Sam Tordoff will be hoping to win his first BTCC title
(Photo from: www.btcc.net)
In this eight part series I will be looking at each of the eight drivers who have a mathematical chance of winning the 2016 British Touring Car Championship. The final part of the eight part series looks at current championship leader Sam Tordoff.
Tordoff has been in inspired form all season and has consistently scored large amounts of points on a regular basis. Tordoff stuck with WSR for a second season this year after a successful 2015 which saw him win twice with a final finishing position of sixth.
Tordoff has only finished outside the points three times this season and has only retired once, the third race at Snetterton which he failed to start as his propshaft failed on the way to the grid.
One of his three none scores was in the first race of the season where he finished just outside the points in sixteenth. However a ninth in the second race of the day ensured that he was on pole for the third, following the reverse grid draw. A second in race 3 capped his opening weekend.
The second race at Brands Hatch was also the beginning of an incredible run which saw Tordoff only finish outside the top 10 once leading up to his retirement at Snetterton. Donington was another strong weekend for Tordoff which saw him register a ninth, eighth and third in the three races of the day.
Thruxton saw Tordoff consistently score points once more with a seventh, sixth and eighth during the three rounds however it was Oulton Park where his season came alive. A second in the first race of the day only behind Turkington was followed by a maiden win of 2016 in race 2. He completed a fine day with another second in the third race of the day. These three results ensured that he left Oulton Park leading the championship.
His only finish outside the top 10 in his streak of points finishes came in the first race at Croft where a thirteenth was his result for a trying race after he had to take evasive action through the gravel trap on the first lap after an incident involving Daniel Lloyd. Tordoff recovered to eighth in the second race of the day and completed his weekend with a second in the final race of the day. These three results were enough to keep him in the championship lead.
After the summer break, a seventh and eighth in the first two races of the day at Snetterton was followed by his DNS. However these results were not enough for him to remain in the Championship lead as he relinquished that to teammate Rob Collard.
Tordoff returned to the top of the championship in style following Knockhill as three top five finishes, including two second places in the race 2 and 3 saw him create a gap of 9 points over Honda’s Matt Neal.
Rockingham saw Tordoff win his second race of the season in the second race of the day, however a tenth in race 1 and sixteenth in race 3 saw his lead at the top cut. His lead was cut further to 11 points after Silverstone where he only finished in the top 10 once, the final race of the day.
However going into Brands Hatch the odds are in Tordoff’s favour with the series leading going into the final round has only failed to win the championship once in the last 15 years, Jason Plato in 2007 being the exception. All Tordoff needs to do to win his maiden BTCC crown is continue in the form he has shown all season, I am sure he and many others will feel he can achieve this.
One thing is for certain, Sunday is going to be a classic day full of fantastic racing and talking points.