Group 1/Group A Vauxhall Astra/Opel Kadett- BTCC and DTM

[KA]

Thought I'd kick off another Group 1/A car thread for the Vauxhall Astra in the BTCC. We've discussed quite a bit of this, but it's scattered through various threads (especially the 1989 BTCC thread), so I thought I'd pull it all together.
In European-market Opel Kadett form, the Mk2 also appeared in the DTM for a couple of seasons, until Opel brought out the Evo version of the big 3-litre Omega.

Obviously, in the BTCC the best-known Astras were the factory-backed DCRS cars that took John Cleland to his first BTCC title in 1989, but the BTCC Astra story actually started a few years before...

The first Astra seems to have been in 1982, when David da Costa ran a GM Dealer Sport backed, Gerry Marshall-run Astra in the 1300 class, with little success aganst the dominant Metros.

Next attempt at racing an Astra was by Andrew Thorpe who occasionally ran a Mk1 GTE in the 1.6-2.5 class in 1984. The red 'Hampshires' car can be seen trailing the Alan Greenhalgh Golf in this shot at the Brands GP meeting
http://www.flickr.com/photos/3611177...57625237123972
Unsurprisingly, the 1.8 litre fwd Astra was on a bit of a hiding to nothing in the class against 2.5 litre Alfas, and the 'pocket rocket' Metro Turbos, to say nothing of Graham Goode's Nissan which was beginning to show it's full potential by mid/late season...

Next Astra was another occasional entry- Paul Harmer ran a Production Saloon Mk2 in the 1600-2 litre class in a couple of 1987 rounds