50 Greatest Touring Car Moments

[Invincible]

What is offically the greatest moment of the BTCC ever?

Well you can decide by voting for the 50 greatest touring car moments (Yeah, I know its a bit like those C4 programmes)

Below are 55 moments from 1988-2001 and you can send your opinion by e-mail, all you need to do is send me your top 5 moments using the number by the moment.

If that sounds like jibberish here's what I mean

1st. 23
2nd. 16
3rd. 18
4th. 6
5th. 43

These are not my opinions, i'm just giving an example of how to cast your vote

Important, 1st means your favourite which will score high, 5th means one which will get a low score

So after the rules are stated it's time to reveal the nominees, voting closes at the end of August 2002 and the top 50 revealed later

Oh yeah, and you can submit you're own favourite moment (which the chart has forgotten) but you must describe it to me.

So here are the nominees:-

1. FRANK SYTNER & MIKE SMITH-SNETTERTON 1988 (Mike Smith beats Sytner to the fastest lap time after changing his tyres, Sytner wasn’t the slightest bit amused) “Who put the f***in tyres on the car?!”- Frank Sytner

2. STEVE SOPER & ANDY ROUSE-BRANDS HATCH 1988 (Soper and Rouse battle hard in their high powered Ford Cosworth’s, the lead changes number of times throughout every lap, Rouse eventually winning on the final lap)

3. FRANK SYTNER & JAMES WEAVER-SILVERSTONE 1989 (Sytner in a battered BMW M3 tries to pass Weaver at every corner of the track, and everytime he hits Weaver, his BMW team-mate, but the talented Sportscar driver will not budge and eventually the damage to Sytner’s car costs him, with the car’s rear tyre deflating at high speed with Weaver winning the class) “There’ll be a brisk demand for BMW body parts tomorrow”- Murray Walker

4. FRANK SYTNER & JAMES WEAVER-THRUXTON 1989 (Again Sytner & Weaver try to take the lead by smashing into each other, however Sytner wins the war this time by controversially ramming Weaver off the track forcing him to run wide)

5. ROBB GRAVETT & ANDY ROUSE- SILVERSTONE 1990 (inexperienced Gravett battles against the 5-time BTCC champ Rouse in a Cosworth scrap to win at Silverstone, Rouse leads but Gravett tries to pass him but hits him, and forces Gravett to run wide and damage the rear spoiler, but eventually Gravett passes Rouse on the straight and wins)

6. STIG BLOMQVIST LOSES IT ON THE FINAL LAP- DONINGTON 1990 (In a longer BTCC race with driver changes, Robb Gravett hands his Ford over to Stig Blomqvist, while rival Andy Rouse hands over to F3000 boss David Sears, Blomqvist had a healthy lead but Sears managed to fight back, and on the final lap Sears was close behind Blomqvist, and on the final corner of the final lap, Stig Blomqvist lost control of his RS500 and handed the win to Sears, Blomqvist recovered to finish second) “He’s home, He’s home…….BUT HE’S LOST IT!”-Murray Walker

7. THE FIRST SUPER TOURING RACE- SILVERSTONE 1991 (The beginning of the 1991 season marked a new era for touring cars, a 2-litre class in which cars that were designed to look like the road cars competed for the title, and at Silverstone that year it was to host the first round of the new Super Touring era, the race was won by Will Hoy in his Vic Lee run BMW M3)

8. WOMEN, KNOW YOUR LIMITS!- SNETTERTON 1991 (The series was starting to attract big name drivers to the series, and to begin with Jonathon Palmer of Tyrrell fame drove a works BMW in the 91 season but his driving didn’t impress some drivers especially at Snetterton, approaching Russell, Palmer made a daring move but hit female driver Netta Lindgren and sent both into the gravel, she got out of her car opened Palmer’s door and shouted at him, the crowd cheered as she went to her car and slammed the door) “Hell hath no fury like a woman being rammed!”- Murray Walker

9. DONINGTON DOUBLE HEADER- DONINGTON 1991 (At Donington Park that year, this round marked another historic tin-top moment, the first ever BTCC double header, and it was Andy Rouse, now in a Toyota that won both, he won the first after Will Hoy missed a gear and overevved his engine, and the second one after a huge crash at McLeans involving main challengers John Cleland & Jeff Allam)

