1988 Dunlop RAC British Touring Car Championship - Discussion & Results

[Tim Wilkinson]

News from Thruxton -

It was Guy Edwards first saloon race since he'd raced Minis a long time ago, the GGR cars had problems in qualifying with engine management (Goode) and front ARB breaking (Newman). Leeach's Rover was apparently untouched since the last round of '87. Mahony had engine and handling gremlins. Minshaw had reshelled his M3 and had a new Schnitzer engine. James Shead had a new block in his Golf. Vic Lee's Escort appearance was intended as a one-off. Phil Dowsett crashed his Corolla at Allard, badly damaging the car; it was fixed for the race, but goes some way to explaining his below-par qualifying. he also hit the back of Crudgington's car in the race, damaging the car further.

In the race, Leech's Rover went in sideways at the chicane, at speed. [Didn't this require another reshell?]

Mark Hales will partner Jerry Mahony in the 1-hour race at Donington. He mixed Thruxton due to Uniroyal commitments. Vice Lee is is linked to a Toyota drive later in the year. MIL had withdrawn their Supra from Thruxton to continue with its test programme; the team Corolla for Kevin Eaton was also missing, as was Nick May's Maserati.

[KA]

Originally Posted by 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?] Was Eccles still doing prodsaloons in the Swinford Merc 190?
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.

I was there and remember it fairly well. Quite an odd race- the RS500s and the new Nissan dominated but dropped out one-by-one leaving the surviving Schnitzer M3 of Ravaglia/van de Poele (team-mates Lohr/Quester having retired- Ellen being pushed off into the gravel at Redgate by an errant Toyota Supra as I remember) to take the win from the Prodrive pair and a Dutch privateer M3. No-one in the 'big' class managed to make the finish...

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. Wonder which that one was?

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]
Sounds like the Karl Jones Asquith/Duckhams car which I think was one of the ex-Longman/Curnow/Datapost pair

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.

Is it me, or does this suggest there was a certain lack of co-ordination in Toyota's BTCC plans?- Looking back to '86, Toyota GB back Chris Hodgetts and CHMS, who deliver back-to-back titles with locally-prepared cars, only to have the TOM'S car arrive (car supplied directly from Japan as I recall) late in '87.
Toyota GB back MIL Motorsport's Supra plans for '88 (again with cars built in the UK), and we have TOM'S now talking about running a Supra for Dowsett- again, given their relationship to TOM'S in Japan, I'd guess they might have planning on bringing one of the Japanese TOM'S cars over. You'd almost think Toyota GB and Japan weren't talking to each other very much....

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.

Thanks Tim- interesting to see some of the plans that didn't come together (2nd Maserati, TOM'S Supra, the Holden being homologated anytime before late summer....)

[KA]

Originally Posted by Tim Wilkinson

News from Thruxton -
In the race, Leech's Rover went in sideways at the chicane, at speed. [Didn't this require another reshell?]

I remember the Dennis Leech accident (think like the Buxtorf shunt it was caught fairly well by the BBC TV coverage- still got it on video somewhere) but don't remember how badly the car was damaged- IIRC that one's been reshelled a couple of times over the years....

[KA]

Thruxton qualifying times

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 1m20.86
2./ #22 / Andy Rouse / Rouse-Kaliber / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth 1m21.51
3./ #15 / Graham Goode / Goode-Listerine / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth 1m22.48
4./ #14 / Mike Newman / Goode-Burlington / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth 1m23.28
5./ #4 / Dennis Leech / Leech-Demon Tweeks / A / Rover 3500 V8 Vitesse 1m23.75
6./ #7 / Mike O'Brien / Docking / A / Holden Commodore VL 1m24.43
7./ #10 / Robb Gravett / Rouse / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth 1m24.59
8./ #16 / Karl Jones / Asquith-Duckhams / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth 1m24.67
9./ #21 / Guy Edwards / Rouse-Kaliber / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth 1m24.72
10./ #8 / Jerry Mahony / Dowson-Arquati / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth 1m24.72
11./ #33 / Frank Sytner / Richards-Mobil / B / BMW M3 1m24.74
12./ #19 / Laurence Bristow / Rouse / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth 1m24.91
13./ #5 / Tim Harvey / Drury / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth 1m25.18
14./ #32 / Mike Smith / Richards-Mobil / B / BMW M3 1m25.69
15./ #17 / Bob Sands / CC-Crystal / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth 1m25.57
16./ #36 / Godfrey Hall / Maguire / B / BMW M3 1m26.07- I almost missed the Hall M3 in the photo- He's well out of his grid slot, right over by the edge of the track, and the crew seem to be looking at something at the back of the car...a last-minute problem being fixed?
17./ the pic shows a gap on the grid that should be filled with Graham Hathaway's RS500....
#20 / Graham Hathaway/Hathaway/A/Sierra RS500/1m27.50- DNS engine
18./ #27 / Peter Buxtorf / Buxtorf / A / BMW 635CSi 1m28.01
19./ another missing car in the pic- #77/Geoff Kimber-Smith/AGK/D/Toyota Corolla GT/ 1m28.91- should have been fastest in Class D
20./ #44 / Alan Minshaw / Minshaw-Demon Tweeks / B / BMW M3 1m29.84

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.

The rest should be:
21./#62/Tony Crudgington/Crudgington/D/Toyota Corolla GT/1m30.68 (in the pic, looks to be correctly lined up in his grid slot- car has the LH door open)
22./#55/James Shead/Maguire/D/VW Golf GTi 16v/1m31.48- the white/blue Golf alongside Crudgington
23./#70/Phil Dowsett/TOM'S GB/D/Toyota Corolla GT (fwd)/1m32.30- in the pic, appears to be the car diagonally across the track, just lining up behind Crudgington)
24./#48/Andrew Jeffrey/Specialist Cars Aberdeen/C/VW Golf GTi 16v/1m32.56- lined up behind (and partially obscured by) Shead
25./#38/Dave Wallis/Drury/B/Ford Escort RS Turbo/1m33.02- the Mk3 Escort visible at the back
26./Another absentee in the pic-#39/Lionel Wiffen/Drury/B/Ford Escort RS Turbo/1m36.60- DNS with gearbox troubles
27./Also missing from the pic as far as I can see- #74/Vic Lee/North Essex/D/Ford Escort RS1600i/1m42.24
Lee retired after 7 laps with clutch failure, so maybe already having clutch problems and opted to start from the pitlane? I certainly can't see another Escort on the grid...
28./#50/John Brindley/Minshaw-Demon Tweeks/C/VW Golf GTi 16v/2m06.02- The roof of the red Golf is just visible at the back....and a time over 30 seconds off class pole (and 20-odd away from the previous car on the grid) suggests they'd had a very troubled qualifying session...

