Well that’s it, the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship is now over. Congratulations to our champion Gordon Shedden, a worthy victor, and commiserations to Sam Tordoff who had led the championship for so long only to lose it during the final race of the season. I have to say, I admire how Sam handled himself throughout, I’m really not sure I could have been so composed in his situation.

For us, the final round was a continuation of our consistent progress since the midseason Dunlop tyre test. There’s more to come, and I believe our performances since that test have served as a sign of our potential for 2017.

After qualifying sixth at Silverstone and knowing the step we had made in race three there, we felt we should be in a position to challenge for pole position at Brands Hatch. Unfortunately, a dry-wet-dry session meant that it was all about the last lap and on mine, I came across traffic.

Fortunately, our fastest time came two laps prior, when the track was considerably damper but it still good enough for second on the grid. It was Handy Motorsport’s best- ever qualifying session and we were all very pleased. I knew, however, that pole position was possible and as a driver nothing other than winning is good enough. So although I was happy, there was also an element of frustration.

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West Surrey Racing's Rob Collard battled his way to the overall Dunlop #ForeverForward crown, hammering home his reputation of being up there with the hardest of chargers come race day in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

Dunlop’s overtaking league table focuses on the battles throughout the field, the fightbacks from adversity, and the determination of the finest touring car drivers in the world.  One point is awarded for every place gained across each of the 30 races, and at the end of the year, the driver with the highest number of points will be presented with Dunlop's award.

Tom Ingram took the final weekend honours of the year at Brands Hatch GP to make it 10 different winners from 10 events this season, indicative of the sheer level of competition seen in the 2016 BTCC. His qualifying record, the leading average barring his exclusion from the session at Brands a fortnight ago, has meant that Ingram has rarely had to clamber through the pack. In fact, he received nearly half of his annual points at the final weekend of the season.

Collard held onto a 30-point advantage over Handy Motorsport's Rob Austin heading into the Kent finale – his eventual 150-point tally was enough for the coveted crown.

So, aside from Collard, who’s been an overtaking star in 2016? Kicking off the season, Rob Austin, on his front-wheel-drive debut, made short work of his rivals to gain 16 places in race two, finishing in 14th spot all the way up from 30th on the grid. Martin Depper made up the single most places in race one at Donington Park, when starting 31st he gained 14 places to finish 17th. The Eurotech Racing man was the only double winner of #ForeverForward honours this year.

Thruxton’s race one red flag situation allowed Gordon Shedden to improve by an incredible 19 places, starting 23rd he finished fourth. Jake Hill’s systematic displacement of his rivals at Oulton Park gained him 17 places, a result matched by Adam Morgan in the following round in Croft’s race three.  At Knockhill Andrew Jordan put his qualifying woes behind him to scythe through from 31st to 14th, also gaining 17 places along the way in race one.

Sam Tordoff moved up 18 places in Rockingham’s opening race, coming through from 28th to tenth. At Silverstone, Colin Turkington amassed a staggering 21 places largely due to his race one penalty that saw him claw his way through the field from 29th to eighth.

In the teams' standings, it was WSR who led the way, encompassing drivers' winner Collard and stablemates Jack Goff and Sam Tordoff. Eurotech Racing proved it harbours competitive machinery, excelling come race day, with Jeff Smith finishing third in the drivers' running and Depper featuring strongly throughout the season.

#ForeverForward stats

• 10 different drivers have taken #ForeverForward honours – Rob Austin, Martin Depper x 2, Jake Hill, Michael Epps, Andrew Jordan, Ollie Jackson, Sam Tordoff & Jeff Smith, Colin Turkington and Tom Ingram
• Total of 2,745 positions gained over the season
• Rob Collard gained an average of five positions per race
• Martin Depper, Andrew Jordan, Sam Tordoff, Jeff Smith and Colin Turkington share the highest number of overtaking moves across a weekend with 26 places gained
• The highest number of overtaking moves in one race (21) is held by Colin Turkington in Silverstone’s opening race
• Thruxton saw the highest number of positions gained over the weekend with 333 overtaking passes across the three races, closely followed by Silverstone (327)

Dunlop #ForeverForward drivers of the weekend

1 Tom Ingram 25
2 Andrew Jordan 20
3 Jeff Smith 18

Dunlop #ForeverForward overall standings

1 Rob Collard 150
2 Rob Austin 132
3 Jeff Smith 127

Dunlop #ForeverForward teams' standings

1 West Surrey Racing 306
2 Eurotech Racing 271
3 Silverline Subaru BMR Racing 237

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MG Racing RCIB Insurance man Ash Sutton rounded off a stellar maiden campaign in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship in fine style with overall Jack Sears Trophy honours following last weekend's Brands Hatch finale.

