BTCC SUPPORTS APPROVE OF 2020 CALENDAR CHANGES
Donington becoming opening round and addition of Silverstone International are popular
The British Touring Car Championship’s support series have welcomed the changes to the 2020 calendar that were announced last month.
Next year’s schedule was unveiled at the Croft round and it features a number of alterations to the traditional BTCC itinerary. These include Donington Park replacing Brands Hatch as the opening round, the introduction of the Silverstone International circuit in place of a second visit to Thruxton, and Croft moving to later in the year.
British Formula 4 has already confirmed that it will continue to appear at all 10 BTCC events next season.
Championship manager David Lowe welcomed the early announcement of the new calendar, saying it “makes planning so much easier”.
He added: “A bit of change is good, it makes it a little bit more interesting. It’s a great package for us.”
Porsche GB motorsport manager James Macnaughton said the second Silverstone round is perfect for the manufacturer as it has the Porsche Experience Centre on site, and he also praised the decision to swap
Donington and Brands.
“I’m over the moon [with the changes],” he said. “It builds on an already very strong platform TOCA creates for the support race series.
“Brands Hatch is a fantastic venue, and it absolutely needs to be on the calendar, but it’s a difficult place to start your championship, especially when you’ve got new drivers getting used to a very powerful car. The really fast guys catch the slower guys about a third of the way through the race.
“Starting on a longer circuit with more run-off is a much nicer start, and it’s a fantastic move to go to Donington Park.”
Ginetta motorsport manager Ash Gallagher added: “They’re limited to what they can do but a bit of variety is nice. It’s a different first round, which is good for us as we have a showroom at Donington
Park, so it’s almost like a second home race for us.”