Think that's covered everyone in (or missing from...) the pic in the book

[Tim Wilkinson]

I don't think Toyota Japan cared too much about the UK efforts. On one of the review videos (it must be the '87 highlights I got from MotorsTV a couple of years back) Hodgetts is bemoaning the lack of power in his Corolla. IIRC he says that the Japanese cars have 20bhp more, but he can't use the camshafts that they do. That might be down to regulations, rather than supply, but maybe Toyota wouldn't homologate the parts required? O'Brien's Holden was down on power for the first part of '88 because of the homologation problems.

And weren't Bemani developing Supras in Europe, too? So 3 seperate efforts?

From the Thruxton grid, GKS lost his gearbox on the parade lap and didn't take the start, hence the empty slot. Vic Lee's clutch was broken from the start, and he was bump-started out of pit-lane. GKS's demise took class D starters down to 3, so less points on offer, even though 4 qualified and started the parade lap.

Brindley had a slipping clutch in the race - possibly caused qually issues too? It got better in the race, and he took FL.

RST for sale : Curnow / Jones shared a car at Silverstone WTC '87, and the Duckhams car would make sense, but the ad says it was last used at Silverstone WTC - it was the only Escort entered. Karl was out in the last two rounds of '87 BTCC, after that. Does anyone know which car was used? No picture on RSC, unfortunately. And where were Asquith / Curnow / Jones based?

[Tim Wilkinson]

May 12th -
Focussing on driver pairings for the Donington enduro.
Guy Edwards to be joined by Johnny Dumfries, and David Sears (with previous experience in ARE Merkur XR4Tis) to pair with Rouse.
Ratzenberger to pair with Minshaw in the Demon Tweeks M3 [and then took over the car for the season], with an in-car camera.
John Brindley has John Llewellyn with him in the DT Golf.
Win Percy and Allan Grice will give the Nissan GTS-R it's BTCC debut.

[Jesper OH]

[QUOTE=Tim Wilkinson;2611038]I don't think Toyota Japan cared too much about the UK efforts. On one of the review videos (it must be the '87 highlights I got from MotorsTV a couple of years back) Hodgetts is bemoaning the lack of power in his Corolla. IIRC he says that the Japanese cars have 20bhp more, but he can't use the camshafts that they do. That might be down to regulations, rather than supply, but maybe Toyota wouldn't homologate the parts required? O'Brien's Holden was down on power for the first part of '88 because of the homologation problems.

And weren't Bemani developing Supras in Europe, too? So 3 seperate efforts?
[QUOTE]

And then there were the Belgian RAS Sport Turbo cars. Running in Bastos colours for selected 1987 races, then FINA for the 1988 Spa 24 h and still for sale by 1989 in these colours ..and 700 bhp available!
By 1989 a Bloemer Motorsport Supra appeared for a few DTM races as well, making it four different approaches to the same basic car.

Thank you for the notes, Tim, very usefull in getting a broader picture of what was happening.

Jesper

[KA]

Originally Posted by Tim Wilkinson

I don't think Toyota Japan cared too much about the UK efforts. On one of the review videos (it must be the '87 highlights I got from MotorsTV a couple of years back) Hodgetts is bemoaning the lack of power in his Corolla. IIRC he says that the Japanese cars have 20bhp more, but he can't use the camshafts that they do. That might be down to regulations, rather than supply, but maybe Toyota wouldn't homologate the parts required? O'Brien's Holden was down on power for the first part of '88 because of the homologation problems.

And weren't Bemani developing Supras in Europe, too? So 3 seperate efforts?

I think I agree with that- Hodgett's comments might well have been prompted by his WTCC experiences- Looking at the '87 WTCC results, it's clear that CHMS were building Corollas that were more than a match for anything else in the 1600 class in Europe- then they went to Fuji and qualified something like 15th in class, way off the pace against a horde of much faster local Corollas and Honda Civics - think I remember reading some comment about seeing one of them hassling a BMW 635 on straight-line speed...!

From memory, there was a suggestion in one of the Fuji WTCC race reports (either Autosport or MN) that some of the local Japanese teams might have had access to parts that weren't available in Europe...

Re Supras, if TOM'S GB had got one, it would have made 4 separate efforts in Europe alone- RAS Sport were still persevering with the car in Belgium, though I think they only appeared at Spa. Bemani went their own way, running the non-turbo 3-litre rather than the turbo. Still uncompetitive (about midfield ETCC M3 pace) but at least it was fairly reliable...

From the Thruxton grid, GKS lost his gearbox on the parade lap and didn't take the start, hence the empty slot. Vic Lee's clutch was broken from the start, and he was bump-started out of pit-lane. GKS's demise took class D starters down to 3, so less points on offer, even though 4 qualified and started the parade lap.

Brindley had a slipping clutch in the race - possibly caused qually issues too? It got better in the race, and he took FL.

Thanks- that explains the absences from the grid photo in the book then- GK-S was parked somewhere out on the circuit with his broken gearbox, and the North Essex crew were pushing Vic Lee down the pitlane

RST for sale : Curnow / Jones shared a car at Silverstone WTC '87, and the Duckhams car would make sense, but the ad says it was last used at Silverstone WTC - it was the only Escort entered. Karl was out in the last two rounds of '87 BTCC, after that. Does anyone know which car was used? No picture on RSC, unfortunately. And where were Asquith / Curnow / Jones based?[/QUOTE]

Can't remember where Asquith were based. I think the Autosport article comparing the Group A and Production Asquith RS Turbos might have mentioned which ex-Datapost car they had- I'll look it out.

I see what you mean about the mention of it last being used at the TT,although there were 2 BTCC rounds after that date...I was sure it was the Duckhams car at the WTC race- Either they'd got it wrong in the ad, or Karl drove 2 different Group A RS Turbos that year? Another puzzle...

[Tim Wilkinson]

The TOM'S Corolla had 203bhp at the start of '88, apparently. Not bad from a 1600, I'll be lucky if my Nova has 60% of that! The '87 RSTs had 230bhp.

Sorry for creating more questions today - with that RST and the Commodore, everything's going out of whack. Of course, that's if we believe everything we read, which I don't think we can.

