1990 Esso RAC British Touring Car Championship - Discussion and results

[Jesper OH]

The final year of Group A (above 3000 cc) and what would become the 1990s Super Touring 2 litre cars in their first year.

Opened on request, but if there's some burning information out there, please enter.

Jesper

[KA]

Originally Posted by Jesper OH

The final year of Group A (above 3000 cc) and what would become the 1990s Super Touring 2 litre cars in their first year.

Opened on request, but if there's some burning information out there, please enter.

Jesper

Jesper- I've got most of the results for 1990, though a few are partial, so I could kick that one off later- don't have time now

[KA]

As 1989 is well under way, and Jesper has started the thread, I'll get this one rolling. I'll post some results later tonight, but for now I'll do a quick overview of the season entry

As Jesper said, 1990 was the first stage of transition from Group A to the new 2-litre regs that became Supertouring. The 'big' class over 3000cc Group A cars stayed for one final fling, but the remaining three classes were swept away to be replaced by a single new 2-litre class. At this stage, the cars looked very much like their Group A predecessors- in fact, some of the M3s would have been existing cars converted to the new engine regs.

Class A- All RS500 this year- the Maserati project having been abandoned at the end of '89. The Sierras were fewer in number this year, but the 'big four' teams, Rouse, Trakstar, Graham Goode, and the Rouse-run Team Labatt's were still present with a pair of cars each.

The Kaliber sponsorship deal had ended, and Rouse was back in ICS colours. Team-mate would be Sean Walker, moving over from running a third Goode car, and bringing his regular FAI Automotive sponsorship

Graham Goode reverted to running just a pair of cars, otherwise nothing else changed- Goode and Mike Newman, with Listerine sponsorship again in what would turn out to be the final BTCC season as drivers for both- Mike missing several races mid-season, and Andy Middlehurst stepping in for one of them.

The Bristow/Harvey/Team Labatt's combination continued unchanged, apart from a new paintjob, the cars carrying a prominent 'Don't Drink & Drive' message

Trakstar also continued with the same driver pairing- Gravett and Smith, but the cars would look very different to 1989. The Cartel/NEC backing from '89 had gone- and there was no title sponsor to replace it. Robb Gravett starting the season in a pristine white (a new car I think?) RS500, with only a few Shell decals. Smith wouldn't appear until round 2- and then his car wore the previous year's red and white paintscheme, but with no more sponsorship than Robb's. Moreover, for his debut at the Donington 1-hour race, Mike was sharing with Graham Hathaway- the car's new owner. Hathaway would continue to run the ex-Trakstar car himself, but the next time we'd see Smith in an RS500 would be Silverstone- in July...This was a far cry from 1989's well-funded effort, with various one-off sponsors appearing from time to time- Qubie Computers,Champion, Dianetics...Ford Credit stepped in late season. Fortunately, although the team's finances were uncertain, the car was as effective as it had been in '89

That was it for regular Sierras- Graham Hathaway did about half a season in his ex-Trakstar car, as did Dennis Leech in his new RS500 (sadly in plain white, rather than the distinctive black and dayglo orange of his Rover)

The others the others were occasional visitors, only doing a few races. Dave Brodie did a few rounds in the second half of the year, ), Italian Amato Ferrari visited a couple of times with a car run by F3000 team Crypton Engineering, and Stuart Donnan appeared once

[KA]

To some extent, the 'brave new world' of the 2-litre class didn't look much different to the old, with lots of BMW M3s
Prodrive were back with a pair of cars, the team led by Frank Sytner. There was a big change in the other car though- James Weaver replaced by a trio of youngsters from single-seater backgrounds- Kurt Luby, Kelvin Burt and Tim Sugden
The M3 proved a popular choice for the 2-litre privateer.
BMW dealers Godfrey Hall, John Clark and Nick Whale joined forces to run a trio of cars under the Pyramid Motorsport banner.
Ian Forrest returned, as part of a two-car Ecosse Motorsport effort. The second car would be handled by several different drivers, Hugh Chalmers being the most regular occupant, but rallyman Jimmy McRae appeared a few times
Jerry Mahony stepped down from the Sierra class to drive BRR Motorsports M3 in Arquati colours, but quit about halfway through the season- Ian Flux would take the car over at the end of the year.
Nettan Lindgren continued to make the trip from Sweden, doing most of the season
Not all of the BMWs were M3s though- Techspeed fielded a 318iS for Nick Baird, but never quite got to grips with it.

