1992 British Touring Car Championship season
Encyclopedia
The 1992 Esso
RAC
British Touring Car Championship
season was the 35th British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) season.
began at Silverstone
where stringent winter testing appeared to have paid off for Vauxhall
as John Cleland
dominated the proceedings, taking with him the victory and a new lap record. Cleland would also win the second round, held at Thruxton
, ahead of works Toyota driver Andy Rouse
. Champion manufacturer BMW
meanwhile struggled with their new 318iS (which used a variant of the E30 £M S14 engine in 2.0 size) model. The works Prodrive
cars were driven by Tim Sugden
and former Formula 3000 driver Alain Menu
, while the semi-works Vic Lee-run team entered Tim Harvey
, Ray Bellm
and Steve Soper
. Soper, however, would again miss several rounds due to his clashing commitments in the German
DTM
championship.
At the next round at Oulton Park
John Cleland held the lead ahead of the works Toyota pair of Will Hoy
and Andy Rouse when he went off, dropping several places and promoting the Toyotas into the lead. Hoy then slowed temporarily with a mysterious electrical problem and lost the lead to Rouse, but was soon able to reclaim it. Rouse then took back the lead and held it for a lap, after which Hoy again claimed the lead of the race. The electrical problem then struck again for Hoy, allowing Rouse to re-take the lead and win the race. With Cleland finishing in 11th Rouse now led the championship from Cleland after a win and two second places in the first three races.
At round four at Snetterton
Hoy led from lights to flag, finishing ahead of John Cleland and Alain Menu, who took BMW’s first podium of the season. Brands Hatch
hosted the fifth round of the championship, and here Toyota’s championship challenge would be severely dented. Hoy had taken an early lead ahead of Rouse and Cleland, but the Vauxhall driver was soon able to pass Rouse and put Hoy under pressure. At Surtees corner on the second lap, Hoy buckled under pressure when he missed a gear, allowing Cleland to take the lead. Suddenly, as the Toyotas began to chase Cleland round Westfield corner, both of them collided and veered into the barrier at full speed, both Toyotas were wrecked and out of the running, both Rouse and Hoy's enthusiasm to catch Cleland had got the better of them and the race was handed to the Vauxhall on a plate. Cleland won with ease with team-mate Jeff Allam
in second and Steve Soper in third, who had come up from last place after being forced to start in the pit lane.
The first double-header of the season took place at Donington Park with Will Hoy putting the misery of Brands Hatch behind him to record a dominant win in the first race, with Cleland in second after a daring move on Andy Rouse at Goddards corner in the closing stages of the race.
After a ten minute break, the second race began in chaos as the fast moving Peugeot 405
of Robb Gravett lost control and hit the pit wall, taking Jeff Allam and Rouse out with him in the process. Tim Harvey took advantage of an error by Cleland at the Old Hairpin to put the pressure on the Vauxhall, but while the two were dueling, race one winner Hoy and the Vauxhall of David Leslie
joined in the battle for the lead, with Leslie initially leading before Hoy nipped past at the Esses, with Harvey following through. On the sixth lap, Harvey took the lead under braking at the Melbourne hairpin and stayed there despite the best efforts of the reigning champion.
Cleland finished fourth to add to his championship lead, he was on 104 points, while race winner Harvey was far behind in fifth place and only on 39 points. Cleland, Hoy, Rouse and Allam looked like they were the four to battle it out for the crown.
At Silverstone for the British Grand Prix
support race, and round 8 of the championship saw Jeff Allam stake a claim for the championship with his first win for Vauxhall. Allam made his move on team-mate Cleland at Becketts to take the lead and win, a struggling Cleland eventually finished third behind Hoy. Allam's victory had moved him into third place in the championship after Andy Rouse was plagued by engine problems early in the race.
The Knockhill
circuit played host to its first BTCC rounds, though heavy rain was to spoil the parade, the event was to prove memorable. Future WRC
champion Colin McRae
made a guest appearance for BMW, finishing eighth in race one before being disqualified in the second race for a dangerous overtaking manoeuvre on the BMW M3 of Matt Neal
. McRae's BMW team-mate for the event, Alain Menu did not start at all after breaking his leg when he fell off a paddock quad bike after qualifying had taken place, his place for the rest of the season was taken by Kris Nissen
.
