1990 British Touring Car Championship

1990 BTCC season

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Robb Gravett, the 1990 British Touring Car Champion.

The 1990 Esso RAC British Touring Car Championship season was the 33rd British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) season and marked the last year of the Group A era. It was also the final year of the multi-class format.

Changes for 1990

• Classes changed from four to two. Group A cars now ran alongside the all new 2 litre Touring Car Formula, with a view to a single class formula for 1991. This was to encourage new manufacturers to enter the series, with a more even field of cars and cheaper running costs. BMW and Vauxhall already entered works teams this year, with other manufacturers showing interest for future seasons.
• One hour endurance races increased from one to two.

Season summary

The first race was won by Andy Rouse in his Ford Sierra RS500. He also won the first 1 Hour endurance race at Donington Park GP with David Sears. The next race at Thruxton was won by Robb Gravett. Gravett also won the next six races including the second 1 Hour endurance race at Brands Hatch with Mike Smith. Rouse won the Birmingham Superprix. This would be best remembered for the last lap accident between Frank Sytner and John Cleland. It would be the last time that the BTCC would race on the track. Gravett then won at Donington. The last two races, at Thruxton and Silverstone, were won by Rouse and Gravett. It was Gravett who won the championship, despite the team's struggle to run through the season on a low budget with no main sponsor. One advantage for Gravett as the season progressed was his use of Yokohama tyres, rather than the Dunlops used by his main rivals.

