1998 British Touring Car Championship

1998 BTCC season

Previous

1997

Next

1999

Rickard Rydell won the driver's championship in a Volvo S40.

The 1998 Auto Trader RAC British Touring Car Championship featured 26 races across 13 rounds, it commenced at Thruxton on 13 April and ended at Silverstone on 20 September.

The championship was won by Rickard Rydell in a Volvo S40, the runner-up was Anthony Reid in a Nissan Primera and James Thompson finished in third driving a Honda Accord. The Autosport Cup for Independents, a championship for privateer entries was won by Tommy Rustad in a Renault Laguna.

The video game TOCA 2 Touring Cars is based on this championship season.

Background

There were three major rule changes to the championship prior to the start of the 1998 season. Race weekends were changed notably with two different types of races now elected: a shorter "sprint" race and a "feature" race, 25% longer than previous races featuring a mandatory two-tyre stop to be taken between 15 and 75% distance. Qualifying for the sprint race involved drivers holding a "shoot-out" style session where each driver was sent out one of a time and were given a single timed lap to determine their starting position with the slowest driver from feature qualifying going last and fastest going first. Qualifying for the feature race remained the same as the previous season.

Four wheel drive systems were also banned for 1998, a system used notably by 1996 champions Audi.

The independents trophy previously known as the 'Total Cup for Independents' became the 'Autosport Cup for Independents'. The £250,000 prize fund, introduced in 1997, remained in place however at the request of the independent competitors, prize money now will be awarded on the results of each individual round rather than as a lump sum to the top three overall finishers at the end of the season. In 1998, the first independent finisher in each of the 26 rounds will receive £2,500, while second and third past the chequered flag will receive £1,250 and £500 respectively.

Team and driver changes

Eight manufacturer backed teams contested the championship with no changes to the manufacturer - team line up.

I think last year on some tracks we were not the quickest car but we ended up winning the championship because we made less mistakes than the other guys. So hopefully this year will be the same.

Alain Menu

1997 champions Williams Renault, now in their fourth year of partnership in the BTCC, retained their driver line up of Alain Menu and Jason Plato once again driving the Laguna. The familiar yellow and blue livery was replaced by the dark green of new title sponsor Nescafe Blend 37. The team entered a third car for the final round at Silverstone for independents cup winner Tommy Rustad.

Audi were forced to abandon their four-wheel-drive A4 which helped them to the 1996 title for a more conventional front-wheel drive car. 1995 French touring car champion Yvan Muller joined the team after helping German manufacturer develop the new FWD car in the Super Tourenwagen Cup in 1997. He was joined by John Bintcliffe now in his third season with Audi with Frank Biela moving back in to Super Tourenwagen Cup.

Nissan were another team to retain their driver line-up with the experience Scots David Leslie and Anthony Reid racing a pair of RML prepared Primeras. The team entered a third car at Brands Hatch in August for former driver and then Top Gear presenter Tiff Needell. This appeared as a feature on the popular motoring show.

Following a very promising winter test program Prodrive run Honda retained Yorkshire's James Thompson with ex BMW driver Peter Kox replacing 1994 champion Gabriele Tarquini, who moved to STW to spearhead Honda's assault on the 1998 Super Tourenwagen Cup.

TWR Volvo had also changed their lineup with former Ferrari, Footwork and Sauber F1 driver Gianni Morbidelli replacing Kelvin Burt, who switched to JTCC, to partner Swede Rickard Rydell who remained with the team for a fifth season.

Vauxhall engineered and run by Triple Eight continued with Derek Warwick and 1995 champion John Cleland racing the Vectra. Following the disaster with aerodynamics in 1997 Triple Eight developed the aero themselves for 1998.

One of the biggest stories going into the season was that Ford had signed 1992 Formula One champion Nigel Mansell to compete in three rounds of the championship. For all other rounds New Zealander Craig Baird, a former works BMW driver in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, will race alongside 1991 champion Will Hoy, now in his eleventh season of BTCC competition.

