Jump to content

Steve Soper

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by HoldenV8 (talk | contribs) at 14:20, 24 April 2016 (→Racing record: Added Complete Bathurst 1000 results to Steve Soper). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Steve Soper
Soper driving a McLaren F1 GTR at Donington Park, England in 1997.
NationalityEnglish
Born (1951-09-27) 27 September 1951 (age 73)
BTCC record
TeamsMini, Rover, TWR, Ford, BMW,
Peugeot Sport UK
Drivers'
championships		0
Wins14
Podium finishes–
Poles–
Fastest laps–
Debut season1982
First win1983 (Overall)
Best championship position2nd
Final season (2001) position6th (93 points)

Steve Soper is a racing driver from Surrey, England, born in 1951.

He raced in major sports car and touring car categories in the 1980s and 1990s. He won the 24 Hours Nürburgring in 1987, the 24 Hours of Spa in 1995 and the Guia Race in 1997 – many of which through his longest association, with BMW.

Achievements

Across just over two decades Soper won three major races: the 24 Hours Nürburgring in 1987, the 24 Hours of Spa in 1995 and the Guia Race in 1997.

In 1983 he won the British Touring Car Championship before his Rover was deemed illegal due to an issue with the engine installation. He finished as runner-up in the series in 1988 in a Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth, and in 1993 behind teammate Joachim Winkelhock for BMW. During the season finale of the 1992 championship, Soper was involved in the infamous collision with John Cleland, which cost Cleland the title and famously led him to label Soper 'an animal.'[1] 1995 saw Soper race in the Japanese Super Touring championship for Schnitzer BMW, winning the championship outright that year. In 1997 he came second in the FIA GT Championship. fifth driving a Ford Sierra for Eggenberger Motorsport in the one-off World Touring Car Championship in 1987 run under Group A regulations.

He competed in the night European, Japanese and German Touring Car Championships. During the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans, he expressed dislike of the 24-hour classic race, established in the early 20th century.

By 2000, Soper fell out of favour with Gerhard Berger, who was in charge of BMW's motorsport operations and retired from racing as he was solely interested in racing BMWs and acquired a BMW dealership in Lincoln.[2] For 2001, he reluctantly, made a surprise return to the British Championship for Peugeot. The car's build rendered it less successful than the Vauxhall Astra. He finished 6th in a thin field and was advised to retire on medical grounds after a heavy crash in the final round.

In 2013, Soper, who had earned the nickname "Soperman" (with final syllable stress to sound like "superman") from his fans during his career, announced plans, on medical clearance, to race. [3]

Soper was voted the greatest saloon car driver ever by readers of Motor Sport.[4]

Racing record

Complete British Saloon/Touring Car Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position – 1973–1990 in class) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap – 1 point awarded ?–1989 in class)

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 DC Pts Class
1982 Team Sanyo Racing with Esso Austin Metro 1300 HLS D SIL
? 		MAL
Ret† 		OUL
6† 		THR
12 		THR
Ret 		SIL
Ret 		DON
10 		BRH
? 		DON
9 		BRH
6 		SIL
14 		3rd 65 2nd
1983 Team Sanyo Racing with Esso Rover Vitesse A SIL
1 		OUL
3 		THR
7 		BRH
1 		THR SIL
1 		DON
Ret 		SIL
1 		DON
1 		BRH
2 		SIL
2 		DSQ 68 DSQ
1984 Team Sanyo Racing with Esso Rover Vitesse A DON
2 		SIL OUL THR THR
1 		SIL SNE BRH BRH DON SIL NC 0 NC
1985 Roger Dowson Engineering MG Metro Turbo B SIL
Ret 		OUL THR DON THR SIL DON SIL SNE BRH BRH SIL NC 0 NC
1988 Eggenberger Motorsport Ford Sierra RS500 A SIL OUL
DNA 		THR
1 		DON THR SIL SIL BRH
2 		SNE BRH BIR
C 		DON
2 		SIL 15th 21 6th
1989 BMW Team Finance BMW M3 B OUL SIL THR DON
11‡ 		THR SIL SIL BRH SNE BRH BIR DON SIL 43rd 4 10th
1991 BMW Team Finance BMW M3 SIL
18 		SNE DON
1 		THR SIL BRH SIL
1 		DON
1
2 		DON
2
Ret 		OUL
3 		BRH
1
6 		BRH
2
Ret 		DON THR
1 		SIL 4th 96
1992 M Team Shell Racing with Listerine BMW 318is SIL THR
5 		OUL
8 		SNE BRH
3 		DON
1
17 		DON
2
3 		SIL KNO
1
4 		KNO
2
6 		PEM
2 		BRH
1
Ret 		BRH
2
5 		DON
2 		SIL
Ret 		6th 77
1993 BMW Motorsport Team BMW 318i SIL
1 		DON
3 		SNE
1 		DON
3 		OUL
Ret 		BRH
1
4 		BRH
2
1 		PEM
3 		SIL
Ret 		KNO
1
12 		KNO
2
8 		OUL
2 		BRH
3 		THR
6 		DON
1
Ret 		DON
2
5 		SIL
5 		2nd 150
1994 BMW Motorsport Team Schnitzer BMW 318i THR
4 		BRH
1
10 		BRH
2
6 		SNE
8 		SIL
1 		SIL
2 		OUL
4 		DON
1 		DON
2 		BRH
1
4 		BRH
2
14 		SIL KNO
1
3 		KNO
2
1 		OUL BRH
1
5 		BRH
2
4 		SIL
1
22 		SIL
2
5 		DON
1
12 		DON
2
Ret 		7th 102
2001 Peugeot Sport UK Peugeot 406 Coupé T BRH
1
7 		BRH
2
4* 		THR
1
Ret 		THR
2
Ret 		OUL
1
16 		OUL
2
Ret 		SIL
1
11 		SIL
2
6 		MON
1
4 		MON
2
Ret 		DON
1
6 		DON
2
5* 		KNO
1
Ret 		KNO
2
4* 		SNE
1
20 		SNE
2
4 		CRO
1
12 		CRO
2
Ret 		OUL
1
Ret 		OUL
2
Ret* 		SIL
1
20 		SIL
2
8 		DON
1
20 		DON
2
Ret 		BRH
1
Ret 		BRH
2
DNS 		6th 93
  1. ^ – Race was stopped due to heavy rain. No points were awarded.

