1988 Dunlop RAC British Touring Car Championship - Discussion & Results

[Tim Wilkinson]

Position	Number	Driver	Team/Sponsor	Class	Car	Time/Laps
1	#22	Andy Rouse	Rouse-Kaliber	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	31m54.36s
2	#7	Mike O'Brien	Docking / Autoglass	A	Holden Commodore VL	32m09.06s
3	#8	Jerry Mahony	Dowson-Arquati	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	32m40.10s
4	#5	Tim Harvey	Drury / Sumo Giants	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	32m52.79s
5	#14	Mike Newman	Goode / Burlington	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	32m55.38s
6	#33	Frank Sytner	Prodrive-BMW Finance/Mobil	B	BMW M3	33m14.25s
7	#44	Alan Minshaw	Minshaw-Demon Tweeks	B	BMW M3	33m15.24s
8	#36	Godfrey Hall	Maguire / MILA	B	BMW M3	33m20.00s
9	#27	Peter Buxtorf	Buxtorf	A	BMW 635CSi	16 laps
10	#70	Phil Dowsett	TOM's GB	D	Toyota Corolla GT	16 laps
11	#60	Mark Hales	CHMS / AJG Transport	D	Toyota Corolla GT	16 laps
12	#77	Geoff Kimber-Smith	AGK Motorsport	D	Toyota Corolla GT	16 laps
13	#20	Graham Hathaway	Hathaway / Soans	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	16 laps
14	#32	Mike Smith	Prodrive-BMW Finance/Mobil	B	BMW M3	16 laps
15	?	Kevin Eaton	MIL Motorsport / East Midlands Transport	D	Toyota Corolla GT	15 laps
DNF	#50	James Kaye	Minshaw / Demon Tweeks & Slick 50	C	VW Golf GTI 16v	14 laps – driveshaft
DNF	#39	Lionel Wiffen	Drury	B	Ford Escort RST	12 laps – turbo pipe
DNF	#15	Graham Goode	GGR / Listerine -Texaco	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	11 laps – engine
DNF	#19	Laurence Bristow	Rouse-CAM Shipping	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	10 laps - diff
DNF	#16	Karl Jones	Asquith / Duckhams	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	7 laps – engine
DNF	#10	Pete Hall	Rouse / ICS	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	4 laps
DNF	#38	Dave Wallis	Drury / Kenwood Car Hi-Fi	B	Ford Escort RST	3 laps – accident
DNF	#48	Andrew Jeffrey	Specialist Cars Aberdeen	C	VW Golf GTI 16V	3 laps – driveshaft
DNF	#17	Bob Sands	CC Racing / Crystal Facilities	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	1 lap – gearbox
DNF	#1	Chris Hodgetts	MIL / Shell - Toyota	A	Toyota Supra Turbo	0 laps – driveshaft
DNA	#6	Steve Soper	Eggenberger-Texaco	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	Dock strike

Fastest laps - weather was drizzly for the race, so times were slower than qualifying
Class A - Bristow 1m45.91s
Class B - Sytner 1m49.09s
Class C - Kaye 1m57.68s
Class D - Dowsett 1m53.93s

Race had originally been scheduled for 16 laps, then upped to 20. Eventually ran over 17 (47.07miles), as William said, because of the Minshaw crash. There was a bit of contention about that "accident".

Grid (3-2-3) - I would assume that pole at Oulton was on the right rather than the the left
3 - Bristow, 2 - Mahony, 1 - Rouse (A pole - 1m41.67)
5 - P Hall, 4 - Goode
8 Sands, 7 G Hall, 6 - Sytner (B pole - 1m44.90s),
10 - ?, 9 Newman ,
13 Minshaw, 12 Harvey, 11 Jones
15 O'Brien 14 Hodgetts,
18 Smith 17 Hathaway, 16 Buxtorf,
20 Hales, 19 Dowsett (D pole 1m50.39s)
23 Eaton, 22 Kimber-Smith, 21 Wallis
25 Kaye, 24 Jeffrey (C pole 1m56.11s)
26 Wiffen



James Weaver deputised for Smitty in testing and a practice session, due to Mike's broadcasting commitments - this might account for the missing number 10 slot on the grid, which could shift the rest of the grid around. Maybe there's more info on the video? I have it, but don't have a VHS player any more!

Other info - The two Golfs are both ex-Tarmac rally cars. Mike O'Brien was still in the VL Commodore as the evoultion engine hadn't turned up from Australia. Andy Rouse won AT Oulton on Friday, and then also won the first round of the French championship at Nogaro. Pete Hall retired, both from the race, and from racing due to work pressures.

[Tim Wilkinson]

Originally Posted by Jesper OH

Missed this post first time out. Was those wheels French Gotti rims? They were used on a fair few rally Cossies, but rare on the circuits.

GK-S was a DNA then

Jesper

Speedlines didn't arrive, Revolutions wouldn't fit the Avons. At Oulton, Harvey was having the same problem with unavailability of suitable wheels - it says he was using ones from the Escort RSTs ( I suppose TDR had a fair few lying around!). Harvey had also got a better, Getrag, diff for the Oulton event. Rouse was the only runner with a very heavy-duty diff - I suppose a new part.