Switching from Ford Paul Radisich joined Tim Harvey at Peugeot whose 406's were again run by Motor Sport Developments (MSD).

Alfa Romeo announced that they would make a comeback to the BTCC by entering later rounds of the season. Fabrizio Giovanardi and Nicola Larini were scheduled to drive the new 156 but Alfa's plans fell through, and the team never appeared.

Reigning independents champion Robb Gravett again entered his 1996 Honda Accord now run by Brookes Motorsport. A second car was entered at Oulton Park in September for Lee Brookes but didn't start either race.

Matt Neal raced a 1997 Nissan Primera run by family outfit Team Dynamics.

D.C.Cook Motorsport entered the 1997 championship winning Renault Laguna for Norwegian Tommy Rustad and for the final two meetings they also entered a Honda Accord for Paula Cook.

Mardi Gras Motorsport entered a Honda Accord for Norwegian Roger Moen until team and driver went their separate ways after the Croft rounds. The team took over the running of Mark Lemmer's Vauxhall Vectra for three meetings in the second half of the season after he split with Mint Motorsport who had run the car until Croft.

Season summary

Menu and Renault’s title defence would not be a happy one. The champion would only win three races all year, and combined with a string of retirements restricted him to only fourth in the standings. The Swiss driver would depart the team at the end of the season. Plato would have a steady season, taking a single victory and finishing directly behind his teammate in the standings.

Menu’s struggles would open the door for Volvo’s Rickard Rydell. A combination of speed and the best consistency of any driver would allow the Swede to claim the drivers title. TWR Volvo would miss out on both the teams and manufacturers championships however, partly due to the lacklustre performances of Morbidelli. The Italian was unable to match his teammate’s pace, in what would turn out to be his only season in Britain.

Nissan would have a breakthrough season. David Leslie would pick up two victories, including the first for the car at Silverstone in April. But the star of the season would be Anthony Reid, picking up eleven pole positions and seven victories, the most of any driver, and allowing Nissan to claim both the manufacturers and teams championships ahead of Volvo and Renault.

Honda’s year would be one of mixed fortunes. James Thompson would have a strong season, winning multiple races for the first time and finishing third in the standings, but teammate Peter Kox was hampered by a string of bad luck and would endure a tough first season in Britain.

Audi’s campaign with their front-wheel-drive car was poor. New team leader Bintcliffe was virtually non-existent all season, whilst British championship rookie Yvan Muller showed glimpses of pace throughout the year, although it was only enough for a handful of podium finishes. The German marque would not return to the series for 1999.

The season would see a mini-renaissance for Vauxhall following a difficult 1997. Both drivers would claim race victories; Cleland would claim two, both at Donington Park, whilst Warwick would claim his in a wet race at Knockhill, before hanging up his driving gloves at the end of the year. Cleland was forced to miss a round due to injury, and was replaced by Brazilian Vectra challenge driver Flavio Figueiredo.

Ford were another team to have a year filled with ups and downs. The car seemed to be at its best in the wet, veteran Will Hoy demonstrating that with a victory at Silverstone. Kiwi Craig Baird was largely disappointing, whilst Nigel Mansell thrilled the crowds by nearly winning in the pouring rain at Donington Park, but would also voice his frustrations regarding the series’ driving standards following an incident-filled round at Brands Hatch.

Despite all the promise surrounding the team, with a strong driver line-up and the car’s success in the German championship, Peugeot would again fail to deliver. Radisich and Harvey could not keep the team off bottom place in the manufacturers race, and the French marque would be another to withdraw from the series come the end of the year.