David Leslie led away, but was soon under pressure from the fellow Vauxhall of Jeff Allam, the works Vauxhall of the Silverstone winner was handling better and an uncharacteristic error from Leslie allowed Allam to take the lead and win the race ahead of Tim Harvey and Andy Rouse. Harvey then won the second race ahead of Allam and Cleland.
Pembrey
’s first BTCC race saw Harvey first take the pole and then lead the race from start to finish in damp conditions. Teammate Steve Soper put Harvey under pressure but could not find a way past and finished second, while Tim Sugden was a distant third. By now Andy Rouse had pretty much dropped out of contention for the title and would focus on supporting teammate Will Hoy’s championship bid. The fight for the title now appeared to stand between Hoy, Vauxhall teammates Cleland and Allam, and Tim Harvey, who was backed up by teammate Steve Soper. Soper now had no more clashing commitments in Germany and would start in all of the remaining rounds of the season.
Brands Hatch hosted rounds twelve and thirteen, second double header meeting of the season. The first race started off with a close battle between all of the championship protagonists, Soper leading Harvey in a BMW one-two ahead of Will Hoy, Andy Rouse and the Vauxhall pair of Cleland and Allam. Hoy managed to get past Harvey and attacked Soper for the lead on the outside of Druids, but the unwise move caused him to drop back to third. Soper then started trailing smoke and allowed Harvey past up into the lead, but then moved over to block Hoy. Soper was eventually forced to retire, but when he finally did so Harvey had a substantial gap on the rest of the field, taking the first win of the day. Hoy finished second ahead of Cleland and Allam.
Harvey was then on pole for the second race, and won it ahead of Hoy by a much smaller margin than in the first race, while Cleland took third. Round 14 at Donington Park was dominated by the two Vic Lee Motorsport drivers, Soper shadowing Harvey to the flag with Cleland again in third place. Only a single point now separated Harvey and Cleland ahead of the final meeting at Silverstone. Allam had not been able to deliver the results to stay in the championship hunt, but Will Hoy still had a chance to take the title.
The qualifying ahead of the final round was surprisingly top-heavy with support drivers. Andy Rouse took pole position, Jeff Allam second, third Toyota driver Julian Bailey third and Steve Soper fourth. Championship contenders Cleland, Hoy and Harvey started seventh, ninth and twelfth respectively. Hoy and Harvey both started well, with Hoy passing Cleland on the first lap. Steve Soper in fourth then attempted to pass Vauxhall driver David Leslie for third, but the two made contact and Soper spun out. Soper’s car was collected by Rob Gravett, and while Soper was able to rejoin in last place his BMW had taken heavy damage to the rear.
Later in the race Hoy, Harvey and Cleland all followed each other in fourth, fifth and sixth place. Soper had surged up the field to seventh and seemed to have an incredible pace considering the damage on his car. Two laps from the finish Harvey attacked Hoy into Copse, and the two were side by side through the corner with Harvey on the inside. At the exit of the corner Harvey drifted wide, putting himself on the kerb and Hoy on the grass. This allowed both Cleland and Soper to pass the pair: the order was now Cleland in fourth (which would give him the championship), Soper fifth, Harvey sixth and Hoy seventh. Soon thereafter Soper moved past Cleland into fourth at the entry of Club, putting Cleland in a BMW sandwich. On the run down to Abbey Cleland could be seen with the Vauxhall’s onboard camera giving the finger
to Soper.
Exiting from Abbey Cleland moved to the left of the track in an attempt to set himself up for a pass on the outside of Bridge. Harvey meanwhile got a good exit out of Abbey and moved up on the right side of Cleland. Cleland moved over to defend, but Harvey managed to pass him on the inside of Bridge. Soper now immediately jumped out of the way, promoting Harvey to fourth, and then moved in behind Harvey to defend him against Cleland. The three cars went through Priory nose to tail, but going into Brooklands Cleland dived inside Soper for fifth. Soper closed the door and the two cars made contact, the Vauxhall going up on two wheels, and the cars exited Brooklands with Cleland half a car length ahead of Soper. Into Luffield Soper dived on the inside of Cleland using the grass, and the two cars again made contact and spun out into the barriers. Both Soper and Cleland were forced to retire on the spot.