10. DISASTER FOR CLELAND- OULTON PARK 1992 (John Cleland had won the first two races of 1992 when the teams got to Oulton Park, he was on pole for the race and led away from Will Hoy & Andy Rouse, approaching the chicane and Cleland locked up and slid in order to stop Hoy going through, but at Druids, Cleland ran wide and lost control, letting Hoy, Rouse and a lot of drivers past him, he eventually recovered and finished 11th)

11. TOYOTA GIVE THE RACE TO CLELAND- BRANDS HATCH 1992- (At the start of the race the Toyotas of Hoy & Rouse led away but by Lap 2, they were under pressure and John Cleland nipped through, the next lap though as the cars nipped through Westfield, Cleland was ahead with Hoy & Rouse behind, and then Hoy hit Rouse and sent both him and Rouse off the track and into the Armco spinning round and round, the race was won by John Cleland)

12. COLIN McRAE- KNOCKHILL 1992- (World Rally star Colin McRae made his first and only BTCC race at the Scottish tracks first BTCC race, he made an impact, he finished 8th in the first race, but in the second race he finished 5th but was disqualified for an outrageous move on Matt Neal’s BMW M3)

13. BMW WHITEWASH- PEMBREY 1992 (BMW had had a disastrous first half of the 1992 season with their 318is being slow off the mark, but by Pembrey, Tim Harvey had become a serious contender after wins at Donington & Knockhill, and at the Welsh track Harvey and Steve Soper shared the front row, and by the end of the race the BMW’s were utterly dominant, Harvey won from Soper, with the other works BMW’s in 3rd and 4th of Tim Sugden and Kris Nissen making it a BMW 1-2-3-4)

14. SOPER GIVES HARVEY A HELPING HAND- SILVERSTONE 1992 (At the final round of 1992, John Cleland, Will Hoy & Tim Harvey had a serious chance of the title, and with Cleland 7th, Hoy 9th, and Harvey 12th it was likely that the Scotsman would win, but with a few laps left, Hoy had dropped down and Harvey and Cleland were in battle and with Harvey’s BMW team-mate Steve Soper sandwiched he would do best to stop Cleland, Soper firstly passes Cleland and then Harvey takes suit, Cleland desperately tries to pass Soper in order to win but Soper wouldn’t budge, approaching Luffield 1 and Cleland goes up onto 2 wheels, then pushes Soper wide, then at Luffield 2, Cleland closes on Soper and Soper hits Cleland and sends them both into the tyre wall, letting Tim Harvey become 1992 champion, Cleland clearly blamed Soper for the collision) “The man is an animal!”- John Cleland on Steve Soper after the crash

15. SNETTERTON CHAOS- SNETTERTON 1993 (There was a surprise on the Snetterton grid as Patrick Watts took pole, as the lights went green, Jo Winkelhock sped away from Watts, but behind virtually every car was involved in a pile-up, and then as the ones that escaped go down towards Sear, Steve Soper runs wide, and then Patrick Watts is hit and is sent into the gravel, the race is stopped and at the re-start Soper races away and wins)

16. TOYOTA TEAM-MATES COLLIDE- SILVERSTONE 1993 (After Andy Rouse moved to run the Ford Mondeo’s, Will Hoy was partnered by Julian Bailey and like Brands Hatch in 92, 93 saw a race in which the two Toyota’s collided, it was at Silverstone, the round which supported the Grand Prix and approaching Priory, Bailey behind Hoy was looking to pass, Hoy closed the door and was hit by Bailey, the Carina was sent upside down and slid to a standstill and Hoy climbed out uninjured) “The car upside down is a Toyota”- Murray Walker

17. DAVID LESLIE & JO WINKELHOCK COLLISIONS- BRANDS HATCH 1993 (In 1993 Jo Winkelhock was challenging with Steve Soper for the title and at the first rounds at Brands Hatch, they were close in the title, in the first race Winkelhock was behind David Leslie and with a few laps remaining tapped Leslie at Clearways and took the win, Leslie unhappy, then when the series returned to Brands Winkelhock won the 1st race after hitting Leslie at Graham Hill bend but in the second race, Leslie got revenge and hit Winkelhock at Druids)

18. FORD MONDEO’S DEBUT- PEMBREY 1993 (The news at the Welsh was that the Ford Mondeo was to make it’s BTCC debut there with veteran Andy Rouse and unknown Kiwi Paul Radisich driving the two cars, but it wasn’t all plain sailing for the team as Rouse was hit many times during the race which eventually forced him to retire from the race, he claimed he was hit by about 8 drivers) “Poor Andy Rouse, he’s a bit of an Aunt Sally out there today!”- Murray Walker

