A collaboration between the BTCC, Cobra Seats and Schroth has resulted in the development of a seat net that provides optimum safety.

The need for seat nets in a racing car is often exhibited and was proven a number of times in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship earlier this year, most notably during Bobby Thompson’s dramatic barrel roll at Croft.

As Thompson’s Audi somersaulted several times before coming to rest, it clearly demonstrated how drivers experience a range of forces during such incidents, not just front to rear or side to side, but every angle in between.

The championship’s Technical Director, Peter Riches, was eager to introduce the use of seat nets, and this latest collaboration ‘squares the circle’ of providing optimum geometry in the car and optimum safety when needed most.

The process of finding a solution required discussion with Mark Dunsford, MD of Cobra Seats, a company which supplies over half of the seats to BTCC drivers, including eight of the last nine BTCC Drivers’ champions.

“Mark is the third generation of his family to run Cobra Seats,” explained Peter. “You could say that racing seats are part of his DNA and he has spent the last ten years developing seats for the BTCC, so he knows the drivers, knows the cars and really understood what we needed to achieve, both from a safety perspective and from the driver’s viewpoint.

“Furthermore, Cobra has a long established strategic technical partnership with Schroth who, themselves, are world leading manufacturers in motorsport and aerospace restraint systems.”

The result was a collaborative effort between the three parties, with Peter establishing the ‘wish list’ and analysing the results during development. Cobra developed and refined the solution, working with Schroth’s technical team to finalise a design which would pass the FIA’s stringent testing as well as technical appraisal to gain full approval.

The FIA Driver’s Guide advocates the use of head and shoulder nets, which offer significant advantages over window nets. While window nets are designed primarily to prevent an occupant’s limbs from being thrown out of the window in a crash, seat nets not only perform this function, but also provide further significant benefits.

The BTCC’s new seat net provides additional support to the head and shoulders in a crash, as well as guiding the occupant back into the seat. It prevents drivers arms from being thrown around inside the car and also offers greatly improved visibility compared to window nets.

Implementing the FIA recommendations in BTCC cars wasn’t straightforward, as existing seat nets didn’t provide a universal solution. Its design could only be adapted to certain cockpits and achieving the desired geometry was almost impossible in touring car cockpits where the front attachment point was effectively in the middle of the screen.

An innovative solution had to be found, which combined safety and practicality and which, vitally, would be equally effective for every car on the grid.

“Drivers nets represent a significant advance in motorsport safety,” explains Riches. “We knew that if we could develop a highly adaptable solution, which could be installed without any modification to seats and cages in competition cars, it could be a game-changer.”

After a huge technical challenge, the resulting product is a seat net that can be used inboard and outboard in any car, with almost any seat position, and allows the net to fully function to the optimum geometry, regardless of the available attachment points at the front of the car.

Engineered in accordance with the latest FIA 8863 – 2013 standard, the new seat nets have earned widespread praise for ‘squaring the circle’ of providing optimum geometry in the car and optimum safety when needed most.

Lancashire-based Ciceley Motorsport has today (25 November) announced one of the most significant developments in its history after making the decision to run a pair of BMW 3 Series’ in the 2021 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship.

The Carlube Triple R-backed outfit has campaigned the Mercedes A-Class with considerable success since 2014, but believes it is the right time to step up to multiple title-winning machinery.

Under the guidance of the manufacturer-backed West Surrey Racing, the new BMW 3 Series was first entered into the series for the 2019 BTCC season, and has since gone on to win five of the six major titles it has contested.

The car was part of the Drivers’, Manufacturers’ and Teams’ title successes in its first campaign, and then won the latter two again this season.

After considering a number of different models and configurations, the engineering team at Ciceley Motorsport chose the German machine as its best option to challenge for Drivers’ and Teams’ honours in Britain’s elite motorsport series.

