Misplaced Pages

The 2008 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship season was the 51st British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) season. It was also the first that the championship was sponsored by HiQ. Fabrizio Giovanardi won his second consecutive title.

Changes for 2008

Teams and drivers

After capturing the Drivers and Manufacturers titles in their first season with the Vectra, the Triple 8-run works Vauxhall squad expanded to three cars for 2008. Reigning champion Fabrizio Giovanardi remained on board, being joined by Matt Neal, returning to Vauxhall for the first time since 2002 after leaving his family-run Team Dynamics squad, with whom he won back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006. The third car was piloted by Tom Onslow-Cole, who impressed at the wheel of a WSR BMW in his debut BTCC campaign in 2007.

SEAT were once again the only other full-works operation, and fitted their Leons with the rapid yet often unreliable turbo diesel engines being used by the marque's World Touring Car Championship operation. Jason Plato, who came extremely close to securing a second BTCC title the previous year, remained on board, as did GT convert Darren Turner.

Tom Chilton, moving the opposite direction after two years with Vauxhall, replaced the outgoing Neal at Team Dynamics (again running as Team Halfords), with Gordon Shedden remaining on board in the other of their self-developed Honda Civics. As with the previous year, in spite of not being a factory-backed operation, the cars were not eligible for Independents points due to their dominance of the category with the Integra in 2005 and 2006.

West Surrey Racing (again running as Team RAC) campaigned the BMW 320is for a second year, with reigning Independents champion Colin Turkington again heading the team and single-seater convert Stephen Jelley replacing the Vauxhall-bound Onslow-Cole. Mat Jackson returned in his 320is after a successful debut season in 2007, with his small family-run operation now enjoying BMW Dealer Team UK backing.

Motorbase Performance also joined the BMW brigade after ditching their SEAT Toledos, with former Independents champion Rob Collard returned to the series full-time with the team after spending most of 2007 away. He was partnered by Steven Kane, who had been a front-runner for the team in the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain after making the switch from single-seaters. Also leaving the Toledo behind for 2008 were GR Asia (again running under the Team Air Cool banner), who switched to a newer Leon (which ran with its original petrol engine unlike the works cars) for the returning Adam Jones.

Team Eurotech continued with the ex-Team Dynamics Honda Integra for a third year, expanding to two cars with team boss Mike Jordan now joined by his 18-year-old son Andrew, who had impressed in rallycross before making his road racing debut in the Renault Clio Cup in 2007. John George also campaigned his Integra for a second year with TH Motorsport.

Alan Taylor returned for a full season in his Integra with Robertshaw Racing, having debuted in the closing meetings of 2007. The team also added a pair of ex-WTCC Chevrolet Lacettis to their line-up driven by Matt Allison, switching from Motorbase, and SEAT Cupra Championship graduate Harry Vaulkhard, the first Chevrolets to compete in the series since 1975. Allison left the team due to budgetary reasons after the first three meetings and was not replaced.

Among the other returnees were Kartworld Racing (entered as Team KWR), who continued to run the venerable MG ZS, cutting back to a single example for team boss Jason Hughes. Tech-Speed Motorsport, again running under the Arkas Racing banner, expanded to two cars for its second year with the Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch, Turkey's Erkut Kizilirmak being joined by Martin Bell, who had piloted a Geoff Steel Racing BMW in the previous two years.

BTC Racing began the year running their temperamental Lexus IS200s from the previous two seasons, before switching to a pair of SEAT Toledos acquired from Motorbase from the second round onwards. Team stalwart Chris Stockton remained alongside multiple truck racing champion Stuart Oliver, who was making his first steps into cars. Gareth Howell, who appeared in a Toledo for Motorbase in 2007, was recruited to replace Oliver at meetings that clashed with his truck racing commitments, making two such appearances before Oliver left the championship and the second car was dropped.

The only all-new entry to the championship came in the shape of young Scotsman Michael Doyle, who had been a race winner in the Clio Cup the previous year. He ran a BTCC-spec Honda Civic Type-R, originally built and run by the works Arena operation between 2002 and 2005, with his family-run In-Tune Racing team.

