1999 British Touring Car Championship

1999 BTCC season

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The 1999 Auto Trader RAC British Touring Car Championship featured 26 races across 13 rounds. It began on 5 April at Donington Park and concluded on 19 September at Silverstone. The driver's title was won by Laurent Aïello in his debut season driving for the Nissan works team, with his teammate David Leslie in second place. Reigning champion Rickard Rydell finished in third place.

Laurent Aiello won the drivers championship driving a Nissan

One of the surprises of the season was the performance of independent driver Matt Neal. Driving for his father's Team Dynamics in a 1998 Nissan Primera, Neal became the first independent driver to win a championship race in the feature race of the first Donington round; series organisers TOCA had put up a reward for £250,000 for this achievement.

David Leslie finished 2nd driving a Nissan

James Thompson finished fourth overall driving a Honda Accord.

Matt Neal won the Michelin Cup for Independents and finished 9th overall driving a Nissan

Background

Six manufacturer backed teams contested the 1999 championship, Audi and Peugeot having withdrawn at the end 1998. Seven independent drivers appeared on the initial entry list however neither the Atford Ford Mondeo of Gareth Howell or the TRM Motorsport BMW 320i of Collin Gallie made an appearance.

Just a single tyre manufacturer was represented (Michelin) and all competitors used the same tyre, most notably including independent runners.

Night racing was introduced to the BTCC for the first time for the rounds at Snetterton in July. The pit lane and main spectator areas were floodlit, whilst other parts of the circuit were in total darkness. To aid the drivers eyesight for the sharp changes from light to dark, the cockpits had a soft red light glowing inside.

Team and driver changes

Tom Walkinshaw Racing again ran Volvo's effort, defending champion Rickard Rydell came into the 1999 season with a new team-mate in Belgian Vincent Radermecker who had previously raced in the Belgian Procar series and replaced Italian Gianni Morbidelli.

1998 manufacturer champions Nissan once again entered two Primeras engineered by RML. David Leslie remained with the team for a third season and was joined by Frenchman Laurent Aiello, a former STW and French champion who took the seat vacated by Anthony Reid.

After a successful year in 1998 with Prodrive, Honda's effort was now to be run by WSR in a straight swap with Ford. James Thompson went into the season as title favourite and topped pre-season testing and he was joined by Peter Kox for the second year in a row. The team entered a third car for 1994 champion and STW Honda works driver Gabriele Tarquini at the Knockhill and Brands Hatch rounds.

The Williams campaign, running a pair of Renault Lagunas, was headed by Jason Plato who was promoted to lead driver following the departure of Alain Menu to Ford. He was joined by Jean-Christophe Boullion, a former Williams F1 test driver, Sauber F1 race driver and 1994 Formula 3000 champion. Boullion had missed out securing the Renault drive to Plato in 1997.

The Triple Eight Racing Vauxhall Vectras were driven by 1995 champion John Cleland, his 11th season driving for the manufacturer and he was joined by Yvan Muller following Audi's withdrawal. He replaced Derek Warwick who retired from full-time racing to focus on running the team.

Completing the factory team line-up was Ford, now run by Prodrive who had what many regarded as the strongest driver line up in the pit lane, with ’97 champion Alain Menu partnering ’98 runner-up Anthony Reid. They replaced the 1998 lineup of Will Hoy, Craig Baird and Nigel Mansell.

The Independents field was spearheaded by title favourite Matt Neal, whom had shown throughout 1998 his ability to mix it with the manufacturer backed teams. Neal’s Dynamics team would again have a year old ex STW Primera at their disposal, a car that Neal had shared with Steven Richards at Bathurst in 1998.

1998 Vectra Challenge winner Mark Blair, entered a 1996 Vauxhall Vectra which had been a prize for winning the support series and had been driven by Mark Lemmer in 1998. The car was updated with the 1999 aero kit but was unable to use the latest specification engines.

Lee Brookes returned to the series driving a 1998 Honda Accord. Brookes missed four races after injuring his arm and then withdrew from the series after the second visit to Thruxton stating that nothing they did to the car made it competitive.

Paula Cook also drove a 1998 Honda Accord that she had previously driven in the final two rounds of 1998 and run by D.C Cook Motorsport. The team withdrew after the Snetterton rounds citing lack of budget.