There were new cars other than BMWs though...

Reigning champions John Cleland and Vauxhall were back, the successful Astras replaced by a Cavalier GSi built to the new rules. A second car appeared from time to time, (including some unsuccessful experiments with rwd). Chris Hodgetts was the most regular pilot, but Bob Berridge, Markus Oestreich all had at least one appearance, as did a young Formula Vauxhall Lotus driver by the name of David Coulthard. His immediate future wasn't going to be the BTCC though...

Andy Rouse stuck with Ford for his first try at the new regs, with a 4-door Sierra Sapphire for ex-sportscar racer Ray Bellm. The car proved troublesome, and a disillusioned Bellm quit before the end of the year, having missed a number of races. Chris Hodgetts had a couple of runs in the car at the end of the season

Mitsubishi were back, with a non-turbo Starion for journalist & racer Mark Hales. Sponsorship and tyres came from Firestone, though at the start of the year, not all would be as it seemed in the tyre department....

After his success with the Honda Civic the previous year, Ray Armes was back with a new Trakstar-run 4-door Civic, again with PG Tags sponsorship. The car would prove much less successful though, firmly rooted to the foot of the timesheets all season, not helped by engine development delays forcing them to use the 1600cc engine from the original car in the early races....

Finally, privateer Jeff Wilson went the Vauxhall route- not a Cavalier though, but the Astra-based 4-door Belmont saloon. It was a low-budget effort, and off-the-pace when it finally appeared at the end of the year

The calendar was pretty much as before, although the early-season Donington 1-hour/2-driver race would be joined by a second one at Brands later in the year

First results to follow later

[bigears]

Graham Hathway entered his Ford Sierra RS500 for the Birmingham round but never took part in the qualifying sessions.

Same goes to Ray Bellm with his Ford Sierra Sapphire and Jerry Mahony with his BMW M3.

[Jesper OH]

Thank you, KA, for a very proper introduction.

I have to add the presence of Vic Lee as an entrant of a converted Bigazzi Group A BMW M3 for BTCC returnee Jeff Allam, who would be one of the leading lights of the season.

Like your description of the Mitsubishi tyre deal ..and early rubber situation

Jesper

[KA]

Originally Posted by Jesper OH

Thank you, KA, for a very proper introduction.

I have to add the presence of Vic Lee as an entrant of a converted Bigazzi Group A BMW M3 for BTCC returnee Jeff Allam, who would be one of the leading lights of the season.

Like your description of the Mitsubishi tyre deal ..and early rubber situation

Jesper

Yes, I realised I'd forgotten the Vic Lee Motorsport M3 just after I'd gone out... Quite a significant entry to miss out bearing in mind the impact Lee was going to have on the BTCC over the next few years...

[Jesper OH]

Originally Posted by KA

Yes, I realised I'd forgotten the Vic Lee Motorsport M3 just after I'd gone out... Quite a significant entry to miss out bearing in mind the impact Lee was going to have on the BTCC over the next few years...

But the team did miss the opening round, right?

Jesper

[KA]

Originally Posted by Jesper OH

But the team did miss the opening round, right?

Jesper

Debuted Round 3 at Thruxton

[KA]

1990 BTCC Round 1: Oulton Park, 13 April 1990. xx Laps

Pos.

Cl.

#

Driver

Team/sponsor

Cat.

Car

Grid.

