1988 British Touring Car Championship Explained

The 1988 Dunlop RAC British Touring Car Championship was the 31st season of the championship. The drivers title was won by Frank Sytner, driving a BMW Team Finance BMW M3.^[1] ^[2] Second place overall was Phil Dowsett who dominated class D. Andy Rouse finished third on points, winning nine races outright of the twelve rounds.

Teams and drivers

Team	Car	No.	Drivers	Rounds	Endurance Drivers
Class A
MIL Motorsport	Toyota Supra Turbo	1	Chris Hodgetts	1–2, 4–6	Vic Lee
			Mark Hales	7–9, 11–12
			Ian Flux	10, 13
		2	Vic Lee	5–10
Dennis Leech	Rover Vitesse	4	Dennis Leech	3–8	David Carvell
Terry Drury Racing	Ford Sierra RS500	5	Tim Harvey	1–3, 5–13
Eggenberger Motorsport	Ford Sierra RS500	6	Steve Soper	2–3, 8, 11–12
Eggenberger Motorsport	Ford Sierra RS500	6	Gianfranco Brancatelli	13
Alan Docking Racing	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A	7	Mike O'Brien	1–9	Sean Brown
Alan Docking Racing	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV	7	Mike O'Brien	10–13	Sean Brown
Arquati Racing Team	Ford Sierra RS500	8	Jerry Mahony	All	Mark Hales
ICS plc	Ford Sierra RS500	10	Pete Hall	1–2	Gary Ayles
			Robb Gravett	3–11
			Mark Hales	13
Brooklyn Motorsport	Ford Sierra RS500	11	Chris Hodgetts	10–13
Tom Walkinshaw Racing	Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV	12	Tom Walkinshaw	11
Burlington Wallcoverings Ltd.	Ford Sierra RS500	14	Mike Newman	All	Rob Speak
Listerine-Texaco Racing	Ford Sierra RS500	15	Graham Goode	All	Alistair Lyall
Asquith Autosport	Ford Sierra RS500	16	Karl Jones	All	Ian Flux
CC Motorsport	Ford Sierra RS500	17	Bob Sands	1–4	Richard Jones
CAM Shipping	Ford Sierra RS500	19	Laurence Bristow	All	Tim Harvey
Graham Hathaway	Ford Sierra RS500	20	Graham Hathaway	1–7, 9–13	Peter Townsend
Graham Hathaway	Ford Sierra RS500	20	Rob Wilson	8	Peter Townsend
Kaliber Racing	Ford Sierra RS500	21	Guy Edwards	3–13	Johnny Dumfries
Kaliber Racing	Ford Sierra RS500	22	Andy Rouse	All	David Sears
Nissan Motorsport Europe	Nissan HR31 Skyline GTS-R	23	Win Percy	4	Allan Grice
Trident Motorsport	Maserati Biturbo	24	Nick May	4–6, 8–13	John Lepp
Trident Motorsport	Maserati Biturbo	24	John Lepp	7	John Lepp
ECM Vehicle Delivery Ltd.	Ford Sierra RS500	26	Ray MacDowall	8, 12
ECM Vehicle Delivery Ltd.	Ford Sierra RS500	26	Tom Bell	9, 13
Peter Buxtorf	BMW 635CSi	27	Peter Buxtorf	1–4	Barry Robinson
Brodie Brittain Racing	Ford Sierra RS500	30	Dave Brodie	13
Class B
Brookside Garage	Alfa Romeo 75	31	Jon Dooley	12–13
BMW Finance Racing with Mobil 1	BMW M3	32	Mike Smith	1–11	Will Hoy
			James Weaver	12
			Will Hoy	13
		33	Frank Sytner	All	James Weaver
		34	Will Hoy	8–9
			Lionel Abbott	10, 12
			James Weaver	11
John Maguire Racing	BMW M3	36	Godfrey Hall	4–6, 10–12	Barrie Williams
		36	David Sears	12–13	Barrie Williams
		43	Godfrey Hall	1–3, 7–9, 13
Terry Drury Racing	Ford Escort RS Turbo	38	Dave Wallis	1–4	Lionel Abbott
Terry Drury Racing	Ford Escort RS Turbo	39	Lionel Wiffen	1–5, 10–11, 13	Robin Parsons
Demon Tweeks	BMW M3	44	Alan Minshaw	1–4, 8	Roland Ratzenberger
			Roland Ratzenberger	5–7, 10–13
			Chris Hodgetts	9
Class C
Hawes Group Racing	Honda Prelude 2.0i	46	Martin Wray	8
Specialist Cars Aberdeen	Volkswagen Golf GTI	48	Andrew Jeffrey	2–4, 7–13	John Clark
Demon Tweeks	Volkswagen Golf GTI	50	James Kaye	1–2	John Llewellyn
			John Brindley	3–6
			Andy Middlehurst	7
			John Morris	8
			Alan Minshaw	11–13
John Maguire Racing	Volkswagen Golf GTI	55	James Shead	1, 3–13	John Morris
Class D
Chris Hodgetts Motor Sport	Toyota Corolla GT	60	Richard Belcher	1	Patrick Watts
			Mark Hales	2, 4
			Mark Goddard	13
		61	Mark Hales	6
			Dave Loudoun	7
			Nick Whale	11
Tony Crudgington	Toyota Corolla GT	63	Tony Crudgington	1, 3–13	Alastair Davidson
MIL Motorsport	Toyota Corolla GT	69	Kevin Eaton	1–2, 4	Alex Moss
MIL Motorsport	Toyota Corolla GT	69	John Llewellyn	7–13	Alex Moss
TOM's GB	Toyota Corolla FX GT	70	Phil Dowsett	All	Tiff Needell
North Essex Motorsport	Ford Escort RS1600i	74	Vic Lee	3
			Jeremy Rossiter	7
			Barbara Cowell	8–11, 13
Alan Gaunt	Ford Escort RS1600i	75	Mark Goddard	7–8
AGK Motorsport	Toyota Corolla GT	77	Geoff Kimber-Smith	1–7, 9–13	Barbara Cowell

