1988 Dunlop RAC British Touring Car Championship - Discussion & Results

[Tim Wilkinson]

The times I put in my post are the ones given in Autosport. What I meant was that the time you originally had for Hall finsihing 3rd in class was actually that of Minshaw, 4th in class, and Hall had been right on the tail of the Prodrive BMWs.

[KA]

Originally Posted by chunterer

Few more titbits for you whilst i'm on Jesper!

/ #5 / Tim Harvey / Drury-Istel / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 4th in class
Istel backing came later in the year, IIRC Tim's car was almost plain white in the first few rounds? Needs confirming though

I'm sure you're right about that- I think there were a few one-off sponsorship deals here and there in the early rounds, but the car was predominantly plain white until the Istel backing came back. I've seen a pic of it recently in that state, in a contemporary Piper Cams magazine ad- Piper were the most visible sponsor on the car early-season, and stayed on the car after the return of Istel

Donington late-season in Istel/Piper colours
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7502634...n/photostream/

[Jesper OH]

Originally Posted by Tim Wilkinson

The times I put in my post are the ones given in Autosport. What I meant was that the time you originally had for Hall finsihing 3rd in class was actually that of Minshaw, 4th in class, and Hall had been right on the tail of the Prodrive BMWs.

See your point now. Overwhelmet of the replies, I haven't checked my original data yet.

Jesper

[Jesper OH]

Originally Posted by KA

I'm sure you're right about that- I think there were a few one-off sponsorship deals here and there in the early rounds, but the car was predominantly plain white until the Istel backing came back. I've seen a pic of it recently in that state, in a contemporary Piper Cams magazine ad- Piper were the most visible sponsor on the car early-season, and stayed on the car after the return of Istel

Donington late-season in Istel/Piper colours
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7502634...n/photostream/

I should have known better, as I half remember Tim Harvey telling the story of Istel becomming a sponsor during the 1988 season in an Autosport interview late 1980's/early 1990's. Don't know why Istel dropped Harvey in the first place as they seemed to go very well together in future deals, but had it something to do with Austin Rover products vs. Ford? Another vague memory, that is.

I will continue my current format of presenting the results but as there seems to be a lot more info around than for the earlier years, I will re-post them with the info gathered, when the dust is about to settle.

Jesper

[William Dale Jr]

Originally Posted by Jesper OH

Round 2 of 13 of the 1988 Dunlop RAC British Touring Car Championship held on Sunday 1st April 1988 over x laps on the x.xxx miles Oulton Park circuit.

The full circuit was used, measuring 4.456km. The race length was scheduled to be 20 laps, but the race was stopped after 17 laps due to a big accident between Sytner and Minshaw that saw the Demon Tweeks M3 roll ending up on the wrong side of the guardrail. Results, once again, courtesy of Motorsport:

Position	Number	Entrant	Driver	Car	Class	Race Time/Laps
1	22	Rouse / Kaliber	Andy Rouse	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	31m54.36s
2	7	Alan Docking Racing	Mike O'Brien	Holden Commodore VL (HDT)	A	32m09.06s
3	8	Roger Dowson / Arquati	Jerry Mahony	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	32m40.10s
4	5	Terry Drury Racing	Tim Harvey	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	32m52.79s
5	14	Graham Goode / Burlington	Mike Newman	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	32m55.38s
6	33	Prodrive	Frank Sytner	BMW M3	B	33m14.25s
7	44	Demon Tweeks	Alan Minshaw	BMW M3	B	33m15.24s
8	43	John Maguire	Godfrey Hall	BMW M3	B	33m20.00s
9	27	Peter Buxtorf	Peter Buxtorf	BMW 635CSi	A	16 laps
10	70	TOM'S GB	Phil Dowsett	Toyota Corolla FX GT	D	16 laps

[KA]

If it helps, I've copied over the 1988 entry list I posted in the other thread Jesper linked to- with a few corrections/additions since I originally did it. First driver named started the season, the others mentioned either shared the car at Donington or replaced/stood in for the original driver at some point in the year....