Team 48 Motorsport registered a two-car entry with Darrelle Wilson and Jamaican Matthew Gore as the drivers. The team intended to run the Alfa Romeos run by A-Tech in 2007 but after repeatedly delaying their debut, the team ultimately never raced.

Other changes

• Dunlop was no longer the title sponsor of the BTCC, being replaced by HiQ. However, both brands shared the same parent company.

Entry list

On 12 March 2008 the BTCC Organisers released the official MSA HiQ British Touring Car Championship entry list for the 2008 season.

Team	Car	No.	Drivers	Rounds
Works Entries
VX Racing	Vauxhall Vectra	1	Fabrizio Giovanardi	All
		4	Matt Neal	All
		10	Tom Onslow-Cole	All
SEAT Sport UK	SEAT León TDI	11	Jason Plato	All
		12	Darren Turner	All
Constructor Entries
Team Halfords	Honda Civic	9	Tom Chilton	All
		52	Gordon Shedden	All
Independent S2000 Entries
Team RAC	BMW 320si	5	Colin Turkington	All
		50	Stephen Jelley	All
BMW Dealer Team UK	BMW 320si	7	Mat Jackson	All
Robertshaw Racing	Chevrolet Lacetti	16	Harry Vaulkhard	All
		26	Matt Allison	1–3
Team 48 Motorsport	Alfa Romeo 156	19	Darelle Wilson	None
		48	Matthew Gore	None
Team Air Cool	SEAT León	21	Adam Jones	All
Motorbase Performance	BMW 320si	24	Steven Kane	All
		25	Rob Collard	All
BTC Racing	Lexus IS200	42	Stuart Oliver	1–2
		43	Chris Stockton	1–2
	SEAT Toledo Cupra			3–5, 7–10
		42	Stuart Oliver	3, 5
		44	Gareth Howell	4, 7
Independent BTC-T Entries
Arkas Racing with sunshine.co.uk	Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch	15	Martyn Bell	All
		90	Erkut Kızılırmak	1–6, 9–10
Team KWR	MG ZS	28	Jason Hughes	All
Robertshaw Racing	Honda Integra Type-R	32	Alan Taylor	All
In-Tune Racing	Honda Civic Type-R	33	Michael Doyle	All
TH Motorsport with JAG Racing	Honda Integra Type-R	55	John George	All
John Guest Racing	Honda Integra Type-R	77	Mike Jordan	All
		78	Andrew Jordan	All

• Team Halfords were neither a works or an independent entry.
• Team 48 Motorsport were on the official entry list but never raced.

(https://www.eurosport.com/motorsports/blissett-unveils-team-48_sto1508367/story.shtml)

Calendar

All races were held in the United Kingdom. The 2008 season once again had ten race weekends with three BTCC rounds at each. A provisional calendar had been announced by series organisers.

