Five previous champions, three races to go, the title showdown is ready for BTCC Brands Hatch championship finale. After another amazing season of the British Touring Car Championship it has come down to the last weekend where Gordon Shedden, Matt Neal, Jason Plato, Colin Turkington and Andrew Jordan all have a chance of winning the title.
The fact that five drivers are in with a chance could be slightly misleading, despite the fact that anything can and has happened at Brands Hatch all eyes will really be on Gordon Shedden and Jason Plato as the main two battling for the title. Shedden goes into the weekend as the championship leader and has a 23 point lead over Plato so is in the best position to wrap up his second BTCC title. Shedden has managed four race wins this season and has been extremely consistent in collecting points having just two races when he didn’t finish. The Honda should go very well round the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit as they managed a race three win there last season in the wet. Currently no rain is forecast for Sunday meaning tyre choice could play a big part and Shedden will run the soft tyre in race 2 which could work in his favour when the temperature could at its highest.
Going head to head with Shedden is Jason Plato, it’s been a breakthrough season for the BMR team and to have two drivers in with a chance of the title is a big achievement for them. Plato has managed five wins across this season however he has also had more non scoring races which has allowed the more consistent Shedden to be ahead of him in the title race. The BMR should also go particularly well around the circuit and both drivers will expect to be up the front. The first challenge Plato will face on Sunday is running the soft tyres in race one, he will have a lot of championship ballast on board, the temperatures won’t be that high and he will need to set a lap time for race two. However maybe an extra helping hand for Plato and team mate Turkington should they need it is their other two team mates in Aron Smith and Alan Menu, returning in place of the injured Warren Scott, who is recovering well from his accident at Silverstone would expect to be up the sharp end playing the team game if need be.
The battle is expected to be between those two drivers, however if something was to go wrong for either of them in qualifying or race one, Colin Turkington is next up to take advantage. He currently sits 32 points Shedden and only nine points behind team mate Plato. The reigning champion has managed four wins this season and many top ten results, along with that he has been in the top ten for every qualifying session so far. Consistency is one of his biggest strengths and it’s left him with a shot at the title come Sunday. This has been a fantastic season for Turkington bearing in mind it’s his first season back in a front wheel drive car, it has been a learning year and he will only get better next season after a year in the car. Matt Neal also has a chance at the title, after three wins in the season and many podiums he will be looking for upsets to gain the title, however he will also be looking to help out good friend and teammate Shedden wherever possible. The last driver in with a chance is 2013 champion Andrew Jordan and the fact that he has a chance of the title really does show just how good a driver he is. It has been a difficult for him at MG this season as he has not claimed a race win after having different issues with the car but in recent races the pace did look better, he was just extremely unlucky at Silverstone as a puncture took a good result away from him. He alongside Neal and Turkington don’t have too much to lose this weekend so will be sure to spice up the races and Jordan in particular will looking for a win. As the lights go out on Sunday anything can happen and there are many titles to be decided in the supporting series not just BTCC so it sure to be an incredible day of racing.
Main image:
