Opinion: Matt James

The rules of combat haven’t changed in the BTCC this year, but the arrival of a document has made many people think they have – and is causing paddock ructions

Subjectivity can be a cruel mistress, but it is often the way any driver, or fan, judges their motorsport. In the bumper-to-bumper cauldron of the British Touring Car Championship, who is at fault for incidents can be a moot point.

Who was to blame? Why did it happen?

But there are steadfast regulations that mean contact is probably better-researched, analysed and assessed than in any other category outside Formula 1. There are a raft of onboard monitors that check a driver’s every move, and all of these are accessible to officials afterwards. The regulations stipulating onboard cameras and the data traces that are available to the

BTCC officials make sure of that.

But there are also the basics – the rules of combat – that are pointed out to every driver in every drivers’briefing. This year for the first time, though, they have been written in black and white, and every competitor has a copy.

One of the central tenets of this is that if a driver gains an ‘unfair’position through contact, they are at liberty to restore order themselves. Simply back off and give the place back.

Imagine asking a driver to do that… It will never sit well in the self-centred world of a racer.

Stephen Jelley was on course for Team Parker Racing’s best-ever result in race three of the BTCC opener at Brands Hatch at the start

of April when he collided with Matt Neal’s Team Dynamics Honda Civic going into Graham Hill Bend, delaying them both.

But Jelley, and more importantly team boss Stuart Parker, knew the rulebook. Jelley explains:“in the drivers’briefing, they had reiterated the rules and actually given us a document with driving guidelines on them – which is the first time we have had that. I knew, because it was the first round, that they would be hot on it.

“In my mind, I knew I had to [give the place back],”adds Jelley. “A driver knows when a move is fair and is not. And I knew in my heart it was the right thing to do to not risk a penalty. In my mind, landing a good result at the front was worth more than risking it all to argue the case with the officials afterwards.”

Jelley eventually finished third anyway, but he had done something unusual. It is not often that a driver – certainly in tin-tops – volunteers to give up position. But this seems to have laid down something of a marker. The rules, although not different, are front and centre of drivers’minds right now. They are a key talking point at this stage of the season.

Take, for example, Andrew Jordan’s accident at Donington

Park last month, which left the WSR BMW 330i M Sport driver in hospital. He had gone into the Old Hairpin toe-to-toe with Rob Collard’s Power Maxed Racing Vauxhall Astra.

The two collided and it sent Jordan’s machine spinning in front of the pack. The resultant side impact on the driver’s door left the Pirtek man perplexed and wondering where the line is. Collard protested his innocence in the move, but it sent tongues wagging again.

Jordan said:“[the BTCC officials have] said it is a racing incident, which I find quite funny because the written thing that we got said that you had to be at the B-pillar of the car ahead

[if you are going to overtake]. I’ve got a rub just in front of my right-rear wheel. Last time I checked that wasn’t the B-pillar.”

That incident is under appeal because WSR and Jordan think there is more to be investigated. The results will be known after the circus reconvenes at Thruxton on 18-19 May.

But, as series chief executive Alan Gow points out, these are not new rules. They are known to each driver through the messages they get from the clerk of the course at the start of every meeting.“nothing we are doing this year is different to what we have told the drivers before,”explains Gow.“of course, each incident will still be judged on its own merit because there could be other circumstances involved, but we have guidelines that every driver is fully aware of.

“Matt Neal came to us after he had contested the Bathurst 12 Hour earlier this year and showed us what they had been issued with over there in terms of driving etiquette – it was a proper document, so that gave us the idea to do the same thing for the British Touring Car Championship. It has not changed what we do – it just means it’s in black and white.”

And that seems to have had a profound effect on the men on the grid. It’s the thing on everyone’s lips.“just because you don’t see it on TV, it doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened before,”says Gow.

The now-written-down BTCC driving-standards guidelines also cover several other issues, with a firmly set-down roster for what a driver can do to defend a position, as well as the procedure in qualifying.

While nothing is new in the BTCC for this season (apart from the BMW 3 Series and Toyota Corolla! – ed), the onus has now been placed very firmly on the drivers, and the avenues for them to police themselves have been reinforced.

Gentlemen, it’s over to you.

“Having the rules in black and white seems to have had a profound effect on the drivers”