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

[piekey]

Originally Posted by FFSM

I can't see Andy Neate on that list?

Not a chance. As we know, money talks.

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by piekey

Not a chance. As we know, money talks.

What, in a Ten Tenths poll?

[S griffin]

Well I’m still waiting for my cheque...

[hen henths]

Although he wouldn't necessarily be my first choice, I've given a vote for Fabrizio Giovanardi as he deserves some recognition here for his incredible talent. It's a shame he didn't stay longer in the BTCC or do better with the Focus in 2014 but he enjoyed phenomenal success and apparently ten touring car titles if we include other series.

Give Sutton ten years or so and he may well prove himself as the most successful BTCC driver of all time.

[S griffin]

Gio was always fun to watch. His car control was one of the best. Typical lionhearted Italian, he really did add to the series

[stivis]

There is but one, the man in three wheeling Lotus Cortina

Jim Clark

[BTCC frog]

I would like to change my answer for best drive. Gavin Smith, Snetterton 2006 race 1, where he broke his suspension at Murrays with two laps to go, and held on to finish fourth despite one spin. I have never seen anything like it!

[S griffin]

Oh yes, he had that car at all angles. Tim Harvey in his commentary even described it like Mansell in Adelaide when he had that blow out

[hoffman66]

Best BTCC driver would probably be someone like Rouse or Jack Sears, Clark.

but MN best modern era would be Menu I think.

Best overall would be Aiello for winning in everything even DTM and winning here first year is amazing.

[S griffin]

Menu was probably the best of the Super Touring era, he certainly had that gift of getting the best out of any car

[Adam43]

I voted Rouse, but yes Menu why not?!

[CarfanLUFC]

Greatest team - Alfa Corse or RML
Greatest car - 2000 Ford Mondeo
Best race - Obviously Donnington 98
Best season - 92 or 93
Best drive - Soper at Silverstone 92, Tarquini Donnington 94
Best overtake - A compilation of James Thompson's moves in 95
Best driver lineup - Menu, Rydell, Reid 2000
Best non-champion - Steve Soper
Best non-winner - Patrick Watts
Best title decider - 92

[BTCC frog]

My rankings of the greatest BTCC drivers since 1991 (the beginning of the modern era), in reverse order from 60:

60. Jonathan Palmer
Only raced in one season of the BTCC, the inaugural season of the modern era in 1991. Palmer had some solid results for the works BMW squad, but failed to win a race, and was not on the same level as Steve Soper, who beat him in the championship despite missing six races.
59. Jonathan Adam
Adam only raced in the BTCC for one season, but did a very respectable job for Motorbase up against experienced teammate Rob Collard and finished eighth in the championship to Collard's sixth. Adam never won a race, although he took race three on the road at Brands Hatch before being penalised for punting Jason Plato. He took one other podium finish at Oulton Park.
58. Giampiero Simoni
Drove for Alfa Romeo in their title-winning season of 1994, Simoni won one race and finished fifth in the championship, some way off his champion teammate, Gabriele Tarquini. He actually did a better job with a far less competitive Alfa Romeo in 1995, quicker than Derek Warwick, but was replaced by a Tarquini before the season was out and never returned to the BTCC.
57. Ray Bellm
One of the co-founders of Team Dynamics, Bellm drove in the first three seasons of modern era BTCC, with his best results coming in 1991, where he finished fifth in the championship as teammate Will Hoy took the title. Bellm struggled the following year against Harvey and Soper, and did not complete the season. He then drove only a few rounds in 1993 for Team Dynamics before leaving the sport.
56. John Bintcliffe
Bintcliffe had a similar BTCC career to Simoni. He was teammate to Frank Biela in the dominant 4WD Audi, but while Biela topped the 1996 championship by almost 100 points, the less experienced Bintcliffe finished a lowly seventh with no race wins. The 1997 Audi was far less competitive, but Bintcliffe drove better and took another seventh in the championship, with Biela second, and won two races. He then had a very poor season in a very slow Audi in 1998, well off the pace of Yvan Muller.
55. Vincent Radermecker
The slowest works driver in the strongest ever BTCC grid of 2000, Radermecker was very much the third driver at Vauxhall. But given as his teammates were Jason Plato and Yvan Muller, he still did a decent job, although he never won and was tenth in the championship. Radermecker also drove for Volvo in 1999, and eighth in the standings was a decent result, stronger than what Rydell's previous teammates Morbidelli and Burt.
54. Lee Brookes
The 1996 independents' champion did a very good job to beat the formidable opposition of Richard Kaye, Matt Neal and Robb Gravett, and also impressively finished every race in the season bar one in the Toyota Carina. He returned in 1997, but was less consistent and finished second in the championship to Robb Gravett.
53. Robb Gravett
The reigning champion going into the first season of the Super Touring era, but Gravett struggled in the Ford Sierra with only one podium. He then moved to Peugeot for the next two seasons, which was an uncompetitive car, but Gravett did at least beat teammates Eugene O'Brien and Ian Flux. He then had two part-seasons in the privateers' cup in 1995-1996, but got some good results including a shock podium at Snetterton in 1995. He drove a full season in 1997 and took his first independents' title, and then finished second to Tommy Rustad in 1998, his final season in the BTCC.
52. Mike Jordan
The father of BTCC champion Andrew Jordan drove in the BTCC between 2006 and 2008. The only season he had a teammate he was beaten in the championship by his son, but that was his worst season and driving was perhaps not his priority. He looked much stronger in his first few seasons, winning at Mondello Park in 2006 and challenging for the independents' championship in 2007, but it is difficult to know how much of that was down to the car, which was previously used by Matt Neal to win the championship. Ran the Eurotech team for a long time after his retirement from racing.
51. Kelvin Burt
Burt's first full season in the BTCC was 1995, as he raced a Ford Mondeo alongside Paul Radisich, and looked a strong driver, winning at Snetterton and finishing not far off Radisich in the points (although Radisich was clearly the stronger driver). It was enough to convince Volvo to sign him for 1996, but despite a win at Silverstone, he had two poor seasons in which he was well off Rydell's pace, and was dropped after 1997. He returned to the BTCC in 2004 for two rounds and took a strong fourth place at Silverstone.

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by BTCC frog

My rankings of the greatest BTCC drivers since 1991 (the beginning of the modern era), in reverse order from 60:
...BTCC.
57. Ray Bellm
One of the co-founders of Team Dynamics, Bellm drove in the first three seasons of modern era BTCC, with his best results coming in 1991, where he finished fifth in the championship as teammate Will Hoy took the title. Bellm struggled the following year against Harvey and Soper, and did not complete the season. He then drove only a few rounds in 1993 for Team Dynamics before leaving the sport.
...

I don't think it was Team Dynamics, wasn't it Vic Lee Motorsport?

[BTCC frog]

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

I don't think it was Team Dynamics, wasn't it Vic Lee Motorsport?

He drove for Vic Lee in 1991, Team Dynamics in 1993, and I think he was the co-founder of Team Dynamics.

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by BTCC frog

He drove for Vic Lee in 1991, Team Dynamics in 1993, and I think he was the co-founder of Team Dynamics.

OK thanks, I stand corrected

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by BTCC frog

He drove for Vic Lee in 1991, Team Dynamics in 1993, and I think he was the co-founder of Team Dynamics.

Yes.


'Meanwhile Team owner Vic Lee was caught drug trafficking and sent to prison. The team was liquidated and its assets sold to new owners, VLM race driver Ray Bellm and Steve Neal. In years to come, this would morph into the Team Dynamics BTCC team we see today.'

Bellm then sold his TD shares in 1994, having invested in 'Grand Prix Racewear' with a purchase of shares from Fiona Kennedy (Butterfield).

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

Yes.


