Rounds 21 and 22 of the 2001 British Touring Car Championship came to us from Silverstone, and it was all change in the pitlane from last time out at Oulton Park.
Not only was Phil Bennett back from his suspension, but legendary British manufacturer MG was joining the Touring Car lineup. The team had been watching from the sidelines whilst developing their MG ZS, and had it ready just in time for the end of the season.
And what a great looking car it was, with its bright green XPower livery.
Anthony Reid and Warren Hughes were the chosen drivers for the team, and the early signs were that both cars and drivers had good pace.
And there was another new entrant in the Production class; Steve Wood was to be driving a Proton Satria this weekend.
Round 21: Sprint Race
Qualifying threw up some surprises; Bennett was back with a bang and threw his Egg Sport Astra onto pole, with Muller joining him on the front row. Plato was in third, and Soper qualified fourth, but had to start from the back due to an engine change. More bad luck for him.
The MGs of Reid and Hughes qualified sixth and eighth respectively, but had to join Soper at the back thanks to some post-qualifying modifications.
In the Production class, Moen was again on pole after his triumphs in the previous round, but this time was joined by an emotional Paul O’Neill on the front row, who was overjoyed with his performance.
Graves and Kaye made up the second row, with championship contender Harrison starting from the back of the grid.
As the lights turned from red to green, all four Vauxhalls at the front got away cleanly. But into the first bend it was the two Egg Sport Astras leading, as Thompson made up a couple of places.
Plato had made it past Muller and into third, and then Thompson got caught wide allowing Plato up the inside. And Muller would soon pull off the move as well, sending Thompson back to fourth and into the clutches of Steve Soper.
Whilst that was going on, the Production race had got underway and Graves had an excellent start in the Honda, making it to the front of the pack.
Unfortunately for O’Neill he had fallen back through the field thanks to a pretty terrible start, and a mechanical problem with his Peugeot 306 meant an early retirement for him.
Back at the front, the battle for second meant that Bennett was scurrying off into the distance at the front.
But Muller and Plato were going hammer and tongs for second, and Muller managed to find a way past to take the position, with a bit of contact on the way through.
But no sooner was he past Plato, Muller outbraked himself and gave Plato a sniff of an opportunity.
It looked like Plato had taken the position, but Muller somehow managed to cover it off to retake second. Both drivers wringing the necks of their Astras with the championship at stake.
In the Production class, Moen managed to make a move on Graves to retake the lead with a decent showing of power down the straight.
Jackson also managed to make it past Graves, but Graves wasn’t having any of it and tagged him going into Abbey, sending him spinning. Boardman was now into third, only for Pyper to quickly take the place.
And whilst all that was going on, championship contender, Kaye, spun out seemingly of his own doing, and beached himself in the gravel. Harrison must have been smiling as he sailed past the stricken Honda.
In the Touring car mid-field there was a three way battle between Eaves, Erdos and Reid. Erdos made a move on Eaves but locked up, making contact with the Peugeot. Reid, hoping to jump them both, got tangled up in it and just about managed to keep the MG out of the barrier, but lost positions.
Steve Soper was running well in fifth but had dropped off from the Vauxhall battle. Out on his own, he made an unforced error which sent him spinning, but thankfully managed to regain his composure and keep the position.
The other MG of Warren Hughes was also in the wars, after being punted into the gravel by Blair in the Alfa 147. That was his race finished.
As Bennett caught the front of the Production pack, a battle between Harrison and Boardman for third almost threw him off, but he managed the thread his way through.
A great response from Bennett as he took the chequered flag and the victory, with Muller in second and Plato in third.
In the Production race, Moen took the win, followed by Harrison and Tom Boardman took third for his first podium. Both Graves and Kaye in the Honda Accords had to retire.
