1999 British Touring Car Championship

1999 BTCC season
Previous:	1998	Next:	2000

The 1999 Auto Trader RAC British Touring Car Championship season was won by Laurent Aïello in his debut season driving for the Nissan works team, with team mate David Leslie in second place. Rickard Rydell, the 1998 champion came third, with James Thompson and Jason Plato coming fourth and fifth.

One of the big stars and big surprises was the independent driver Matt Neal. Driving for his father's Team Dynamics in a 1998 Nissan Primera, Neal became the first independent driver to win a championship race in the feature race of the first Donington round; TOCA had put up a reward for £250,000 for this achievement.

Changes for 1999

For the 1999 season both the works teams of Peugeot and Audi had departed since competing in the previous year. Indeed, this would prove to be the last year for Renault, Volvo and Nissan, the three previous champions from the last three years. The BTCC would not see more than four works teams together in one season until the 2017 season.

Night racing was introduced to the BTCC for the first time for the rounds at Snetterton in July. The pit lane and main spectator areas were floodlit, whilst other parts of the circuit were in total darkness. To aid the drivers eyesight for the sharp changes from light to dark, the cockpits had a soft red light glowing inside.

Defending champion Rickard Rydell came into the 1999 season with a new Volvo team-mate, Belgian Vincent Radermecker. Radermecker had spent 1998 driving in the Belgian ProCar series, and he replaced Italian Gianni Morbidelli.

Nissan had arguably the best car over the whole of the 1998 season. The defending manufacturers champions retained veteran Scot David Leslie, and after Anthony Reid decided to leave the team and sign for Ford, he was replaced by STW Championship Winner Laurent Aïello for his first BTCC season.

Honda came into 1999 hopeful having shown promise in the second half of 1998, if not the outright speed required to match Nissan and Volvo. James Thompson, who achieved a best ever finish of third in 1998 with 4 wins, was retained along with Dutchman Peter Kox. The team had a new shape Accord to aid their title attack. 1994 champion Gabriele Tarquini, who was driving for Honda in Germany at the time, was drafted in for selected rouns of the championship.

Williams Renault, now without Switzerland’s Alain Menu who had left to join the Ford team, retained Jason Plato for his third season. Frenchman Jean-Christophe Bouillon landed the second Renault Laguna seat, who had driven for Sauber in Formula 1 in 1995, and subsequently campaigned sport cars and drove in the Renault Spider Eurocup.

A somewhat rejuvenated Vauxhall team, after two wins for John Cleland and one for Derek Warwick in 1998, campaigned the Vectra for a 4th season, with double champion Cleland embarking on what would turn out to be his final BTCC season. His team-mate would be former Audi driver Yvan Muller, whose strong performances in his rookie season in 1998 put him an impressive 7th overall in the championship. Derek Warwick stepped down from driving to concentrate full time on running the team.

Completing the factory team line-up was Ford, who had what many regarded as the strongest driver line up in the pit lane, with ’97 champion Alain Menu partnering ’98 runner-up Anthony Reid.

The Independents field was spear-headed by red-hot favourite Matt Neal, who had shown great form in 1998 if not the consistency to come away with the independents championship. Neal’s Dynamics team would again have a year old Primera at their disposal, which proved a highly competitive package against the works cars.

Joining Neal was former Vauxhall Vectra Challenge driver Mark Blair, who had won the BTCC drive through winning the support series in 1998. Mark would campaign an ex-works Vectra.

The rest of the independents field did not run full schedules, with former Independent Cup winner Lee Brookes and Paula Cook driving Hondas, and Russell Spence driving a Renault. Spence would suffer a frightening crash at Oulton Park and step down soon after due to business commitments, with former Champion Will Hoy replacing him.

