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1991 British Touring Car Championship

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The 1991 Esso RAC British Touring Car Championship season was the 34th British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) season and marked the first year of the Super Touring era.

Changes for 1991

  • After a transitional year in 1990, the multi-class Group A regulations was fully dropped and replaced by the new Super Touring rules that had evolved out of Group A's Div. II category. Group A cars were still allowed to participate, but only as long as they were restricted to bring them down to Super Touring speeds.

Season summary

Group A had towards the end of its existence been dominated by Ford and their Sierra RS500. Super Tourers had first appeared in 1990, and with BMW and Vauxhall running their cars in that category they effectively had a years head start on their opposition for 1991. BMW also had the numerical advantage, the factory Prodrive team entering two cars and the semi-factory Vic Lee Motorsport team entering four. Vauxhall had two cars, as had Toyota, while Ford only appeared with a single car for Robb Gravett's Trakstar team. Nissan missed the start of the season but then ran a single-car effort for Keith O'Dor driving a 2.0 Primera entered by Janspeed, and was joined by ex-Formula One driver Julian Bailey towards the end of the season and Mitsubishi was back, engineered by BTCC stalwart John McGuire Racing, fielding a one car team for Mark Hales, the team elected to run the Lancer GTI at the beginning of the season but was replaced by the larger Galant mid season.

The privateer entries would consist mainly of BMW M3s with the odd Ford Sierra entry, the most notable being Andy Middlehurst, and the odd appearance of Jeff Wilson in a Vauxhall Belmont.

Rover and Peugeot would also be represented briefly by privateers Grahame Davis and Andrew McKenzie while possible entries from Audi (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fhJZ7aDz35c), Renault and Lancia (https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/march-1991/25/british-touring-car-championship-3/) and Honda were mooted but never materialised.

The championship battle would stand between Will Hoy and John Cleland. Hoy won the first two races of the season and kept scoring consistently, but as the season progressed it was Cleland who came out on top more often than not. Hoy's consistency however put him in a position to claim the championship at the penultimate round at Thruxton, provided he scored a good enough result. Indeed, Hoy took the lead of the race thanks to BMW team tactics, but soon thereafter he was controversially tapped into a spin by works BMW driver Jonathan Palmer. Hoy dropped down the field and later retired after contact with Cleland. Cleland would go on to finish 8th with a damaged car, taking the championship to the final race. There Hoy was able to finish ahead of Cleland, and thus claiming the first Super Touring championship win. Andy Rouse finished third for Toyota, and Steve Soper ended up fourth overall despite missing several races due to clashing commitments in the German DTM championship.

The 7th meeting of the season at Silverstone would be notable for the debut of future 3-time Champion Matt Neal in a Pyramid Motorsport-run BMW M3, finishing 13th out of 17 finishers.

Teams and drivers

Team Car No. Drivers Rounds
Manufacturer
United Kingdom Trakstar Motorsport Ford Sierra Sapphire 1 United Kingdom Robb Gravett All
Japan Kaliber ICS Team Toyota Toyota Carina 3 United Kingdom Andy Rouse All
33 United Kingdom Gary Ayles All
Germany BMW Team Labatt's BMW M3 4 United Kingdom Tim Harvey All
9 United Kingdom Laurence Bristow 1–11, 13
Germany Armin Hahne 12
United Kingdom Vauxhall Sport Vauxhall Cavalier 5 United Kingdom John Cleland All
6 United Kingdom Jeff Allam All
56 United Kingdom Bob Berridge 12–13
Germany BMW Team Listerine BMW M3 11 United Kingdom Will Hoy All
12 United Kingdom Ray Bellm All
Germany BMW Team Finance BMW M3 22 United Kingdom Jonathan Palmer All
44 United Kingdom Steve Soper 1, 3, 7–10, 12
United Kingdom Tim Sugden 2, 5–6, 11, 13
Germany Christian Danner 4
Japan Nissan Janspeed Racing Nissan Primera eGT 23 United Kingdom Kieth O'dor 2–13
24 United Kingdom Julian Bailey 11–13
United Kingdom John Maguire Racing Mitsubishi Lancer 88 United Kingdom Mark Hales 1–5
Mitsubishi Galant 8–13
Independent
United Kingdom Pyramid Motorsport BMW M3 2 United Kingdom Frank Sytner 1–8, 10–11
United Kingdom David Leslie 13
18 United Kingdom Matt Neal 7
United Kingdom Alistair Fenwick 12
United Kingdom Godfrey Hall 13
United Kingdom Sean Walker Racing Ford Sierra RS500 7 United Kingdom Sean Walker 2
Sweden BMW Team Sweden BMW M3 10 Sweden Nettan Lindgren 1–3, 5–6
91 Sweden Peggen Andersson 1–3, 6
United Kingdom R&D Motorsport BMW 318is 13 United Kingdom Angus MacKay 1–2
United Kingdom Alistair Lyall 4, 7, 13
Italy ACE Motorsport Peugeot 405 Mi16 17 United Kingdom Andrew MacKenzie 7, 10
United Kingdom Judge Developments Ford Sierra RS500 19 United Kingdom Dennis Leech 1–4
United Kingdom Moto-Build Rover 216GTi 20 United Kingdom Grahame Davis 1–2, 7, 10
United Kingdom Brodie Brittain Racing Ford Sierra Sapphire 4x4 21 United Kingdom Dave Brodie 10–13
United Kingdom Drambuie Racing BMW M3 45 United Kingdom Ian Forrest All
United Kingdom HWR Motorsport Vauxhall Belmont 58 United Kingdom Jeff Wilson 9, 11, 13
United Kingdom Tony Bardy 12
United Kingdom BRR Motorsport BMW M3 59 United Kingdom Ian Flux 1, 3–5, 13
United Kingdom Matt Neal 9
United Kingdom Val Musetti 11
United Kingdom Auto Trader Techspeed Team BMW M3 66 United Kingdom Nick Whale 1–5, 8–9, 11–13
United Kingdom David Leslie 7
United Kingdom John Llewellyn 10
77 United Kingdom Nick Baird 1–5, 7–8, 12–13
United Kingdom Matt Neal 11
United Kingdom Graham Goode Racing Ford Sierra RS Cosworth 99 United Kingdom Andy Middlehurst All

