Rover SD1/Vitesse Group A

[chunterer]

Guys n Gals!

Already got a similar Capri thread going (which seems to be petering out?!) but it made me think of the phalanx of SD1's that graced domestic and continental shores in the 80's.

I'd like to set the ball rolling on recounting the cars in their heyday and try to determine what happened to them. (what the heck lets include the Group 1 and 2 cars as well!!)

Lets explore certain mysteries?

I.E. Did the original DPR Grp 1 cars pass over to TWR to be constantly developed until the end of '82?

Did the Grp 1 cars become the Group A cars for '83 or were they new builds?

Were the '83 TWR BTCC cars the same 3 that appeared in '84?

And what about the '84 Bathurst 'Mobil' cars...were they a couple of the Sanyo cars repainted and did they then stay in the Antipodoes for the early '85 New Zealand races, again repainted in Brown 'Peanut Slab' liveries?...
And did they stay over there owned by the likes of Tim Slako (who ran one in a rather shocking pink and green scheme!)

Here's an outline of cars i know raced - can we explore what happened to them later on?

In '82 there were:
2x TWR (Allam & Lovett/Sytner)
2X Patrick/Martin Thomas (Muir + spare)
1x Dennis Leech

1983
Ocassional 1 or 2 TWR in ETC
3x TWR (Allam, Lovett, Soper)
1x Leech
1x Spice (Martin Thomas run?)
1x Charles Sawuer Hoare (Red 'Daily Mirror' Rouse run)

1984
3 x TWR ETC (2 'Fleet' and one 'Gitanes' and later 'Barclay'
BTCC
3 x TWR (Pond, Lovett/Schlesser & occasionally Soper ('Fleet') were these '83 cars or new ones?)
1x Neil McGrath ('Connells', ex Spice then still run by Martin Thomas)
1x Leech
2x Rouse (His own 'ICS' & CS-H's red car)
Also 2 cars in Germany Kurt Thiim and Olaf Manthey? who ran them?

1985
3 or 4 ETC TWR cars 'Bastos'
BTCC
1x Rouse (pETE hALL)
1X Leech
1x McGrath (now white instead of green)

after that it's a bit hazy

1986
3X TWR ETC
BTCC
Hall, Leech, McGrath
Mike O Brien (ex Hulme TWR TT winner '86?)
Tom Walkinshaw ETC car one off

1987
Tim Harvey (ex Rouse/Hall)
Skid Scarborough (ex McGrath?)
Brian Chatfield (ex Bastos)
Bill Griffin (ex TWR Marlboro Rene Metge French car)
Dennis Leech
May have been another car too?

I think Nigel Garrett's current car is the ex Rouse/Hall/Harvey/Derek Hales car?

It'll be interesting to find out more detail here and if enough comes of it then we can move it to the chassis thread depending on how many are still knocking about!