Time

Fastest lap

Laps

Time

Notes

1.

1.

1

Andy Rouse

Rouse/ICS

A

Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth

2.

2.

5

Mike Newman

Goode/Listerine

A

Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth

3.

3.

10

Lawrence Bristow

Rouse/Team Labatts

A

Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth

4.

4.

3

Tim Harvey

Rouse/Team Labatts

A

Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth

12.

?

11

Robb Gravett

Trakstar

A

Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth

?.

1.

56

Kelvin Burt

Prodrive/BMW Finance+Mobil 1

B

BMW M3

?.

2.

55

Frank Sytner

Prodrive/BMW Finance+Mobil 1

B

BMW M3

DNS.

DNS

77

Godfrey Hall

Pyramid Motorsport

B

BMW M3

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by KA

As 1989 is well under way, and Jesper has started the thread, I'll get this one rolling. I'll post some results later tonight, but for now I'll do a quick overview of the season entry

As Jesper said, 1990 was the first stage of transition from Group A to the new 2-litre regs that became Supertouring. The 'big' class over 3000cc Group A cars stayed for one final fling, but the remaining three classes were swept away to be replaced by a single new 2-litre class. At this stage, the cars looked very much like their Group A predecessors- in fact, some of the M3s would have been existing cars converted to the new engine regs.

Class A- All RS500 this year- the Maserati project having been abandoned at the end of '89. The Sierras were fewer in number this year, but the 'big four' teams, Rouse, Trakstar, Graham Goode, and the Rouse-run Team Labatt's were still present with a pair of cars each.

The Kaliber sponsorship deal had ended, and Rouse was back in ICS colours. Team-mate would be Sean Walker, moving over from running a third Goode car, and bringing his regular FAI Automotive sponsorship

Graham Goode reverted to running just a pair of cars, otherwise nothing else changed- Goode and Mike Newman, with Listerine sponsorship again in what would turn out to be the final BTCC season as drivers for both- Mike missing several races mid-season, and Andy Middlehurst stepping in for one of them.

The Bristow/Harvey/Team Labatt's combination continued unchanged, apart from a new paintjob, the cars carrying a prominent 'Don't Drink & Drive' message

Trakstar also continued with the same driver pairing- Gravett and Smith, but the cars would look very different to 1989. The Cartel/NEC backing from '89 had gone- and there was no title sponsor to replace it. Robb Gravett starting the season in a pristine white (a new car I think?) RS500, with only a few Shell decals. Smith wouldn't appear until round 2- and then his car wore the previous year's red and white paintscheme, but with no more sponsorship than Robb's. Moreover, for his debut at the Donington 1-hour race, Mike was sharing with Graham Hathaway- the car's new owner. Hathaway would continue to run the ex-Trakstar car himself, but the next time we'd see Smith in an RS500 would be Silverstone- in July...This was a far cry from 1989's well-funded effort, with various one-off sponsors appearing from time to time- Qubie Computers,Champion, Dianetics...Ford Credit stepped in late season. Fortunately, although the team's finances were uncertain, the car was as effective as it had been in '89

That was it for regular Sierras- Graham Hathaway did about half a season in his ex-Trakstar car, as did Dennis Leech in his new RS500 (sadly in plain white, rather than the distinctive black and dayglo orange of his Rover)

The others the others were occasional visitors, only doing a few races. Dave Brodie did a few rounds in the second half of the year, ), Italian Amato Ferrari visited a couple of times with a car run by F3000 team Crypton Engineering, and Stuart Donnan appeared once

Just to be strictly pedantic here. Mike Newman started the year without sponsorship, running the car in plain black (and a "Mad Mike" sunstrip in reference to a televiesd comment from Dave Brodie!), his Listerine sponsorship re-appeared later in the season...

[KA]

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

Just to be strictly pedantic here. Mike Newman started the year without sponsorship, running the car in plain black (and a "Mad Mike" sunstrip in reference to a televiesd comment from Dave Brodie!), his Listerine sponsorship re-appeared later in the season...

