1991 British Touring Car Championship

34th season of the British Touring Car Championship December 2025 1991 BTCC season 1990 1992 thumb|Will Hoy (pictured in 1995), the 1991 British Touring Car Champion. The 1991 Esso RAC British Touring Car Championship season was the 34th British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) season and marked the first year of the Super Touring era. Changes for 1991 After a transitional year in 1990, the multi-class Group A regulations was fully dropped and replaced by the new Super Touring rules that had evolved out of Group A's Div. II category. Group A cars were still allowed to participate, but only as long as they were restricted to bring them down to Super Touring speeds. Season summary Group A had towards the end of its existence been dominated by Ford and their Sierra RS500. Super Tourers had first appeared in 1990, and with BMW and Vauxhall running their cars in that category they effectively had a years head start on their opposition for 1991. BMW also had the numerical advantage, the factory Prodrive team entering two cars and the semi-factory Vic Lee Motorsport team entering four. Vauxhall had two cars, as had Toyota, while Ford only appeared with a single car for Robb Gravett's Trakstar team. Nissan missed the start of the season but then ran a single-car effort for Keith O'Dor driving a 2.0 Primera entered by Janspeed, and was joined by ex-Formula One driver Julian Bailey towards the end of the season and Mitsubishi was back, engineered by BTCC stalwart John McGuire Racing, fielding a one car team for Mark Hales, the team elected to run the Lancer GTI at the beginning of the season but was replaced by the larger Galant mid season. The privateer entries would consist mainly of BMW M3s with the odd Ford Sierra entry, the most notable being Andy Middlehurst, and the odd appearance of Jeff Wilson in a Vauxhall Belmont. Rover and Peugeot would also be represented briefly by privateers Grahame Davis and Andrew McKenzie while possible entries from Audi,August 2022 BTCC 1991: BBC Grandstand Season Preview (4:52) https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fhJZ7aDz35c YouTube Honda,https://postlmg.cc/GH7CKbyQ 20240711 161137 — Postimages Renault and Lanciahttps://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/march-1991/25/british-touring-car-championship-3/ British Touring Car Championship 7 July 2014 were mooted but never materialised. The championship battle would stand between Will Hoy and John Cleland. Hoy won the first two races of the season and kept scoring consistently, but as the season progressed it was Cleland who came out on top more often than not. Hoy's consistency however put him in a position to claim the championship at the penultimate round at Thruxton, provided he scored a good enough result. Indeed, Hoy took the lead of the race thanks to BMW team tactics, but soon thereafter he was controversially tapped into a spin by works BMW driver Jonathan Palmer. Hoy dropped down the field and later retired after contact with Cleland. Cleland would go on to finish 8th with a damaged car, taking the championship to the final race. There Hoy was able to finish ahead of Cleland, and thus claiming the first Super Touring championship win. Andy Rouse finished third for Toyota, and Steve Soper ended up fourth overall despite missing several races due to clashing