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1983 British Saloon Car Championship

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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

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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 Turbo. Meanwhile, Frank Sytner raced for the works BMW team.[1]

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.[2]

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.[3]

Teams and drivers

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Team Car No. Drivers Rounds
Class A
Hughes of Beaconsfield/Toyota GB Toyota Celica Supra 1 United Kingdom Win Percy1 4–5, 8–11
Team Sanyo Racing with Esso
Hepolite Glacier Racing with Esso
Rover Vitesse 2 United Kingdom Jeff Allam All
3 United Kingdom Pete Lovett All
4 United Kingdom Steve Soper 1–4, 6–11
Gordon Spice Racing Rover Vitesse 5 United Kingdom Gordon Spice 6, 8–10
Dennis Leech Rover Vitesse 6 United Kingdom Dennis Leech 4–8
Burlington Wallcoverings Ltd. Ford Capri III 3.0S 9 United Kingdom Mike Newman 1–2, 7–10
Equipe Esso/Daily Mirror Rover Vitesse 10 United Kingdom Charles Sawyer-Hoare All
GM Dealer Sport Opel Monza 3.0E 11 United Kingdom Tony Lanfranchi 1–3, 5–11
Graham Goode Racing Ford Capri III 3.0S 12 United Kingdom Graham Goode 1, 5, 7–8
Mark Hales Ford Capri III 3.0S 16 United Kingdom Mark Hales 8
Team Colt Cars Mid-West Mitsubishi Starion Turbo 18 United Kingdom Dave Brodie 6–11
Grace International Racing BMW 635CSi 19 United Kingdom Frank Sytner 6–9, 11
Cheylesmore BMW Motorsport BMW 635CSi 20 West Germany Hans-Joachim Stuck 8–10
United Kingdom Jonathan Palmer 11
Brian Chatfield Ford Capri III 3.0S 29 United Kingdom Brian Chatfield 10–11
Class B
Hamish Irvine Mazda RX-7 30 United Kingdom Hamish Irvine 1–5, 7–11
Napolina Alfa Romeo Dealer Team
Napolina Alfa Romeo Dealer Team
with Hampshires of Dorking
Alfa Romeo GTV6 31 United Kingdom Jon Dooley All
Terry Nightingale Mazda RX-7 32 United Kingdom Terry Nightingale 8
Industrial Control Services Ltd. Alfa Romeo GTV6 34 United Kingdom Pete Hall 1–3
United Kingdom Andy Rouse 4–11
Unipart with Daily Express MG Metro Turbo 35 United Kingdom Tony Pond 4–11
36 United Kingdom Patrick Watts 8–11
37 United Kingdom Martin Brundle 11
Tom Dodd-Noble Mazda RX-7 ? United Kingdom Tom Dodd-Noble 4
Class C
Volkswagen Sport Volkswagen Scirocco GTI 60 United Kingdom John Morris All
Royal Mail Datapost Ford Escort RS1600i 66 United Kingdom Alan Curnow All
77 United Kingdom Richard Longman All
Ordibel UK Ltd. Volkswagen Golf GTI 67 United Kingdom Alan Greenhalgh 1–5, 7–8, 10
Brooklyn Motorsport Ford Escort RS1600i 69 United Kingdom Chris Hodgetts All
Julian May Racing Ford Fiesta XR2 70 United Kingdom Jock Robertson 1–4
Ford Escort RS1600i 6–9, 11
Lloyds of Stafford Ford Escort RS1600i 72 United Kingdom Rob Hall All
Lionel Abbott Ford Escort RS1600i 74 United Kingdom Lionel Abbott 2–5, 7
Unipart with Daily Express MG Metro 78 United Kingdom Patrick Watts 2–7
Hughes of Beaconsfield/Toyota GB Toyota Corolla GT 80 United Kingdom Win Percy1 1
Tony Crudgington Ford Fiesta XR2 82 United Kingdom Tony Crudgington 8
Napolina Alfa Romeo Dealer Team
Napolina Alfa Romeo Dealer Team
with Hampshires of Dorking
Alfa Romeo Alfasud Ti 83 United Kingdom Rob Kirby All
84 United Kingdom Andrew Thorpe All
Demon Tweeks Racing Volkswagen Golf GTI 86 United Kingdom Alan Minshaw All
RZ Racing Toyota Corolla GT 87 United Kingdom Andy Driver 3
United Kingdom Tony Crudgington 5
United Kingdom Geoff Kimber-Smith 6–11
Terry Watts Talbot Sunbeam Ti 88 United Kingdom Terry Watts 8–9
Jenny Birrell Toyota Corolla GT 95 United Kingdom Jenny Birrell 11
GTI Engineering Volkswagen Golf GTI 100 United Kingdom Richard Lloyd 11

Notes:

1.^  – Win Percy was ineligible for points at round 4.

Calendar and winners

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Overall winners in bold.