Entry list

Team	Car	No.	Drivers	Rounds
Manufacturers
Volvo S40 Racing	Volvo S40	1	Rickard Rydell	All
Volvo S40 Racing	Volvo S40	11	Vincent Radermecker	All
Ford Team Mondeo	Ford Mondeo	2	Anthony Reid	All
Ford Team Mondeo	Ford Mondeo	4	Alain Menu	All
Team Honda Sport	Honda Accord	3	James Thompson	All
		33	Peter Kox	All
		55	Gabriele Tarquini	10–11
Nescafé Blend 37 Williams Renault	Renault Laguna	5	Jason Plato	All
Nescafé Blend 37 Williams Renault	Renault Laguna	37	Jean-Christophe Boullion	All
Vodafone Nissan Racing	Nissan Primera GT	6	David Leslie	All
Vodafone Nissan Racing	Nissan Primera GT	23	Laurent Aïello	All
Vauxhall Motorsport	Vauxhall Vectra	7	Yvan Muller	All
Vauxhall Motorsport	Vauxhall Vectra	8	John Cleland	All
Independents
ADR Motorsport	Vauxhall Vectra	15	Mark Blair	All
Arena International	Renault Laguna	17	Russell Spence	1–7
Arena International	Renault Laguna	17	Will Hoy	8–13
DC Cook Motorsport	Honda Accord	22	Paula Cook	1–8
Max Power Racing Team Dynamics	Nissan Primera GT	77	Matt Neal	All
Brookes Motorsport	Honda Accord	99	Lee Brookes	1–3, 6–9

Calendar

All races were held in the United Kingdom.

Round		Circuit	Date	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning Driver	Winning Team	Winning Independent
1	R1	Donington Park (National), Leicestershire	5 April	James Thompson	David Leslie	James Thompson	Team Honda Sport	Matt Neal
1	R2	Donington Park (National), Leicestershire	5 April	Matt Neal	Anthony Reid	Matt Neal	Max Power Racing Team Dynamics	Matt Neal
2	R3	Silverstone Circuit (International), Northamptonshire	18 April	David Leslie	David Leslie	Laurent Aïello	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Matt Neal
2	R4	Silverstone Circuit (International), Northamptonshire	18 April	Laurent Aïello	Laurent Aïello	Jason Plato	Nescafé Blend 37 Williams Renault	Paula Cook
3	R5	Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire	3 May	Rickard Rydell	Laurent Aïello	Laurent Aïello	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Matt Neal
3	R6	Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire	3 May	Rickard Rydell	Vincent Radermecker	Laurent Aïello	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Lee Brookes
4	R7	Brands Hatch (Indy), Kent	16 May	Alain Menu	Jason Plato	Yvan Muller	Vauxhall Motorsport	Mark Blair
4	R8	Brands Hatch (Indy), Kent	16 May	Laurent Aïello	Jason Plato	Laurent Aïello	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Matt Neal
5	R9	Oulton Park (Fosters), Cheshire	31 May	Laurent Aïello	Rickard Rydell	Laurent Aïello	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Matt Neal
5	R10	Oulton Park (Fosters), Cheshire	31 May	Laurent Aïello	David Leslie	Laurent Aïello	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Matt Neal
6	R11	Donington Park (Grand Prix), Leicestershire	20 June	James Thompson	Rickard Rydell	James Thompson	Team Honda Sport	Matt Neal
6	R12	Donington Park (Grand Prix), Leicestershire	20 June	David Leslie	David Leslie	David Leslie	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Matt Neal
7	R13	Croft Circuit, North Yorkshire	4 July	James Thompson	David Leslie	James Thompson	Team Honda Sport	Matt Neal
7	R14	Croft Circuit, North Yorkshire	4 July	James Thompson	Rickard Rydell	Rickard Rydell	Volvo S40 Racing	Matt Neal
8	R15	Snetterton Circuit, Norfolk	17 July	Laurent Aïello	David Leslie	David Leslie	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Matt Neal
8	R16	Snetterton Circuit, Norfolk	17 July	Laurent Aïello	Laurent Aïello	Peter Kox	Team Honda Sport	Matt Neal
9	R17	Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire	1 August	Rickard Rydell	Rickard Rydell	Laurent Aïello	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Matt Neal
9	R18	Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire	1 August	Rickard Rydell	Rickard Rydell	David Leslie	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Will Hoy
10	R19	Knockhill Circuit, Fife	15 August	Laurent Aïello	Laurent Aïello	Laurent Aïello	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Matt Neal
10	R20	Knockhill Circuit, Fife	15 August	Alain Menu	Gabriele Tarquini	Alain Menu	Ford Team Mondeo	Mark Blair
11	R21	Brands Hatch (Indy), Kent	30 August	Laurent Aïello	David Leslie	Rickard Rydell	Volvo S40 Racing	Matt Neal
11	R22	Brands Hatch (Indy), Kent	30 August	Rickard Rydell	J-C Boullion	Laurent Aïello	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Matt Neal
12	R23	Oulton Park (Island), Cheshire	12 September	David Leslie	David Leslie	Laurent Aïello	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Matt Neal
12	R24	Oulton Park (Island), Cheshire	12 September	David Leslie	James Thompson	James Thompson	Team Honda Sport	Matt Neal
13	R25	Silverstone Circuit (International), Northamptonshire	19 September	Laurent Aïello	Jason Plato	Rickard Rydell	Volvo S40 Racing	Will Hoy
13	R26	Silverstone Circuit (International), Northamptonshire	19 September	Laurent Aïello	Rickard Rydell	Rickard Rydell	Volvo S40 Racing	Matt Neal