The track test (I'd forgotten about it!) gives a couple of clues that makes me think that Asquith were based in West Kingsdown, by Brands. Jones' '87 car was Curnow's '86 Datapost entry (a Longman car). What happened to Longman's car from '86, and where did Mark Hales' car come from? More questions, haha!

[Jesper OH]

How many laps did Peter Buxtorf complete of the Thruxton round 3 race?

Recently saw a YouTube clip of the Dennis Leech crash, but can't find it now.

Jesper

[chunterer]

I thought Asquith were in Beds or Herts, near to the late Gerry Marshall, who was the other business partner beforehand.

Curnow was and i'm sure Longman still is based in the Christchurch area of Dorset if that's any help.

Mark Hales was from Bedfordshire I think?

Couple of other things. Now that rumoured Tom's GB Supra.....

Didn't John Wickham enter one in a couple of Spa 24's in 88/89 or 90 with Dowsett in the roster? Begs the question if they had this car all along and whether they did a few enduro's after the BTCC plans came to nought?

Vic Lee replaced Hodgetts in the MIL team from May/June time for a while.

Dennis Leech went sideways into a marshalls post prior to the chicane in that Thruxton round necessitating a reshell. I think this was the only time his car was reshelled from a shunt. The thinking in the Rover thread is that he replaced his original Martin Thomas built car with a TWR chassis (a rebuilt Bastos car pranged at Zolder in late '85?) with numerous late model upgrades ready for the 1987 season? Can't recall if this was totally verified?

This was the car used again in 1988, I'm not sure if he ran again in '88 after that shunt???

[KA]

Originally Posted by Tim Wilkinson

The TOM'S Corolla had 203bhp at the start of '88, apparently. Not bad from a 1600, I'll be lucky if my Nova has 60% of that! The '87 RSTs had 230bhp.

Sorry for creating more questions today - with that RST and the Commodore, everything's going out of whack. Of course, that's if we believe everything we read, which I don't think we can.

The track test (I'd forgotten about it!) gives a couple of clues that makes me think that Asquith were based in West Kingsdown, by Brands. Jones' '87 car was Curnow's '86 Datapost entry (a Longman car). What happened to Longman's car from '86, and where did Mark Hales' car come from? More questions, haha!

Now you mention it West Kingsdown rings a bell with me

The Longman car is probably still around- there's a Datapost RS Turbo around in Ford RS Owners Club circles which I think is the ex-Longman car.

The Hales car might have been built by Terry Drury Racing themselves- I think they were running a single car for Hales against the Datapost team in '86 (Datapost didn't run a second RS Turbo until '86 either- their '85 campaign was a Turbo for Longman and an RS1600i for Curnow, as the Turbo wasn't homologated until mid-year) TDR's second car appeared in '87.

[KA]

Originally Posted by chunterer

Couple of other things. Now that rumoured Tom's GB Supra.....

Didn't John Wickham enter one in a couple of Spa 24's in 88/89 or 90 with Dowsett in the roster? Begs the question if they had this car all along and whether they did a few enduro's after the BTCC plans came to nought?

Think that was the Japanese end of TOM'S? They came over for Spa a few times around that time, with both Corollas and Supras (When TOM'S GB ran their first fwd Corolla for Dowsett and Needell at Spa in '87, IIRC, there was also a Japanese-crewed rwd AE86 entered by TOM'S)

Originally Posted by chunterer

Vic Lee replaced Hodgetts in the MIL team from May/June time for a while.

Lee shared the #1 car with Hodgetts at Donington, then drove the second Supra when that finally appeared. After Chris parted company with the team, Mark Hales and Ian Flux took over #1

Originally Posted by chunterer

Dennis Leech went sideways into a marshalls post prior to the chicane in that Thruxton round necessitating a reshell. I think this was the only time his car was reshelled from a shunt. The thinking in the Rover thread is that he replaced his original Martin Thomas built car with a TWR chassis (a rebuilt Bastos carpranged at Zolder in late '85?) with numerous late model upgrade ready for the 1987 season? Can't recall if this was totally verified?

This was the car used again in 1988, I'm notm sure if he ran again in '88 after that shunt???

That sounds about right- the 1987 onwards Leech car has been reshelled a couple of times, but I think one of them was by a later owner. Think it started life as the ex-Walkinshaw '85 Zolder Bastos car rebuilt into a new shell by Dennis (from vague memory, the Zolder shunt was a first-lap job, and a fairly big hit- something like Tom got tapped from behind and turned around in front of the pack, and was collected pretty much head-on by a 635....)

According to the race results I've got, Dennis repaired the Rover and carried on for a few more rounds before parking it just after mid-season (Thruxton had been his first appearance of the year- think he did Rounds 3-6 and 8)

[Jesper OH]

Round 4 of 13 of the 1988 Dunlop RAC British Touring Car Championship held on Sunday 15th May 1988 over x laps of the 2.500 miles Donington Park circuit.

The 1 hour 2 driver round, but why was it moved from Oulton Park to Donington Park?

1./ #22 / Andy Rouse, David Sears / ARE-Kaliber / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / x laps / 1h00m51.61s
2./ #19 / Laurence Bristow, Tim Harvey / ARE-CAM / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 1h00m55.61s
3./ #21 / Guy Edwards, Johnny Dumfries / ARE-Kaliber / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 1h01m24.39s
? / #23 / Win Percy, Allan Grice / NME-Nissan / A / Nissan Skyline GTS-R / 4th in class
? / #14 / Mike Newman, ? / Goode-Listerine / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 5th in class
? / #17 / Bob Sands, ? / CC-Crystal / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 6th in class
? / #7 / Mike O'Brien, ? / Docking-Swan / A / Holden Commodore VL /
? / #1 / Chris Hodgetts, Vic Lee / MIL / A / Toyota Supra Turbo /
DNF / #8 / Jerry Mahony, ? / Dowson-Arquati / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth /
Fastest lap: Win Percy or Allan Grice

Class B:
? / #33 / Frank Sytner, James Weaver / Richards-Mobil / B / BMW M3 / 1st in class
? / #36 / Godfrey Hall, ? / Maguire / B / BMW M3 / 2nd in class
? / #38 / Dave Wallis, ? / Drury / B / Ford Escort RS Turbo / 3rd in class
? / #39 / Lionel Wiffen, ? / Drury / B / Ford Escort RS Turbo / 4th in class
DNF / #32 / Mike Smith, ? / Richards-Mobil / B / BMW M3 /
DNF / #44 / Roland Ratzenberger, ? / Minshaw-Demon Tweeks / B / BMW M3
Fastest lap: Godfrey Hall

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

Class D:
? / #77 / Geoff Kimber-Smith, ? / Kimber-Smith / D / Toyota Corolla GT / 1st in class
? / #70 / Phil Dowsett, Tiff Needell / TOM's GB / D / Toyota Corolla FXGT / 2nd in class
? / #61 / Kevin Eaton, ? / MIL / D / Toyota Corolla GT / 3rd in class
? / #63 / Tony Crudgington, ? / Crudgington / D / Toyota Corolla GT / 4th in class
? / #60 / Mark Hales, ? / CHMS / D / Toyota Corolla GT / 5th in class
Fastest lap: ?