commitments in the German DTM championship. The 7th meeting of the season at Silverstone would be notable for the debut of future 3-time Champion Matt Neal in a Pyramid Motorsport-run BMW M3, finishing 13th out of 17 finishers. Teams and drivers Team Car No. Drivers Rounds ManufacturerGBR Trakstar MotorsportFord Sierra Sapphire 1 GBR Robb Gravett All JPN Kaliber ICS Team Toyota Toyota Carina 3 GBR Andy Rouse All 33 GBR Gary Ayles All DEU BMW Team Labatt's BMW M3 4 GBR Tim Harvey All 9 GBR Laurence Bristow 1–11, 13 DEU Armin Hahne 12 GBR Vauxhall Sport Vauxhall Cavalier 5 GBR John Cleland All 6 GBR Jeff Allam All 56 GBR Bob Berridge 12–13 DEU BMW Team Listerine BMW M3 11 GBR Will Hoy All 12 GBR Ray Bellm All DEU BMW Team Finance BMW M3 22 GBR Jonathan Palmer All 44 GBR Steve Soper 1, 3, 7–10, 12 GBR Tim Sugden 2, 5–6, 11, 13 DEU Christian Danner 4 JPN Nissan Janspeed Racing Nissan Primera eGT 23 GBR Kieth O'dor 2–13 24 GBR Julian Bailey 11–13 GBR John Maguire RacingMitsubishi Lancer 88 GBR Mark Hales 1–5Mitsubishi Galant 8–13 Independent GBR Pyramid Motorsport BMW M3 2 GBR Frank Sytner 1–8, 10–11 GBR David Leslie 13 18 GBR Matt Neal 7 GBR Alistair Fenwick 12 GBR Godfrey Hall 13 GBR Sean Walker RacingFord Sierra RS500 7 GBR Sean Walker 2 SWE BMW Team Sweden BMW M3 10 SWE Nettan Lindgren 1–3, 5–6 91 SWE Peggen Andersson 1–3, 6 GBR R&D Motorsport BMW 318is 13 GBR Angus MacKay 1–2 GBR Alistair Lyall 4, 7, 13 ITA ACE MotorsportPeugeot 405 Mi16 17 GBR Andrew MacKenzie 7, 10 GBR Judge DevelopmentsFord Sierra RS500 19 GBR Dennis Leech 1–4 GBR Moto-BuildRover 216GTi 20 GBR Grahame Davis 1–2, 7, 10 GBR Brodie Brittain RacingFord Sierra Sapphire 4x4 21 GBR Dave Brodie 10–13 GBR Drambuie RacingBMW M3 45 GBR Ian Forrest All GBR HWR Motorsport Vauxhall Belmont 58 GBR Jeff Wilson 9, 11, 13 GBR Tony Bardy 12 GBR BRR MotorsportBMW M3 59 GBR Ian Flux 1, 3–5, 13 GBR Matt Neal9 GBR Val Musetti 11 GBR Auto Trader Techspeed Team BMW M3 66 GBR Nick Whale 1–5, 8–9, 11–13 GBR David Leslie 7GBR John Llewellyn 10 77 GBR Nick Baird 1–5, 7–8, 12–13 GBR Matt Neal 11 GBR Graham Goode RacingFord Sierra RS Cosworth 99 GBR Andy Middlehurst All Race calendar and winners All races were held in the United Kingdom. Round Circuit Date Pole position Fastest lap Winning driver Winning team 1 R1 Silverstone Circuit (National) 1 April GBR Steve Soper GBR Will Hoy GBR Will Hoy BMW Team Listerine 2 R2 Snetterton Circuit 14 April GBR John Cleland GBR Will Hoy GBR Will Hoy BMW Team Listerine 3 R3 Donington Park (Grand Prix) 28 April GBR Steve Soper GBR John Cleland GBR Steve Soper BMW Team Finance 4 R4 Thruxton 27 May GBR Will Hoy GBR Will Hoy GBR John Cleland Vauxhall Sport 5 R51 1 Silverstone Circuit (National) 9 June GBR Tim Sugden GBR Andy Rouse GBR John Cleland Vauxhall Sport 6 R6 Brands Hatch (Indy) 30 June GBR Tim Sugden GBR Will Hoy GBR Tim Sugden BMW Team Finance 7 R7 Silverstone Circuit (Grand Prix) 14 July GBR Steve Soper GBR Steve Soper GBR Steve Soper BMW Team Finance 8 R8 Donington Park (National) 28 July GBR John Cleland GBR Andy Rouse GBR Andy Rouse Kaliber ICS Team Toyota R9 GBR Ray Bellm GBR Andy Rouse Kaliber ICS Team Toyota 9 R10 Oulton Park (International) 11 August GBR John Cleland GBR Gary Ayles GBR John Cleland Vauxhall Sport 10 R11 Brands Hatch (Indy) 26 August GBR Andy Rouse GBR Andy Rouse GBR Andy Rouse Kaliber ICS Team Toyota R12 GBR Ray Bellm GBR Will Hoy