The BTCC is set to increase its live television coverage for 2005 as championship organisers announced a deal which will see action from seven of the season’s ten meetings screened live on ITV1.

The format for the live meetings will be as follows: ITV viewers will get to watch highlights of race one, delayed coverage of race two in its entirety and the third race live. A full repeat of the live programme will also be repeated in late night, mid-week slots on ITV1, as currently happens with Formula One races.

Earlier in the year, rumours had suggested that the third race of every meeting would be live, but clashes with ITV’s coverage of World Rally events meant that this was not possible. Coverage from the remaining three events will be shown a week later in a highlights package similar to that used for half the rounds in 2005.

Motors TV have also confirmed their continuation of live coverage from all BTCC meetings this season. All on-track action from the BTCC and support races that takes place between 9:00 and 17:00 BST will be broadcast live, and be repeated twice over the following week.

The races that will not be shown live on ITV1 are Thruxton (May 8th, clashes with Rally Sardinia), Snetterton (August 7th, clashes with Rally Finland) and Knockhill (August 28th, clashes with Rally Deutschland).

By Paul Rayner