BTCC
2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship
The 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) delivers another high-octane season of UK motorsport. Combining door-to-door bumper action, hybrid powertrain strategy, and a revised weekend format featuring Saturday Qualifying Races, 2026 sees heavyweight driver rivalries and brand-new team entrants line up across Britain’s finest circuits.
Teams & Drivers
The 2026 grid features 21 cars representing official manufacturers, independent entries, and legendary championship names.
| Team | Car Model | Key Drivers |
| Team Vertu | Hyundai i30 Fastback N | Tom Ingram, Tom Chilton, Nicolas Hamilton, Ricky Collard |
| NAPA Racing UK | Ford Focus Titanium Saloon | Ash Sutton, Dan Cammish, Sam Osborne, Lewis Selby |
| Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport | Toyota Corolla GR Sport | Gordon Shedden, Árón Taylor-Smith |
| Speedworks Corolla Racing | Toyota Corolla GR Sport | Josh Cook, Max Buxton, Ryan Bensley |
| Cataclean Plato Racing | Mercedes-AMG A35 Saloon | Daniel Rowbottom, Adam Morgan |
| WSR (West Surrey Racing) | BMW 330i M Sport LCI | Charles Rainford, Daryl De Leon, Lewis Gilbert |
| Power Maxed Racing | Audi S3 Saloon | Mikey Doble, Aiden Moffat, Dexter Patterson, Nick Halstead |
| Restart Racing | Hyundai i30 Fastback N | Chris Smiley, James Dorlin, Daniel Lloyd |
Championship Contenders
- Tom Ingram (Team Vertu): The defending champion enters 2026 with the target on his back, driving the proven Hyundai i30 Fastback N.
- Ash Sutton (NAPA Racing UK): The four-time champion leads NAPA Racing’s shift to the Ford Focus Titanium Saloon, hunting a historic fifth BTCC drivers’ crown.
- Dan Cammish (NAPA Racing UK): A consistent race winner alongside Sutton, capable of mounting a serious title bid of his own.
- Gordon Shedden (Laser Tools Racing): The triple BTCC champion remains one of the sharpest racers on the grid.
- Josh Cook (Speedworks): Celebrated for his exceptional racecraft, Cook continues to pose a major victory threat at every venue.
- Cataclean Plato Racing: A high-profile addition to 2026 spearheaded by legend Jason Plato as team principal, running Mercedes-AMG A35 Saloons for Dan Rowbottom and Adam Morgan.
All 2026 BTCC Circuits & Calendar
The 2026 calendar spans 10 event weekends across 8 legendary venues, totalling 30 races:
| Round | Date | Venue | Layout | Highlights |
| R1–3 | 18–19 April | Donington Park | National Circuit | Season opener featuring the legendary downhill Craner Curves. |
| R4–6 | 9–10 May | Brands Hatch | Indy Circuit | Tight, fast amphitheatre offering non-stop lap action. |
| R7–9 | 23–24 May | Snetterton | 300 Circuit | Long straights ending in heavy braking zones ideal for slipstreaming. |
| R10–12 | 6–7 June | Oulton Park | Island Circuit | Beautiful, narrow Cheshire track that rewards precision and nerve. |
| R13–15 | 25–26 July | Thruxton | Main Circuit | The fastest track in the country, placing extreme demands on tyres. |
| R16–18 | 8–9 August | Knockhill | Clockwise Circuit | Scotland’s rollercoaster track famous for curb-hopping, close-contact chaos. |
| R19–21 | 22–23 August | Donington Park | GP Circuit | Returns to Leicestershire using the extended Grand Prix loop. |
| R22–24 | 5–6 September | Croft | Main Circuit | North Yorkshire venue offering technical chicanes and tight hairpin battles. |
| R25–27 | 26–27 September | Silverstone | National Circuit | High-speed layout where slipstream tactics define the penultimate weekend. |
| R28–30 | 10–11 October | Brands Hatch | GP Circuit | Grand finale on the famous forest-lined GP layout to crown the champion. |
The Circuits In Depth
The BTCC calendar travels to eight iconic venues across England and Scotland, comprising 10 event weekends and 30 total races.
1. Donington Park (Leicestershire)
- Layouts Used: National & Grand Prix
- Characteristics: Famous for the sweeping downhill Craner Curves, Old Hairpin, and heavy braking zones along the Melbourne Hairpin on the GP layout. It hosts both the opening round and a crucial late-season clash.
2. Brands Hatch (Kent)
- Layouts Used: Indy & Grand Prix
- Characteristics: The amphitheatre of British racing. The short Indy circuit offers relentless lap-after-lap action, while the legendary GP layout takes drivers deep into the Kent countryside through Hawthorns and Dingle Dell for the season finale.
3. Snetterton (Norfolk)
- Layout Used: 300 Circuit
- Characteristics: A technical, expansive track featuring long straights ending in sharp hairpins like Agostini and Murray’s, making it a prime location for slipstreaming and overtaking manoeuvres.
4. Oulton Park (Cheshire)
- Layout Used: Island Circuit
- Characteristics: Set in natural parkland, Oulton Park is narrow, fast, and undulating. Key spots include the high-speed cascades through Island Bend and the tight chicane at Knickerbrook.
5. Thruxton Circuit (Hampshire)
- Layout Used: Main Circuit
- Characteristics: The fastest track in the UK. High-speed sweepers like Church place incredible strain on tyres, requiring maximum bravery and smooth inputs from drivers.
6. Knockhill Racing Circuit (Fife, Scotland)
- Layout Used: Tri-Oval / Clockwise
- Characteristics: Scotland’s national motorsport centre is a rollercoaster ride. Extremely tight and hilly, cars regularly launch off two wheels over the kerbs at the chicane.
7. Croft Circuit (North Yorkshire)
- Layout Used: Main Circuit
- Characteristics: Combines fast, flowing outer bends with a brutally slow hairpins-and-chicane complex at the end of the lap, rewarding well-balanced chassis setups.
8. Silverstone Circuit (Northamptonshire)
- Layout Used: National Circuit
- Characteristics: Utilising the iconic Copse corner, Maggotts, Becketts, and Wellington Straight, Silverstone produces close slipstream battles with multiple cars entering Brooklands side-by-side.
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