[BTCC] BTCC - 1998 Season

[ROB IS THE STIG]

I have just finished watching the entire 1998 BTCC season review!!

What an amazing season, a classic, i had forgotten how good '98 was. Great drive from the Rickard Rydell

Just a quick reminder:

2wd Audi's - introduction for Yvan Muller & Bintcliffe
Peugeot 406 - Tim Harvey & Paul Radisich
Huge Honda Accord - James Thompson
Volvo S40 - Rickard Rydell
Vectra - Derick Warwick and John Cleland
Lagunas - Jason Plato & Alain Menu
Mondeos - Will Hoy & Nigel Mansell
Primeras - Anthony Reid & David Leslie
A very young Matt Neal in Private Primera!!!

Plus many others !!!

Season finished as follows:

Rydell - 254
Reid - 239
Thompson - 203
Menu - 187
Plato - 163
Leslie - 148
Muller - 110
Cleland - 106
Warwick - 70
Hoy - 69

We had mandatory pit stops for the first time, more contact than a round with Mike Tyson and some serious disagreements in the pit lane!!

The cars look and sound fantastic, shame we don't have have this level of interest now!

How different did the circuits look?? Brands Hatch - Paddock Hill bend run off area was huge and Graham Hill bend is seriously different now!!

Anyway just a little review, really enjoyed looking back

[Hazard]

Tut, cheek.

1998 rocked. That's the season that featured in Codemaster's TOCA2 game as well.

Not as good a season as the 1997 I believe.

Biela had just left Audi, and their Quattro was no longer 4WD hence their drop in performance when the brought Yvan on board (also hence their last season).

Honda (Prodrive) were running Accord's for Peter Kox and James Thompson.

Ford (West Surrey Racing) ran Craig Baird & Will Hoy. Mansell guested only of course.

Vauxhall's in only Triple Eight's second year, with team boss Derek Warwick driving alongside Cleland.

TWR ran the Volvo's for champion Rydell and ex-F1 driver Gianni Morbidelli.

Williams Touring Car Engineering ran Plato & Menu in an unchanged season, in green Nescafe colours.

Matt Neal drove for Team Dynamics independant outfit, with the Nissan Primera. I believe he got that first indy win in 1999 though (with a massive payout).

Nissan, RML, ran Reid and Leslie and took the manufacturers championship confidently.

Great season.

[ROB IS THE STIG]

Thanx for filling in the blanks mate.

[btcckid]

my favourite season for sure.....everything was spot on.........sounds cars...racing..action..

[Icebaby]

1998 was the greatest touring car seasons IMO, Mansell for me was the highlight notably at Donnington Park where he showed once again why he is such a special driver. If I have one regret in life it was not being at that day, Mansell captured the crowd like no other and when he took the lead it was like Silverstone 87 all over again.

Great thread Rob

[Joe Taylor]

The feature race at Donington in which Mansell led is still the greatest touring car race I have ever seen.

[VIVA GT]

Damn, mis-read the thread title, thought it said BTCC - 1988 Season. Now that was a great year!
(Off to Specsavers now)

[jab]

This was the year the S40 and the Primera came good. Quite a power shift - one win between them in 97 but 5 for Volvo and 9 for Nissan in 98

A great season. 97 had been a bit one-sided with Menu winning everything but this was a lot closer with 9 different winning drivers and 6 winning manufacturers

First appearance of Yvan Muller, last appearances of John Bintcliffe, Derek Warwick and Paul Radisich. Last works drive for Will Hoy too. After this year, Prodrive went to Ford, WSR to Honda, and Peugeot and Audi left - ironic that such a great year proved the beginning of the end for Super Touring

Line-Up
1) Alain Menu - Williams - Renault Laguna
3) Jason Plato - Williams - Renault Laguna
4) Rickard Rydell - TWR - Volvo S40
5) James Thompson - Prodrive - Honda Accord
7) John Bintcliffe - Audi Sport UK - Audi A4
8) David Leslie - RML - Nissan Primera
9) Tim Harvey - MSD - Peugeot 406
11) Paul Radisich - MSD - Peugeot 406
12) Yvan Muller - Audi Sport UK - Audi A4
14) Gianni Morbidelli - TWR - Volvo S40
16) Mark Lemmer - Mint/Mardi Gras - Vauxhall Vectra
17) Roger Moen - Mardi Gras - Honda Accord
21) Tommy Rustad - DC Cook/Williams - Renault Laguna
22) Paula Cook - DC Cook - Honda Accord
23) Anthony Reid - RML - Nissan Primera
24) Tiff Needell - RML - Nissan Primera
28) Lee Brookes - Brookes - Honda Accord
29) Robb Gravett - Brookes - Honda Accord
32) Will Hoy - WSR - Ford Mondeo
33) Craig Baird - WSR - Ford Mondeo
50) Peter Kox - Prodrive - Honda Accord
55) Nigel Mansell - WSR - Ford Mondeo
77) Matt Neal - Dynamics - Nissan Primera
88) Derek Warwick - Triple 8 - Vauxhall Vectra
98) John Cleland - Triple 8 - Vauxhall Vectra
99) Flavio Figueiredo - Triple 8 - Vauxhall Vectra

[ROB IS THE STIG]

The opening round at Thruxton and The final round at Silverstone were absolutely brilliant!! Loved watching the whole season in one go!!