Mr Dale beat me to the table!

[KA]

Originally Posted by Jesper OH

Then again, ARG and Porsche were never really in competition for the average consumer car market like ARG and Ford. But it also begs the question, what was Istel dealing in? They had sponsored the high profile Tourist Trophy from mid-1980s to the comma in 1988.

Jesper

Istel were in the IT & telecommunications business- and were originally a part of BL/Austin Rover- formed in 1979 as British Leyland Systems from BL's various in-house IT departments (so the ARG v Ford thing does make sense!), later taking on work for external customers as well
They were sold off in a management buyout in 1987, and bought by AT&T a couple of years later
http://www.fundinguniverse.com/compa...y-History.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISTEL

With that history, then yes,your theory about them being mainly a BL/Austin Rover sponsor makes perfect sense.

Just to add a bit of confusion to the issue though, Lawrence Bristow had Istel sponsorship on his prodsaloon Cosworth in '87- (Was this a continuation of the Istel backed team that had run Istel Rovers for Harvey in Prodsaloons in '86- I think Tim did some prodsaloons alongside his BTCC Rover campaign in '87?)

http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/r...wCC25-5-87.jpg
(Castle Combe, May '87- originally posted by 'La Sarthe' in the Autosport RS500 thread a couple of months back)

[KA]

Originally Posted by Tim Wilkinson

The two Golfs are both ex-Tarmac rally cars. Mike O'Brien was still in the VL Commodore as the evoultion engine hadn't turned up from Australia. Andy Rouse won AT Oulton on Friday, and then also won the first round of the French championship at Nogaro. Pete Hall retired, both from the race, and from racing due to work pressures.

Thanks Tim- I'd only transcribed the result from the Autosport report, and didn't have any of the background

The Golfs were probably ex-David Sutton Motorsport/VW GB cars- although run by different teams, both the Jeffrey and Shead cars carried the same basic blue/white colourscheme
The evolution Commodore engine and bodykit eventually hit the track late-season (August/September I think) due to homologation delays...
As you said, Pete Hall called time on his BTCC career, and Robb Gravett took over the ICS RS500 drive for the rest of the season

[KA]

Originally Posted by KA

Thanks Tim- I'd only transcribed the result from the Autosport report, and didn't have any of the background

The Golfs were probably ex-David Sutton Motorsport/VW GB cars- although run by different teams, both the Jeffrey and Shead cars carried the same basic blue/white colourscheme

The works Group A rallycars carried a similar livery. Sutton had run a 'VW Junior Team' on the British Championship using Golfs- possibly 3/4 cars? Did any of these become the Shead/Jeffery BTCC cars, or were they sourced from VW in Germany

The pic shows Shead leading an interesting mix of the lower end of the grid, including the Maserati, ECM Sierra and various Class D Corollas at Donington late-season. The Jeffery Golf is just visible at the back of the group I think

[William Dale Jr]

Good stuff, KA and Tim!

Originally Posted by Tim Wilkinson

Maybe there's more info on the video? I have it, but don't have a VHS player any more!

No, sadly not. The first two rounds were only briefly shown compared to the other rounds. There wasn't even a grid shot at all for the Oulton round, so that might stay a mystery.

KA's right, the TWR evolution package for the VL kept being pushed back due to homologation delays. Originally scheduled for April 1 homologation, delays in the production of the fibreglass body components prevented completion of the 500 necessary cars (750 eventually produced in total, I believe) until August. IIRC, the TWR evolution package was finally homologated on September 1.

Also, I didn't realise that Guy Edwards didn't do the whole season. I assume it was because his car wasn't ready yet?

[KA]

Originally Posted by Tim Wilkinson

Going back to the question of Tim Harvey's sponsors, note the presence of 'Sumo Giants' as a sponsor rather than 'Istel' at this early-season race.

I won't swear to this, but I've got a very vague memory that the story behind it was that Sumo Giants might have been a band- one of Tim's mates or someone connected to the TDR team being either a member of the band or their manager, and got their name on the car for a bit of publicity...
Anyone know any more- think there was a pic of the car in Autosport with a caption telling the story?

[Tim Wilkinson]

Originally Posted by KA

Just to add a bit of confusion to the issue though, Lawrence Bristow had Istel sponsorship on his prodsaloon Cosworth in '87- (Was this a continuation of the Istel backed team that had run Istel Rovers for Harvey in Prodsaloons in '86- I think Tim did some prodsaloons alongside his BTCC Rover campaign in '87?)

Tim Harvey had Istel backing on his Prodsaloon Cosworth in '87, too.

[Tim Wilkinson]

Autosport news and rumours for '88 -

January

7th - Hodgetts rumoured to run with a Supra in '88. Robb Gravett linked to a drive in a second Supra. Dennis Leech's Rover is up for sale (and stays that way for several months). Car was built from new parts for '87, ARE shell, TWR suspension and brakes. £19500.

14th - BBC announces planned full coverage of the BTCC for '88.

