Today will see a record equalling number of entrants in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship as the teams take to the Brands Hatch GP circuit for round nine of the championship, equalling that of 1993 when the series supported the Formula One at Silverstone.

A total of twenty-nine drivers are scheduled to take to the circuit after it was confirmed this week that Ollie Jackson, former Pro-Am1 Porsche Carrera Cup GB champion, will make his debut and drive the remainder of the season for the Triple Eight Racing team.

In addition to that, Chris Swanwick will also be making his BTCC debut this weekend. The 17-year old will take to the wheel of the second Rob Austin Racing Audi A4 which means that we will also be seeing the biggest number of Next Generation Touring Cars (NGTC) in one race when he lines up alongside team-mate Rob Austin and the likes of Frank Wrathall, Tony Hughes and Dan Welch who drive the NGTC Toyota Avensis and Proton Gen-2 respectively.

Action starts today with qualifying LIVE on http://www.itv.com/touringcars from 15:35 with all the race action LIVE on Sunday starting from 11:00 on ITV4, ITV4HD and online.

Photo Credit: Pete Mainey (www.psmmotorsportimages.co.uk)

James Mappin is the editor-in-chief covering the British Touring Car Championship. You can contact him at james@btcccrazy.co.uk, on twitter @BTCCCrazy or on his personal twitter account @jamesmappin.