[ROB IS THE STIG]

Originally Posted by Icebaby

Great thread Rob

Thanks mate, appreciate the comment

[Icebaby]

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

Damn, mis-read the thread title, thought it said BTCC - 1988 Season. Now that was a great year!
(Off to Specsavers now)

A good year too

[btcckid]

http://www.youtube.com/user/gussell411

this profile has some of the footage that wasnt put onto the review. im surprised really why they didnt put the entire oulton park on as this was quite an exciting action packed race

if anyone has any other clips not on the review...idealy the crash between warrick and menu i think at silverstone in the final round...we see them go off into a big crash and nothing else..it has been bugging me and my brother for 10 years what happened exactly

[Icebaby]

Nice clip there and gave a better insite to the Oulton Park race, as for the Menu/Warrick clash I think this was when Menu punted Cleland off (nice tee shot into the pocket!) with Warrick behind the pair at the time so was able to witness Menu's actions. Menu lost some momentum which allowed Warrick a chance to gain revenge and took Menu off by pushing him onto the grass.

[btcckid]

Originally Posted by Icebaby

Nice clip there and gave a better insite to the Oulton Park race, as for the Menu/Warrick clash I think this was when Menu punted Cleland off (nice tee shot into the pocket!) with Warrick behind the pair at the time so was able to witness Menu's actions. Menu lost some momentum which allowed Warrick a chance to gain revenge and took Menu off by pushing him onto the grass.

ahh....now i understand, i wonder if it was shown all on tv?..but looks like they missed out on loads...i really want to see more and more "non review" footage if they have any?

[Icebaby]

99) Flavio Figueiredo - Triple 8 - Vauxhall Vectra

I don't remember this chap driving?, which race did he do?


16) Mark Lemmer - Mint/Mardi Gras - Vauxhall Vectra


Two heavy contacts with Mansell did nothing for his reputation really drove like he was blind at times in 98.


33) Craig Baird - WSR - Ford Mondeo

The word was he was treated badly in 98 but I saw a driver just not able to mix it in BTCC and work with an under performing unlike Will Hoy.


24) Tiff Needell - RML - Nissan Primera

Im curious to know why they gave this seat to Needell who ended up delivering so little in a car capable of winning.

[touringlegend]

Flavio Figueiredo was a replacement for Cleland I think - after Cleland injured himself at Snetterton. So whatever rounds after that - I can't remember myself.

[redshoes]

Originally Posted by Icebaby

99) Flavio Figueiredo - Triple 8 - Vauxhall Vectra
I don't remember this chap driving?, which race did he do?

Thruxton meeting only. Cleland had a heavy crash at Sneterton the previous meeting and wasn't fit enough to drive (broken sternum as I recall)

16) Mark Lemmer - Mint/Mardi Gras - Vauxhall Vectra
Two heavy contacts with Mansell did nothing for his reputation really drove like he was blind at times in 98.

Neither were Lemmer's fault. Ford probably spent more on Mansell's 3 meetings than Lemmer spent all year and the unnecessary damage to the Vectra nearly ended Lemmer's season.

33) Craig Baird - WSR - Ford Mondeo
The word was he was treated badly in 98 but I saw a driver just not able to mix it in BTCC and work with an under performing unlike Will Hoy.

He was very definitely the third driver in a two car team. It didn't help that the car was a complete dog.

24) Tiff Needell - RML - Nissan Primera
Im curious to know why they gave this seat to Needell who ended up delivering so little in a car capable of winning.

PR ! Good point though, Tiff's one-off appearance at Brands was less than impressive.

[jab]

Originally Posted by Icebaby

99) Flavio Figueiredo - Triple 8 - Vauxhall Vectra

I don't remember this chap driving?, which race did he do?

Deputised for Cleland at the second Thruxton meeting after John was injured at Snetterton

24) Tiff Needell - RML - Nissan Primera

Im curious to know why they gave this seat to Needell who ended up delivering so little in a car capable of winning.

