[ MONTH IN CARS ] Events
Kent circuit goes all-out on circuit racing nostalgia with Super Touring Power event
Continuing the rise of one of the fastest-growing events on the calendar, Super Touring Power returned triumphant to Brands Hatch. Ostensibly a celebration of all things tin-topped, the on-track action encompassed everything from the Fifties to the 2000s, including wild Seventies super saloons and Australian V8 Supercars. But the Nineties stole the show. In the paddock, clubs recreated manufacturers’ displays with mint surviving road and promo cars; visitors walked through a classic parking area en route to the action, Britpop blared from the speakers, and a suite of Playstations ran the classic TOCA Touring Cars videogame.
Alfa Romeo 155 Silverstone
Displayed in the paddock in all its rusty, battered glory, this Alfa is potentially one of the Super Touring era’s most infamous cars. ‘It’s reputedly the Tarquini Knockhill crash car, patched back together as a promotional show car after the accident,’ said Alfa Romeo expert Chris Snowdon. After Alfa was banned from using its legally questionable adjustable aerodynamics mid-way through the 1994 season, Gabriele Tarquini’s 155 clipped a kerb entering Duffus Dip at Knockhill, the sudden lift flipping it into six barrel-rolls. Amazingly, Tarquini walked away completely unharmed and ultimately salvaged his championship lead, but the car was a wreck.
‘There are conflicting stories regarding this car,’ Snowdon said. ‘I bought it from Alfa GB, which said it was the Knockhill car, but Tarquini himself has since said it was the car he crashed at Snetterton. That said, Tarquini claimed to have driven the Knockhill car again later in the season, but after the crash it was deemed unraceworthy. I’ve studied the crash footage and the damage to this car, including to the underside, is consistent with the Knockhill incident.
‘Either way, it was taken back to Italy and rebuilt with various parts from 1993-season Italian Super Touring 155s – wheels, door mirrors – but the rear suspension mounting was still broken, and a right-hand strut was used on the left side, just to patch it up. It did a tour of UK Alfa dealerships, as well as going on display in the paddock, following the team around in 1995. I sold it to Gary Lucas, who got it running again with a Lancia Delta Integrale engine, but then he moved to Tasmania and put it up for sale. Instead, it sat outside for 20 years, going rusty.’
New owner of the car Titus Rowlandson has decided to restore it. ‘It’ll go back to 1994 BTCC specification,’ he said. Not to race though – I’m not a racing driver, more a mechanic who appreciates Abarth engineering.’
Toyota Carina E GTi
Another infamous Super Touring crash survivor, this mid-restoration Carina was the car which caused Murray Walker to infamously quip ‘The car on its roof is a Toyota’ at the 1993 Silverstone Grand Prix support race. Julian Bailey crashed into team-mate Will Hoy, flipping his car, while the pair were headed for a one-two finish, ultimately gifting Nissan its first-ever BTCC win.
Post-crash, Bailey’s car wasn’t as badly damaged as Hoy’s, and went on to win the next race, at Knockhill. However, after the end of the season Hoy, Bailey and the Toyota GB team contested a race at Monza, where it was this car that found itself flipped on its roof.
Toyota GB took the car back and, as per Alfa Romeo, rebuilt it as a promotional car, with a new roof, and suspension taken from Andy Rouse’s 1992 Carina. Photographer Jakob Ebrey bought it as a part-finished restoration project.
‘It has no engine or gearbox as yet, but I do have ambitions of getting it back on track,’ said Ebrey. ‘The latest stage of the restoration, including the graphics from SDS, was completed this week.’
Mazda Xedos 6
This strikingly unusual Super Tourer was racing in the UK for the first time since 1994, having been shipped all the way from New Zealand to take part. Patrick Watts originally drove it, initially as a single-car team replacing an underpowered 323F mid-way through the 1993 BTCC season. He achieved a pole position in the car at Snetterton, but otherwise struggled to match the might of the better-funded works teams.
