BTCC: TOCA Announces Revised BTCC 2000 Calendar
12 October 1999
Next year’s Auto Trader British Touring Car Championship will again be contested over 26 rounds after TOCA today confirmed the calendar for the 2000 season. The series will now make just one visit to the high-speed Thruxton circuit but the championship finale at Silverstone in September will become the second night event of the season. Since a provisional calendar of 28 rounds was announced in July, TOCA has recognised the concerns of teams and manufacturers about the burden of the extra event and additional back-to-back weekends. To assist in resolving the issue, Thruxton Circuit has graciously agreed to forego one of its traditional two meetings in 2000 to allow TOCA to reduce the schedule. After the huge success of this year’s inaugural night meeting at Snetterton, which will be repeated next July, Silverstone will host the end of season finale under floodlights in September. It will be the first ever BTCC night meeting staged at the Northamptonshire circuit and the usual end-of-season party atmosphere is sure to reach fever pitch with celebrations and attractions on the Saturday night. With Silverstone’s first class facilities and covered grandstands, the customary fickle weather is unlikely to dampen the cracking after-dark festivities. The first race of the new Millennium will be held on the famous Grand Prix circuit at Brands Hatch on 9 April 2000 in front of BBC Grandstand’s live TV cameras. Next season also sees the first ever BTCC visit to the Emerald Isle when the Super Tourers descend on Mondello Park near Dublin in August. “Ideally, we would not have dropped an event to make way for the introduction of Mondello Park,” explains Alan Gow, TOCA Chief Executive, “but I also wanted to take on board the teams’ concerns. We are extremely grateful to Dennis Carter, the BARC and Thruxton Circuit for making such a magnanimous gesture in agreeing to give up their August meeting. "I am thrilled that we are able to extend the BTCC’s night racing activities by finishing the season under lights at Silverstone,” continues Gow. “July’s event at Snetterton was an unqualified hit with both fans and drivers alike and we were committed to repeating that meeting in 2000. There is always a great atmosphere at Silverstone for the final meeting, so we felt that a night race was the perfect way to round off the season. I know that they will pull out all the stops to make it a very special final event.” “We are very excited about the concept of night racing,” says Roger Etcell, Director of Silverstone Sport. “There has been nothing like this at Silverstone in recent years, although we have staged rock concerts and other non-racing events. The action will be centred around the Stadium complex with its covered grandstands and the giant screens of Silverstone TV will be particularly effective in the dark. We now have twelve months to come up with some really exciting proposals to make it the biggest finale the BTCC has ever seen.” Revised BTCC 2000 Calendar Rounds Date Venue (circuit) 1 & 2 8/9 April Brands Hatch (Grand Prix)* 3 & 4 23/24 April Donington Park (National) 5 & 6 30 April/1 May Thruxton 7 & 8 13/14 May Knockhill 9 & 10 28/29 May Oulton Park (Island) 11 & 12 10/11 June Silverstone (International) 13 & 14 24/25 June Croft 15 & 16 8 July Snetterton** 17 & 18 22/23 July Donington Park (National) 19 & 20 12/13 August Mondello Park*** 21 & 22 27/28 August Brands Hatch (Indy) 23 & 24 9/10 September Oulton Park (Island)* 25 & 26 16 September Silverstone (International)** * BBC TV live coverage (plus one additional meeting to be confirmed) ** Night race meeting *** Subject to completion of works 12 October 1999