† Events with 2 races staged for the different classes.

‡ Endurance driver.

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1983 Japan Mazdaspeed United Kingdom Jeff Allam
United Kingdom James Weaver 		Mazda 717C C Jr. 267 18th 2nd
1996 Italy Team Bigazzi
Germany Team BMW Motorsport 		France Jacques Laffite
Belgium Marc Duez 		McLaren F1 GTR GT1 318 11th 9th
1997 Germany Team BMW Motorsport
Germany BMW Team Schnitzer 		Finland JJ Lehto
Brazil Nelson Piquet 		McLaren F1 GTR GT1 236 DNF DNF
1998 Germany Team BMW Motorsport Germany Hans-Joachim Stuck
Denmark Tom Kristensen 		BMW V12 LM LMP1 60 DNF DNF
1999 United Kingdom Price+Bscher Germany Thomas Bscher
United States Bill Auberlen 		BMW V12 LM LMP 345 5th 4th

Complete Japanese Touring Car Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 DC Pts
1994 BMW Team Schnitzer BMW 318i AUT
1
Ret 		AUT
2
7 		SUG
1
3 		SUG
2
1 		TOK
1
6 		TOK
2
9 		SUZ
1
2 		SUZ
2
2 		MIN
1
1 		MIN
2
1 		AID
1
9 		AID
2
3 		TSU
1
Ret 		TSU
2
DNS 		SEN
1
1 		SEN
2
1 		FUJ
1
Ret 		FUJ
2
7 		3rd 132
1995 BMW Team Schnitzer BMW 318i FUJ
1
10 		FUJ
2
5 		SUG
1
4 		SUG
2
4 		TOK
1
3 		TOK
2
3 		SUZ
1
2 		SUZ
2
1 		MIN
1
9 		MIN
2
2 		AID
1
3 		AID
2
9 		SEN
1
3 		SEN
2
1 		FUJ
1
1 		FUJ
2
2 		1st 124

Complete Bathurst 1000 results

Year Pos Class No Team Co-Drivers Chassis Tyres Laps Qual
Pos
Engine
1984 29 Group A 60 United Kingdom Mobil Rover Racing Australia Ron Dickson Rover Vitesse D 116 39
Rover 3.5 L V8
1987 DSQ* 1 6 Switzerland Ford Texaco Racing Team Belgium Pierre Dieudonné Ford Sierra RS500 P 161 3
Ford Cosworth YBD 2.0 L I4 Turbo
1988 DNF A 6 Australia Miedecke Motorsport Australia Andrew Miedecke Ford Sierra RS500 Y 102 5
Ford Cosworth YBD 2.0 L I4 Turbo
1993 DNF A 25 Australia Benson & Hedges Racing Australia Tony Longhurst BMW M3 Evolution Y 79 13
BMW S14 2.4 L I4

* 1987 finished 1st on the road but later disqualified.

References

  1. ^ http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/february-2014/100/lunch-steve-soper
  2. ^ http://www.btcccrazy.co.uk/2010/12/17/btcccrazy-exclusive-interview-with-steve-soper/
  3. ^ http://www.crash.net/btcc/news/191468/1/btcc_legend_to_return_to_track.html
  4. ^ http://www.stevesoper.co.uk/
Sporting positions
Preceded by Japanese Touring Car Championship
Champion
1995 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Guia Race winner
1997 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Steve_Soper&oldid=716888491"