Russell Morgan, Ciceley Motorsport Team Principal, said: “These are very exciting times for us all at Ciceley Motorsport, and we are delighted to be introducing the BMWs. This has been an incredibly hard decision, made even more difficult by the fantastic job our lead engineer Steve Farrell and Adam [Morgan] have done with the Mercedes this year. Our cars have been constantly improved and fastidiously maintained throughout their lifetime, and they are still eligible to run in the BTCC until 2023.”

Adam Morgan, Ciceley Motorsport Driver, said: “We have to look to the future. The hybrid era of the BTCC will be upon us before we know it and we must, as a team, be ready for the next challenge. Although our philosophy as a team is to enjoy our racing, we definitely enjoy it more when we’re winning! Next season will be yet another massive learning curve for us all, but we are still hungry for success. We now need to secure the services of a team-mate, who is able to complement the team and clinch the Drivers’ and Teams’ championships.”

The team’s title sponsors – Carlube Triple R and associate team partner Mac Tools – are also excited by this new and exciting chapter.

Peter Schofield, Tetrosyl Chairman, added: “It’s fantastic to be part of this historical moment for Ciceley Motorsport as they move to the BMW 3 Series. We have enjoyed great success with the Mercedes this season, which has been a difficult year for us all. For Tetrosyl and Carlube Triple R, this exciting change mirrors our aspirations and the level of quality we demand as a company and a brand. We wish everyone in our team the very best both on and off the track in 2021.”

The deal was concluded to purchase two new cars from multiple championship-winning squad WSR, led by the ultra-experienced and hugely successful Dick Bennetts.

Dick Bennetts, WSR Team Principal, said: “We’re very pleased that Ciceley Motorsport have become our first customer for the BMW 330i M Sport and will run two cars in 2021. They are a professional team with a strong engineering mindset, so the WSR-designed-and-built cars should give them everything they need to become title challengers.

“Since the 3 Series first turned a wheel in late March last year, we’ve won five titles out of a possible six and scored 48 podiums from 57 races, which shows the quality of the base machinery.”

Norman Burgess, Ciceley Motorsport Commercial Director, concluded: “Russell [Morgan] has made his mind up, we’re going for it! He has listened to both Steve Farrell and Adam [Morgan] and they have all decided together that the BMW is the best way forward, even though we will be sad to see the Mercs go. Carlube Triple R and Mac Tools have supported and stood by us through these unprecedented times and it’s imperative that we are in the best possible position to deliver them results, as well as repay Carlube Triple R for their unwavering belief in Ciceley Motorsport.”

Next up in the Champions Audio series comes the 2020 Independent Teams' Champions: Laser Tools Racing.

In the first full year which the pair of Infiniti Q50s have contested, the squad led a closely-fought battle with rival Motorbase Performance throughout the campaign, clinching the title with a pair of Indy wins during the Brands Hatch finale.

Listen to the full interview with Team Boss Bob Moffat below...

Photo credit: MJP Media

GKR TradePriceCars.com enjoyed a points-scoring end to the 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship season in tricky conditions at Brands Hatch.

The squad headed to the Kent circuit looking to build on the progress that Paul Rivett and Ethan Hammerton had made on their debuts with the team in the previous meeting at Snetterton.

With just one free practice session taking place as a result of the condensed schedule for the weekend - changed to factor in the reduction in daylight hours - both Rivett and Hammerton were keen to maximise their time on track, particularly when the session kicked off in tricky damp conditions.

The pair completed a combined total of more than 80 laps across the session, with Rivett ending up 24th and Hammerton in 27th, but with both drivers taking more confidence into the lunchtime qualifying session.

Although conditions were even more tricky come qualifying after more rain started to fall, multiple Clio Cup UK champion Rivett made the most of his extensive knowledge of the Kent circuit to secure an impressive ninth on the grid, improving his lap time by more than a second to line up just behind championship leader Colin Turkington on the grid.

Hammerton also made huge strides forward compared to practice, with his fastest lap being a second quicker than he had managed earlier on as he put the sister car 23rd on the grid for race one.

