1988 Dunlop RAC British Touring Car Championship - Discussion & Results

[Tim Wilkinson]

Round 5 - Thruxton - Race notes

The track looked damp to start, and while most were on slicks, the Prodrive BMWs (who'd sent a helicopter up to check out the incoming weather!) and Gravett were on grooved tyres. Guy Edwards got spun out by Mahony early on, and resumed well down. Smith led from Sytner, then the two collected each other as Smith treied to prevent Ratzenberger from following Sytner through; Smitty pitted with a puncture, and Sytner fell back as his grooved tyres went off. Rouse pulled away, while the mid-field battled away - 6th to 12th swapping places. Hodgetts fought his Supra up to 7th, then pitted with a misfire, and Edwards spun again. Ratzenberger edged out Godfrey Hall for the class B win, while 2nd to 4th was decided on the last lap as the rain came back and Mahony nosed past Newman at the chicane to take 3rd and very nearly 2nd from Karl Jones.
The Maserati had started on wets then switched ot slicks and was running quicker towards the end (1m27.83 - 3 seconds inside qually time). Dennis Leech lunched his differential which looked to have put paid to his summer.
James Shead spun to hand class C to Brindley. Dowsett started on grooved tyres, but pitted early with a puncture, Kimber-Smith blew his engine on the first lap, and Dowsett easily caught Crudgington for the class D win.

Fastest laps -
A - Newman 1m22.29s
B - Smith 1m23.55s (after pitting for slicks - precedent for Snetterton!)
C - Shead 1m30.17s
D - Dowsett - 1m30.08s (although it says GKS in Autosport, it's Dowsett's time, and GKS didn't do a lap)

For KA - Rouse's race time was 23m42.49s, his quickest lap was 1m22.49s.

[KA]

Originally Posted by Jesper OH

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!

Also did the 1991 season as Andy Rouse's team-mate in the Toyota Carina, before going off to race in Italy. He did make a one-off BTCC appearance at Donington in '92- curiously in his regular Peugeot Italia 405, rather than one of the British cars- Perhaps brought over to provide a performance comparison to Gravett's regular UK car?

[Craner Curves]

Originally Posted by 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.

They have a link nowadays at least, not sure how long it goes back. Sean Brown is the UK distributor for Momo and Speedsport (Mike O'Brien's company) are stockists. Also, Sean's sons are racers and have been coached by Stefan Hodgetts, who is managed by Speedsport, as well as being backed by some other companies who Speedsport are distributors for.

[Tim Wilkinson]

Round 6 - Silverstone Jun 5th '88.

Grid -
1. Rouse (A pole 1m38.29s)
2. Gravett
3. Bristow
4. Harvey
5. Goode
6. Edwards
7. Newman
8. Hodgetts
9. Mahony
10 Jones
11 Sytner (B pole 1m41.87s)
12 Smith
13 O'Brien
14
15 Hall
16 Hathaway
17 Leech
18 May
19 Lee
20 Dowsett (D pole 1m49.74s)
21 Hales
22 Shead (C pole 1m50.86s)
23 Crudgington
24 Brindley
25 Kimber-Smith

Qually notes -

So who was / should have been 14th on the grid? It could have been John Lepp, who is reported to have qualified the Maserati, but Nick May raced it.
Bristow had ecu issues, but fixed them. The Supras now had Sam Nelson engines with a better spread of power, and Hodgetts was first now Ford (8th). Other with issues were Mahony (handling), Newman (wheel bearing, no running in the quicker 2nd session), Jones (brakes again). O'Brien and Leech suffered against teh turbo cars, and Hathaway's RS500 was down on power too [did Hathaway not have a full RS500?]
The BMWs chased Sierras to get tows. Godfrey Hall had new compound Dunlops, as did Phil Dowsett with some new Dunlop radials to give improved wear. Mark Hales' CHMS car is reshelled after Donington, and now bright green [how did this car run in the Donington race if it needed a complete reshell?). Andrew Jeffrey was absent, waiting for a new engine.

Race notes

As above from KA for first start, except with Nick May in the Maserati.
Newman made a fast start, and Gravett took the lead from Rouse until the end of lap 3. Newman took 3rd from Bristow, and Goode worked his way up and took 4th one lap from the end, before having a moment at the last corner of the race and dropping to 7th. Sytner won B, Ratzenberger 2nd on the road but relegated a minute for creeping when the clutch wouldn't disengage at the start. Mike Smith battled power-loss to hold off Godfrey Hall with astute use of back-markers. Dowsett, Shead and Crudgington had a lonely race, most of their classes lost in the first start.

Fastest laps -
A - Rouse 1m38.29s
B - Sytner 1m42.75s
C - Shead - 1m51.34s
D - Dowsett - 1m50.11s

Other news from the meeting -
The M3 Evolution is due for the GP support round, with lightweight panels and a bigger rear wing.
Chris Hodgetts is roumoured to be looking at a Brooklyn-run Sierra, but at the moment it's thought to be for sharng with Andrew Bagnall in the Pacific series at the end of the year.
Rumour that TWR might appear in the BTCC with a Supra or an M3, while the Coomodore is still un-homologated.
There's an advert (for Demon Tweeks) on the back of Autosport for this week that says that Ratzenberger won at Thruxton with two cracked piston rings. Impressive! Also impressed that Dennis Leech had his Rover back out after it had looked to put him out for the summer.

[Tim Wilkinson]

Originally Posted by KA

Also did the 1991 season as Andy Rouse's team-mate in the Toyota Carina, before going off to race in Italy. He did make a one-off BTCC appearance at Donington in '92- curiously in his regular Peugeot Italia 405, rather than one of the British cars- Perhaps brought over to provide a performance comparison to Gravett's regular UK car?

Thanks, I must have remembered he teamed with Rouse, and thought it was with the Mondeos. Except I had the year of awful performance in my head - Steve Robertson! Probably because they both had F3 background.
Ayles was in a Primera that year ('96).

[Tim Wilkinson]

Standings after round 6 -

Overall (top 6) -
Sytner - 52pts; Rouse - 46; Dowsett - 38; G Hall - 28; Smith - 26; Mahony - 21.

Class A - Rouse, Mahony, Newman - 18, Harvey - 14

Class B - Sytner, G Hall, Smith, Minshaw & Ratzenberger - 12

Class C - Shead - 12, Brindley - 5, Jeffrey - 4, Kaye - 1

Class D - Dowsett, Crudgington - 20, Kimber-Smith-13, Hales - 8

[Jesper OH]

Originally Posted by Tim Wilkinson

Round 6 - Silverstone Jun 5th '88.

Grid -
1. Rouse (A pole 1m38.29s)
2. Gravett
3. Bristow
4. Harvey
5. Goode
6. Edwards
7. Newman
8. Hodgetts
9. Mahony
10 Jones
11 Sytner (B pole 1m41.87s)
12 Smith
13 O'Brien
14
15 Hall
16 Hathaway
17 Leech
18 May
19 Lee
20 Dowsett (D pole 1m49.74s)
21 Hales
22 Shead (C pole 1m50.86s)
23 Crudgington
24 Brindley
25 Kimber-Smith

Qually notes -

So who was / should have been 14th on the grid? It could have been John Lepp, who is reported to have qualified the Maserati, but Nick May raced it.

