Jason Plato and Matt Neal are separated by only 20 points at the top of the standings so expect some fireworks between the two over the three races. I sadly can’t make it this weekend, as I’m off to compete in the Citroen 2CV 24 Hour race at Snetterton. To say I am very over-excited is the understatement of the century.

I’ve never driven a 2CV, let alone raced one, so I’m looking forward to getting some practice laps in. Whatever happens though, I very much doubt I’ll be as much out of my comfort zone as Plato and Neal were when they tried wing walking for the first time ahead of this weekend’s racing.

The whole thing has been posted on YouTube and is extremely amusing, especially as the pair try harder and harder not to show that they’re bricking it. Something I may well be doing when racing at night for the first time…

Living up to its billing as the UK’s most exciting domestic race series, no fewer than nine drivers have shared the top step of the podium in the opening 18 races, including driving aces Jason Plato, Matt Neal, Gordon Shedden and Tom Chilton. With the championship standings closer than ever, the BTCC weekend promises to provide plenty of bumper-to-bumper battles.

Coinciding with the on-track action, a spectacular host of aircraft, aerobatic stunts and air displays will be taking to the skies as part of this year’s Silverstone Air show. Flying above the circuit over the weekend will be displays from The Red Arrows, a Vulcan bomber, Spitfire and a Lancaster WWII bomber. Spectators will also see displays from the Breitling wingwalkers and Aerostars.

Motor Sport has teamed up with Silverstone to offer two lucky winners a pair of weekend tickets to watch all of the BTCC and Silverstone Air action at the Home of British Motor Racing. For your chance to win simply answer the following question:

Which team does British Touring Car driver Jason Plato drive for?

A) BMW
B) Chevrolet
C) Honda

To be in with a chance of winning, simply send your answer to admin@motorsportmagazine.co.uk with your full contact details. The winner will be selected at random from the correct entries on Wednesday August 18.

Tickets for the DUNLOP MSA British Touring Car Championship, featuring Silverstone Air can be purchased in advance from as little as £15. For further information, or to purchase tickets, visit www.silverstone.co.uk or call 0844 3728 260.

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John Barnard at Ferrari
The pioneering designer recalls his battles with Maranello – from Surrey

Walter Röhrl and the Quattro
The double WRC champion turned back time in a run on the Col de Turini

MG K3 test drive
Andrew Frankel drives Earl Howe’s 1933 Mille Miglia team prize winner

Bruno Giacomelli
His struggles with Alfa Romeo’s F1 team masked the Italian’s true potential

Lunch with… Jack Sears
One of racing’s true gents, Sears recalls his exploits in an array of machinery

BTCC state of the nation
Dedicated privateer racers and fans are helping the series ride out the recession

Eric Thompson
The ‘amateur’ who scored class wins at Le Mans and was fifth in his only GP

Road test: Porsche 911 GT3 RS
What does the latest 911 have to offer?

Tommy Ivo’s tour of Britain
The racer and film actor recalls the US drag racing team’s first UK visit in ’64

Can-Am revisited
US series was a hotbed of ’70s F1 stars

Classic Racing Cars
Racing Marmite – Triumph’s Dolomite

I shouldn’t have been surprised, considering his Rallycross history, when Andy immediately switched off the traction control and proceeded to slide the car around the track for five laps, but I was certainly a little wide-eyed when we went through Church for the first time. Actually scrap that, I thought I was going to die. The hidden apex means you turn in towards the marshaling post so early you end up thinking the driver has completely and utterly lost the plot. It’s only when you emerge the other side, neatly brushing the rumble strip, that you realise all is well. Until the next lap that is, when you go through the same experience all over again.

Having watched the video of our drive I seem to have spent the whole time saying, “I don’t think I’ll be going even half this speed when I get behind the wheel…” And how right I was. Andy, thank you for your patience – I almost got Church right in the end…

Thankfully the traction control was switched back on when I had a go in the Astra and Andy had the patience of a saint as he encouraged me to build up my speed, help me get my head around front-wheel drive in a matter of a few laps, and not shout at me when I refused to turn into Church before I could actually see the apex.

The BTCC will be at Thruxton for its season-opener on April 4, so if you’re in the area it’s definitely worth a visit. Especially since the Hampshire track is so wide they could, and probably will knowing the touring cars, go into the first corner eight abreast.

But this year I was spoilt. Vauxhall’s VX Racing invited me as a guest for the day, which meant a bit of pampering in the MotorSport Vision building, some top-notch nosh and fantastic views from the roof of the good old Indy circuit. How could I say no?

I decided to take my son Nathaniel with me on Sunday, which included an element of risk. He’s not quite five years old, so patience is not one of his strengths. But he enjoyed his circuit debut last year (the Masters Festival, again at Brands) and this time he was champing at the bit on Sunday morning. He even got dressed in less than 45 minutes, without any rows.

I was intrigued to see how the BTCC has shaped up having attended the media day at Rockingham a couple of weeks ago. I’d been encouraged by what I saw at Rockingham, and happily that transferred to the first race weekend at Brands.

Losing the factory SEATs over the winter was clearly a blow, with Vauxhall left as the lone works effort on the grid – a sharp contrast to the heady days of the 1990s. But comparisons to the Super Touring era are pointless. Those days are long gone, and we’ll probably never see their like again. Better to be realistic and just deal with what we’ve got now, during a crippling recession.

Considering everything, the signs in the BTCC are extremely positive, even if the series could do with a few more cars. Strong and well turned out privateer BMWs (Team RAC and Airwaves BMW), Dynamics Honda Civics, SEAT Leons, a pair of new Ford Focuses from Mike Earle’s Arena Motorsport and of course an RML Chevrolet for BTCC favourite Jason Plato offer depth and variety.

There’s also enough young driving talent to keep it interesting. At VXR champion Fabrizio Giovanardi and Matt Neal have the promising Andrew Jordan to keep them busy, while the likes of Colin Turkington, Stephen Jelley, Adam Jones, Dan Eaves and Jonathan Adam are all potential race winners.

In fact Adam appeared to have scored a victory on his maiden BTCC weekend. After Neal had headed Giovanardi for a Vauxhall 1-2 in Race 1, and veteran Rob Collard had scored for BMW in Race 2, Adam dominated the third top-eight lottery grid finale. But only after a moment of controversy.

Plato found himself starting from pole, only a few days after confirming his Brands appearance in the Lacetti. The car clearly wasn’t handling to his liking, but his experience was telling around the tight Indy circuit. The only way Adam was going to get past him was with force – and that’s what happened at Paddock, when the BMW unintentionally hit the Chevy hard in the left rear light cluster. Plato’s catch of the lurid slide was deeply impressive.

I didn’t realise until Monday morning that Adam’s subsequent victory had been stripped from the rookie thanks to a time penalty, and that Plato had been awarded a great surprise win. Absolutely the right decision, but Adam had made his point. He clearly has great potential.

If you are a BTCC regular or watch the races of ITV4’s excellent coverage, you’re bound to have a view on the amount of contact that goes on in the BTCC. It’s too much for me, but I can understand a lot of people find it entertaining – and without a little “rubbin’” overtaking is almost impossible at a place like Brands. Still, I’ll never condone a blatant punt, intentional or not.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention. We watched that final race on TV back home. Nathaniel got bored in the middle of the Porsche Carrera Cup race (once the entertainment of watching the recovery vehicle get stuck in the gravel while trying to extract Tom Bradshaw’s beached car had been resolved!), so I decided it was best to quit while we were ahead. He loved his day at Brands and for better or worse I think he’s hooked. Hopefully, in a couple of years’ time he’ll even manage to last to the end of a race meeting…