Jesper

[Jesper OH]

Round 5 of 13 of the 1988 Dunlop RAC British Touring Car Championship held on Monday 30th May 1988 over x laps of the x.xxx miles/3.791 kms Thruxton circuit.

1./ #22 / Andy Rouse / ARE-Kaliber / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / x laps /
2./ #16 / Karl Jones / Asquith-Duckhams / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth /
3./ #8 / Jerry Mahony / Dowson-Arquati / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth /
? / #14 / Mike Newman / Goode-Burlington / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 4th in class
? / #5 / Tim Harvey / Drury-? / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 5th in class
? / #7 / Mike O'Brien / Docking-Swan / A / Holden Commodore VL / 6th in class
? / #21 / Guy Edwards / ARE-Kaliber / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth /
? / #10 / Robb Gravett / ARE-? / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth /
DNF / #19 / Laurence Bristow / ARE-CAM / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
Fastest lap: Mike Newman

Class B:
? / #44 / Roland Ratzenberger / Minshaw-Demon Tweeks / B / BMW M3 / 1st in class
? / #36 / Godfrey Hall / Maguire / B / BMW M3 / 2nd in class
? / #33 / Frank Sytner / Richards-Mobil / B / BMW M3 / 3rd in class
? / #32 / Mike Smith / Richards-Mobil / B / BMW M3 / 4th in class
Fastest lap: Godfrey Hall

Class C:
? / #50 / John Brindley / Minshaw-Demon Tweeks / C / VW Golf GTI 16V / 1st in class
? / #55 / James Shead / Maguire / C / VW Golf GTI 16V / 2nd in class
Fastest lap: James Shead

Class D:
? / #70 / Phil Dowsett / TOM's GB / D / Toyota Corolla FXGT / 1st in class
? / #63 / Tony Crudgington / Crudgington / D / Toyota Corolla GT / 2nd in class
DNF / #77 / Geoff Kimber-Smith / Kimber-Smith / D / Toyota Corolla GT /
Fastest lap: Phil Dowsett

Good day for Alan Minshaw winning both class B and C, beating John Maguire into second in both classes!

Jesper

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by Jesper OH

Round 4 of 13 of the 1988 Dunlop RAC British Touring Car Championship held on Sunday 15th May 1988 over x laps of the 2.500 miles Donington Park circuit.

The 1 hour 2 driver round, but why was it moved from Oulton Park to Donington Park?

1./ #22 / Andy Rouse, David Sears / ARE-Kaliber / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / x laps / 1h00m51.61s
2./ #19 / Laurence Bristow, Tim Harvey / ARE-CAM / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 1h00m55.61s
3./ #21 / Guy Edwards, Johnny Dumfries / ARE-Kaliber / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 1h01m24.39s
? / #23 / Win Percy, Allan Grice / NME-Nissan / A / Nissan Skyline GTS-R / 4th in class
? / #14 / Mike Newman, Robert Speak? / Goode-Listerine / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 5th in class
? / #17 / Bob Sands, ? / CC-Crystal / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 6th in class
? / #7 / Mike O'Brien, ? / Docking-Swan / A / Holden Commodore VL /
? / #1 / Chris Hodgetts, Vic Lee / MIL / A / Toyota Supra Turbo /
DNF / #8 / Jerry Mahony, ? / Dowson-Arquati / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth /
Fastest lap: Win Percy or Allan Grice

Class B:
? / #33 / Frank Sytner, James Weaver / Richards-Mobil / B / BMW M3 / 1st in class
? / #36 / Godfrey Hall, ? / Maguire / B / BMW M3 / 2nd in class
? / #38 / Dave Wallis, ? / Drury / B / Ford Escort RS Turbo / 3rd in class
? / #39 / Lionel Wiffen, ? / Drury / B / Ford Escort RS Turbo / 4th in class
DNF / #32 / Mike Smith, Will Hoy ? / Richards-Mobil / B / BMW M3 /
DNF / #44 / Roland Ratzenberger, Alan Minshaw? ? / Minshaw-Demon Tweeks / B / BMW M3
Fastest lap: Godfrey Hall

Class C:
? / #55 / James Shead, ? / Maguire / C / VW Golf GTI 16V / 1st in class
DNF / #50 / John Brindley, ? / Minshaw-Demon Tweeks / C / VW Golf GTI 16V /
DNS / #48 / Andrew Jeffrey, Vic Covey? ? / Jeffrey?-Specialist Cars Aberdeen / C / VW Golf GTI 16V /
Fastest lap: James Shead

Class D:
? / #77 / Geoff Kimber-Smith, ? / Kimber-Smith / D / Toyota Corolla GT / 1st in class
? / #70 / Phil Dowsett, Tiff Needell / TOM's GB / D / Toyota Corolla FXGT / 2nd in class
? / #61 / Kevin Eaton, ? / MIL / D / Toyota Corolla GT / 3rd in class
? / #63 / Tony Crudgington, ? / Crudgington / D / Toyota Corolla GT / 4th in class
? / #60 / Mark Hales, ? / CHMS / D / Toyota Corolla GT / 5th in class
Fastest lap: ?

Jesper

Couple of thoughts in bold, but KA will likely confirm which i've got right along with the other gaps. I used to know these things off by heart, but it was a long time ago!!

O'Brien, Mahoney and G Hall's teammates are on the tip of my tongue.......

For example Sears actually pedalled a sister Maguire run black M3 in the last couple of rounds, but here he was partnering Andy Rouse's Sierra....... I have long held my own theories about why David appeared in that M3 later on when he had such good relations with Rouse..... Andy's main tital rival was Frank Sytner, also in an M3.....

But that's something we can cover when you reach that stage Jesper!

[KA]

Originally Posted by Jesper OH

Round 4 of 13 of the 1988 Dunlop RAC British Touring Car Championship held on Sunday 15th May 1988 over 47 laps of the 2.500 miles Donington Park circuit.

The 1 hour 2 driver round, but why was it moved from Oulton Park to Donington Park?