With only a lap remaining Harvey could now cruise to fourth and the championship title, Hoy finishing three seconds behind in fifth place. Up front Andy Rouse only just claimed the win a tenth of a second ahead of Jeff Allam and seven tenths ahead of David Leslie in third.
This was one of the most controversial moments in BTCC history; commenting on the move by Soper which had cost him the title, a dejected Cleland famously remarked “The man’s an animal!” Harvey won the title on 152 points, three points ahead of Will Hoy on 149 and seven ahead of Cleland on 145. Jeff Allam ended up fourth on 137, and Andy Rouse fifth on 128.
Esso
Esso is an international trade name for ExxonMobil and its related companies. Pronounced , it is derived from the initials of the pre-1911 Standard Oil, and as such became the focus of much litigation and regulatory restriction in the United States. In 1972, it was largely replaced in the U.S. by...
RAC
Royal Automobile Club
The Royal Automobile Club is a private club and is not to be confused with RAC plc, a motorists' organisation, which it formerly owned.It has two club houses, one in London at 89-91 Pall Mall, and the other in the countryside at Woodcote Park, Surrey, next to the City of London Freemen's School...
British Touring Car Championship
British Touring Car Championship
The British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom. The Championship was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and has run to various rules over the years – "production cars", then FIA Group 1 or 2 in the late 1960s...
season was the 35th British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) season.
Changes for 1992
- The championship branched out from EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to include one round in ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
(held at KnockhillKnockhill Racing CircuitKnockhill Racing Circuit in Fife is Scotland's national Motorsport centre. The circuit is located in the Fife countryside about north of Dunfermline. The track, initially opened in 1974, is long and 10 metres wide and was created by joining service roads to a nearby disused mineral railway,...
) and one in WalesWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
(held at PembreyPembrey CircuitPembrey Circuit is a racing circuit outside Pembrey village, south Wales. It is deemed to be the home of Welsh motorsport, providing racing for cars, motorcycles, karts and trucks...
)
Season summary
The 1992 British Touring Car ChampionshipBritish Touring Car Championship
The British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom. The Championship was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and has run to various rules over the years – "production cars", then FIA Group 1 or 2 in the late 1960s...
began at Silverstone
Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit is an English motor racing circuit next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side...
where stringent winter testing appeared to have paid off for Vauxhall
Vauxhall
-Demography:Many Vauxhall residents live in social housing. There are several gentrified areas, and areas of terraced townhouses on streets such as Fentiman Road and Heyford Avenue have higher property values in the private market, however by far the most common type of housing stock within...
as John Cleland
John Cleland (racing driver)
John Cleland . is a retired Scottish auto racing driver. He raced autocross and hillclimb in the 1970s, before achieving success in British Production Car and Thundersaloon championships, before joining Vauxhall for the 1989 British Touring Car Championship...
dominated the proceedings, taking with him the victory and a new lap record. Cleland would also win the second round, held at Thruxton
Thruxton Circuit
Thruxton Circuit is a motor racing circuit located near the village of Thruxton in Hampshire, England which is used to host a number of motorsport events including British Touring Cars and Formula 3 racing....
, ahead of works Toyota driver Andy Rouse
Andy Rouse
Andrew "Andy" Rouse is an English racing driver, most notably in the BTCC. He won the BTCC in 1975, 1983, 1984 and 1985....
. Champion manufacturer BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
meanwhile struggled with their new 318iS (which used a variant of the E30 £M S14 engine in 2.0 size) model. The works Prodrive
Prodrive
Prodrive is a British motorsport and automotive engineering group based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. It designs, constructs and races cars for companies and teams such as Subaru, Aston Martin and Ford...
cars were driven by Tim Sugden
Tim Sugden
Tim Sugden is a British racing driver. He is both driver and manager for his own racing team, Tim Sugden Motorsport.-Early career:...
and former Formula 3000 driver Alain Menu
Alain Menu
Alain Menu is a Swiss racing driver. He was one of the most successful touring car drivers of the 1990s, winning the prestigious British Touring Car Championship twice . He currently races for Chevrolet in the World Touring Car Championship.- BTCC :He is the son of a farmer...
