After six months of intense racing, the British Touring Car Championship reaches its thrilling climax on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit – exclusively live on ITV4.
Five drivers remain in contention to win the 2013 title with 24-year-old rising star Andrew Jordan leading four former champions ahead of the much anticipated grand finale at the famous Kent circuit.
The Pirtek Racing driver has excelled throughout the campaign but it wasn’t until his double victory at Rockingham last month that he finally moved to the championship summit.
Jordan duly extended the gap back to his rivals to 34 points last time out at Silverstone after a consistent display throughout the weekend.
If Jordan is to take the biggest prize in British motorsport, he will have to fend off the challenge of four former champions who have an incredible seven BTCC titles between them.
Despite having led the championship for much of 2013, triple BTCC champion Matt Neal is currently second in the standings having had a difficult weekend at Rockingham in early September.
Two podiums at Silverstone brought him back into contention, but he is still waiting for medical clearance to contest the triple-header final after a recent operation to repair a broken finger.
Neal is just a single point ahead of Honda Yuasa Racing team-mate and reigning champion Gordon Shedden, who has fought hard to stay in contention after a tough start to his championship defence.
The Scotsman won the final race at Silverstone last weekend and will be charging hard at Brands Hatch to try and retain the title.
Jordan, Neal and Shedden make it three Honda Civic drivers occupying the top three places in the championship, but the BMW of 2009 champion Colin Turkington and MG of two-time title winner Jason Plato can still mathematically wrestle the crown away.
As well as the main BTCC title, all five championships contested in the championship are still up for grabs going into the final meeting.
Andrew Jordan not only leads the overall standings, but as an Independent driver also heads up that points table from the eBay Motors BMW of Colin Turkington who is the only driver capable of closing the gap.
In the Teams’ and Manufacturers’ standings it is 2012 champions Honda Yuasa Racing that leads the way.
In both contests they are followed by fellow manufacturer effort MG KX Momentum Racing, and with so many points on offer over the weekend it’s all still to play for.
Pirtek Racing tops the Independent Teams’ Trophy followed by the West Surrey Racing-run eBay Motors squad.
A stellar weekend for any of the three eBay Motors drivers could see them right in contention in the final race of the year.
With 27 races run, it is once again the legendary Brands Hatch GP circuit in Kent that will decide the destiny of this year’s champion and organisers expect a huge crowd to descend on the Kent venue.
It is one of the most iconic circuits in world motorsport, both adored and enjoyed by fans and drivers alike.
The Grand Prix circuit is one of the country’s most distinctive tracks, with the stadium atmosphere of the Indy section complemented by the high speed blast into the woods and around some of the most challenging corners in racing.
Three races close the season on the Grand Prix circuit, including a reverse-grid spectacular to end the weekend.
Further to Britain’s biggest motor racing championship, the weekend will also showcase some of the best sportscar, single-seater and tin-top action that the country has to offer.
Michael Meadows is on the brink of retaining his Porsche Carrera Cup GB title but he’ll have to defend from Jonas Gelzinis in the final two races at Brands, whilst Josh Files is hoping to maintain his grip on the Renault Clio Cup UK as he bids to win the series that has fired so many drivers into the BTCC.
Harry Woodhead and Daniel Cammish have clinched the Ginetta Junior and MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain respectively, so the pressure will be off in their final races.
The Ginetta GT Supercup is another top series on the bill where newly crowned champion Tom Ingram bids to end his season in style.
The 2013 BTCC season finale takes place on Sunday, October 13, with the entire race day being broadcast live and in high definition on ITV Sport.
ITV4 will broadcast nearly eight hours of live coverage from the finale to a thrilling season at Brands Hatch.
The live action begins on Saturday afternoon on ITV.com with the crucial qualifying session to determine the grid line-up for race one.
Then tune in to ITV4 and ITV4 HD on Sunday as Steve Rider presents all the action from a busy day of live motorsport from the Kent circuit, where in total eight live races, plus a further two on tape delay, will be shown.
Louise Goodman will be conducting interviews with the key drivers and team personnel, as well as regular pit-lane updates and grid-walks before each of the touring car races.
Multiple BTCC race winner Paul O’Neill will continue to provide his regular reports and interviews with the great and the good of the BTCC, alongside his regular Twitter updates where viewers can tweet @ITVSport #btcc with their questions and comments.
BTCC and Porsche Carrera Cup race commentary will come from David Addison and Tim Harvey, with Richard John Neil and Simon Hill calling the other support races.
Extended highlights of the final three BTCC races of the season will be shown on Tuesday afternoon on ITV4 at 4.2pm, repeated several times on channel throughout the week, as well as on Wednesday night/early Thursday morning on ITV.
Fans away from their TV screens can watch all the action online via ITV.com/itv4 or via the ITV Player app on selected devices.
Speaking to the official Brands Hatch website, ITV commentator Tim Harvey said: “The racing has been absolutely fantastic this year, I’ve been enjoying commentating on every race.
“We’ve had a lot of different winners, we’ve had a close championship that has gone down to the wire once again, and we can’t ask for more than that!”
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Saturday 12th October
BTCC: Brands Hatch GP – Qualifying | Start: 15:45
LIVE: 3.40pm-4.20pm ITV.com/btcc
Sunday 13th October
BTCC: Brands Hatch GP – Race Day
LIVE: 10.45am-6.30pm ITV4
Live Race Schedule
11:30 British Touring Car Championship – Race 1
12:10 Ginetta Junior Championship – Race 2
13:30 Renault UK Clio Cup – Race 2
14:20 British Touring Car Championship – Race 2
15:00 Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain – Race 3
15:35 Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain – Race 2
16:15 Ginetta GT Supercup – Race 3
17:05 British Touring Car Championship – Race 3
Full weekend timetable
Tuesday 14th October
BTCC: Brands Hatch GP – Highlights
4.25pm-5.55pm ITV4
Wednesday 15th October
BTCC: Brands Hatch GP – Highlights
3.00am-4.10am (Thu) ITV