Race calendar and winners

All races were held in the United Kingdom.

Round Circuit Date Pole Position Fastest Lap Winning Driver Winning Team
1 R1 Silverstone Circuit (National) 1 April United Kingdom Steve Soper United Kingdom Will Hoy United Kingdom Will Hoy BMW Team Listerine
2 R2 Snetterton Circuit 14 April United Kingdom John Cleland United Kingdom Will Hoy United Kingdom Will Hoy BMW Team Listerine
3 R3 Donington Park (Grand Prix) 28 April United Kingdom Steve Soper United Kingdom John Cleland United Kingdom Steve Soper BMW Team Finance
4 R4 Thruxton 27 May United Kingdom Will Hoy United Kingdom Will Hoy United Kingdom John Cleland Vauxhall Sport
5 R51 Silverstone Circuit (National) 9 June United Kingdom Tim Sugden United Kingdom Andy Rouse United Kingdom John Cleland Vauxhall Sport
6 R6 Brands Hatch (Indy) 30 June United Kingdom Tim Sugden United Kingdom Will Hoy United Kingdom Tim Sugden BMW Team Finance
7 R7 Silverstone Circuit (Grand Prix) 14 July United Kingdom Steve Soper United Kingdom Steve Soper United Kingdom Steve Soper BMW Team Finance
8 R8 Donington Park (National) 28 July United Kingdom John Cleland United Kingdom Andy Rouse United Kingdom Andy Rouse Kaliber ICS Team Toyota
R9 United Kingdom Ray Bellm United Kingdom Andy Rouse Kaliber ICS Team Toyota
9 R10 Oulton Park (International) 11 August United Kingdom John Cleland United Kingdom Gary Ayles United Kingdom John Cleland Vauxhall Sport
10 R11 Brands Hatch (Indy) 26 August United Kingdom Andy Rouse United Kingdom Andy Rouse United Kingdom Andy Rouse Kaliber ICS Team Toyota
R12 United Kingdom Ray Bellm United Kingdom Will Hoy BMW Team Listerine
11 R13 Donington Park (Grand Prix) 15 September United Kingdom John Cleland United Kingdom John Cleland United Kingdom John Cleland Vauxhall Sport
12 R14 Thruxton 22 September United Kingdom Jonathan Palmer United Kingdom Tim Harvey United Kingdom Steve Soper BMW Team Finance
13 R15 Silverstone Circuit (Grand Prix) 6 October United Kingdom Andy Rouse United Kingdom Tim Harvey United Kingdom Tim Harvey BMW Team Labatt's
  1. ^  – Race was stopped after 10 laps due to heavy rain. The race was not restarted and no points were awarded.