'Meanwhile Team owner Vic Lee was caught drug trafficking and sent to prison. The team was liquidated and its assets sold to new owners, VLM race driver Ray Bellm and Steve Neal. In years to come, this would morph into the Team Dynamics BTCC team we see today.'

Bellm then sold his TD shares in 1994, having invested in 'Grand Prix Racewear' with a purchase of shares from Fiona Kennedy (Butterfield).

Thanks for this confirmation. I knew about Ray Bellm's involvement with VLM but either didn't know, or had forgotten about Steve Neal's involvement too. Understandable that this would have ended up turning into Team Dynamics.

[mj088]

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

Thanks for this confirmation. I knew about Ray Bellm's involvement with VLM but either didn't know, or had forgotten about Steve Neal's involvement too. Understandable that this would have ended up turning into Team Dynamics.

VLM were preparing Matt Neals M3 (which was the one Hoy won the title with for VLM) and moved onto the Bellm 318is as an independent entry once Lee was inside and Bellm running the team.
Steve then took over with Ray to run Matt otherwise he would have had no drive in 93

[crmalcolm]

Not for his results, but what he has achieved to be a BTCC driver - can I throw some credit in Nic Hamilton's direction?

Nicolas Hamilton: Cerebral palsy, bravery and representation in motorsport - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p09q52gq

[BTCC frog]

The next ten in my list:

50. Aron Smith
While Smith's ranking mostly comes from how closely matched he was to Mat Jackson, perhaps his greatest moment came during qualifying for the opening race of the 2015 season at Brands Hatch, when he stuck that Volkswagen on the front row, ahead of teammates Plato and Turkington. Also took four fine victories, and beat a returning Menu in 2014 in the same car. I have noticed that since he changed his name to Aron Taylor-Smith in 2017, the results have dropped off significantly but hopefully he will get on terms with Goff soon.
49. Darren Turner
Drove for two and a half seasons in a SEAT, where his primary goal was to help teammate Plato to win the championship. While he never managed this, Turner kept Plato very honest and won multiple races, but he was never more than the number two driver. Left the sport when SEAT pulled out in 2008.
48. Roberto Ravaglia
One of the most successful touring car drivers, but his time in the BTCC was brief. Did a few rounds in 1994 when Steve Soper was unavailable, and then did a full season for BMW in 1996. He finished only one point behind teammate Jo Winkelhock in the championship, but this score flattered him as Winkelhock was clearly the stronger driver. Ravaglia won one race, the British GP support race at Silverstone.
47. Adam Morgan
The difference between the 2012 Morgan and the 2013 Morgan is perhaps the biggest improvement in one driver I have ever seen over the course of one season. Since then, he has been a very solid driver at Mercedes, although he seemed to crack under pressure a few times before he got his first win. Usually outperformed Aiden Moffat in the similar Laser Tools Mercedes, and he also comfortably beat proper teammates Oliphant and Rowbottom, although I am inclined to believe the cars weren't always equal. Has so far outclassed Chilton in the BMW in 2021.
