1988 Dunlop RAC British Touring Car Championship - Discussion & Results

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by bigears

I have decided to do a big push for information, photos and even video footage of the BTCC cars at the Birmingham Superprix.

I have just contacted ITV Archives and ITV Central for information and even a copy of the practice session at the 1988 Birmingham Superprix.

I am wondering who is the initials of 'G.D.' who wrote the BTCC report in the Motoring News? So I can try to track him down or contact Simon Arron and I could try asking him nicely.

I will have a go contacting Aquith Autosport and see what I can dig out from the owner about the practice times. Same for Jerry Mahony as well.

Is Terry Drury still around? He got his own website: www.terrydrury.com but seems it hasn't been updated for about 10 years.

I have asked Alan Minshaw through his son but he can't remember anything at the time.


Any more team owners or even drivers I could contact?

I guess a few obvious ones would be Chris Hodgetts (had been on here in past), Tim Harvey, Nick Whale, Dave Loudon in Evesham (his garage is still there). Chris and Tim are definitely also on FB as they have been into the Group A group ocassionally.

[bigears]

Have contacted Andy Rouse and Jerry Mahony and they got nothing on the practice session. Although they have suggested with some leads for me to look at.

I will try asking the BRSCC, I am sure they got it somewhere. I will continue asking other drivers as well.

Any idea on the initials of 'G.D' the Motoring News reporter?

[chunterer]

Gwyn Dolphin I think was the guy?

[bigears]

Originally Posted by chunterer

Gwyn Dolphin I think was the guy?

I have found an email address and I have contacted him.

I have also emailed Graham Goode and ITV Sport Archives and they will try to see if they can help me with more information about the Birmingham Superprix round.

[bigears]

Looking less likely there will be footage from ITV Sport Archives and Central TV about the Birmingham Superprix footage.

My best bet is Barrie Hinchcliffe Productions Sport (BHP Sport) but they gone bust 10 years ago. So where would all of the footage go?

Also as the race was cancelled and it was supposed to be broadcast for Grandstand on 8th October so I am not sure if the BBC would obtain footage of the qualifying session.

Any advice or suggestions?

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by bigears

Looking less likely there will be footage from ITV Sport Archives and Central TV about the Birmingham Superprix footage.

My best bet is Barrie Hinchcliffe Productions Sport (BHP Sport) but they gone bust 10 years ago. So where would all of the footage go?

Also as the race was cancelled and it was supposed to be broadcast for Grandstand on 8th October so I am not sure if the BBC would obtain footage of the qualifying session.

Any advice or suggestions?

BHP, or some of the people involved set something up a couple of years back called motorsportvideo or something

They were involved in some of the footage for that fairly average 50 years of the BTCC DVD in 2009, which promised so much more than it delivered.

I'll look up the link and see if it still exists.

[davyboy]

Originally Posted by bigears

Looking less likely there will be footage from ITV Sport Archives and Central TV about the Birmingham Superprix footage.

My best bet is Barrie Hinchcliffe Productions Sport (BHP Sport) but they gone bust 10 years ago. So where would all of the footage go?

Also as the race was cancelled and it was supposed to be broadcast for Grandstand on 8th October so I am not sure if the BBC would obtain footage of the qualifying session.

Any advice or suggestions?

Unfortunately most of the live content transmitted by the ITV companies and the BBC up to the early 1990s was junked. Sad and disgraceful, but there you go. Your main hope will be somebody who did a VHS recording. You might want to make contact with my compatriot 'inquisitor229' on youTube. He has a lot of stuff on VHS and may be able to help you out. See here.

[bigears]

But the BTCC footage was never broadcasted at all so I am not sure if the YouTube guy would have got the footage.

I might try the motorsportvideo with their BTCC collection.

Doe anyone know where is Spencer Hall nowadays? He was the organiser of the BTCC in 1987 and 1988, not sure about the other years though.

[Andy Clegg]

I've got the 1988,1989,1990 BTCC season videos. There's nothing on those.

[bigears]

I am looking for John Llwellyn as he is/was a promotions consultant and lived in Banbury.

Apparently, he passed away in 2017 according to this website: https://www.banburycake.co.uk/announ...ES__DECEASED_/

Is that correct?

