2003 British Touring Car Championship Explained

The 2003 Green Flag MSA British Touring Car Championship season was the 46th British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) season.

Changes for 2003

Team and driver changes - Touring

For 2003 all three main manufacturers in the premier Touring class ran three cars. Reigning champions Vauxhall cut down to three Astra Coupes by axing its Egg Sport squad and entering three VX Racing-liveried cars, run once again by Triple 8. 2002 champion James Thompson and runner-up Yvan Muller remained, and Paul O'Neill moved across from Egg Sport to take the third seat.

MG expanded to three West Surrey Racing-run ZSs, with Colin Turkington joining 2002 drivers Anthony Reid and Warren Hughes after impressing in his debut season with the Team Atomic Kitten MG squad, which had also been run by WSR.Arena Motorsport ran three Civic Type Rs for Honda, with only Irishman Alan Morrison remaining from the 2002 line-up. Matt Neal replaced Andy Priaulx (who left to contest the European Touring Car Championship with BMW) after moving from Vauxhall, and teenager Tom Chilton filled the third seat after an impressive debut year in the Barwell Motorsport-run Astra. Proton again returned as a fourth manufacturer, retaining both David Leslie and Phil Bennett in its two Impians.

Vic Lee Racing switched from the ex-works Peugeot 406 Coupe's to a pair of brand new Peugeot 307 designed by Sergio Rinland, former chief designer at the Sauber Formula 1 team.^[1] Reigning independents cup champion Dan Eaves was retained alongside Carl Breeze who raced for the team for most of 2002. Meanwhile, Tim Harvey swapped his crash helmet for a microphone, joining ITV's commentary team. Breeze would leave the team after the Rockingham races, moving to GA Motorsport in the seat vacated by Gavin Pyper.^[2] Daniel Buxton would in turn take Breeze's seat at VLR, graduating from the Clio Cup which he had been dominating at the time.

Gavin Pyper had started the season strongly in the GA Motorsport Vauxhall Astra Coupe, winning the independents class five times in the ten races he contested and leading the class when he was forced to withdraw due to a lack of funding. With Breeze now in Pyper's car Paul Wallace switched from GA's production Alfa Romeo to a second Astra which the team had entered for Gareth Howell at Silverstone after a failed attempt to hire 2001 Champion Jason Plato. (https://www.crash.net/btcc/news/7632/1/wallace-moves-up-to-touring-class)

Howell himself later reappeared in another ex-Triple 8 Astra for Team Dynamics from the Snetterton rounds onwards.

Production class champions Synchro Motorsport graduated to the touring class with champion driver James Kaye running an ex-works Honda Civic Type R.^[3]

Also stepping up was Rob Collard with his self-run team, entering an ex-works Vauxhall Astra Coupe that had been driven by Aaron Slight in 2002.^[4]

Team and driver changes - Production

Barwell Motorsport headed the Production class field after stepping back down from the Touring class and acquiring Synchro Motorsport's title winning Honda Civic Type Rs, which were driven by young debutante Luke Hines, and Alan Blencowe, moving from GA Motorsports. Edenbridge Racing cut down to a single BMW 320i for single seater convert Michael Bentwood, with Tom Boardman switching to John Batchelor's team (now known as Team Varta) in a new Peugeot 307. Jim Edwards Jnr returned in a Honda Accord as the team's second driver. A Peugeot 306 GTi and a second 307 joined the Varta line-up midway through the season together with Jay Wheals and Richard Marsh, and each of the four drivers raced more than one of these chassis across the remainder of the year.

GA Motorsport campaigned Alfa Romeo 156s for a fourth year, with Chris Ryan and Paul Wallace driving. However, Ryan withdrew after an expensive crash in the second round at Brands Hatch, and Wallace was called up to the team's Touring class assault mid-season. Mark Fullalove joined the grid mid-season with his own team, driving the Peugeot 306 he had raced for Tech-Speed Motorsport in 2002, while Jason Hughes was another late entry in a Nissan Primera run by his own Kartworld Racing team.

