ITV Increases Dunlop British Touring Cars Coverage

ITV will increase its coverage of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship to over 120 hours this year. The Championship’s title sponsor this time around changes from HiQ to Dunlop, as Goodyear Dunlop continues to publicise the motorsport capabilities of the brand, which also supplies the BTCC. The move by ITV will therefore please Dunlop, which will be getting an increased opportunity for brand exposure direct to motorsport fans’ living rooms.

Live coverage of the championship – plus support races – will be screened on ITV4, as it was last year, but this time around broadcast timeslots will increase by 30 minutes to six and a half hours. ITV4 will then show 90-minute highlight shows every Tuesday and Saturday after each round, while sister station ITV1 will screen the same show on Thursdays. Men and Motors will broadcast a further 15 hours of BTCC coverage over the season. 

“ITV’s increase in commitment to the BTCC for 2010 means yet more terrific news for all our teams, drivers, sponsors, circuits and fans,” said series director Alan Gow. “Our massive TV coverage further underlines the Dunlop BTCC’s position at the very top of British motor sport.

“This continues to mean that households right across the UK can tune in and watch the country’s premier motor racing championship on free-to-air TV, this year with even more hours to enjoy all the action as the season unfolds. Yes, the Dunlop BTCC has a TV arrangement that most other high-profile national and international race series can only dream of, but let’s also look at the bigger picture here – it’s simply fantastic exposure for UK motorsport and ITV should be roundly applauded by all within the sport and industry.”