The BTCC is one of the more exciting motorsport series we have in the UK, and is extremely popular. It began in 1958, as the BRSCC, the British Saloon Car Championship, where the field was split based on the overall performance of the car. This meant, a driver could win the overall championship, without winning a single race. In 1987, it was renamed to the BTCC, (British Touring Car Championship) and the rules have changed since then. Nowadays, the cars have a hybrid boost system, somewhat similar to the KERS system on a Formula 1 Car. Drivers can activate their boost during the race, to give them an edge and help with overtaking. Drivers who are doing well, get less time to use their boost. This is a replacement for the Ballast system, a method of making the field more even. In other words, the slower drivers, with no weight ballast, or nowadays, more boost, could keep up with the faster drivers, where they normally wouldn't be able to. It ensured that anyone had a chance to win a race, making the results exciting and unpredictable.
Since 1958, several manufacturers have entered multiple seasons, and some have dominated more than others. This here, is a list of the 10 most successful manufacturers based on total number of wins up to Round 10 in 2022. (That was the most up to date research I could find!) Bear in mind, this list includes both manufacturer and independent teams as the results are for the cars themselves.
10.) Renault - 38 Wins
The car you see pictured, is probably one of my favourite BTCC cars of all time, the legendary Renault Laguna as driven by Jason Plato. It had a screaming V6 and over 300 hp. And that was a 2.0 litre, naturally aspirated unit. The first time a Renault won was in 1993 at Donington GP. It was a 19 16v driven by Tim Harvey. The first Laguna didn't race until 1994, where Alain Menu took it to victory at Oulton Park International. In fact, in the entirety of Renault's BTCC career, most of their race wins were by Menu. The last BTCC race ever won by a Renault was at Silverstone International in 1999. The car that won that race was the very car pictured above, the Nescafe Blend 37 driven by Jason Plato. To this day Renault have never appeared in a BTCC race since. However in 2010, a prototype for a BTCC spec Megane was built to all the correct regulations. However when the company tried to sell it to teams, none of them were interested and it never raced as a result.
9.) MG - 39 Wins
Fun fact. I bought an actual MG 6 because of the very car pictured above. And I love it. MG's first BTCC win was at Brands Hatch Indy in 2001. The car was a ZS driven by Anthony Reid. This was actually the cars only win that year, but it won many times over the decade. MG continued using the ZS until 2006, when they temporarily retired from the series. This was most likely due to the MG Rover corporation folding in 2005. However in 2012, the newly rebranded MG announced they would be re-entering the series with their brand new 6 GT. This is where I fell in love with car, and became a huge fan of Jason Plato. This was 100% one of his most successful cars. In a span of just 2 years, he won 20 times in this car alone. It was a beast. And even though it never actually won a season, it still is an always will be my favourite BTCC car. MG got their last victory in 2016, with Ashley Sutton behind the wheel who is now a several time championship winner. MG have retired from the BTCC now, as the 6 is no longer sold in the UK.
8.) Toyota - 41 Wins
Toyota first won a BTCC race way back in 1975. It was a Toyota Celica GT, driven by Win Percy at Ingliston Racing Circuit. Percy actually won 8 times between 1975 and 1984. In fact, Toyota is the first manufacturer on this list that are still racing today. Rory Butcher, Ricky Collard and George Gamble are all racing the car pictured above, the latest Corolla, for Toyota Gazoo racing UK. The current Corolla joined the grid in 2019 with Tom Ingram at the wheel. This was actually the first time since 1987 the Corolla name has been used in the BTCC. The car Toyota used previously was the Avensis, which started racing in 2011. An Avensis prototype was built and showcased to the public in 2010, where it performed a few test laps, and put on quite a show. It was one of the first cars to be built under the NGTC specification. Tom Ingram made his BTCC debut in the Avensis. His first season was in 2014, where he finished 14th overall.
7.) Jaguar - 43 Wins
I have a soft spot for the Jaguar Mk II. It was my late Grampy's favourite car. I've never seen one race, but one day, I hope to, for his sake. Jaguar entered the BSCC in 1958, where it, and there's no other way to say this, absolutely dominated. With Tommy Sopwith at the wheel, the car won 8 out of the 9 races in the season. The first was at Brands Hatch. The only race he didn't win was race number 3 at Mallory Park. Why? He retired. Who won instead? Gawaine Baillie, driving the other Mark II. Jaguar also raced an XK150, which won once in 1960, at Oulton Park. Jaguar haven't been in the BTCC since 1965. Jaguar could potentially re-enter the series, as their XE fits the bodyshell regulations. However this is unlikely. A racing team did in fact make a concept for a Range Rover Evoque, (which as we all know is part of the Jaguar group) built to the NGTC regulations, but it remained only as a render, and was never actually built. Will Jaguar ever sit on a BTCC grid again? Who knows.