Roland Ratzenberger, as he is missing from the list?

Jesper

[Tim Wilkinson]

Originally Posted by Jesper OH

Roland Ratzenberger, as he is missing from the list?

Jesper

Yes, he is missing. There's two "13ths" listed, Ratzenberger is one, O'Brien the other.

It should read -

12 Smith (1m42.67)
13 Ratzenberger (1m42.86)
14 O'Brien (1m43.16)
15 Hall (1m43.68)

There was a couple of mis-prints / errors in the published standings (Mahony there twice, Kimber-Smith having more points than the guys leading his class) but I managed to work those out. Keeps us on our toes!!

[Jesper OH]

Round 7 of 13 of the 1988 Dunlop RAC British Touring Car Championship held on Sunday 10th July 1988 over x laps on the x.xxx miles/4.778 kms Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit. Weather believed to be mighty wet.

Support race for the British Formula 1 Grand Prix. Also on the bill:
British Formula 3 Championship
Renault Elf Turbo Europa Cup
GM Lotus Euro Challenge
Esso Metro Challenge
Alfa Romeo 164 Celebrity Race

Class A:
1./ #22 / Andy Rouse / ARE-Kaliber / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 28m58.41s
2./ #21 / Guy Edwards / ARE-Kaliber / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 29m10.59s
3./ #19 / Laurence Bristow / ARE-CAM / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 29m22.97s
? / #8 / Jerry Mahony / Dowson-Arquati / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 4th in class
? / #10 / Robb Gravett / ARE-ICS / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 5th in class
? / #14 / Mike Newman / Goode-Burlington / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 6th in class
? / #5 / Tim Harvey / Drury-? / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth /
? / #7 / Mike O'Brien / Docking-Swan / A / Holden Commodore VL /
? / #4 / Dennis Leech / Leech-Demon Tweeks / A / Rover 3500 V8 Vitesse /
Fastest lap: Andy Rouse

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

As of 1st July 1988 an evolution kit was homologated for the M3. Externally it featured a slightly deeper front spoiler as well as a bootlit mounted spoiler below the rear wing. I think there were some mechanical alterations as well.

Class C:
? / #48 / Andrew Jeffrey / Jeffrey?-Specialist Cars Aberdeen / C / VW Golf GTI 16V / 1st in class
? / #55 / James Shead / Maguire-? / C / VW Golf GTI 16V / 2nd in class
DNF / #50 / Andy Middlehurst / Minshaw-Demon Tweeks / C / VW Golf GTI 16V /
Fastest lap: Andy Middlehurst

Was there a specific reason why John Brindley was replaced by Andy Middlehurst for the GP support race and beyond?

Class D:
? / #70 / Phil Dowsett / TOM's GB / D / Toyota Corolla FXGT / 1st in class
? / #60? / David Loudon / Hodgetts / D / Toyota Corolla GT / 2nd in class
? / #77 / Geoff Kimber-Smith / Kimber-Smith / D / Toyota Corolla GT / 3rd in class
? / #? / Jeremy Rossiter / unknown / D / unknown / 4th in class
DNF / #63 / Tony Crudgington / Crudgington / D / Toyota Corolla GT /
DNF / #61? / John Llewellyn / MIL / D / Toyota Corolla GT /
Fastest lap: Phil Dowsett

A good day for Andy Rouse, but it must have been during this period that Robb Gravett thought he was given second hand material by Andy Rouse. Don't know when Mike Smith felt the same in the Prodrive camp.

Jesper

[KA]

Originally Posted by Tim Wilkinson

Round 6 - Silverstone Jun 5th '88.

Grid -
1. Rouse (A pole 1m38.29s)
2. Gravett
3. Bristow
4. Harvey
5. Goode
6. Edwards
7. Newman
8. Hodgetts
9. Mahony
10 Jones
11 Sytner (B pole 1m41.87s)
12 Smith
13 O'Brien
14
15 Hall
16 Hathaway
17 Leech
18 May
19 Lee
20 Dowsett (D pole 1m49.74s)
21 Hales
22 Shead (C pole 1m50.86s)
23 Crudgington
24 Brindley
25 Kimber-Smith

Qually notes -

So who was / should have been 14th on the grid? It could have been John Lepp, who is reported to have qualified the Maserati, but Nick May raced it.

According to my notes, probably based on the MN report, Ratzenberger was 13th and O'Brien 14th. Interesting to see the difference of opinion over who was driving the Maserati- you'd have thought they'd be able to get something like that right....

Bristow had ecu issues, but fixed them. The Supras now had Sam Nelson engines with a better spread of power, and Hodgetts was first now Ford (8th). Other with issues were Mahony (handling), Newman (wheel bearing, no running in the quicker 2nd session), Jones (brakes again). O'Brien and Leech suffered against teh turbo cars, and Hathaway's RS500 was down on power too [did Hathaway not have a full RS500?]
The BMWs chased Sierras to get tows. Godfrey Hall had new compound Dunlops, as did Phil Dowsett with some new Dunlop radials to give improved wear. Mark Hales' CHMS car is reshelled after Donington, and now bright green [how did this car run in the Donington race if it needed a complete reshell?). Andrew Jeffrey was absent, waiting for a new engine.

Race notes

As above from KA for first start, except with Nick May in the Maserati.
Newman made a fast start, and Gravett took the lead from Rouse until the end of lap 3. Newman took 3rd from Bristow, and Goode worked his way up and took 4th one lap from the end, before having a moment at the last corner of the race and dropping to 7th. Sytner won B, Ratzenberger 2nd on the road but relegated a minute for creeping when the clutch wouldn't disengage at the start. Mike Smith battled power-loss to hold off Godfrey Hall with astute use of back-markers. Dowsett, Shead and Crudgington had a lonely race, most of their classes lost in the first start.

Fastest laps -
A - Rouse 1m38.29s
B - Sytner 1m42.75s
C - Shead - 1m51.34s
D - Dowsett - 1m50.11s

Other news from the meeting -
The M3 Evolution is due for the GP support round, with lightweight panels and a bigger rear wing.
Chris Hodgetts is roumoured to be looking at a Brooklyn-run Sierra, but at the moment it's thought to be for sharng with Andrew Bagnall in the Pacific series at the end of the year.
Rumour that TWR might appear in the BTCC with a Supra or an M3, while the Coomodore is still un-homologated.
There's an advert (for Demon Tweeks) on the back of Autosport for this week that says that Ratzenberger won at Thruxton with two cracked piston rings. Impressive! Also impressed that Dennis Leech had his Rover back out after it had looked to put him out for the summer.

MN start their qualifying report with some comment on Rouse's dominance- on pole by nearly 2 seconds here!
Theories from other drivers allegedly included

'I think they can afford to run an awful lot more boost than we can. Our budget simply doesn't let us run in that league with only one engine to rely on should we push things too far'

'I don't think our car handles as well as theirs. We're still learning about spring rates etc but they've got the time and the budget to test, test, test.It's a bit hard to compete with that'

and rather more simply 'He's a bloody good driver'

[KA]

Originally Posted by Jesper OH

Round 7 of 13 of the 1988 Dunlop RAC British Touring Car Championship held on Sunday 10th July 1988 over x laps on the x.xxx miles/4.778 kms Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit. Weather believed to be mighty wet.

