[BTCC] Who is the Greatest BTCC driver of all time?

[BTCC frog]

There has been a lot of discussion recently about the GOAT of Formula 1, and I think it might be fun to start a similar discussion related to the BTCC. I do not know very much about the BTCC pre-1991, so I would appreciate it if somebody would give me a list of potential candidates from 1958-1990 before I add a poll. Separately, I will also make my own personal rankings of the greatest BTCC drivers since 1991 soon.

[crmalcolm]

Andy Rouse, Frank Gardner, Win Percy, Bill McGovern, Richard Longman, John Cleland, Jim Clark, Gerry Marshall, Steve Soper to name a few for the list.

[crmalcolm]

On another note - the F1 conversation mentioned achievements outside of F1 on occasion as a criteria for some individual's merits (and Jackie Stewart agrees).

Which may mean the following drivers could also be considered as the greatest BTCC driver:

Tiff Needell, Johnny Dumfries, Roland Ratzenberger, Tony Lanfranchi, Gianfranco Brancatelli, Damon Hill, Slim Borgudd, David Coulthard, Julian Bailey, Christian Danner, Jonathan Palmer, Nigel Mansell, Joachim Winkelhock, Eric van de Poele, Jan Lammers, Gabriele Tarquini, David Brabham, Johnny Cecotto, Derek Warwick, Gianni Morbidelli, Guy Edwards, Jean-Christophe Boullion, Johnny Herbert, Martin Donnelly

(You may want to encourage decisions to be based on tin-top performances alone).

[BTCC frog]

Okay, thanks for your help.

[BTCC frog]

I've now added the poll, with my choices from 1991 onwards, and anyone with either a championship or more than ten wins from 1958-1990. I think that included everyone in crmalcolm's first list, but sorry if I missed anyone. The idea is that the votes would be on BTCC performances alone, but I suppose it is up to you what criteria you use to choose the GOAT of the BTCC.

[BTCC frog]

Originally Posted by BTCC frog

I've now added the poll, with my choices from 1991 onwards, and anyone with either a championship or more than ten wins from 1958-1990. I think that included everyone in crmalcolm's first list, but sorry if I missed anyone. The idea is that the votes would be on BTCC performances alone, but I suppose it is up to you what criteria you use to choose the GOAT of the BTCC.

Sorry, I did miss Gerry Marshall. I also meant to put Paul Radisich, but missed him by mistake.

[porsche962fan]

Dave Brodie

[Aysedasi]

I confess I'm all at sea here. I watched a lot of BTCC (at the circuits) back in the mid to late 80s, but nothing much before and even less since. As he was the name I always looked out for and enjoyed watching, Andy Rouse gets my vote.

[Mike Harte]

Having sat in the grandstand at Paddock at Brands and watched Jim Clark go on to win driving his Lotus Cortina one-handed, really impressed me. Early on in the race, the right hand leg of his seat collapsed, and he spent the rest of the race holding himself upright by hanging on to the roll bar with his right hand.

In those days, of course, he didn't have the luxury of power steering and paddle-shift gear changing, so it just highlighted his pure genius behind the wheel. And when he got out of the car at the end of the race, it was as though it was just no big deal; a mere inconvenience, that's all.

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by BTCC frog

Sorry, I did miss Gerry Marshall. I also meant to put Paul Radisich, but missed him by mistake.

Added. No one had voted for Other at this point so I think it’s OK.

[GORDON STREETER]

Andy Rouse gets my vote, not only because he was an amazing driver but because he also lent me his engine hoist to change my engine at Knockhill back in the early 90s

[VIVA GT]

I've been a Touring Car fan for a very long time, from the late 70's to current times (with a bit of a dip of interest a couple of years after Group A finished). Gerry Marshall was always my saloon racing hero (and the inspiration for my sign-on name here) but this was more in Special & Production Saloons than the BTCC.
In the Group 1 & Group A era's (which was the heyday in my watching time) people like Andy Rouse, Steve Soper, Win Percy, Dave Brodie & Gordon Spice always shone out.
In more recent times drivers such as Matt Neal, Gordon Shedden, Colin Turkington, Rory Butcher and Ash Sutton shine out for me.
Having said that I go back to my favourite era and pick Andy Rouse who won the championship in different makes of car, he was not ony a brilliant driver, but en exceedingly talented engineer as well.

[BTCC frog]

Originally Posted by Adam43

Added. No one had voted for Other at this point so I think it’s OK.

Thank you, I clearly didn't put enough drivers in the F1 GOAT poll, and I didn't want to do that again on this one.