Heavy rain overnight and further showers across the morning made conditions even more difficult for the opening race, and a poor start for Rivett saw him drop down the order to end the first lap back in 15th place.

Briefly knocked out of the points-scoring positions, Rivett was embroiled in one of the battles of the race with Aiden Moffat, Stephen Jelley and Jack Goff, and overcame the challenge of the latter pair to secure 15th and the final championship point - whilst he was also the leading Jack Sears Trophy runner.

An off at Paddock Hill Bend in the early stages saw Hammerton slip to the back of the field but a safety car period then allowed him to close up to the rear of the pack ahead. After the restart, he was able to make up places to cross the line in 22nd, having shown he had the pace to run higher up the order.

Even though the circuit wasn’t fully dry, the team made the decision to go with slick tyres for the second race of the weekend but Rivett again struggled to get the car away from the line and slipped down the order to 24th on the opening lap.

Recovering up the order to get back into the top 20, Rivett then suffered a spin at Paddock Hill Bend and came to rest in the middle of the circuit; luckily without being collected by anyone in the rapidly approaching pack.

He would recover to finish in 23rd spot, just ahead of Hammerton after he came through the challenging conditions to bring his car home in 24th spot, improving his pace across the 24-lap encounter.

The final race of the season saw the rain return and meant conditions were far from easy for the pair on track in what was the final outing for the Audi in the championship.

A solid run from Rivett saw him fight his way up into the top 20 to secure 17th place, whilst Hammerton was forced to pit mid-way through the race as he struggled with visibility issues before ending up in 24th spot.

The team now turns focus to the 2021 season following the announcement of a new tie-up with the EXCELR8 Motorsport team, which will see it switch to the Hyundai i30 N Fastback for its third year in the series.

"It was a tough weekend with the weather,” said Hammerton. “Qualifying went okay and we knew where we needed to improve; we some progress to finish in 22nd in the opening race and I wanted to try and move up further in race two. It looked like it would dry on the out lap and we went with slicks at the last minute, but it was hard initially to find the grip and hard to make up ground as a result

"Race three was tough as the car was steaming up and I struggled to see, but we got the car to the finish again. The weather threw everything at us but there are positives for us to take away from it, and I've enjoyed my run with the team across the last two rounds."

"Qualifying was the real highlight for me,” added Rivett. “To put the car inside the top ten on the grid was brilliant and something I was really pleased about. Clearly however, I need to practice my starts a bit as they let me down, but it isn't easy to get the power down in these cars when the conditions are like that!

"To come back and score some points after a bad start in race one was really good and it was a shame in race two that we had the spin after some oil leaked from the diff as, without that, I think we would have won the Jack Sears Trophy at Brands Hatch. As it was, we had to come from the back in race three, so to get up to 17th was good in the conditions.

"Those two rounds have shown me that this is where I want to be in the future as I've really enjoyed it, and hopefully I can get the sponsors onboard to do a full season in 2021."

"This has been a tough year for us all with the pandemic,” concluded Team Owner Dan Kirby. “Credit to everyone in the paddock for us being able to complete the season, even though it has been a shame not to have fans watching on.

“On the whole, we've had a solid year with some good results for all of our drivers, and had things gone slightly different, we could have had a title at the end of it. Our time with the Audi is now at an end, and we're looking forward to the future and chasing success in the coming seasons with the Hyundai."

Just over a week on from the crowning of champions during the 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship season finale, the Official BTCC website is launching a special Champions Audio feature, where an interview from each victor will be posted each day. With the interviews recorded live, you can re-live all their excitement and adrenaline straight from Brands Hatch, in the comfort of your own homes.

Kicking off the first interview of the series is 2020 Jack Sears Trophy titleholder, Michael Crees.

In his sophomore season in the championship, the Clever Baggers with BTC Racing man stated his intentions on JST triumph from the get-go, leading the standings throughout the first half of the season.