Support race for the British Formula 1 Grand Prix. Also on the bill:
British Formula 3 Championship
Renault Elf Turbo Europa Cup
GM Lotus Euro Challenge
Esso Metro Challenge
Alfa Romeo 164 Celebrity Race

Class A:
1./ #22 / Andy Rouse / ARE-Kaliber / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 28m58.41s
2./ #21 / Guy Edwards / ARE-Kaliber / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 29m10.59s
3./ #19 / Laurence Bristow / ARE-CAM / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 29m22.97s
4 / #8 / Jerry Mahony / Dowson-Arquati / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 4th in class
5 / #10 / Robb Gravett / ARE-ICS / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 5th in class
6 / #14 / Mike Newman / Goode-Burlington / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth / 6th in class
7 / #5 / Tim Harvey / Drury-? / A / Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth /
8 / #33 / Frank Sytner / Richards-Mobil / B / BMW M3 / 1st in class

? / #7 / Mike O'Brien / Docking-Swan / A / Holden Commodore VL /
? / #4 / Dennis Leech / Leech-Demon Tweeks / A / Rover 3500 V8 Vitesse /
Fastest lap: Andy Rouse

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

As of 1st July 1988 an evolution kit was homologated for the M3. Externally it featured a slightly deeper front spoiler as well as a bootlit mounted spoiler below the rear wing. I think there were some mechanical alterations as well.

Class C:
? / #48 / Andrew Jeffrey / Jeffrey?-Specialist Cars Aberdeen / C / VW Golf GTI 16V / 1st in class
? / #55 / James Shead / Maguire-? / C / VW Golf GTI 16V / 2nd in class
DNF / #50 / Andy Middlehurst / Minshaw-Demon Tweeks / C / VW Golf GTI 16V /
Fastest lap: Andy Middlehurst

Was there a specific reason why John Brindley was replaced by Andy Middlehurst for the GP support race and beyond?

Class D:
? / #70 / Phil Dowsett / TOM's GB / D / Toyota Corolla FXGT / 1st in class
? / #60? / David Loudon / Hodgetts / D / Toyota Corolla GT / 2nd in class
? / #77 / Geoff Kimber-Smith / Kimber-Smith / D / Toyota Corolla GT / 3rd in class
? / #? / Jeremy Rossiter / North Essex / D / Ford Escort RS1600i/ 4th in class
DNF / #63 / Tony Crudgington / Crudgington / D / Toyota Corolla GT /
DNF / #61? / John Llewellyn / MIL / D / Toyota Corolla GT /
Fastest lap: Phil Dowsett

A good day for Andy Rouse, but it must have been during this period that Robb Gravett thought he was given second hand material by Andy Rouse. Don't know when Mike Smith felt the same in the Prodrive camp.

Jesper

I've only got the top 8 for this race, so can't fill in anything more than that.
From the notes I've got, MIL had a 3rd Supra on the entry list for Alex Moss- presumably it didn't appear?

[Tim Wilkinson]

Originally Posted by KA

I've only got the top 8 for this race, so can't fill in anything more than that.
From the notes I've got, MIL had a 3rd Supra on the entry list for Alex Moss- presumably it didn't appear?

Looks like it was just Mark Hales and Vic Lee. Haven't found out why Brindley was replaced, he was mentioned in the preview as driving. I'll work through the weeks, and then post the full grid and result.

In the meantime, some adverts from May and early June that I missed before.

The ex-Letchworth Roofing Vitesse is for sale, ready to race £13k. Croydon / Orpington number - in fact it's the same as on April 21st, which identifies that car nicely. Except the price has gone up by a grand now! Who had that car last? Scarborough?
An ex-works grpA Metro turbo is advertised, but no more info than that. Tel 01-303 6644.
Peter Buxtorf has his 635 on offer.
Another Vitesse is up for sale - totally rebuilt, with latest spec engine. Phone number shows up today as Race Sport International, who still run today. Website says they ran a black Vitesse, an RS500 and a n/a Sierra in BTCC. Why hello, Mr Leech! £24,500 for car, wheels, spares and transporter.

[Tim Wilkinson]

More news...

16th June -
BBR have a Thundersaloon special saloon spec Starion for sale. [Is this what happened to their BTCC car? Rod Birley had one in Thundersaloons in '89 or later (after the Sierra-Porsche), but I think that had an RS500 engine in by then.]

23rd June -
Hi-Tech Motorsport (Maldon based) have a Sierra shell available. Hathaway-prepared, seems to be full grpA (bodykit, brakes, suspension) but without engine. Curiously advertised for Thunder or Special Saloons, rather than BTCC.

June 30th -
Andy Rouse won his 3rd French race of the season at Charade, sharing with Alain Ferte won also partnered him to a win at Le Mans Bugatti.
John Llewellyn will take over Kevin Eaton's MIL Corolla for the rest of the season. He's renting the car from Eaton and MIL will continue to run it. Backing is from G Barnett Menswear who had slated support for the drive in the Supra which didn't come off at the start of the year.
Chris Hodgetts leaves MIL, and goes back to Brooklyn, who are building an RS500. The aim is to see out the year in the Sierra and go for the championship in '89. MIL will continue with 3 shell-backed cars for Vic Lee, Mark Hales and Alex Moss at the GP support.

7th July -
Round 7 - GP Support preview.
Prodrive are due to debut evolution M3, featuring 6-speed transmission, revised front spoiler, modified lip on the bootlid, and lighter glass and body panels.
Mike Newman's RS500 has had an engine rebuild and some mid-season development with GGR.
Usual suspects all expected for the GP Support, Hodgetts a possibility in his new RS500 (although previously this wasn't expected until late July), 3 MIL Supras, Minshaw mentioned as expected in a BMW, Brindley to run his Golf, and Dave Loudon to make his grpA debut.

[William Dale Jr]

Originally Posted by Tim Wilkinson

Yes, he is missing. There's two "13ths" listed, Ratzenberger is one, O'Brien the other.

It should read -

12 Smith (1m42.67)
13 Ratzenberger (1m42.86)
14 O'Brien (1m43.16)
15 Hall (1m43.68)

Yep, that matches what I have on the offical BRDC results sheets I have from this race

I have entrant data for this race, but I'm not sure where I got it from. I thought it was on the sheets, but it isn't. However, I wouldn't have put them there had they not come from what I considered a reliable source, so I believe they are right.

