1992 British Touring Car Championship

1992 BTCC season
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The 1992 Esso RAC British Touring Car Championship season was the 35th British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) season.

Changes for 1992

Season summary

The 1992 British Touring Car Championship began at Silverstone where stringent winter testing appeared to have paid off for Vauxhall as John Cleland dominated the proceedings, taking with him the victory and a new lap record. Cleland would also win the second round, held at Thruxton, ahead of works Toyota driver Andy Rouse. Champion manufacturer BMW meanwhile struggled with their new 318iS (which used a variant of the E30 M3 S14 engine in 2.0 size) model. The works Prodrive cars were driven by Tim Sugden and former Formula 3000 driver Alain Menu, while the semi-works Vic Lee-run team entered Tim Harvey, Ray Bellm and Steve Soper. Soper, however, would again miss several rounds due to his clashing commitments in the German DTM championship.

At the next round at Oulton Park John Cleland held the lead ahead of the works Toyota pair of Will Hoy and Andy Rouse when he went off, dropping several places and promoting the Toyotas into the lead. Hoy then slowed temporarily with a mysterious electrical problem and lost the lead to Rouse, but was soon able to reclaim it. Rouse then took back the lead and held it for a lap, after which Hoy again claimed the lead of the race. The electrical problem then struck again for Hoy, allowing Rouse to re-take the lead and win the race. With Cleland finishing in 11th Rouse now led the championship from Cleland after a win and two second places in the first three races.

At round four at Snetterton Hoy led from lights to flag, finishing ahead of John Cleland and Alain Menu, who took BMW’s first podium of the season. Brands Hatch hosted the fifth round of the championship, and here Toyota’s championship challenge would be severely dented. Hoy had taken an early lead ahead of Rouse and Cleland, but the Vauxhall driver was soon able to pass Rouse and put Hoy under pressure. At Surtees corner on the second lap, Hoy buckled under pressure when he missed a gear, allowing Cleland to take the lead. Suddenly, as the Toyotas began to chase Cleland round Westfield corner, both of them collided and veered into the barrier at full speed, both Toyotas were wrecked and out of the running, both Rouse and Hoy's enthusiasm to catch Cleland had got the better of them and the race was handed to the Vauxhall on a plate. Cleland won with ease with team-mate Jeff Allam in second and Steve Soper in third, who had come up from last place after being forced to start in the pit lane.

The first double-header of the season took place at Donington Park with Will Hoy putting the misery of Brands Hatch behind him to record a dominant win in the first race, with Cleland in second after a daring move on Andy Rouse at Goddards corner in the closing stages of the race.
After a ten-minute break, the second race began in chaos as the fast moving Peugeot 405 of Robb Gravett lost control and hit the pit wall, taking Jeff Allam and Rouse out with him in the process. Tim Harvey took advantage of an error by Cleland at the Old Hairpin to put the pressure on the Vauxhall, but while the two were dueling, race one winner Hoy and the Vauxhall of David Leslie joined in the battle for the lead, with Leslie initially leading before Hoy nipped past at the Esses, with Harvey following through. On the sixth lap, Harvey took the lead under braking at the Melbourne hairpin and stayed there despite the best efforts of the reigning champion.

Cleland finished fourth to add to his championship lead, he was on 104 points, while race winner Harvey was far behind in fifth place and only on 39 points. Cleland, Hoy, Rouse and Allam looked like they were the four to battle it out for the crown.

At Silverstone for the British Grand Prix support race, and round 8 of the championship saw Jeff Allam stake a claim for the championship with his first win for Vauxhall. Allam made his move on team-mate Cleland at Becketts to take the lead and win, a struggling Cleland eventually finished third behind Hoy. Allam's victory had moved him into third place in the championship after Andy Rouse was plagued by engine problems early in the race.

The Knockhill circuit played host to its first BTCC rounds, though heavy rain was to spoil the parade, the event was to prove memorable. Future WRC champion Colin McRae made a guest appearance for BMW, finishing eighth in race one before being disqualified in the second race for a dangerous overtaking manoeuvre on the BMW M3 of Matt Neal. McRae's BMW team-mate for the event, Alain Menu did not start at all after breaking his leg when he fell off a paddock quad bike after qualifying had taken place, his place for the rest of the season was taken by Kris Nissen.