An unfortunate run of retirements for the #777 Honda at Silverstone and Croft saw rival Bobby Thompson gain an advantage, before an unfortunate off for the latter in round 21 resulted in his retirement for the remaining rounds of 2020.

A clean sweep at Snetterton saw Crees head into the final race weekend of the campaign at the summit of the standings, but with his nearest challenger just 13 points in arrears it was all to play for at Brands Hatch. It was a further two JST victories for the 37-year-old, taking his tally to 12 wins, which proved enough to take the title. 

Find out what Crees had to say in his full interview below...

Team Parker Racing’s Stephen Jelley endured a frustrating weekend at Brands Hatch during the final rounds of the 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, as he struggled to convert qualifying pace into race results.

Having sealed 11th during Saturday’s qualifying session, his best of the season, Jelley headed into Sunday conscious that the deteriorating weather conditions would present some challenges for his BMW 125i M Sport.

Despite running as high as ninth in the opening laps, Jelley would struggle for grip on the damp 1.2-mile Indy circuit during Sunday’s first race, eventually crossing the line just outside of the points, in 16th.

Race two began as another tricky encounter for the Team Parker Racing man, who initially dropped back to 21st. An impressive recovery drive saw the 38-year-old pick off the pack as his slick tyres came into play, taking 17th spot at the chequered flag.

Jelley’s 2020 campaign came to an unfortunate end in race three as, following a heavy downpour prior to the contest, a spin at Druids and contact would result in significant damage and subsequent retirement for the #12 machine.

The Team Parker Racing squad now turns its attention to the forthcoming campaign, with a shorter-than-usual off season, before the BTCC returns to Brands Hatch’s Indy circuit on 3/4 April.

“It was disappointing,” reflected Jelley. “It was a good effort in qualifying in the wet as this car has never been that strong in those sorts of conditions and the huge amount of standing water did not suit our car at all. Unfortunately, a rear-wheel-drive car isn’t the best in mixed conditions, and I had several taps, was pushed sideways, and had potential for really big moments and just about got away with it.
 
“In race three I was tapped into a spin for no fault of our own and collected by another car. I didn’t do anything wrong: somebody put us into that spin and someone else has rear-ended a stationary object. That’s just how the season was going to end for us, though there were some bright spots early on, with a podium at Brands Hatch on the Grand Prix circuit.”

The 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship reached its exciting climax around the Brands Hatch Indy circuit last weekend, and you can catch up with all the action via ITV4, ITV and the ITV Hub.

The first showing of the 90-minute highlights package from the famous Kent circuit gets underway at 1130 tomorrow on ITV4, with the repeat following on the same channel at 0755 on Sunday.

ITV joins in next Wednesday (25 November) with its airing taking place at 2345, but if that isn’t enough then you can find all the action on the ITV Hub...

The entire penultimate race day from Snetterton is still available here for the next four days, whilst the Brands Hatch finale will be online for 25 days here.

Finally, there will be a full two-hour season review show in December, so keep an eye on the BTCC's official social media channels with the time/date still to be confirmed.

The 2020 BTCC season may well be over, but the action keeps on coming!

For the second time in his career, 26-year-old Ash Sutton has been crowned Kwik Fit British Touring Car Champion this past weekend (14/15 November) to end a sensational 2020 campaign.

Heading into the season finale sitting second in the standings and needing to overturn a nine-point deficit to Colin Turkington, the Infiniti Q50 driver produced a superlative final day performance to become a two-time champion by 14 points.

In addition to clinching the biggest prize in UK motorsport, Sutton also wrapped up the BTCC Independent Drivers’ Championship and helped guide Laser Tools Racing to a maiden BTCC Independent Teams’ Championship title as well. 

The BRDC Superstar kicked off his weekend on the right foot with a stunning qualifying display, mastering the favourable wet conditions to set the third fastest time, despite being ladened with 54kgs of success ballast. 

With conditions having worsened come Sunday morning, the rear-wheel drive ace began his pursuit of a second crown with a brilliant podium in race one. In the thick of the action at the front of the field from start-to-finish, the 2017 champion scythed into second place in the latter stages and soon set off in pursuit of leader Dan Cammish. 