Class A

1 MIL Motorsport Toyota Supra Turbo: Chris Hodgetts/Vic Lee/Mark Hales/Ian Flux
2 MIL Motorsport Supra Turbo: Vic Lee
4 Dennis Leech Rover Vitesse: Dennis Leech/David Carvell
5 Terry Drury Racing Ford Sierra RS500: Tim Harvey
6 Eggenberger RS500: Steve Soper/Gianfranco Brancatelli
7 Alan Docking Racing Holden Commodore VL: Mike O'Brien/Sean Brown
8 Roger Dowson/Arquati RS500: Jerry Mahony/Mark Hales
10 Rouse/ICS RS500; Pete Hall/Gary Ayles/Robb Gravett/Mark Hales
11 Brooklyn Motorsport RS500: Chris Hodgetts
12 TWR Holden Commodore VL: Tom Walkinshaw
14 Graham Goode/Burlington RS500: Mike Newman/Robert Speak
15 Graham Goode/Listerine RS500: Graham Goode/Alistair Lyall
16 Asquith Autosport RS500: Karl Jones/Ian Flux
17 CC Motosport/Crystal RS500: Bob Sands/Richard Jones
19 Rouse/Baynard Cars/CAM Shipping RS500: Laurence Bristow/Tim Harvey
20 Graham Hathaway RS500; Graham Hathaway/Peter Townsend/Rob Wilson
21 Rouse/Kaliber RS500: Guy Edwards/Johnny Dumfries
22 Rouse/Kaliber RS500: Andy Rouse/David Sears
23 Nissan M'sport Europe Nissan Skyline GTSR: Win Percy/Allan Grice
24 Trident Motorsport Maserati Biturbo: Nick May/John Lepp
26 ECM Vehicle Delivery RS500: Tom Bell/Ray McDowell
27 Peter Buxtorf BMW 635CSI: Peter Buxtorf/Barry Robinson
30 BBR RS500: Dave Brodie

31 Brookside Garage Alfa Romeo 75 V6: Jon Dooley
32 Prodrive BMW M3: Mike Smith/Will Hoy/James Weaver
33 Prodrive M3: Frank Sytner/James Weaver
34 Prodrive M3: Will Hoy/Lionel Abbott
36 John Maguire M3: David Sears
38 Terry Drury Ford Escort RS Turbo: Dave Wallis/Lionel Abbott
39 Terry Drury Escort RS Turbo: Lionel Wiffen/Robin Parsons
43 John Maguire M3; Godfrey Hall/Barrie Williams
44 Demon Tweeks M3: Alan Minshaw/Roland Ratzenberger/Chris Hodgetts

Class C
48 Specialist Cars Aberdeen VW Golf GTI: Andrew Jeffrey/John Clark
50 Demon Tweeks Golf GTI: Jmes Kaye/John Brindley/John Llewellyn/John Morris
55 John Maguire Golf GTI: James Shead/John Morris
?? Hawes Group Honda Prelude: Martin Wray

Class D

Still can't swear I've got the MIL & CHMS Corollas 100% right....

60 CHMS Toyota Corolla GT: Mark Hales/Patrick Watts
61/69 MIL Motorsport Corolla: Kevin Eaton/Alex Moss/John Llewellyn
61 CHMS Corolla: Dave Loudoun/Nick Whale/Mark Goddard/Richard Belcher
63 Tony Crudgington Corolla: Tony Crudgington/Alistair Davidson
70 TOM'S GB Corolla (fwd) : Phil Dowsett/Tiff Needell
74 North Essex M'sport Ford Escort RS1600i- Vic Lee/Jeremy Rossiter/Barbara Cowell
75 AJG Transport RS1600i- Mark Goddard
77 AGK Motorsport Corolla: Geoff Kimber-Smith/Barbara Cowell

[KA]

Originally Posted by Jesper OH

I should have known better, as I half remember Tim Harvey telling the story of Istel becomming a sponsor during the 1988 season in an Autosport interview late 1980's/early 1990's. Don't know why Istel dropped Harvey in the first place as they seemed to go very well together in future deals, but had it something to do with Austin Rover products vs. Ford? Another vague memory, that is.

I will continue my current format of presenting the results but as there seems to be a lot more info around than for the earlier years, I will re-post them with the info gathered, when the dust is about to settle.