BMW Team Listerine 11 R13 Donington Park (Grand Prix) 15 September GBR John Cleland GBR John Cleland GBR John Cleland Vauxhall Sport 12 R14 Thruxton 22 September GBR Jonathan Palmer GBR Tim Harvey GBR Steve Soper BMW Team Finance 13 R15 Silverstone Circuit (Grand Prix) 6 October GBR Andy Rouse GBR Tim Harvey GBR Tim Harvey BMW Team Labatt's 1 – Race was stopped after 10 laps due to heavy rain. The race was not restarted and no points were awarded. Championship results Drivers Championship Pos Driver SIL SNE DON THR SIL† BRH SIL DON OUL BRH DON THR SIL Pts 1 GBR Will Hoy 1 1 Ret 3 3 2 2 Ret DNS 2 2 1 3 Ret 5 155 2 GBR John Cleland 3 9 2 1 1 12 6 3 10 1 4 3 1 8 9 132 3 GBR Andy Rouse 5 3 9 8 4 3 7 1 1 4 1 Ret Ret 4 2 115 4 GBR Steve Soper 18 1 1 2 Ret 3 6 Ret 1 96 5 GBR Ray Bellm 6 2 6 7 5 7 4 6 2 6 14 Ret 4 5 6 90 6 GBR Jeff Allam 2 4 5 2 2 5 8 5 Ret Ret 8 Ret 6 10 8 80 7 GBR Jonathan Palmer 7 Ret Ret 6 11 6 5 4 3 5 7 6 Ret 2 21 66 8 GBR Tim Harvey 10 7 DSQ 4 7 4 3 Ret 6 7 Ret 5 2 Ret 1 421 1 9 GBR Andy Middlehurst 4 Ret 13 Ret 10 Ret 16 7 7 8 11 4 8 7 3 41 10 GBR Tim Sugden Ret 12 1 5 Ret 32 11 GBR Robb Gravett 20 13 Ret 14 18 9 Ret 9 4 9 5 2 7 9 13 28 12 GBR Frank Sytner DNS 5 3 Ret 6 8 10 Ret DNS 9 7 Ret 26 13 GBR Laurence Bristow Ret 6 7 12 16 10 11 8 5 Ret Ret DNS Ret 7 20 14 GBR Gary Ayles 9 DSQ 4 Ret 8 Ret Ret Ret DNS Ret 3 DNS 14 Ret 10 19 15 DEU Armin Hahne 3 12 16 GBR David Leslie 9 4 12 17 GBR Kieth O'dor Ret Ret 11 13 15 Ret 10 8 10 Ret Ret 9 6 11 10 18 DEU Christian Danner 5 8 19 SWE Peggen Andersson 8 8 12 11 6 20 GBR Dennis Leech 16 14 8 Ret 3 21 GBR Nick Baird 11 Ret 15 9 14 12 12 9 DNS 17 2 22 GBR Ian Flux 13 Ret 10 9 14 1 23 GBR Mark Hales 17 10 16 16 DNS 14 Ret 14 13 Ret Ret 11 Ret 1 24 SWE Nettan Lindgren 19 Ret 10 13 14 1 25 GBR Nick Whale 14 12 14 13 17 11 Ret 11 10 12 19 1 26 GBR John Llewellyn 10 Ret 0 27 GBR Ian Forrest 12 11 11 15 15 14 15 13 NC 12 12 Ret 12 13 22 0 28 GBR Jeff Wilson 13 11 Ret 0 29 GBR Julian Bailey Ret Ret 12 0 30 GBR Matt Neal 13 Ret DNS 0 31 GBR Valentino Musetti 13 0 32 GBR Angus MacKay 15 15 0 33 GBR Dave Brodie Ret DNS DNS Ret 15 0 34 GBR Bob Berridge Ret 16 0 35 GBR Andrew MacKenzie 17 DNS DNS 0 36 GBR Alistair Lyall DNS Ret 18 0 37 GBR Godfrey Hall 20 0 — GBR Grahame Davis DNS DNS DNS Ret DNS 0 — GBR Sean Walker DNS 0 — GBR Tony Bardy DNS 0 — GBR Alistair Fenwick DNS 0 Pos Driver SIL SNE DON THR SIL† BRH SIL DON OUL BRH DON THR SIL Pts Note: bold signifies pole position, italics signifies fastest lap. 1 – Tim Harvey was docked 48 points in round 3 for not keeping within the limits of noise regulations. † Race was stopped early due to heavy rain, and no points were awarded. Note: Most fastest laps are unknown. Manufacturers Championship Pos Manufacturer SIL SNE DON THR SIL† BRH SIL DON OUL BRH DON THR SIL Pts 1 BMW / BMW Team Listerine/BMW Team Labatt's/BMW Team Finance 1 1 1 3 3 1 1 2 2 2 2 1 2 1 1 134 2 Vauxhall / Vauxhall Sport 2 4 2 1 1 5 6 3 10 1 4 3 1 8 8 116 3 Toyota / Kaliber ICS Team Toyota 5 3 4 8 4 3 7 1 1 4 1 Ret 14 4 2 111 4 Ford / Trakstar Motorsport 4 13 8 14 10 9 16 7 4 8 5 2 7 7 3 102 5 Nissan / Nissan Janspeed Racing Ret Ret 11 13 15 Ret 10 8 10 Ret Ret 9 6 11 53 6 Mitsubishi / John Maguire Racing 17 10 16 16 DNS 14 Ret 14 13 Ret Ret 11 Ret 45 Pos Manufacturer SIL SNE DON THR SIL† BRH SIL DON OUL BRH DON THR SIL Pts References 1991 Season Touring Car Championship season