Thanks- I'd completely forgotten about that! Now you mention it, I half-remember the bit about Brodie's comments- wasn't it from a bit of pre-race interview for the BBC, something like 'We've got Mad Mike Newman on the front row, so anything could happen?'

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by KA

Thanks- I'd completely forgotten about that! Now you mention it, I half-remember the bit about Brodie's comments- wasn't it from a bit of pre-race interview for the BBC, something like 'We've got Mad Mike Newman on the front row, so anything could happen?'

That's right KA. I can't remember it word-for-word, but something very close to what you remember I'm sure.

[BILTEL]

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

That's right KA. I can't remember it word-for-word, but something very close to what you remember I'm sure.

Same here, it sounds right. Dave didn't have many good words to say about his fellow racers that year did he?

I know where the Starion is and the owner gets on here from time to time.

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by BILTEL

Same here, it sounds right. Dave didn't have many good words to say about his fellow racers that year did he?

I know where the Starion is and the owner gets on here form time to time.

He probably had a part-time job as a youngster keeping the local church clock going. He's certainly an entertaining wind-up merchant!

[Jesper OH]

Originally Posted by KA

1990 BTCC Round 1: Oulton Park, 13 April 1990. xx Laps

A few updates from old paper notes tranferred to pc - with all the danger of in-accurasy and false transcripts. No Autosport for that round, sorry.

Seing that Frank Sytner was beaten by young teammate Kelvin Burt, I wonder if the thought of "Oh no, not again!" wondered through his head.

Jesper

[KA]

Round 2- Donington, 29 April 1990. 1 hour duration = 35 laps

the 1-hour/2-driver race at Donington seemed to be becoming a tradition- indeed we'd have a second one late-season at Brands. Sadly, this would be the last season they'd feature

Pos.

Cl.

#

Driver

Team/sponsor

Cat.

Car

Grid.

Time

Fastest lap

Laps

Time

Notes

1.

1.

1

Andy Rouse/David Sears

Rouse/ICS

A

Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth

3

1m39.75

35 laps

1h00m21.934

2.

2.

11

Robb Gravett/Stig Blomqvist

Trakstar

A

Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth

1

1m38.59

1m41.27

35 laps

1h00m31.35

3.

3.

10

Lawrence Bristow/Tomas Mezera

Rouse/Team Labatts

A

Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth

5

1m40.86

35 laps

1h00m57.37

4.

4.

4

Sean Walker/Ian Flux

Rouse/FAI Automotive

A

Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth

4

1m40.56

35 laps

1h01m05.90

5.

5.

15

Graham Goode/Mike Newman

Goode/Listerine

A

Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth

6

1m42.65

34 laps

6.

1.

55

Frank Sytner/Kurt Luby

Prodrive/BMW Finance+Mobil 1

B

BMW M3

8

1m45.08

1m45.70

34 laps

7.

2.

77

Godfrey Hall/David Leslie

Pyramid Motorsport/Gemini Car Alarms

B

BMW M3

12

1m46.34

34 laps

8.

3.

66

Nick Whale/Gerrit van Kouwen

Pyramid Motorsport/Mobil Super Plus

B

BMW M3

15

1m48.04

33 laps

9.

4.

90

Nettan Lindgren/Per-Gunnar Andersson

Nettan Lindgren

B

BMW M3

11

1m46.15

33 laps

10.

5.

53

Hugh Chalmers/Jimmy McRae

Ecosse Motorsport/MF Industrial

B

BMW M3

14

1m48.00

33 laps

11.

6.

59

Jerry Mahony/Robbie Stirling

BRR Motorsport/Arquati

B

BMW M3

17

1m48.74

32 laps

12.

7.