6.) SEAT - 44 Wins
SEAT's first BTCC win was in a Toledo Cupra, driven by Jason Plato at Thruxton in 2004. This car was very successful, winning 9 times in 2004 alone. In 2006, the ageing Toledo was replaced by the brand new Leon, which took it's first victory at Brands Hatch Indy. It was driven by James Thompson. The most interesting thing about SEAT's BTCC career, was that they were the first and only company to use a diesel powered car. This was an odd tactic, but it proved to be successful, as the car won 10 times in 2008. The WTCC variant also had a Diesel engine at this point. SEAT pretty much ended their BTCC career at the end of 2008, due to not wishing to take part in motorsport anymore. You could still see SEAT's race in the WTCC, but only because private teams had bought race ready cars. The only time a SEAT won the BTCC after 2008 was at Knockhill in 2011, driven by Tom Boardman, and racing for a privately owned team. SEAT still to this day have not entered a factory team into any touring car series.
5.) Chevrolet - 77 Wins
What? Chevrolet in the British Touring Car Championship? You better believe it. Chevy actually started racing in the 1970's. This was shortly after the American takeover in th 1960's. Teams would import high powered american cars, such as the Ford Galalxie and in this case, the Z/28 Camaro. The car won it's first race at Silverstone in 1970, with Brian Muir at the wheel. The Camaro won several times in the 1970's, with several teams an drivers along the way. By the time the 1980's came, the series went back to British built cars, and we never saw a Chevy again. That was until 2009. You may know about a car company called Daewoo. They went bust in the 2000's and were bought out by General Motors. New cars would be built, and sold in the UK as Chevrolet's. We got both the Lacetti and later on, the Cruze, both of which had their fair share of success. In fact, the 2010 Chevrolet Cruze driven by Mr Plato (pictured above), was actually a championship winning car, earning Plato his second title championship.
4.) Vauxhall - 138 Wins
Vauxhall is the second manufacturer on this list which is still racing today. They are using the last generation Astra (pictured above), and there's no news whether they will switch to the new shape, but we can assume they will at some point. Vauxhall have been in the BTCC for donkey's years, at least since 1977. Vauxhall never had much success. That was until, the 90's hit. With their new cavalier, everything changed. Win after win after win. For example, take Scottish touring car legend John Cleland. He won 18 races. All of them were in a Vauxhall, from 1991 to 1998. He even challenged a title win, but due to a now famous altercation with Steve Soper, he lost it to BMW's Tim Harvey. However, it wouldn't take long for Vauxhall to laugh in BMW's face. Because in 2001, Jason Plato took a Vauxhall Astra Coupe to his maiden championship win. Vauxhall also had a lot of success in the 2000's. With Fabrizio Giovanardi at the wheel, the Vauxhall Vectra won not one, but two championships back to back in 2007 and 2008.
3.) BMW - 155 Wins
BMW have been very competitive in the BTCC since day one. They are the only manufacturer currently on the grid to use Rear Wheel Drive. Is this beneficial? Maybe. They have always been in the running for the championship. For example, take Colin Turkington. He has won FOUR championship titles. And all of them, were in a BMW. In fact, in his entire BMW career, he has won 51 races. BMW have been in the BTCC since the 1970's, where they raced the legendary 3.0 CSL, which took it's first victory at Silverstone in 1973. The car also won the last two races of the season. Since then, BMW have had several further victories. Take the before mentioned incident with John Cleland and Steve Soper. Soper's teammate Tim Harvey, and Cleland were fighting for the championship. Whoever won the race would win. Soper knew this, so towards the end of the race, Soper "accidentally" took himself and Cleland out, to guarantee Harvey the win. Cleland, when interviewed afterwards, was not at all happy and referred to Soper as "an animal."
2. Honda - 198 Wins
Honda are another one who have been competitive for several years. They were also one of only 3 manufacturers to enter an estate car, a Civic Tourer in 2014. The most famous Honda duo, who have been teammates at Honda for several years, are Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden. They have 108 wins between them, which is more than half of Honda's entire amount of wins. You may remember the incident in 2011, when Matt Neal locked up whilst trying to overtake Shedden, and ended up taking them both off. Matt Neal won the season that year, with Gordon Shedden coming home in second. Honda started racing the Accord in the 1990's, with David Leslie taking the first victory in 1996 at Silverstone. In the 200's they moved to the Civic and the Integra, and since 2007, have used Civics every year. Civics are still racing now, and one of them is being driven by the only female currently on the grid, Jade Edwards.
1.) Ford - 283 Wins
Where to start with Ford? Ford's status in the BTCC is nothing other than legendary. They are the only manufacturer to race in both the 1958 and 2023 season of the BTCC. No other manufacturer has come close to that. Of course, it makes sense then that they have the most wins. They are practically ancient in the sport. Any model of Ford you can think of, has probably entered the BTCC at some point. Capri, Escort, Zephyr, Anglia, Mondeo, Focus. Even a Mustang. The most famous and probably most successful BTCC car ever built, was the Ford Sierra RS500. It was so fast, that the big bosses actually banned it from competing. It became too predictable. You just knew that a Sierra would win. And that was no good. And then there was the Mondeo. The rules at the time meant engines had to be a maximum of 2 litres. Instead of using a 4 cylinder unit, Ford decided for some reason, it would better to downsize their 2.5 V6. Why? Why wouldn't you?
Were you surprised by the results? Or did you expect Ford to be the winner. Let me know in the comments! Stay safe.