet Cruze | |
30 | Martin Depper | Pirtek Racing | Honda Civic | |
31 | Jack Goff | RCIB Insurance Racing | Vauxhall Insignia | |
33 | Adam Morgan | WIX Racing | Mercedes-Benz A-Class | |
39 | Warren Scott | CHROME Edition Restart Racing | Vauxhall Insignia | |
40 | Árón Smith | CHROME Edition Restart Racing | Volkswagen Passat CC | |
43 | Lea Wood | Houseman Racing | Toyota Avensis | |
44 | Jack Clarke | Crabbie’s Racing | Ford Focus | |
48 | Ollie Jackson | STP Racing with Sopp & Sopp | Proton Gen-2 | |
52 | Gordon Shedden | Honda Yuasa Racing | Honda Civic Tourer | |
54 | Hunter Abbott | AlcoSense Breathalysers Racing | Audi A4 | |
67 | Robb Holland | Rotek Racing | Audi S3 Saloon | |
80 | Tom Ingram | Speedworks Motorsport | Toyota Avensis | |
88 | Sam Tordoff | MG KX Clubcard Fuel Save | MG6 | |
99 | Jason Plato | MG KX Clubcard Fuel Save | MG6 | |
101 | Rob Austin | Exocet Racing | Audi A4 | |
888 | Marc Hynes | Quantel Bifold Racing | MG6 |