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	Class C Winner	Class D Winner
1		27 March	Andy Rouse	Andy Rouse	Jerry Mahony	Frank Sytner	James Kaye	Phil Dowsett
2	Oulton Park (International), Cheshire	1 April	Andy Rouse		Andy Rouse	Frank Sytner	Align=center	None (no finishers)	Phil Dowsett
3	Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire	2 May		Andy Rouse	Steve Soper	Frank Sytner	James Shead	Tony Crudgington
4*	Donington Park (National), Leicestershire	15 May	Andy Rouse	Win Percy Allan Grice	Andy Rouse David Sears	Frank Sytner James Weaver	James Shead John Morris	Barbara Cowell
5	Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire	30 May	Andy Rouse	Mike Newman	Andy Rouse		John Brindley	Phil Dowsett
6		5 June	Andy Rouse	Andy Rouse	Andy Rouse	Frank Sytner	James Shead	Phil Dowsett
7	Silverstone Circuit (Grand Prix), Northamptonshire	10 July	Andy Rouse	Andy Rouse	Andy Rouse	Frank Sytner		Phil Dowsett
8	Brands Hatch (Grand Prix), Kent	24 July	Andy Rouse	Andy Rouse	Andy Rouse	Frank Sytner	Andrew Jeffrey	Phil Dowsett
9	Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit, Norfolk	31 July	Andy Rouse	Jerry Mahony	Andy Rouse	Frank Sytner	Andrew Jeffrey	Phil Dowsett
10	Brands Hatch (Grand Prix), Kent	21 August	Andy Rouse	Andy Rouse	Andy Rouse	Frank Sytner	Andrew Jeffrey	Phil Dowsett
11	Birmingham Superprix, Birmingham	29 August	Steve Soper	Align=center colspan=5	Race cancelled.
12	Donington Park (National), Leicestershire		Steve Soper	Andy Rouse	Andy Rouse	Frank Sytner	James Shead	Phil Dowsett
13	Silverstone Circuit (Grand Prix), Northamptonshire	2 October	Andy Rouse			Frank Sytner	Alan Minshaw	Phil Dowsett

1 hour endurance race.