Not sure of the reason for the change, but it became a fixture at Donington in 1988-90- We also got one at Brands in '90

1./ #22 / Andy Rouse, David Sears / ARE-Kaliber / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 47 laps / 1h00m51.61s
2./ #19 / Laurence Bristow, Tim Harvey / ARE-CAM / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 1h00m55.61s
3./ #21 / Guy Edwards, Johnny Dumfries / ARE-Kaliber / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 1h01m24.39s
4/ #23 / Win Percy, Allan Grice / NME-Nissan / A / Nissan Skyline GTS-R / 4th in class 1h01m28.85
5 / #14 / Mike Newman, Robert Speak / Goode-Listerine / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 5th in class 1h01m47.33
6 / #17 / Bob Sands, Richard Jones / CC-Crystal / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 6th in class 46 laps
7 / #33 / Frank Sytner, James Weaver / Richards-Mobil / B / BMW M3 / 1st in class/ 46 laps
8 / #7 / Mike O'Brien, Sean Brown? / Docking-Swan / A / Holden Commodore VL / 46 laps
9 / #36 / Godfrey Hall, Barrie Williams / Maguire / B / BMW M3 / 2nd in class/46 laps
10/#10/Robb Gravett, Gary Ayles/ Rouse-ICS/A/Ford Sierra RS500/45 laps
11/#4/Dennis Leech, David Carvell/ Leech/A/Rover Vitesse/44 laps
12/#27/Peter Buxtorf, Barry Robinson/Buxtorf/A/BMW 635CSi/43 laps
13/#20/Graham Hathaway, Peter Townsend/Hathaway/A/Ford Sierra RS500/43 laps
14 / #77 / Geoff Kimber-Smith, Barbara Cowell / AGK / D / Toyota Corolla GT / 1st in class/42 laps
15 / #70 / Phil Dowsett, Tiff Needell / TOM's GB / D / Toyota Corolla FXGT / 2nd in class/42 laps
16 / #61 / Kevin Eaton, Alex Moss / MIL / D / Toyota Corolla GT / 3rd in class/42 laps
17 / #38 / Dave Wallis, Lionel Abbott / Drury / B / Ford Escort RS Turbo / 3rd in class/42 laps
18 / #39 / Lionel Wiffen, Robin Parsons / Drury / B / Ford Escort RS Turbo / 4th in class/41 laps
19 / #55 / James Shead, John Morris / Maguire / C / VW Golf GTI 16V / 1st in class/41 laps
20 / #63 / Tony Crudgington, Alastair Davidson / Crudgington / D / Toyota Corolla GT / 4th in class/41 laps
21/ #60 / Mark Hales, Patrick Watts/ CHMS / D / Toyota Corolla GT / 5th in class/ 40 laps
DNF/#24/Nick May, John Lepp/Trident Motorsport/A/Maserati Biturbo-
DNF / #32 / Mike Smith, Will Hoy / Richards-Mobil / B / BMW M3 /- propshaft & exhaust damage?
DNF/#16/Karl Jones, Ian Flux/Asquith-Duckhams/A/Ford Sierra RS500/ 16 laps- brakes
DNF / #8 / Jerry Mahony, Mark Hales / Dowson-Arquati / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth /engine
DNF/ #15 / Graham Goode, Alistair Lyall / Goode-Listerine / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 26 laps-overheating
DNF / #44 / Alan Minshaw, Roland Ratzenberger, / Minshaw-Demon Tweeks / B / BMW M3/ fuel tank
DNF / #1 / Chris Hodgetts, Vic Lee / MIL / A / Toyota Supra Turbo /
DNF / #50 / John Brindley, John Llewellyn / Minshaw-Demon Tweeks / C / VW Golf GTI 16V
DNS / #48 / Andrew Jeffrey, John Clark / Jeffrey?-Specialist Cars Aberdeen / C / VW Golf GTI 16V /

I've only got a few qualifying times, but the grid order as far as I can tell was:

1:Rouse/Sears 1m14.24
2:Newman/Speak 1m14.73
3:Bristow/Harvey
4:Goode/Lyall 1m15.17
5:Gravett/Ayles
6:Grice/Percy
7:Edwards/Dumfries 1m15.84
8:Jones/Flux
9:Hodgetts/Lee
10:Sytner/Weaver
11:O'Brien/Brown
12:Hall/Williams?- possibly 13th?
13:Leech/Carvell?- possibly 12th?
14: Minshaw/Ratzenberger
15: Mahony/Hales
16: Smith/Hoy?
17: Sands/Jones 1m19.30
18: Hathaway/Townsend
19: Dowsett/Needell or May/Lepp
20: Jeffrey/Clark?
21:Buxtorf/Robinson
22: Brindley/Llewellyn
23: Hales/Watts
24: Eaton/Moss
25: Kimber-Smith/Cowell
26: Shead/Morris
27:Crudgington/Davidson
28:Wallis/Abbott
29:Wiffen/Parsons

There are a few inconsistencies and gaps, (eg the Hall/Williams M3 and Leech/Carvell Rover might be the wrong way round, and I seem to a have both the Dowsett/Needell TOM'S Corolla and the Maserati in 19th...) so I suspect some of these are wrong

Can anyone fill the rest of these in or correct my errors?

According to my notes of the result, John Lepp didnt post a qualifying time in the Maserati- not sure if this meant that Nick May had to drive solo?

[Tim Wilkinson]

Donington 1 hour grid.

Pole - Rouse / Sears (A pole 1m14.24)
2 - Newman / Speak
3 - Bristow / Harvey
4 - Goode / Lyall
5 - Gravett / Ayles
6 - Percy / Grice
7 - Edwards / Dumfries
8 - K Jones / Flux
9 - Hodgetts / Lee
10 – Weaver / Sytner (B pole 1m16.81)
11 - Brown / O’Brien & Smith / Hoy tied (both on 1m17.46)
12 - Williams / G Hall
13 - Leech / Carvell
14 - Ratzenberger / Minshaw
15 -Mahony / Hales
16 - ? (Autosport adjusting for having two 11s?)
17 - Sands / R Jones
18 - Hathaway / Townsend
19 – Dowsett / Needell (D pole 1m23.11)
20 - May / Lepp
21 – Robinson / Buxtorf
22 – Brindley / Llewellyn (C pole 1m23.71)
23 – Hales / Watts
24 – Eaton / Moss
25 – Cowell / Kimber-Smith
26 – Shead / Morris
27 – Crudgington / Davidson
28 – Wallis / Abbott
29 – Wiffen / Parsons
NS – Jeffrey / Clark. (had a time quick enough to qualify them 22nd, on class C pole – 1m23.60)

Amazing to see the class B RSTs bringing up the rear.