Sprint Race Results
| Position | Class | Driver | Team | Car | Laps | Time | Best |
| 1 | Phil BENNETT | Egg Sport | Vauxhall Astra Coupé | 15 | 23:26.548 | 1:28.436 | |
| 2 | Yvan MULLER | Vauxhall Motorsport | Vauxhall Astra Coupé | 15 | 2.183 | 1:28.677 | |
| 3 | Jason PLATO | Vauxhall Motorsport | Vauxhall Astra Coupé | 15 | 5.077 | 1:28.807 | |
| 4 | James THOMPSON | Egg Sport | Vauxhall Astra Coupé | 15 | 7.072 | 1:28.990 | |
| 5 | P | Roger MOEN | HTML | Peugeot 306 GTi | 15 | 11.968 | 1:33.153 |
| 6 | P | Simon HARRISON | HTML | Peugeot 306 GTi | 15 | 13.023 | 1:32.592 |
| 7 | P | Tom BOARDMAN | Tom Boardman Racing | Peugeot 306 GTi | 15 | 14.597 | 1:33.167 |
| 8 | P | Mat JACKSON | GR Motorsport | Ford Focus | 15 | 22.76 | 1:33.441 |
| 9 | P | Gavin PYPER | GA-Janspeed Racing | Alfa Romeo 156 | 15 | 23.219 | 1:33.451 |
| 10 | Dan EAVES | Peugeot Sport UK | Peugeot 406 Coupé | 15 | 24.387 | 1:29.933 | |
| 11 | P | Rob COLLARD | Collard Racing | Renault Clio | 15 | 24.668 | 1:33.760 |
| 12 | Anthony REID | MG Sport and Racing | MG ZS | 15 | 30.002 | 1:29.285 | |
| R | P | Simon GRAVES | Team Kaliber Sport with Barwell | Honda Accord | 14 | DNF | 1:33.301 |
| R | Warren HUGHES | MG Sport and Racing | MG ZS | 8 | DNF | 1:30.402 | |
| R | P | James KAYE | Team Kaliber Sport with Barwell | Honda Accord | 4 | DNF | 1:33.361 |
| R | P | Paul O’NEILL | Tech-Speed Motorsport | Peugeot 306 GTi | 4 | DNF | 1:32.765 |
| R | P | Rick KRAEMER | GR Motorsport | Ford Focus | 2 | DNF | 1:35.438 |
| R | P | Nick BEAUMONT | Team B&Q/Talksport Radio | Honda Integra Type-R | 2 | DNF | 1:54.495 |
| NS | P | Nick JAMES | Arnold James Sport | Honda Integra Type-R | – | DNS | N/A |
| NS | P | Rob COLLARD | Collard Racing | Renault Clio | – | DNS | N/A |
| NS | P | Nick BEAUMONT | Team B&Q/Talksport Radio | Honda Integra Type-R | – | DNS | N/A |
| NS | P | Tiff NEEDELL | Team Kaliber Sport with Barwell | Honda Accord | – | DNS | N/A |
Round 22: Feature Race
After winning the Sprint Race, Silverstone expert Phil Bennett was again on pole, with Plato joining him on the front row. Muller was starting in third. Anthony Reid would this time start on the third row, after qualifying in sixth.
In Production, Moen was in pole, followed by O’Neill and Graves.
As the pack got underway, Bennett maintained his lead into the first bend. There was some contact between Soper and Thompson, but both managed to continue. Soper lost some places, and Dan Eaves capitalised.
As Soper sorted himself out, Bennett at the front was losing places left, right, and centre. He was down to fourth after being passed by the other three Astras. Plato was into the lead, with Muller second, and Thompson third.
Muller got a run on Plato and Plato squeezed him out onto the grass, but that didn’t stop him, and Muller took the lead.
Meanwhile, in the Production class there was carnage, as Annie Templeton and Colin Blair found the gravel. O’Neill hit Graves, sending him spinning, and Harrison spun out too. Roger Moen and Mat Jackson had to retire after heavy contact.
The safety car was out so that the marshals could clear up the damaged cars strewn everywhere, and at the restart Phil Bennett managed to take third place from teammate James Thompson.
Plato was all over Muller for the lead, and Muller opened the door for him with a lock-up. They were side-by-side down to Abbey, and this time it was Muller squeezing Plato onto the grass with a reversal of what happened previously.
The two Vauxhall Motorsport Astras fighting gave Phil Bennett a sniff of an opportunity, and he barrelled through them both to once again take the lead.
He exchanged some paintwork with Muller on the way through, and then Plato and Thompson made contact too. All four Vauxhall drivers were going all-out for the lead, but Muller would be the one to come out on top with a clean move on Bennett. Great racing!
With the top four battling, Eaves was hanging onto the back of them in the upgraded Peugeot. Behind him, Hughes, Erdos, and Reid were all battling for sixth. The two MGs made contact, but thankfully both survived.
Bennett came in for his pit stop, but it wasn’t looking good for him as the mechanics had the bonnet open. A retirement for Bennett.
In the Production race, Tom Boardman was having a great race and was out in front. O’Neill was in second, with the Honda of Kaye in third.
O’Neill was being put under pressure and locked up, making way for Kaye and Harrison to go through. Harrison was into second, Kaye third.
But as the Touring cars came through to lap the Production cars, Kaye managed to squeeze past Harrison and into second.
The battle continued, and Harrison made it back past, only for Kaye to sideswipe him into Becketts, sending him into the gravel. He made it back out, but lost the position to Kaye.
With the final lap approaching and Boardman seemingly in control, he came over the crest showing some pretty serious damage, and Kaye was onto the back of him immediately.
With the pink Peugeot of Boardman struggling, Kaye took the lead. Devastating for Boardman.
Muller had held a steady lead throughout, but Plato had saved his tyres for the last lap and was closing the gap.
With Plato piling on the pressure, Muller had a wobble after bridge and Plato saw his opportunity. He was up the inside and made contact with his teammate, almost sending him into a spin.
Plato was through and Muller had taken some serious suspension damage, but only had a few more corners left to bring it home for second.
Muller was going to make it across the line with tyre smoke pouring from the back of his car, but not without losing another place to Thompson.