Round 6 full results, qualifying times, and fastest laps from the results sheets as follows (updated thanks to the info from Tim and KA):

Position	Number	Entrant	Driver	Car	Class	Race Time/Laps	Retirement Cause	Fastest Time	Qualifying Time	Grid Position
1	22	Kaliber Ford	Andy Rouse	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	19m50.47s		1m38.29s	1m36.78s	1
2	10	Industrial Control Services plc	Robb Gravett	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	19m57.49s		1m38.54s	1m38.59s	2
3	14	Burlington Wall Coverings Limited	Mike Newman	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	20m04.95s		1m39.19s	1m39.00s	7
4	19	Barnard Cars Limited	Laurence Bristow	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	20m14.53s		1m39.52s	1m38.66s	3
5	21	Kaliber Ford	Guy Edwards	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	20m15.74s		1m39.80s	1m38.83s	6
6	5	Terry Drury Racing	Tim Harvey	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	20m18.00s		1m38.81s	1m38.68s	4
7	15	Listerine-Texaco Racing	Graham Goode	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	20m22.75s		1m39.88s	1m38.68s	5
8	8	Arquati UK Limited	Jerry Mahony	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	20m26.69s		1m40.29s	1m39.65s	9
9	16	Duckhams Racing with Karl Jones	Karl Jones	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	20m27.90s		1m40.61s	1m40.27s	10
10	7	Autoglass	Mike O'Brien	Holden Commodore VL (HDT)	A	20m47.92s		1m42.34s	1m43.16s	14
11	33	BMW Finance Racing with Mobil 1	Frank Sytner	BMW M3	B	20m49.20s		1m42.75s	1m41.87s	11
12	32	BMW Finance Racing with Mobil 1	Mike Smith	BMW M3	B	20m56.59s		1m43.92s	1m42.67s	12
13	43	Godfrey Hall Limited	Godfrey Hall	BMW M3	B	20m57.08s		1m43.39s	1m43.68s	15
14	4	Dennis Leech	Dennis Leech	Rover Vitesse	A	21m11.49s		1m44.05s	1m44.27s	17
15	20	Soans-Ford Dealers	Graham Hathaway	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	21m45.12s		1m43.12s	1m44.00s	16
16*	44	Alan Minshaw	Roland Ratzenberger	BMW M3	B	21m52.81s		1m43.09s	1m42.86s	13
17	70	TOM'S GB Limited	Phil Dowsett	Toyota Corolla	D	11 laps		1m50.11s	1m49.74s	20
18	55	John Maguire Racing-David Sutton Motorsport	James Shead	Volkswagen Golf GTi 16V	C	11 laps		1m51.34s	1m50.86s	22
19	63	Tony Crudgington	Tony Crudgington	Toyota Corolla	D	11 laps		1m52.36s	1m51.39s	23
DNF	2	Shell-Toyota-MIL	Vic Lee	Toyota Supra Turbo	A	4 laps	engine	1m46.90s	1m49.67s	19
DNF	1	Shell-Toyota-MIL	Chris Hodgetts	Toyota Supra Turbo	A	3 laps	engine	1m42.84s	1m39.22s	8
DNS	61	CHI	Mark Hales	Toyota Corolla	D		accident - first start		1m50.45s	21
DNS	77	AJK Motor Sport	Geoff Kimber-Smith	Toyota Corolla	D		accident - first start		1m53.25s	25
DNS	50	Alan Minshaw	John Brindley	Volkswagen Golf GTi 16V	C		accident - first start		1m51.64s	24
DNS	24	The Campari Maserati	Nick May	Maserati Biturbo	A		accident - first start		1m49.67s	18
ENT	17	Crystal Facilities Limited	Bob Sands	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A				NTR
ENT	39	Lionel Wiffen	Lionel Wiffen	Ford Escort RS Turbo	B				NTR
ENT	48	Specialist Cars Aberdeen Limited	Andrew Jeffrey	Volkswagen Golf GTi 16V	C				NTR
ENT	69	MIL Motorsport	Kevin Eaton	Toyota Corolla	D				NTR

The results sheets list John Lepp in the practice results and grid sheet, but the race results only lists the car number as a non-starter without indicating who was in it. Asterisk indicated the 1 minute penalty for Ratzenberger's jumped start.

I have Sands, Wiffen, Jeffrey and Eaton all listed in the practice results, but have no times recorded for either session. I'm assuming that the cars were entered but did not appear and reflected that in the results (ENT), can anyone confirm?

This race only receives about 30 seconds of coverage on the review video, and completely omits any mention of the first lap accident/restart.

[William Dale Jr]

Originally Posted by Jesper OH

Round 7 of 13 of the 1988 Dunlop RAC British Touring Car Championship held on Sunday 10th July 1988 over 15 laps on the 4.778 kms Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit. Weather believed to be mighty wet.

I can verify, the weather was indeed mightily wet

Results courtesy of Autosport:

Position	Number	Entrant	Driver	Car	Class	Race Time/Laps	Retirement Cause	Fastest Time	Qualifying Time	Grid Position
1	22	Kaliber Ford	Andy Rouse	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	28m58.41s		1m51.75s	1m36.20s	1
2	21	Kaliber Ford	Guy Edwards	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	29m10.59s		1m52.98s	1m38.13s	5
3	19	Barnard Cars Limited	Laurence Bristow	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	29m22.97s		1m54.34s	1m39.35s	8
4	8	Arquati UK Limited	Jerry Mahony	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	29m24.09s		1m53.20s	1m39.24s	7
5	10	Industrial Control Services plc	Robb Gravett	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	29m37.96s		1m53.97s	1m37.80s	2
6	14	Burlington Wall Coverings Limited	Mike Newman	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	29m55.53s		1m57.68s	1m37.88s	4
7	5	Terry Drury Racing	Tim Harvey	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	30m13.13s		1m54.93s	1m39.18s	6
8	33	BMW Finance Racing with Mobil 1	Frank Sytner	BMW M3	B	30m18.11s		1m56.61s	1m41.02s	10
9	15	Listerine-Texaco Racing	Graham Goode	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	30m20.87s		1m57.79s	1m37.87s	3
10	16	Duckhams Racing with Karl Jones	Karl Jones	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	30m30.30s		1m57.19s	1m39.72s	9
11	43	Godfrey Hall Limited	Godfrey Hall	BMW M3	B	30m56.39s		1m59.18s	1m41.99s	11
12	7	Autoglass	Mike O'Brien	Holden Commodore VL (HDT)	A	14 laps		2m00.05s	1m42.85s	15
13	48	Specialist Cars Aberdeen Limited	Andrew Jeffrey	Volkswagen Golf GTi 16V	C	14 laps		2m02.96s	1m52.38s	25
14	55	John Maguire Racing-David Sutton Motorsport	James Shead	Volkswagen Golf GTi 16V	C	14 laps		2m03.49s	1m50.27s	21
15	50	Alan Minshaw	Andy Middlehurst	Volkswagen Golf GTi 16V	C	14 laps		2m02.57s	1m50.88s	22
16	20	Soans-Ford Dealers	Graham Hathaway	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	14 laps		1m59.31s	1m42.07s	13
17	4	Dennis Leech	Dennis Leech	Rover Vitesse	A	14 laps		2m01.65s	1m43.93s	16
18	70	TOM'S GB Limited	Phil Dowsett	Toyota Corolla	D	14 laps		2m02.33s	1m49.60s	20
19	24	The Campari Maserati	John Lepp	Maserati Biturbo	A	14 laps		2m04.76s	1m48.40s	19
20	61	CHMS	Dave Loudoun	Toyota Corolla	D	14 laps		2m02.76s	1m51.47s	23
21	77	AJK Motor Sport	Geoff Kimber-Smith	Toyota Corolla	D	14 laps		2m05.25s	1m52.66s	26
22	74	North Essex Motorsport	Jeremy Rossiter	Ford Escort RS1600i	D	14 laps		2m05.65s	1m54.51s	28
DNF		AJG Transport Limited	Mark Goddard	Ford Escort RS1600i	D	6 laps	electrics	2m02.36s	1m53.14s	27
DNF	2	Shell-Toyota-MIL	Vic Lee	Toyota Supra Turbo	A	5 laps	accident	2m01.11s	1m47.25s	18
DNF	44	Alan Minshaw	Roland Ratzenberger	BMW M3	B	5 laps	accident damage	1m55.32s	1m42.28s	14
DNF	63	Tony Crudgington	Tony Crudgington	Toyota Corolla	D	5 laps	throttle linkage	2m05.20s	1m51.59s	24
DNF	69	MIL Motorsport	John Llewellyn	Toyota Corolla	D	4 laps	misfire	2m29.84s	1m56.37s	29
DNF	32	BMW Finance Racing with Mobil 1	Mike Smith	BMW M3	B	3 laps	crashed	1m55.44s	1m42.07s	12
DNF	1	Shell-Toyota-MIL	Mark Hales	Toyota Supra Turbo	A	1 lap	accident damage	2m50.58s	1m45.50s	17