‘Once Patrick finished with it in 1994, it went to Slim Borgudd, who first raced it at the Touring Car World Cup at Monza, putting it on its roof,’ said owner Paul McCarthy. ‘He then won the Nordic Touring Car Championship in it, then the car went to the US to be used as a spare car in the North American Touring Car Championship – a series that failed to popularise Super Touring over there.
‘It came back to the UK with an owner who intended to club race with it, but never did, so I bought it and brought it back to New Zealand.
‘It’s remarkably original – someone ran into the side of it at one point and the damage can still be seen – but I don’t want to over-restore it. Mazda was tiny compared to the other works teams, and they only had one car for Watts, and then another laterr for Matt Neal, who came along with Team Dynamics money. He had a huge accident in his Xedos, ended up in hospital and was ruled out of the rest of the season.’
Peugeot 406 Coupé
This car, a BTC-T-era challenger from the 2002 BTCC season, once appeared in Classic Cars’ Barn Finds section. It’s now fully-restored and racing this year for the first time in 20 years.
‘It had been unloved,’ said owner Eddie Farrow, who bought it last year. ‘We tested it at Donington earlier this year, but found a lot of problems, and ended up having to change the entire fuel system. We finally got the rebuilt engine back at 2:30am on Thursday morning!’
The car was driven by Tim Harvey in his final BTCC season. He managed routine mid-grid finishes with it culminating in a third place at the penultimate meeting at Brands Hatch, although teammate Dan Eaves secured the Independents’ Championship in its sister car. ‘After Harvey finished with it, Vic Lee Racing switched to the new Peugeot 307 and the car went to John George, who returned it to the BTCC grid in 2004, but scored no points. It then did a season in Britcar endurance racing, before being mothballed – until it was found in that barn.’
Honda Accord
Another New Zealand visitor was the Honda that last raced in the UK in 1996 driven by David Leslie. One of seven drivers to break the deadlock exerted by the later-banned four-wheel drive Audi A4 Sport Quattro, he scored wins in the car at Silverstone, Thruxton and Donington Park.
‘A lot of these cars disappeared, ending up in the hands of people who couldn’t afford to race them,’ said Frank Lyons, who was running the car on behalf of its owner. ‘Then Super Touring cars were outlawed in the BTCC in 2001, but kept running in other countries, so there was a new market for them in Australia and New Zealand. It was a similar situation with Formula 5000 cars in the late Seventies. This car, and many others, ended up racing at places like Bathurst.’
Honda Civic
Although not a BTCC car, this Honda nonetheless has works pedigree. ‘It was built in 1997 by Synchro Motorsport, the racing division of Honda UK in Swindon, to contest the National Saloon Car Championship,’ said owner Chris Beadle. ‘After that season, it switched to endurance racing, with 24-hour races at both the Nürburgring and Spa-Francorchamps.
‘Honda works driver Dave Allan mainly drove it, before switching to the BTCC,’ Beadle continued. Allan drove works Hondas in 2001-2. ‘I built cars which raced against him!’ Beadle added. ‘Alfa Romeos for Gary Ales and Peugeots for Vic Lee. This car disappeared from the racing scene after 2000, but a friend of mine had a Ford Fiesta Cup car that he sold, taking this in part-exchange. I really couldn’t turn down the chance to buy a full works Honda!’
Peugeot 306 GTi-6
Recently restored by PugSport, this Peugeot was originally driven by the Norwegian Roger Möen in the 2001 BTCC, during a brief period when the Championship reverted to including a production car class. Driving for privateer team HTML, Möen finished third in class in the Bowman Motorsport-built car, with 15 class podiums en route including seven wins. Möen, who first raced in the BTCC in 1998, secured a drive with Vic Lee Racing in the 2003 Swedish Touring Car Championship, but the team pulled out through lack of funds after just one round.
Subscribe to Classic Cars today. Choose a Print+ Subscription and you'll get instant digital access and so much more. PLUS FREE UK delivery.