100

Ray Armes/Jeremy Rossiter

Trakstar/PG Tags Racing

B

Honda Civic 1.6

20

1m54.74

31 laps

NCF

NCF

57

Nick Baird/David Carvell

Techspeed Motorsport

B

BMW 318iS

18

1m49.19

29 laps

DNF

DNF

51

Ray Bellm/James Shead

Rouse/Hawaiian Tropic

B

Ford Sierra Sapphire

16

1m48.54

26 laps- engine

DNF

DNF

56

Kurt Luby/Kelvin Burt

Prodrive/BMW Finance+ Mobil 1

B

BMW M3

10

1m46.06

23 laps-accident

DNF

DNF

52

Ian Forrest/Bernard Hunter

Ecosse Motorsport/Drambuie

B

BMW M3

13

1m47.28

21 laps- engine

DNF

DNF

60

Mark Hales/Graham Scarborough

John Maguire/Firestone+Hays

B

Mitsubishi Starion

19

1m51.85

17 laps-gearbox

DNF

DNF

50

John Cleland/ChrisHodgetts

DCRS/Vauxhall Dealer Sport

B

Vauxhall Cavalier GSi

9

1m45.09

12 laps- driveshaft

DNF

DNF

3

Tim Harvey/Slim Borgudd

Rouse/Team Labatts

A

Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth

2

1m38.39

11 laps-head gasket

DNF

DNF

12

Mike Smith/Graham Hathaway

Trakstar

A

Ford Sierra RS500

7

1m41.23

0 laps- accident

Mike Smith sharing the second Trakstar car with new owner Graham Hathaway went off on the first lap, while Gravett, partnered by rally legend Stig Blomqvist looked set for the win from Rouse/Sears- until Stig dropped it with a spin at Goddards on the last lap, David Sears passing him to take the win for Rouse

Only a single car for Graham Goode here- Mike Newman sharing Goode's Listerine car.

The PG Tags Honda was still running with the 1600cc engine from the 1989 car, as the 2-litre engine wasn't ready

Prodrive curiously only had three drivers present- Kurt Luby sharing with both Sytner and Kelvin Burt- was there any reason for this, possiby Tim Sugden having a clashing commitment?

Tyres were an issue for the Starion of Mark Hales, as I hinted at the beginning of the thread. The Firestone-sponsored team had actually started the season at Oulton on Dunlops as the proper Firestones weren't ready in time... The manufacturers name being buffed out of the sidewall, and Firestone's 'Firehawk' brand name painted in it's place....

Photographic proof by Alan Cox, who told the story on the Autosport forum- a partially buffed out Dunlop 'D' symbol is just visible at the bottom of the tyre
http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...lesStarion.jpg
Anyone know if the Starion was on the right rubber by Donington?

Quite a strong Swedish presence on the entry, regular visitor Nettan Lindgren joined by Peggen Andersson in her car, Blomqvist in the Gravett Sierra, and Slim Borgudd joining Tim Harvey at Labatts.
Blomqvist wasn't the only rally driver here, Jimmy McRae having the first(?) of several outings in the yellow Hugh Chalmers M3

[KA]

Round 3- Thruxton, 28 May 1990. ?? laps

Pos.

Cl.

#

Driver

Team/sponsor

Cat.

Car

Grid.

Time

Fastest lap

Laps

Time

Notes

1.

1.

11

Robb Gravett

Trakstar

A

Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth

1

1m19.86

1m21.51

27m27.85

2.

2.

3

Tim Harvey

Rouse/Team Labatts

A

Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth

3

1m20.31

27m29.31

3.

3.

14

Graham Hathaway

Graham Hathaway Racing

A

Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth

8

1m22.62

27m46.60

4.

4.

10

Lawrence Bristow

Rouse/Team Labatts

A

Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth

5

1m21.27

27m46.81

5.

5.

4

Sean Walker

Rouse/FAI Automotive

A

Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth

6

1m21.76

27m47.16

6.

6.

15

Graham Goode/Mike Newman

Goode/Listerine

A

Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth

7

1m22.05

28m28.71

7.