21st - North Essex Motorsport (Julian May) have their RS1600i up for sale. £7000. [this car is still around somewhere, in original beige livery]

28th - A Uniroyal (Prodsaloon) Honda Prelude is up for sale by Des Winks. Is this the Martin Wray car that appears later in the year? Another RS1600i is available, for £8k. No name, but a Clacton (Essex) dialling code. CHMS have a Corolla available for sale or hire too, "last one left".

February -

4th - Pirelli announce that Andy Rouse, Graham Goode, and others, will run on their tyres in '88. Rouse says he's "completely baffled" by the announcement, but does end up on Pirellis, as do the Prodrive BMWs. Soper's Eggenberger entry continues on the tyres also.
Rouse tests his '88-spec RS500 at Silverstone, painted in bright yellow, and at least 3 cars are planned to be run by ARE in the BTCC.
Paul Harmer has his Astra GTE for sale (£4,850). Built in '85 to GrpN spec (and road registered in '87), and still pretty standard. [Paul has posted on another forum about some of his experiences in BTCC with this car]

11th - Terry Drury have the Hales / Wiffen class-winning RST from '87 for sale (£15k). [Another Essex-based BTCC team!]

18th - Dave Loudon (Metro Turbo champion) gives up on plans to run an RS500, due to lack of sponsorship, and looks to have a CHMS-prepped Corolla instead. Meanwhile, the Hodgetts / Supra challenge is still not confirmed....
Brian Chatfield is selling his ex-TWR Bastos Rover. [Is this the one that Jeff Allam bought / had for sale recently?]

25th - Mike Smith and Frank Sytner tested a Prodrive Bastos M3 rally car at Thruxton.
Eggenberger say that they expect their RS500s to be pushing 520bhp this season.
Karl Jones announces an RS500 campaign with backing from Duckhams, run by Asquith. Ford are offering a £5000 bonus per round for outright victory!
Also, features a comparison of GrpA and Prodsaloon RSTs (the Asquith pair).

I haven't seen anything about Harvey & Sumo Giant, but will post it when I do.

[KA]

Originally Posted by Tim Wilkinson

Autosport news and rumours for '88 -

Brian Chatfield is selling his ex-TWR Bastos Rover. [Is this the one that Jeff Allam bought / had for sale recently?]

I think the Jeff Allam car is the one that was kept as part of Walkinshaw's collection, and sold off when TWR went into liquidation a few years back?

[Tim Wilkinson]

Originally Posted by KA

I'm trying to think who his team-mate was in the production Rover- I'm sure was definitely a 2-car team, though plans were messed up when Tim broke his ankles in an FF shunt. Possibly Bristow, but I'm sure a couple of other drivers appeared.

Tim Goss, with occasional appearances from Chris Chiles (from Istel). Tim Harvey came back for the Wilhire, and shared with Goss, Chiles, and David Sears.

[Tim Wilkinson]

March -

3rd - ADR have Mike O'Brien's '87 BTCC Commodore VK for sale or hire "due to late change of plans" [See March 17th, also. As an aside, a Commodore appeared in Thundersaloons a few years later that was ex O'Brien, but had only been tested for BTCC, and not raced. Anyone have any info on this?]
Dave Carvell's Rover from '87 is for sale, too - enquiries to Tim Harvey, no less!
More rumours about the MIL Motorsport Supras, with Hodgetts and John Llewellyn ('87 Saab Turbo winner) most likely to drive, Gravett still linked, and Rad Dougall had been testing with the team at Oulton.

10th - BMW announces two-car team for BTCC - Sytner and Mike Smith to drive M3s for Prodrive run "BMW Finance Racing with Mobil 1". Sytner to test with Marc Duez at Vallelunga this week.
Steve Soper to run a limited (6 rounds) BTCC programme in Eggenberger RS500, starting at r2 at Oulton Park, on Pirelli rubber and run from the Eggenberger base in Switzerland. [which caused problems for Oulton, as the car couldn't get to England due to ferry strikes]
Jerry Mahony confirms full BTCC, and UK ETC rounds, programme in RS500 with Arquati and Evans Halshaw backing. He'll carry an in-car camera for the BTCC.
ADR have bought an ex-Brock Commodore VL, and are selling the ex-Grice VK [see March 3rd]
A pair of Maserati Biturbos are rumoured.

17th - An Escort Turbo is for sale, from what I think is a Harlow / Bishops Stortford number [another Essex car, what a surprise!] No photo or other info.
A nice picture of Paul Radisich with an incredibly dodgy 'tache.
An ex-Rouse Sierra has ended up in Sweden with Ulf Granberg and Christer Simonsen.
GGR test thier RS500 at Mallory Park. Listerine backing will continue, Goode will build his own engines, and run his car and a planned second car for Mike Newman on Pirellis. Goode and Newman to pair up for the TT.