19. ALAIN MENU’S FIRST BTCC WIN- DONINGTON 1993 (In the wet at Donington Park, the Renault 19’s which had been uncompetitive throughout 1993 finally came onto winning form, in the 1st race though Radisich’s Mondeo won, however in race 2, the Renault of Alain Menu was catching up with the dominant New Zealander and at Starkey’s bridge Menu nudged Radisich forcing the latter to run wide, Menu saw the opportunity and passed, but it wasn’t over yet and at Melbourne Radisich tapped Menu forcing to almost spin but amazingly he kept it together and stayed in the lead and won)

20. JO WINKELHOCK CELEBRATES- SILVERSTONE 1993 (After a cautious drive, Jo Winkelhock was crowned champion in 1993, and as he entered Woodcote on the final lap he began to slow and as he past the chequered flag he came to a direct stop outside the Schnitzer team pit, he was then passed the Schnitzer team flag by Charly Lamm and then Winkelhock speeds off in his BMW waving the flag outside the cockpit)

VOTING STARTS WHEN I'VE POSTED THE OTHER 35!

Invincible

[Invincible]

21. NIGEL MANSELL’S BTCC APPEARANCE NO.1- DONINGTON (TOCA SHOOTOUT) 1993 (The TOCA Shootout was an annual race held after the end of the BTCC season and in 1993 Ford pulled off a major coup for the race by hiring 92 F1 champ and 93 IndyCar champ Nigel Mansell to drove a Mondeo, it was popular as over 60,000 people turned out at Donington to watch ‘Nige’ drive a Touring Car, but ahead of Steve Soper & Tiff Needell approaching the Old Hairpin, Mansell lost it, and as soon as he recovered Needell in a Cavalier couldn’t avoid Mansell and ‘Nige’s’ slid on the grass and slammed heavily into Starkey’s bridge, Mansell was briefly unconscious and afterwards blamed Needell for the crash!)

22. GIAMPIERO SIMONI MAKES AN IMPACT- THRUXTON & BRANDS HATCH 1994 (Alfa Romeo joined the BTCC in 1994 with Gabriele Tarquini and little known Italian Giampiero Simoni and at the first round at Thruxton the 155’s were high up the field and with Tarquini dominating, Simoni was behind Paul Radisich in his Mondeo and with Simoni desperate to pass the Kiwi and at one corner Simoni tapped Radisich sending both off with Radisich retiring, and at Brands, Simoni alongside his team-mate Tarquini on the grid couldn’t stop Cleland going past and then trying to stop Radisich he is hit and slams into the Armco, Simoni recovers but is hit again by Tim Sugden’s Toyota, he carries on but later retires)

23. VOLVO ENTER THE BTCC WITH AN….ESTATE!- THRUXTON 1994 (In 1994 Tom Walkinshaw returned to the BTCC with Volvo with Jan Lammers and Rickard Rydell driving the 850, all cars in the field were saloons but with TWR, they entered the BTCC with an estate!, the reason was the car had more drag and was quicker down the straights, the car was a flop but Rydell qualified the car 3rd at Snetterton but Walkinshaw decided to convert to a saloon version of the 850 for 1995)

24. ALFA-GATE- OULTON PARK 1994 (When Alfa Romeo entered the BTCC in 1994, they sported the 155 with a rear wing and extended front spoiler, it was the subject of much controversy with many teams protesting to TOCA as Alfa were dominating the 1994 BTCC, it came to a pinnacle at Oulton Park when TOCA took points off Alfa & Tarquini for changing the rear wing, and with the other teams still not happy Alfa decided to boycott the Oulton Park round but the controversy was later sorted out with Tarquini & Alfa Romeo given back the points, other teams started using Alfa-style wings with success)

25. JOHN CLELAND’S DONINGTON DOUBLE- DONINGTON 1994 (John Cleland was having a miserable 1994 in his Cavalier but it was to improve at Donington Park, Cleland was behind Paul Radisich on lap 6 when approaching Coppice he makes a move on the inside, Radisich closes the door and flattens both of their wing mirrors but Cleland goes past and wins and in the 2nd race he dominates and wins) “That’s another wing mirror gone!”- Murray Walker