1.

50

John Cleland

DCRS/Vauxhall Dealer Sport

B

Vauxhall Cavalier GSi

9

1m22.91

1m24.25

28m34.50

8.

2.

99

Jeff Allam

Vic Lee Motorsport/Auto Audio + Whitehouse BMW

B

BMW M3

10

1m23.90

28m39.23

9.

3.

55

Frank Sytner

Prodrive/BMW Finance + Mobil 1

B

BMW M3

11

1m24.55

28m44.03

10.

7.

1

Andy Rouse

Rouse/ICS

A

Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth

2

1m20.26

28m46.57

11.

4.

56

Kurt Luby

Prodrive/BMW Finance + Mobil 1

B

BMW M3

12

1m25.15

28m46.82

12.

5.

77

Godfrey Hall

Pyramid Motorsport/Gemini Car Alarms

B

BMW M3

14

1m25.53

1 lap down

13.

6.

66

Nick Whale

Pyramid Motorsport/Mobil Super Plus

B

BMW M3

13

1m25.15

1 lap down

14.

7.

52

Ian Forrest

Ecosse Motorsport/Drambuie

B

BMW M3

18

1m26.22

1 lap down

15.

8.

57

Nick Baird

Techspeed Motorsport

B

BMW 318iS

16

1m25.93

1 lap down

16.

9.

100

Ray Armes

Trakstar/PG Tags Racing

B

Honda Civic

21

1m30.84

1 lap down

NCF

NCF

88

John Clark

Pyramid Motorsport

B

BMW M3

22

1m30.75

2 laps down

DNF

DNF

60

Mark Hales

John Maguire/Firestone+Hays

B

Mitsubishi Starion

19

1m26.25

18 laps- tyres/puncture?

DNF

DNF

5

Mike Newman

Graham Goode Racing

A

Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth

4

1m20.50

10 laps- accident

DNF

DNF

69

Jerry Mahony

BRR Motorsport/Arquati

B

BMW M3

17

1m25.06

6 laps- gearbox

DNF

DNF

53

Jimmy McRae

Ecosse Motorsport/MF Industrial

B

BMW M3

15

1m25.53

0 laps- engine

DNS

DNS

51

Ray Bellm

Rouse/Hawaiian Tropic

B

Ford Sierra Sapphire

20

1m26.94

DNS- engine

A few changes to the entry here at Thruxton- In Class A the return of Mike Newman's Goode RS500, and Graham Hathaway back in the ex-Johnson Trakstar Sierra he shared with Mike Smith at Donington- the car now run by Hathaway's own team, finishing a good 3rd. Gravett took pole and the win, while Rouse had problems in the race, coming home 10th.

In Class B, Nettan Lindgren was absent (racing in Sweden?), Kurt Luby was in the second Prodrive M3, and Jimmy McRae returned, replacing Hugh Chalmers in the Ecosse/MF Industrial car. There was one further addition- Jeff Allam in the Vic Lee Motorsport M3, making an immediate impression by taking 2nd in class here.
Ray Bellm's Sapphire was a non starter, with another engine problem...

[Jesper OH]

Originally Posted by KA

Round 3- Thruxton, 28 May 1990. ?? laps

In Class B, Nettan Lindgren was absent (racing in Sweden?), Kurt Luby was in the second Prodrive M3, and Jimmy McRae returned, replacing Hugh Chalmers in the Ecosse/MF Industrial car. There was one further addition- Jeff Allam in the Vic Lee Motorsport M3, making an immediate impression by taking 2nd in class here.
Ray Bellm's Sapphire was a non starter, with another engine problem...