David Leslie led away, but was soon under pressure from the fellow Vauxhall of Jeff Allam, the works Vauxhall of the Silverstone winner was handling better and an uncharacteristic error from Leslie allowed Allam to take the lead and win the race ahead of Tim Harvey and Andy Rouse. Harvey then won the second race ahead of Allam and Cleland.

Pembrey’s first BTCC race saw Harvey first take the pole and then lead the race from start to finish in damp conditions. Teammate Steve Soper put Harvey under pressure but could not find a way past and finished second, while Tim Sugden was a distant third. By now Andy Rouse had pretty much dropped out of contention for the title and would focus on supporting teammate Will Hoy’s championship bid. The fight for the title now appeared to stand between Hoy, Vauxhall teammates Cleland and Allam, and Tim Harvey, who was backed up by teammate Steve Soper. Soper now had no more clashing commitments in Germany and would start in all of the remaining rounds of the season.

Brands Hatch hosted rounds twelve and thirteen, second double header meeting of the season. The first race started off with a close battle between all of the championship protagonists, Soper leading Harvey in a BMW one-two ahead of Will Hoy, Andy Rouse and the Vauxhall pair of Cleland and Allam. Hoy managed to get past Harvey and attacked Soper for the lead on the outside of Druids, but the unwise move caused him to drop back to third. Soper then started trailing smoke and allowed Harvey past up into the lead, but then moved over to block Hoy. Soper was eventually forced to retire, but when he finally did so Harvey had a substantial gap on the rest of the field, taking the first win of the day. Hoy finished second ahead of Cleland and Allam.

Harvey was then on pole for the second race, and won it ahead of Hoy by a much smaller margin than in the first race, while Cleland took third. Round 14 at Donington Park was dominated by the two Vic Lee Motorsport drivers, Soper shadowing Harvey to the flag with Cleland again in third place. Only a single point now separated Harvey and Cleland ahead of the final meeting at Silverstone. Allam had not been able to deliver the results to stay in the championship hunt, but Will Hoy still had a chance to take the title.

The qualifying ahead of the final round was surprisingly top-heavy with support drivers. Andy Rouse took pole position, Jeff Allam second, third Toyota driver Julian Bailey third and Steve Soper fourth. Championship contenders Cleland, Hoy and Harvey started seventh, ninth and twelfth respectively. Hoy and Harvey both started well, with Hoy passing Cleland on the first lap. Steve Soper in fourth then attempted to pass Vauxhall driver David Leslie for third, but the two made contact and Soper spun out. Soper’s car was collected by Rob Gravett, and while Soper was able to rejoin in last place his BMW had taken heavy damage to the rear.

Later in the race Hoy, Harvey and Cleland all followed each other in fourth, fifth and sixth place. Soper had surged up the field to seventh and seemed to have an incredible pace considering the damage on his car. Two laps from the finish Harvey attacked Hoy into Copse, and the two were side by side through the corner with Harvey on the inside. At the exit of the corner Harvey drifted wide, putting himself on the kerb and Hoy on the grass. This allowed both Cleland and Soper to pass the pair: the order was now Cleland in fourth (which would give him the championship), Soper fifth, Harvey sixth and Hoy seventh. Soon thereafter Soper moved past Cleland into fourth at the entry of Club, putting Cleland in a BMW sandwich. On the run down to Abbey Cleland could be seen with the Vauxhall’s onboard camera giving the finger to Soper.

Exiting from Abbey Cleland moved to the left of the track in an attempt to set himself up for a pass on the outside of Bridge. Harvey meanwhile got a good exit out of Abbey and moved up on the right side of Cleland. Cleland moved over to defend, but Harvey managed to pass him on the inside of Bridge. Soper now immediately jumped out of the way, promoting Harvey to fourth, and then moved in behind Harvey to defend him against Cleland. The three cars went through Priory nose to tail, but going into Brooklands Cleland dived inside Soper for fifth. Soper closed the door and the two cars made contact, the Vauxhall going up on two wheels, and the cars exited Brooklands with Cleland half a car length ahead of Soper. Into Luffield Soper dived on the inside of Cleland using the grass, and the two cars again made contact and spun out into the barriers. Both Soper and Cleland were forced to retire on the spot.