Round		Circuit	Date	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning Driver	Winning Team
1	R1	Brands Hatch (Indy)	30 March	Mat Jackson	Colin Turkington	Fabrizio Giovanardi	VX Racing
	R2				Darren Turner	Fabrizio Giovanardi	VX Racing
	R3				Mat Jackson	Colin Turkington	Team RAC
2	R4	Rockingham Motor Speedway	13 April	Gordon Shedden	Tom Onslow-Cole	Gordon Shedden	Team Halfords
	R5				Fabrizio Giovanardi	Mat Jackson	BMW Dealer Team UK
	R6				Matt Neal	Matt Neal	VX Racing
3	R7	Donington Park (National)	4 May	Tom Onslow-Cole	Jason Plato	Jason Plato	SEAT Sport UK
	R8				Fabrizio Giovanardi	Fabrizio Giovanardi	VX Racing
	R9				Tom Onslow-Cole	Darren Turner	SEAT Sport UK
4	R10	Thruxton Circuit	18 May	Tom Onslow-Cole	Tom Onslow-Cole	Tom Onslow-Cole	VX Racing
	R11				Fabrizio Giovanardi	Tom Onslow-Cole	VX Racing
	R12				Jason Plato	Jason Plato	SEAT Sport UK
5	R13	Croft Circuit	1 June	Darren Turner	Gordon Shedden	Colin Turkington	Team RAC
	R14				Steven Kane	Colin Turkington	Team RAC
	R15				Fabrizio Giovanardi	Fabrizio Giovanardi	VX Racing
6	R16	Snetterton Circuit	13 July	Jason Plato	Darren Turner	Jason Plato	SEAT Sport UK
	R17				Fabrizio Giovanardi	Jason Plato	SEAT Sport UK
	R18				Fabrizio Giovanardi	Mat Jackson	BMW Dealer Team UK
7	R19	Oulton Park (Island)	27 July	Jason Plato	Jason Plato	Jason Plato	SEAT Sport UK
	R20				Colin Turkington	Colin Turkington	Team RAC
	R21				Jason Plato	Gordon Shedden	Team Halfords
8	R22	Knockhill Circuit	17 August	Darren Turner	Jason Plato	Jason Plato	SEAT Sport UK
	R23				Darren Turner	Jason Plato	SEAT Sport UK
	R24				Darren Turner	Darren Turner	SEAT Sport UK
9	R25	Silverstone Circuit (National)	31 August	Jason Plato	Mat Jackson	Jason Plato	SEAT Sport UK
	R26				Fabrizio Giovanardi	Fabrizio Giovanardi	VX Racing
	R27				Jason Plato	Mat Jackson	BMW Dealer Team UK
10	R28	Brands Hatch (Indy)	21 September	Stephen Jelley	Steven Kane	Mat Jackson	BMW Dealer Team UK
	R29				Mat Jackson	Mat Jackson	BMW Dealer Team UK
	R30				Fabrizio Giovanardi	Tom Chilton	Team Halfords

Championship standings

• No driver may collect more than one "Lead a Lap" point per race no matter how many laps they lead.
• Race 1 polesitter receives 1 point.