Drivers Championship

Points system
1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Pole Position	Lead a lap in feature race
15	12	10	8	6	5	4	3	2	1	1	1

No driver may collect more than one "Lead a Lap" point per race no matter how many laps they lead.
Drivers' top 22 results count towards the championship.

Pos	Driver	DON		SIL		THR		BHI		OUL		DON		CRO		SNE		THR		KNO		BHI		OUL		SIL		Pts
1	Laurent Aïello	11	Ret	1	6	1	1*	3	1*	1	1*	Ret	2*	5	3	Ret	7	1	5*	1	DSQ	2	1*	1	2	9	Ret	244
2	David Leslie	4	Ret	2	7	11	Ret	6	2	2	8*	2	1*	2	4	1	2*	4	1*	9	3	4	2*	2	4*	11	2	228
3	Rickard Rydell	7	Ret	3	Ret	2	2*	Ret	Ret	7	Ret	Ret	4	4	1*	2	8	2	Ret*	6	5	1	5*	3	3	1	1*	192
4	James Thompson	1	2*	5	4	5	8	7	6*	11	Ret	1	3	1	2*	9	15	7	Ret	14	Ret	3	3	DSQ	1*	2	9	174
5	Jason Plato	3	3	6	1*	Ret	4*	4	Ret*	Ret	Ret	3	8	6	6	4	6	5	4	Ret	Ret	6	8	Ret	6	Ret	Ret	122
6	Yvan Muller	6	10	Ret	2	Ret	11	1	5	8	3	4	5	8	8	Ret	3	8	6	10	7	12	Ret	9	5	3	5	119
7	Peter Kox	9	7	9	5	6	5	Ret	4	9	7	7	Ret	3	9	6	1*	9	9	Ret	2	9	4*	5	Ret	7	Ret	113
8	Vincent Radermecker	10	5	11	Ret	4	3	Ret	Ret	5	4*	9	12	7	7	3	5	3	2	11	8	10	7	4	13	Ret	4	113
9	Matt Neal	5	1*	4	Ret	3	Ret	Ret	3	10	2	10	7	10	5*	7	10	6	Ret	7	Ret	5	10	6	10	Ret	6	109
10	Jean-Christophe Boullion	Ret	6	8	3	9	7*	5	7	6	6	8	10	11	Ret	5	4	13	11	5	4	7	6	7	7	8	Ret	97
11	Alain Menu	2	Ret	13	Ret	Ret	6	12	Ret	3	Ret	5	6	Ret	Ret	8	9*	11	3	3	1*	Ret	Ret	Ret	9	12	Ret	84
12	Anthony Reid	Ret	Ret	7	DSQ	8	Ret	2	8	4	5	11	9	Ret	10*	Ret	11	Ret	7*	4	Ret	8	12	12	8	4	3	78
13	John Cleland	8	4*	10	8	7	9	8	9	12	Ret	6	Ret	9	Ret	12	12	12	Ret	8	9	11	9	8	Ret	5	10	51
14	Gabriele Tarquini																			2	6	Ret	Ret					17
15	Will Hoy															10	13	10	8	13	11	13	11	10	11	6	7	15
16	Mark Blair	13	Ret	12	11	12	12	9	10	13	9	12	11	12	Ret	13	DNS	Ret	10	12	10	14	13	11	12	10	8	11
17	Lee Brookes	12	9	Ret	10	10	10	DNS	DNS			13	Ret	13	12	11	16	14	Ret									5
18	Russell Spence	15	8	Ret	Ret	13	14	11	Ret	DNS	DNS	14	Ret	15	11													3
19	Paula Cook	14	Ret	Ret	9	Ret	13	10	Ret	Ret	Ret	15	13	14	13	Ret	14											3
Michelin Cup for Independents
1	Matt Neal	5	1	4	Ret	3	Ret	Ret	3	10	2	10	7	10	5	7	10	6	Ret	7	Ret	5	10	6	10	Ret	6	353
2	Mark Blair	13	Ret	12	11	11	12	9	10	13	9	12	11	12	Ret	13	DNS	Ret	10	12	10	14	13	11	12	10	8	183
3	Will Hoy															10	13	10	8	13	11	13	11	10	11	6	7	131
4	Lee Brookes	12	9	Ret	10	10	10	DNS	DNS			13	Ret	13	12	11	16	14	Ret									78
5	Paula Cook	14	Ret	Ret	9	Ret	13	10	Ret	Ret	Ret	15	13	14	13	Ret	14											41
6	Russell Spence	15	8	Ret	Ret	13	14	11	Ret	DNS	DNS	14	Ret	15	11													25
Pos.	Driver	DON		SIL		THR		BHI		OUL		DON		CRO		SNE		THR		KNO		BHI		OUL		SIL		Pts