With only a lap remaining Harvey could now cruise to fourth and the championship title, Hoy finishing three seconds behind in fifth place. Up front Andy Rouse only just claimed the win a tenth of a second ahead of Jeff Allam and seven tenths ahead of David Leslie in third.

This was one of the most controversial moments in BTCC history; commenting on the move by Soper which had cost him the title, a dejected Cleland famously remarked "The man’s an animal!" Harvey won the title on 152 points, three points ahead of Will Hoy on 149 and seven ahead of Cleland on 145. Jeff Allam ended up fourth on 137, and Andy Rouse fifth on 128.

There was some consolation for Cleland, as he won the TOCA shootout, held at Donington Park on 1 November. The race is best remembered for Kieth O'Dor's spectacular crash at Old Hairpin when his Nissan Primera went out of control and somersaulted over the catch fencing. Cleland took the flag from Rob Gravett, David Leslie and Ian Flux to win the £12000 top prize.

Teams and drivers

BTCC

Team Car No. Drivers Rounds
Manufacturers
Team Securicor ICS Toyota Toyota Carina 1 United Kingdom Will Hoy All
3 United Kingdom Andy Rouse All
14 Denmark Thorkild Thyrring 1–6
United Kingdom Julian Bailey 10–12
Vauxhall Sport Vauxhall Cavalier 2 United Kingdom John Cleland All
6 United Kingdom Jeff Allam All
M Team Shell Racing with Listerine BMW 318is 4 United Kingdom Steve Soper 2–3, 5–6, 8–12
5 United Kingdom Ray Bellm 1–9
8 United Kingdom Tim Harvey All
M Team Mobil BMW 318is 10 United Kingdom Tim Sugden All
30 Switzerland Alain Menu 1–8
Denmark Kris Nissen 9–12
50 United Kingdom Colin McRae 8
Peugeot Talbot Sport Peugeot 405 Mi16 17 United Kingdom Ian Flux 12
45 United Kingdom Robb Gravett 1–7, 9–12
Nissan Janspeed Racing Nissan Primera eGT 23 United Kingdom Kieth O'dor All
24 United Kingdom Andy Middlehurst 1–9
United Kingdom James Weaver 10–12
34 United Kingdom Tiff Needell 12
Shell Mazda Racing Team Mazda 323F 32 United Kingdom Patrick Watts All
Peugeot Italia Team Peugeot 405 Mi16 46 United Kingdom Gary Ayles 11
Ecurie Ecosse Vauxhall Vauxhall Cavalier 78 United Kingdom Bobby Verdon-Roe 1–8
United Kingdom Alex Portman 9–12
79 United Kingdom David Leslie All
Independents
Park Lane Racing Toyota Carina 11 United Kingdom James Kaye All
Rimstock Racing BMW M3 12 United Kingdom Matt Neal 1–11
BMW 318is 12
Bristow Motorsport BMW M3 15 United Kingdom Laurence Bristow 1, 7, 9
Judge Developments Ford Sierra RS Cosworth 16 United Kingdom Dennis Leech 7, 9–12
Roy Kennedy Racing BMW M3 17 United Kingdom Ian Flux 1–3, 7
Techspeed Racing BMW M3 20 United Kingdom Sean Walker 1–7, 9–12
22 United Kingdom Karl Jones 1–8
33 United Kingdom Guy Povey 1
United Kingdom Alistair Lyall 12
Ian Forrest BMW M3 25 United Kingdom Ian Forrest 8, 12

ToCA Shootout

Team Car No. Drivers
Manufacturers
Vauxhall Sport Vauxhall Cavalier 2 United Kingdom John Cleland
6 United Kingdom Jeff Allam
Team Securicor ICS Toyota Toyota Carina 3 United Kingdom Andy Rouse
Nissan Janspeed Racing Nissan Primera eGT 23 United Kingdom Kieth O'dor
Peugeot Talbot Sport Peugeot 405 Mi16 45 United Kingdom Robb Gravett
46 United Kingdom Ian Flux
Ecurie Ecosse Vauxhall Vauxhall Cavalier 78 United Kingdom Alex Portman
79 United Kingdom David Leslie
Independents
Park Lane Racing Toyota Carina 11 United Kingdom James Kaye
Rimstock Racing BMW 318is 12 United Kingdom Matt Neal
Judge Developments Ford Sierra RS Cosworth 16 United Kingdom Dennis Leech

Race calendar and winners

All races were held in Great Britain.

