BTCC News

Former Williams sponsorship director Richard West has been appointed to manage the new-look British Touring Car Championship next season.

Honda has announced that it is withdrawing from the British Touring Car Championship. William de Brackleer, Europe's Motorsport manager for Honda said: "With the imminent changes in the technical regulations we think the time is right to take a break"

Despite being a near certainty since the all-new 2001 BTCC regulations were announced back in June, Peugeot finally confirmed that they would return to the series in a works capacity next year with a two-car factory backed attack.

It may not have won the BTCC title in 2000, but the Honda team went out on a high with a double win at Silverstone to match its exploits in Europe this season.

New series promoters BMP announced at Silverstone on the eve of the 2000 British Touring Car Championship title decider that the new-look 2001 series will incorporate the current National Saloon Championship as a Class B, a move that virtually guarantees the biggest BTCC grids since the four-clas

1. Alain Menu SUI Ford Mondeo West Surrey Racing 195. 2. Anthony Reid GB Ford Mondeo West Surrey Racing 193. 3. Rickard Rydell SWE Ford Mondeo West Surrey Racing 178. 4. Yvan Muller FRA Vauxhall Vectra Triple Eight 168.

If any proof were needed that next years BTCC is going to be a hit, the fantastic five car dice at Brands Hatch between the two Peugeot 306's of Alan Morrison and Toni Ruokonen, the two Alfa Romeo's of Tom Ferrier and Gavin Pyper and the lone Honda of James Kaye was proof enough.

Maybe a career in Single-seaters is not an option for current World Superbike stars Carl Fogarty and Aaron Slight, but a four-wheeled future is a very real possibility for two of the most exciting riders ever to get on a bike.

New series promoters BMP will decide sometime this month whether pit-stops will be a part of the 2001 British Touring Car Championship after the series was officially launched amidst a growing amount of optimism concerning the all-new formula.

With the British Touring Car Championship taking on a fresh look for next year, those teams committed to competing are now putting their interpretations of the new rules into practice.

Plans to make races in the 2001 British Touring Car Championship half an hour in length are being discussed by team-owners and British Motorsport Promoters, the new controlling body of the series.

1994 British Touring Car Champion Gabriele Tarquini proved that his second place I the feature race at Donington Park earlier this year was just a sign of things to come as he outpaced the field to record the fastest time in testing for Rounds 17 and 18 of the championship at Donington Park.

Matt Neal may not have had much competition in the Independents Cup this year up until now, and it is ironic that the withdrawal of the one man who could have beaten the lanky Englishman for the title now presents Matt with his toughest challenge yet.

Matt Neal will finally get some stiff competition in the Independent Class of the BTCC this weekend at Donington Park when he will be challenged by last year's series runner-up David Leslie.

1. Rickard Rydell SWE Ford Mondeo 1 min 17.508secs 2. Jason Plato GB Vauxhall Vectra 1 min 17.882secs 3. Anthony Reid GB Ford Mondeo 1 min 17.980secs 4. Yvan Muller FRA Vauxhall Vectra 1 min 17.987secs. 5. James Thompson GB Honda Accord 1 min 18.018secs

For one weekend per year, the BTCC circus descends to Norfolk for a motor-racing carnival, the highlight of which being two spectacular, lights blazing, sparks flying night races for the BTCC boys to get their teeth into.

Former F1 world champion Damon Hill has played down speculation that he may make a racing return in touring cars.

In the first major reaction to the new set of rules announced by BMP on Tuesday. British Touring Car Championship stalwarts Vauxhall have announce that they will scrap their current Vectra model in favour of the smaller, lighter Astra for next years championship.

Just a week after completing its take-over of the British Touring Car championship from TOCA, who had run the series since 1992, British Motorsport Promoters (BMP) announced the new rules and regulations for the 2001 series.

Once again Rickard Rydell was in unbeatable form in the feature race at Croft and led the race from start to finish, successfully repelling the efforts of both Alain Menu and Anthony Reid in a race where Ford scored a crushing 1-2-3, result.

Jason Plato came within a whisker of beating the lap record at Croft on Friday when he hauled his Vauxhall Vectra around the North Yorkshire track in a time of 1 minute 21.241 seconds to claim top spot as the teams make their final preparations for Sunday's races.

Ford have announced that they will appeal against the disqualification of Rickard Rydell from the feature race at Silverstone last Sunday. The Swedish driver was disqualified after his Mondeo's rear wing did not conform to the specified angles of the homologated template.

1. Yvan Muller FRA Vauxhall Vectra 30 laps. 2. Rickard Rydell SWE Ford Mondeo +5.424 secs. 3. Gabriele Tarquini ITA Honda Accord +8.916 secs.

Rickard Rydell vaulted back from his nightmare Oulton Park weekend to secure pole position for round 12 of the British Touring Car Championship at Silverstone.