CMS Motorsport registered an entry with support from Macmillan Cancer for Nick Leason in a Ford Focus previously run by GR Motorsport in the 2001 Season but they were forced to delay their debut and ultimately never raced.(http://cameronleason.co.uk/Nick_gallery.htm)

Other changes

Dunlop were confirmed as the sole tyre supplier, replacing BF Goodrich
The series included a race meeting at Rockingham for the first time, replacing Knockhill
Qualifying sessions at each race meeting lasted 20 minutes (compared to the 43 minutes of 2002) and only determined the starting grid for the first race
The finishing positions of race 1 determined the grid for race 2
Mandatory pit-stops were introduced for all Touring class cars in both races
Alan Gow returned as series administrator midway through the season, replacing Richard West who became the championship's commercial manager.^[5]
In addition to the ITV coverage MotorsTV broadcast all races live.^[6]

Teams and drivers

Team	Car	No.	Drivers	Rounds
Works Entries
VX Racing	Vauxhall Astra Coupé	1	nowrap	James Thompson	All
	2	Yvan Muller	All
	8	Paul O'Neill	All
Honda Racing	Honda Civic Type-R	3	Matt Neal	All
		7	Tom Chilton	All
		9	Alan Morrison	All
MG Sport & Racing	MG ZS	4	Anthony Reid	All
		5	Colin Turkington	All
		6	Warren Hughes	All
Petronas Syntium Proton	Proton Impian	15	David Leslie	All
20	Proton Impian	Phil Bennett	All
Independent Entries
Team Halfords	Peugeot 307	0	Dan Eaves	All
		10	Carl Breeze	1–5
		30	Danny Buxton	6–10
GA Motorsports	Vauxhall Astra Coupé	10	Carl Breeze	6–10
		44	Gavin Pyper	1–5
		45	Gareth Howell	4
		46	Paul Wallace	6–10
Synchro Motorsport	Honda Civic Type-R	11	James Kaye	All
Collard Racing	Vauxhall Astra Coupé	21	Rob Collard	All
Team Dynamics	Vauxhall Astra Coupé	45	Gareth Howell	7–10
Production Entries
Barwell Motorsport	Honda Civic Type-R	52	Luke Hines	All
Barwell Motorsport	Honda Civic Type-R	53	Alan Blencowe	All
GA Motorsports	Alfa Romeo 156	54	Paul Wallace	1–5
GA Motorsports	Alfa Romeo 156	55	Chris Ryan	1–2
Mark Fullalove Racing	Peugeot 306 GTi	60	Mark Fullalove	7–10
Team Varta	Honda Accord	69	Jim Edwards Jr.	1–6
	Honda Accord	71	Richard Marsh	7–10
	Peugeot 307	69	Jim Edwards Jr.	7–10
	Peugeot 307	70	Tom Boardman	All
	Peugeot 306 GTI	71	Richard Marsh	6
	Peugeot 306 GTI	72	Jay Wheals	7–10
Edenbridge Racing	BMW 320i	77	Michael Bentwood	All
Kartworld Racing	Nissan Primera	99	Jason Hughes	6–10

Race calendar and winners

Round		Circuit	Date	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning Driver	Winning Team	Production Class winner
1	R1		21 April	Yvan Muller	nowrap	James Thompson	nowrap	James Thompson	VX Racing	Chris Ryan
1	R2		21 April		Warren Hughes	James Thompson	VX Racing	nowrap	Michael Bentwood
2	R3	Brands Hatch (Indy), Kent	5 May	nowrap	James Thompson	Matt Neal	Matt Neal	Honda Racing	Michael Bentwood
2	R4	Brands Hatch (Indy), Kent	5 May		James Thompson	Yvan Muller	VX Racing	Michael Bentwood
3	R5	Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire	26 May	Matt Neal	Matt Neal	Yvan Muller	VX Racing	Tom Boardman
3	R6	Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire	26 May		Warren Hughes	Yvan Muller	VX Racing	Tom Boardman
4	R7	Silverstone Circuit (International), Northamptonshire	8 June				VX Racing	Luke Hines
4	R8	Silverstone Circuit (International), Northamptonshire	8 June		Matt Neal	Yvan Muller	VX Racing	Luke Hines
5	R9	Rockingham Motor Speedway (International Super Sports Car Long), Northamptonshire	22 June	Alan Morrison	Alan Morrison	Matt Neal	Honda Racing	Tom Boardman
5	R10		22 June	Warren Hughes	Yvan Muller	VX Racing	Luke Hines
6	R11	Croft Circuit, North Yorkshire	13 July	James Thompson	Matt Neal	Matt Neal	Honda Racing	Tom Boardman
6	R12	Croft Circuit, North Yorkshire	13 July		Yvan Muller	Anthony Reid		Luke Hines
7	R13	Snetterton Circuit, Norfolk	9 August	James Thompson	Alan Morrison	Paul O'Neill	VX Racing	Luke Hines
7	R14	Snetterton Circuit, Norfolk	9 August		Matt Neal	Matt Neal	Honda Racing	Tom Boardman
8	R15	Brands Hatch (Indy), Kent	25 August	Yvan Muller	Warren Hughes	Warren Hughes	MG Sport & Racing	Michael Bentwood
8	R16	Brands Hatch (Indy), Kent	25 August		Colin Turkington	Colin Turkington	MG Sport & Racing	Tom Boardman
9	R17	Donington Park (National), Leicestershire	7 September	James Thompson	Matt Neal	Matt Neal	Honda Racing	Luke Hines
9	R18		7 September	Colin Turkington	Yvan Muller	VX Racing	Luke Hines
10	R19	Oulton Park (Island), Cheshire	21 September	James Thompson	Anthony Reid	James Thompson	VX Racing	Alan Blencowe
10	R20	Oulton Park (Island), Cheshire		Anthony Reid	Matt Neal	Honda Racing	Tom Boardman