Teams and drivers

Volvo placed second in the Manufacturers Championship with its S40s

Team	Car	No.	Drivers	Rounds
Manufacturers
Blend 37 Williams Renault	Renault Laguna	1	Alain Menu	All
		3	Jason Plato	All
		21	Tommy Rustad	13
Volvo S40 Racing	Volvo S40	4	Rickard Rydell	All
		14	Gianni Morbidelli	All
Team Honda Sport	Honda Accord	5	James Thompson	All
		50	Peter Kox	All
Audi Sport UK	Audi A4	7	John Bintcliffe	All
		12	Yvan Muller	All
Vodafone Nissan Racing	Nissan Primera GT	8	David Leslie	All
		23	Anthony Reid	All
		24	Tiff Needell	11
Esso Ultron Team Peugeot	Peugeot 406	9	Tim Harvey	All
		11	Paul Radisich	All
Ford Mondeo Racing with Reynard	Ford Mondeo	32	Will Hoy	All
		33	Craig Baird	1–5, 7–10
		55	Nigel Mansell	6, 11, 13
Alfa Romeo[1]	Alfa Romeo 156	56	Nicola Larini	None
		57	Fabrizio Giovanardi	None
Vauxhall Sport	Vauxhall Vectra	88	Derek Warwick	All
		98	John Cleland	1–8, 10–13
		99	Flavio Figueiredo	9
Independents
Mint Motorsport	Vauxhall Vectra	16	Mark Lemmer	1–7
Mardi Gras Motorsport				9, 11, 13
	Honda Accord	17	Roger Möen	1–7
Janco Motorsport	Opel Vectra	19	Jan Brunstedt	None
		20	Thomas Johansson	None
DC Cook Motorsport	Renault Laguna	21	Tommy Rustad	1–12
	Honda Accord	22	Paula Cook	12–13
Brookes Motorsport	Honda Accord	28	Lee Brookes	12
		29	Robb Gravett	All
Team Dynamics Max Power	Nissan Primera GT	77	Matt Neal	All

• ^1 Despite being on the entry list, the Alfa Romeo team did not contest any races.
• Janco Motorsport entered but never actually raced. (https://web.archive.org/web/20040125214947/http://www.redshoes-racing.com/Archive/1998/EntryList.php)

Race calendar and results

All races were held in the United Kingdom.

Round		Circuit	Date	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning Driver	Winning Team	Winning Independent
1	R1	Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire	13 April	Rickard Rydell	Rickard Rydell	Rickard Rydell	Volvo S40 Racing	Mark Lemmer
	R2			Rickard Rydell	Alain Menu	Alain Menu	Blend 37 Williams Renault	Matt Neal
2	R3	Silverstone Circuit (International), Northamptonshire	26 April	James Thompson	David Leslie	David Leslie	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Robb Gravett
	R4			Jason Plato	James Thompson	Will Hoy	Ford Mondeo Racing	Robb Gravett
3	R5	Donington Park (National), Leicestershire	4 May	Rickard Rydell	David Leslie	John Cleland	Vauxhall Sport	Matt Neal
	R6			David Leslie	David Leslie	David Leslie	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Matt Neal
4	R7	Brands Hatch (Indy), Kent	17 May	Rickard Rydell	Anthony Reid	Rickard Rydell	Volvo S40 Racing	Tommy Rustad
	R8			Rickard Rydell	Anthony Reid	Rickard Rydell	Volvo S40 Racing	Matt Neal
5	R9	Oulton Park (Fosters), Cheshire	25 May	Alain Menu	Alain Menu	Alain Menu	Blend 37 Williams Renault	Tommy Rustad
	R10			Anthony Reid	Anthony Reid	Jason Plato	Blend 37 Williams Renault	Tommy Rustad
6	R11	Donington Park (National), Leicestershire	14 June	Anthony Reid	Rickard Rydell	Anthony Reid	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Robb Gravett
	R12			Anthony Reid	Anthony Reid	John Cleland	Vauxhall Sport	Matt Neal
7	R13	Croft Circuit, North Yorkshire	28 June	James Thompson	James Thompson	James Thompson	Team Honda Sport	Matt Neal
	R14			David Leslie	David Leslie	Rickard Rydell	Volvo S40 Racing	Robb Gravett
8	R15	Snetterton Circuit, Norfolk	26 July	Anthony Reid	Matt Neal	Anthony Reid	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Robb Gravett
	R16			Anthony Reid	Anthony Reid	James Thompson	Team Honda Sport	Robb Gravett
9	R17	Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire	2 August	Rickard Rydell	Anthony Reid	Anthony Reid	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Matt Neal
	R18			Anthony Reid	Anthony Reid	Alain Menu	Blend 37 Williams Renault	Mark Lemmer
10	R19	Knockhill Circuit, Fife	16 August	Anthony Reid	David Leslie	Anthony Reid	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Matt Neal
	R20			Anthony Reid	Yvan Muller	Derek Warwick	Vauxhall Sport	Tommy Rustad
11	R21	Brands Hatch (Indy), Kent	31 August	Anthony Reid	Anthony Reid	Anthony Reid	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Matt Neal
	R22			Rickard Rydell	Anthony Reid	Rickard Rydell	Volvo S40 Racing	Matt Neal
12	R23	Oulton Park (Fosters), Cheshire	13 September	Anthony Reid	Anthony Reid	James Thompson	Team Honda Sport	Tommy Rustad
	R24			Anthony Reid	James Thompson	Anthony Reid	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Matt Neal
13	R25	Silverstone Circuit (International), Northamptonshire	20 September	Rickard Rydell	Anthony Reid	James Thompson	Team Honda Sport	Mark Lemmer
	R26			David Leslie	Rickard Rydell	Anthony Reid	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Paula Cook