24th - Season preview (nothing new except for Win Percy's Nissan coming over later in the season)
Dave Wallis ('87 Monroe runner-up) to appear in the ex-Hales RST
Alan Minshaw to be out in an M3, and to sponsor prodsaloon graduate James Kaye in a Golf. [Kaye ran in Novas, previously, iirc]
MIL finally announce Hodgetts in a shell-backed Supra Turbo. 2nd car rumoured to be for Llewellyn, and a possible 3rd later on.
Richard Belcher swaps from his planned Escort RS1600i to a CHMS-run Corolla GT as a result of new backing from AJG Transport. Corolla is ex-Minshaw, and is to be updated to '88 spec. [Belcher lost this drive after round 1, with Mark Hales in the car for round 2]
Robb Gravett has tested the MIL Supra, and is linked to a TOMs GB Supra to back up their Corolla effort (Dowsett). Gravett was also linked to an ARE Kaliber drive which instead goes to Guy Edwards, starting at round 3, with both Edwards and Rouse using Pirellis [see February 4th]. Edwards didn't seem to have been looking for a drive, instead concentrating on his sponsorship finding business.

31st - News added to Silverstone results post (Absence of Karl Jones and Geoff Kimber-Smith, progress of ADRs Holden VL SS)
Ex-CHMS & Paul Taft RS1600i for sale (previously Brooklyn Motorsport car), £8,500. Aylesbury dialling code. [This was the "69" Hodgetts car, then Taft in '86, bought by AJG, and run at end of '87 for Belcher and then Mark Goddard - I suppose Gaunt was selling the car to pay for the Corolla effort - loads of info here - http://www.rsiontour.net/index.php?view=brooklyn]

[KA]

Originally Posted by Tim Wilkinson

March -

3rd - ADR have Mike O'Brien's '87 BTCC Commodore VK for sale or hire "due to late change of plans" [See March 17th, also. As an aside, a Commodore appeared in Thundersaloons a few years later that was ex O'Brien, but had only been tested for BTCC, and not raced. Anyone have any info on this?]
Dave Carvell's Rover from '87 is for sale, too - enquiries to Tim Harvey, no less!
More rumours about the MIL Motorsport Supras, with Hodgetts and John Llewellyn ('87 Saab Turbo winner) most likely to drive, Gravett still linked, and Rad Dougall had been testing with the team at Oulton.
Got a vague memory that Dougall's name continued to be linked with the project for some time... Llewellyn would end up driving for MIL, but in a Class D Corolla

10th - BMW announces two-car team for BTCC - Sytner and Mike Smith to drive M3s for Prodrive run "BMW Finance Racing with Mobil 1". Sytner to test with Marc Duez at Vallelunga this week.
Steve Soper to run a limited (6 rounds) BTCC programme in Eggenberger RS500, starting at r2 at Oulton Park, on Pirelli rubber and run from the Eggenberger base in Switzerland. [which caused problems for Oulton, as the car couldn't get to England due to ferry strikes]
Jerry Mahony confirms full BTCC, and UK ETC rounds, programme in RS500 with Arquati and Evans Halshaw backing. He'll carry an in-car camera for the BTCC.
ADR have bought an ex-Brock Commodore VL, and are selling the ex-Grice VK [see March 3rd]
A pair of Maserati Biturbos are rumoured.

17th - An Escort Turbo is for sale, from what I think is a Harlow / Bishops Stortford number [another Essex car, what a surprise!] No photo or other info.
A nice picture of Paul Radisich with an incredibly dodgy 'tache.
An ex-Rouse Sierra has ended up in Sweden with Ulf Granberg and Christer Simonsen. Have a feeling this ended up being a new car built from a Rouse 'kit' . Think it debuted at the TT, then went to Bathurst (fairly distinctive silver car)
GGR test thier RS500 at Mallory Park. Listerine backing will continue, Goode will build his own engines, and run his car and a planned second car for Mike Newman on Pirellis. Goode and Newman to pair up for the TT.

24th - Season preview (nothing new except for Win Percy's Nissan coming over later in the season)
Dave Wallis ('87 Monroe runner-up) to appear in the ex-Hales RST
Alan Minshaw to be out in an M3, and to sponsor prodsaloon graduate James Kaye in a Golf. [Kaye ran in Novas, previously, iirc]
MIL finally announce Hodgetts in a shell-backed Supra Turbo. 2nd car rumoured to be for Llewellyn, and a possible 3rd later on.
Some early-season testing pics were published in Motoring News in Feb, showing a white Supra testing at Donington with Hodgetts and Alex Moss, the Supra carrying sponsorship from 'Brown Group International'. Obviously before the Shell deal was done or announced
Richard Belcher swaps from his planned Escort RS1600i to a CHMS-run Corolla GT as a result of new backing from AJG Transport. Corolla is ex-Minshaw, and is to be updated to '88 spec. [Belcher lost this drive after round 1, with Mark Hales in the car for round 2]
Robb Gravett has tested the MIL Supra, and is linked to a TOMs GB Supra to back up their Corolla effort (Dowsett). Gravett was also linked to an ARE Kaliber drive which instead goes to Guy Edwards, starting at round 3, with both Edwards and Rouse using Pirellis [see February 4th]. Edwards didn't seem to have been looking for a drive, instead concentrating on his sponsorship finding business.