, while the semi-works Vic Lee-run team entered Tim Harvey
Tim Harvey
Tim Harvey is a racing driver from England. He was the 2008 and 2010 Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain Champion. A household name in the 1990s, Harvey won the prestigious BTCC title in 1992, and was a frontrunner for most of the late 80s and early 90s...
, Ray Bellm
Ray Bellm
Ray Bellm is an auto racing driver from Britain.He began his racing career in 1980, running in Historic racing series and winning the British Historic 2L GT class in 1983 and 1984 driving his Chevron B19 sports car. He made the move to modern sports car racing in 1984, driving for Gordon Spice...
and Steve Soper
Steve Soper
Steve Soper is a retired racing driver from Surrey, England, born in 1951. He raced in sports cars and touring cars at the top level for over 20 years. In 1983 he almost won the British Touring Car Championship before his Rover was deemed illegal. He finished as runner-up in the series in 1988 in a...
. Soper, however, would again miss several rounds due to his clashing commitments in the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
DTM
Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft
The Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft was a touring car racing series held from 1984 to 1996. Originally based in Germany, it held additional rounds elsewhere in Europe and later worldwide....
championship.
At the next round at Oulton Park
Oulton Park
Oulton Park Circuit is a motor racing track in the small village of Little Budworth, Cheshire, England. It is about from Winsford, from Chester city centre, from Northwich and from Warrington with a nearby rail connection along the Mid-Cheshire Line. It occupies much of the area which was...
John Cleland held the lead ahead of the works Toyota pair of Will Hoy
Will Hoy
William Ewing Hoy , was a British racing driver and the 1991 British Touring Car Champion, the highlight of a 20-year career in motor racing. Born in Melbourn, Cambridgeshire, Hoy did not begin racing until his late 20s and first raced at international level in 1985, taking on the full World...
and Andy Rouse when he went off, dropping several places and promoting the Toyotas into the lead. Hoy then slowed temporarily with a mysterious electrical problem and lost the lead to Rouse, but was soon able to reclaim it. Rouse then took back the lead and held it for a lap, after which Hoy again claimed the lead of the race. The electrical problem then struck again for Hoy, allowing Rouse to re-take the lead and win the race. With Cleland finishing in 11th Rouse now led the championship from Cleland after a win and two second places in the first three races.
At round four at Snetterton
Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit
Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit is a motor racing circuit in Norfolk, England. Owned by MotorSport Vision, it is situated on the A11 road some 20 km north-east of the town of Thetford and 30 km south-west of the city of Norwich...
Hoy led from lights to flag, finishing ahead of John Cleland and Alain Menu, who took BMW’s first podium of the season. Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit near West Kingsdown in Kent, England. First used as a dirt track motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently holds many British and international racing events...
hosted the fifth round of the championship, and here Toyota’s championship challenge would be severely dented. Hoy had taken an early lead ahead of Rouse and Cleland, but the Vauxhall driver was soon able to pass Rouse and put Hoy under pressure. At Surtees corner on the second lap, Hoy buckled under pressure when he missed a gear, allowing Cleland to take the lead. Suddenly, as the Toyotas began to chase Cleland round Westfield corner, both of them collided and veered into the barrier at full speed, both Toyotas were wrecked and out of the running, both Rouse and Hoy's enthusiasm to catch Cleland had got the better of them and the race was handed to the Vauxhall on a plate. Cleland won with ease with team-mate Jeff Allam
Jeff Allam
Jeff Allam , was a British racing driver who made his name in Saloon Car racing. He now works as a dealer principal for Allam Motor Services in Epsom and Dorking which are a Skoda, Alfa Romeo and Kia dealership....
in second and Steve Soper in third, who had come up from last place after being forced to start in the pit lane.
The first double-header of the season took place at Donington Park with Will Hoy putting the misery of Brands Hatch behind him to record a dominant win in the first race, with Cleland in second after a daring move on Andy Rouse at Goddards corner in the closing stages of the race.