Plato took the win controversially, and Muller stopped his car just after the finish line. Some conversations were to be had back at the Vauxhall garage, and as Plato went to shake Muller’s hand on the podium, the Frenchman refused. Things were heating up in the Vauxhall team!
On second viewing, it looked like Muller had every right to be unhappy with that move, and the stewards took the same view.
Plato was given a 30 second penalty, relegating him to third. So Thompson inherited the win, and Muller took second.
In Production, Boardman couldn’t make it to the finish line after what could have been his first win. Kaye took the victory, followed by Harrison and O’Neill.
Next up: rounds 23 & 24 at Donington Park.
Feature Race Results
| Position | Class | Driver | Team | Car | Laps | Time | Best |
| 1 | James THOMPSON | Egg Sport | Vauxhall Astra Coupé | 35 | 55:55.681 | 1:28.694 | |
| 2 | Yvan MULLER | Vauxhall Motorsport | Vauxhall Astra Coupé | 35 | 12.045 | 1:28.424 | |
| 3 | Jason PLATO | Vauxhall Motorsport | Vauxhall Astra Coupé | 35 | 13.867 | 1:28.506 | |
| 4 | Dan EAVES | Peugeot Sport UK | Peugeot 406 Coupé | 35 | 42.615 | 1:29.476 | |
| 5 | Warren HUGHES | MG Sport and Racing | MG ZS | 35 | 52.826 | 1:29.251 | |
| 6 | Thomas ERDOS | Total Motorsport | Lexus IS200 | 35 | 1:11.694 | 1:29.311 | |
| 7 | Anthony REID | MG Sport and Racing | MG ZS | 35 | 1:17.405 | 1:29.260 | |
| 8 | Steve SOPER | Peugeot Sport UK | Peugeot 406 Coupé | 35 | 1:23.846 | 1:30.523 | |
| 9 | P | James KAYE | Team Kaliber Sport with Barwell | Honda Accord | 34 | + 1 LAP | 1:33.581 |
| 10 | P | Simon HARRISON | HTML | Peugeot 306 GTi | 34 | + 1 LAP | 1:33.211 |
| 11 | P | Paul O’NEILL | Tech-Speed Motorsport | Peugeot 306 GTi | 34 | + 1 LAP | 1:33.482 |
| 12 | P | Gavin PYPER | GA-Janspeed Racing | Alfa Romeo 156 | 34 | + 1 LAP | 1:34.049 |
| 13 | P | Rick KRAEMER | GR Motorsport | Ford Focus | 34 | + 1 LAP | 1:34.426 |
| 14 | P | Dave ALLAN | Synchro Motorsport | Honda Accord | 34 | + 1 LAP | 1:34.777 |
| 15 | P | Steve WOOD | TH Motorsport | Proton Satria GTi | 32 | + 3 LAPS | 1:38.980 |
| 16 | P | Nick BEAUMONT | Team B&Q/Talksport Radio | Honda Integra Type-R | 32 | + 3 LAPS | 1:37.341 |
| R | Tim HARVEY | JS Motorsport | Alfa Romeo 147 | 34 | DNF | 1:30.521 | |
| R | P | Tom BOARDMAN | Tom Boardman Racing | Peugeot 306 GTi | 33 | DNF | 1:33.139 |
| R | Mark BLAIR | JS Motorsport | Alfa Romeo 147 | 30 | DNF | 1:30.476 | |
| NC | P | Richard MEINS | GR Motorsport | Ford Focus | 25 | NCF | 1:37.141 |
| R | P | Rob COLLARD | Collard Racing | Renault Clio | 19 | DNF | 1:33.760 |
| R | P | Gareth HOWELL | GR Motorsport | Ford Focus | 18 | DNF | 1:33.412 |
| R | P | Annie TEMPLETON | Tech-Speed Motorsport | Peugeot 306 GTi | 10 | DNF | 1:39.888 |
| R | Phil BENNETT | Egg Sport | Vauxhall Astra Coupé | 9 | DNF | 1:29.024 | |
| R | P | Nick BEAUMONT | Team B&Q/Talksport Radio | Honda Integra Type-R | 2 | DNF | 1:54.495 |
| NS | P | Nick JAMES | Arnold James Sport | Honda Integra Type-R | – | DNS | N/A |
Touring Car Driver’s Championship Standings After Round 21 & 22 – Leaders
| Driver | Points |
| Plato | 281 |
| Muller | 276 |
| Thompson | 254 |
| Bennett | 134 |
Production Car Driver’s Championship Standings After Round 21 & 22 – Leaders
| Driver | Points |
| Harrison | 202 |
| Kaye | 185 |
| Moen | 184 |
| Jackson | 137 |
| Howell | 117 |
Production Car Team Championship Standings After Round 21 & 22 – Leaders
| Team | Points |
| GR Motorsport | 177 |
| Team Kaliber Sport with Barwell | 148 |
| HTML | 141 |
| Tech=Speed Motorsport | 55 |