BTCC

	In terms of com­petitors, most of the growth has come from an enthusiastic band of privateers rather than official teams

If size counts, the Auto Express-backed Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship is back to its best. The figures speak for themselves – last month’s 2006 title decider not only drew a bumper 33,000 crowd to an autumnal Silverstone, but also featured the series’ largest line-up of racing rivals for more than a decade.

The resurgence can be attributed to one man: Alan Gow. The straight-talking Aussie was brought in during 2003 to revive what was then a failing champ­ionship, and he explains: “It’s all about inertia. Over the past three years, we have been doing a lot of work building the series up, and are now reap­ing the rewards, with more cars on the grid and rising spectator numbers.”

Gow’s success has been such that ITV is now covering all 10 race meetings live on Sunday afternoons – some­thing the BTCC never achieved even at its previous heights. In terms of com­petitors, most of the growth has come from an enthusiastic band of privateers rather than official teams. Only SEAT and Vauxhall fielded factory squads in 2006; the remaining entries were all independents, many of which were no doubt encouraged by the title success of Matt Neal’s family-run, Halfords-backed Team Dynamics outfit.

“There’s always been a perception that competing in the BTCC is expensive,” says Gow. “To address this, we set up seminars for potential independents, and demonstrated what it would cost them to race. Martyn Bell, for example, has completed the 2006 season in a BMW with a £100,000 budget, which in motorsport terms isn’t expensive.”

While admitting that full grids are likely to deliver better entertainment, Gow doesn’t believe they necessarily pull in bigger crowds. “I don’t think that people decide to come based on whether there are 17 or 26 cars. Again, it’s all about momentum. Over the past couple of years, we’ve had more ITV coverage than ever. Therefore the public is more exposed to what the BTCC offers.

“The venues are also doing more marketing, which helps the snowball effect.” Auto Express has, of course, done its bit by being the official media sponsor of the series for the past two years.

To keep the ball rolling, Gow’s next target is to entice a couple more works outfits back into the BTCC – and with them some big-name drivers. “We’ve got to strike a balance between factory teams and the independents, but it’s no secret that I would like to see one or two more manufacturers on the grid – and I’m sure that will happen.

“They bring with them considerable marketing effort, as well as providing future product for the privateers. They also bring star drivers. I’m not saying we need 20 Nigel Mansells, but a handful of famous names wouldn’t go amiss.”

Stars or not, next year’s championship will see a subtle change from the ageing BTC-spec racers to the latest Super 2000 machines found in the FIA World Touring Car Champ­ionship. That won’t affect outfits such as SEAT, which already runs S2000 cars, but Vauxhall and Team Dynamics are spending the winter developing new models.

“The move to the S2000 formula is another of the reasons behind our current success,” Gow states. “There was a danger that the championship was going to stagnate as manufacturers followed the WTCC route. By changing to S2000, we’ve already attracted SEAT and the majority of the newcomers are also racing S2000 models.

“Older machines will still be eligible and could still claim race victories if the circumstances permit, but with all the top teams running WTCC-style models, natural progression will ensure one of them takes the 2007 championship.”

So where does the BTCC go now? Gow had been in charge of the series in the Nineties, when it was crammed with star-studded teams from Alfa Romeo, BMW, Ford, Honda, Nissan, Renault, Toyota, Vauxhall and Volvo. After he left, the bubble burst, grids became threadbare and the grandstands emptied.

Although he believes those bad old days are firmly in the past, Gow warns: “We have got to keep working hard to provide the competitors with the best possible series and the spectators with great racing. We’ve certainly done that over the past couple of years, and will continue to do so.” Roll on 2007!