After a ten minute break, the second race began in chaos as the fast moving Peugeot 405
Peugeot 405
The Peugeot 405 is a large family car released by the French automaker Peugeot in July 1987 and which continues to be manufactured under licence outside France. It used TU/XU petrol and XUD diesel engines....
of Robb Gravett lost control and hit the pit wall, taking Jeff Allam and Rouse out with him in the process. Tim Harvey took advantage of an error by Cleland at the Old Hairpin to put the pressure on the Vauxhall, but while the two were dueling, race one winner Hoy and the Vauxhall of David Leslie
David Leslie (racing driver)
David Leslie was a racing driver. He was most associated with the British Touring Car Championship, in which he was runner-up in 1999. He was particularly noted for his development skill, helping both Honda and Nissan become BTCC race winners...
joined in the battle for the lead, with Leslie initially leading before Hoy nipped past at the Esses, with Harvey following through. On the sixth lap, Harvey took the lead under braking at the Melbourne hairpin and stayed there despite the best efforts of the reigning champion.
Cleland finished fourth to add to his championship lead, he was on 104 points, while race winner Harvey was far behind in fifth place and only on 39 points. Cleland, Hoy, Rouse and Allam looked like they were the four to battle it out for the crown.
At Silverstone for the British Grand Prix
British Grand Prix
The British Grand Prix is a race in the calendar of the FIA Formula One World Championship. It is currently held at the Silverstone Circuit near the village of Silverstone in Northamptonshire...
support race, and round 8 of the championship saw Jeff Allam stake a claim for the championship with his first win for Vauxhall. Allam made his move on team-mate Cleland at Becketts to take the lead and win, a struggling Cleland eventually finished third behind Hoy. Allam's victory had moved him into third place in the championship after Andy Rouse was plagued by engine problems early in the race.
The Knockhill
Knockhill Racing Circuit
Knockhill Racing Circuit in Fife is Scotland's national Motorsport centre. The circuit is located in the Fife countryside about north of Dunfermline. The track, initially opened in 1974, is long and 10 metres wide and was created by joining service roads to a nearby disused mineral railway,...
circuit played host to its first BTCC rounds, though heavy rain was to spoil the parade, the event was to prove memorable. Future WRC
World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver and manufacturer. The driver's world championship and manufacturer's world championship are separate championships, but based on the same point system. The series currently consists of 13...
champion Colin McRae
Colin McRae
Colin Steele McRae, MBE was a Scottish rally driver born in Lanark.The son of five-time British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae and brother of rally driver Alister McRae, Colin McRae was the 1991 and 1992 British Rally Champion and, in 1995, became the first British person and the youngest to win the...
made a guest appearance for BMW, finishing eighth in race one before being disqualified in the second race for a dangerous overtaking manoeuvre on the BMW M3 of Matt Neal
Matt Neal
Matthew Neal is a British motor racing driver. He won the British Touring Car Championship in 2005, 2006 and 2011. He has also won a European Touring Car Championship race. He is 6' 6" tall, making him almost entirely unable to race single-seaters...
. McRae's BMW team-mate for the event, Alain Menu did not start at all after breaking his leg when he fell off a paddock quad bike after qualifying had taken place, his place for the rest of the season was taken by Kris Nissen
Kris Nissen
Nils-Kristian "Kris" Nissen is a retired Danish auto racing driver. He is Volkswagen's motorsport director.-Single seater and sports car racing racing:...
.
David Leslie led away, but was soon under pressure from the fellow Vauxhall of Jeff Allam, the works Vauxhall of the Silverstone winner was handling better and an uncharacteristic error from Leslie allowed Allam to take the lead and win the race ahead of Tim Harvey and Andy Rouse. Harvey then won the second race ahead of Allam and Cleland.
Pembrey
Pembrey Circuit
Pembrey Circuit is a racing circuit outside Pembrey village, south Wales. It is deemed to be the home of Welsh motorsport, providing racing for cars, motorcycles, karts and trucks...
’s first BTCC race saw Harvey first take the pole and then lead the race from start to finish in damp conditions. Teammate Steve Soper put Harvey under pressure but could not find a way past and finished second, while Tim Sugden was a distant third. By now Andy Rouse had pretty much dropped out of contention for the title and would focus on supporting teammate Will Hoy’s championship bid. The fight for the title now appeared to stand between Hoy, Vauxhall teammates Cleland and Allam, and Tim Harvey, who was backed up by teammate Steve Soper. Soper now had no more clashing commitments in Germany and would start in all of the remaining rounds of the season.