Teams and drivers

Team Car No. Drivers Rounds Endurance drivers Class A ICS plc Ford Sierra RS500 1 Andy Rouse All David SearsD† Gary AylesB† Labatt's Team Ford Sierra RS500 3 Tim Harvey All Slim Borgudd† 10 Laurence Bristow All Tomas MezeraD† Paul RadisichB† FAI Auto Parts Ford Sierra RS500 4 Sean Walker All Ian Flux† Listerine Racing Team Ford Sierra RS500 5 Mike Newman 1, 3–6, 10–11, 13 Andy Middlehurst 9 15 Graham Goode All Mike NewmanD† Dave BrodieB† Trakstar Motorsport Ford Sierra RS500 11 Robb Gravett All Stig BlomqvistD† Mike SmithB† 12 Mike Smith 1, 6, 13 14 Graham Hathaway 2 Mike SmithD† Hathaway Racing Ford Sierra RS500 3–7, 9 Vince WoodmanB† Brodie-Brittain Racing Ford Sierra RS500 20 Dave Brodie 8, 11–12 Stuart Donnan Racing Ford Sierra RS500 21 Stuart Donnan 10, 13 Judge Developments Ford Sierra RS500 22 Dennis Leech 4–6, 9–12 Crypton Engineering Ford Sierra RS500 24 Amato Ferrari 9–10 Class B Vauxhall Motorsport Vauxhall Cavalier 50 John Cleland All Chris Hodgetts† 70 Chris Hodgetts 5–8, 10 Bob BerridgeB† David Coulthard 9 Bob Berridge 11 Markus Oestreich 12–13 Hawaiian Tropic Ford Sierra Sapphire 51 Ray Bellm 1–4, 6, 11 James SheadD† Chris Hodgetts 12–13 Ecosse Motorsport BMW M3 52 Ian Forrest All Bernard HunterD† Tony BridgeB† 53 Hugh Chalmers 1–2, 4–5, 7, 10 Jimmy McRae† Jimmy McRae 3, 6 John Llewellyn 8 Karl Jones 9 Jim McGaughay 11, 13 Chuck Nicholson 12 BMW Team Finance BMW M3 55 Frank Sytner All Kurt Luby† 56 Kelvin Burt 1, 13 Kelvin Burt† Kurt Luby 2–3, 6, 9–10, 12 Tim Sugden 4–5, 7–8, 11 Techspeed Motorsport BMW 318is 57 Nick Baird 1–6, 8, 10–13 David CarvellD† Nigel CorryB† Robin Brundle 7 HWR Motorsport Vauxhall Belmont 58 Jeff Wilson 11–13 BRR Motorsport BMW M3 59 Ian Flux 12–13 John Maguire Racing Mitsubishi Starion 60 Mark Hales All Graham Scarborough† Pyramid Motorsport BMW M3 66 Nick Whale 1–3, 5–13 Gerrit van Kouwen† 77 Godfrey Hall 1–12 David Leslie† 88 John Clark 1, 3–11, 13 David LeslieB† David Leslie 12 Arquati Racing Team BMW M3 69 Jerry Mahony 1–6, 8 Robbie StirlingD† BMW Team Sweden BMW M3 90 Nettan Lindgren 1–2, 5–7, 9–13 Peggen Andersson† Vic Lee Motorsport BMW M3 99 Jeff Allam 3–13 Vic LeeB† PG Tags Racing Honda Civic 100 Ray Armes 1–7, 9–13 Jeremy Rossiter† †Not eligible for points. DDonington Park only. BBrands Hatch only. Calendar All races were held in the United Kingdom. Overall winners in bold. Round Circuit Date Pole position Fastest lap Class A winner Class B winner 1 Oulton Park (International), Cheshire 13 April Robb Gravett Tim Harvey Andy Rouse Kelvin Burt 2* Donington Park (Grand Prix), Leicestershire 29 April Robb Gravett Robb Gravett Andy Rouse David Sears Frank Sytner Kurt Luby 3 Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire 28 May Robb Gravett Robb Gravett Robb Gravett John Cleland 4 Silverstone Circuit (National), Northamptonshire 10 June Andy Rouse Tim Harvey Robb Gravett Frank Sytner 5 Oulton Park (International), Cheshire 1 July Mike Newman Robb Gravett Robb Gravett Frank Sytner 6 Silverstone Circuit (Grand Prix), Northamptonshire 15 July Robb Gravett Robb Gravett Robb Gravett Kurt Luby 7* Brands Hatch (Indy), Kent 22 July Robb Gravett Andy Rouse Robb Gravett Mike Smith Frank Sytner Kurt Luby 8 Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit, Norfolk 5 August Robb Gravett Robb Gravett Robb Gravett John Cleland 9 Brands Hatch (Grand Prix), Kent 19 August Robb Gravett Robb Gravett Robb Gravett John Cleland 10 Birmingham Superprix, Birmingham 27 August