BTCC 2001: Rounds 23 & 24 – Donington Park

The penultimate weekend of the 2001 BTCC season came to us from Donington Park, and Jason Plato remained ahead of teammate Yvan Muller by just five points, despite his 30 second penalty for smashing into the Frenchman on the final lap last time out at Silverstone.

After Plato was judged to have deliberately collided with Muller last weekend, the telemetry had since shown that Muller suffered a big misfire coming out of the final bend at Silverstone, which could have led to Plato making contact.

Either way, the stewards’ decision had been made and with Muller and Plato not on the best of terms, this weekend was going to be intense.

Round 23: Sprint Race

Going into the first race of the weekend it was Plato with the advantage, as he took pole. Bennett was in second, and Muller in third.

In the Production class, Harrison was in first, followed by Graves and Boardman.

As the lights went out, Plato didn’t get away well and Muller snuck between him and Bennett. Plato tried his best to cover him off but could only drive into the side of him, causing him to slip further down the pack.

Bennett, Thompson, and Soper were also past Bennett, but Soper sideswiped Thompson into the first bend and sent him into the grass.

To be fair to Soper, it looked like Thompson turned in on him. He had nowhere to go.

Thompson rejoined towards the back of the pack, and Plato was in third. Bennett and Muller were side-by-side.

Bennett made it through to take the lead and then it was Muller and Plato side-by-side into Redgate.

More contact between the red Astras sent bodywork flying, but Plato made it through and into second.

There was going to be no love loss between these two this weekend, and as Plato got a bad exit from the chicane and locked up at the next corner, Muller shoved him through. Plato ran deep as a result, and Muller was through.

Bennett was pulling away into the distance, and the battle between Muller and Plato was being closely followed by an equally intense battle between the two Peugeots of Soper and Eaves.

At the next corner, Plato repaid the favour by shoving Muller through. Muller went wide and onto the grass, and they were again side by side.

They were exchanging paintwork the entire way down the straight, but Muller had the inside line. But whilst Muller was defending from Plato, Dan Eaves snuck past the pair of them.

But it didn’t last long, and into the old hairpin, Plato, who had made it back past Muller, shoved Eaves from behind and sent him flying into the gravel. Unlucky for Eaves after a great move; no way out of the gravel.

With all the action in the Touring car race, people may have missed what was happening in Production class. It was Graves in the lead, followed by Pyper, Moen, and Harrison. Kaye was just behind in fifth, and Boardman had dropped back to the midfield.

The real race was for fourth place between Harrison and Kaye, two of the Production championship contenders.

But as Harrison came into the chicane, he hit the kerb too hard and broke his suspension, giving Kaye a welcome break.

And he had another good piece of fortune shortly after, as Pyper was struggling with an issue in the Alfa 156, gifting Kaye another place.

Back with the Tourers, and James Thompson was carving his way back through the field in a recovery drive after being punted off earlier. He made his way past the MGs of Reid and Hughes, and set about hunting down Soper.

But once again Soper’s Peugeot let him down, and he peeled off into the pits with a mechanical issue, perhaps caused by the earlier contact with Thompson.

But no sooner had he taken the position from Soper, Thompson was also having to pull off the track to retire.

Bennett was comfortably in the lead, and Plato was pulling out a gap between himself and Muller.

Graves took the chequered flag to win the Production class and the overall race, followed by Moen and Kaye.

Bennett took the win for the Tourers, with Plato in second and Muller in third.

Sprint Race Results

Position	Class	Driver	Team	Car	Laps	Time	Best
1	P	Simon GRAVES	Team Kaliber Sport with Barwell	Honda Accord	15	27:17.117	1:48.052
2	P	Roger MOEN	HTML	Peugeot 306 GTi	15	2.146	1:48.086
3	P	James KAYE	Team Kaliber Sport with Barwell	Honda Accord	15	5.397	1:48.300
4		Phil BENNETT	Egg Sport	Vauxhall Astra Coupé	15	6.089	1:43.082
5		Jason PLATO	Vauxhall Motorsport	Vauxhall Astra Coupé	15	9.703	1:43.019
6		Yvan MULLER	Vauxhall Motorsport	Vauxhall Astra Coupé	15	12.375	1:43.186
7	P	Gareth HOWELL	GR Motorsport	Ford Focus	15	15.691	1:48.628
8	P	Paul O’NEILL	Tech-Speed Motorsport	Peugeot 306 GTi	15	17.265	1:48.503
9	P	Gavin PYPER	GA-Janspeed Racing	Alfa Romeo 156	15	20.921	1:48.084
10		Anthony REID	MG Sport and Racing	MG ZS	15	21.972	1:43.109
11		Warren HUGHES	MG Sport and Racing	MG ZS	15	32.932	1:44.177
12		Tom FERRIER	JS Motorsport	Alfa Romeo 147	15	35.925	1:44.365
13	P	Tim HARVEY	JS Motorsport	Alfa Romeo 147	15	47.888	1:44.677
14		Thomas ERDOS	Total Motorsport	Lexus IS200	15	50.507	1:44.436
15	P	Rick KRAEMER	GR Motorsport	Ford Focus	15	56.899	1:50.042
16	P	Tom BOARDMAN	Tom Boardman Racing	Peugeot 306 GTi	15	57.151	1:50.117
NC	P	Nick JAMES	Arnold James Sport	Honda Integra Type-R	12	NCF	1:51.338
R		James THOMPSON	Egg Sport	Vauxhall Astra Coupé	8	DNF	1:43.195
R	P	Nick BEAUMONT	Team B&Q/Talksport Radio	Honda Integra Type-R	8	DNF	1:51.630
R	P	John B-AND-Q	Team B&Q/Talksport Radio	Honda Integra Type-R	8	DNF	2:01.355
R	P	Simon HARRISON	HTML	Peugeot 306 GTi	6	DNF	1:48.331
R	P	Mat JACKSON	GR Motorsport	Ford Focus	0	DNF	N/A
R		Dan EAVES	Peugeot Sport UK	Peugeot 406 Coupé	0	DNF	N/A
R	P	Nick BEAUMONT	Team B&Q/Talksport Radio	Honda Integra Type-R	2	DNF	1:54.495
NS	P	Nick