Note: bold signifies pole position (1 point awarded all races), italics signifies fastest lap.

* signifies that driver lead feature race for at least one lap (1 point given). Note: All bonus leading points may not be added due to them being added after seeing Season Review footage and some race reports.

Manufacturers Championship

Pos	Manufacturer	DON		SIL		THR		BHI		OUL		DON		CRO		SNE		THR		KNO		BHI		OUL		SIL		Pts
1	Nissan / Vodafone Nissan Racing	4	Ret	1	6	1	1	3	1	1	1	2	1	2	3	1	2	1	1	1	3	2	1	1	2	9	2	464
1	Nissan / Vodafone Nissan Racing	11	Ret	2	7	11	Ret	6	2	2	8	Ret	2	5	4	Ret	7	4	5	9	EX	4	2	2	4	11	Ret	464
2	Honda / Team Honda Sport	1	2	5	4	5	5	7	4	9	7	1	3	1	2	6	1	7	9	2	2	3	3	5	1	2	9	296
2	Honda / Team Honda Sport	9	7	9	5	6	8	Ret	6	11	Ret	7	Ret	3	9	9	15	9	Ret	14	6	9	4	DSQ	Ret	7	Ret	296
3	Volvo / Volvo S40 Racing	7	5	3	Ret	2	2	Ret	Ret	5	4	9	4	4	1	2	5	2	2	6	5	1	5	3	3	1	1	295
3	Volvo / Volvo S40 Racing	10	Ret	11	Ret	4	3	Ret	Ret	7	Ret	Ret	12	7	7	3	8	3	Ret	11	8	10	7	4	13	Ret	4	295
4	Renault / Nescafé Blend 37 Williams Renault	3	3	6	1	9	4	4	7	6	6	3	8	6	6	4	4	5	4	5	4	6	6	7	6	8	Ret	227
4	Renault / Nescafé Blend 37 Williams Renault	Ret	6	8	3	Ret	7	5	Ret	Ret	Ret	8	10	11	Ret	5	6	13	11	Ret	Ret	7	8	Ret	7	Ret	Ret	227
5	Vauxhall / Vauxhall Motorsport	6	4	10	2	7	9	1	5	8	3	4	5	8	8	12	3	8	6	8	7	11	9	8	5	3	5	186
5	Vauxhall / Vauxhall Motorsport	8	10	Ret	8	Ret	11	8	9	12	Ret	6	Ret	9	Ret	Ret	12	12	Ret	10	9	12	Ret	9	Ret	5	10	186
6	Ford / Ford Team Mondeo	2	Ret	7	Ret	8	6	2	8	3	5	5	6	Ret	10	8	9	11	3	3	1	8	12	12	8	4	3	164
6	Ford / Ford Team Mondeo	Ret	Ret	13	DSQ	Ret	Ret	12	Ret	4	Ret	11	9	Ret	Ret	Ret	11	Ret	7	4	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	9	12	Ret	164
Pos	Manufacturer	DON		SIL		THR		BHI		OUL		DON		CRO		SNE		THR		KNO		BHI		OUL		SIL		Pts