31st - News added to Silverstone results post (Absence of Karl Jones and Geoff Kimber-Smith, progress of ADRs Holden VL SS)
Ex-CHMS & Paul Taft RS1600i for sale (previously Brooklyn Motorsport car), £8,500. Aylesbury dialling code. [This was the "69" Hodgetts car, then Taft in '86, bought by AJG, and run at end of '87 for Belcher and then Mark Goddard - I suppose Gaunt was selling the car to pay for the Corolla effort - loads of info here - http://www.rsiontour.net/index.php?view=brooklyn]

Gaunt obviously had trouble selling the RS1600i, as by July, Goddard was back out in it, appearing at the two Brands rounds.
Graham who now owns the car occasionally posts on here as 'RacingRSi'.

[Jesper OH]

Originally Posted by KA

Gaunt obviously had trouble selling the RS1600i, as by July, Goddard was back out in it, appearing at the two Brands rounds.
Graham who now owns the car occasionally posts on here as 'RacingRSi'.

..the fact the Group A homologation of the car was to expire at the end of the year probably provided a minor hazard with the then owner.

Jesper

[Jesper OH]

Originally Posted by Tim Wilkinson

Mike O'Brien was planning to debut an updated ex-Brock VL-SS Commodore at round 2.

Does this mean that O'Brien raced his/Alan Docking's ex-Grice '87 BTCC car at the Silverstone opener?

Jesper

[Jesper OH]

Originally Posted by KA

Class D

Still can't swear I've got the MIL & CHMS Corollas 100% right....

60 CHMS Toyota Corolla GT: Mark Hales/Patrick Watts
61/69 MIL Motorsport Corolla: Kevin Eaton/Alex Moss/John Llewellyn
61 CHMS Corolla: Dave Loudoun/Nick Whale/Mark Goddard/Richard Belcher
63 Tony Crudgington Corolla: Tony Crudgington/Alistair Davidson
70 TOM'S GB Corolla (fwd) : Phil Dowsett/Tiff Needell
74 North Essex M'sport Ford Escort RS1600i- Vic Lee/Jeremy Rossiter/Barbara Cowell
75 AJG Transport RS1600i- Mark Goddard
77 AGK Motorsport Corolla: Geoff Kimber-Smith/Barbara Cowell

Interesting if Chris Hodgetts still got interests in the small class fry by 1988, as he was promoted to the class A Supra. His 1986 champion car was wacked preddy good during Spa 24h 1987.

Jesper

[William Dale Jr]

Originally Posted by Jesper OH

Does this mean that O'Brien raced his/Alan Docking's ex-Grice '87 BTCC car at the Silverstone opener?

Jesper

It was definitely a VL that O'Brien used in round 1, so it was more than likely the ex-Brock VL. Did we ever come to a conclusion on the "Commodores in Europe" thread about where that car had come from?

Originally Posted by Tim Wilkinson

Steve Soper to run a limited (6 rounds) BTCC programme in Eggenberger RS500, starting at r2 at Oulton Park, on Pirelli rubber and run from the Eggenberger base in Switzerland. [which caused problems for Oulton, as the car couldn't get to England due to ferry strikes]

Including the Oulton round that they missed, I only count 5 rounds that the Eggenberger team were scheduled to appear at. Were they also supposed to do the cancelled Birmingham round?

[Tim Wilkinson]

Originally Posted by Jesper OH

Interesting if Chris Hodgetts still got interests in the small class fry by 1988, as he was promoted to the class A Supra. His 1986 champion car was wacked preddy good during Spa 24h 1987.

Jesper

I think it was his bread and butter. He had a lot of knowledge of the cars, and people willing to pay him to run them (or hire them from him).

Interestingly (?!!?!) MIL seems to have been run by Alex Moss - I suppose the teams were run pretty closely?

[KA]

Originally Posted by William Dale Jr

It was definitely a VL that O'Brien used in round 1, so it was more than likely the ex-Brock VL. Did we ever come to a conclusion on the "Commodores in Europe" thread about where that car had come from?

I don't think we ever did

Originally Posted by William Dale Jr

Including the Oulton round that they missed, I only count 5 rounds that the Eggenberger team were scheduled to appear at. Were they also supposed to do the cancelled Birmingham round?

Yes, Eggenberger were at Birmingham. Motoring News did print the qualifying times in their report of the abandoned race- Soper was on pole from Rouse, Guy Edwards, Lawrence Bristow and Walkinshaw's Commodore

[Jesper OH]

Originally Posted by Tim Wilkinson

I think it was his bread and butter. He had a lot of knowledge of the cars, and people willing to pay him to run them (or hire them from him).

Interestingly (?!!?!) MIL seems to have been run by Alex Moss - I suppose the teams were run pretty closely?

My thought too, but how did it end? Hodgetts returned to his former employer Brooklyn Ford for a Sierra ride late 1988. Chris Hodgetts must have been disapointed by the performance of the Supra as it seems to have moved him up just a few places on the grid from his former Corollas.

Early 1988 reports suggest that as many as three cars were supposed to be run by MIL. Two cars were as many as they would ever run by my knowledge.

Jesper

[KA]

Originally Posted by Jesper OH

Interesting if Chris Hodgetts still got interests in the small class fry by 1988, as he was promoted to the class A Supra. His 1986 champion car was wacked preddy good during Spa 24h 1987.