Brands Hatch hosted rounds twelve and thirteen, second double header meeting of the season. The first race started off with a close battle between all of the championship protagonists, Soper leading Harvey in a BMW one-two ahead of Will Hoy, Andy Rouse and the Vauxhall pair of Cleland and Allam. Hoy managed to get past Harvey and attacked Soper for the lead on the outside of Druids, but the unwise move caused him to drop back to third. Soper then started trailing smoke and allowed Harvey past up into the lead, but then moved over to block Hoy. Soper was eventually forced to retire, but when he finally did so Harvey had a substantial gap on the rest of the field, taking the first win of the day. Hoy finished second ahead of Cleland and Allam.
Harvey was then on pole for the second race, and won it ahead of Hoy by a much smaller margin than in the first race, while Cleland took third. Round 14 at Donington Park was dominated by the two Vic Lee Motorsport drivers, Soper shadowing Harvey to the flag with Cleland again in third place. Only a single point now separated Harvey and Cleland ahead of the final meeting at Silverstone. Allam had not been able to deliver the results to stay in the championship hunt, but Will Hoy still had a chance to take the title.
The qualifying ahead of the final round was surprisingly top-heavy with support drivers. Andy Rouse took pole position, Jeff Allam second, third Toyota driver Julian Bailey third and Steve Soper fourth. Championship contenders Cleland, Hoy and Harvey started seventh, ninth and twelfth respectively. Hoy and Harvey both started well, with Hoy passing Cleland on the first lap. Steve Soper in fourth then attempted to pass Vauxhall driver David Leslie for third, but the two made contact and Soper spun out. Soper’s car was collected by Rob Gravett, and while Soper was able to rejoin in last place his BMW had taken heavy damage to the rear.
Later in the race Hoy, Harvey and Cleland all followed each other in fourth, fifth and sixth place. Soper had surged up the field to seventh and seemed to have an incredible pace considering the damage on his car. Two laps from the finish Harvey attacked Hoy into Copse, and the two were side by side through the corner with Harvey on the inside. At the exit of the corner Harvey drifted wide, putting himself on the kerb and Hoy on the grass. This allowed both Cleland and Soper to pass the pair: the order was now Cleland in fourth (which would give him the championship), Soper fifth, Harvey sixth and Hoy seventh. Soon thereafter Soper moved past Cleland into fourth at the entry of Club, putting Cleland in a BMW sandwich. On the run down to Abbey Cleland could be seen with the Vauxhall’s onboard camera giving the finger
Finger (gesture)
In Western culture, the finger , also known as the middle finger, is an obscene hand gesture, often meaning the phrases "fuck off" , "fuck you" or "up yours"...
to Soper.
Exiting from Abbey Cleland moved to the left of the track in an attempt to set himself up for a pass on the outside of Bridge. Harvey meanwhile got a good exit out of Abbey and moved up on the right side of Cleland. Cleland moved over to defend, but Harvey managed to pass him on the inside of Bridge. Soper now immediately jumped out of the way, promoting Harvey to fourth, and then moved in behind Harvey to defend him against Cleland. The three cars went through Priory nose to tail, but going into Brooklands Cleland dived inside Soper for fifth. Soper closed the door and the two cars made contact, the Vauxhall going up on two wheels, and the cars exited Brooklands with Cleland half a car length ahead of Soper. Into Luffield Soper dived on the inside of Cleland using the grass, and the two cars again made contact and spun out into the barriers. Both Soper and Cleland were forced to retire on the spot.
With only a lap remaining Harvey could now cruise to fourth and the championship title, Hoy finishing three seconds behind in fifth place. Up front Andy Rouse only just claimed the win a tenth of a second ahead of Jeff Allam and seven tenths ahead of David Leslie in third.
This was one of the most controversial moments in BTCC history; commenting on the move by Soper which had cost him the title, a dejected Cleland famously remarked “The man’s an animal!” Harvey won the title on 152 points, three points ahead of Will Hoy on 149 and seven ahead of Cleland on 145. Jeff Allam ended up fourth on 137, and Andy Rouse fifth on 128.