Lepp didn't qualify (blown turbo seal in 1st qually not fixed for 2nd), so May could run for 20 laps only. It lasted 9.

A couple of data inconsistencies in the mag - the Jeffrey / Clark Golf not being given class pole or a grid number - it didn't line up for the race, but had still qualified. The written report credits Brindley / Llewellyn with the quickest C time, which it didn't actually have. And the two 11s on the grid, and the places not adjusted until the missing 16 appears. So really shoudl read -

11 & 12 - Brown / O’Brien & Smith / Hoy tied (both on 1m17.46)
13 - Williams / G Hall
14 - Leech / Carvell
15 - Ratzenberger / Minshaw
16 -Mahony / Hales

Full results and weekend news to follow......

[chunterer]

So how did Sean Brown get to team up with O'Brien in the Commodore?

Didn't remember that!!

I know he had been a prodsaloon regular for several years that decade, latterly in a Sierra Cosworth.

I'm guessing he fancied a taste of Group A with a view to moving up to join Gravett, Mahoney, Bristow and Smithy, his former RS Cosworth sparring partners in '89?

Mind you funny he should do that in a Holden then!!! Could he have been tempted to buy the car at some stage?

Interesting one as a lot of the other pairings had some kind of link, or had either driven with or against each other at various stages.

[Jesper OH]

Round 6 of 13 of the 1988 Dunlop RAC British Touring Car Championship held on Sunday 5th June 1988 over x laps on the x.xxx miles/x.xxx kms Silverstone circuit.

Class A:
1./ #22 / Andy Rouse / ARE-Kaliber / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth /
2./ #10 / Robb Gravett / ARE-? / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth /
3./ #14 / Mike Newman / Goode-Listerine / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth /
? / #19 / Laurence Bristow / ARE-CAM / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 4th in class
? / #21 / Guy Edwards / ARE-Kaliber / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 5th in class
? / #5 / Tim Harvey / Drury-? / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 6th in class
? / #8 / Jerry Mahony / Dowson-Arquati / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / ?
? / #7 / Mike O'Brien / Docking-Swan / A / Holden Commodore VL / ?
Fastest lap: Andy Rouse

Class B:
? / #33 / Frank Sytner / Richards-Mobil / B / BMW M3 / 1st in class
? / #32 / Mike Smith / Richards-Mobil / B / BMW M3 / 2nd in class
? / #36 / Godfrey Hall / Maguire-? / B / BMW M3 / 3rd in class
DNF / #44 / Roland Ratzenberger / Minshaw-Demon Tweeks / B / BMW M3 / ?
Fastest lap: Frank Sytner

Class C:
? / #55 / James Shead / Maguire-? / C / VW Golf GTI 16V / 1st in class
DNS / #50 / John Brindley / Minshaw-Demon Tweeks / C / VW Golf GTI 16V / ?
Fastest lap: James Shead

Class D:
? / #70 / Phil Dowsett / TOM's GB / D / Toyota Corolla FXGT / 1st in class
? / #63 / Tony Crudgington / Crudgington / D / Toyota Corolla GT / 2nd in class
DNF / #60 / Mark Hales / Hodgetts / D / Toyota Corolla GT / 0 laps / Accident
DNF / unknown / 0 laps / Accident
DNS / #77 / Geoff Kimber-Smith / Kimber-Smith / D / Toyota Corolla GT / ?
Fastest lap: Phil Dowsett

There seems to have been four starters in class D, but as two of these retired before two completed laps points were given according to only two starters. A new for 1988 rule I believe.

Jesper

[Tim Wilkinson]

Full results - Donington 1hr (47 laps) race - 15th May 1988

Position	Driver	Team/Sponsor	Class	Car	Time/Laps
1	Andy Rouse / David Sears	Rouse-Kaliber	A	Ford Sierra	1h00m.51.61s
2	Laurence Bristow / Tim Harvey	ARE / CAM Shipping	A	Ford Sierra	1h00m55.61s
3	Guy Edwards / Johnny Dumfries	Rouse-Kaliber	A	Ford Sierra	1h01m24.39s
4	Win Percy / Allan Grice	Nissan Motorsport Europe	A	Nissan GTR-S	1h01m28.85s
5	Mike Newman / Robert Speak	Goode / Burlington	A	Ford Sierra	1h01m47.33s
6	Bob Sands / Richard Jones	CC Racing / Crystal Facilities	A	Ford Sierra	46 laps
7	James Weaver / Frank Sytner	Prodrive-BMW Finance/Mobil	B	BMW M3	46 laps
8	Sean Brown / Mike O’Brien	ADR / Autoglass	A	Holden Commodore VL	46 laps
9	Barrie Williams / Godfrey Hall	Maguire / MILA	B	BMW M3	46 laps
10	Robb Gravett / Gary Ayles	ICS	A	Ford Sierra	45 laps
11	Dennis Leech / David Carvell	Dennis Leech	A	Rover Vitesse	44 laps
12	Barry Robinson / Peter Buxtorf	Peter Buxtorf	A	BMW 635CSi	43 laps
13	Graham Hathaway / Rod Townsend	Hathaway / Soans	A	Ford Sierra	43 laps
14	Barbara Cowell / Geoff Kimber-Smith	AGK Motorsport	D	Toyota Corolla GT	42 laps
15	Phil Dowsett / Tiff Needell	TOM's Toyota	D	Toyota Corolla GT	42 laps
16	Kevin Eaton / Alex Moss	MIL Motorsport	D	Toyota Corolla GT	42 laps
17	Dave Wallis / Lionel Abbott	Drury / Kenwood Car Hi-Fi	B	Ford Escort RST	42 laps
18	Lionel Wiffen / Robin Parsons	Drury	B	Ford Escort RST	41 laps
19	James Shead / John Morris	Maguire / David Sutton	C	VW Golf GTi 16v	41 laps
20	Tony Crudgington / Alistair Davidson	Crudgington / Kaylance	D	Toyota Corolla GT	41 laps
21	Mark Hales / Patrick Watts	CHMS / AJG Transport	D	Toyota Corolla GT	40 laps
DNF	Chris Hodgetts / Vic Lee	MIL Motorsport	A	Toyota Supra Turbo	30 laps
DNF	Roland Ratzenberger / Alan Minshaw	Minshaw / Demon Tweeks	B	BMW M3	30 laps – fuel feed
DNF	Jerry Mahony / Mark Hales	Dowson / Arquait & Evans Halshaw	A	Ford Sierra	29 laps –
DNF	Graham Goode / Alistair Lyall	GGR / Listerine	A	Ford Sierra	27 laps - cooling
DNF	Karl Jones / Ian Flux	Asquith / Duckhams	A	Ford Sierra	17 laps - brakes
DNF	John Brindley / John Llewellyn	Minshaw / Demon Tweeks	C	VW Golf GTI 16v	14 laps – fuel feed
DNF	Mike Smith / Will Hoy	Prodrive-BMW Finance/Mobil	B	BMW M3	13 laps – propshaft
DNF	Nick May / John Lepp	Trident Motorsport / Campari	A	Maserati Biturbo	9 laps – turbo seal
DNS	Andrew Jeffrey / John Clark	Aberdeen Car Specialists	C	VW Golf GTI 16V