Yes, indeed she was. Here's the Swedish calender with the results of Nettan in ():

Round 1 - 1990.05.06 - Mantorp Park (14th/DNF)
Round 2 - 1990.05.27 - Ring Knutstorp (4th)
Round 3 - 1990.06.10 - Scandinavian Raceway (7th)
Round 4 - 1990.07.15 - Falkenberg (DNA)
Round 5 - 1990.07.29 - Kinnekulle Ring (6th)
Round 6 - 1990.08.06 - Ring Knutstorp (13th/DNF)

I'll have a look for my 1990 notes.

Jesper

[KA]

Round 4- Silverstone, 10/6/90 25 laps

Pos.

Cl.

#

Driver

Team/sponsor

Cat.

Car

Grid.

Time

Fastest lap

Laps

Time

Notes

1.

1.

11

Robb Gravett

Trakstar

A

Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth

2

1m10.47

30m20.45

2.

2.

4

Sean Walker

Rouse/FAI Automotive

A

Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth

5

1m11.01

30m22.90

3.

3.

1

Andy Rouse

Rouse/ICS

A

Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth

1

1m10.12

30m26.75

4.

4.

10

Lawrence Bristow

Rouse/Team Labatts

A

Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth

7

1m11.41

30m26.23

5.

5.

14

Graham Hathaway

Graham Hathaway Racing

A

Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth

8

1m13.09

31m08.82

6.

1.

55

Frank Sytner

Prodrive/BMW Finance + Mobil 1

B

BMW M3

10

1m15.36

1m15.60

24 laps

7.

2.

50

John Cleland

DCRS/Vauxhall Dealer Sport

B

Vauxhall Cavalier GSi

9

1m15.15

24 laps

8.

3.

99

Jeff Allam

Vic Lee Motorsport/Auto Audio + Whitehouse BMW

B

BMW M3

11

1m16.24

24 laps

9.

4.

56

Tim Sugden

Prodrive/BMW Finance + Mobil 1

B

BMW M3

12

1m16.28

24 laps

10.

5.

77

Godfrey Hall

Pyramid Motorsport/Gemini Car Alarms

B

BMW M3

13

1m16.39

24 laps

11.

6.

5

Mike Newman

Graham Goode Racing

A

Ford Sierra RS500

4

1m10.83

24 laps

12

6.

69

Jerry Mahony

BRR Motorsport/Arquati

B

BMW M3

14

1m16.81

24 laps

13.

7.

52

Ian Forrest

Ecosse Motorsport/Drambuie

B

BMW M3

??

1m26.22*

23 laps

*qualifying time disallowed?

14.

8.

53

Hugh Chalmers

Ecosse Motorsport/MF Industrial

B

BMW M3

16

1m17.68

23 laps

15.

9.

57

Nick Baird

Techspeed Motorsport

B

BMW 318iS

18

1m18.56

23laps

DNF.

DNF.

15

Graham Goode

Goode/Listerine

A

Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth

6

1m11.06

24 laps- turbo

DNF

DNF

60

Mark Hales

John Maguire/Firestone+Hays

B

Mitsubishi Starion

17

1m18.10

16 laps- starter

DNF

DNF

100

Ray Armes

Trakstar/PG Tags Racing

B

Honda Civic

20

1m23.19

11 laps- tie rod

DNF

DNF

3

Tim Harvey

Rouse/Team Labatts

A

Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth

3

1m10.63

1m09.89

8 laps- head gasket

DNF

DNF

88

John Clark

Pyramid Motorsport

B

BMW M3

19

1m19.18

2 laps down

DNS

DNS

51

Ray Bellm

Rouse/Hawaiian Tropic

B

Ford Sierra Sapphire

21

2m44.70

DNS-engine

DNP

DNP

22

Dennis Leech

Dennis Leech/Partservice Exeter

A

Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth

DNP

N/T

DNP

One addition to the Class A entry here- Dennis Leech in his new RS500. The car didn't turn a wheel, apparently after the team were unable to unload it- the tail lift on the transporter had failed....