Championship results

Drivers Championship

Pos Driver SIL SNE DON THR SIL BRH SIL DON OUL BRH DON THR SIL Pts
1 United Kingdom Will Hoy 1 1 Ret 3 3 2 2 Ret DNS 2 2 1 3 Ret 5 155
2 United Kingdom John Cleland 3 9 2 1 1 12 6 3 10 1 4 3 1 8 9 132
3 United Kingdom Andy Rouse 5 3 9 8 4 3 7 1 1 4 1 Ret Ret 4 2 115
4 United Kingdom Steve Soper 18 1 1 2 Ret 3 6 Ret 1 96
5 United Kingdom Ray Bellm 6 2 6 7 5 7 4 6 2 6 14 Ret 4 5 6 90
6 United Kingdom Jeff Allam 2 4 5 2 2 5 8 5 Ret Ret 8 Ret 6 10 8 80
7 United Kingdom Jonathan Palmer 7 Ret Ret 6 11 6 5 4 3 5 7 6 Ret 2 21 66
8 United Kingdom Tim Harvey 10 7 DSQ 4 7 4 3 Ret 6 7 Ret 5 2 Ret 1 421
9 United Kingdom Andy Middlehurst 4 Ret 13 Ret 10 Ret 16 7 7 8 11 4 8 7 3 41
10 United Kingdom Tim Sugden Ret 12 1 5 Ret 32
11 United Kingdom Robb Gravett 20 13 Ret 14 18 9 Ret 9 4 9 5 2 7 9 13 28
12 United Kingdom Frank Sytner DNS 5 3 Ret 6 8 10 Ret DNS 9 7 Ret 26
13 United Kingdom Laurence Bristow Ret 6 7 12 16 10 11 8 5 Ret Ret DNS Ret 7 20
14 United Kingdom Gary Ayles 9 DSQ 4 Ret 8 Ret Ret Ret DNS Ret 3 DNS 14 Ret 10 19
15 Germany Armin Hahne 3 12
16 United Kingdom David Leslie 9 4 12
17 United Kingdom Kieth O'dor Ret Ret 11 13 15 Ret 10 8 10 Ret Ret 9 6 11 10
18 Germany Christian Danner 5 8
19 Sweden Peggen Andersson 8 8 12 11 6
20 United Kingdom Dennis Leech 16 14 8 Ret 3
21 United Kingdom Nick Baird 11 Ret 15 9 14 12 12 9 DNS 17 2
22 United Kingdom Ian Flux 13 Ret 10 9 14 1
23 United Kingdom Mark Hales 17 10 16 16 DNS 14 Ret 14 13 Ret Ret 11 Ret 1
24 Sweden Nettan Lindgren 19 Ret 10 13 14 1
25 United Kingdom Nick Whale 14 12 14 13 17 11 Ret 11 10 12 19 1
26 United Kingdom John Llewellyn 10 Ret 0
27 United Kingdom Ian Forrest 12 11 11 15 15 14 15 13 NC 12 12 Ret 12 13 22 0
28 United Kingdom Jeff Wilson 13 11 Ret 0
29 United Kingdom Julian Bailey Ret Ret 12 0
30 United Kingdom Matt Neal 13 Ret DNS 0
31 United Kingdom Valentino Musetti 13 0
32 United Kingdom Angus MacKay 15 15 0
33 United Kingdom Dave Brodie Ret DNS DNS Ret 15 0
34 United Kingdom Bob Berridge Ret 16 0
35 United Kingdom Andrew MacKenzie 17 DNS DNS 0
36 United Kingdom Alistair Lyall DNS Ret 18 0
37 United Kingdom Godfrey Hall 20 0
 — United Kingdom Grahame Davis DNS DNS DNS Ret DNS 0
 — United Kingdom Sean Walker DNS 0
 — United Kingdom Tony Bardy DNS 0
 — United Kingdom Alistair Fenwick DNS 0
Pos Driver SIL SNE DON THR SIL BRH SIL DON OUL BRH DON THR SIL Pts
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver Second place
Bronze Third place
Green Points finish
Blue Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple Retired (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not practice (DNP)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Excluded (EX)
  • Note: bold signifies pole position, italics signifies fastest lap.
  1. ^  – Tim Harvey was docked 48 points in round 3 for not keeping within the limits of noise regulations.

† Race was stopped early due to heavy rain, and no points were awarded. Note: Most fastest laps are unknown.

Manufacturers Championship

Pos Manufacturer SIL SNE DON THR SIL BRH SIL DON OUL BRH DON THR SIL Pts
1 BMW / BMW Team Listerine/BMW Team Labatt's/BMW Team Finance 1 1 1 3 3 1 1 2 2 2 2 1 2 1 1 134
2 Vauxhall / Vauxhall Sport 2 4 2 1 1 5 6 3 10 1 4 3 1 8 8 116
3 Toyota / Kaliber ICS Team Toyota 5 3 4 8 4 3 7 1 1 4 1 Ret 14 4 2 111
4 Ford / Trakstar Motorsport 4 13 8 14 10 9 16 7 4 8 5 2 7 7 3 102
5 Nissan / Nissan Janspeed Racing Ret Ret 11 13 15 Ret 10 8 10 Ret Ret 9 6 11 53
6 Mitsubishi / John Maguire Racing 17 10 16 16 DNS 14 Ret 14 13 Ret Ret 11 Ret 45
Pos Manufacturer SIL SNE DON THR SIL BRH SIL DON OUL BRH DON THR SIL Pts

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/march-1991/25/british-touring-car-championship-3/