Championship results

Points system
1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Fastest Lap	Lead a lap
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.
Race 1 polesitter receives 1 point.

Drivers' Championships

Touring Class (BTC-T)
Pos	Driver	MON		BRH		THR		SIL		ROC		CRO		SNE		BRH		DON		OUL		valign=middle	Pts
1	Yvan Muller	2*	2*	2	1*	1*	1*	2*	1*	3	1*	Ret	3	3	Ret	2*	5*	3	1*	3	2*	233
2	James Thompson	1*	1*	5	2	4	5	1*	2	5	4	2	2	2*	Ret	5	10	2*	3	1*	Ret*	199
3	Matt Neal	Ret*	Ret	1*	7	2*	11*	Ret*	Ret	1*	Ret	1*	5*	4*	1*	4	Ret	1*	10	12	1*	148
4	Paul O'Neill	Ret	4	3*	3	3	3*	7	5*	10	6*	3	6*	1*	10*	6	2	6	4	Ret	5	138
5	Alan Morrison	3	5	7	8*	5	2	4	Ret	2*	Ret*	Ret*	4	Ret*	2	14	3	5	5*	2*	Ret	125
6	Anthony Reid	Ret	Ret	4	4	Ret	4*	10	4*	6	2*	5	1*	5	3	7	4	Ret	9	5	4	121
7	Warren Hughes	4	Ret	Ret*	5*	Ret	6	Ret	3	8*	3	Ret	10	Ret	8	1*	6*	4	7	4	8	98
8	Colin Turkington	DNS	Ret	6	Ret	8	Ret	3	8	Ret	Ret	4	7	Ret	4	3*	1*	19	2	6	3	97
9	Tom Chilton	Ret	3	DNS	DNS	7	10	5	6	4	7	7	12	6	5	8*	7	7	6	Ret	DNS	70
10	Rob Collard	6	7	13	Ret	Ret	DNS	Ret	9	7	5	Ret	8	8	6	Ret	Ret	9*	16	8	7	42
11	David Leslie	5	9	9	6	17	8	Ret	10	11	Ret	9	19	Ret	9	9	8	Ret	Ret	Ret	DNS	28
12	Gavin Pyper	Ret	6	8	Ret	6	Ret	6	7	9	Ret											24
13	Carl Breeze	Ret	10	Ret	10	10	Ret	Ret	DNS	Ret	9	8	9	Ret	7	10	15*	8	8	15	11	22
14	James Kaye	Ret	Ret	12	9	11	7	8	Ret	Ret	DNS	13	11	7*	11	11	Ret	10	11	10	12	16
15	Dan Eaves	Ret	8	11*	Ret	9	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	10	6*	Ret	Ret	12	12	11	11	14	11	9	15
16	Gareth Howell							9*	Ret					13	Ret	13	12	Ret	13	7*	6	14
17	Phil Bennett	Ret	Ret	10	Ret	14	9	Ret	Ret	12	8	10	15	9	Ret	Ret	9	Ret	12	9	10	14
18	Danny Buxton											12	Ret	Ret	Ret	15	14*	13	15	14	Ret	1
19	Paul Wallace											11	Ret	DNS	Ret	17	13	12	Ret	13	Ret	0
Production Class (BTC-P)
1	Luke Hines	Ret	DNS	15	12	13	13	11	11	18	11	16	13	10	14	18	18	14	17	17	14	243
2	Alan Blencowe	8	Ret	17	15	15	15	13	12	14	12	15	16	12	15	19	20	16	18	16	17	193
3	Michael Bentwood	10	11	14	11	16	14	12	14	16	Ret	17	14	Ret	DNS	16	17	17	19	18	16	186
4	Jim Edwards Jr.	9	12	18	14	Ret	16	14	16	15	14	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	15	Ret	DNS	15	96
5	Tom Boardman	Ret	Ret	Ret	DNS	12	12	Ret	15	13	DSQ	14	Ret	Ret	13	Ret	16	Ret	DSQ	Ret	13
6	Paul Wallace	Ret	Ret	16	13	Ret	Ret	Ret	13	17	13											46
7	Richard Marsh											18	17	Ret	Ret	22	22	20	21	19	19	46
8	Mark Fullalove													11	Ret	20	19	18	Ret	Ret	18	39
9	Jay Wheals													Ret	16	21	21	Ret	20	Ret	Ret	27
10	Chris Ryan	7	Ret	Ret	Ret																	15
11	Jason Hughes											Ret	18	Ret	Ret	Ret	DNS	DNS	DNS	Ret	DNS	6
Pos	Driver	MON		BRH		THR		SIL		ROC		CRO		SNE		BRH		DON		OUL		valign=middle	Pts