Robb Gravett Robb Gravett Andy Rouse Kurt Luby 11 Donington Park (Grand Prix), Leicestershire 16 September Andy Rouse Andy Rouse Robb Gravett Frank Sytner 12 Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire 23 September Robb Gravett Robb Gravett Andy Rouse Nettan Lindgren 13 Silverstone Circuit (National), Northamptonshire 7 October Tim Harvey Andy Rouse Robb Gravett John Cleland * 1 hour endurance races. Driver Standings/Results Overall DC Class Pos Driver Class OUL DON THR SIL OUL SIL BRH SNE BRH BIR DON THR SIL Pts 1 1 Robb Gravett A 12 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Ret 1 3 1 207 2 1 Frank Sytner B 6 6 9 6 8 Ret 4 7 8 Ret 7 10 8 180 3 2 Andy Rouse A 1 1 10 3 2 2 Ret 16 2 1 2 1 2 173 4 3 Tim Harvey A 4 Ret 2 Ret 3 3 2 2 3 4 3 2 15 132 5 2 John Cleland B 7 Ret 7 7 Ret 9 Ret 6 7 Ret 12 Ret 7 128 6 3 Jeff Allam B 8 8 11 10 8 10 9 7 9 11 9 124 7 4 Sean Walker A Ret 4 5 2 4 Ret 3 4 4 2 6 Ret Ret 96 8 4 Godfrey Hall B DNS 7 12 10 12 11 6 15 12 9 11 12 92 9 5 Laurence Bristow A 3 3 4 4 5 4 Ret 3 5 DNS Ret Ret 6 88 10 5 Nettan Lindgren B 8 9 Ret 13 7 11 10 10 5 Ret 82 11 6 Graham Goode A Ret 5 6 Ret 7 5 Ret 5 6 DNS 4 4 3 72 12 6 Tim Sugden B 9 9 5 8 8 67 13 7 Kurt Luby B Ret 11 8 10 6 16 60 14 7 Mike Newman A 2 Ret 11 17 Ret 3 5 4 53 15 8 Ian Forrest B 9 Ret 14 13 18 Ret 10 Ret 14 14 Ret 8 10 47 16 9 Chris Hodgetts B 15 12 Ret 11 8 7 13 46 17 10 Nick Whale B DSQ 8 13 14 14 13 Ret 16 11 13 Ret 14 43 18 11 Mark Hales B Ret Ret Ret Ret 16 17 9 9 15 12 15 17 Ret 28 19 12 Kelvin Burt B 5 12 26 = 8 Graham Hathaway A Ret 3 5 6 DNP Ret DNS 26 21 13 Hugh Chalmers B Ret 10 14 13 11 15 23 22 14 Nick Baird B 11 NC 15 15 Ret 15 14 DNS 16 18 17 16 = 15 Jerry Mahony B Ret 11 Ret 12 Ret 18 12 DNA 16 24 16 Markus Oestreich B 6 Ret 15 25 9 Mike Smith A Ret 6 5 14 26 10 Dennis Leech A DNP 10 7 19 DNS Ret DNS 11 27 17 John Clark B DNS NC Ret Ret Ret NC Ret 17 13 14 16 10 28 12 Amato Ferrari A Ret 5 8 = 11 Dave Brodie A DNS Ret 9 8 30 18 Ian Flux B Ret 11 8 31 19 Ray Armes B Ret 12 16 Ret Ret Ret Ret 18 16 17 14 Ret 7 32 20 Ray Bellm B 10 Ret DNS DNS DNP DNA DNS 6 33 21 David Coulthard B 13 4 34 22 John Llewellyn B 13 3 = 23 Chuck Nicholson B 13 3 36 24 Robin Brundle B 12 2 = 25 Jimmy McRae B Ret 16 2 38 26 David Leslie B 15 1 Jeff Wilson B DNS Ret Ret 0 Stuart Donnan A Ret Ret 0 Jim McGaughay B Ret Ret 0 Andy Middlehurst A Ret 0 Bob Berridge B Ret 0 Karl Jones B DNP 0 Overall DC Class Pos Driver Class OUL DON THR SIL OUL SIL BRH SNE BRH BIR DON THR SIL Pts Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Points classification Blue Non-points classification Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired, not classified (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) Note: bold signifies pole position in class, italics signifies fastest lap in class. Endurance drivers results Driver Class DON BHI Kurt Luby B 6 4 Mike Smith A Ret 1 David Sears A 1 David Leslie B 7 6/NC Slim Borgudd A Ret 2 Kelvin Burt B Ret 5 Stig Blomqvist A 2 Ian Flux A 4 3 Gerritt van Kouwen B 8 13 Tomas Mezera A 3 Peggen Andersson B 9 7 Mike Newman A 5 Vic Lee B 8 Graham Scarborough B Ret 9 Jimmy McRae B 10 11 Tony Bridge B 10 Robbie Stirling B 11 Jeremy Rossiter B 12 Ret Nigel Corry B 12 David Carvell B NC Chris Hodgetts B Ret Ret James Shead B Ret Bernard Hunter B Ret Dave Brodie A Ret Gary Ayles A Ret Vince Woodman A Ret Paul Radisich A Ret Bob Berridge B Ret Driver Class DON BHI Note: All endurance drivers were ineligible to score points.