Circuit profile
Length: 4.02km (2.5mi)

BTC Touring Sprint Race no. of laps: 15
BTC Production Sprint Race no. of laps: 15
BTCC Feature Race no. of laps: 30

Overview timetable
20th & 21st Sep 2002 - Practice & Qualifying
22nd Sep 2002 - Race

Circuit location
Donington Park, Castle Donington, Derbyshire, England

directions: Donington Park is easily reached from Junction 23A/24 of the M1.  It can also be reached by travelling the A42 or M42.

Gareth Howell
Gareth Howell was born on the 6th June 1981.  He began taking to racing at the age of 8 at Buckmore Park.  His first championship titles occurred when in 1993 he became British Junior TKM champion.  By 1997 at age 16 he was fully active in racing having participated in the Ford Fiesta Si Championship.  In 1999 he became the youngest driver to win the Ford Credit Fiesta Zetec Championship and junior cup winner in the same championships the following year.  Howell's debut BTCC appearance in the 2001 season saw him come 5th overall representing GR Motorsport and driving  a Ford Focus vehicle.  His driver number in the 2002 season is 21 where he represents Team Atomic Kitten and drives a MG ZS vehicle.

Colin Turkington
Colin Turkington was born on the 21st March 1982 in Newry, County Down in Northern Ireland.  He began his racing career in kart racing participating in the Ulster Karting Club Championship annually from 1993-5.  In 1998 he came first in the Northen Ireland Metro Association Championship and from 1999-2001 took an active role in the Ford Credit Fiesta Zetec Championship.  His excellent achievements included obtaining the lap record at Brands Hatch in 1999 and at Donington Park in 2000 and in 2001 he was nominated for the title of Best British Club Driver of the Year.  His driver number in the 2002 season of the BTCC is 22 where he represents Team Atomic Kitten and drives a MG ZS vehicle.

In 2001, the British Motorsport Promoters (BMP) took over the running of the BTCC and with that a new set of regulations were introduced. The BMP aim to promote motorsport in Britain and represent the variety of motor racing circuits that exist across the country.  The BMP were founded in 1999 initially to take charge of running the British Superbike Championship.   The new regulations enabled the expenses to enter and run vehicles in the BTCC to be reduced and with the new regulations came greater constraints on motorcar development, to help reduce expense.  Regulations included a limit on car modification only in the interests of improving reliability and a limit of 270bhp (brake horsepower) (201.3kW (kilowatts)) for BTC Touring Class cars; 215bhp (160.3kW) for BTC Production Class cars.  The constraint of 2.0L engines remained.  Other restrictions include:

:: Suspension built around that found in usual road vehicles
:: Suspension strengthened only for reliability
:: Certain components standardised such as the 6-speed sequential gearbox, clutches, brakes and fuel systems.  These components would be found in all participating vehicles and can only be obtained from a specified common source
:: Car weight limit of 1,150kg (2,535lb)
:: Smaller wheel sizes (the 2002 season wheel diameter being 44cm (17in) for BTC Touring Class cars; 38cm (15in) for BTC Production Class cars)
:: Use of BF Goodrich tyres
:: Car body and wing modifications made only for cosmetic purposes

The restrictions aim to reduce the budgets required to build and run cars.

Much of the regulations brought in help to ensure that competition between participants is as close as possible enabling the BTCC to remain consistently competitive throughout and to add excitement to the championship.

Different teams with their representative drivers are entered into one of the classes.  Team Atomic Kitten are for example in the BTC Touring Class.  For the races in each round, points are scored by the teams and drivers within their respective classes.

Prior to the actual races there are practice and qualifying sessions.  The practice sessions allow for cars to race the circuit for in a session that lasts up to 40 minutes and is untimed.  Any timing from this session does not affect eventual qualifying positions.  In the qualifying session two periods are set aside to determine the final grid positions for the final Sprint Race and the final Feature Race.  The final grid positions see BTC Production cars placed behind BTC Touring cars.

During the actual races, differences exist in pit stopping between the BTC Production and Touring Classes.  BTC Touring cars must stop at the pits (except at Knockhill) to change two wheels and pit stopping must occur specifically at a particular distance into the race.  The BTC Production cars do not need to pit stop.

Scoring within both classes is the same and applies to team, driver, manufacturer championships and the Independents Cup which includes teams not entered with the support of a manufacturer.  The scoring is designated as follows:

Further points can be awarded in the BTC Production Class and points awarded in the Independents Cup.

To keep the competition close in the races, the concept of Success Ballast has been employed.  This involves cars having finished in top positions in a particular race having to carry a load to increase the weight of the car in the subsequent race.  Hence, for cars having acquired a top finishing position in a Sprint Race, those cars carry success ballast in the Feature Race at the same race meeting and those cars finishing in top positions in the Feature Race carry success ballast in the practice and qualifying sessions at the subsequent race meeting plus the Sprint Race at that meeting.  Therefore, winning a top position in a race is costly since it incurs the need to carry the ballast.  For lower positions (6 and lower) in the BTC Touring Class weight decreases are employed.  This means that any car finishing in a position 6 or lower can be run at a weight resultant of the decrease or greater.  Previously, ballast on a car could accumulate with subsequent wins but this does not happen in the 2002 season.

The reason for not featuring the BTCC Schedule for 2003 is because Team Atomic Kitten do not feature in 2003, and 2002 was the last time Team Atomic Kitten took part.

Nat. = nationality  * = drivers included in the Independents Cup

The engine is the component of a car that provides the power to move the car's wheels.  The suspension system allows for the car to travel level over ground despite the car passing over uneven road or being 'shaken' up and down' over the road - keeps the driver and passengers happy.  The performance of a car is based on mainly the top speed it can reach and how long it takes to reach any particular speed - called the acceleration.  The brake horsepower (or kilowatts) is the measure for the power of the car engine (just like metres is a measure of distance or length, kilograms is a measure of weight).

Check out the following sites for more related info...

Gareth Howell's Official website