Note: bold signifies pole position in class (1 point awarded in first race only), italics signifies fastest lap in class (1 point awarded all races) and * signifies at least one lap in the lead (1 point given all races).

Independents' Cup

Pos	Driver	MON		BRH		THR		SIL		ROC		CRO		SNE		BRH		DON		OUL		valign=middle	Pts
1	Rob Collard	6	7	13	Ret	Ret	DNS	Ret	9	7	5	Ret	8	8	6	Ret	Ret	9	16	8	7	160
2	James Kaye	Ret	Ret	12	9	11	7	8	Ret	Ret	DNS	13	11	7	11	11	Ret	10	11	10	12	151
3	Carl Breeze	Ret	10	Ret	10	10	Ret	Ret	DNS	Ret	9	8	9	Ret	7	10	15	8	8	15	11	141
4	Dan Eaves	Ret	8	11	Ret	9	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	10	6	Ret	Ret	12	12	11	11	14	11	9	126
5	Gavin Pyper	Ret	6	8	Ret	6	Ret	6	7	9	Ret
6	Gareth Howell							9	Ret					13	Ret	13	12	Ret	13	7	6	80
7	Danny Buxton											12	Ret	Ret	Ret	15	14	13	15	14	Ret	38
8	Paul Wallace											11	Ret	DNS	Ret	17	13	12	Ret	13	Ret	37
Pos	Driver	MON		BRH		THR		SIL		ROC		CRO		SNE		BRH		DON		OUL		valign=middle	Pts

Manufacturers Championship

Pos	Manufacturer	MON		BRH		THR		SIL		ROC		CRO		SNE		BRH		DON		OUL		valign=middle	Pts
1	Vauxhall / VX Racing	1	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	3	1	2	2	1	10	2	2	2	1	1	2
	2	2	3	2	3	3	2	2	5	4	3	3	2	Ret	5	5	3	3	3	5
	Ret	4	5	3	4	5	7	5	10	6	Ret	6	3	Ret	6	10	6	4	Ret	Ret
2	Honda / Honda Racing	3	3	1	7	2	2	4	6	1	7	1	4	4	1	4	3	1	5	2	1
	Ret	5	7	8	5	10	5	Ret	2	Ret	7	5	6	2	8	7	5	6	12	Ret
	Ret	Ret	DNS	DNS	7	11	Ret	Ret	4	Ret	Ret	12	Ret	5	14	Ret	7	10	Ret	DNS
3	MG / MG Sport & Racing	4	Ret	4	4	8	4	3	3	6	2	4	1	5	3	1	1	4	2	4	3
	Ret	Ret	6	5	Ret	6	10	4	8	3	5	7	Ret	4	3	4	19	7	5	4
	DNS	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	8	Ret	Ret	Ret	10	Ret	8	7	6	Ret	9	6	8
4	Proton / Petronas Syntium Proton	5	9	9	6	14	8	Ret	10	11	8	9	15	9	9	9	8	Ret	12	9	10	75
4	Ret	Ret	10	Ret	17	9	Ret	Ret	12	Ret	10	19	Ret	Ret	Ret	9	Ret	Ret	Ret	DNS		75
Pos	Manufacturer	MON		BRH		THR		SIL		ROC		CRO		SNE		BRH		DON		OUL		valign=middle	Pts