46. Paul O'Neill
One of the most popular drivers in the history of the BTCC, O'Neill's interviews were some of the most entertaining in the BTCC (along with Cleland's and Reid's). And he was a very decent driver too, if not on the pace of Vauxhall teammates Neal, Muller or Thompson. He was impressive too on his return between 2009 and 2011, and got some great results for Speedworks in his one-off appearance at Knockhill in 2012.
45. Rory Butcher
His first full season was with an uncompetitive MG in 2018, but Butcher dominated all his teammates, including race winner Tom Boardman, to take a strong 18th in the standings, and keep his drive the following year when AmD switched to a far quicker Honda. Butcher beat more experienced teammate Sam Tordoff in the championship (although Tordoff had a lot more bad luck with reliability), and came fifth in the points. He matched that fifth for Motorbase in 2020, where he was an outside title contender and won multiple races. I had him down as a genuine title contender this season for Toyota, but Butcher has struggled to match the previous form of Tom Ingram. However, he will start winning races soon.
44. James Nash
I'm sure he would say he should be much higher on the list but James Nash, while very quick, was not quite as good as he thought he was. Had some standout moments in his first half-season with Chevrolet in 2009 and his first full season with Triple Eight in 2010, but 2011 was by far his best season as his consistency allowed him to be an outsider for the championship, and he also won the independents' title that year. Took one win at Rockingham.
43. Adam Jones
I've rated him as the second best driver never to win a race, and Jones very much deserved a win for his cracking drives in the independent SEAT between 2007 and 2009, often beating the works cars of Plato and Turner. Perhaps his best drive came at Brands Hatch in 2007, where he ran second and held on to leader Giovanardi for a long time in the SEAT Toledo before his tyres dropped off on a drying track.
42. Alan Morrison
The greatest ever starter in the BTCC, Morrison won the production class in 2000 and then got two full seasons in the Honda in 2002 and 2003. In 2002, he was beaten by Andy Priaulx, but not in dominant fashion and Priaulx went on to win many WTCC titles. He was then teamed with Matt Neal and Tom Chilton the following year, and ran Neal very closely (admittedly Neal had more reliability issues), while also beating Chilton comfortably despite having not much more experience than him. Deserved longer in the BTCC.
41. Kieth O'Dor
One of the few BTCC drivers to be killed in a racing accident (although not in the BTCC), O'Dor could have had so much more success had he survived to drive the Nissan Primera when it became the dominant car in the late nineties. Had a fantastic season in 1993, including a win at Silverstone and sixth in the championship to illustrious teammate Win Percy's 12th.

