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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
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