The MG racer came out of the blocks right on the pace in 2016, with pole at the season's second event, at Donington Park, signalling his intent.

Come the end of the Croft weekend, Sutton had garnered a debut appearance on the steps of the rostrum and a first win following a thrilling race three from the North Yorkshire circuit, played out in tricky conditions.

The 2015 Renault UK Clio Cup champion spoke of his pleasure at a job well done in this year's BTCC.

"Things couldn’t have gone better for me this season," said Sutton. "Some bad luck struck us mid-season and knocked us down the standings for the overall Drivers' title but I have achieved everything I came here to do.

"People kept asking me at the start, 'are all these big names intimidating?' and my honest answer was always no, they are just stickers on windows.

"I was not going to treat the BTCC any differently to any other championship I had been in.

"I set myself some goals just before Season Launch - those being to secure my first pole positon, get my first podium, followed by my first outright win and then the last and final one, the Jack Sears Trophy.

"Those goals at the time may have been a little strong but I am pleased that we have achieved every single one of them."

Winning the trophy bearing the legendary name Jack Sears, in the year of the inaugural BTCC champion's passing gave an extra gravitas to the achievement.

"Collecting silverware does show what you have achieved, but winning the Jack Sears Trophy on the year that 'Gentleman Jack' passed, with his son David presenting it to me made it an emotional experience as well as an unforgettable one."

West Surrey Racing and Team JCT600 with GardX secured double title success following a dramatic conclusion to the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch last weekend.

The Sunbury-on-Thames stable made sure of the BTCC Manufacturers’/Constructors’ crown with a race to spare on Sunday - marking its 20th anniversary in the BTCC with a fifth overall crown, a fourth in three years.

Team JCT600 with GardX were to be champions in their own right, too, bringing home Teams' honours after a nail-biting season finale.

Team-mates Sam Tordoff and Rob Collard started the day holding hopes of claiming the coveted Drivers' honours as part of an unprecedented eight-way battle.

Collard's challenge would prove not to stay the course, losing time with others’ incidents in races one and two, finishing 12th and 10th - not enough to take the fight to the final race of the season.

Long-time standings leader Tordoff, however, remained at the head of the pack right until the finale. It wasn't to be for the Yorkshireman, though, as reigning champion Gordon Shedden homed in, passing his rival after an enthralling battle in the finale. This move proved decisive in handing the Scotsman a second title in a row - Tordoff missing out by just two points in the end. Title or not, the 27-year-old's 2016 has been a watershed year.

Tordoff and Collard's efforts over the course of the season ensured WSR claimed the HiQ Teams’ Trophy - capping off what has been a successful campaign for Dick Bennetts' charges.

“I’m really happy for everyone at WSR to be celebrating the Manufacturers’/Constructors’ title and have to say a big thank you JCT600, GardX, IHG® Rewards Club and BMW UK for the support they’ve given us this year on our way to the Teams’ title," said the Team Principal.

"Motor racing is a real team effort and this is a deserving reward for a fantastic group of people. We did, of course, come here looking for three titles, rather than two and I’m gutted that we weren’t able to get Sam over the line. But he’s raised his level considerably this year – as has Rob – and we’re determined to bounce back even stronger in 2017.

Tordoff said: “While I’m obviously gutted to lead the championship for most of the season and then miss out on the Drivers’ title by two points, I’m incredibly proud of myself, of the job done by everyone at WSR and the support we’ve had from BMW, JCT600 and GardX all season.

"We’ve ended the season as Constructors’ and Teams’ champions and honestly I couldn’t have asked for much more. This weekend I’ve actually scored some decent points, but the pace needed to get us over the line wasn’t quite there; we needed something extra and it wasn’t quite there.”

“Two out of three isn’t bad and I’m very proud to be a part of a team that’s won the Teams’ and constructors’ titles this year," said Tordoff's team-mate Rob Collard.

Team IHG® Rewards Club's Jack Goff played his part on the other side of the WSR stable.

Goff claimed two podium finishes in his maiden year in a rear-wheel drive BTCC machine on the way to 11th in the Drivers’ standings while Team IHG®Rewards Club claimed eighth in the Teams’ championship.