Gravett led away from Rouse in a repeat of the previous round, only to spin the ICS car entering the chicane and fell down the field. Gravett wasn't alone in doing that in the dismally wet conditions; Bristow, Ratzenberger and O'Brien would all have moments at the chicane in the early laps. Rouse would not be troubled again, whilst Edwards made his way past Mahony for 2nd, giving the Kaliber team a 1-2. Mahony and Bristow had a good little dice in the closing laps, with Bristow getting the final podium place at Stowe on the last lap.

Mike Smith went off at Copse at the start of lap 4, dramatically captured by the BBC cameras. In addition to Ratzenberger's spin at the previous corner, this left Sytner unchallenged in Class B. However, it was the Austrian who took the point for fastest lap.

Class C was decided at the Woodcote chicane on the final lap when Shead went off, leaving Jeffrey to take his first first class win.

Originally Posted by Jesper OH

A good day for Andy Rouse, but it must have been during this period that Robb Gravett thought he was given second hand material by Andy Rouse. Don't know when Mike Smith felt the same in the Prodrive camp.

Probably after Snetterton, when Smith pinched the Class B fastest lap point by putting on slicks, which led to this reaction from Sytner...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRmTh69PLEU

[William Dale Jr]

I have full Autosport results for rounds 8 and 9, so I might as well keep going.

Round 9 of 13 of the 1988 Dunlop RAC British Touring Car Championship held on Sunday 24th July 1988 over 20 laps of the 4.812km Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit.

Conditions were fine and sunny, apart from a brief rain shower in the early laps. You've got to love English weather

Position	Number	Entrant	Driver	Car	Class	Race Time/Laps	Retirement Cause	Fastest Time	Qualifying Time	Grid Position
1	22	Kaliber Ford	Andy Rouse	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	32m09.69s		1m33.92s	1m34.05s	1
2	6	Eggenberger Motorsport	Steve Soper	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	32m10.39s		1m34.84s	1m34.40s	2
3	21	Kaliber Ford	Guy Edwards	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	32m38.39s		1m35.36s	1m36.70s	6
4	19	Baynard Cars Limited	Laurence Bristow	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	32m39.79s		1m34.87s	1m36.69s	5
5	8	Arquati UK Limited	Jerry Mahony	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	33m03.05s		1m36.14s	1m37.32s	7
6	16	Duckhams Racing with Karl Jones	Karl Jones	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	33m23.42s		1m36.08s	1m36.21s	3
7	33	BMW Finance Racing with Mobil 1	Frank Sytner	BMW M3	B	33m29.49s		1m37.38s	1m36.60s	4
8	32	BMW Finance Racing with Mobil 1	Mike Smith	BMW M3	B	33m38.54s		1m38.22s	1m41.24s	17
9	34	BMW Finance Racing with Mobil 1	Will Hoy	BMW M3	B	33m39.15s		1m37.81s	1m39.60s	15
10	7	Autoglass	Mike O'Brien	Holden Commodore VL (HDT)	A	33m42.17s		1m38.30s	1m38.69s	14
11	10	Industrial Control Services plc	Robb Gravett	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	33m49.60s		1m34.78s	1m38.23s	13
12	4	Dennis Leech	Dennis Leech	Rover Vitesse	A	19 laps		1m39.13s	1m40.88s	16
13	15	Listerine-Texaco Racing	Graham Goode	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	19 laps		1m38.39s	1m37.46s	8
14	24	The Campari Maserati	Nick May	Maserati Biturbo	A	19 laps		1m41.53s	1m43.93s	21
15	48	Specialist Cars Aberdeen Limited	Andrew Jeffrey	Volkswagen Golf GTi 16V	C	19 laps		1m43.17s	1m43.87s	20
16	55	John Maguire Racing-David Sutton Motorsport	James Shead	Volkswagen Golf GTi 16V	C	19 laps		1m42.76s	1m45.34s	25
17	70	TOM'S GB Limited	Phil Dowsett	Toyota Corolla	D	19 laps		1m43.79s	1m44.40s	22
18	2	Shell-Toyota-MIL	Vic Lee	Toyota Supra Turbo	A	19 laps		1m40.81s	1m44.90s	23
19	74	North Essex Motorsport	Barbara Cowell	Ford Escort RS1600i	D	18 laps		1m47.03s	1m46.74s	28
20	69		John Lewellyn	Toyota Corolla	D	18 laps		1m45.72s	1m51.26s	29
21	44		Alan Minshaw	BMW M3	B	17 laps		1m41.43s	1m42.65s	18
22			Martin Wray	Honda Prelude 2.0i	C	17 laps		1m54.96s	1m52.64s	30
DNF	43		Godfrey Hall	BMW M3	B	18 laps		1m38.20s	1m37.51s	9
DNF	63		Tony Crudgington	Toyota Corolla	D	10 laps		1m45.24s	1m45.78s	26
DNF	1	Shell-Toyota-MIL	Mark Hales	Toyota Supra Turbo	A	8 laps		1m39.11s	1m37.96s	11
DNF	20		Rob Wilson	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	4 laps		1m37.14s	1m38.03s	12
DNF	14		Mike Newman	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	4 laps		1m37.24s	1m53.11s	31
DNF	5		Tim Harvey	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	4 laps		1m38.41s	1m37.90s	10
DNF		AJG Transport Limited	Mark Goddard	Ford Escort RS1600i	D	1 lap		2m02.34s	1m45.54s	27
DNF			Ray McDowall	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	0 laps		NTR	1m43.24s	19
DNS	50		John Morris	Volkswagen Golf GTi 16V	C				1m44.99s	24

I only have the results for this race, so I don't have the retirement data normally given in the race report.