Jesper

They hadn't dropped Harvey totally, as they were still backing the Harvey/Hodgetts Tiga in the BRDC C2 sportscar series- though that of course used an Austin Rover engine. Must admit, I hadn't thought of the ARG v Ford angle to the question. They did sponsor his outings in the Charles Ivey Tiga-Porsche at Le Mans though IIRC

[Jesper OH]

Originally Posted by Tim Wilkinson

Yes, it disappeared mid-season, and was up for sale for the latter part of the year. Ad says 4 events from new - it was built new for '88, and had a Rouse engine and suspension.

I think it reappeared in '89 as the first JQF/Fina car for Gerrit van Kouwen (before they brought out the "active" car mid-season) and also reappeared in '90 for a handful of outings with Stuart Donnan, before he Thundersaloon-ed it.


Other info for round 1 - Karl Jones was supposed to be there in the Asquith RS500, but a dock strike stopped some wheels arriving, and the team didn't think the car would be competitive on what it had (16s, as Avon tyres wouldn't fit the 17s they had) so they delayed until round 2 at Oulton. Geoff Kimber-Smith didn't have his Corolla ready in time - suspension issues.

Mike O'Brien was planning to debut an updated ex-Brock VL-SS Commodore at round 2.

Missed this post first time out. Was those wheels French Gotti rims? They were used on a fair few rally Cossies, but rare on the circuits.

GK-S was a DNA then

Jesper

[Jesper OH]

Originally Posted by KA

They hadn't dropped Harvey totally, as they were still backing the Harvey/Hodgetts Tiga in the BRDC C2 sportscar series- though that of course used an Austin Rover engine. Must admit, I hadn't thought of the ARG v Ford angle to the question. They did sponsor his outings in the Charles Ivey Tiga-Porsche at Le Mans though IIRC

Then again, ARG and Porsche were never really in competition for the average consumer car market like ARG and Ford. But it also begs the question, what was Istel dealing in? They had sponsored the high profile Tourist Trophy from mid-1980s to the comma in 1988.

Jesper

[KA]

Originally Posted by William Dale Jr

The full circuit was used, measuring 4.456km. The race length was scheduled to be 20 laps, but the race was stopped after 17 laps due to a big accident between Sytner and Minshaw that saw the Demon Tweeks M3 roll ending up on the wrong side of the guardrail. Results, once again, courtesy of Motorsport:

I think I can fill the rest of that in from 11th place on:

Position	Number	Entrant	Driver	Car	Class	Race Time/Laps
1	22	Rouse / Kaliber	Andy Rouse	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	31m54.36s
2	7	Alan Docking Racing	Mike O'Brien	Holden Commodore VL (HDT)	A	32m09.06s
3	8	Roger Dowson / Arquati	Jerry Mahony	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	32m40.10s
4	5	Terry Drury Racing	Tim Harvey	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	32m52.79s
5	14	Graham Goode / Burlington	Mike Newman	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	32m55.38s
6	33	Prodrive	Frank Sytner	BMW M3	B	33m14.25s
7	44	Demon Tweeks	Alan Minshaw	BMW M3	B	33m15.24s
8	43	John Maguire	Godfrey Hall	BMW M3	B	33m20.00s
9	27	Peter Buxtorf	Peter Buxtorf	BMW 635CSi	A	16 laps
10	70	TOM'S GB	Phil Dowsett	Toyota Corolla FX GT	D	16 laps
11	??	CHMS?	Mark Hales	Toyota Corolla GT	D	16 laps
12	77	AGK Motorsport	Geoff Kimber-Smith	Toyota Corolla GT	D	16 laps
13	20	Graham Hathaway Racing	Graham Hathaway	Sierra RS500	A	16 laps
14	32	Prodrive	Mike Smith	BMW M3	B	16 laps
15	69?	MIL Motorsport?	Kevin Eaton	Corolla GT	D	15 laps
DNF	50	Demon Tweeks	James Kaye	VW Golf GTi 16v	C	15 laps- driveshaft
DNF	39	Terry Drury Racing	Lionel Wiffen	Ford Escort RS Turbo	B	12 laps- turbo
DNF	15	Graham Goode/Listerine	Graham Goode	Sierra RS500	A	11 laps-electrics
DNF	19	Rouse/CAM Shipping	Lawrence Bristow	Sierra RS500	A	10 laps- differential
DNF	10	Rouse/ICS	Pete Hall	Sierra RS500	A	4 laps- reason unknown
DNF	16	Asquith/Duckhams	Karl Jones	Sierra RS500	A	4 laps-overheating
DNF	48	Specialist Cars Aberdeen	Andrew Jeffrey	Golf GTi 16v	C	3 laps- driveshaft
DNF	38	Terry Drury Racing	Dave Wallis	Escort RS Turbo	B	3 laps- gearbox
DNF	17	CC Motorsport	Bob Sands	Sierra RS500	A	0 laps- clutch
DNF	1	MIL Motorsport	Chris Hodgetts	Toyota Supra Turbo	A	0 laps- driveshaft

