FOR BRANDS HATCH BTCC TITLE-DECIDER

ITV4 has confirmed an earlier (11.30am) start to its live television coverage of the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship's title deciding rounds at Brands Hatch on Sunday 21 September.

That is an hour earlier than originally scheduled and means six hours of action for viewers at home. The programme will end at its usual time of 5.30pm.

Either Fabrizio Giovanardi or Jason Plato will be crowned as 2008 BTCC Champion at Brands Hatch. Giovanardi enjoys a considerable points advantage and a clear run could see him achieve his second straight title in the first of the day's three races.

BTCC Series Director Alan Gow commented: "As there is a strong likelihood that Fabrizio could wrap it up in race one, ITV clearly acknowledges that our many hundreds of thousands of fans would prefer to see it happen live on TV, as obviously they all can't make it to Brands Hatch. ITV should therefore be applauded for responding with this extra live coverage.

"This move further underlines ITV's fantastic commitment to the BTCC - its coverage of the championship is the envy of every other motor sport series in the UK and, indeed, many others around the world."

Starting from this year, ITV entered into a three-year contract to show live Sunday afternoon coverage from all BTCC events, on ITV4, until the end of 2010 at least.

In addition to its six hours of live coverage from Brands Hatch on Sunday 21 September, ITV will then broadcast hour-long highlights of the action during the following week on its ITV1, ITV4 and Men & Motors channels (see listings for details).

ITV4's live BTCC coverage can also be viewed on-line via ITV's website itv.com