Championships standings

Points system
1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Pole Position	Lead a lap in feature race
15	12	10	8	6	5	4	3	2	1	1	1

• No driver may collect more than one "Lead a Lap" point per race no matter how many laps they lead.

Drivers Championship

Pos. Driver THR SIL DON BRH OUL DON CRO SNE THR KNO BRH OUL SIL Pts 1 Rickard Rydell 1 2* 5 Ret 3 7* 1 1* 2 2 2 Ret 4 1* 5 2* 3 3* Ret 3 3 1* 11 4 2 3 254 2 Anthony Reid 8 13 7 3 Ret 6 2 3 5 3* 1 (Ret*) 2 3 1 (NC) 1 6 1 7* 1 2* 2 1* 5 1* 239 (242) 3 James Thompson 3 3 2 9* 2 4 9 2 Ret 5 Ret Ret 1 5 4 1* 4 5* 2 Ret 2 9* 1 Ret 1 4* 203 4 Alain Menu 5 1* Ret Ret 4 2 3 4 1 4* Ret Ret 3 4 3 Ret 2 1* 3 4* 5 3 3 Ret 9 Ret 187 5 Jason Plato 2 4 3 2* Ret 5 4 Ret 4 1* 9 Ret 8 6 2 3 Ret Ret Ret 5 7 4* 6 2 4 6 163 6 David Leslie 7 12 1 Ret Ret 1* Ret 6 3 Ret Ret 2* Ret 2* 6 4 5 2* 5 9 4 Ret 4 Ret 13 2* 148 7 Yvan Muller 9 Ret 10 8 6 10 5 15 10 10 7 4* 5 10 15 5* 6 10 4 2* 11 6 5 3 3 5 110 8 John Cleland 4 6 6 7 1 3* 6 9* 7 6* 5 1* 6 8 9 Ret 13 Ret 8 Ret 9 11 8 Ret 106 9 Derek Warwick 12 5 4 6* 13 8 11 13 11 Ret DSQ 3 9 12 10 Ret 7 Ret 9 1* Ret 14 10 5* 7 10 70 10 Will Hoy Ret 15 9 1* 8 16 7 Ret 8 7 3 Ret 13 9* 8 8 10 12 6 Ret Ret Ret 8 6 10 8 69 11 Gianni Morbidelli 6 11 8 5 12 Ret 13 10 6 9* 6 7 10 7* 7 11 8 4* 11 Ret Ret Ret Ret 9 17 Ret 56 12 Peter Kox 10 7 Ret 11 7 Ret 14 7 Ret Ret 4 Ret 7 Ret 16 Ret 13 7 7 14 6 7* 7 Ret Ret 7* 52 13 Matt Neal Ret 10 Ret 16 5 9 Ret 5 Ret 14 Ret 6 12 15 NC 13 12 Ret 8 Ret 9 5 13 7 Ret Ret 35 14 Paul Radisich Ret 8 12 4 11 Ret 8 12 12 13 10 Ret 11 Ret 18 10 9 Ret 10 6 10 10 Ret Ret 6 14 31 15 John Bintcliffe 11 9 14 17 10 14 10 8 9 8* Ret 9 Ret 11 14 7 11 8 Ret 10 13 11 NC Ret 12 Ret 23 16 Tommy Rustad 16 Ret 15 13 17 12 12 14* 13 12 12 8 15 Ret 17 12 14 Ret 14 8 15 13 12 8 11 9 12 17 Tim Harvey 13 Ret 11 18 9 11 Ret 11 Ret Ret Ret Ret 16 18 12 Ret 15 9* 15 11 14 8* 14 10 Ret Ret 10 18 Nigel Mansell Ret 5* Ret Ret 14 11 7 19 Robb Gravett 17 16 13 12* 15 Ret 16 17 15 16 8 Ret Ret 