(First-named started the race)

Qually news –
The CHMS Corolla (Hales) was damaged when Mike Newman ran into the side of it in the Craner Curves. It was bent, but raced.
Gary Ayles got the drive with Robb Gravett in the ICS as his Dad has business connections with Pete Hall. Ayles enjoyed it and said he’d be back. [mid 90s in a Mondeo before he did?]
The Maserati had turbo seal issues which meant John Lepp didn’t qualify and so the race was just an extended test session – they couldn’t go full distance on 1 driver. The problem reappeared in the race. Much of the team parts were caught up in the dock strike – an issue of running a car in Britain from Italy.
The Nissan had battery issues and didn’t manage much running, and hadn’t tested since the ETC meeting a month before.
Bristow / Harvey suffered from a split turbo pipe, and Jerry Mahony reckoned he was off the pace as he’d missed testing because of an engine failure.

Race –
Rouse led for 10 laps until Percy’s Nissan had worked his way up the field and took the lead on lap 10. Grice stayed ahead after the pit-stops, but the left-rear went off and needed changing, dropping the Nissan down the order. Harvey took his Sierra up to 2nd and was closing on Rouse. Edwards & Dumfries found out they’d been running with 1.6 bar of boost instead of 1.8. Gravett had to pit early to pull bodywork off of the tyres.
Weaver and Sytner easily took class A after Mike Smith retired early on, blaming prop-shaft damage on Weaver running him off the track and over kerbs on the opening lap, and Minshaw retired his BMW after Ratzenberger had handed over to him in the class lead after battling with Weaver. Whizzo Williams had been leading, but spun out when a Sierra went off track and blew earth in through the window and it got into his face (!)
Only one finisher in class C (Shead / Morris). Dowsett handed over to Needell in the lead, before a tyre exploded in the Craner Curves. Cowell and Kimber-Smith took the class, only 8 seconds ahead of a recovering Needell, just pipping Alex Moss. Apparently Dowsett & Needell had been a little leisurely in the change-over.....

Fastest laps -
A - Percy 1m14.66
B - Williams 1m17.22
C - Shead 1m24.77
D - Moss 1m22.09

I'm a little surprised at the B & D fastest laps.

News -

May 26th -
Commodore homologation further delayed. Now not likely until September 1st.

[KA]

Originally Posted by Jesper OH

Round 5 of 13 of the 1988 Dunlop RAC British Touring Car Championship held on Monday 30th May 1988 over 17 laps of the x.xxx miles/3.791 kms Thruxton circuit.

1./ #22 / Andy Rouse / ARE-Kaliber / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 17 laps /22m23.49? (time might well be wrong)
2./ #16 / Karl Jones / Asquith-Duckhams / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 23m55.89
3./ #8 / Jerry Mahony / Dowson-Arquati / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 23m57.38
4 / #14 / Mike Newman / Goode-Burlington / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 4th in class 23m57.41
5 / #5 / Tim Harvey / Drury-? / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 5th in class 24m23.04
6/ #7 / Mike O'Brien / Docking-Swan / A / Holden Commodore VL / 6th in class/ 24m24.78
7/#15/Graham Goode/Goode-Listerine/A/Ford Sierra RS500/ 24m30.58?
8 / #44 / Roland Ratzenberger / Minshaw-Demon Tweeks / B / BMW M3 / 1st in class 24m32.30
9/ #36 / Godfrey Hall / Maguire / B / BMW M3 / 2nd in class/24m35.25
10/#20/Graham Hathaway/Hathaway/A/Ford Sierra RS500/24m39.18
11/ #21 / Guy Edwards / ARE-Kaliber / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 16 laps
12/#1/Chris Hodgetts/MIL/A/Toyota Supra Turbo/16 laps
13 / #33 / Frank Sytner / Richards-Mobil / B / BMW M3 / 3rd in class/ 16 laps
14 / #32 / Mike Smith / Richards-Mobil / B / BMW M3 / 4th in class/16 laps
15 / #10 / Robb Gravett / ARE-? / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 16 laps
16 / #50 / John Brindley / Minshaw-Demon Tweeks / C / VW Golf GTI 16V / 1st in class/16 laps
17? / #70 / Phil Dowsett / TOM's GB / D / Toyota Corolla FXGT / 1st in class/16 laps
18/ #55 / James Shead / Maguire / C / VW Golf GTI 16V / 2nd in class/16 laps
19/ #63 / Tony Crudgington / Crudgington / D / Toyota Corolla GT / 2nd in class/16 laps
20/#2/Vic Lee/MIL Motorsport/A/Toyota Supra Turbo/15 laps
21/#24/Nick May/Trident Motorsport/A/Maserati Biturbo/14 laps

DNF/#4/Dennis Leech/Leech/A/Rover Vitesse/14 laps- differential
DNF / #19 / Laurence Bristow / ARE-CAM / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth/12 laps- wheel stud?
DNF / #77 / Geoff Kimber-Smith / Kimber-Smith / D / Toyota Corolla GT / 0 laps, spun off
DNF/ #39/Lionel Wiffen/TDR/B/Ford Escort RS Turbo/0 laps- engine

Good day for Alan Minshaw winning both class B and C, beating John Maguire into second in both classes!