Setting a string of fastest laps, Sutton closed in on Cammish in the remaining laps but was unable to find a way past, ultimately settling for second place.

Sutton edged closer in his quest to win a second Drivers’ title by storming to victory in a pulsating wet-dry penultimate race of the season. Opting to run slick tyres and starting second, the 26-year-old held position during the early stages whilst those on wets came to the fore.

A handful of laps later, however, the slick-shod cars were in the ascendancy and Sutton wasted no time in moving into the lead. Once out front, he powered his way to a commanding fifth win of the season and also the fastest lap of the race.

Starting the final contest of the campaign in 12th by virtue of the reverse grid draw and holding an 11-point lead over Turkington, Sutton starred in treacherous conditions once again to wrap up the title. 

Battling for position during a frenetic opening few tours, the five-time race winner was soon on the tail of Turkington and sat comfortably behind the BMW driver for several laps. 

In the closing stages, Sutton finally made his move at Paddock Hill Bend and, following a late pass on Josh Cook as well, he crossed the line in sixth to clinch the 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship title. 

“Two-time British Touring Car Champion - what a feeling!” exclaimed Sutton. “This one feels even sweeter than back in 2017 and it's an absolute dream; it's been a while since an Independent team won the overall championship and huge credit has to go to everyone at Laser Tools Racing, BMR Engineering, all of the team sponsors, my own personal sponsors, my family and friends – none of this would have been possible without them.

"They say that the second title is easier to win than the first but I can tell you that isn’t the case at all. We came into the weekend as prepared as we could have been and I was feeling confident we would be strong in those wet conditions – I love them.

"I said I was going to come in all guns blazing and I did that to a point, however I've learnt the lesson at Croft and knew that we had to be smart. Scoring a podium in the first race was a great start and then the car came alive in race two, it surprised me a bit. In race three I wasn’t willing to make a move on Colin until he made a mistake or left the door open, which he did, and I made the most of it. I’d like to think that we won the championship in that last race with the inner racer showing.

“Back in March at Media Day we rolled out this brand new car but because of the pandemic, we basically had to put it back on the shelf. We’ve had our ups and downs but everyone has pulled together to achieve three titles is phenomenal; not bad at all for a first year.

“Standing on that podium wasn’t the same without the fans, they really make the BTCC what it is. We’ve been able to put on a show for everyone this season during what has been a difficult year and fingers crossed we will be able to welcome them back trackside in 2021. 

“We’ll savour this moment but I’m really looking forward to what lies ahead. I want to make my mark in the BTCC, keep racking up the wins, podiums, championships and achieve the sort of things like Lewis [Hamilton] has done in F1.”

ICYMI - All calendar pages updated on Official BTCC website

Following the conclusion of the 2020 season this past weekend (14/15 November), the series is riding the momentum of another season finale bursting with action, tension and drama, and looking ahead to its next big thing: the 2021 campaign.

Returning to the scene of Ash Sutton's 2020 championship victory – Brands Hatch’s Indy circuit – for the first event of the season, the Kent circuit will bookend the year, while the BTCC will head to Hampshire’s Thruxton circuit twice, in both May and August.

Ticket sales for certain venues are currently underway, while specific timetables for the events will be released closer to the time.

2021 British Touring Car Championship Calendar

Rounds	Date	Venue/Circuit
1,2,3	3/4 April	Brands Hatch (Indy)
4,5,6	17/18 April	Donington Park (National)
7,8,9	8/9 May	Thruxton
10,11,12	15/16 May	Oulton Park (Island)
13,14,15	12/13 June	Croft
16,17,18	31 July/1 August	Snetterton (300)
19,20,21	14/15 August	Knockhill
22,23,24	28/29 August	Thruxton
25,26,27	25/26 September	Silverstone (National)
28,29,30	9/10 October	Brands Hatch (Grand Prix)

Halfords Yuasa Racing man Dan Cammish pulled out all the stops in his Drivers' title bid as the delayed 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship reached its finale at Brands Hatch on Sunday (15th November). 