Russell Spence started the season driving a 1998 Renault Laguna run by Arena International Spence would suffer a frightening crash at Oulton Park and step down soon after due to business commitments. He was replaced by 1991 champion Will Hoy from Snetterton onwards.

Season review

The season would be dominated by Nissan. Aïello would notch up ten race victories to claim the title in what would be his first and only year in the British championship. Teammate David Leslie would be the Frenchman’s only sustained title challenger, finishing comfortably as runner-up. The Japanese marque would be one of several though to withdraw from the series at the end of the year.

Rickard Rydell’s hopes of defending his title were dashed early following six retirements in the first twelve races, but a return to form in the second half of the season allowed the Swede to finish as best of the rest behind the Nissan pair. New teammate Vincent Radermecker had a solid first season in Britain, racking up several podium finishes. Volvo however would join Nissan in departing the series come season’s end.

Honda’s season would be much the same as the previous one. James Thompson would win four races, but inconsistency prevented him from challenging the Nissans. Peter Kox would have an improved second year in Britain, his highlight being a maiden win under the lights at Snetterton.

Renault’s season would be characterised by a lack of development along with a string of engine failures, culminating in the French marque being the third to end their programme at the end of the season. Numerous retirements hampered new team-leader Jason Plato’s hopes of a title challenge, whilst rookie teammate Jean-Christophe Boullion was consistent but unspectacular, mustering only tenth in the standings.

Team newcomer Yvan Muller would continue Vauxhall’s resurgence from 1998, picking up their only win of the season at Brands Hatch and becoming a regular front runner. Veteran teammate John Cleland would have a disappointing season, finishing as last of the works drivers and subsequently announcing his retirement from racing at the end of the year.

The biggest disappointment however was the Prodrive Ford team. The car showed flashes of pace, but terrible inconsistency would result in just one race win, both Menu and Reid finishing outside the top ten in the drivers championship, and bottom of the manufacturers championship.

The most memorable story of the season was Matt Neal. At the opening meeting at Donington Park, he became the first independent to win a race outright in 11 years, collecting a £250,000 prize put up by TOCA. Good form in the first half of the year saw him threatening a title challenge against the works teams, but a lack of development on his Primera saw him fall down the standings as the season progressed.

Entry list

Team	Car	No.	Drivers	Rounds
Manufacturers
Volvo S40 Racing	Volvo S40	1	Rickard Rydell	All
		11	Vincent Radermecker	All
Ford Team Mondeo	Ford Mondeo	2	Anthony Reid	All
		4	Alain Menu	All
Team Honda Sport	Honda Accord	3	James Thompson	All
		33	Peter Kox	All
		55	Gabriele Tarquini	10–11
Nescafé Blend 37 Williams Renault	Renault Laguna	5	Jason Plato	All
		37	Jean-Christophe Boullion	All
Vodafone Nissan Racing	Nissan Primera GT	6	David Leslie	All
		23	Laurent Aïello	All
Vauxhall Motorsport	Vauxhall Vectra	7	Yvan Muller	All
		8	John Cleland	All
Independents
ADR Motorsport	Vauxhall Vectra	15	Mark Blair	All
Arena International	Renault Laguna	17	Russell Spence	1–7
			Will Hoy	8–13
Atford Ltd	Ford Mondeo	18	Gareth Howell	None
TRM Motorsport	BMW 320i	19	Colin Gallie	None
DC Cook Motorsport	Honda Accord	22	Paula Cook	1–8
Max Power Racing Team Dynamics	Nissan Primera GT	77	Matt Neal	All
Brookes Motorsport	Honda Accord	99	Lee Brookes	1–3, 6–9

• Although Gareth Howell and Colin Gallie appeared on the official entry list, neither would race.

(http://www.supertouringregister.com/series/4/) (https://twitter.com/1990sBTCC/status/1646043923050053632/photo/2)

Calendar

All races were held in the United Kingdom.

