The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship makes it long-awaited return this weekend (August 1/2) with three races at Donington Park marking the start of what is set to be an action-packed three-and-a-half months of blockbuster entertainment.

With motorsport having come to an abrupt stop back in March due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Britain’s premier race series has been busy preparing for a safe return and has put together a rescheduled 27-race schedule, taking place across nine of the UK’s best circuit layouts.

Like any championship, the BTCC has been impacted by the pandemic and has subsequently seen the likes of Andrew Jordan, Jason Plato and Mat Jackson all sidelined for the 2020 campaign.

One man that will be on-track however is reigning champion Colin Turkington, who is looking to clinch a record-breaking fifth BTCC title at the wheel of his West Surrey Racing BMW 330i M Sport.

Triumphing in dramatic style last year, the Northern Irishman is back to defend his crown with Team BMW alongside Tom Oliphant and will undoubtedly be hard to beat.

Whilst Turkington heads into the opening event of what is a condensed campaign, the list of challengers that threaten to take his title away from him in 2020 is vast.

Halfords Yuasa Racing came close to overall victory last year and the Honda Civic Type R outfit have retained the services of Dan Cammish and Matt Neal in the hope that they can go one better this time around.

BTC Racing will also field Honda Civic Type R’s once again and they will put their faith in Josh Cook, Tom Chilton and Michael Crees to finally deliver championship silverware.

Tom Ingram meanwhile has a season under his belt with the Speedworks Motorsport Toyota Corolla and his sights are firmly set on clinching a maiden title after finishing runner-up to Turkington in 2018.

Elsewhere, Laser Tools Racing have expanded their driver line-up for this season with former champion Ashley Sutton joining Aiden Moffat whilst Rory Butcher has switched to Motorbase Performance to spearhead its charge with the brand new Ford Focus.

Other notable names to keep an eye on over the course of the weekend at Donington Park include Jake Hill, Adam Morgan, Jack Goff, Senna Proctor, Stephen Jelley, Chris Smiley and Bobby Thompson – amongst others.

With three races scheduled to take place around the 1.9-mile Leicestershire venue, every point is set to be crucial in determining who will lift the coveted title come the end of the season at Brands Hatch in November.

ITV4 will present live coverage of all the race day action on Sunday with the broadcast scheduled to begin at 10:40.

For more information on this weekend’s race meeting, including links to the timetable and live timing, click here.