BTCC
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ToCA Shootout
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Race calendar and winners
| Round | Circuit | Date | Winning driver | Winning team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | R1 | Silverstone Silverstone Circuit Silverstone Circuit is an English motor racing circuit next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side... |
5 April | John Cleland | Vauxhall Sport |
| 2 | R2 | Thruxton Thruxton Circuit Thruxton Circuit is a motor racing circuit located near the village of Thruxton in Hampshire, England which is used to host a number of motorsport events including British Touring Cars and Formula 3 racing.... |
20 April | John Cleland | Vauxhall Sport |
| 3 | R3 | Oulton Park Oulton Park Oulton Park Circuit is a motor racing track in the small village of Little Budworth, Cheshire, England. It is about from Winsford, from Chester city centre, from Northwich and from Warrington with a nearby rail connection along the Mid-Cheshire Line. It occupies much of the area which was... |
4 May | Andy Rouse | Team Securicor ICS Toyota |
| 4 | R4 | Snetterton Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit is a motor racing circuit in Norfolk, England. Owned by MotorSport Vision, it is situated on the A11 road some 20 km north-east of the town of Thetford and 30 km south-west of the city of Norwich... |
24 May | Will Hoy | Team Securicor ICS Toyota |
| 5 | R5 | Brands Hatch Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit near West Kingsdown in Kent, England. First used as a dirt track motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently holds many British and international racing events... |
7 June | John Cleland | Vauxhall Sport |
| 6 | R6 R7 |
Donington Park Donington Park Donington Park is a motorsport circuit near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England.Originally part of the Donington Hall estate, it was created as a racing circuit during the pre-war period when the German Silver Arrows were battling for the European Championship... |
21 June | Will Hoy Tim Harvey |
Team Securicor ICS Toyota M Team Shell Racing with Listerine |
| 7 | R8 | Silverstone Silverstone Circuit Silverstone Circuit is an English motor racing circuit next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side... |
11 July | Jeff Allam | Vauxhall Sport |
| 8 | R9 R10 |
Knockhill Knockhill Racing Circuit Knockhill Racing Circuit in Fife is Scotland's national Motorsport centre. The circuit is located in the Fife countryside about north of Dunfermline. The track, initially opened in 1974, is long and 10 metres wide and was created by joining service roads to a nearby disused mineral railway,... |
26 July | Jeff Allam Tim Harvey |
Vauxhall Sport M Team Shell Racing with Listerine |
| 9 | R11 | Pembrey Pembrey Circuit Pembrey Circuit is a racing circuit outside Pembrey village, south Wales. It is deemed to be the home of Welsh motorsport, providing racing for cars, motorcycles, karts and trucks... |
9 August | Tim Harvey | M Team Shell Racing with Listerine |
| 10 | R12 R13 |
Brands Hatch Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit near West Kingsdown in Kent, England. First used as a dirt track motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently holds many British and international racing events... |
31 August | Tim Harvey Tim Harvey |
M Team Shell Racing with Listerine M Team Shell Racing with Listerine |
| 11 | R14 | Donington Park Donington Park Donington Park is a motorsport circuit near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England.Originally part of the Donington Hall estate, it was created as a racing circuit during the pre-war period when the German Silver Arrows were battling for the European Championship... |
20 September | Tim Harvey | M Team Shell Racing with Listerine |
| 12 | R15 | Silverstone Silverstone Circuit Silverstone Circuit is an English motor racing circuit next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side... |
4 October | Andy Rouse | Team Securicor ICS Toyota |
Drivers Championship
EWLINE
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- Note: bold signifies pole position, italics signifies fastest lap.
Manufacturer's championship
| Pos | Make | Points | Wins | Podiums | Poles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  VauxhallVauxhall -Demography:Many Vauxhall residents live in social housing. There are several gentrified areas, and areas of terraced townhouses on streets such as Fentiman Road and Heyford Avenue have higher property values in the private market, however by far the most common type of housing stock within... |
136 | 6 | 18 | 5 |
| 2 |  BMWBMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands... |
134 | 6 | 13 | 2 |
| 3 |  Toyota |
134 | 4 | 14 | 5 |
| 4 | Nissan |
96 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 |  Peugeot TalbotPeugeot Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion... |
49 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Mazda Mazda is a Japanese automotive manufacturer based in Fuchū, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.In 2007, Mazda produced almost 1.3 million vehicles for global sales... |
48 | 0 | 0 | 0 |