14 13 9 16 Ret Ret 12 16 12* 15 12 Ret DNS 7 20 Craig Baird 15 14 Ret 10 14 13 15 Ret 14 11 14 13 11 6 Ret DNS 12 13* 6 21 Roger Möen 18 17 16 15 Ret 15 18 16 16 15 11 10 Ret 16 1 22 Flavio Figueiredo 17 11 0 23 Tiff Needell 12 15 0 24 Paula Cook 16 13 16 12 0 25 Mark Lemmer 14 Ret Ret 14 16 Ret 17 Ret Ret DNS Ret Ret 17 17 18 13 Ret 16 15 13 0  – Lee Brookes DNS DNS 0 Pos. Driver THR SIL DON BRH OUL DON CRO SNE THR KNO BRH OUL SIL Pts Note: bold signifies pole position (1 point awarded all races), italics signifies fastest lap * signifies that driver lead feature race for at least one lap (1 point given). Note: All bonus leading points may not be added due to them being added after seeing Season Review footage and some race reports. Note: No points were awarded for leading in the feature race at Knockhill. Autosport Cup for Independents Points were only awarded to the top three class finishers in each race. Pos. Driver THR SIL DON BRH OUL DON CRO SNE THR KNO BRH OUL SIL Pts 1 Tommy Rustad 16 Ret 15 13 17 12 12 14 13 12 12 8 15 Ret 17 12 14 Ret 13 8 15 13 12 8 251 2 Robb Gravett 17 16 13 12 15 Ret 16 17 15 16 8 Ret Ret 14 13 9 16 Ret Ret 12 16 12 15 12 Ret DNS 212 3 Matt Neal Ret 10 Ret 16 5 9 Ret 5 Ret 14 Ret 6 12 15 NC 13 12 Ret 8 Ret 9 5 13 7 Ret Ret 211 4 Mark Lemmer 14 Ret Ret 14 16 Ret 17 Ret Ret DNS Ret Ret 17 17 18 13 Ret 16 15 13 95 5 Roger Möen 18 17 16 15 Ret 15 18 16 16 15 11 10 Ret 16 92 6 Paula Cook 16 13 16 12 27  – Lee Brookes DNS DNS 0 Pos. Driver THR SIL DON BRH OUL DON CRO SNE THR KNO BRH OUL SIL Pts Manufacturers Championship Pos Manufacturer THR SIL DON BRH OUL DON CRO SNE THR KNO BRH OUL SIL Pts 1 Nissan / Vodafone Nissan Racing 7 12 1 3 Ret 1 2 3 3 3 1 2 2 2 1 4 1 2 1 7 1 2 2 1 5 1 273 2 Volvo / Volvo S40 Racing 1 2 5 5 3 7 1 1 2 2 2 7 4 1 5 2 3 3 11 3 3 1 11 4 2 3 245 3 Renault / Blend 37 Williams Renault 2 1 3 2 4 2 3 4 1 1 9 Ret 3 4 2 3 2 1 3 4 5 3 3 2 4 6 244 4 Honda / Team Honda Sport 3 3 2 9 2 4 9 2 Ret 5 4 Ret 1 5 4 1 4 5 2 14 2 7 1 Ret 1 4 222 5 