I've been following the BTCC since 2010 and in the short time that I've been a viewer, I have seen numerous drivers leave the series. Of course, some of them have moved up to WTCC, but there are others which seem to have disappeared off the map so to speak. Let's start with the drivers that left the series after the end of the 2010 season.
First up, and pictured in this article, is David Pinkney, who's last BTCC outing actually saw him driving the first NGTC Audi A4 of Rob Austin Racing in 2011. However, that was only a demonstration lap at Brands Hatch. The last time Pinkney was actually racing in the BTCC was in 2010, where he drove a NGTC engined Vauxhall Vectra for his own racing team. As mentioned, he was scheduled to compete the following season for Rob Austin Racing in the Audi, but left the team after the Brands weekend due to business commitments.
The next driver is Steven Kane, the Northern Ireland driver who hugely impressed in 2010 as he partnered Mat Jackson in the second of the Airwaves BMW's. He managed to get a number of podiums over the course of the season, and showed the prowess of the rear wheel drive machines. Since he left the series at the end of the 2010 season, Kane has competed in the American Le Mans series for Dyson Racing, and the following year drove an Audi R8 for Oryx Racing in the Rolex Sports Car Series.
Another BMW driver that decided to quit the BTCC after 2010 is Martin Depper. He made his touring car debut in the BMW 320i alongside team mate and manager Arthur Forster in the Forster Motorsport cars. Neither of the drivers had spectacular seasons, and it became a common feature to see at least one of the cars off the track, sometimes even both! After their miserable campaigns, the pair returned to the MINI Challenge for 2011, and more recently Depper has competed in the VW Racing Cup in a VW Scirocco.
There are also a couple of drivers who did leave the series after selling their cars. Martin Johnson drove an ageing Vauxhall Astra Coupe in the 2010 season, and managed to pick up some points over the year. However, after the Brands finale, Johnson sold his Astra to a touring car team in the UAE touring car championship, but was then offered to drive the car as a farewell. Since then, there has been no word on what he is currently doing.
The other driver that sold their car is young Matt Hamilton, who drove for his dad's TH Motorsport team in an old Honda Civic Type R. Like with the Forster duo, Matt struggled in 2010, and had to miss Croft due to a lack of budget. Then there were rumours that the Civic had been sold, which therefore resulting in him losing his 2010 drive. Since then it was reported that Matt would be returning to the series in 2012 in an NGTC spec Skoda Octavia, but that has yet to materialise, again due to sponsorship and budgetary issues.
Two of the biggest driver departures of 2010 occurred very early in the season - in fact just after the first round at Thruxton. Most of course will know that I am talking about former double champion Fabrizio Giovanardi and his team mate Phil Glew, who both took part in the series for Triple 8 but left after Uniq pulled out of the programme. Glew did make a brief return at the Silverstone round however with STR and YRC. Since their departures, Giovanardi has been driving in the Superstars series, but again, there is little information about what he has been doing over the last couple of years due to him being outside the world of touring cars. On the other hand, his team mate Phil Glew has been racing in the British GT championship with Lotus, and I believe he is still in the series.
Photo credit: Phil Laughton Photography
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