1983 British Saloon Car Championship

26th season of the British Touring Car Championship December 2025 1983 British Saloon Car Championship 1982 1984 The 1983 RAC Trimoco British Saloon Car Championship was the 26th season of the championship. Steve Soper driving a works Rover SD1 built by TWR was initially champion, but after he and the team was disqualified on a technicality, Andy Rouse won his second drivers title in an Alfa Romeo GTV6. Season overview The sporting regulations changed to FIA sanctioned Group A specification, and three different classes competed for honours. TWR expanded their team and ran a trio of Rover Vitesses for Pete Lovett, Jeff Allam and Steve Soper. Austin Rover would also back Roger Dowson Engineering who ran Turbo Metros in Class B whilst Ford supported a semi-works Ford Escort outfit in Class C. GM/Opel entered a single Opel Monza for Tony Lanfranchi. Reigning champion Win Percy would once again drive for Toyota, this time at the wheel of a Supra. Meanwhile, Frank Sytner raced for the works BMW team.January 2026 TWR dominated the season, winning all 11 races. The drivers had the races pretty much their own way until Sytner, who had fallen out with Walkinshaw and left TWR the previous season, protested the legality of the Rover cars to the governing body. In response, Walkinshaw protested Sytner's BMW which led to extended legal wrangling which would drag on until long after the season was over.RAC British Saloon Car Championship - 1983 http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1983%20BSCC.html 2021-12-24 touringcarracing.net Soper beat his more experienced team mates and won the outright championship, while Andy Rouse who had taken over the Alfa Romeo GTV6 run by Pete Hall won Class B after a season long dice with the Metros. In Class C, Alan Minshaw took the class honours in his Volkswagen Golf, seeing off the Ford challenge. However, six months after the championship was over, Sytner's protest was heard by a Tribunal of Enquiry, chaired by veteran legal counsel Lord Hartley Shawcross. The result was the RAC disqualified the Rover team entirely over bodywork irregularities and engine installation issues, handing the title to Rouse. In response, Austin Rover withdrew from the BSCC immediately as a works outfit to concentrate on competing in Europe, and would not return until 2001 under the guise of MG Rover.Adams Keith 2011-08-05 Rover SD1 in motor sport https://www.aronline.co.uk/cars/rover/sd1/rover-sd1-in-motor-sport/ 2021-12-24 AROnline en-GB Teams and drivers Team Car No. Car number Drivers Rounds Class A Hughes of Beaconsfield/Toyota GB Toyota Celica Supra 1 GBR Win Percy1 1 4–5, 8–11 Team Sanyo Racing with EssoHepolite Glacier Racing with Esso Rover Vitesse 2 GBR Jeff Allam All 3 GBR Pete Lovett All 4 GBR Steve Soper 1–4, 6–11 Gordon Spice Racing Rover Vitesse 5 GBR Gordon Spice 6, 8–10 Dennis Leech Rover Vitesse 6 GBR Dennis Leech 4–8 Burlington Wallcoverings Ltd. Ford Capri III 3.0S 9 GBR Mike Newman 1–2, 7–10 Equipe Esso/Daily Mirror Rover Vitesse 10 GBR Charles Sawyer-Hoare All GM Dealer Sport Opel Monza 3.0E 11 GBR Tony Lanfranchi 1–3, 5–11 Graham Goode Racing Ford Capri III 3.0S 12 GBR Graham Goode 1, 5, 