<I>ITV</I> to broadcast season review.

After one of the closest title battles the series has ever seen, ITV has announced that it will show a review of the 2004 British Touring Car Championship season at the end of the month.

The 45 minute long review, to be screened on 31 October, follows ITV1's coverage of the championship's ten events, including five live broadcasts. The coverage, filmed and produced by Granada Sport, has equated to over 13 hours' airtime - an increase of nearly 40 per cent over last year - and has been watched by close to 12 million viewers.

At Donington Park last month, the BTCC title race reached a dramatic conclusion as James Thompson beat Vauxhall team-mate Yvan Muller to the crown by just one point. ITV1's live coverage of the title-deciding final round attracted the season's biggest audience of over 1.5 million viewers.

While the action on the circuit was full of drama, there was plenty of excitement off it too, such as the heated row between Anthony Reid and rival Matt Neal at Silverstone, captured by ITV1's cameras and which led to additional coverage on the Speed Sunday show.

BTCC series director Alan Gow said he was looking forward to seeing the review, but admitted that he wasn't sure how the whole season would be condensed into one 45 minute show.

"Quite how ITV1 and Granada Sport will fit everything into 45 minutes I have no idea," he said. "The 2004 BTCC has been amazing for everyone involved and has made for some captivating viewing. To have the title come down to the last lap of the year is always something special and that is exactly what we got.

"I cannot wait for ITV1's review - considering how much there is to show, it will seem like a very quick 45 minutes."