[S griffin]

I almost feel if John Llewellyn had died we would have heard about it, so it would be a major shock if that was true

[bigears]

Originally Posted by Jesper OH

Round 11 of 13 of the 1988 Dunlop RAC British Touring Car Championship scheduled for Monday 29th August 1988 over 20 laps of the 3.975 km Birmingham street circuit. Race cancelled due to delays in the meeting.

Most information taken from 8W: http://8w.forix.com/bsp-88.html

Grid:

BTW, I owe you guys a big thank you for keep posting last night. It made for quite a lot of updates to my notes today – wonderfull!

Jesper

This post was created in January 2010 and it has been an engima for me for years to find the complete qualifying timesheets. I have contacted some people from BRSCC, RACMSA, Birmingham City Council and some ex-BTCC drivers until I found a team-owner who ran his car at the 1988 Birmingham Superprix.

The timesheets arrived in the post this morning and I have finally got it! I will do my best to fill in the gaps later today and someone could put it up in the table above please?

[Andrew Abbott]

Originally Posted by bigears

This post was created in January 2010 and it has been an engima for me for years to find the complete qualifying timesheets. I have contacted some people from BRSCC, RACMSA, Birmingham City Council and some ex-BTCC drivers until I found a team-owner who ran his car at the 1988 Birmingham Superprix.

The timesheets arrived in the post this morning and I have finally got it! I will do my best to fill in the gaps later today and someone could put it up in the table above please?

Hi Bigears, did you ever get around to recording this information? I'd quite like to complete the qualifying data record at TouringCars.Net as well if you are able to share the data. What I have is here: https://www.touringcars.net/database...ing.php?id=668

[bigears]

I will have a look this week and find the timesheets and I will post here the gaps such as drivers, places, times and gaps.

[tocatrucky]

I'm currently reading Fluxie's book and he mention his time with MIL's Supra and Vic Lee's involvement, what did exactly did Vic have to do with MIL? Owner?

[KA]

Originally Posted by tocatrucky

I'm currently reading Fluxie's book and he mention his time with MIL's Supra and Vic Lee's involvement, what did exactly did Vic have to do with MIL? Owner?

I don't know if he had any involvement in running the team, but VL drove the second car when it appeared a few rounds in (Round 5, Thruxton I think?), and shared the No.1 Hodgetts car at the early-season Donington 1-hour race.

Mark Hales and Fluxie took over the Hodgetts car when Chris parted company with MIL mid-season, and the no.2 Lee car didn't finish the season either- looking at the results I have, it last appeared at Brands, where Fluxie was in the no.1 car

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by KA

I don't know if he had any involvement in running the team, but VL drove the second car when it appeared a few rounds in (Round 5, Thruxton I think?), and shared the No.1 Hodgetts car at the early-season Donington 1-hour race.

Mark Hales and Fluxie took over the Hodgetts car when Chris parted company with MIL mid-season, and the no.2 Lee car didn't finish the season either- looking at the results I have, it last appeared at Brands, where Fluxie was in the no.1 car

Trying to recall how many drivers pedalled those cars?

Without checking back through the thread, I think the original line up was going to be Alex Moss and Rad Dougall but Hodgetts actually took the helm of the latter car.

[Andrew Abbott]

Regarding MIL Motorsport competitors in 1988:

Chris Hodgetts completed the first 6 races in a Supra, before departing.
Vic Lee joined the fray for Rounds 5 to 10 in presumably a second Supra throughout.

Mark Hales I guess took over Hodgetts car for Rounds 7 to 9 and 11/12.
Ian Flux drove a Supra, I'm guessing the same car as Hales, for Rounds 10 and 13.

John Llewellyn raced a Toyota Corolla for Rounds 7 to 13.

All race results / best lap times / qualifying results here, with one exception - the 1988 Superprix qualifying times (hopefully Bigears can help): https://www.touringcars.net/database...BTCC&year=1988

[bigears]

Originally Posted by bigears

I will have a look this week and find the timesheets and I will post here the gaps such as drivers, places, times and gaps.

Finally I have managed to scan the exclusive BTCC qualifying times from the 1988 Birmingham Superprix!

Credits to Richard Asquith for giving me a copy of the timesheets.

[Andrew Abbott]

That's superb, thanks for sharing this bigears.

Now also incorporated into the TouringCars.Net database.

[Speedy norm]

https://www.youtube.com/live/yJ8FteNHmIk?si=kW53IMJeMv9vHJtC
Apologies if anyone has already posted an interesting interview with Frank Sytner.