7–8 Mark Hales Ford Capri III 3.0S 16 GBR Mark Hales 8 Team Colt Cars Mid-West Mitsubishi Starion Turbo 18 GBR Dave Brodie 6–11 Grace International Racing BMW 635CSi 19 GBR Frank Sytner 6–9, 11 Cheylesmore BMW Motorsport BMW 635CSi 20 FRG Hans-Joachim Stuck 8–10 GBR Jonathan Palmer 11 Brian Chatfield Ford Capri III 3.0S 29 GBR Brian Chatfield 10–11 Class B Hamish Irvine Mazda RX-7 30 GBR Hamish Irvine 1–5, 7–11 Napolina Alfa Romeo Dealer TeamNapolina Alfa Romeo Dealer Teamwith Hampshires of DorkingAlfa Romeo GTV6 31 GBR Jon Dooley All Terry Nightingale Mazda RX-7 32 GBR Terry Nightingale 8 Industrial Control Services Ltd. Alfa Romeo GTV6 34 GBR Pete Hall 1–3 GBR Andy Rouse 4–11 Unipart with Daily Express MG Metro Turbo 35 GBR Tony Pond 4–11 36 GBR Patrick Watts 8–11 37 GBR Martin Brundle 11 Tom Dodd-Noble Mazda RX-7 ? GBR Tom Dodd-Noble 4 Class C Volkswagen Sport Volkswagen Scirocco GTI 60 GBR John Morris All Royal Mail Datapost Ford Escort RS1600i 66 GBR Alan Curnow All 77 GBR Richard Longman All Ordibel UK Ltd. Volkswagen Golf GTI 67 GBR Alan Greenhalgh 1–5, 7–8, 10 Brooklyn Motorsport Ford Escort RS1600i 69 GBR Chris Hodgetts All Julian May Racing Ford Fiesta XR2 70 GBR Jock Robertson 1–4 Ford Escort RS1600i 6–9, 11 Lloyds of Stafford Ford Escort RS1600i 72 GBR Rob Hall All Lionel Abbott Ford Escort RS1600i 74 GBR Lionel Abbott 2–5, 7 Unipart with Daily Express MG Metro 78 GBR Patrick Watts 2–7 Hughes of Beaconsfield/Toyota GB Toyota Corolla GT 80 GBR Win Percy1 1 1 Tony Crudgington Ford Fiesta XR2 82 GBR Tony Crudgington 8 Napolina Alfa Romeo Dealer TeamNapolina Alfa Romeo Dealer Teamwith Hampshires of Dorking Alfa Romeo Alfasud Ti 83 GBR Rob Kirby All 84 GBR Andrew Thorpe All Demon Tweeks Racing Volkswagen Golf GTI 86 GBR Alan Minshaw All RZ Racing Toyota Corolla GT 87 GBR Andy Driver 3 GBR Tony Crudgington 5 GBR Geoff Kimber-Smith 6–11 Terry Watts Talbot Sunbeam Ti 88 GBR Terry Watts 8–9 Jenny Birrell Toyota Corolla GT 95 GBR Jenny Birrell 11 GTI Engineering Volkswagen Golf GTI 100 GBR Richard Lloyd 11 Notes: 1.1 – Win Percy was ineligible for points at round 4. Calendar and winners Overall winners in bold. Round Circuit Date Class A winner Class B winner Class C winner 1 Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire 20 March GBR Steve Soper GBR Hamish Irvine GBR Win Percy 2 Oulton Park, Cheshire 1 April GBR Jeff Allam GBR Jon Dooley GBR John Morris 3 Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire 4 April GBR Pete Lovett GBR Jon Dooley GBR Alan Greenhalgh 4 Brands Hatch, Kent 10 April GBR Steve Soper GBR Andy Rouse GBR Alan Curnow 5 Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire 30 May GBR Pete Lovett GBR Andy Rouse GBR Alan Curnow 6 Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire 12 June GBR Steve Soper GBR Andy Rouse GBR Chris Hodgetts 7 Donington Park, Leicestershire 25 June GBR Pete Lovett GBR Andy Rouse GBR John Morris 8 Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire 16 July GBR Steve Soper GBR Jon Dooley GBR Richard Longman 9 Donington Park, Leicestershire 14 August GBR Steve Soper GBR Tony Pond GBR Alan Minshaw 10 Brands Hatch, Kent 29 August GBR Pete Lovett GBR Andy Rouse GBR Chris Hodgetts 11 Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire 2 October GBR Jeff Allam GBR Andy Rouse GBR Chris Hodgetts Championship standings Drivers' championship Points were awarded on a 9, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1 basis to the top six finishers in each class, with one bonus point for the fastest lap in each class. In races where a class had less than four starters, points would be awarded to the top two finishers (6 & 4 respectively) with one point for the fastest lap. A driver's best nine scores counted towards the championship, dropped scores are shown in brackets. Positions are shown as overall/class. Pos Driver Class SIL OUL THR BRA THR SIL DON SIL DON BRA SIL Pts DSQ GBR Steve Soper A 1/1 3/3 7/5 1/1 1/1 Ret 1/1 1/1 2/2 2/2 68 DSQ GBR Pete Lovett A 3/3 2/2 1/1 Ret 1/1 2/2 1/1 2/2 Ret 1/1 4/4 63 1 GBR Andy Rouse B 3/1 4/1 5/1 4/1 Ret 7/2 8/1 7/1 61 DSQ GBR Jeff Allam A 2/2 1/1 2/2 2/2 2/2 Ret Ret 3/3 Ret 4/4 1/1 53 2 GBR Alan Minshaw C (11/5) 12/4 11/3 10/2 11/3 9/3 12/3 12/2 8/1 14/4 (Ret) 45 3 GBR Chris Hodgetts C 13/7 14/6 13/5 Ret 12/4 7/1 Ret 13/3 9/2 11/1 10/1 43 4 GBR Alan Curnow C 9/3 ?/? Ret 9/1 8/1 Ret 13/4 14/4 12/4 13/3 11/2 42 5GBR Hamish Irvine B 8/1 6/2 5/2 5/2 7/3 6/3 20/2 Ret 9/2 Ret 42 6 GBR Jon Dooley B Ret 4/1 4/1 6/3 Ret Ret Ret 10/1 Ret 18/3 9/2 36 7 GBR Richard Longman C 14/8 9/2 16/8 13/5 10/2 Ret Ret 11/1 11/3 16/6 12/3 35 8 GBR John Morris C Ret 8/1 15/7 11/3 Ret 8/2 10/1 Ret Ret 17/7 16/7 31 9 GBR Tony Pond B Ret 6/2 Ret 5/2 25/5 6/1 Ret 17/3 31 10 GBR Rob Hall C 10/4 10/3 Ret Ret Ret Ret 11/2 15/5 Ret 12/2 Ret 22 11 GBR Rob Kirby C Ret 13/5 10/2 12/4 DNS 11/5 14/5 17/6 13/5 Ret Ret 18 12 GBR Alan Greenhalgh C 7/2 ?/? 9/1 15/7 15/7 17/7 Ret 15/5 17 13 GBR Tony Lanfranchi A Ret 5/4 6/4 9/5 6/5 3/3 7/7 10/6 6/6 6/6 17 14 GBR Charles Sawyer-Hoare A 4/4 DNS 3/3 Ret 3/3 4/4 8/5 8/8 Ret 7/7 Ret 16 15 FRG Hans-Joachim Stuck A 5/5 2/2 3/3 12 16 GBR Frank Sytner A 3/3 2/2 DSQ Ret Ret 10 17 GBR Win Percy C 6/1 9 18 GBR Patrick Watts C ?/? 12/4 14/6 13/5 10/4 Ret 9 19 GBR Mike Newman A 5/5 11/5 7/4 9/9 5/5 DNS 9 20 GBR Patrick Watts B 21/3 Ret Ret 18/4 7 21 GBR Win Percy A 8/4 DNS 6/6 3/3 Ret Ret 5 22 GBR Dennis Leech A 4/3 Ret Ret 9/6 Ret 5 23 GBR Andrew Thorpe C NC ?/? 14/6 16/8 Ret 12/6 Ret 18/7 14/6 Ret 14/5 5 24 GBR Gordon Spice A Ret 23/12 4/4 5/5 5 25 GBR Dave Brodie A Ret 16/7 16/10 Ret Ret 3/3 4 26 GBR Graham Goode A Ret 5/4 Ret Ret 3 27 GBR Tom Dodd-Noble B 7/4 3 28 GBR Richard Lloyd C 13/4 3 29 GBR Terry Nightingale B 22/4 3 30 GBR Jonathan Palmer A 5/5 2 31 GBR Martin Brundle B 19/5 2 32GBR Jock Robertson C 12/6 ?/? Ret Ret WD DNS Ret Ret 15/6 2 33 GBR Lionel Abbott C DNS Ret DNS 14/6 15/6 2 34 GBR Pete Hall B Ret 7/3 8/3 0 35 GBR Geoff Kimber-Smith C 13/7 18/8 DNS 15/7 Ret Ret 0 36 GBR Brian Chatfield A 10/8 8/7 0 37 GBR Terry Watts C 24/8 Ret 0 38 GBR Mark Hales A 19/11 0 NC GBR Tony Crudgington C Ret Ret 0 NC GBR Andy Driver C DNS 0 NCGBR Jenny Birrell C DNS 0 Pos Driver Class SIL OUL THR BRA THR SIL DON SIL DON BRA SIL PtsBold - Pole in class Italics - Fastest lap in class References External links Touring Car Racing History – 1983 BSCC Category:British Touring Car Championship seasons Saloon Car Championship