[/QUOTE]

[Tim Wilkinson]

Position	Number	Driver	Team/Sponsor	Class	Car	Time/Laps
1	#22	Andy Rouse	Rouse-Kaliber	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	31m54.36s
2	#7	Mike O'Brien	Docking / Autoglass	A	Holden Commodore VL	32m09.06s
3	#8	Jerry Mahony	Dowson-Arquati	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	32m40.10s
4	#5	Tim Harvey	Drury / Sumo Giants	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	32m52.79s
5	#14	Mike Newman	Goode / Burlington	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	32m55.38s
6	#33	Frank Sytner	Prodrive-BMW Finance/Mobil	B	BMW M3	33m14.25s
7	#44	Alan Minshaw	Minshaw-Demon Tweeks	B	BMW M3	33m15.24s
8	#36	Godfrey Hall	Maguire / MILA	B	BMW M3	33m20.00s
9	#27	Peter Buxtorf	Buxtorf	A	BMW 635CSi	16 laps
10	#70	Phil Dowsett	TOM's GB	D	Toyota Corolla GT	16 laps
11	#60	Mark Hales	CHMS / AJG Transport	D	Toyota Corolla GT	16 laps
12	#77	Geoff Kimber-Smith	AGK Motorsport	D	Toyota Corolla GT	16 laps
13	#20	Graham Hathaway	Hathaway / Soans	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	16 laps
14	#32	Mike Smith	Prodrive-BMW Finance/Mobil	B	BMW M3	16 laps
15	?	Kevin Eaton	MIL Motorsport / East Midlands Transport	D	Toyota Corolla GT	15 laps
DNF	#50	James Kaye	Minshaw / Demon Tweeks & Slick 50	C	VW Golf GTI 16v	14 laps – driveshaft
DNF	#39	Lionel Wiffen	Drury	B	Ford Escort RST	12 laps – turbo pipe
DNF	#15	Graham Goode	GGR / Listerine -Texaco	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	11 laps – engine
DNF	#19	Laurence Bristow	Rouse-CAM Shipping	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	10 laps - diff
DNF	#16	Karl Jones	Asquith / Duckhams	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	7 laps – engine
DNF	#10	Pete Hall	Rouse / ICS	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	4 laps
DNF	#38	Dave Wallis	Drury / Kenwood Car Hi-Fi	B	Ford Escort RST	3 laps – accident
DNF	#48	Andrew Jeffrey	Specialist Cars Aberdeen	C	VW Golf GTI 16V	3 laps – driveshaft
DNF	#17	Bob Sands	CC Racing / Crystal Facilities	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	1 lap – gearbox
DNF	#1	Chris Hodgetts	MIL / Shell - Toyota	A	Toyota Supra Turbo	0 laps – driveshaft
DNA	#6	Steve Soper	Eggenberger-Texaco	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	Dock strike

Fastest laps - weather was drizzly for the race, so times were slower than qualifying
Class A - Bristow 1m45.91s
Class B - Sytner 1m49.09s
Class C - Kaye 1m57.68s
Class D - Dowsett 1m53.93s

Race had originally been scheduled for 16 laps, then upped to 20. Eventually ran over 17 (47.07miles), as William said, because of the Minshaw crash. There was a bit of contention about that "accident".