26. CARNAGE AT COPSE – SILVERSTONE 1994 (At the GP support race of 1994, the touring cars were on show and as they zoomed off towards Copse, 3rd placed Julian Bailey is tapped by Alain Menu forcing the Toyota of Bailey to spin, other cars including Giampiero Simoni, Andy Rouse, Tiff Needell, Jan Lammers, John Cleland and many others are involved, the race is immediately red flagged and takes over an hour to clean up and afterwards Jo Winkelhock takes his first win of 1994 from Tarquini)

27. TARQUINI ROLLS, ROLLS & ROLLS- KNOCKHILL 1994 (At Knockhill, the Alfa’s were not in form but were high up in the field, it was the Ford’s and BMW’s that were to dominate, in the 1st race with Tarquini was down in about 5th ahead of Tim Harvey and approaching Duffus Dip, Harvey just taps Tarquini which sends the Alfa off the track and into a series of rolls before landing upright seriously damaged and a few seconds later Tarquini escaped unhurt) “AND OH!, OH! OFF, IT’S TARQUINI!” –Murray Walker

28. TWO WHEELED TARQUINI – DONINGTON 1994 (By the time the 1994 championship reached the final round at Donington, Gabriele Tarquini was already the champ, at the Leicestershire track Tarquini was given a 10-second penalty and was forced to start at the back of the grid but the Italian was determined to finish 94 on a high and with a few laps to go was in 4th behind Jo Winkelhock when as he turned into the chicane he clips the tyres and then is 155 is launched onto two wheels, the crowd watched in horror for a few seconds as the Alfa ran down the straight on only two wheels before Tarquini recovered and carried on)

29. MISERABLE DAY FOR JOHN CLELAND – BRANDS HATCH 1995 (John Cleland had begun 1995 on a high as the BTCC circus visited a wet Brands Hatch, and with the Scot expected to dominate, he began race 1 high up the field but a few laps later embedded his Vauxhall in the Paddock Hill gravel trap, and in race 2 he hit Rickard Rydell and then when he tried to pass the Swede at Paddock Hill he spun, slid along the grass skidded along the gravel before slamming hard into the tyre wall and landing in the gravel trap)

30. INDEPENDENT CHARLIE COX SUPRISES EVERYONE – BRANDS HATCH 1995 (Charlie Cox (Who later became the voice of the BTCC) entered the BTCC in a privately run Ford Mondeo and at the wet round at Brands Hatch the Aussie decided to put on wet tyres before the start, he started to climb up the field when at Surtees Cox lost control and spun the Mondeo but 5 laps after that spin he had caught up and passed Julian Bailey to eventually finish a suprising 6th place and not suprisingly win the privateer race)

31. A YOUNG JAMES THOMPSON WINS – THRUXTON 1995 (For 1995 RML decided to partner John Cleland with a younger team-mate and chose 21-year old independent James Thompson, the youngster was making an impact after finishing 2nd at Brands Hatch twice but at Thruxton he made an even bigger impact by winning the 2nd race at the fast Hampshire circuit, many punters were tipping a future champion in the making)

32. STARTLINE MAYHEM – OULTON PARK 1995 (The crowd turned to watch the Touring Cars at the Cheshire track, the cars were lined up with Rydell on pole with James Thompson alongside him, as they sped away, the Mondeo of Kelvin Burt charged up and slammed into Thompson forcing him to hit Rydell, the Swede and Burt get away while Thompson takes to the grass and returns, then at the back Thompson develops a problem and smoke engulfs the Cavalier, Thompson with the door open goes back to the pits and retires)

33. TARQUINI RETURNS – OULTON PARK 1995 (The reigning champions Alfa carried on in 1995 but with Prodrive running the cars, the champion of 94 Gabriele Tarquini however went to Germany to race in STW but when Prodrive asked Tarquini to return, he didn’t need asking twice, so Alfa replaced Simoni for the Oulton Park race and Tarquini was towards the back of the grid and approaching Cascades, he lost control of his Alfa and embedded the car in the gravel)

34. MENU AND HARVEY COLLIDE – SNETTERTON 1995 (With John Cleland far ahead it looked as if his only main title rival was Alain Menu and at the Snetterton Cleland was pretty down in the field and Menu was high up alongside Tim Harvey’s Volvo, and as the race got away Harvey and Menu were locked in battle and at Sear Harvey lost it and tapped Menu forcing the Swiss driver to spin his Laguna, Harvey got away but Menu was damaged)

35. STEVE ROBERTSON ‘REDGATE MAGNET’ – DONINGTON 1996 (The first round of 1996 was at Donington and there were as many as teams as ever and it was all change at Ford with Rouse losing his contract to run the Ford’s to West Surrey Racing and alongside Paul Radisich was newcomer to the BTCC Steve Robertson, but in the Friday practice at the Leicestershire track Robertson went off at Redgate and in the qualifying went off at Redgate, and in the 1st race at Donington he collided with team-mate Paul Radisich at Redgate!)