Round Circuit Date Class A winner Class B winner Class C winner
1 Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire 20 March United Kingdom Steve Soper United Kingdom Hamish Irvine United Kingdom Win Percy
2 Oulton Park, Cheshire 1 April United Kingdom Jeff Allam United Kingdom Jon Dooley United Kingdom John Morris
3 Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire 4 April United Kingdom Pete Lovett United Kingdom Jon Dooley United Kingdom Alan Greenhalgh
4 Brands Hatch, Kent 10 April United Kingdom Steve Soper United Kingdom Andy Rouse United Kingdom Alan Curnow
5 Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire 30 May United Kingdom Pete Lovett United Kingdom Andy Rouse United Kingdom Alan Curnow
6 Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire 12 June United Kingdom Steve Soper United Kingdom Andy Rouse United Kingdom Chris Hodgetts
7 Donington Park, Leicestershire 25 June United Kingdom Pete Lovett United Kingdom Andy Rouse United Kingdom John Morris
8 Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire 16 July United Kingdom Steve Soper United Kingdom Jon Dooley United Kingdom Richard Longman
9 Donington Park, Leicestershire 14 August United Kingdom Steve Soper United Kingdom Tony Pond United Kingdom Alan Minshaw
10 Brands Hatch, Kent 29 August United Kingdom Pete Lovett United Kingdom Andy Rouse United Kingdom Chris Hodgetts
11 Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire 2 October United Kingdom Jeff Allam United Kingdom Andy Rouse United Kingdom Chris Hodgetts

Championship standings

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Drivers' championship

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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 United Kingdom Steve Soper A 1/1 3/3 7/5 1/1 1/1 Ret 1/1 1/1 2/2 2/2 68
DSQ United Kingdom 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 United Kingdom Andy Rouse B 3/1 4/1 5/1 4/1 Ret 7/2 8/1 7/1 61
DSQ United Kingdom Jeff Allam A 2/2 1/1 2/2 2/2 2/2 Ret Ret 3/3 Ret 4/4 1/1 53
2 United Kingdom 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 United Kingdom 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 United Kingdom Alan Curnow C 9/3 ?/? Ret 9/1 8/1 Ret 13/4 14/4 12/4 13/3 11/2 42
5 United Kingdom Hamish Irvine B 8/1 6/2 5/2 5/2 7/3 6/3 20/2 Ret 9/2 Ret 42
6 United Kingdom Jon Dooley B Ret 4/1 4/1 6/3 Ret Ret Ret 10/1 Ret 18/3 9/2 36
7 United Kingdom 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 United Kingdom John Morris C Ret 8/1 15/7 11/3 Ret 8/2 10/1 Ret Ret 17/7 16/7 31
9 United Kingdom Tony Pond B Ret 6/2 Ret 5/2 25/5 6/1 Ret 17/3 31
10 United Kingdom Rob Hall C 10/4 10/3 Ret Ret Ret Ret 11/2 15/5 Ret 12/2 Ret 22
11 United Kingdom Rob Kirby C Ret 13/5 10/2 12/4 DNS 11/5 14/5 17/6 13/5 Ret Ret 18
12 United Kingdom Alan Greenhalgh C 7/2 ?/? 9/1 15/7 15/7 17/7 Ret 15/5 17
13 United Kingdom Tony Lanfranchi A Ret 5/4 6/4 9/5 6/5 3/3 7/7 10/6 6/6 6/6 17
14 United Kingdom Charles Sawyer-Hoare A 4/4 DNS 3/3 Ret 3/3 4/4 8/5 8/8 Ret 7/7 Ret 16
15 West Germany Hans-Joachim Stuck A 5/5 2/2 3/3 12
16 United Kingdom Frank Sytner A 3/3 2/2 DSQ Ret Ret 10
17 United Kingdom Win Percy C 6/1 9
18 United Kingdom Patrick Watts C ?/? 12/4 14/6 13/5 10/4 Ret 9
19 United Kingdom Mike Newman A 5/5 11/5 7/4 9/9 5/5 DNS 9
20 United Kingdom Patrick Watts B 21/3 Ret Ret 18/4 7
21 United Kingdom Win Percy A 8/4 DNS 6/6 3/3 Ret Ret 5
22 United Kingdom Dennis Leech A 4/3 Ret Ret 9/6 Ret 5
23 United Kingdom Andrew Thorpe C NC ?/? 14/6 16/8 Ret 12/6 Ret 18/7 14/6 Ret 14/5 5
24 United Kingdom Gordon Spice A Ret 23/12 4/4 5/5 5
25 United Kingdom Dave Brodie A Ret 16/7 16/10 Ret Ret 3/3 4
26 United Kingdom Graham Goode A Ret 5/4 Ret Ret 3
27 United Kingdom Tom Dodd-Noble B 7/4 3
28 United Kingdom Richard Lloyd C 13/4 3
29 United Kingdom Terry Nightingale B 22/4 3
30 United Kingdom Jonathan Palmer A 5/5 2
31 United Kingdom Martin Brundle B 19/5 2
32 United Kingdom Jock Robertson C 12/6 ?/? Ret Ret WD DNS Ret Ret 15/6 2
33 United Kingdom Lionel Abbott C DNS Ret DNS 14/6 15/6 2
34 United Kingdom Pete Hall B Ret 7/3 8/3 0
35 United Kingdom Geoff Kimber-Smith C 13/7 18/8 DNS 15/7 Ret Ret 0
36 United Kingdom Brian Chatfield A 10/8 8/7 0
37 United Kingdom Terry Watts C 24/8 Ret 0
38 United Kingdom Mark Hales A 19/11 0
NC United Kingdom Tony Crudgington C Ret Ret 0
NC United Kingdom Andy Driver C DNS 0
NC United Kingdom Jenny Birrell C DNS 0
Pos Driver Class SIL OUL THR BRA THR SIL DON SIL DON BRA SIL Pts
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver Second place
Bronze Third place
Green Points finish
Blue Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple Retired (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not practice (DNP)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Excluded (EX)

Bold - Pole in class
Italics - Fastest lap in class

References

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  1. ^ "1983 Trimoco RAC British Saloon Car Championship - Discussion & Results - Page 5 - TenTenths Motorsport Forum". tentenths.com. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  2. ^ "RAC British Saloon Car Championship - 1983". touringcarracing.net. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  3. ^ Adams, Keith (2011-08-05). "Rover SD1 in motor sport". AROnline. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
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