Just over a month to go – and whilst the BTCC grid moves to Snetterton next, we are still uncertain what that grid will look like.
But first, a bit about the circuit. Another circuit, like Thruxton, that was built on the site of a former airfield, Snetterton was one of the circuits that featured in the first BTCC calendar in 1958 as a non-championship round. Class winners that day were:
A-John Sprinzel, B-Les Leston, C-Edgar Wadsworth, D-Tommy Sopwith.
Snetterton underwent extensive redesign ahead of the 2011 season, and the ‘300’ layout came into use by the BTCC from that point onwards. The first time that constructor NGTC cars raced there, Tom Onslow-Cole took the sole RWD podium of the day, with a Civic, Vectra and MG taking the wins that day.
It was mentioned in the race thread last year, but with fans back at the circuit a familiar site from the past will be missing. Snetterton’s ‘Scary Tree’ suffered damage at the start of 2020 and is now just ‘Tree’.
Last time the BTCC visited, it was late in the 2020 season as an October meeting. This time the series visits a lot earlier in the season. 2020 saw Turkington pick up two race wins as he enjoyed one of the best weekends of his illustrious BTCC career. Jackson won the final race that day, and Turkington managed to get on the podium to round his weekend off. Last season saw the first time a ‘Top Ten Showdown’ was used for qualifying, and Turkington took the honours that day too, before leaving the venue in the lead of the series.
Race One saw Ingram and Hill swap postiions throughout the race, as Turkington got away in the lead. Butcher, Sutton and Cammish all battled for vital championship points just behind the leading trio.
Race Two saw the top five drivers in the championship hold the top five track positions for most of the race, with the only real changes occuring in a last-lap frenzy following a safety car.
Race Three saw Jackson take his second career victory, with one of the moves of the season on the opening lap. Turkington saw his title chances take a boost as Butcher crashed into Ingram at the final corner. This allowed Turkington and Sutton through, with the latter cementing his Independents’ title before the final round.
Going into this event, the table reads:
The current table reads:
| Position | Name | Points | |
| 1 | Jake HILL | 46 | |
| 2 | Josh COOK | 45 | |
| 3 | Jason PLATO | 38 | |
| 4 | Ash SUTTON | 36 | |
| 5 | Dan CAMMISH | 30 | |
| 6 | Tom INGRAM | 27 | |
| 7 | Colin TURKINGTON | 25 | |
| 8 | Dan ROWBOTTOM | 22 | |
| 9 | Tom OLIPHANT | 16 | |
| 10 | Jack GOFF | 15 | |
With 67 points available over the course of the weekend, the table is still wide open – which would be expected after just one event. Cammish is sitting fifth, although his outing at Thruxton was declared as being for one event only, so Ingram can consider himself de-facto fifth. Recent history has seen success for both FWD and RWD cars, so it should be wide open for all – although Turkington’s results in 2020 should give him encouragement of his chances to move up the table.
The form table for the last 6 races at this venue shows top six drivers as (excluding the double points):
| Position | Name | Points | |
| 1 | Colin TURKINGTON | 95 | |
| 2 | Tom INGRAM | 70 | |
| 3 | Rory BUTCHER | 66 | |
| 4 | Dan CAMMISH | 65 | |
| 5 | Ollie JACKSON | 58 | |
| 6 | Ash SUTTON | 52 | |
Broadcast schedule, weather and event timetable will be added nearer to the date.