36. AUDI CONTROVERSY – DONINGTON 1996 (Audi entered the A4 into the BTCC in 1996, with Frank Biela and unknown John Bintcliffe driving the cars, like the Alfa’s in 1994 there was a controversial part of the car that was talking point of many teams, the A4 had 4 wheel drive, while the other cars had either FWD or RWD, and with the controversy they dominated the Donington round with Biela winning both rounds, but amazingly the A4 stayed with 4WD until 1998 when it was outlawed by TOCA)

37. BIELA DOMINATES, WHILE MENU DROPS INTO A DITCH – THRUXTON 1996 (Thruxton’s 1st race was entertaining but no surprise as the Ingolstadt marque take another win but it was eventful, as to begin with Jo Winkelhock is taken off on lap 1 by Alain Menu, and then a few laps later he is in a 3 way battle with John Bintcliffe and David Leslie and into Campbell he hits Leslie sending him off, but then towards the end of the race at Church Menu loses it and slides off and lands his Laguna in a ditch)

38. THE NEW VECTRA WINS FOR THE FIRST TIME – SNETTERTON 1996 (RML switched from the Cavalier to the new Vectra for 1996 and to begin with the car wasn’t succesful but at Snetterton that year, the Vectra’s driven by John Cleland and James Thompson were dominating, when at Russell Thompson pushes Cleland off the course and takes the win, the Vauxhall Vectra’s first BTCC win)

[Invincible]

39. JO WINKELHOCK HANDS BIELA THE TITLE – THRUXTON 1996 (When the series returned to Thruxton, Biela needed to finish third or above to win the title, but it didn’t look as if it were going to happen as the Renault’s of Alain Menu & Will Hoy and Jo Winkelhock were ahead, but as they started Winkelhock was desperate to pass Menu & Hoy and as they turned into Campbell Winkelhock rammed Menu who spun and slammed into Hoy, the Renault’s both lost control and hit the tyres, Winkelhock later retired due to damage and all this helped Biela win the 1996 title)

40. PILE-UP – BRANDS HATCH 1996 (At the final round of 96 at Brands there was chaos as in the 1st round at Paddock Menu was touched by Roberto Ravaglia in his BMW which triggered a pile-up the hill which involved many drivers including James Thompson, Paul Radisich, Tim Harvey, James Kaye and Steve Robertson, the race was stopped and Ravaglia received a fine for his actions)

41. UNKNOWN NEWCOMER PLATO TAKES POLE – DONINGTON 1997 (The first round of the 1997 was at Donington Park, it was expected to be a battle between Renault, Audi and Volvo, and with so many competitive drivers it was a complete rookie to touring cars that took pole for both races, Jason Plato who was partnered with Alain Menu at Renault, but in the race it was his Renault who dominated)

42. TIM HARVEY’S SECOND PLACE IN THE WET – THRUXTON 1997 (At the fast Thruxton in 1997, the race was plagued by wet weather but at the fast track there was going to be a surprise and it was Tim Harvey in his Peugeot 406, in the wet feature race Harvey was down the field after switching to wets but his 406 was flying in the rain and by the end of the race his car finished second behind Gabriele Tarquini)

43. NIGEL MANSELL’S BTCC APPEARANCE NO.2 – DONINGTON 1998 (In 1998 Nigel Mansell returned to the BTCC with Ford, 5 years after his last appearance in which he the Donington bridge, ‘Nige’ returned to a wet Donington in his Mondeo and pulled the crowed again, and they were certainly entertained, in the sprint Mansell slid off at Coppice and into the tyres, but in race 2, Mansell was at the back and by lap 8 had stormed up the field to 5th he passed Yvan Muller, then banged his way past Derek Warwick and was now in second behind Anthony Reid and into McLeans, Reid lost it and hit the gravel, it was suspected Mansell hit but on an overhead camera Reid just lost it himself and now Nigel Mansell was leading, there was a huge roar from the crowd, 5 laps later however Mansell overshot Goddards and let John Cleland through and at the end finished 3rd on track but was given a penalty and finished 5th)

