Subscription

Car Racing

Motorcycle Racing

Racing in Oz

Shop

2004 BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP

• SEAT JOINS BTCC    PLATO RETURNS    ETCC SPEC CARS     
  NO COMPULSORY PITSTOPS    3 RACES PER WEEKEND    NO PRODUCTION CLASS

2004 BTCC

• CHAMPIONSHIP: 11 ROUNDS / 30 RACES
• CLASS: Works cars for Manufacturer championship and Independents Cup
• FORMAT: 3 races at every venue; reverse grid for race 2
• SUPPORT RACES:
  Formula Renault, Renault Clio Cup, Formula BMW, Porsche Carrera Cup
• DATES: APRIL 11 -  SEPT 26, 2004

FINAL 2004 STANDING:

• 1 James Thompson, Vauxhall VX Racing, 274 points
• 2 Yvan Muller, Vauxhall, 273
• 3 Jason Plato, Seat, 224
• 4 Anthony Reid, 213
• 5 Matt Neal, 181
• 6 Colin Turkington, 173
• 7 Robert Huff 148
• 7 Dan Eaves 148
• 9 Tom Chilton 116
• 10 Luke Hines 115
• 11 Kaye 12 Collard 13 Bentwood 14 Watson-Smith 15 Breeze 16 Burt

OTHER UK RACING SERIES/CLASS

• Independents Trophy Winner: Anthony Reid
• Formula BMW UK Champion: Tim Bridgman
• Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain Champion: Richard Westbrook
• Renault Clio Cup Champion: Paul Rivett
• SEAT Cupra Champion: James Pickford
• Formula Renault UKGraduate Cup Champion - Sean McIntosh

2004 RACE RESULTS

• FINAL - R28, 29, 30: SEPT 25/26 Donington Park
  R1 won by Plato
  R2 won by Chilton
  R3 won by Muller
  GRID: 1. J Plato, Seat 2 Neal, Honda 3 Thompson, Vauxhall
  *** THONPSON WINS CHAMPIONSHIP ***
  "... It's just fantastic .."

• R25, 26, 27: SEPT 4/5 Snetterton
  R1 won by Thompson
  R2 won by Hines
  R3 won by Huff
  GRID: 1. J Thompson, Vauxhall 2 Muller, Vauxhall 3. Neal, Honda

• R22, 23, 24: AUGUST 21/22 Brands Hatch (Indy)
  R1 won by Neal
  R2 won by Plato
  R3 won by Huff *** maiden win ***
  GRID: 1. M Neal, Honda 2. Muller, Vauxhall 3. Kaye, Honda

• R19, 20, 21: AUGUST 7/8 Knockhill
  R1 won by Reid
  R2 won by Plato
  R3 won by Reid

• R16, 17, 18: JULY 24/25 Croft
  R1 won by Reid 2 Muller 3 Neal
  R2 won by Plato 2 Huff 3 Eaves
  R3 won by Plato 2 Huff 3 Turkington

• R13, 14, 15: JUNE 12/13 Mondello Park
  R1 won by Muller 2 Reid 3 Turkington
  R2 won by Plato 2 Thompson 3 Hines
  R3 won by Turkington 2 Hines 3 Eaves

• R10, 11, 12: MAY 22/23 Oulton Park
  R1 won by Muller 2 Thompson 3 Neal
  R2 won by Eaves 2 Plato 3 Reid
  R3 won by Muller 2 Neal 3 Thompson

• R7, 8, 9: MAY 9 Silverstone
  won by Neal (R1); Thompson (R2); Chilton (R3)

• R4, 5, 6: APRIL 25 Brands Hatch Indy circuit
  won by Neal (R1); Hines (R2); Thompson (R3)

• R1, 2, 3 ; APRIL 11 Thruxton
  won by Thompson (R1); Plato (R2); Muller (R3)

2004 BTCC CARS:

• Vauxhall Astra Coupé ; Honda Civic Type-R ; MG ZS
• Alfa Romeo 156 GTA ; Proton Impian
• SEAT Toledo Cupra *** BTCC DEBUT ***

PLATO (2001 CHAMPION) RETURNS WITH SEAT

• "... I’m very excited about returning to the British Touring Car Championship and sparring with some old racing rivals again. It’s great that SEAT UK is doing the BTCC ... because the series is going from strength to strength. It’s good news too for the BTCC that a new and dynamic manufacturer will be involved in one of the world’s premier saloon car championships.”

2004 TEAMS/DRIVERS

• VAUXHALL: , Yvan MULLER (2003 champion)
  James THOMPSON, Michael BENTWOOD, Luke HINES, Robert COLLARD, BUTLER-HENDERSON, Paul WALLACE
• HONDA: Matt NEAL, Tom CHILTON, John GEORGE
• MG: Anthony REID, Colin TURKINGTON, Jason HUGHES
• PROTON: Shaun WATSON-SMITH , Farique HAIRUMAN
• ALFA ROMEO: Carl BREEZE
• SEAT: Jason PLATO, Robert HUFF

2004 CALENDAR

• R1, 2, 3: APRIL 10/11 Thruxton
• R4, 5, 6: APRIL 24/25 Brands Hatch (Indy)
• R7, 8, 9: MAY 8/9 Silverstone
• R10, 11, 12: MAY 22/23 Oulton Park
• R13, 14, 15: JUNE 12/13 Mondello Park
• ** support race British GP, JULY 11, Silverstone **
• R16, 17, 18: JULY 24/25 Croft
• R19, 20, 21: AUGUST 7/8 Knockhill
• R22, 23, 24: AUGUST 21/22 Brands Hatch (Indy)
• R25, 26, 27: SEPT 4/5 Snetterton
• R28, 29, 30: SEPT 25/26 Donington Park (National)

2004 CHANGES

• Production class introduced in 2001 has been removed; 1 class for all drivers
• 3 races will be run at every venue instead of 2
• Starting grid for race 2 will be reverse grid (based on race 1 result)
• No more compulsory pitstops
• European Touring specification cars can compete in BTCC; ETC cars can be 50 kg lighter than BTCC spec cars

LAST SEASON (2003)

• MANUFACTURER CHAMPION: VAUHALL
  its 3rd consecutive title ; 2 litre, 275BHP Vauxhall Astra Coupé
• DRIVER CHAMPION: Yvan Muller, Vauxhall Astra , 5 wins
  Muller won his first ever BTTC crown. He has been championship runner-up twice since his debut in 1998.
  MULLER: " .. I am delighted with the result. I have been so close before, I came second last season and also the year before, but now I have done it. I have wanted this for a long time and I was really determined that I wouldn't let it slip away from me. James (Thompson) is a strong rival, so I knew that it would be tight all the way – and it certainly was. This achievement is very special to me and I must thank everyone at VX Racing for helping me to my first BTCC drivers' title .."
• FINAL 2003 STANDING:
• 1 Yvan MULLER 233 points
• 2 James THOMPSON 199 points
• 3 Matt NEAL 148 points
• INDEPENDENT TROPHY WINNER: Rob Collard
• PRODUCTION CLASS WINNER: Luke Hines

Advertising Enquiry