Grid (3-2-3) - I would assume that pole at Oulton was on the right rather than the the left
3 - Bristow, 2 - Mahony, 1 - Rouse (A pole - 1m41.67)
5 - P Hall, 4 - Goode
8 Sands, 7 G Hall, 6 - Sytner (B pole - 1m44.90s),
10 - ?, 9 Newman ,
13 Minshaw, 12 Harvey, 11 Jones
15 O'Brien 14 Hodgetts,
18 Smith 17 Hathaway, 16 Buxtorf,
20 Hales, 19 Dowsett (D pole 1m50.39s)
23 Eaton, 22 Kimber-Smith, 21 Wallis
25 Kaye, 24 Jeffrey (C pole 1m56.11s)
26 Wiffen



James Weaver deputised for Smitty in testing and a practice session, due to Mike's broadcasting commitments - this might account for the missing number 10 slot on the grid, which could shift the rest of the grid around. Maybe there's more info on the video? I have it, but don't have a VHS player any more!

Other info - The two Golfs are both ex-Tarmac rally cars. Mike O'Brien was still in the VL Commodore as the evoultion engine hadn't turned up from Australia. Andy Rouse won AT Oulton on Friday, and then also won the first round of the French championship at Nogaro. Pete Hall retired, both from the race, and from racing due to work pressures.

[Tim Wilkinson]

Originally Posted by Jesper OH

Missed this post first time out. Was those wheels French Gotti rims? They were used on a fair few rally Cossies, but rare on the circuits.

GK-S was a DNA then

Jesper

Speedlines didn't arrive, Revolutions wouldn't fit the Avons. At Oulton, Harvey was having the same problem with unavailability of suitable wheels - it says he was using ones from the Escort RSTs ( I suppose TDR had a fair few lying around!). Harvey had also got a better, Getrag, diff for the Oulton event. Rouse was the only runner with a very heavy-duty diff - I suppose a new part.

Mr Dale beat me to the table!

[KA]

Originally Posted by Jesper OH

Then again, ARG and Porsche were never really in competition for the average consumer car market like ARG and Ford. But it also begs the question, what was Istel dealing in? They had sponsored the high profile Tourist Trophy from mid-1980s to the comma in 1988.

Jesper

Istel were in the IT & telecommunications business- and were originally a part of BL/Austin Rover- formed in 1979 as British Leyland Systems from BL's various in-house IT departments (so the ARG v Ford thing does make sense!), later taking on work for external customers as well
They were sold off in a management buyout in 1987, and bought by AT&T a couple of years later
http://www.fundinguniverse.com/compa...y-History.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISTEL

With that history, then yes,your theory about them being mainly a BL/Austin Rover sponsor makes perfect sense.

Just to add a bit of confusion to the issue though, Lawrence Bristow had Istel sponsorship on his prodsaloon Cosworth in '87- (Was this a continuation of the Istel backed team that had run Istel Rovers for Harvey in Prodsaloons in '86- I think Tim did some prodsaloons alongside his BTCC Rover campaign in '87?)

http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/r...wCC25-5-87.jpg
(Castle Combe, May '87- originally posted by 'La Sarthe' in the Autosport RS500 thread a couple of months back)

[KA]

Originally Posted by Tim Wilkinson

The two Golfs are both ex-Tarmac rally cars. Mike O'Brien was still in the VL Commodore as the evoultion engine hadn't turned up from Australia. Andy Rouse won AT Oulton on Friday, and then also won the first round of the French championship at Nogaro. Pete Hall retired, both from the race, and from racing due to work pressures.

Thanks Tim- I'd only transcribed the result from the Autosport report, and didn't have any of the background

The Golfs were probably ex-David Sutton Motorsport/VW GB cars- although run by different teams, both the Jeffrey and Shead cars carried the same basic blue/white colourscheme
The evolution Commodore engine and bodykit eventually hit the track late-season (August/September I think) due to homologation delays...
As you said, Pete Hall called time on his BTCC career, and Robb Gravett took over the ICS RS500 drive for the rest of the season

[KA]

Originally Posted by KA

Thanks Tim- I'd only transcribed the result from the Autosport report, and didn't have any of the background

The Golfs were probably ex-David Sutton Motorsport/VW GB cars- although run by different teams, both the Jeffrey and Shead cars carried the same basic blue/white colourscheme

The works Group A rallycars carried a similar livery. Sutton had run a 'VW Junior Team' on the British Championship using Golfs- possibly 3/4 cars? Did any of these become the Shead/Jeffery BTCC cars, or were they sourced from VW in Germany

The pic shows Shead leading an interesting mix of the lower end of the grid, including the Maserati, ECM Sierra and various Class D Corollas at Donington late-season. The Jeffery Golf is just visible at the back of the group I think