Drivers Championship

Pos	Driver	BHI			ROC			DON			THR			CRO			SNE			OUL			KNO			SIL			BHI			Pts
1	Fabrizio Giovanardi	1*	1*	6	5	2*	5	8	1*	4	3	10*	3	4	5	1*	7	3	3	3	2	6	2	2	5	5	1*	3	14	DNS	11	262
2	Mat Jackson	2*	4	2	6	1*	Ret	Ret	11	8	5	5	2	18*	2	5	15	7	1*	12	5	4	6	5	4	2	13*	1*	1*	1*	4	226
3	Jason Plato	3	3	5	9	9	6	1*	2*	3	DSQ	7	1*	12	8	12	1*	1*	Ret	1*	NC*	9	1*	1*	Ret	1*	7*	5*	5	Ret	13	223
4	Colin Turkington	20	8	1*	16	6	7*	9*	13	12	2	2*	6	1*	1*	8	5	2	6	4	1*	7	5	7	15	4	2	4	4	3	5	212
5	Matt Neal	5	7	3	3	11	1*	2	Ret	6	4	3	4	2	3	3	10	5	4	15	7	5	16	10	7	6	4	15	6	2	8	185
6	Tom Onslow-Cole	7	6	Ret	7	5	Ret	3*	3	2	1*	1*	7	19	11	7	6	14	5	5	3	11	3	3	12	11	6	6*	9	8	3	170
7	Gordon Shedden	6	2	Ret	1*	4	4	4	9*	10	13*	8	17*	3*	Ret	6	4	8	Ret	7	8	1*	4	4	8	13	8	11	13	9	9	144
8	Darren Turner	4	5	Ret	2	3*	Ret	19	4	1*	6	4	16	15	9	Ret	2	19*	16	6	Ret	16	Ret	8	1*	3	Ret	19	7	Ret	12	133
9	Adam Jones	10	10	18	4	8	3	7	7	7	8	6	5	8	6	2	13	10	DSQ	8	6	2	8	12	10	8	3	2	11	11	Ret	119
10	Tom Chilton	9	Ret	7	8	7	2	Ret	5	5	7	12	Ret	Ret	14	4	3	15	7	2	11	Ret	10	11	6	12	Ret	9	8	6	1*	107
11	Steven Kane	8	Ret	DNS	10	10	13	6	12	16	12	13	9	7	Ret	Ret	8	6	2	9	4	Ret	12	14	9	Ret	5	12	2	5	2	86
12	Rob Collard	12	Ret	11	13	12	8	Ret	DNS	Ret	14	14	11	5	4	Ret*	9	4	9	10	Ret	8	7	6	2	16	9	7	3	4	6	84
13	Andrew Jordan	15	14	9	Ret	Ret	Ret	5	6	Ret	10	9	Ret	10	Ret	10	Ret	Ret	Ret	13	9	3*	9	9	3	9	Ret	20	10	7	7	56
14	Mike Jordan	13	9	4	Ret	Ret	9	10	Ret	9	9	15	8	6	7	Ret	11	9	Ret	Ret	DNS	DNS	11	13	11	Ret	10	Ret	12	10	10	34
15	Stephen Jelley	14	11	10	11	15	11	Ret	Ret	13	11	11	Ret	Ret	10	9	12	11	8	11	10	15	13	15	13	7	Ret	10	Ret	12	Ret	14
16	Michael Doyle	NC	18	15	20	Ret	Ret	15	Ret	DNS	15	Ret	DNS	9	Ret	DNS	Ret	13	11	16	Ret	13	Ret	Ret	Ret	15	Ret	8	15	Ret	DNS	5
17	Matt Allison	11	12	8	12	Ret	DNS	Ret	DNS	DNS																						3
18	Chris Stockton	Ret	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	13	8	Ret	19	Ret	Ret	11	18	Ret				Ret	14	Ret	Ret	17	17	Ret	DNS	DNS	Ret	DNS	DNS	3
19	Harry Vaulkhard	18	15	14	Ret	13	14	12	14	11	Ret	16	10	13	13	11	14	17	15	14	12	12	Ret	16	14	10	12	13	16	13	14	2
20	Jason Hughes	16	13	13	14	14	15	11	10	14	16	18	13	14	12	DNS	16	12	12	Ret	15	10	Ret	Ret	16	14	11	Ret	Ret	14	15	2
21	John George	17	19	12	15	16	Ret	Ret	DNS	DNS	20	NC	12	17	17	Ret	17	16	10	17	Ret	Ret	14	20	19	19	15	14	Ret	15	Ret	1
22	Erkut Kızılırmak	19	16	17	17	18	10	16	Ret	DNS	22	19	14	16	15	13	18	Ret	13							18	DNS	17	18	17	Ret	1
23	Martyn Bell	Ret	17	16	18	17	12	14	Ret	Ret	17	Ret	15	20	16	Ret	Ret	18	14	18	13	14	Ret	18	18	17	14	18	17	16	Ret	0
24	Alan Taylor	21	20	Ret	21	19	DNS	18	Ret	DNS	21	Ret	Ret	Ret	DNS	DNS	Ret	Ret	Ret	NC	Ret	Ret	15	19	20	Ret	DNS	16	19	DNS	16	0
25	Stuart Oliver	Ret	Ret	DNS	19	Ret	Ret	17	Ret	15				21	Ret	DNS																0
26	Gareth Howell										18	17	Ret							Ret	DNS	DNS										0
Pos	Driver	BHI			ROC			DON			THR			CRO			SNE			OUL			KNO			SIL			BHI			Pts

• Note: bold signifies pole position (1 point given in first race only, and race 2 and 3 poles are based on race results), italics signifies fastest lap (1 point given all races) and * signifies at least one lap in the lead (1 point given all races).

Manufacturers Championship

Teams Championship

* – BTC Racing lose all points for three changes of engine.
** – Team Eurotech lose 10 points for three changes of engine.
*** – Team Air Cool and Team Halfords lose 20 points for four changes of engine.

