It was the series that had it all, the finest drivers, prime time TV coverage, wheel to wheel action, and budgets big enough to make even the deepest pockets feel the pinch.
The British Touring Car Championship in the 1990’s had everything going for it, it was flying high and went from national competition to worldwide fame. But it soon became a victim of its own success and imploded on itself. By the end of the decade the writing was on the wall. All the momentum the series built evaporated and it took the BTCC years to fully recover. Never hitting the same heights.
As we welcome the 25th anniversary of the end of the Super Touring era, it’s still talked about today as one of the most exciting periods in motorsport history – even if it almost consumed the BTCC in the process.
To understand why this era was so significant, and why the ending was so abrupt, we need to go back to the start.
Touring cars in the late 80’s was dominated by Ford and their Sierra Cosworth RS500’s. Footage of Andy Rouse and Steve Soper hurling their fire-breathing monsters around Brands Hatch at breakneck speeds became stuff of legend. Accompanied by motorsport’s finest commentator, Murray Walker, and shown on BBC Grandstand in a highlight package format, the BTCC was indeed popular viewing.
But alas, there was a flaw in the system.
The BTCC field was split into classes, and on rare occasions, slower cars in lower classes would win the outright championship, not the driver finishing first on the road in the fastest car.
A prime example of this was John Cleland (remember that name, it’ll be important later), he won the 1989 title, not in a Group A Sierra, but rather, a Vauxhall Astra competing in Group C. For context that would be akin to a Formula Three car winning the Formula One world championship over the likes of McLaren and Red Bull.
For 1990, changes were made, and the 2.0 litre formula was introduced, which would become known as Super Touring. The cars eligible had to have naturally aspirated six cylinder 2.0 litre engines. Another stipulation was that 2,500 of these cars had to be built and manufactured for homologation purposes.
The beauty of the Super Touring era was that the cars you saw race on TV looked very much like the family car sat on your drive way. Instead of futuristic looking race cars, it was Ford Mondeo’s and Honda Accords you saw battling it out for victory. The phrase “win on Sunday, sell on Monday” became a popular mantra for car dealers around this time.
The move was made to combat escalating costs, and create a more open and even field. The unpopular class system remained in place, reducing to two – A and B. Essentially Class A was for the Sierra RS500’s, while Class B was the genesis of Super Touring. Vauxhall and BMW entered as manufacturers with the Cavalier and the M3 respectively.
Robb Gravett won the championship in a Sierra, but the signs were clear, Super Touring was born.
1991 saw a raft of manufacturers join the series. Vauxhall and BMW remained, and Toyota, Ford, Nissan and Mitsubishi followed. The multi-class system was dropped, instead opting for manufacturer and independent entries which would remain in place for the whole era.
The new rules brought with them the desired effect. Closer action, thrilling races, and the emergence of a host of what would become household names. John Cleland and Will Hoy fought it out for the title, with Hoy coming out on top in his BMW M3 after a thrilling season finale at Silverstone. ‘91 also saw the debut of future three time champion Matt Neal as an independent. BMW took the manufacturers crown.
Little did they know at the time, but the BTCC had stumbled upon a golden formula. One which would grow and be as popular as Formula One over the course of the 90’s.
This is the first of a five part article series chronicling the Super Touring era, what made it great, the controversies that ensued, and hopefully an explanation as to why this series and era of the sport is still very much talked about today.
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