Round 24: Feature Race

Plato put himself in the best position to extend his lead over Muller further by putting his Astra on pole for the feature race. Muller would be alongside him on the front row, with Bennett in third and Thompson in fourth.

In Production, Harrison would start on pole followed by Graves and Boardman. Kaye and Moen were further down the pack after disappointing qualifying sessions.

Plato and Muller accelerated down the pit straight for the rolling start, and everyone was through the first corner cleanly. A good start for Plato this time.

It was a similar story in Production, as the top three held their positions, but Graves was all over the back of Harrison.

Kaye was biding his time whilst Moen and Jackson were having a scrap for fifth; the Peugeot and Ford exchanging paintwork but remaining in the race.

With the rain starting to fall, Pyper gave up fourth after going wide and across the gravel.

Graves took the lead with a good move on Harrison, and Boardman was suddenly onto the back of Harrison and in the fight for second.

Things were going from bad to worse for Yvan Muller, as not only was Plato again creating a significant gap between them, but Bennett also fancied a look up the inside for second. He made the move stick, and Muller was now in third.

And having lost the place to Bennett, Thompson also saw his opportunity when Muller got sideways. Muller caught it, but Thompson took the position and Muller was in fourth.

As the rain started getting heavier, Muller switched on the style with an excellent move to retake third from Thompson. That put Thompson out of shape, and Soper took fourth. But not for long as Thompson took the inside line for the next corner and retook the position.

Muller was on the warpath, and he was sizing up Bennett into Goddards. He saw a gap up the inside and went for it, but as Bennett turned in he was tagged by Muller and spun round.

Bennett recovered but lost positions to Muller, Thompson, Soper, and Reid. A bit of a wild lunge from Muller, there.

With Plato 5.5 seconds ahead of Muller, it was looking like it would be an easy race for him. But an oil spill had appeared on the track and sent several cars spinning, including the leading Production car of Simon Graves.

Graves was out, and with Bennett, Ferrier, Allan, and Eaves all going off track it looked like a safety car would be inevitable.

And sure enough the safety car did come out to recover Graves’ car and clean up the oil. Bennett managed to sneak in a pit-stop to put wet tyres on, as the rain was now falling even more heavily. Kaye and Boardman also had the same idea.

Plato restarted well once the safety car moved aside, but the track was wet and the lead Tourers all still had slick tyres on.

Both red Astras were on the limit but Muller managed to find a way through and into the lead, and with Soper having made it past Thompson into third, he was now onto the back of Plato. This was huge for the championship!

With the top four battling within inches of each other, Plato, Soper, and Thompson all dived into the pits at the same time, leaving Muller out there on his own for another lap.

Soper managed a 6.3 second stop, but Plato’s team could only manage a 14 second stop, giving Soper the opportunity to leapfrog him.

And it got worse for Plato, as Thompson was out ahead of him too.

Muller was in for his pitstop, and there were no issues for him as he pulled off a 7.9 second stop.

As the lead cars all rejoined, it was now the Alfa Romeo of Tom Ferrier that had taken the lead after he made an early call to pit before the safety car came out. A decision that certainly looked like it was paying off!

Thompson and Soper were battling for third, and Thompson managed to make a pass. Reid in the MG followed him through, and as he did so, Soper spun out. It looked like he had an issue under braking, but rejoined.

In Production, it was Mat Jackson now leading in the Ford Focus. But John B&Q made a nuisance of himself as he jumped out the way of Plato’s Touring car. He was driving incredibly slowly around the exit of the old hairpin, and Jackson slammed into the back of him with nowhere else to go.