Round		Circuit	Date	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning Driver	Winning Team	Winning Independent
1	R1	Donington Park (National), Leicestershire	5 April	James Thompson	David Leslie	James Thompson	Team Honda Sport	Matt Neal
	R2			Matt Neal	Anthony Reid	Matt Neal	Max Power Racing Team Dynamics	Matt Neal
2	R3	Silverstone Circuit (International), Northamptonshire	18 April	David Leslie	David Leslie	Laurent Aïello	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Matt Neal
	R4			Laurent Aïello	Laurent Aïello	Jason Plato	Nescafé Blend 37 Williams Renault	Paula Cook
3	R5	Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire	3 May	Rickard Rydell	Laurent Aïello	Laurent Aïello	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Matt Neal
	R6			Rickard Rydell	Vincent Radermecker	Laurent Aïello	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Lee Brookes
4	R7	Brands Hatch (Indy), Kent	16 May	Alain Menu	Jason Plato	Yvan Muller	Vauxhall Motorsport	Mark Blair
	R8			Laurent Aïello	Jason Plato	Laurent Aïello	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Matt Neal
5	R9	Oulton Park (Fosters), Cheshire	31 May	Laurent Aïello	Rickard Rydell	Laurent Aïello	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Matt Neal
	R10			Laurent Aïello	David Leslie	Laurent Aïello	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Matt Neal
6	R11	Donington Park (Grand Prix), Leicestershire	20 June	James Thompson	Rickard Rydell	James Thompson	Team Honda Sport	Matt Neal
	R12			David Leslie	David Leslie	David Leslie	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Matt Neal
7	R13	Croft Circuit, North Yorkshire	4 July	James Thompson	David Leslie	James Thompson	Team Honda Sport	Matt Neal
	R14			James Thompson	Rickard Rydell	Rickard Rydell	Volvo S40 Racing	Matt Neal
8	R15	Snetterton Circuit, Norfolk	17 July	Laurent Aïello	David Leslie	David Leslie	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Matt Neal
	R16			Laurent Aïello	Laurent Aïello	Peter Kox	Team Honda Sport	Matt Neal
9	R17	Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire	1 August	Rickard Rydell	Rickard Rydell	Laurent Aïello	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Matt Neal
	R18			Rickard Rydell	Rickard Rydell	David Leslie	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Will Hoy
10	R19	Knockhill Circuit, Fife	15 August	Laurent Aïello	Laurent Aïello	Laurent Aïello	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Matt Neal
	R20			Alain Menu	Gabriele Tarquini	Alain Menu	Ford Team Mondeo	Mark Blair
11	R21	Brands Hatch (Indy), Kent	30 August	Laurent Aïello	David Leslie	Rickard Rydell	Volvo S40 Racing	Matt Neal
	R22			Rickard Rydell	Jean-Christophe Boullion	Laurent Aïello	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Matt Neal
12	R23	Oulton Park (Island), Cheshire	12 September	David Leslie	David Leslie	Laurent Aïello	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Matt Neal
	R24			David Leslie	James Thompson	James Thompson	Team Honda Sport	Matt Neal
13	R25	Silverstone Circuit (International), Northamptonshire	19 September	Laurent Aïello	Jason Plato	Rickard Rydell	Volvo S40 Racing	Will Hoy
	R26			Laurent Aïello	Rickard Rydell	Rickard Rydell	Volvo S40 Racing	Matt Neal

Drivers Championship

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' top 22 results count towards the championship.

