First appearing on the BTCC (then BSCC) calendar in 1968, Class winners that day were:
A-Gordon Spice, B-John Fitzpatrick, C-Frank Gardner, D-Roy Pierpoint.
Croft’s history saw a period of time when there was no tarmac surface, and Rallycross was the main category raced at the venue. 1997 saw a major revamp though, and BTCC returned that year with Alain Menu dominating proceedings. Matt Neal also took an Independent win that day and will be hoping for similar success this weekend.
There is a widely held view that the circuit favours RWD cars. This in part due to the Hairpin and tight changes of direction. The first time that constructor NGTC cars raced there though, Honda took a 1st and 3rd, sandwiching the BMW of Collard. The other two races that day also went to FWD machinery.
2013 saw Turkington take two wins and a second, seeming to underline the view that the circuit favours RWD. A feat he almost matched in 2014. 2015 saw a BMW 1-2-3 in the first race, and RWD cars take all three wins. RWD success continued through the rest of the NGTC era, with FWD cars only seemingly getting results in the 3rd race reverse grid. This was the case when the series visited in 2019, with Jordan taking two wins in his BMW, before the Focus of Chilton managed a R3 win, however all changed in 2020 with Cook taking two wins and Turkington getting the only podium for a RWD car that day with a 3rd place in race one.
With the series visiting later in the year again, will this mean the circuit is back as being FWD-friendly again?
At just over 2.1 miles in length, Croft is one of the longer circuits on the BTCC calendar, with a technical nature and tight corners, particularly the final hairpin that sees cars sometimes 3 or 4 abreast coming onto the start/finish straight. Following the recent resurfacing, Jordan set a new Qualifying lap record in 2019 of 1m21.734s, with Turkington setting a race lap record of 1m21.781s in 2020.
Neate is due to return in the Ford, following the two rounds competed by Rivett.
Early weather forecast is for fair conditions on both days, temperature around 15deg.