The race saw a titanic, race-long battle between Soper and Rouse. The lead changed many times, even during the rain shower! Rouse appeared to have more power than the Eggenberger car, using it to his advantage several times on the run down Pilgrim's Drop. Rouse finally resolved the matter by putting the Kaliber Sierra through a Kaliber Sierra-sized gap down the straight to snatch the lead into Hawthorn's on the last lap. Great race, and great driving from two greats of British touring car racing!

Interestingly, the original broadcast didn't contain too much of their dice, whilst the review video focuses almost exclusively on it.

[William Dale Jr]

Round 9 of 13 of the 1988 Dunlop RAC British Touring Car Championship held on Sunday 31st July 1988 over 20 laps of the 3.084km Snetterton circuit.

The track was very wet at the start but, with no more rain falling, the track dried throughout the race.

Position	Number	Entrant	Driver	Car	Class	Race Time/Laps	Retirement Cause	Fastest Time	Qualifying Time	Grid Position
1	22	Kaliber Ford	Andy Rouse	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	25m25.15s		1m12.65s	1m08.37s	1
2	10	Industrial Control Services plc	Robb Gravett	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	25m37.92s		1m13.79s	1m10.05s	6
3	21	Kaliber Ford	Guy Edwards	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	25m44.57s		1m14.34s	1m09.42s	2
4	14	Burlington Wall Coverings Limited	Mike Newman	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	26m03.77s		1m15.32s	1m09.86s	4
5	15	Listerine-Texaco Racing	Graham Goode	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	26m16.55s		1m15.56s	1m10.36s	8
6	16	Duckhams Racing with Karl Jones	Karl Jones	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	26m25.61s		1m17.33s	1m09.65s	3
7	5	Terry Drury Racing	Tim Harvey	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	26m39.88s		1m17.53s	1m10.03s	5
8	8	Arquati UK Limited	Jerry Mahony	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	19 laps		1m11.21s	1m10.58s	9
9	33	BMW Finance Racing with Mobil 1	Frank Sytner	BMW M3	B	19 laps		1m17.44s	1m10.84s	10
10	34	BMW Finance Racing with Mobil 1	Will Hoy	BMW M3	B	19 laps		1m19.88s	1m12.55s	17
11	1	Shell-Toyota-MIL	Mark Hales	Toyota Supra Turbo	A	19 laps		1m21.01s	1m11.49s	11
12	26	ECM	Tom Bell	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	19 laps		1m19.76s	1m13.66s	18
13	43	Godfrey Hall Limited	Godfrey Hall	BMW M3	B	19 laps		1m20.04s	1m11.85s	13
14	70	TOM'S GB Limited	Phil Dowsett	Toyota Corolla	D	19 laps		1m19.87s	1m15.43s	19
15	48	Specialist Cars Aberdeen Limited	Andrew Jeffrey	Volkswagen Golf GTi	C	19 laps		1m21.63s	1m16.36s	21
16	55	John Maguire Racing / David Sutton Motorsport	James Shead	Volkswagen Golf GTi	C	18 laps		1m22.68s	1m15.70s	20
17	63	Tony Crudgington	Tony Crudgington	Toyota Corolla GT	D	18 laps		1m23.58s	1m17.41s	22
18	69	MIL Motorsport	John Llewellyn	Toyota Corolla GT	D	18 laps		1m26.41s	1m19.28s	23
19	32	BMW Finance Racing with Mobil 1	Mike Smith	BMW M3	B	17 laps		1m12.73s	1m12.40s	16
DNF	19	Baynard Cars Limited	Lawrence Bristow	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	19 laps	accident	1m13.34s	1m10.23s	7
DNF	20	Soans-Ford Dealers	Graham Hathaway	Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500	A	18 laps		1m20.61s	1m12.03s	14
DNF	2	Shell-Toyota-MIL	Vic Lee	Toyota Supra Turbo	A	5 laps	engine	1m23.70s	NTR	25
DNF	44	Alan Minshaw	Chris Hodgetts	BMW M3	B	4 laps	accident damage	1m21.12s	1m12.12s	15
DNF	74	North Essex Motorsport	Barbara Cowell	Ford Escort RS1600i	D	1 lap	engine	1m48.31s	1m20.80s	24
EXC	7	Autoglass	Mike O'Brien	Holden Commodore VL (HDT)	D	19 laps	driving misconduct	1m11.98s	1m11.61s	12

Action-packed race, this one! Sytner made a terrible start, causing drama on the run down to Riches. A fast-starting Mike Smith took to the grass to pass Graham Hathaway, who had swerved to pass the slow Sytner. Smith made contact with the Sierra as he merged back onto the track, firing the Mobil BMW across the his teammate's bows and into Chris Hodgetts in Minshaw's Demon Tweaks M3. Hodgetts, would retire soon afterwards due to the damage, whilst Smith - who blamed Hodgetts for hitting him - would spin down to the tail of the field when he finally reached the first corner! Sytner, meanwhile, miraculously escaped unscathed from the incident with his main rivals out of contention. Smith would pit to rectify the damage and elected to fit slick tyres. Although he would eventually be classified as the final finisher, the tyres allowed him to pinch the Class B fastest lap, leading to a very unhappy Sytner.

At the front of the field, Rouse led the first lap from Jones, Edwards, Gravett and Mahony, with Edwards taking Jones for 2nd into Riches to start lap 2. Mahony then spun the Arquati Sierra at Sear, recovering behind Sytner and Hathaway, only to spin again when he reached the other end of the Revett Straight. He would then spin a third time - once again, under braking into The Esses - before also pitting for grooved slicks. Late in the race Edwards did a Mahony, spinning off at The Esses to gift 2nd to Robb Gravett. Bristow was set to take third, before being punted off entering the Bomb Hole on the last lap by Mike O'Brien, which led to the Commodore driver being fined and excluded from the race. Rouse took what was eventually a comfortable victory, but it was Mahony on the grooved slicks that took the fastest lap.


Points of interest:

• Hodgetts deputised for Ratzenberger in Alan Minshaw's M3 whilst the Austrian drove in the Spa 24 Hours that weekend. Hodgetts, however, had driven in the 24 Hours himself; according to the review video, he drove a total of 10 hours before heading to Norfolk for the BTCC race. Only question I have: why?
• Bristow's accident damaged the car badly enough for it to need a new bodyshell, as confirmed in the for sale ad for the car in Autosport late in the year. I wonder where this car ended up, did it end up getting sold? Did it appear in the BTCC after 1988? This is based on the assumption that Bristow's 1989 Labatt's car was brand new.

[KA]

Originally Posted by William Dale Jr

Yep, that matches what I have on the offical BRDC results sheets I have from this race

I have entrant data for this race, but I'm not sure where I got it from. I thought it was on the sheets, but it isn't. However, I wouldn't have put them there had they not come from what I considered a reliable source, so I believe they are right.

Round 6 full results, qualifying times, and fastest laps from the results sheets as follows (updated thanks to the info from Tim and KA):

The results sheets list John Lepp in the practice results and grid sheet, but the race results only lists the car number as a non-starter without indicating who was in it. Asterisk indicated the 1 minute penalty for Ratzenberger's jumped start.

