Founded in 1958, the British Touring Car Championship is the most prestigious racing series in the UK, and one of the oldest competitions of its kind in the world. The BTCC is hugely popular with race fans as the top drivers in the country battle it out at famous circuits, including Silverstone, Brands Hatch and Donington Park. Each meeting includes three-action packed races, one of which includes a partially reversed grid to further spice up the action. Each race can be watched live on ITV and TikTok, whilst qualifying is shown on YouTube.
All cars are powered by 2.0 litre turbo-charged engines fitted with a specialist hybrid system, and are built to a strict set of technical regulations designed to produce close racing across the field. The modern-day BTCC is arguably the most competitive it has ever been, with the majority of the grid being capable of race wins.
ASH SUTTON #1
Despite being just 30 years old, Ash Sutton has already secured his place amongst the BTCC greats and heads into his third season in NAPA Racing UK colours aiming to cement his place in the record books.
At one stage, it appeared that Sutton’s career could be over before it began after a road accident put his racing dreams on hold but having returned to action in 2014, he took third in the British Formula Ford Championship - and hasn’t looked back…
Winning the Renault Clio Cup the following season, Sutton earned a chance to join the BTCC grid in 2016 with the factory MG squad, scoring a maiden win at Croft half-way through the year.
A move to Subaru in 2017 saw him secure his first championship crown, with further success in 2020 and 2021 as he secured back-to-back titles at the wheel of an Infiniti Q50.
Moving to NAPA Racing UK in 2022, Sutton finished as runner-up in his first year in the Ford Focus ST before an astonishing 2023 campaign saw him dominate proceedings, taking twelve wins across the year to wrap up a record-equalling fourth title.
That made him the first driver in series history to win the title in both front-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive, and few would bet against him becoming the first five-time BTCC champion during 2024.
DAN CAMMISH #27
Dan Cammish embarks on his third season with NAPA Racing UK in 2024 with his focus firmly on adding a BTCC title to his already glittering career resume.
Initially, the Yorkshireman found himself chasing the single-seater dream, winning the Scholarship Class of British Formula Ford in 2009 and progressing through to racing on the European stage before an accident whilst competing in Spain in 2012 forced him onto the sidelines.
Heading back to the UK to relaunch his career the following year, Cammish took the Formula Ford title in dominant fashion as he won each of the 24 races he started, before turning focus to sportscar racing with a move into the Porsche Carrera Cup GB.
Two championship titles followed alongside podium finishes in the F1-supporting Porsche Supercup before the opportunity to join the BTCC grid in 2018. Top rookie in his first year, Cammish came within half a lap of winning the title the following season before a brake issue at Brands Hatch, but would twice finish in the top three before a return to the Carrera Cup in 2021 resulted in a third title win.
Joining forces with NAPA Racing UK at the start of 2022, Cammish scored the team’s first pole at Thruxton and was a multiple-race winner across the following two seasons as he played a key role in two championship-winning campaigns.
Now keen to challenge for overall honours, Cammish is focused on fighting at the front during the year ahead.
DAN ROWBOTTOM #32
After a successful karting career as a youngster, Dan Rowbottom faced the same problem that many young drivers face as a lack of funding prevented him from chasing his on-track dream.
It would be 2017 when that dream finally became reality as Rowbottom was able to secure the backing needed to join the Renault Clio Cup UK, scoring multiple podiums and taking fifth in the points with his own family-run team. Race wins followed in 2018, with Rowbottom in contention for the title until the final round before ultimately finishing the year in fourth spot.
After a difficult rookie season in the BTCC in 2019 and a year on the sidelines as a result of the pandemic, a move to Team Dynamics and Honda allowed Rowbottom to show what he could do at the highest level, taking a first win in 2021 en-route to the Jack Sears Trophy title.
Joining forces with NAPA Racing for 2023 resulted in Rowbottom enjoying his best season in the BTCC to date, scoring a second career win and picking up multiple podium finishes to take a career-best points tally.
With a year of experience in the Ford Focus ST behind him, Rowbottom embarks on his second season in the NAPA Racing UK aiming to fight for further silverware to add to his collection.
SAM OSBORNE #77
Sam Osborne is now something of a BTCC veteran as he prepares to embark on his sixth season as part of the grid.
Osborne launched his racing career in the MINI CHALLENGE before a two-year stint in the Renault Clio Cup saw him move onto the BTCC package for the first time.
It was 2019 when Osborne was able to move into touring cars for the first time at the wheel of an ex-works MG6 GT before the move into a Honda Civic Type-R in 2020 allowed him to show his potential as he broke into the top ten for the first time.
Following two seasons as part of the Motorbase team in the Ford Focus ST, Osborne joined the NAPA Racing UK line-up for the first time in 2023 for what would be the best season of his BTCC career to date.
Inheriting a maiden podium finish at Donington Park, Osborne would set a new personal best for points scored in a season en-route to a top 20 championship finish.
Osborne will now seek to improve on that during the year ahead, whilst also pushing for honours in the Jack Sears Trophy.