Vauxhall / Vauxhall Sport 4 5 4 6 1 3 6 9 7 6 5 1 6 8 9 Ret 7 11 9 1 8 14 9 5 7 10 162 6 Audi / Audi Sport UK 9 9 10 8 6 10 5 8 9 8 7 4 5 10 14 5 6 8 4 2 11 6 5 3 3 5 150 7 Ford / Ford Mondeo Racing 15 14 9 1 8 13 7 Ret 8 7 3 5 13 9 8 6 10 12 6 13 Ret Ret 8 6 10 8 117 8 Peugeot / Esso Ultron Team Peugeot 13 8 11 4 9 11 8 11 12 13 10 Ret 11 18 12 10 9 9 10 6 10 8 14 10 6 14 96 Pos Manufacturer THR SIL DON BRH OUL DON CRO SNE THR KNO BRH OUL SIL Pts Teams Championship Pos Team THR SIL DON BRH OUL DON CRO SNE THR KNO BRH OUL SIL Pts 1 Vodafone Nissan Racing 12 3 1 3 3 2 2 4 2 7 2 1 1 168 13 Ret 6 6 Ret Ret 3 NC 6 9 Ret Ret 2 2 Blend 37 Williams Renault 1 2 2 4 1 Ret 4 3 1 4 3 2 6 159 4 Ret 5 Ret 4 Ret 6 Ret Ret 5 4 Ret Ret 3 Volvo S40 Racing 2 5 7 1 2 7 1 2 3 3 1 4 3 140 11 Ret Ret 10 9 Ret 7 11 4 Ret Ret 9 Ret 4 Team Honda Sport 3 9 4 2 5 Ret 5 1 5 14 7 Ret 4 95 7 11 Ret 7 Ret Ret Ret Ret 7 Ret 9 Ret 7 5 Vauxhall Sport 5 6 3 9 6 1 8 Ret 11 1 14 5 10 75 6 7 8 13 Ret 3 12 Ret Ret Ret Ret 11 Ret 6 Audi Sport UK 9 8 10 8 8 4 10 5 8 2 6 3 5 59 Ret 17 14 15 10 9 11 7 10 10 11 Ret Ret 7 Ford Mondeo Racing 14 1 13 Ret 7 5 9 6 12 13 Ret 6 8 44 15 10 16 Ret 11 Ret 13 8 DNS Ret Ret 11 8 Team Dynamics Max Power 10 16 9 5 14 6 15 13 Ret Ret 5 7 Ret 24 9 Esso Ultron Team Peugeot 8 4 11 11 13 Ret 18 10 9 6 8 10 14 19 Ret 18 Ret 12 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 11 10 Ret Ret 10 DC Cook Motorsport Ret 13 12 14 12 8 Ret 12 Ret 8 13 8 12 9 13 11 Brookes Motorsport 16 12 Ret 17 16 Ret 14 9 Ret 12 12 12 DNS 2 DNS 12 Mardi Gras Motorsport 17 15 15 16 15 10 16 13 16 13 1 13 Mint Motorsport Ret 14 Ret Ret DNS Ret 17 0 Pos Team THR SIL DON BRH OUL DON CRO SNE THR KNO BRH OUL SIL Pts

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third 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 practice (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX) Bold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap

External links

• BTCC Pages Archived 2008-03-14 at the Wayback Machine