BTCC- Who's gone where? Part 2

So far we've been through the factory backed efforts of Team BMR, Triple Eight and Honda Yuasa Racing, as well as the independent Honda entries of Eurotech and Speedworks. Now it's time for the rest of the independent field.

Motorbase Performance only competed in half of the 2015 BTCC season but in that time Mat Jackson picked up four wins and a further four podiums on his way to twelfth place in the championship. The car is undeniably fast and with Jackson and new-to-the team Andrew Jordan, former BTCC champion, behind the wheel, Motorbase are already expected to be at the sharp end of the grid all the way through the season. Stewart Lines will field a third Ford Focus for his own Maximum Motorsport team.

West Surrey Racing enjoyed decent performance last year, while they may not have repeated their championship win of 2014, it was overall a much stronger showing from the Subury-On-Thames based outfit who ended the season with all three of their BMW 125is in the top ten. Once again WSR will run three cars and once again they'll be ran under different names. Sam Tordoff was a championship challenger last year scoring two wins and three podiums on his way to sixth in the drivers' standings. Once again he'll be joined by Rob Collard at Team JCT600 with GardX. The third BMW will again be ran under the Team IHG Rewards Club banner but this time with a new driver, gone is Andy Priaulx and in his place is the ever improving rookie, Jack Goff. With three very strong drivers and a very competitive team running the cars we can once again expect a strong showing from West Surrey Racing.

The Toyota Avenis may be the oldest NGTC car but, as Tom Ingram proved last year, it can be still be very competitive. Ingram is back for his third season with Speedworks and is looking very likely to be able to take his first career win this season. The driver is fast, the team is experienced and the car is improving, keep your eyes on Ingram in 2016.

After five years of faithful service, Rob Austin has waved goodbye to his Audi A4. Perhaps this is unsurprising as the Audi was slowly starting to slip back. 2013 saw an eleventh place overll finish with four podiums and one win, 2014 saw Austin drop to twelfth overall with three podiums and a win and finally in 2015 he dropped to fourteenth overall with no podiums or wins. For 2016 Austin has moved to Handy Motorsport, taking over their Toyota from Simon Belcher. Whether the Toyota will be able to be significantly more competitive than the Audi is yet to be known but hopefully the knew car and team will allow Austin to return to his winning ways.

Former Mini Challenge racer Chris Smiley will campaign the third and, so far, final Toyota on the grid. Team HARD ran a Toyota last year for Kieran Gallagher but the Scott was plagued by mechanical problems, scoring just one point before an accident at Rockingham forced him to sit out the final races at Silverstone and Brands Hatch. While Smiley has no BTCC experience he is more experienced overall than Gallagher so hopefully this will allow Team HARD to be more competitive than last year.

Finally we come to Mercedes. Adam Morgan had a stellar 2015, taking his first win on the road and scoring six other podiums on his way to seventh in the drivers' standings. Now entering his fifth BTCC season and his third with the Cicely built Mercedes, a lot is expected of Morgan and he's likely to meet these expectations. His race craft is constantly improving and after seasons of inconsistency in 2012 and 2013, he has matured into a rapid and reliable driver, being the only man to finish every lap of 2015. Expect the Wix Racing Mercedes to be at the top.

Laser Tools Racing will again field a Mercedes A-Class for young Scotsman Aiden Moffat. The nineteen year old had a breakthrough 2015 season, taking his first independent win in race two at Donington before taking an overall podium in race three at Knockhill. With a bit more consistentcy and pace Moffat could easily be a regular sight in the top ten in 2016.

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