[S griffin]

Very good list so far. Interesting you rate Adam Jones as the second best driver never to win a race. I'm gonna make a prediction on who the first is. Patrick Watts? He would have been mine and many others

[BTCC frog]

40. Jeff Allam
The teammate to John Cleland in the first four years of the modern era, Allam had more success in previous seasons but still took some wins and was a title contender for much of the 1992 season. Not quite as quick as Cleland, and the pace dropped off further in 1993 and 1994, but still did a decent job and has been a steward for some time since.
39. Dan Eaves
The first driver ever to win three races in one weekend. Eaves started his career with a few impressive appearances in the production class, before getting a factory drive with Peugeot in 2001, where he beat Soper in the championship but was the less impressive of the two. Eaves was then teamed with Harvey and Breeze for two seasons in uncompetitive Peugeots before signing for Team Dynamics. Was close to Matt Neal's pace but ultimately not quite on it, but still took an impressive third in the championship in 2005.
38. Tom Chilton
Gets some points for longevity, as Chilton began his BTCC career as a teenager in 2002 and still drives in 2021. He did a very good job for Honda in 2004-2005 with some wins, after a disappointing first season there in 2003. Not so strong in Vauxhall as he was thoroughly outclassed by Giovanardi. Did well at Team Aon, although he was slower than Onslow-Cole and was lucky to take the independents' title in 2010. He returned in 2017 having driven in WTCC and took his best ever championship result with third in 2018 for Motorbase. Following a poor season with BTC, Chilton has now switched to a RWD Ciceley BMW, but 2021 has been a struggle so far.
37. Jack Goff
Made his debut in a Team HARD Vauxhall Insignia in 2013, with his best drive and result being a second place in the season finale, where he challenged Shedden. Got a drive in a top team in 2015 with MG and won at Snetterton, then had a poor year with WSR. His best seasons were at Eurotech in 2017 and 2018 when he took many wins and challenged for the independents' championship. Struggled in a very uncompetitive Team HARD Volkswagen the next two seasons after Eurotech pulled out, but has had improved results in the Cupra in 2021. Deserves to get back into a front-running car.
36. Warren Hughes
Only drove in the BTCC for two full seasons in 2002 and 2003 with MG, but won a few races and did a very respectable job against Anthony Reid, who I rate very highly. Hughes came sixth in 2002 to Reid's fourth, and seventh in 2003 to Reid's sixth and young Colin Turkington's eighth. Was dropped in favour of Turkington as MG slimmed to a two-car outfit in 2004 and never raced in the BTCC again.
35. Patrick Watts
The greatest modern-era BTCC driver never to win a race, Watts divided opinion amongst drivers and fans. I believe it was Paul Radisich who, after a collision with Watts, labelled the incident 'just typical Patrick Watts,' but Watts was actually extremely quick. He took a pole at Thruxton in a Mazda in 1993, and was strong throughout 1994 as he dominated teammate Eugene O'Brien and finished eighth in the points. His form dropped during his last two seasons with Peugeot as he was outclassed by Tim Harvey, and left after 1997 with no race wins.
34. Steven Kane
Kane could be higher on the list, but is let down by only having two seasons and never in a championship-contending car. In 2008, he beat experienced Rob Collard in the championship as a rookie, which was no mean feat given Collard's later successes, and then did an incredible job in 2010 to comfortably beat Mat Jackson, who had finished second in a BMW only two years earlier, and get sixth overall, also winning at Thruxton. Had Steven Kane remained in the BTCC over the last ten years, I feel confident that he would have won a championship, or at least been a contender for one.
33. Julian Bailey
Perhaps most famous for tipping teammate Will Hoy on his roof in Silverstone 1993, Bailey joined the BTCC as a Formula 1 exile, and did a superb job to take fifth beat former champion Hoy in the championship for Toyota, doing the same the following year. He also won at Knockhill. His final season was 1995, where he came ninth and was comfortably ahead of new teammate Tim Sugden, before Toyota pulled out of the sport.
32. Andy Priaulx
Priaulx drove only two full seasons in the BTCC, one in 2002 and the other in 2015. Had he driven in the twelve years in between, he would surely be top five at least on this ranking, given his many WTCC titles. Priaulx came fifth in 2002 for Honda with an impressive win at Knockhill. In 2015 he returned with a pole on his first outing at Brands Hatch, but could only manage eighth in the standings with two wins. He was beaten by teammate Tordoff but was arguably the better driver over the course of the season.
31. Tom Onslow-Cole
Burst onto the BTCC scene as a teenager in 2007, and came tenth in the championship for WSR, appearing quick but error-prone. He seemed to iron those mistakes out in 2008 with a fine sixth in the standings only one place behind Matt Neal, including two wins at Thruxton. His best season was 2010, where he fought for the title in a Team Aon Ford, with only a disastrous final meeting costing him a deserved independents' crown to teammate Chilton. He returned to WSR in 2012 for sixth overall, behind teammate Collard. His last season was 2013, where he had another fantastic weekend at Thruxton with two podiums for Team HARD, but the rest of the season was less successful. It is a shame he wasn't in the championship for longer.

[Nononsensecapeesh]