44. VAUXHALL CONTROVERSY – KNOCKHILL 1998 (In Scotland for the Knockhill round and the Vauxhall team were dominant and for the feature race, they were on the front row, but to begin with Derek Warwick rammed John Cleland off forcing the latter to retire, Warwick pitted to repair and later won the race)

45. INDEPENDENT MATT NEAL TAKES £250,000 AFTER WINNING – DONINGTON 1999 (TOCA decided to hand out £250,000 to the first independent who could win a BTCC race outright, for 1999 this looked serious as Matt Neal’s Team Dynamics run Nissan Primera was really competitive and at the first round Donington he was on the front row, he led away as the pit stops beckoned, he went in, changed tyres but stalled it!, he got it going but dropped to 5th, he got past Muller (see below), then passed Rydell and 4 laps was right underneath the rear wing of James Thompson, he was bumping and boaring with Thompson round the track and then at the Old Hairpin he passed Thompson and a huge roar erupted and the tall Brummie won and took the £250,000 cheque and BTCC history)

46. YVAN MULLER’S BONNET GOES UP – DONINGTON 1999 (Yvan Muller switched to Vauxhall following the withdrawal of Audi, and in his first race for Triple Eight, he was lying in 4th behind Rydell when he hit the back of the Volvo, his bonnet flapped up, as he drove the Vectra back to the pits the bonnet was starting to get worse and when he turned into the Goddards chicane the bonnet went up depriving the Frenchman of his vision to see the track and he had to crawl into the pits slowly, he eventually had the bonnet taped down and finished 9th)

47. MULLER’S MOVE – BRANDS HATCH 1999 (When the series moved to Brands Hatch, the Nissan of Laurent Aiello was dominating the series, but the now Prodrive run Mondeo’s were starting to make their mark with Alain Menu & Anthony Reid taking the front row, Menu gradually lost places and Reid was leading but was under pressure from Aiello and as they approached Paddock, Aiello was lining up a move to pass Reid when out of nowhere Yvan Muller in his Vauxhall passed both of them and won the race)

48. NIGHT FEVER – SNETTERTON 1999 (The round at Snetterton became historic because it was the first round to be held under cover of darkness, and at the Norfolk track it was popular and in the sprint David Leslie won, but the Scot almost made it two but was slowed towards the closing laps, which promoted Peter Kox to victory in his first and only win)

49. JOHN CLELAND’S FINAL BTCC RACE CONTROVERSY – SILVERSTONE 1999 (In horrible conditions many people turned out for the title battle and for the final BTCC race of legend John Cleland, and with the Scot desperate to go out on a high, he sped in the pits and was given a stop-go penalty but he was determined not to go in, on live TV he told Charlie Cox that he wasn’t going in, but he did and eventually finished 10th in his final Touring Car race)

50. OULTON PARK START MAYHEM FOR FORD – OULTON PARK 2000 (With the Ford’s locked in battle it came to the penultimate round at Oulton Park, with the Ford’s of Anthony Reid, Alain Menu & Rickard Rydell trying to win and with the Mondeo’s 1st-2nd and 3rd on the grid, the lights went green and the Mondeo’s led away but Reid and Menu were locked in battle and the latter was hit, he slammed Rydell into the pit wall and retired on the spot, Reid won)

51. RADERMECKER RUINS REID’S TITLE CHANCES – SILVERSTONE 2000 (In total darkness, Reid & Menu were in title battle and with Menu behind after the sprint, Reid looked to be on course for the 2000 title but into Priory, Reid driving cautiously was hit by Vauxhall’s Vincent Radermecker ending Reid’s title hopes and giving Menu the title)

52. TIM HARVEY WORKS WONDERS FOR THE ALFAS – OULTON PARK 2001 (The Alfa’s returned in the new look BTCC with unknown JS Motorsport managed by Tim Harvey who returned to the BTCC in the car at Oulton Park, the car was suffering from engine problems throughout 2001 and it was a miracle if the car could even finish, but Harvey’s car worked and after problems occurred for the opposition, Harvey finsihed 3rd for Alfa) “Fantastic, It’s like we’ve won the FA Cup, we’re the small Southern League team taking on the big boys” – Tim Harvey