A couple of absentees in Class B- Nettan Lindgren again racing in Sweden, and possibly Nick Whale's Pyramid Motorsport M3 (certainly missing from my copy of the result. Other changes in the entry were Tim Sugden taking over the second Prodrive M3 for the next couple of races, and Hugh Chalmers returning in the Ecosse/MF Industrial car, after Jimmy McRae's appearances.
The Bellm Sapphire was a non-starter- another engine problem...

One correction to the previous (Round 3) result- 6th place should be Graham Goode- not sure how I managed to get Mike Newman's name in there as well....

[Jesper OH]

Originally Posted by KA

Round 3- Thruxton, 28 May 1990. ?? laps


A few changes to the entry here at Thruxton- In Class A the return of Mike Newman's Goode RS500, and Graham Hathaway back in the ex-Johnson Trakstar Sierra he shared with Mike Smith at Donington- the car now run by Hathaway's own team, finishing a good 3rd. Gravett took pole and the win, while Rouse had problems in the race, coming home 10th.

In Class B, Nettan Lindgren was absent (racing in Sweden?), Kurt Luby was in the second Prodrive M3, and Jimmy McRae returned, replacing Hugh Chalmers in the Ecosse/MF Industrial car. There was one further addition- Jeff Allam in the Vic Lee Motorsport M3, making an immediate impression by taking 2nd in class here.
Ray Bellm's Sapphire was a non starter, with another engine problem...

Don't know why John Clark was not classified, having completed 18 laps as Ray Armes did.

Jesper

[Jesper OH]

Originally Posted by KA

Round 4- Silverstone, 10/6/90 25 laps



One addition to the Class A entry here- Dennis Leech in his new RS500. The car didn't turn a wheel, apparently after the team were unable to unload it- the tail lift on the transporter had failed....

A couple of absentees in Class B- Nettan Lindgren again racing in Sweden, and possibly Nick Whale's Pyramid Motorsport M3 (certainly missing from my copy of the result. Other changes in the entry were Tim Sugden taking over the second Prodrive M3 for the next couple of races, and Hugh Chalmers returning in the Ecosse/MF Industrial car, after Jimmy McRae's appearances.
The Bellm Sapphire was a non-starter- another engine problem...

One correction to the previous (Round 3) result- 6th place should be Graham Goode- not sure how I managed to get Mike Newman's name in there as well....

Ian Forrest lost his qualifying times as the car proved to be underweight. Bob Jamieson mentioned as team boss.

Mike Newman should be running Listerine sponsorship by this round.

Forgotten about it untill now, but the points system was changed for 1990 from the previous 9-6-4-3-2-1 for top-6 positions to 20-15-12-10-8-6-4-3-2-1 for top-10 positions in the classes.

Jesper

[bigears]

I got a copy of the official qualifying times at the Birmingham Superprix and I put it together with some notes from Autosport and Motoring News. No official race results yet but hopefully I will get it soon.

I don't know how to use code to edit Jesper's posts but I have put up an Excel file of the 1990 BTCC details from the Superprix so perhaps someone can put up the edited details into Jesper's post of the BSP results and grid.

1990_BSP_BTCC.xls

[William Dale Jr]

I was searching around for pictures of the Labatt's cars and had a nice little find:

http://www.btccaction.co.uk/results/1990/rd1.php

The results only seem to be accessible through the "Select Result" dropdown box (selecting 1990 doesn't work), but the site has results from every round! No qualifying times, but full fastest laps data. A quick shifty through the forum suggests that the results might have come from Autosport.

[Jesper OH]

Originally Posted by William Dale Jr

I was searching around for pictures of the Labatt's cars and had a nice little find:

http://www.btccaction.co.uk/results/1990/rd1.php

The results only seem to be accessible through the "Select Result" dropdown box (selecting 1990 doesn't work), but the site has results from every round! No qualifying times, but full fastest laps data. A quick shifty through the forum suggests that the results might have come from Autosport.

A good find there, William, although I can't access any 1990 races unless using your link. This backtracking of my part was to see if any earlier years were present.

Jesper