Cammish started the weekend aiming to overcome a 25-point deficit to championship leader Colin Turkington, with Ash Sutton holding second in the table, but a race one victory followed by a podium finish fell short of what was required to overtake his rivals in the points, with the Honda man finishing third in the standings.

Qualifying in changeable weather proved highly challenging and both Cammish and team-mate Matt Neal were caught out by the slippery track, spinning their Honda Civic Type Rs though thankfully not obtaining any damage. Both rose to the conditions, with Cammish securing fourth and Neal seventh spot on the 27-car grid for race one.

On a soaking wet track, Cammish made a good start to immediately move up to third, and within four laps the Honda dived inside the car of title rival Sutton to take second. A safety car period failed to arrest the Honda's momentum as it closed on race leader Tom Ingram, and on lap 13 Cammish made a brave move up the hill to Druids hairpin, the Honda putting a wheel on the grass as its driver skilfully arrested a slide to assume the lead.

Cammish duly took his fourth victory of the season, halving his points deficit to just 13 behind Sutton who moved to the top of the table, two points ahead of Turkington. And with Matt Neal holding onto his seventh spot from lights to flag, Honda took the race one Manufacturers' award.

A rapidly drying track saw virtually the entire field making last-minute tyre changes on the race two grid. With his Honda Civic Type R laden with success ballast and on the tricky Brands Hatch pole position, Cammish was beaten away by Sutton at the start, and the Honda was then one of several cars to snap sideways at the still damp first corner.

A frenetic race followed, as the few drivers still on grooved wet tyres made the most of them in the early laps to move to the front, but then fell back again as the track dried. Cammish withstood great pressure to retain third for almost the entire race, but was then undone when the car of Paul Rivett spun with a lap to go. As the approaching pack took action to avoid the stranded Audi, Turkington’s evasive move saw him nip ahead of the #27 Honda, a manoeuvre which was deemed by stewards to have unfairly gained him the spot.

Despite regaining the final podium spot, the result still left the Honda man 20 points in arrears of Sutton, with only 22 available from the final race. With Neal's car suffering following its tyre change and slipping back to 16th, Honda's title challenges appeared effectively at an end for 2020. 

The reverse grid draw for the final race put Cammish's Honda back in ninth grid spot, for a race he needed to win to have any hope of snatching the title. Then the weather threw one last twist, a torrential downpour soaking the circuit and putting everyone back on wet rubber.

Cammish again made the most of the conditions, fighting his way up the field and eventually only just failing to secure his 11th podium finish of the 2020 season. And Neal forced his way up to 14th in the final race, scoring two vital points to secure Honda a clean sweep of the day's manufacturer awards. But with Sutton finishing sixth and Turkington ninth, they took the top two places in the championship, relegating Cammish to third in the final standings.

At the end of a challenging BTCC season, Cammish had once again taken his title chase to the final race. While he missed out, a record of 13 podium finishes, including four race wins, for the two Halfords Yuasa Racing drivers ended another successful season for Honda in the BTCC.

The squad now looks ahead to the rapidly approaching season, which kicks off back on Brands Hatch’s Indy circuit, on 3/4 April 2021.
 
"A win, a third and a fourth is a really strong day,” reflected Cammish. “On the whole, we’ve been really great this season. We’ve had more race wins, two pole positions, we've come so close to the title and to be best front-wheel drive car in the championship for the second successive year is some accolade.

“The team has given me a car that was always on the money – I’m proud of the whole team and going home with my head held high, just happy to be involved in this success."

"Little bit of a frustrating day for me,” admitted Neal. “The weather delivered the curve balls we needed to upset the hierarchy, but I wish I could have supported Dan a bit better. It was what might have been – we were still the best front-wheel drive car in the championship, and we couldn’t have asked any more of Dan."