Pos	Driver	DON		SIL		THR		BRH		OUL		DON		CRO		SNE		THR		KNO		BRH		OUL		SIL		Pts
1	Laurent Aïello	11	Ret	1	6	1	1*	3	1*	1	1*	Ret	2*	5	3	Ret	7	1	5*	1	DSQ	2	1*	1	2	9	(Ret)	244(245)
2	David Leslie	4	Ret	2	7	11	Ret	6	2	2	8*	2	1*	2	4	1	2*	4	1*	9	3	4	2*	2	4*	11	2*	228
3	Rickard Rydell	7	Ret	3	Ret	2	2*	Ret	Ret	7	Ret	Ret	4	4	1*	2	8	2	Ret*	6	5	1	5*	3	3	1	1*	192
4	James Thompson	1	2*	5	4	5	8	7	6*	11	Ret	1	3	1	2*	9	15	7	Ret	14	Ret	3	3	DSQ	1*	2	9	174
5	Jason Plato	3	3	6	1*	Ret	4*	4	Ret*	Ret	Ret	3	8	6	6	4	6	5	4	Ret	Ret	6	8	Ret	6	Ret	Ret	122
6	Yvan Muller	6	10	Ret	2	Ret	11	1	5	8	3	4	5	8	8	Ret	3	8	6	10	7	12	Ret	9	5	3	5	119
7	Peter Kox	9	7	9	5	6	5	Ret	4	9	7	7	Ret	3	9	6	1*	9	9	Ret	2	9	4*	5	Ret	7	Ret	113
8	Vincent Radermecker	10	5	11	Ret	4	3	Ret	Ret	5	4*	10	12	7	7	3	5	3	2	11	8	10	7	4	13	Ret	4	111
9	Matt Neal	5	1*	4	Ret	3	Ret	Ret	3	10	2	9	7	10	5*	7	10	6	Ret	7	Ret	5	10	6	10	Ret	6	110
10	Jean-Christophe Boullion	Ret	6	8	3	9	7*	5	7	6	6	8	10	11	Ret	5	4	13	11	5	4	7	6	7	7	8	Ret	97
11	Alain Menu	2	Ret	13	Ret	Ret	6	12	Ret	3	Ret	5	6	Ret	Ret	8	9*	11	3	3	1*	Ret	Ret	Ret	9	12	Ret	84
12	Anthony Reid	Ret	Ret	7	DSQ	8	Ret	2	8	4	5	11	9	Ret	10*	Ret	11	Ret	7*	4	Ret	8	12*	12	8	4	3	78
13	John Cleland	8	4*	10	8	7	9	8	9	12	Ret	6	Ret	9	Ret	12	12	12	Ret	8	9	11	9	8	Ret	5	10	51
14	Gabriele Tarquini																			2	6	Ret	Ret					17
15	Will Hoy															10	13	10	8	13	11	13	11	10	11	6	7	15
16	Mark Blair	13	Ret	12	11	12	12	9	10	13	9	12	11	12	Ret	13	DNS	Ret	10	12	10	14	13	11	12	10	8	11
17	Lee Brookes	12	9	Ret	10	10	10	DNS	DNS			13	Ret	13	12	11	16	14	Ret									5
18	Russell Spence	15	8	Ret	Ret	13	14	11	Ret	DNS	DNS	14	Ret	15	11													3
19	Paula Cook	14	Ret	Ret	9	Ret	13	10	Ret	Ret	Ret	15	13	14	13	Ret	14											3
Pos	Driver	DON		SIL		THR		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).

Michelin Cup for Independents

Pos	Driver	DON		SIL		THR		BRH		OUL		DON		CRO		SNE		THR		KNO		BRH		OUL		SIL		Pts
1	Matt Neal	5	1	4	Ret	3	Ret	Ret	3	10	2	9	7	10	5	7	10	6	Ret	7	Ret	5	10	6	10	Ret	6	353(361)
2	Mark Blair	13	Ret	12	11	11	12	9	10	13	9	12	11	12	Ret	13	DNS	Ret	10	12	10	14	13	11	12	10	8	183
3	Will Hoy															10	13	10	8	13	11	13	11	10	11	6	7	131
4	Lee Brookes	12	9	Ret	10	10	10	DNS	DNS			13	Ret	13	12	11	16	14	Ret									78
5	Paula Cook	14	Ret	Ret	9	Ret	13	10	Ret	Ret	Ret	15	13	14	13	Ret	14											41
6	Russell Spence	15	8	Ret	Ret	13	14	11	Ret	DNS	DNS	14	Ret	15	11													25
Pos.	Driver	DON		SIL		THR		BRH		OUL		DON		CRO		SNE		THR		KNO		BRH		OUL		SIL		Pts

