[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by William Dale Jr

Well, I've had a look through the Auto Actions and this is what the search turned up:

In an earlier issue, Rouse said that the turbocharger housing had cracked and had been welded up to repair it, and that this is where the added material had come from. He also said that if this repair was declared illegal then every other car out there was also illegal, as they would all have endured similar repairs over time.



The earlier issue also quotes the "56 points from his current 55 tally." I'm wondering how that works? Tell me if this is right: 9 for the victory; plus 6 for the second; a maximum score is 10 (9 for win, +1 for fastest lap), so 2x2 means plus 40 points; plus his 1 point for fastest lap in Rd.7? Equals 56 for me!



It looks like the BTCC site is a little confused, too! The points table carries Rouse's 56-point penalty, but the History, 1958-1990 page says that, "...Rouse, with his six wins, retained the class title..." I looked in the issues beyond No. 491 and saw no mention of any further appeals so, unless anything appears in Autosport to the contrary, I think we can safely assume that Rouse was indeed the 1989 Class A champion.



Looking at the review video - I believe the same footage is on YouTube - Goode is nowhere to be seen at the start of the race, so I assume he either started at the back of the field, or that he started from pit lane. There is, however, a Listerine car starting inside the top 10, and it is also seen behind Mike Smith when Mike is interviewed in the pits after his retirement.

So, Mike Newman, started 8th, retired early?

That's right. Goode started as first reserve due to problems in practice and was able to start the race when Mike Jordan pulled into the pits with transmission problems at the end of the warm up lap.
Mike Newman did start the race but retired (if I remember correctly) with overheating problems...