[S griffin]

Has to be Randy Mouse. He always got the best out of what he had and left others watching in awe

[Craner Curves]

Originally Posted by GORDON STREETER

Andy Rouse gets my vote, not only because he was an amazing driver but because he also lent me his engine hoist to change my engine at Knockhill back in the early 90s

I used to love watching the likes of your little Anglia, the Minis and the BMW 2002 giving the Yank Tanks a hard time around Knockhill!

[BTCC frog]

How about some of these questions:

Greatest team
Greatest car
Best race
Best season
Best drive
Best overtake
Best driver lineup
Best non-champion
Best non-winner
Best title decider

[S griffin]

Greatest team: Either TWR or Andy Rouse Engineering
Greatest car: The Ford Sierra RS500
Best race: 1998 Donington, the one with Mansell
Best season: 1992 or 93
Best drive: Hard to pick one
Best driver lineup: Pretty much any of the 888 lineups from the 00s
Best non-champion: Soper obviously (with special mentions to Reid, Weaver, Muir and Sopwith who lost titles due to dropped scores) Spice too
Best non-winner: Maybe Patrick Watts?
Best title decider: 1992

[BTCC frog]

Here are my answers:
Best team: not sure, will come back to this one
Best car: Honda Civic FK2 NGTC.
Best race: Donington 1998 was a great one. In more recent years it would be Thruxton 2016 race 1, Knockhill 2016 race 2, Brands Hatch Indy 2018 race 2, Brands Hatch 2018 race 3.
Best season: 2016, as it had the best racing, in my opinion.
Best drive: not sure, maybe one of the great fights through the pack by Rob Collard, Ash Sutton or Gordon Shedden. Colin Turkington in Brands Hatch 2017 race 2 was fantastic, but he did bump Aiden Moffat to take the lead.
Best overtake: I will go with Matt Neal on James Thompson for the lead at the Old Hairpin in Donington 1999. Shedden on Collard at the Jim Clark Esses at Croft 2015 was another great pass.
Best driver lineup: the Ford Mondeos of Alain Menu, Rickard Rydell and Anthony Reid in 2000.
Best non-champion: Steve Soper, followed by Anthony Reid.
Best non-winner: Patrick Watts.
Best title decider: So many classics. The three that stand out for me are 1992, 2009 and 2019. I will go with 2019, just because it was the only one that I actually saw live, and that really adds to the experience.

[S griffin]

Best drive: Shedden in Silverstone 2012, despite being hobbled by boost reductions
Best overtake: Muller Brands Hatch, 1999, 3 abreast

[52Paddy]

I only started following BTCC in the mid 90s so I can't really comment on a GOAT. I feel I shouldn't cast a vote. But I would mention a few toss-ups that are in my mind:

Jason Plato and Matt Neal: For their consistent pace across three decades of the sport. I find both drivers immensely impressive in that they have not only won multiple championships but have continued to remain at the sharp end in recent seasons too.

Colin Turkington and Ash Sutton: In two very different ways, these drivers are just so clinically impressive in their approach to BTCC. Turkington for his consistency and precision when it comes to looking at the championship game. And Sutton for driving the absolute ring off any car he steps into and punching well beyond the performance of even a dog like the Levorg when it was really out-classed by many others in the field.

Andy Rouse: Just from watching reviews of the past seasons he was always exciting to watch and his records speak for themselves in that regard.

[S griffin]

Actually BTCC Frog’s answer for the best driver lineup is something I agree with. 3 top drivers in the seat

[BTCC frog]

Originally Posted by 52Paddy

I only started following BTCC in the mid 90s so I can't really comment on a GOAT. I feel I shouldn't cast a vote. But I would mention a few toss-ups that are in my mind.

Andy Rouse: Just from watching reviews of the past seasons he was always exciting to watch and his records speak for themselves in that regard.

If you've watched since the 1990s and seen the reviews of past seasons, I think that makes you more than eligible to cast a vote if you want to.

[crmalcolm]

Andy Rouse for me - although the difference between classes does make it a bit difficult to fully judge.

Have to mention though, for me the best driver (on ability alone) is Turkington, with Sutton a close second.
The best 'BTCC' driver is between Neal and Plato for their contributions to the series.

Rouse is a combination of best driver and best 'BTCC/BSCC' contributor in terms of all-time.

[52Paddy]

Originally Posted by BTCC frog

If you've watched since the 1990s and seen the reviews of past seasons, I think that makes you more than eligible to cast a vote if you want to.

Thanks. But looking at the list provided, I haven't really seen much of reviews before the 1980s. Before Rouse's time I'm completely lost. And even drivers like Win Percy, Bill McGovern and Chris Hodgetts slip my mind as to exactly the context of their careers.

[FFSM]

I can't see Andy Neate on that list?