I have Sands, Wiffen, Jeffrey and Eaton all listed in the practice results, but have no times recorded for either session. I'm assuming that the cars were entered but did not appear and reflected that in the results (ENT), can anyone confirm?

This race only receives about 30 seconds of coverage on the review video, and completely omits any mention of the first lap accident/restart.

Thanks William- Although some of them differ from how we've been describing them, the entrant details look pretty spot-on to me as being how they'd have been listed in the race programme- mainly the differences being down to cars officially entered under the name of the sponsor (ie Hathaway's Sierra entered by his sponsor 'Soans Ford Dealer' rather than his team 'Graham Hathaway Racing' etc)
I've got the programmes for the last couple of rounds at Donington and Silverstone somewhere- I must dig them out and see if there's anything useful in them

[KA]

Originally Posted by William Dale Jr

I can verify, the weather was indeed mightily wet

Results courtesy of Autosport:


Note the usual British GP meeting one-offs- Jeremy Rossiter in the North Essex Motorsport RS1600i, Dave Loudoun in a CHMS Corolla, and Andy Middlehurst replacing John Brindley in the Minshaw Golf. Also the debut of Mark Goddard in Alan Gaunt's AJG Transport Escort (the ex-Chris Hodgetts/Paul Taft Brooklyn car) and notable changes at MIL Motorsport- Mark Hales replacing Chris Hodgetts in the Supra, and thereturn of their Corolla, absent for a couple of rounds- now back with John Llewellyn replacing Kevin Eaton


Probably after Snetterton, when Smith pinched the Class B fastest lap point by putting on slicks, which led to this reaction from Sytner...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRmTh69PLEU

One of those classic BTCC moments....

Originally Posted by William Dale Jr

I have full Autosport results for rounds 8 and 9, so I might as well keep going.

Round 9 of 13 of the 1988 Dunlop RAC British Touring Car Championship held on Sunday 24th July 1988 over 20 laps of the 4.812km Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit.

Conditions were fine and sunny, apart from a brief rain shower in the early laps. You've got to love English weather


I only have the results for this race, so I don't have the retirement data normally given in the race report.

The race saw a titanic, race-long battle between Soper and Rouse. The lead changed many times, even during the rain shower! Rouse appeared to have more power than the Eggenberger car, using it to his advantage several times on the run down Pilgrim's Drop. Rouse finally resolved the matter by putting the Kaliber Sierra through a Kaliber Sierra-sized gap down the straight to snatch the lead into Hawthorn's on the last lap. Great race, and great driving from two greats of British touring car racing!

Interestingly, the original broadcast didn't contain too much of their dice, whilst the review video focuses almost exclusively on it.

Added some of the missing entrant details. A couple of interesting changes to the entries here- Rob Wilson substituting for Graham Hathaway in the GHR/Soans Sierra, John Morris in the Demon Tweeks Golf, a one-off appearance by Martin Wray's production saloon Honda Prelude, and the debut of the ECM Vehicle Delivery RS500 of Ray MacDowell- this was an interesting one, although it was the least competitive of the Sierras The ECM car was actually a road-legal (number plates,tax disc and all) RS500 which was also seen in Thundersaloons and club racing. MacDowall and Tom Bell would alternate in the car during a handful of appearances over the rest of the season.

Hadn't realised the original TV coverage didn't show so much of the famous Rouse v Soper duel- it is probably one of the all-time classic BTCC races for that alone. As you say, the review video (haven't watched that for a while- must dig it out) largely concentrated on it- as I remember it also features quite a lot of in-car stuff of Mike Smith's efforts to get past the O'Brien Commodore

[KA]

Originally Posted by William Dale Jr

Round 9 of 13 of the 1988 Dunlop RAC British Touring Car Championship held on Sunday 31st July 1988 over 20 laps of the 3.084km Snetterton circuit.

Action-packed race, this one! Sytner made a terrible start, causing drama on the run down to Riches. A fast-starting Mike Smith took to the grass to pass Graham Hathaway, who had swerved to pass the slow Sytner. Smith made contact with the Sierra as he merged back onto the track, firing the Mobil BMW across the his teammate's bows and into Chris Hodgetts in Minshaw's Demon Tweaks M3. Hodgetts, would retire soon afterwards due to the damage, whilst Smith - who blamed Hodgetts for hitting him - would spin down to the tail of the field when he finally reached the first corner! Sytner, meanwhile, miraculously escaped unscathed from the incident with his main rivals out of contention. Smith would pit to rectify the damage and elected to fit slick tyres. Although he would eventually be classified as the final finisher, the tyres allowed him to pinch the Class B fastest lap, leading to a very unhappy Sytner.

At the front of the field, Rouse led the first lap from Jones, Edwards, Gravett and Mahony, with Edwards taking Jones for 2nd into Riches to start lap 2. Mahony then spun the Arquati Sierra at Sear, recovering behind Sytner and Hathaway, only to spin again when he reached the other end of the Revett Straight. He would then spin a third time - once again, under braking into The Esses - before also pitting for grooved slicks. Late in the race Edwards did a Mahony, spinning off at The Esses to gift 2nd to Robb Gravett. Bristow was set to take third, before being punted off entering the Bomb Hole on the last lap by Mike O'Brien, which led to the Commodore driver being fined and excluded from the race. Rouse took what was eventually a comfortable victory, but it was Mahony on the grooved slicks that took the fastest lap.


Points of interest:

• Hodgetts deputised for Ratzenberger in Alan Minshaw's M3 whilst the Austrian drove in the Spa 24 Hours that weekend. Hodgetts, however, had driven in the 24 Hours himself; according to the review video, he drove a total of 10 hours before heading to Norfolk for the BTCC race. Only question I have: why?
• Bristow's accident damaged the car badly enough for it to need a new bodyshell, as confirmed in the for sale ad for the car in Autosport late in the year. I wonder where this car ended up, did it end up getting sold? Did it appear in the BTCC after 1988? This is based on the assumption that Bristow's 1989 Labatt's car was brand new.

Some interesting points on this one- as you say, an eventful race. I definitely remember Smith being fairly outspoken on the incident with Hodgetts- not sure if it was on the TV coverage or comments quoted in one of the race reports, but there might have been some suggestion made that Minshaw had brought Hodgetts in with the specific aim of interfering with Prodrive's championship bid- I thought they were doing a pretty good job of that themselves here ....

Hodgetts dropping in to race the Minshaw BMW after doing 10 hours at Spa sounds like the kind of thing you'd never be allowed to do now- it seems to have been a fairly common practice at the time where race commitments clashed- I think Chris did it a few times the previous year during his BTCC/WTCC/ETCC Corolla campaign, commuting between a number of WTCC/ETCC and BTCC races where they fell on the same weekend.

Interesting that Hodgetts was able to do it, while Ratzenberger couldn't- On the other hand, as Ratzenberger was a factory BMW driver, maybe BMW weren't too happy with the idea of being a driver short for part of the 24 hours just so Roland could drive a privateer BMW against the official BMW GB-backed entries in the BTCC....

