Why were there so few independents in 2000?

[V8 Fireworks]

I was wondering why were there so few independents in the Super Tourer class in 2000?

I would have thought that the hundreds of cars would have been constructed from 1991 to 1999? Presumably plenty of these cars would have been cheap and reliable (and the early nineties cars simple and straight-forward too?) even if some way off the pace of the complex masterpieces raced by the works teams at that point.

Was it the rules (pre-95 cars banned? tyres? pitstops? massive entry fees?) or was it just too much trouble to attempt to race a 93 spec Cavalier on a fiver against the might of the works team?

[Icebaby]

The super tourers were very expensive to run hence the series was dominated by manufacturers (although not many) who fielded 3 cars each. Super touring had reached a peak in 2000 where so much more engineering was put into the programs. The BTCC was on a downward slide therefore any would be driver with such a budget was looking elsewhere.