Teams Championship

Pos	Team	DON	SIL	THR	BHI	OUL	DON	CRO	SNE	THR	KNO	BHI	OUL	SIL	Pts
1	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Ret	6	1	1	1	1	3	2	1	3	1	2	2	210
1	Vodafone Nissan Racing	Ret	7	Ret	2	8	2	4	7	5	DSQ	2	4	Ret	210
2	Team Honda Sport	2	4	5	4	7	3	2	1	9	2	3	1	9	132
2	Team Honda Sport	7	5	8	6	Ret	Ret	9	15	Ret	6	4	Ret	Ret	132
3	Volvo S40 Racing	5	Ret	2	Ret	4	4	1	5	2	5	5	3	1	127
3	Volvo S40 Racing	Ret	Ret	3	Ret	Ret	12	7	8	Ret	8	7	13	4	127
4	Nescafé Blend 37 Williams Renault	3	1	4	7	6	8	6	4	4	4	6	6	Ret	108
4	Nescafé Blend 37 Williams Renault	6	3	7	Ret	Ret	10	Ret	6	11	Ret	8	7	Ret	108
5	Vauxhall Motorsport	4	2	9	5	3	5	8	3	6	7	9	5	5	83
5	Vauxhall Motorsport	10	8	11	9	Ret	Ret	Ret	12	Ret	9	Ret	Ret	10	83
6	Team Dynamics	1	Ret	Ret	3	2	7	5	10	Ret	Ret	10	10	6	55
7	Ford Team Mondeo	Ret	Ret	6	8	5	6	10	9	3	1	12	8	3	53
7	Ford Team Mondeo	Ret	DSQ	Ret	Ret	Ret	9	Ret	11	7	Ret	Ret	9	Ret	53
8	Arena International	8	Ret	14	Ret	DNS	Ret	11	13	8	11	11	11	7	10
9	ADR Motorsport	Ret	11	12	10	9	11	Ret	DNS	10	10	13	12	8	7
10	Brookes Motorsport	9	10	10	DNS		Ret	12	16	Ret					4
11	DC Cook Motorsport	Ret	9	13	Ret	Ret	13	13	14						2
Pos	Team	DON	SIL	THR	BHI	OUL	DON	CRO	SNE	THR	KNO	BHI	OUL	SIL	Pts

Points System

The points system used for the 1999 British Touring Car Championship was as follows. For the drivers championship, 15 points were awarded to the winner of each race, 12 to second place, 10 for third and 8,6,5,4,3,2,1 for fourth to tenth place respectively. At the end of the season, drivers would drop their four lowest scores. A point would be awarded to the driver who achieved pole position for each race, and a point was awarded to anyone who led the feature race.

For the manufactures championship, the same amount of points for the top ten finishing positions were awarded as for the drivers championship but only the top two per manufacturer would receive points for the manufacturer. At the end of the season, manufacturers would drop the points from their worst four rounds of the championship. No points were received for leading laps or pole position.^[1]

References

↑ Vic Lennard (Editor). Auto Trader British Touring Car Championship – Donington Park Official Programme. (1999) p.30 The Really Motoring Group.

External links

British Saloon/Touring Car Championship
1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Champions Records Teams and Drivers

Super Touring championships
British Touring Car Championship	1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
French Supertouring Championship	1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Italian Superturismo Championship	1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Touring Car World Cup	1993 1994 1995
South American Super Touring Car Championship	1997 1998 1999 2000
Japanese Touring Car Championship	1994 1995 1996 1997 1998
Super Tourenwagen Cup	1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Belgian Procar Championship	1994 1995 1996 1997
Swedish Touring Car Championship	1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
Campeonato de España de Turismos	1994 1995 1996 1997
Portuguese Touring Car Championship	1993 1994
Central European Supertouring Car Championship	1994 1995 1996
South African Touring Car Championship	1994 1995 1996
Asia-Pacific Touring Car Championship	1994 1996 1997 1998 1999
Australian Super Touring Championship	1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000–01 2002
North American Touring Car Championship	1996 1997
European Touring Car Championship	2000 2001

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