Originally Posted by BTCC frog

40. Jeff Allam
The teammate to John Cleland in the first four years of the modern era, Allam had more success in previous seasons but still took some wins and was a title contender for much of the 1992 season. Not quite as quick as Cleland, and the pace dropped off further in 1993 and 1994, but still did a decent job and has been a steward for some time since.
39. Dan Eaves
The first driver ever to win three races in one weekend. Eaves started his career with a few impressive appearances in the production class, before getting a factory drive with Peugeot in 2001, where he beat Soper in the championship but was the less impressive of the two. Eaves was then teamed with Harvey and Breeze for two seasons in uncompetitive Peugeots before signing for Team Dynamics. Was close to Matt Neal's pace but ultimately not quite on it, but still took an impressive third in the championship in 2005.
38. Tom Chilton
Gets some points for longevity, as Chilton began his BTCC career as a teenager in 2002 and still drives in 2021. He did a very good job for Honda in 2004-2005 with some wins, after a disappointing first season there in 2003. Not so strong in Vauxhall as he was thoroughly outclassed by Giovanardi. Did well at Team Aon, although he was slower than Onslow-Cole and was lucky to take the independents' title in 2010. He returned in 2017 having driven in WTCC and took his best ever championship result with third in 2018 for Motorbase. Following a poor season with BTC, Chilton has now switched to a RWD Ciceley BMW, but 2021 has been a struggle so far.
37. Jack Goff
Made his debut in a Team HARD Vauxhall Insignia in 2013, with his best drive and result being a second place in the season finale, where he challenged Shedden. Got a drive in a top team in 2015 with MG and won at Snetterton, then had a poor year with WSR. His best seasons were at Eurotech in 2017 and 2018 when he took many wins and challenged for the independents' championship. Struggled in a very uncompetitive Team HARD Volkswagen the next two seasons after Eurotech pulled out, but has had improved results in the Cupra in 2021. Deserves to get back into a front-running car.
36. Warren Hughes
Only drove in the BTCC for two full seasons in 2002 and 2003 with MG, but won a few races and did a very respectable job against Anthony Reid, who I rate very highly. Hughes came sixth in 2002 to Reid's fourth, and seventh in 2003 to Reid's sixth and young Colin Turkington's eighth. Was dropped in favour of Turkington as MG slimmed to a two-car outfit in 2004 and never raced in the BTCC again.
35. Patrick Watts
The greatest modern-era BTCC driver never to win a race, Watts divided opinion amongst drivers and fans. I believe it was Paul Radisich who, after a collision with Watts, labelled the incident 'just typical Patrick Watts,' but Watts was actually extremely quick. He took a pole at Thruxton in a Mazda in 1993, and was strong throughout 1994 as he dominated teammate Eugene O'Brien and finished eighth in the points. His form dropped during his last two seasons with Peugeot as he was outclassed by Tim Harvey, and left after 1997 with no race wins.
34. Steven Kane
Kane could be higher on the list, but is let down by only having two seasons and never in a championship-contending car. In 2008, he beat experienced Rob Collard in the championship as a rookie, which was no mean feat given Collard's later successes, and then did an incredible job in 2010 to comfortably beat Mat Jackson, who had finished second in a BMW only two years earlier, and get sixth overall, also winning at Thruxton. Had Steven Kane remained in the BTCC over the last ten years, I feel confident that he would have won a championship, or at least been a contender for one.
33. Julian Bailey
Perhaps most famous for tipping teammate Will Hoy on his roof in Silverstone 1993, Bailey joined the BTCC as a Formula 1 exile, and did a superb job to take fifth beat former champion Hoy in the championship for Toyota, doing the same the following year. He also won at Knockhill. His final season was 1995, where he came ninth and was comfortably ahead of new teammate Tim Sugden, before Toyota pulled out of the sport.
32. Andy Priaulx
Priaulx drove only two full seasons in the BTCC, one in 2002 and the other in 2015. Had he driven in the twelve years in between, he would surely be top five at least on this ranking, given his many WTCC titles. Priaulx came fifth in 2002 for Honda with an impressive win at Knockhill. In 2015 he returned with a pole on his first outing at Brands Hatch, but could only manage eighth in the standings with two wins. He was beaten by teammate Tordoff but was arguably the better driver over the course of the season.
31. Tom Onslow-Cole
Burst onto the BTCC scene as a teenager in 2007, and came tenth in the championship for WSR, appearing quick but error-prone. He seemed to iron those mistakes out in 2008 with a fine sixth in the standings only one place behind Matt Neal, including two wins at Thruxton. His best season was 2010, where he fought for the title in a Team Aon Ford, with only a disastrous final meeting costing him a deserved independents' crown to teammate Chilton. He returned to WSR in 2012 for sixth overall, behind teammate Collard. His last season was 2013, where he had another fantastic weekend at Thruxton with two podiums for Team HARD, but the rest of the season was less successful. It is a shame he wasn't in the championship for longer.

Clearly a lot of thought is going into these lists, can't wait for the next one, good work BTCC Frog.