“It’s fantastic to be celebrating the Manufacturers’/Constructors’ championship with WSR," said Goff.

"They’ve given me a wonderfully-balanced BMW all year and with four fastest laps, I think I’ve proven that we’ve all had strong pace this year.

"With better luck, I’m sure I could have been in the top six of the championship and the speed we’ve shown all year is proof of that."

 

Kent-based Motorbase Performance secured double Independents' Title victories on home turf during an enthralling 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season finale on the iconic Brands Hatch GP circuit this past weekend.

Both the Independent Teams’ and Independent Drivers’ Titles will be heading back to Motorbase towers, with the Wrotham-based outfit commemorating its 11th year on the BTCC grid in perfect style – with Mat Jackson claiming the team’s seventh win of the season, his 30th in the series, in the nail-biting season climax.

Jackson and Jordan were two of an unprecedented eight drivers in contention for the UK’s most coveted motorsport crown heading into the weekend, though they weren't able to dice for the overall Drivers' title to the last, the pair did the job.

Jackson’s race three win saw the DUO-backed driver end the season in third spot – the highest-placed Independent driver – just 16 points off returning champion Gordon Shedden.

In spite of a challenging weekend, Red Bull athlete Jordan managed to hold on the top spot; clinching the third career Independent Drivers' trophy in his maiden season as part of the Motorbase line-up.

In the Teams' battle, Motorbase took a credible 3rd place overall behind the BMW and Honda manufacturer-backed outfits, ending the season just 34 points off eventual winners, Team JCT600 with GardX.

The weekend topped off Motorbase’s most successful BTCC campaign to date with its drivers amassing an impressive tally of seven outright race wins, seven outright podiums, 15 Independents' race wins and 21 Independents' podiums between them in the Mountune-powered Ford Focus STs. Jackson also jointly tops the table of most race wins this season with five.

Delighted Team Boss Oly Collins said: “It was a great end to the season. It’s been such a great year for the whole team at Motorbase and now we can celebrate our two BTCC Championships. The aim this weekend was to win the outright Drivers' and we came tantalisingly close but full credit to Gordon [Shedden] and the Honda team on their win.

“I’m incredibly proud of how well we’ve done this season and it’s all thanks to the guys and girls behind the team!”

“We had issues in qualifying which put us on the back foot and unfortunately that set us up for a difficult weekend," said Jackson. "The GP circuit is a hard place to overtake on so to get back to where we did is great result and a great effort from everyone in the team.

“The car was phenomenal in the last race and it’s great to go out with a win and also to have taken our first Teams’ trophy at the end of an interesting season. We’ve made big steps forward this year having two cars scoring big which is what you need to win a title in the BTCC so it’s fantastic for that hard work to have paid off.

“When you come as close as we did to clinching the overall title you always look at the ones that got away and the missed opportunities but we can’t look back – it’s all about learning and moving forward. The car has been on the money this year and the boys have given me one of the most reliable machines on the grid so we just need to build a little bit on our consistency and come back stronger for the fight next year.”

“This is the third time that I’ve won the Independents Title so to do it again and help Motorbase to win their first ever BTCC title in my first year with the team is something that I’m really proud of," said Jordan.

“This year has been a good solid year for me. We’ve had a couple of wins and been back on the podium - a bit up and down with the results and not as consistent as I would have liked, but on a whole I’m really happy with how the season has gone.”

To celebrate Gordon Shedden winning his third Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship we're giving away this champion wallpaper.

Just click the link below to download

Gordon Shedden dramatically defended his championship at Brands Hatch, overturning a two-point deficit to Sam Tordoff in the final race.

After the dust settled we spoke with the new three-time champion and Halfords Yuasa Racing Team Manager James Rodgers...

West Surrey Racing claimed Constructors'/Manufacturers' honours for BMW, whilst Team JCT600 with GardX took the Teams' title.

While Sam Tordoff was ultimately disappointed to miss out on the big prize, he was still extremely proud to bring success to the team. We caught up with the championship runner-up, Team Principal Dick Bennetts and JCT600 boss John Tordoff...

Motorbase Performance won its first championship in the BTCC and duly backed it up with another in the same season. The Kent-based squad took the Independents Teams' title while Andrew Jordan claimed the Independents Drivers' championship for the third time in his career.

We caught up with Team boss David Bartrum, as well as Jordan and team-mate Mat Jackson, who won the final BTCC race of the season...