Plato made up a position on Reid but the safety car was back out as medics tended to the injured John B&Q. Ferrier was still in the lead, but would now have his lead cut as the pack backed up.

As the race got back underway, Ferrier led the pack, but now Muller was right on his tail. Muller and Thompson got through on the first corner, but then Ferrier pulled off the track with an engine issue. A dream over for him.

So now it was Muller, Thompson, Plato and Reid the top four, with Bennett making his way back through the field.

Plato was desperate to make up the positions to keep his championship lead, but Anthony Reid hadn’t read the script and took Plato up the inside for third position.

Plato wasn’t having any of that, and was back in front of the MG within a couple of corners.

That battle put Reid into the clutches of a fast approaching Bennett, and as Reid went wide they made contact. Reid’s rear suspension was broken, and he was out of the race.

Bennett’s front suspension was also broken, and he too had to retire.

As the chequered flag waved, it was Muller with the win. Thompson was in second, and Plato third. Erdos picked up fourth in the Lexus.

In Production, it was Roger Moen who had made his way to P1 thanks to all the carnage, followed by teammate Harrison. Jackson recovered after his crash with John B&Q to take third.

Muller would be delighted with the victory, and Plato would be cursing the sticky wheel nut that cost him the victory. 

The championship would go down to the wire in the final weekend of the championship at Brands Hatch next time out.

Feature Race Results

Position	Class	Driver	Team	Car	Lap	Time	Best
1		Yvan MULLER	Vauxhall Motorsport	Vauxhall Astra Coupé	32	1:07:34	1:42.656
2		James THOMPSON	Egg Sport	Vauxhall Astra Coupé	32	0.646	1:42.545
3		Jason PLATO	Vauxhall Motorsport	Vauxhall Astra Coupé	32	6.418	1:42.407
4		Thomas ERDOS	Total Motorsport	Lexus IS200	32	10.335	1:44.263
5		Dan EAVES	Peugeot Sport UK	Peugeot 406 Coupé	32	16.055	1:43.570
6	P	Roger MOEN	HTML	Peugeot 306 GTi	32	34.081	1:48.703
7	P	Simon HARRISON	HTML	Peugeot 306 GTi	32	35.928	1:48.272
8		Warren HUGHES	MG Sport and Racing	MG ZS	32	36.674	1:43.605
9	P	Mat JACKSON	GR Motorsport	Ford Focus	32	38.657	1:48.513
10	P	Colin BLAIR	GA-Janspeed Racing	Alfa Romeo 156	32	46.629	1:49.734
11	P	Nick BEAUMONT	Team B&Q/Talksport Radio	Honda Integra Type-R	32	54.655	1:50.404
12	P	Tom BOARDMAN	Tom Boardman Racing	Peugeot 306 GTi	32	1:54.424	1:48.236
13	P	Nick JAMES	Arnold James Sport	Honda Integra Type-R	31	+ 1 LAP	1:51.558
14	P	James KAYE	Team Kaliber Sport with Barwell	Honda Accord	31	+ 1 LAP	1:48.224
NC	P	Nick JAMES	Arnold James Sport	Honda Integra Type-R	12	NCF	1:51.338
R		James THOMPSON	Egg Sport	Vauxhall Astra Coupé	8	DNF	1:43.195
R	P	Nick BEAUMONT	Team B&Q/Talksport Radio	Honda Integra Type-R	8	DNF	1:51.630
R	P	John B-AND-Q	Team B&Q/Talksport Radio	Honda Integra Type-R	18	DNF	2:01.355
R	P	Annie TEMPLETON	Team Kaliber Sport with Barwell	Honda Accord	4	DNF	1:33.361
R	P	Gavin PYPER	GA-Janspeed Racing	Alfa Romeo 156	8	DNF	1:48.507
R		Tim HARVEY	JS Motorsport	Alfa Romeo 147	3	DNF	1:47.467
NS	P	Paul O’NEILL	Tech-Speed Motorsport	Peugeot 306 GTi	–	DNS	N/A

Touring Car Driver’s Championship Standings After Round 23 & 24 – Leaders

Driver	Points
Plato	308
Muller	302
Thompson	266
Bennett	149

Touring Car Team Championship Standings After Round 23 & 24 – Leaders

Team	Points
Vauxhall Motorsport	257
Team Egg Sport	196
Peugeot Sport UK	85
Total Motorsport	51

Production Car Driver’s Championship Standings After Round 23 & 24 – Leaders

Driver	Points
Harrison	217
Moen	212
Kaye	198
Jackson	148
Howell	125

Production Car Team Championship Standings After Round 23 & 24 – Leaders

Team	Points
GR Motorsport	189
HTML	168
Team Kaliber Sport with Barwel	146
Tech-Speed Motorsport	55
GA Janspeed	53