[BTCC frog]

30. Sam Tordoff
Tordoff's career was made up of a mixture of extremely lucky and unlucky seasons. His first full seasons were 2013 and 2014 with MG, where he took a sixth and seventh in the championship, but had multiple reliability problems while in strong positions. Tordoff then moved to WSR, where he came sixth in 2015 ahead of teammates Priaulx and Collard, before a career-best second in 2016, where he took four reversed grid poles and missed out on the championship by two points. After a year out, Tordoff returned in 2018 with Motorbase, where he finished eleventh to teammate Chilton's third, but again suffered many reliability problems. His final season was 2019 with AmD which was a similar story to 2018, but pulled out before the end of the season in tragic circumstances. Will hopefully return to the grid at some point in the future.
29. Josh Cook
Cook made his debut with Power Maxed Racing in 2015, where he immediately impressed by leading the third race at Donington Park. He then moved to a declining MG for 2016, but still came twelfth and was the only teammate so far to seriously challenge Ash Sutton in thirteenth. Cook drove the first half of 2017 in a Team Parker Ford and got some great results, before a more difficult second half back in an MG, where he blotted his copybook with a series of incidents that got him banned for a race. Returned to Power Maxed in 2018 and had a successful season, including his first win at Donington, to sixth in the standings. Cook then switched to BTC Racing and was a title contender (mainly through race threes) in 2019 with fourth. 2020 was more difficult as Cook had a lot of bad luck and only managed ninth, but 2021 has so far been more successful as he lies third after three rounds.
28. Tom Kristensen
Only one season in the BTCC for a driver who had a lot of success in other categories, but it was a very impressive one. Kristensen drove one of three Honda Accords and came seventh in the championship in possibly the strongest lineup of ten drivers in the championship's history. He beat future champion teammate James Thompson, and was only a few points behind past champion teammate Gabriele Tarquini. Kristensen won three races, including a double at the season finale at Silverstone. He's the second highest rated driver with only one season of experience.
27. Andy Rouse
Rouse is possibly the greatest BTCC driver of all time, but this list only takes into account 1991 onwards, so misses the best of Rouse. In 1991, Rouse drove a FWD Toyota, and finished a very impressive third in the new car, including a double at Donington. He stayed with Toyota for 1992, but now with a more competitive teammate in Will Hoy, who finished second to Rouse's fifth, and Rouse took his sixtieth and final win at the season finale in Silverstone. He then put in one of the greatest laps of all time at the TOCA shootout to lead the race from near the back of the grid. For 1993, Rouse decided to run Ford Mondeos, which missed the first part of the season, but his best days as a driver were now behind him and he was outclassed by Paul Radisich over 1993 and 1994, at the end of which he retired as a four-time champion.
26. Rob Collard
Collard is very much a veteran BTCC driver, with twenty years of experience, but those twenty years have been very much a mixed bag. He started off in the production class, before stepping up to the main class in 2003 and winning the independents' championship. In 2005 he got a drive with WSR in the MG and won his first race in an impressive season, but struggled the next year and was totally beaten by Colin Turkington. He drove for Motorbase in 2008-2009 losing to rookie Kane but beating rookie Adam in an improved 2009 season where he was sixth overall. Then returned to WSR where he would stay for a decade. 2010 and 2011 brought promise but Collard was unlucky not to win a race, while 2012 saw an improved BMW and Collard won multiple times on his way to fifth place. He was reunited with Turkington in 2013, but struggled with NGTC and had a horror season, with 2014 an improvement. 2015 was an unlucky season for Collard as he was beaten by both teammates Tordoff and Priaulx. Then came his best yet in 2016 as Collard fought for the title despite rarely qualifying in the top ten, and had some fantastic comeback drives. 2017 was even better as Collard was almost on the pace of Turkington all season, but his season ended early with a huge crash at Silverstone. Collard was never the same driver after that, winning once in 2018, then retiring after a single season with Power Maxed in 2019.