Jesper

Yes, he kept running Corollas for other people right to the end of 1988- the last time he raced one himself was at the TT, where with the new Brooklyn RS500 a non-starter, he joined Colin Pearcy and Geoff Kimber-Smith in one of the two CHMS Corollas present (a white car) the other (green) driven by Patrick Watts and Malcolm Harrison- Chris possibly qualified in both cars? I posted pics back in the Corolla thread.

Did we ever work out exactly how many Corollas CHMS built- I think it could be at least four?

Originally Posted by Tim Wilkinson

I think it was his bread and butter. He had a lot of knowledge of the cars, and people willing to pay him to run them (or hire them from him).

Interestingly (?!!?!) MIL seems to have been run by Alex Moss - I suppose the teams were run pretty closely?

That's an interesting question- Yes, Alex Moss seems to have run MIL- he did some of the early Supra testing, and I think there was some suggestion of him racing one at some point. Interesting that MIL had a Corolla as well- seen in the BTCC (mostly with John Llewellyn, but other drivers including Moss appeared in it) and at the TT (30th overall/4th in class for Llewellyn/Moss)

From memory I think both teams were based fairly near to each other?

[KA]

Originally Posted by Jesper OH

My thought too, but how did it end? Hodgetts returned to his former employer Brooklyn Ford for a Sierra ride late 1988. Chris Hodgetts must have been disapointed by the performance of the Supra as it seems to have moved him up just a few places on the grid from his former Corollas.

Early 1988 reports suggest that as many as three cars were supposed to be run by MIL. Two cars were as many as they would ever run by my knowledge.

Jesper

From memory, and without looking at mid-1988 Autosports, I think that was exactly the reason Hodgetts jumped ship- the Supra had never looked like being competitive, and a Brooklyn RS500 must have looked a better prospect

Yes, I'm sure I remember reports of MIL planning to run 3 Supras - a third car might have even appeared on an entry list at some point? but no more than two (plus a Corolla) ever appeared. I don't even know if a third car was ever built? One also appeared on the entry list for the Donington ETCC round for Alex Moss/Rad Dougall, but was a no-show http://www.racingsportscars.com/cove...988-04-17e.jpg

Curiously (and I think this was discussed in the Supra thread) there was a late-season distraction of adapting one into a Group A tarmac rally car for Graham Middleton to drive on the Manx International- from memory there's a pic of the car in Autosport's rally report

[Jesper OH]

Round 3 of 13 of the 1988 Dunlop RAC British Touring Car Championship held on Wednesday 2nd May 1988 over x laps on the x.xxx miles/3.791 km Thruxton circuit.

The book ”British Touring Car Racing in Camera”, pages 136-137 has a picture of the cars about to line up for the dummy grid, showing approcimately this formation:

1./ #6 / Steve Soper / Eggenberger-Texaco / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
2./ #22 / Andy Rouse / Rouse-Kaliber / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
3./ #15 / Graham Goode / Goode-Listerine / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
4./ #14 / Mike Newman / Goode-Burlington / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
5./ #4 / Dennis Leech / Leech-Demon Tweeks / A / Rover 3500 V8 Vitesse
6./ #7 / Mike O'Brien / Docking / A / Holden Commodore VL
7./ #10 / Robb Gravett / Rouse / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
8./ #16 / Karl Jones / Asquith-Duckhams / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
9./ #21 / Guy Edwards / Rouse-Kaliber / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
10./ #8 / Jerry Mahony / Dowson-Arquati / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
11./ #33 / Frank Sytner / Richards-Mobil / B / BMW M3
12./ #19 / Laurence Bristow / Rouse / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
13./ #5 / Tim Harvey / Drury / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
14./ #32 / Mike Smith / Richards-Mobil / B / BMW M3
15./ #17 / Bob Sands / CC-Crystal / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
16./ #36 / Godfrey Hall / Maguire / B / BMW M3
17./ unknown
18./ #27 / Peter Buxtorf / Buxtorf / A / BMW 635CSi
19./ unknown
20./ #44 / Alan Minshaw / Minshaw-Demon Tweeks / B / BMW M3
The rest of the grid is impossible to read, but the Class C VW Golfs of James Shead and possible Andrew Jeffrey is visible as is the #63 Tony Crudgington class D Toyota Corolla. A white Ford Escort RS (1600i or Turbo?) is seen at what appears to be at the back.

Class A:
1./ #6 / Steve Soper / Eggenberger-Texaco / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / x laps / 23m32.64s
2./ #22 / Andy Rouse / ARE-Kaliber / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 24m08.11s
3./ #8 / Jerry Mahony / Dowson-Arquati / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
? / #7 / Mike O'Brien / Docking-Swan / A / Holden Commodore VL / 4th in class
? / #5 / Tim Harvey / Drury-none? / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 5th in class
? / #16 / Karl Jones / Asquith-Duckhams / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 6th in class
? / #14 / Mike Newman / Goode-Burlington / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / ?
? / #19 / Laurence Bristow / ARE-CAM / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / ?
? / #4 / Dennis Leech / Leech-Demon Tweeks / A / Rover 3500 V8 Vitesse / DNF accident?
DNF / #21 / Guy Edwards / ARE-Kaliber / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
DNF / #10 / Robb Gravett / ARE-? / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth /
? / #15 / Graham Goode / Goode-Listerine / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
? / #17 / Bob Sands / CC Motorsport-Crystal / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
? / #27 / Peter Buxtorf (CH) / Buxtorf / A / BMW 635CSi
Fastest lap: Andy Rouse