Jesper

Grid:
1-Rouse 1m21.75
2-Jones-1m22.67
3-Mahony-1m22.73
4-Newman- 1m22.92
5-Harvey-1m23.07
6-Edwaards-1m23.17
7-O'Brien-1m23.45?
8-Goode-1m23.65
9-Bristow-1m23.85
10-Hathaway-1m24.04
11-Sytner-1m24.34
12-Smith-1m24.52
13-Leech-1m24.70
14-Hodgetts-1m24.86
15-Ratzenberger-1m25.21
16-Hall-1m25.68
17-Gravett-1m26.44
18-Shead-1m29.79
19-Dowsett-1m29.79
20-Brindley-1m29.71
21-May-1m30.81
22-Crudgington-1m31.08
23-Kimber-Smith-1m32.31
24-Lee-1m34.83
25-Wiffen-1m36.29

[Jesper OH]

Originally Posted by Tim Wilkinson

Gary Ayles got the drive with Robb Gravett in the ICS as his Dad has business connections with Pete Hall. Ayles enjoyed it and said he’d be back. [mid 90s in a Mondeo before he did?]

He did race a Peugeot 405 in the Italian CIVT series in the early 1990's and making a brief appearence in one of the British 405s at around the same time ..with Robb Gravett as his teammate IIRC!

From your notes, this was a one hour timed event? A preview of the 1987 Oulton Park 2-driver race it was scheduled for 30 laps, incidently lasting an hour in wettish conditions.

Jesper

[Tim Wilkinson]

Round 5 - Thruxton, May 30th.

Grid -

1 Rouse (A pole 1m21.75)
2 K Jones
3 Mahony
4 Newman
5 Harvey
6 Edwards
7 O'Brien
8 Goode
9 Bristow
10 Hathaway
11 Sytner (B pole 1m24.34)
12 Smith
13 Leech
14 Hodgetts
15 Ratzenberger
16 G Hall
17 Gravett
18 Shead (C pole 1m29.79)
19 Dowsett (D pole 1m29.91)
20 Brindley
21 May
22 Crudgington
23 Kimber-Smith
24 Lee
25 Wiffen

Qually notes -

Dry first session, very wet in the second - Edwards quickest in 2nd session, from Rouse. TDR had swapped Harvey's Sierra onto Koni shocks and the "big axle" that offered better traction. MIL were running two Supras for the first time, Vic Lees finished the night before; Hodgetts suffered from an oil leak onto the rear tyres in the first session. The Supra's power comes in one big lump, making it a handful in the wet. Gravett suffered a blown engine in the first session, and lack of boost all day.

[KA]

Originally Posted by Jesper OH

Round 6 of 13 of the 1988 Dunlop RAC British Touring Car Championship held on Sunday 5th June 1988 over 15 laps on the x.xxx miles/x.xxx kms Silverstone circuit.

(Scheduled for 15 laps- Stopped and re-started after lap 1 shunt, re-run over 12 laps)

Class A:
1./ #22 / Andy Rouse / ARE-Kaliber / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth /18m50.47
2./ #10 / Robb Gravett / ARE-? / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 19m57.49
3./ #14 / Mike Newman / Goode-Listerine / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth /20m04.95
4 / #19 / Laurence Bristow / ARE-CAM / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 4th in class/ 20m14.53
5/ #21 / Guy Edwards / ARE-Kaliber / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 5th in class/ 20m15.74
6 / #5 / Tim Harvey / Drury-? / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 6th in class/ 20m18.00
7/#15/Graham Goode/Goode-Listerine/A/Ford Sierra RS500/20m22.75
8 / #8 / Jerry Mahony / Dowson-Arquati / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 20m26.75
9/#16/Karl Jones/Asquith-Duckhams/A/Ford Sierra RS500/ 20m27.90
10/ #7 / Mike O'Brien / Docking-Swan / A / Holden Commodore VL / ?
20m47.92
11/ #33 / Frank Sytner / Richards-Mobil / B / BMW M3 / 1st in class/20m49.20
12/ #32 / Mike Smith / Richards-Mobil / B / BMW M3 / 2nd in class/20m56.59
13/ #36 / Godfrey Hall / Maguire-? / B / BMW M3 / 3rd in class/Class B:
14/#4/Dennis Leech/Leech/A/Rover Vitesse/21m11.49
15/#15/Graham Hathaway/Hathaway/A/Ford Sierra RS500
16/ #44 / Roland Ratzenberger / Minshaw-Demon Tweeks / B / BMW M3 /21m52.81 (including 1 minute penalty for jump start)
17./#70 / Phil Dowsett / TOM's GB / D / Toyota Corolla FXGT / 1st in class/11 laps
18./#55 / James Shead / Maguire-? / C / VW Golf GTI 16V / 1st in class/11 laps
19? / #63 / Tony Crudgington / Crudgington / D / Toyota Corolla GT / 2nd in class/11 laps

(my notes, probably taken from the Autosport report give Crudgington in 19th- I've also got the Motoring News report and just noticed their race result gives Kimber-Smith in 19th.....
Reading the race report itself, it lists Kimber-Smith as being involved in the lap 1 shunt, so I'm guessing the MN results list is wrong...)

DNF/#1/Chris Hodgetts/MIL Motorsport/A/Toyota Supra Turbo/engine
DNF/#2/Vic Lee/MIL Motorsport/A/Toyota Supra Turbo/engine
Both Supras out by lap 3 with blown engines

DNS / #50 / John Brindley / Minshaw-Demon Tweeks / C / VW Golf GTI 16V / 0 laps- accident
DNS / #77 / Geoff Kimber-Smith / AGK / D / Toyota Corolla GT / 0laps- accident
DNS / #61 / Mark Hales / Hodgetts / D / Toyota Corolla GT / 0 laps / Accident
DNS / John Lepp/Trident Motorsport/A/Mserati Biturbo/ 0 laps / Accident

There seems to have been four starters in class D, but as two of these retired before two completed laps points were given according to only two starters. A new for 1988 rule I believe.

Jesper

Details of the lap 1 shunt, according to MN:

Harvey, having made an appalling start from the second row to be down near the back .He was obviously anxious to make up places again quickly, but coming through Maggots for the first time, his Sierra came into contact with Lepp's Maserati, sending the Campari car into a spin across the track.
Following immediately behind, Hales, with Crudgington to his left and Brindley behind, could see a gap to the right of Lepp, went for it, but then had Brindley hit the Maserati and send it into the passenger door of Hales' car with sufficient force to completely cave in the side of the Toyota and snap the rollcage. With Kimber-Smith also involved and wrecked cars strewn across the track, the red flags came out to stop the race.
None of those involved in the accident were able to restart

Ratzenberger's jump start penalty was for creeping at the start. According to team boss Minshaw, it was down to a clutch problem- 'We couldn't buy the neccessary part from Prodrive,as they said they didnt have the neccessary part either'