Round Circuit Date Pole Position Fastest Lap Winning Driver Winning Team Winning Privateer
1 R1 Silverstone Circuit (National) 5 April United Kingdom John Cleland United Kingdom John Cleland United Kingdom John Cleland Vauxhall Sport United Kingdom Ian Flux
2 R2 Thruxton 20 April United Kingdom John Cleland United Kingdom Jeff Allam United Kingdom John Cleland Vauxhall Sport United Kingdom Ian Flux
3 R3 Oulton Park (International) 4 May United Kingdom Will Hoy United Kingdom Will Hoy United Kingdom Andy Rouse Team Securicor ICS Toyota United Kingdom James Kaye
4 R4 Snetterton Circuit 24 May United Kingdom Will Hoy United Kingdom Will Hoy United Kingdom Will Hoy Team Securicor ICS Toyota United Kingdom Sean Walker
5 R5 Brands Hatch (Grand Prix) 7 June United Kingdom Will Hoy United Kingdom Steve Soper United Kingdom John Cleland Vauxhall Sport United Kingdom Matt Neal
6 R6 Donington Park (Grand Prix) 21 June United Kingdom Will Hoy United Kingdom Steve Soper United Kingdom Will Hoy Team Securicor ICS Toyota United Kingdom Matt Neal
R7 United Kingdom Will Hoy United Kingdom Tim Harvey M Team Shell Racing United Kingdom Matt Neal
7 R8 Silverstone Circuit (Grand Prix) 11 July United Kingdom John Cleland United Kingdom Will Hoy United Kingdom Jeff Allam Vauxhall Sport United Kingdom James Kaye
8 R9 Knockhill Circuit 26 July United Kingdom David Leslie United Kingdom Jeff Allam United Kingdom Jeff Allam Vauxhall Sport United Kingdom Matt Neal
R10 United Kingdom John Cleland United Kingdom Tim Harvey M Team Shell Racing United Kingdom James Kaye
9 R11 Pembrey Circuit 9 August United Kingdom Tim Harvey United Kingdom Steve Soper United Kingdom Tim Harvey M Team Shell Racing United Kingdom Sean Walker
10 R12 Brands Hatch (Indy) 31 August United Kingdom Steve Soper United Kingdom Andy Rouse United Kingdom Tim Harvey M Team Shell Racing United Kingdom Matt Neal
R13 United Kingdom Will Hoy United Kingdom Tim Harvey M Team Shell Racing United Kingdom Matt Neal
11 R14 Donington Park (Grand Prix) 20 September United Kingdom David Leslie United Kingdom Steve Soper United Kingdom Tim Harvey M Team Shell Racing United Kingdom James Kaye
12 R15 Silverstone Circuit (Grand Prix) 4 October United Kingdom Andy Rouse United Kingdom Steve Soper United Kingdom Andy Rouse Team Securicor ICS Toyota United Kingdom James Kaye