It was only a one-off, at Brands I think. Extra points for the manufacturers I guess. May even have been a Top Gear link-up. Plus obviously he drove for Nissan way back when

EDIT: Oops, I didn't notice the extra page

[medius]

Tiffs weekend was covered in Top Gear magazine, comic-book style to re-ignite the arguement he had with Nigel Mansell from the ToCA shootout years before. If I remember right, Mansell punted Tiff early on in race one at Brands and ended up breaking the Primera's rear roll bar, making it an understeering dog.

[Icebaby]

Originally Posted by redshoes

Neither were Lemmer's fault. Ford probably spent more on Mansell's 3 meetings than Lemmer spent all year and the unnecessary damage to the Vectra nearly ended Lemmer's season..

I'd have to completly disagree with you there Lemmer was to blame and proberbly would have been best if it had of ended his season as he driving like a Lemon.

[racer69]

Didn't Needell's drive mostly have to do with the fact that the Brands Hatch meeting he ran at was 'celebrating' 40 years of the BTCC, and as well as Top Gear magazine it was forming part of a story for the TV show 'Top Gear Motorsport' on the series' history?

After Mansell's debut, i recall Alan Jones & Jody Sheckter putting their hands up to 'take on' Mansell at the season finale at Silverstone. Alan Gow (obviously) liked the idea, and a Renault for Jones and a Nissan for Sheckter were mooted, but it came to nothing.

Also after Matt Neal's impressive run at the first Brands meeting, outrunning the works Nissans', stories over here suggested that Neal may have been given a dud engine by Nissan for the following meeting at Oulton Park?

[redshoes]

Originally Posted by Icebaby

I'd have to completly disagree with you there Lemmer was to blame and proberbly would have been best if it had of ended his season as he driving like a Lemon.

Mansell had two racing crashes, both at Brands Hatch and both at the exit of Druids.

In the sprint race it was a typical first lap shunt - the second half of the field gets bunched up at Druids as everyone jockeys for position, Mansell gets a slow exit from the corner, inevitable chain reaction as everyone drives into everyone else and Mansell gets spat out into the barrier. It may have been Lemmer's car that had the impact with Mansell's but he was just the next in the chain and as much an innocent victim as Mansell.

In the feature race - Mansell is being lapped, tries to pull to one side to let the leaders through but doesn't move quick enough, gets tapped from behind and sent into the same tyre wall as in the previous race. Lemmer was nowhere near him.

Maybe you mean the testing shunt, also at Brands a few weeks earlier. That was Mansell who lost control and crashed into Lemmer, as admitted by Mansell and widely reported at the time.

Now which of these two are you blaming Lemmer for ?

[Icebaby]

Originally Posted by redshoes

Mansell had two racing crashes, both at Brands Hatch and both at the exit of Druids.

In the sprint race it was a typical first lap shunt - the second half of the field gets bunched up at Druids as everyone jockeys for position, Mansell gets a slow exit from the corner, inevitable chain reaction as everyone drives into everyone else and Mansell gets spat out into the barrier. It may have been Lemmer's car that had the impact with Mansell's but he was just the next in the chain and as much an innocent victim as Mansell.

In the feature race - Mansell is being lapped, tries to pull to one side to let the leaders through but doesn't move quick enough, gets tapped from behind and sent into the same tyre wall as in the previous race. Lemmer was nowhere near him.

Maybe you mean the testing shunt, also at Brands a few weeks earlier. That was Mansell who lost control and crashed into Lemmer, as admitted by Mansell and widely reported at the time.

Now which of these two are you blaming Lemmer for ?

Yep fair points there Redshoes but I do need to correct you, the first incident was the test at Donnington park where Mansell was braking for the chicane going onto the start finish straight and Lemmer piled into the back of him, Lemmer admitted he was at fault on this but it was a very rookie error causing extensive damage to the Mondeo that it had to be sent back to the workshop that evening.

The second is indeed the accident in race 1 at Brands, agree there was bunching up but Lemmer took and inside line which was then to be an outside line to the next corner, it was never going to work and had he not have hit Mansell would simply have been hustled out and onto the grass for the next one, Lemmer to blame mostly and could have been avoided.
I had a good view of this as i was on the corner of the accident where many Mansell fans were, Lemmer was not popular at all to say the least.

The third incident with Peter Cox at Brands was just one of things but again not Mansells fault as Cox admitted afterwards and ended a miserable day for Mansell.

Had Ford have given Mansell a full time drive in 99 I felt he would have been a great addition to the BTCC.

[ROB IS THE STIG]

Originally Posted by Icebaby

Had Ford have given Mansell a full time drive in 99 I felt he would have been a great addition to the BTCC.

Oh absolutely!! The guy is a legend!

[jab]

Why didn't Nigel stay on? Was he keeping his options open so that he could try for another F1 comeback or did Ford sensibly think that Menu and Reid were better value for money?