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BTC-T Peugeot 406 Coupé

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BTC-T Peugeot 406 Coupe
John George driving the Mardi Gras Motorsport Peugeot 406 Coupé at Donington Park during the 2004 British Touring Car Championship season.
CategoryBTCC
ConstructorVic Lee Racing
Technical specifications[1]
ChassisPeugeot 406 Coupe
Length4,700 mm (185.0 in)
Width1,892 mm (74.5 in)
Height1,390 mm (54.7 in)
Axle track1,860 mm (73.2 in)
Wheelbase2,700 mm (106.3 in)
Engine2,000 cc (122.0 cu in) In-line 4 NA front-mounted, FWD
TransmissionXtrac 6-speed Sequential
Weight1,150 kg (2,535.3 lb) (with driver)
Competition history
Notable entrantsPeugeot Sport UK/Team Halfords
Mardi Gras Motorsport
Notable driversSteve Soper
Dan Eaves
Matt Neal
Aaron Slight
Carl Breeze
Tim Harvey
John George
Debut2001 BTCC at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit
RacesWinsPolesF/Laps
55000
Teams' Championships0
Constructors' Championships0
Drivers' Championships0

The BTC-T Peugeot 406 Coupé is a BTC-Touring class racing car that was built for the 2001 British Touring Car Championship season by Vic Lee Racing, who were selected to run Peugeot's official works program for that season.

2001 season

After a successful 2000 BTCC season, having won the driver's championship for Class B,[2] Vic Lee Racing signed a deal with Peugeot to run in the BTC Touring-class for the 2001 BTCC season.[3] VLR built 3 406 Coupes, and hired Dan Eaves, Steve Soper and Matt Neal as their drivers,[4] but sponsorship issues led to releasing Neal after the first round,[5] being replaced by ex-motorcycle racer Aaron Slight in several rounds.[6] Neal would go on to be critical of the Peugeot effort.[7] The campaign was unsuccessful, with the best results being a trio of 3rd places from Soper at Mondello Park (he was 4th on the road with Production Class winner James Kaye finishing 2nd) and Eaves, at Oulton Park[8] and the last round of the season, held at the Brands Hatch Indy circuit.[9] The car's large size limited its agility and made it less competitive than its rivals.[7]

2002 season

After the poor performances in 2001, Peugeot withdraw their works support, choosing instead to focus on their more successful World Rally Championship campaign.[10] The team, in 2002, now renamed Team Halfords after gaining sponsorship from Halfords,[11] continued racing with the 406. Eaves stayed with the team, while 1992 champion Tim Harvey and Carl Breeze joined the team. A second unsuccessful season followed; with the best result being a second place from Eaves in the opening round at Brands Hatch.[12] Harvey added a 2nd podium with 3rd in race 2 at the second Brands Hatch meeting. Despite the lack of overall competitiveness, Dan Eaves and Tim Harvey finished the season 1st and 3rd respectively in the Independents Cup.[13] For 2003, the team switched to the Sergio Rinland designed Peugeot 307, with the hope of gaining more competitiveness.[14]

2004 season

The 406 Coupes remained unused in 2003, but halfway through the 2004 season, Mardi Gras Motorsport decided to replace their LPG-powered, Super 2000-specification Honda Civic with a 406 Coupe.[15] The car proved barely more successful than its predecessor - finishing no higher than a 12th place at Knockhill in the 4 rounds it entered.[16] The car did not reappear for the 2005 season.

References

  1. ^ BTCCPages.com. "British Touring Car Championship". BTCC Pages. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
  2. ^ BTCCPages.com. "British Touring Car Championship". BTCC Pages. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
  3. ^ "Peugeot confirms BTCC return - BTCC news". Autosport.Com. 2000-10-06. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
  4. ^ "Peugeot unveils 2001 contender | BTCC News | Jan 2001". Crash.Net. 2001-01-12. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
  5. ^ "BBC SPORT | MOTORSPORT | Neal leaves Peugeot team". BBC News. 2001-04-26. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
  6. ^ "Aaron Slight Joins Peugeot in BTCC - AutoWeb News". Autoweb.com.au. Archived from the original on 2012-03-27. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
  7. ^ a b Kew, Matt (17 January 2021). "Vauxhall Astra Coupe: In defence of an unheralded BTCC champion". Autosport. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  8. ^ "TouringCars.net » Results » 2001 » Oulton Park Island Round 20 Results". www.touring-cars.net. Archived from the original on 22 February 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  9. ^ "TouringCars.net » Results » 2001 » Brands Hatch Indy Round 26 Results". www.touring-cars.net. Archived from the original on 22 February 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  10. ^ "Rallying the reason for Peugeot's BTCC exit | BTCC News | Nov 2001". Crash.Net. 2001-11-02. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
  11. ^ "VLR teams up with Halfords for BTCC | BTCC News | Mar 2002". Crash.Net. 2002-03-19. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
  12. ^ "2002 - Rounds 1 & 2 at Brands Hatch". BTCC Pages. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
  13. ^ BTCCPages.com (2009-04-05). "2002 BTCC Points". BTCCPages.com. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
  14. ^ BTCCPages.com. "British Touring Car Championship". BTCC Pages. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
  15. ^ "Mardi Gras Motorsport". Mardigras.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
  16. ^ "2004 - Rounds 19 & 20 & 21 at Knockhill". BTCC Pages. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
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