Driver standings and results

Overall DC	Class Pos	Driver	Class	SIL	OUL	THR	DON	THR	SIL	SIL	BRH	SNE	BRH	BIR	DON	SIL	valign=middle	Pts
1	1	Frank Sytner												C			103
2	1	Phil Dowsett												C			98
3	1	Andy Rouse			1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	C	1		95
4	2	Godfrey Hall									Ret			C		Ret	48
5	3	Mike Smith					Ret			Ret				C			40
6	2	Tony Crudgington								Ret	Ret			C	Ret		35
7	2	Jerry Mahony		1	3	3	Ret	3	8	4	5	8	3	C	9	5	33
8	1	James Shead		DNS									DNS	C			31
9	3	Mike Newman		2	5		5	4	3	6	Ret	4	4	C	4	Ret	28
10	2	Andrew Jeffery			Ret		DNS							C		Ret	27
11	4	Roland Ratzenberger					Ret‡			Ret				C			26
=	4	Tim Harvey		Ret	4		2‡	5	6	7	Ret	7	2	C	Ret	2	26
=	5	Guy Edwards				Ret	3		5	2	3	3	5	C	6	4	26
14	3	Geoff Kimber-Smith				DNS		Ret	DNS			DNS	Ret	C		Ret	23
15	6	Steve Soper			DNA	1					2			C	2		21
=	7	Laurence Bristow		Ret	Ret		2	Ret	4	3	4	Ret	Ret	C		3	21
17	4	John Llewellyn								Ret				C			20
18	5	Barbara Cowell					‡					Ret	Ret	DNQ	DNQ		17
19	5	Will Hoy					Ret‡										16
20	6	James Weaver			DNS		‡							C			15
=	7	Alan Minshaw					Ret										15
22	8	Robb Gravett				Ret			2	5		2	Ret	C			14
23	9	Gianfranco Brancatelli														1	10
=	10	Mike O'Brien		Ret	2	4		6	10			DSQ		DNQ	10	Ret	10
25	11	David Sears					1‡										9
=	3	John Brindley					Ret		DNS								9
27	4	Alan Minshaw												C	Ret		8
=	12	Karl Jones			Ret		Ret	2	9		6	6	Ret	C	7	DNS	9
=	8	Lionel Wiffen			Ret	DNS		Ret						DNQ			9
30	6	Mark Hales							DNS								8
=	7	Kevin Eaton		Ret													8
=	9	Dave Wallis			Ret												8
34	10	Barrie Williams					‡										7
=	13	Chris Hodgetts			Ret		Ret		Ret				7	C	3	DNS	7
35	8	Mark Goddard								Ret	Ret		DNS				6
=	9	Tiff Needell					‡										6
37	10	David Loudon															6
=	11	Lionel Abbott					‡						Ret				6
39	14	Bob Sands		3	Ret	Ret	6										5
=	15	Graham Goode		Ret	Ret		Ret	7	7			5	6	C	5	Ret	5
41	5	John Morris					‡				DNS						5
=	11	Alex Moss					‡										5
43	16	Johnny Dumfries					3‡										4
=	12	Richard Belcher															4
=	17	Win Percy					4										4
=	18	Allan Grice					4‡										4
47	6	Andy Middlehurst															3
=	7	Martin Wray															3
=	19	Peter Buxtorf				Ret											3
=	12	Robin Parsons					‡										3
=	13	Alistair Davidson					‡										3
=	14	Jeremy Rossiter															3
=	15	Vic Lee															3
54	20	Rob Speak					5‡										2
=	16	Patrick Watts					‡										2
56	22	Dave Brodie													DNS	6	1
=	21	Richard Jones					6‡										1
=	8	James Kaye			Ret												1
=	13	David Sears													Ret	Ret	1
60	23	Sean Brown					‡										0
=	24	Graham Hathaway		Ret		DNS						Ret		C	8		0
=	25	Gary Ayles					‡										0
=	26	Dennis Leech				Ret		Ret									0
=	27	David Carvell					‡										0
=	28	Mark Hales					Ret‡			Ret	NC			DNQ		Ret	0
=	29	Ian Flux					Ret‡									Ret	0
=	30	Tom Bell											DNS			Ret	0
=	31	Barry Robinson					‡										0
=	32	Peter Townsend					‡										0
=	33	Nick May					Ret						Ret	DNQ		DNS	0
=	34	Vic Lee					Ret‡		Ret	Ret		Ret					0
=	35	Ray MacDowall									Ret						0
=	36	John Lepp					Ret‡		DNS								0
		Pete Hall		Ret	Ret												0
		Jon Dooley													DNQ	Ret	0
		Alistair Lyall					Ret‡										0
		John Llewellyn					Ret‡										0
		Rob Wilson									Ret						0
		Chris Hodgetts										Ret					0
		John Clark					DNS‡										0
		Tom Walkinshaw												C			0
		Nick Whale												C			0
Overall DC	Class Pos	Driver	Class	SIL	OUL	THR	DON	THR	SIL	SIL	BRH	SNE	BRH	BIR	DON	SIL	valign=middle	Pts

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

‡ Endurance driver

Championship results

Driver's championship
Pos.	Driver	Car	Class	Points
1	Frank Sytner	BMW M3	B	103
2	Phil Dowsett	Toyota Corolla GT	D	98
3	Andy Rouse	Ford Sierra RS500	A	95
4	Godfrey Hall	BMW M3	B	48
5	Mike Smith	BMW M3	B	40
6	Tony Crudgington	Toyota Corolla GT	D	35
7	Jerry Mahony	Ford Sierra RS500	A	33
8	James Shead	Volkswagen Golf GTI	C	31

External links

Official website of the British Touring Car Championship

Notes and References

Web site: BTCC :: Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship . 2009-11-30 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110911095743/http://www.btcc.net/html/history_standings.php?season_id=31 . 2011-09-11 . Official 1988 BTCC standings
Web site: 1988 Dunlop RAC British Touring Car Championship - Discussion & Results - TenTenths Motorsport Forum.