53. ANDY PRIAULX STUNS THE BTCC REGULARS – OULTON PARK 2001 (After Phil Bennett triggers many controversial BTCC incidents, TOCA give Bennett a 1-race ban for Oulton Park, his team replace him with young Guernsey born driver Andy Priaulx, he makes an amazing impact by taking 2 poles for the races, in the sprint he loses out to Muller and finsihes 2nd, but in race 2 he retires due to engine problems)

54. PLATO/MULLER CONTROVERSY – SILVERSTONE 2001 (The two main contenders for 2001 were Jason Plato & Yvan Muller, the battle came to a pinnacle at Silverstone, where in the feature race, Muller was in the lead with Plato in 2nd when the Frenchman on the final lap developed a misfire and slowed right down, Plato closed in and at Priory made a move and hit Muller and took the lead, the impact damaged Muller’s suspension and James Thompson went past, and Plato won, on the podium Muller’s body language was clear as he refused to shake hands with Plato and later Thompson won and Muller was promoted to second)

55. MULLER ON FIRE! – BRANDS HATCH 2001 (The final round of 2001 went to Brands in horrible conditions, the Vauxhall’s of Muller & Plato were locked in battle with Plato having the advantage, and in the final round Muller & Plato were close with Bennett leading, both Plato & Muller ran wide many times throughout the wet race and with many collsions occurring the safety car came out and behind the car Muller started to develop a fire underneath the Astra, smoke engulfed the cockpit and Muller pitted to retire handing the title to Plato)

VOTING STARTS NOW!

Invincible

[touringlegend]

My nominations are:

1st: 45, Matt Neal wins Race
2nd: 43, Nigel Mansell (had difficulty deciding where #1 & #2 would go)
3rd: 47, Muller's move
4th: 30, Charlie Cox at Brands
5th: 23, Volvo enter Estate

[nicker less]

My top 5

1. Donongton 1998 (Mansell race) 43
2. Silverstone 1992- the 3 way battle 14
3. Matt Neal wins! 45
4. Stig Blonqizt loses lead on the last corner 6
5. Nettan Lingren treatening Jon Palmer 8

[Invincible]

Originally posted by touring legend WOW! How long did you spend typing that!

Just pasted it out of a Word document I typed which took about 2 hours!

[redshoes]

For those of you who missed it the first time..

Originally posted by Invincible
you can send your opinion by e-mail

[Invincible]

I just have to say you e-mail me with your top 5, with the numbers that the moment states

i.e 1st 45
2nd 12
3rd 50
4th 18
5th 22

Invincible

[Radisichrox]

Okay here's mine-
1.)14
2.)45
3.)43
4.)38
5.)21
Others would have to be either Paul Radisich's first BTCC win or Kieth O'Dor's first and only BTCC win at Silverstone.

[alesi95]

1. 14: Soper and Cleland92
2. 48: Mansell Donington 98
3. 21: Mansell Toca shoot out 93
4. 45: Matt Neals Indy win
5. 28: 2wheel Tarquini

Also Schnitzer's Debut in 93 was maybe not exciting but a landmark.

Sorry to resurect such an old thread but im surfing the archives.

[E46]

Old topic but very good touring car flash-back.

I can just judge which I watched:
1st TOYOTA GIVE THE RACE TO CLELAND- BRANDS HATCH 1992
2nd SOPER GIVES HARVEY A HELPING HAND- SILVERSTONE 1992
3rd STEVE SOPER & ANDY ROUSE-BRANDS HATCH 1988
4th JO WINKELHOCK HANDS BIELA THE TITLE – THRUXTON 1996
5th RADERMECKER RUINS REID’S TITLE CHANCES – SILVERSTONE 2000

[JMeissner]

Please keep in mind that this is a 3 year old thread.

EDIT: Good point Craig.

[Craig]

Still an interesting topic though...?

[Andy Metcalf]

Well my top 5 has to be the following:-

1. Matt Neal first Indy win at donington
2. Owy first win at Oulton
3. Breeze double Indy win at Donington 2003
4. Plato's lively exit from Masters Race at Donington
5. Slight travelling at over 90 mph backwards towrds me when I was Marshalling at Hollywood, Donington 2002

http://www.btccnews.co.uk/photos/200...t-accident.jpg