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by William Dale Jr

...[*]Hodgetts deputised for Ratzenberger in Alan Minshaw's M3 whilst the Austrian drove in the Spa 24 Hours that weekend. Hodgetts, however, had driven in the 24 Hours himself; according to the review video, he drove a total of 10 hours before heading to Norfolk for the BTCC race. Only question I have: why?[*]Bristow's accident damaged the car badly enough for it to need a new bodyshell, as confirmed in the for sale ad for the car in Autosport late in the year. I wonder where this car ended up, did it end up getting sold? Did it appear in the BTCC after 1988? This is based on the assumption that Bristow's 1989 Labatt's car was brand new.[/LIST]

The Cam Shipping RS500 went to Japan, then turned up in Singapore and finally returned to the UK and was owned by a chap called Martin Wren for a while.
It's now with a new owner (who's name escapes me) who does still occasionally race the car.

[chunterer]

Another interesting aspect from that Brands round, at least in qualy is Sytner's 4th place grid slot....

Do I recall correctly that qualy was in damp conditions, which may have helped him along, and was he heard to comment that he would need to be careful on the opening lap not to get in the way of some bigger cars that would start behind him?

If that is true, it's ironic when you consider what happened to his teammate at the next round in Snetterton!!!

Couple of points re Tim's excellent news snippets.

The Letchworth/Scarborough Rover. Did Tony Strawson borrow or buy the car for a Thundersaloons campaign, as we mentioned its participation in the season opener at Brands that year alongside the ex Marlboro Bill Griffin car? Gerry Marshall was out in one of them too.

Don't know if Tony was based in Surrey?

'Skid' came on a few months back talking about Capris back but we haven't heard from him about his Rover yet, i'm sure he could tell us!

Also I saw something about TWR looking at entering an M3 or Supra from mid season onwards? Strange when they were so heavily commited to the Holden project at that time, and so soon after the much hyped Volvo deal never came off in 1987?

[Jesper OH]

Round 10 of 13 of the 1988 Dunlop RAC British Touring Car Championship held on Sunday 21st August 1988 over 15 laps of the x.xxx miles/4.812 kms Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit.

Also on the bill:
FIA International Formula 3000 Championship
GM/Lotus Euroseries
RAC British Formula Ford 1600 Championship
Pirelli Autofarm Modified Porsche series

Pos.	#	Entrant	Driver	Car	Cat.	Laps/time	Notes	FL	Q-time	Grid
1.	22	Kaliber Ford	Andy Rouse	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	A	15/24:01.71		1:34.70	1:34.02	1.
2.	5	Terry Drury Racing	Tim Harvey	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	A	15/24:03.82		1:35.22	1:34.01	4.
3.	8	Arquati UK Limited	Jerry Mahony	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	A	15/24:12.34		1:35.67	1:35.32	7.
4.	14	Burlington Wall Coverings Limited	Mike Newman	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	A	15/24:12.57		1:35.10	1:35.32	6.
5.	21	Kaliber Ford	Guy Edwards	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	A	15/24:20.25		1:35.06	1:36.79	15.
6.	15	Listerine-Texaco Racing	Graham Goode	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	A	15/24:23.74		1:35.66	1:35.72	9.
7.	11	Brooklyn/Mr Tomkinson	Chris Hodgetts	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	A	15/24:31.27		1:35.22	1:35.19	5.
8.	33	BMW Finance Racing with Mobil 1	Frank Sytner	BMW M3	B	15/24:36.37		1:36.94	1:35.56	8.
9.	36	Godfrey Hall Limited	Godfrey Hall	BMW M3	B	15/24:43.27		1:37.14	1:35.92	12.
10.	20	Soans-Ford Dealers	Graham Hathaway	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	A	15/24:43.69		1:37.33	1:36.52	14.
11.	44	Alan Minshaw	Roland Ratzenberger	BMW M3	B	15/24:47.14		1:36.78	1:35.76	11.
12.	32	BMW Finance Racing with Mobil 1	Mike Smith	BMW M3	B	15/24:47.27		1:36.62	1:37.23	17.
13.	7	Autoglass	Mike O'Brien	Holden Commodore VL/SS	A	15/24:56.55		1:36.54	1:36.42	13.
14.	1	Shell-Toyota-MIL	Ian Flux	Toyota Supra Turbo	A	15/24:57.76		1:37.87	1:37.75	16.
15.	2	Shell-Toyota-MIL	Vic Lee	Toyota Supra Turbo	A	14 laps		1:38.73	1:38.21	18.
16.	70	TOM'S GB Limited	Phil Dowsett	Toyota Corolla FX/GT	D	14 laps		1:42.82	1:42.34	21.
17.	48	Specialist Cars Aberdeen Limited	Andrew Jeffrey	VW Golf GTI 16V	C	14 laps		1:42.55	1:42.53	22.
18.	63	Tony Crudgington	Tony Crudgington	Toyota Corolla GT	D	14 laps		1:44.27	1:43.55	24.
19.	69	MIL Motorsport	John Llewellyn	Toyota Corolla GT	D	14 laps		1:44.41	1:44.95	27.
20.	39	Terry Drury Racing	Lionel Wiffen	Ford Escort RS Turbo	B	10 laps		1:47.84	1:47.37	30.
DNF	74	North Essex Racing	Barbara Cowell	Ford Escort RS1600i	D	8 laps	Misfire	1:45.54	1:47.77	29.
DNF	34	BMW Finance Racing with Mobil 1	Lionel Abbott	BMW M3	B	6 laps	Handling	1:37.55	1:40.95	19.
DNF	16	Duckhams Racing with Karl Jones	Karl Jones	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	A	3 laps	Turbo	1:35.35	1:34.74	3.
DNF	10	Industrial Control Services plc	Robb Gravett	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	A	2 laps	Clutch	1:38.41	1:34.49	2.
DNF	24	The Campari Maserati	Nick May	Maserati Biturbo	A	2 laps	Piston	1:41.33	1:44.33	25.
DNF	77	AJK Motor Sport	Geoff Kimber-Smith	Toyota Corolla GT	D	0/0:00.00	Overheating	no time	1:44.42	26.
DNS	19	Baynard Cars Limited	Laurence Bristow	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	A		Differential		1:35.73	10.
DNS	55	John Maguire Racing-David Sutton Motorsport	James Shead	VW Golf GTI 16V	C		Differential		1:42.92	23.

Jesper

[chunterer]

Couple of things worth noting, both M3 related.

Godfrey Hall became increasingly competitive as the season wore on and Lionel Abbott, perhaps in the car due to his Mobil sponsorship in prodsaloons, was nowhere near the pace of the other privateer drivers, let alone the Prodrive cars.

I'm assuming he was picked because Will Hoy had other commitments.

[Jesper OH]

Originally Posted by chunterer

Couple of things worth noting, both M3 related.

Godfrey Hall became increasingly competitive as the season wore on and Lionel Abbott, perhaps in the car due to his Mobil sponsorship in prodsaloons, was nowhere near the pace of the other privateer drivers, let alone the Prodrive cars.

I'm assuming he was picked because Will Hoy had other commitments.

Will Hoy was busy winning his class in the Japanese Group A series:
http://www.jaf.or.jp/CGI/msports/res..._id=1988000192

I was guessing that the Mobil connection saw Abbott in the third M3 for this race.

Jesper