Class B:
? / #33 / Frank Sytner / Richards-Mobil BMW / B / BMW M3 / 1st in class
? / #32 / Mike Smith / Richards-Mobil BMW / B / BMW M3 / 2nd in class
? / #36 / Godfrey Hall / Maguire / B / BMW M3 / 3rd in class
? / #44 / Alan Minshaw / Minshaw-Demon Tweeks / B / BMW M3 / 4th in class
? / #38 / Dave Wallis / Drury / B / Ford Escort RS Turbo / 5th in class
Fastest lap: Mike Smith

Class C:
? / #55 / James Shead / Maguire / C / VW Golf GTI 16V / 1st in class
? / #50 / John Brindley / Minshaw-Demon Tweeks / C / VW Golf GTI 16V / 2nd in class
? / #48 / Andrew Jeffrey / unknown-Specialist Cars Aberdeen / C / VW Golf GTI 16 / 3rd in class
Fastest lap: John Brindley

Class D:
? / #63 / Tony Crudgington / Crudgington / D / Toyota Corolla GT
? / #70 / Phil Dowsett / TOM's GB / D / Toyota Corolla FXGT
? / unknown
DNS / #77 / Geoff Kimber-Smith / Kimber-Smith / D / Toyota Corolla GT / Gearbox
Fastest lap: Tony Crudgington

Jesper

[KA]

Originally Posted by Jesper OH

Round 3 of 13 of the 1988 Dunlop RAC British Touring Car Championship held on Wednesday 2nd May 1988 over x laps on the x.xxx miles/3.791 km Thruxton circuit.

The book ”British Touring Car Racing in Camera”, pages 136-137 has a picture of the cars about to line up for the dummy grid, showing approcimately this formation:

1./ #6 / Steve Soper / Eggenberger-Texaco / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
2./ #22 / Andy Rouse / Rouse-Kaliber / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
3./ #15 / Graham Goode / Goode-Listerine / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
4./ #14 / Mike Newman / Goode-Burlington / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
5./ #4 / Dennis Leech / Leech-Demon Tweeks / A / Rover 3500 V8 Vitesse
6./ #7 / Mike O'Brien / Docking / A / Holden Commodore VL
7./ #10 / Robb Gravett / Rouse / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
8./ #16 / Karl Jones / Asquith-Duckhams / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
9./ #21 / Guy Edwards / Rouse-Kaliber / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
10./ #8 / Jerry Mahony / Dowson-Arquati / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
11./ #33 / Frank Sytner / Richards-Mobil / B / BMW M3
12./ #19 / Laurence Bristow / Rouse / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
13./ #5 / Tim Harvey / Drury / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
14./ #32 / Mike Smith / Richards-Mobil / B / BMW M3
15./ #17 / Bob Sands / CC-Crystal / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
16./ #36 / Godfrey Hall / Maguire / B / BMW M3
17./ unknown
18./ #27 / Peter Buxtorf / Buxtorf / A / BMW 635CSi
19./ unknown
20./ #44 / Alan Minshaw / Minshaw-Demon Tweeks / B / BMW M3
The rest of the grid is impossible to read, but the Class C VW Golfs of James Shead and possible Andrew Jeffrey is visible as is the #63 Tony Crudgington class D Toyota Corolla. A white Ford Escort RS (1600i or Turbo?) is seen at what appears to be at the back.

I'll dig out the qualifying times and add them separately- for some reason I haven't copied them to the spreadsheet with the race result

Class A:
1./ #6 / Steve Soper / Eggenberger-Texaco / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth /17 laps / 23m32.64s
2./ #22 / Andy Rouse / ARE-Kaliber / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 24m08.11s
3./ #8 / Jerry Mahony / Dowson-Arquati / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth/24m15.57
4 / #7 / Mike O'Brien / Docking-Swan / A / Holden Commodore VL / 4th in class/ 24m20.92
5/ #33 / Frank Sytner / Richards-Mobil BMW / B / BMW M3 / 1st in class B/ 24m30.71
6 / #32 / Mike Smith / Richards-Mobil BMW / B / BMW M3 / 2nd in class/ 24m31.03
7 / #36 / Godfrey Hall / Maguire / B / BMW M3 / 3rd in class/
16 laps
8 / #44 / Alan Minshaw / Minshaw-Demon Tweeks / B / BMW M3 / 4th in class/ 16 laps
9/ #5 / Tim Harvey / Drury-none? / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 5th in class/ 16 laps
10 / #16 / Karl Jones / Asquith-Duckhams / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 6th in class/ 16 laps
11 / #15 / Graham Goode / Goode-Listerine / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth/ 16 laps
12 / #38 / Dave Wallis / Drury / B / Ford Escort RS Turbo / 5th in class B/16 laps
13 / #55 / James Shead / Maguire / C / VW Golf GTI 16V / 1st in class C/16 laps
14 / #63 / Tony Crudgington / Crudgington / D / Toyota Corolla GT/ 1st in class D/15 laps
15 / #50 / John Brindley / Minshaw-Demon Tweeks / C / VW Golf GTI 16V / 2nd in class C/15 laps
16 / #48 / Andrew Jeffrey / unknown-Specialist Cars Aberdeen / C / VW Golf GTI 16 / 3rd in class C/ 15 laps
17 / #19 / Laurence Bristow / ARE-CAM / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 15 laps
18 / #70 / Phil Dowsett / TOM's GB / D / Toyota Corolla FXGT/2nd in class D/ 14 laps
19/ #14 / Mike Newman / Goode-Burlington / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 14 laps