Championship results

Drivers Championship

Pos Driver SIL THR OUL SNE BHGP DON SIL KNO PEM BHI DON SIL Pts
1 United Kingdom Tim Harvey 8 8 4 Ret 6 4 1 4 2 1 1 1 1 1 4 152
2 United Kingdom Will Hoy 4 4 2 1 Ret 1 2 2 5 Ret 5 2 2 4 5 149
3 United Kingdom John Cleland 1 1 11 2 1 2 4 3 DSQ 3 Ret 4 3 3 Ret 145
4 United Kingdom Jeff Allam 3 3 3 6 2 5 Ret 1 1 2 6 5 9 14 2 137
5 United Kingdom Andy Rouse 2 2 1 4 Ret 3 Ret Ret 3 4 13 3 4 6 1 128
6 United Kingdom Steve Soper 5 8 3 17 3 4 6 2 Ret 5 2 Ret 77
7 United Kingdom David Leslie 7 7 5 5 5 6 5 7 Ret DNS 7 6 6 10 3 66
8 United Kingdom Tim Sugden 5 14 9 9 4 8 7 11 Ret DNS 3 9 13 Ret 6 43
9 Switzerland Alain Menu 10 6 6 3 Ret Ret Ret 9 DNS DNS 27
10 United Kingdom James Kaye Ret Ret 13 Ret 13 14 Ret 5 12 9 14 Ret 12 5 8 19
11 Denmark Kris Nissen 4 7 7 Ret 7 18
12 United Kingdom Kieth O'Dor 6 15 12 Ret 7 16 8 10 10 7 9 10 8 Ret Ret 17
13 United Kingdom Ray Bellm 9 Ret 10 12 Ret 7 10 6 6 8 DNS 15
14 United Kingdom Bobby Verdon-Roe 11 16 7 13 9 11 9 8 Ret Ret 9
15 United Kingdom Andy Middlehurst 19 10 17 8 Ret 9 6 14 9 DNS 12 7
16 United Kingdom Matt Neal 14 Ret Ret Ret 8 13 11 Ret 7 Ret 15 11 10 Ret 12 5
17 Denmark Thorkild Thyrring Ret Ret Ret 7 10 18 Ret 5
18 United Kingdom Patrick Watts Ret 12 14 11 Ret 12 Ret Ret Ret 5 11 8 Ret Ret 11 5
19 United Kingdom Gary Ayles 7 4
20 United Kingdom Sean Walker 13 11 15 10 14 15 Ret Ret 8 14 14 12 14 4
21 United Kingdom Ian Flux 12 9 Ret 16 9 4
22 United Kingdom James Weaver 13 11 8 Ret 3
23 United Kingdom Julian Bailey 16 Ret 9 13 2
24 United Kingdom Robb Gravett 15 Ret Ret Ret 11 10 Ret 15 10 12 Ret 11 16 1
25 United Kingdom Colin McRae 8 DSQ 1
26 United Kingdom Tiff Needell 10 1
27 United Kingdom Ian Forrest 11 10 Ret 0
28 United Kingdom Karl Jones 16 13 16 Ret 12 Ret DNS 13 Ret DNS 0
29 United Kingdom Laurence Bristow 17 12 DNS 0
30 United Kingdom Dennis Leech Ret 17 15 15 13 15 0
31 United Kingdom Alex Portman 16 Ret DNS 15 Ret 0
32 United Kingdom Alistair Lyall 17 0
33 United Kingdom Guy Povey 18 0
Pos Driver SIL THR OUL SNE BHGP DON SIL KNO PEM BHI DON SIL Pts
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green Points finish
Blue Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple Retired (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not participate (DNP)
Excluded (EX)

Manufacturers Championship

Pos Manufacturer SIL THR OUL SNE BHGP DON SIL KNO PEM BHI DON SIL Pts
1 Vauxhall / Vauxhall Sport/Ecurie Ecosse 1 1 3 2 1 2 4 1 1 2 6 4 3 3 2 136
2 BMW / M Team Shell Racing/M Team Mobile 5 5 4 3 3 4 1 4 2 1 1 1 1 1 4 134
3 Toyota / Team Securicor ICS Toyota 2 2 1 1 10 1 2 2 3 4 5 2 2 4 1 134
4 Nissan / Nissan Janspeed Racing 6 10 12 8 7 9 6 10 9 7 9 10 8 8 10 96
5 Peugeot / Peugeot Talbot Sport/Peugeot Italia Team 15 Ret Ret Ret 11 10 Ret 15 10 12 Ret 11 9 49
6 Mazda / Shell Mazda Racing Team Ret 12 14 11 Ret 12 Ret Ret Ret 5 11 8 Ret Ret 11 48
Pos Manufacturer SIL THR OUL SNE BHGP DON SIL KNO PEM BHI DON SIL Pts

External links

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