Who Has Got A One Track Mind?

We find out which drivers top the charts at each individual venue. 

- Matt James

The format of the British Touring Car Championship has remained unchanged for several seasons now, and it has some pretty well-established patterns.

Certain drivers seem to have an affinity with certain layouts, and Motorsport News wanted to find out just who has the knack at any given track. We have calculated the average finishing position for each winning driver in the category over the last five years, and the results are surprising.

In the modern day BTCC, there are certain tracks that suit rear-wheel-drive cars, and those which are more profitable for front-wheel-drive machines.

Those can have a big influence on the outcome of any given driver’s average, but it is not impossible to override this – as Jason Plato, who has spent the majority of the last five seasons in a front-wheel-drive car, has proved with his fantastic record at Oulton Park.

Two-time champion Plato, who is due to return to the BTCC for a 19th season in 2017, said he was shocked by some of the results.

“I am surprised that my best isn’t Brands Hatch Grand Prix [where he has had four wins in the last five years but tempered by only one other podium]. But I am pleased with the stats from Oulton.

“It is a proper drivers’ track, and it is a real compromise. Because you have so many different types of corner, you never really get the car sorted for the whole circuit. You have to take the next best option in terms of set-up to get a good time from the track, so then it comes down to the driver – but you would expect me to say that now I have just found out I am top there! It is all about corner speed, and that is where the more experienced drivers and the more skillful in terms of set-up can extract the most from the cars.”