DNF / #21 / Guy Edwards / ARE-Kaliber / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
DNF- engine, 13 laps
DNF/ 4/Dennis Leech / Leech-Demon Tweeks / A / Rover 3500 V8 Vitesse / DNF accident, 11 laps
DNF / #27 / Peter Buxtorf (CH) / Buxtorf / A / BMW 635CSi/DNF- accident
(from memory, spun and went into the barriers backwards?)
DNF/#74/Vic Lee/North Essex/D/Ford Escort RS1600i/DNF- clutch,7 laps
DNF / #10 / Robb Gravett / ARE-ICS / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / DNF- overheating, 6 laps
DNF / #17 / Bob Sands / CC Motorsport-Crystal / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth/DNF- accident, 2 laps

DNS / #77 / Geoff Kimber-Smith / Kimber-Smith / D / Toyota Corolla GT/DNS- gearbox
DNS/ #20/Graham Hathaway/Hathaway/A/Ford Sierra RS500/DNS,engine
DNS/#39/Lionel Wiffen/Drury/B/Ford Escort RS Turbo/DNS, gearbox


Jesper

Complete race result- Interesting to see Dennis Leech putting the Rover so far up the grid in 1988 with a dozen RS500s present! Buxtorf's shunt was a fairly big one from memory and must have put a big dent in his budget as well as the car- Although he made it out with a repaired 635 for the Donington 1-hour race, that was the end of his BTCC season- he wasn't seen again until the TT in September where he and Colin Blower posted a DNQ

[Tim Wilkinson]

April '88 -

7th - The new Holden Commodore delays grpA homologation. 500 examples weren't ready due to delays with components, and strikes.
Steve Soper missed round 2 at Oulton Park - he was there but the car wasn't due to ferry strikes.
Pete Hall retires from the BTCC, but intends to keep ICS backing on a Sierra for a younger driver.
James Kaye may hand over his Golf to John Brindley, due to his commitments with Mazda in the Uniroyal championship, and Renault 5 Turbos.
Phil Dowsett is hoping that Toyota will continue to support him, as the Corolla jointly leads the championship with Sytner's BMW.

14th -
Trident Motorsport is to be launched imminently, to run "at least one" Maserati Biturbo. Sponsorship from Campari. The name Roger Eccles is linked with the project, and "there is no doubt that there is considerable potential to be extracted. It should be worth watching" (Autosport). [What else was Roger Eccles involved with?]
Prodrive are due out in the Donington 500 ETC round, with Smith and Sytner partnered by Hoy and Weaver.

Donington 500 – an ETC round, but features a few BTCC regulars (and irregulars) / April 21st news
Sytner teams with Weaver to finish 2nd, Mike Smith and Will Hoy team to 3rd. Goode & Newman retire their RS500 after 47 laps (of 125) with head-gasket failure after Goode ran in the top 5 early on, even up to 2nd at one point. Soper / Dieudonne (78 laps, engine) and Win Percy / Allan Grice (95 laps, brakes) also fail to finish after featuring strongly.
The Trident Motorsport Maserati will be run by Tony Gale, Campari’s UK importer has a 3-year option with the team, and ’88 is seen as a development year. The first car is in the UK having been built in Modena, and Nick May and John Lepp have been contracted for the season.
TWR reckon they’ll have a new Holden at Thruxton on May 2nd after it’s homologated on May 1st. [Wishful thinking!]
A grpA Rover Vitesse is advertised for £12k, due to lack of sponsor. Croydon / Orpington home number.
An RST, ex-Longman, last used WTC Silverstone [suggests this is Alan Curnow car]. £9k. Contact number for Chelmsford. [Currently for a coach company in High Easter, I think]

28th -
TOMs Toyota want to bring a Supra Turbo to the BTCC, but can’t find a suitable vehicle so Phil Dowsett continues in the Corolla for now.
John Brindley confirmed in the Demon Tweeks Golf, in place of James Kaye. (see April 7th)
Robb Gravett is confirmed for R3 at Thruxton in the ARE car vacated by Pete Hall. Hall said he wanted someone from a saloon background, but new to grpA.
The Maserati was on its way back to Bologna after the press launch, to be finally prepped and tested by Nick May at Monza, then heading back to Britain for its debut at Thruxton. Stirling Moss had (incorrectly) been linked to the drive in European press, as he’d been at the press launch.