Touring Teams Championship

Pos	Team	MON		BRH		THR		SIL		ROC		CRO		SNE		BRH		DON		OUL		valign=middle	Pts
1	VX Racing	1	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	3	1	2	2	1	10	2	2	2	1	1	2
1	2	2	3	2	3	3	2	2	5	4	3	3	2	Ret	5	5	3	3	3	5
2	Honda Racing	3	3	1	7	2	2	4	6	1	7	1	4	4	1	4	3	1	5	2	1
2	Ret	5	7	8	5	10	5	Ret	2	Ret	7	5	6	2	8	7	5	6	12	Ret
3	MG Sport & Racing	4	Ret	4	4	8	4	3	3	6	2	4	1	5	3	1	1	4	2	4	3
3	Ret	Ret	6	5	Ret	6	10	4	8	3	5	7	Ret	4	3	4	19	7	5	4
4	Petronas Syntium Proton	5	9	9	6	14	8	Ret	10	11	8	9	15	9	9	9	8	Ret	12	9	10	70
4	Ret	Ret	10	Ret	17	9	Ret	Ret	12	Ret	10	19	Ret	Ret	Ret	9	Ret	Ret	Ret	DNS		70
5	Collard Racing	6	7	13	Ret	Ret	DNS	Ret	9	7	5	Ret	8	8	6	Ret	Ret	9	16	8	7
6	Team Halfords	Ret	8	11	10	9	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	9	6	Ret	Ret	12	12	11	11	14	11	9
6	Ret	10	Ret	Ret	10	Ret	Ret	DNS	Ret	10	12	Ret	Ret	Ret	15	14	13	15	14	Ret
7	GA Motorsports	Ret	6	8	Ret	6	Ret	6	7	9	Ret	8	9	Ret	7	10	13	8	8	13	11
7							9	Ret			11	Ret	DNS	Ret	17	15	12	Ret	15	Ret
8	Synchro Motorsport	Ret	Ret	12	9	11	7	8	Ret	Ret	DNS	13	11	7	11	11	Ret	10	11	10	12
9	Team Dynamics													13	Ret	13	12	Ret	13	7	6
Pos	Team	MON		BRH		THR		SIL		ROC		CRO		SNE		BRH		DON		OUL		valign=middle	Pts

Production Teams Championship

Pos	Team	MON		BRH		THR		SIL		ROC		CRO		SNE		BRH		DON		OUL		valign=middle	Pts
1	Barwell Motorsport	8	Ret	15	12	13	13	11	11	14	11	15	13	10	14	18	18	14	17	16	14	417
1	Ret	DNS	17	15	15	15	13	12	18	12	16	16	12	15	19	20	16	18	17	17		417
2	Team Varta	9	12	18	14	12	12	14	15	13	14	14	17	Ret	13	21	16	15	20	19	13
2	Ret	Ret	Ret	DNS	Ret	16	Ret	16	15	DSQ	18	Ret	Ret	16	22	21	20	21	Ret	15
3	Edenbridge Racing	10	11	14	11	16	14	12	14	16	Ret	17	14	Ret	DNS	16	17	17	19	18	16	182
4	GA Motorsports	7	Ret	16	13	Ret	Ret	Ret	13	17	13
4	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret
5	align=left nowrap	Mark Fullalove Racing													11	Ret	20	19	18	Ret	Ret	18	39
6	Kartworld Racing											Ret	18	Ret	Ret	Ret	DNS	DNS	DNS	Ret	DNS	6
Pos	Team	MON		BRH		THR		SIL		ROC		CRO		SNE		BRH		DON		OUL		valign=middle	Pts

References

News: F1 designer pens new Peugeot 307 - BTCC - Autosport. Autosport.com. 2017-12-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20171215000052/https://www.autosport.com/btcc/news/22510/f1-designer-pens-new-peugeot-307. 2017-12-15.
News: Pyper's out, Breeze's in.. 2003-07-10. Crash. 2017-12-14.
News: Synchro graduates to Touring Class with Kaye.. 2003-03-28. Crash. 2017-12-14.
Web site: BTCT : Vauxhall Astra Coupé V2001-007. Touring Car Register. 2017-12-14.
Web site: Gow returns to help run BTCC.. Wilkins. Robert. 29 May 2003. Crash. 6 April 2018.
Web site: Live coverage for Satellite TV channel. 7 January 2003. Autosport. https://web.archive.org/web/20181202181023/http://classic.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/21581. 2 December 2018. live. 6 April 2018.