Independents Trophy

Pos	Driver	BHI			ROC			DON			THR			CRO			SNE			OUL			KNO			SIL			BHI			Pts
1	Colin Turkington	20	8	1	16	6	7	9	13	12	2	2	6	1	1	8	5	2	6	4	1	7	5	7	15	4	2	4	4	3	5	323
2	Mat Jackson	2	4	2	6	1	Ret	Ret	11	8	5	5	2	18	2	5	15	7	1	12	5	4	6	5	4	2	13	1	1	1	4	313
3	Adam Jones	10	10	18	4	8	3	7	7	7	8	6	5	8	6	2	13	10	DSQ	8	6	2	8	12	10	8	3	2	11	11	Ret	262
4	Steven Kane	8	Ret	DNS	10	10	13	6	12	16	12	13	9	7	Ret	Ret	8	6	2	9	4	Ret	12	14	9	Ret	5	12	2	5	2	196
5	Rob Collard	12	Ret	11	13	12	8	Ret	DNS	Ret	14	14	11	5	4	Ret	9	4	9	10	Ret	8	7	6	2	16	9	7	3	4	6	189
6	Andrew Jordan	15	14	9	Ret	Ret	Ret	5	6	Ret	10	9	Ret	10	Ret	10	Ret	Ret	Ret	13	9	3	9	9	3	9	Ret	20	10	7	7	138
7	Mike Jordan	13	9	4	Ret	Ret	9	10	Ret	9	9	15	8	6	7	Ret	11	9	Ret	Ret	DNS	DNS	11	13	11	Ret	10	Ret	12	10	10	133
8	Stephen Jelley	14	11	10	11	15	11	Ret	Ret	13	11	11	Ret	Ret	10	9	12	11	8	11	10	15	13	15	13	7	Ret	10	Ret	12	Ret	118
9	Harry Vaulkhard	18	15	14	Ret	13	14	12	14	11	Ret	16	10	13	13	11	14	17	15	14	12	12	Ret	16	14	10	12	13	16	13	14	82
10	Jason Hughes	16	13	13	14	14	15	11	10	14	16	18	13	14	12	DNS	16	12	12	Ret	15	10	Ret	Ret	16	14	11	Ret	Ret	14	15	70
11	Michael Doyle	NC	18	15	20	Ret	Ret	15	Ret	DNS	15	Ret	DNS	9	Ret	DNS	Ret	13	11	16	Ret	13	Ret	Ret	Ret	15	Ret	8	15	Ret	DNS	31
12	Matt Allison	11	12	8	12	Ret	DNS	Ret	DNS	DNS																						27
13	John George	17	19	12	15	16	Ret	Ret	DNS	DNS	20	NC	12	17	17	Ret	17	16	10	17	Ret	Ret	14	20	19	19	15	14	Ret	15	Ret	25
14	Chris Stockton	Ret	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	13	8	Ret	19	Ret	Ret	11	18	Ret				Ret	14	Ret	Ret	17	17	Ret	DNS	DNS	Ret	DNS	DNS	19
15	Martyn Bell	Ret	17	16	18	17	12	14	Ret	Ret	17	Ret	15	20	16	Ret	Ret	18	14	18	13	14	Ret	18	18	17	14	18	17	16	Ret	18
16	Erkut Kızılırmak	19	16	17	17	18	10	16	Ret	DNS	22	19	14	16	15	13	18	Ret	13							18	DNS	17	18	17	Ret	17
17	Alan Taylor	21	20	Ret	21	19	DNS	18	Ret	DNS	21	Ret	Ret	Ret	DNS	DNS	Ret	Ret	Ret	NC	Ret	Ret	15	19	20	Ret	DNS	16	19	DNS	16	4
18	Stuart Oliver	Ret	Ret	DNS	19	Ret	Ret	17	Ret	15				21	Ret	DNS																3
19	Gareth Howell										18	17	Ret							Ret	DNS	DNS										1
Pos	Driver	BHI			ROC			DON			THR			CRO			SNE			OUL			KNO			SIL			BHI			Pts

Independent Teams Trophy

* – BTC Racing & Team Eurotech lose 10 points for three changes of engine.
** – Team Air Cool lose 20 points for four changes of engine.

References

1. Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine BTCC announced 2008 calendar

External links

• 2008 in British motorsport
• British Touring Car Championship seasons