Manufacturers Championship

Pos	Manufacturer	DON		SIL		THR		BRH		OUL		DON		CRO		SNE		THR		KNO		BRH		OUL		SIL		Pts
1	Nissan / Vodafone Nissan Racing	4	Ret	1	6	1	1	3	1	1	1	2	1	2	3	1	2	1	1	1	3	2	1	1	2	9	2	464
		11	Ret	2	7	11	Ret	6	2	2	8	Ret	2	5	4	Ret	7	4	5	9	EX	4	2	2	4	11	Ret
2	Honda / Team Honda Sport	1	2	5	4	5	5	7	4	9	7	1	3	1	2	6	1	7	9	2	2	3	3	5	1	2	9	296
		9	7	9	5	6	8	Ret	6	11	Ret	7	Ret	3	9	9	15	9	Ret	14	6	9	4	DSQ	Ret	7	Ret
3	Volvo / Volvo S40 Racing	7	5	3	Ret	2	2	Ret	Ret	5	4	9	4	4	1	2	5	2	2	6	5	1	5	3	3	1	1	295
		10	Ret	11	Ret	4	3	Ret	Ret	7	Ret	Ret	12	7	7	3	8	3	Ret	11	8	10	7	4	13	Ret	4
4	Renault / Nescafé Blend 37 Williams Renault	3	3	6	1	9	4	4	7	6	6	3	8	6	6	4	4	5	4	5	4	6	6	7	6	8	Ret	227
		Ret	6	8	3	Ret	7	5	Ret	Ret	Ret	8	10	11	Ret	5	6	13	11	Ret	Ret	7	8	Ret	7	Ret	Ret
5	Vauxhall / Vauxhall Motorsport	6	4	10	2	7	9	1	5	8	3	4	5	8	8	12	3	8	6	8	7	11	9	8	5	3	5	186
		8	10	Ret	8	Ret	11	8	9	12	Ret	6	Ret	9	Ret	Ret	12	12	Ret	10	9	12	Ret	9	Ret	5	10
6	Ford / Ford Team Mondeo	2	Ret	7	Ret	8	6	2	8	3	5	5	6	Ret	10	8	9	11	3	3	1	8	12	12	8	4	3	164
		Ret	Ret	13	DSQ	Ret	Ret	12	Ret	4	Ret	11	9	Ret	Ret	Ret	11	Ret	7	4	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	9	12	Ret
Pos	Manufacturer	DON		SIL		THR		BRH		OUL		DON		CRO		SNE		THR		KNO		BRH		OUL		SIL		Pts

Teams Championship

Pos	Team	DON	SIL	THR	BRH	OUL	DON	CRO	SNE	THR	KNO	BRH	OUL	SIL	Pts
1	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Ret	6	1	1	1	1	3	2	1	3	1	2	2	210
		Ret	7	Ret	2	8	2	4	7	5	DSQ	2	4	Ret
2	Team Honda Sport	2	4	5	4	7	3	2	1	9	2	3	1	9	132
		7	5	8	6	Ret	Ret	9	15	Ret	6	4	Ret	Ret
3	Volvo S40 Racing	5	Ret	2	Ret	4	4	1	5	2	5	5	3	1	127
		Ret	Ret	3	Ret	Ret	12	7	8	Ret	8	7	13	4
4	Nescafé Blend 37 Williams Renault	3	1	4	7	6	8	6	4	4	4	6	6	Ret	108
		6	3	7	Ret	Ret	10	Ret	6	11	Ret	8	7	Ret
5	Vauxhall Motorsport	4	2	9	5	3	5	8	3	6	7	9	5	5	83
		10	8	11	9	Ret	Ret	Ret	12	Ret	9	Ret	Ret	10
6	Team Dynamics	1	Ret	Ret	3	2	7	5	10	Ret	Ret	10	10	6	55
7	Ford Team Mondeo	Ret	Ret	6	8	5	6	10	9	3	1	12	8	3	53
		Ret	DSQ	Ret	Ret	Ret	9	Ret	11	7	Ret	Ret	9	Ret
8	Arena International	8	Ret	14	Ret	DNS	Ret	11	13	8	11	11	11	7	10
9	ADR Motorsport	Ret	11	12	10	9	11	Ret	DNS	10	10	13	12	8	7
10	Brookes Motorsport	9	10	10	DNS		Ret	12	16	Ret					4
11	DC Cook Motorsport	Ret	9	13	Ret	Ret	13	13	14						2
Pos	Team	DON	SIL	THR	BRH	OUL	DON	CRO	SNE	THR	KNO	BRH	OUL	SIL	Pts

Points System

The points system used for the 1999 British Touring Car Championship was as follows. For the drivers championship, 15 points were awarded to the winner of each race, 12 to second place, 10 for third and 8,6,5,4,3,2,1 for fourth to tenth place respectively. At the end of the season, drivers would drop their four lowest scores. A point would be awarded to the driver who achieved pole position for each race, and a point was awarded to anyone who led the feature race.

For the manufactures championship, the same number of points for the top ten finishing positions were awarded as for the drivers championship but only the top two per manufacturer would receive points for the manufacturer. At the end of the season, manufacturers would drop the points from their worst four rounds of the championship. No points were received for leading laps or pole position.

External links

• Complete results archive at TouringCars.Net
• teamdan.com