BTCC 2001: Rounds 7 & 8 – Silverstone

Welcome to the home of motorsport, Silverstone, for round 7 & 8 of the 2001 British Touring Car Championship. And this time the drivers faced a new challenge… they were driving in the dark for the feature race.

Following on from the last round at Oulton Park, Yvan Muller came into this round in the lead of the Touring Car Championship.

Round 7: Sprint Race

The sprint race was up first in the daylight, and once again it was the four Vauxhalls that qualified in the top four positions. Muller on pole, followed by Plato, Thompson, and Bennett.

In the Production class, Harrison came out on top, followed by Moen, Pyper, and O’Neill.

As the lights went to green, everyone was away cleanly. Muller and Plato both had excellent starts, but it was Muller who retained first position. 

Kurt Luby had a moment into the first corner in the Lexus, as his cold rear tyres didn’t provide the grip he anticipated and he spun, putting him to the back of the Touring Car pack.

In the Production class the two Peugeots of Harrison and Moen also got away cleanly, chased down by Pyper in the Alfa 156. But Pyper pushed too hard and clipped the kerb sending him into a spin at Becketts, sending him right down the field.

Back at the front it was a familiar story as Plato was all over the back of Yvan Muller, some excellent driving from the pair of Vauxhalls with millimetres between them.

Meanwhile the two Egg Sport Vauxhalls were also pushing each other hard a little further down the road, with Bennett having made it ahead of Thompson.

But the tables turned for both teams as Thompson took to the grass to find a way around Bennett, and Plato cleanly swept past Muller up the inside through Brooklands.

At the front of the Production class it was another teammate battle, as Moen made it past Harrison to take the lead in his 306. But by half-race distance the pair were nearly nine seconds ahead of their nearest challenger.

Before long, though, Moen suffered a lock-up and Harrison took full advantage to retake the lead.

As the lead Vauxhalls started weaving their way through the Production back markers, Plato managed to make up a gap on Muller, as Bennett was doing everything he could to keep up with his teammate, Thompson.

As the chequered flag waved, the Vauxhalls had managed to catch the third place Production car, O’Neill, but couldn’t quite make it to the lead pair.

Harrison with the outright win, Moen second, and O’Neill third in the Production class.

Plato, Muller, Thompson, and Bennett the top four in the Touring class.

Round 7 Results

Position	Class	Driver	Team	Car	Laps	Time	Best
1	P	Simon HARRISON	HTML	Peugeot 306 GTi	15	23:23.813	1:32.316
2	P	Roger MOEN	HTML	Peugeot 306 GTi	15	1.066	1:32.543
3		Jason PLATO	Vauxhall Motorsport	Vauxhall Astra Coupé	15	8.966	1:28.825
4		Yvan MULLER	Vauxhall Motorsport	Vauxhall Astra Coupé	15	10.819	1:28.982
5		James THOMPSON	Egg Sport	Vauxhall Astra Coupé	15	12.689	1:28.507
6		Phil BENNETT	Egg Sport	Vauxhall Astra Coupé	15	12.929	1:28.681
7	P	Paul O’NEILL	Tech-Speed Motorsport	Peugeot 306 GTi	15	23.856	1:33.802
8	P	Mat JACKSON	GR Motorsport	Ford Focus	15	24.126	1:33.494
9	P	James KAYE	Team Kaliber Sport with Barwell	Honda Accord	15	24.921	1:32.744
10		Dan EAVES	Peugeot Sport UK	Peugeot 406 Coupé	15	25.343	1:29.572
11		Steve SOPER	Peugeot Sport UK	Peugeot 406 Coupé	15	26.334	1:29.357
12	P	Rob COLLARD	Collard Racing	Renault Clio	15	28.063	1:33.795
13	P	Jim EDWARDS Jnr	TCR/Interactive Network Solutions	Honda Accord	15	38.813	1:33.688
14	P	Simon GRAVES	Team Kaliber Sport with Barwell	Honda Accord	15	47.167	1:34.352
R	P	Tom BOARDMAN	Tom Boardman Racing	Peugeot 306 GTi	12	DNF	1:34.128
R	P	Gavin PYPER	GA-Janspeed Racing	Alfa Romeo 156	12	DNF	1:33.482
R	P	Toni RUOKONEN	Cranfield Automotive Management	Mitsubishi Carisma	12	DNF	1:35.585
R	P	Nick JAMES	Arnold James Sport	Honda Integra Type-R	10	DNF	1:36.810
R	P	Richard MEINS	GR Motorsport	Ford Focus	6	DNF	1:35.379
R	P	Gareth HOWELL	GR Motorsport	Ford Focus	5	TRA	1:33.792
R	P	Roger MOEN	HTML	Peugeot 306 GTi	12	DNF	1:32.942
R	P	Nick BEAUMONT	Team B&Q/Talksport Radio	Honda Integra Type-R	11	DNF	1:38.804
R	P	Annie TEMPLETON	Tech-Speed Motorsport	Peugeot 306 GTi	11	DNF	1:38.141
NS	P	Rob COLLARD	Collard Racing	Renault Clio	15	28.063	1:33.795
NS	P	Paul O’NEILL	Tech-Speed Motorsport	Peugeot 306 GTi	–	DNS	N/A

Round 8: Feature Race

As the sun set and the lights came on, the teams prepared their cars for the first night race of the season. And to make things even harder, the rain started falling as the cars took their places on the grid.

With some of the Production drivers having never raced in the dark before, there was surely to be some serious action ahead.

Yvan Muller had put his Astra on pole again, followed by Plato. Bennett out-qualified Thompson in the Egg Sport Astras to take third.

The safety car pulled into the pit lane as the drivers prepared for their rolling start, with Muller and Plato alongside each other.

And it wasn’t long before paintwork was being exchanged as Soper skidded into Thompson into the first corner, sideswiping him into a spin. Soper blamed Luby for his part in the contact.

Just as in the sprint race, Plato managed to muscle his way past Muller with an excellent move and was up into first position.

With the rain teeming down and visibility at a all time low, Bennett in third was creeping up on the back of the two lead Vauxhalls, with Luby just behind having escaped unharmed from the earlier incident with Soper and Thompson.

Muller made it back past Plato, as Luby unwittingly decided to camouflage himself by turning off his headlights. Thankfully he managed to find the switch for his spotlights instead.

In the Production race it was Moen ahead of Pyper, ahead of Kaye. But Kaye managed an excellent move past Pyper to take second place as Jackson in the Focus had to retire.

Phil Bennett was the first car into the pits with a decent 8.1 second stop. 

With the lead two Vauxhalls hanging it out for as long as possible to take their stops in the hope of the rain stopping, Jason Plato outbraked himself at Abbey and had to take to the gravel, losing a whole chunk of time in the process.

He just about managed to keep it rolling and pitted the same lap, with a 7.1 second stop, but Yvan Muller was now miles out ahead.

But Muller’s joy would quickly turn sour as he came in for his pit stop the following lap. A problem with the jack meant he was stationary for 35 seconds, and now it was Plato driving off into the distance with Bennett also jumping Muller.

Dan Eaves in the Peugeot had to retire for a mechanic issue as Luby pitted for an 18.9 second pit stop.

Back in the Production race, it was Harrison now in the lead but Kaye made it past with a brilliant move. Not for long, though, as at the very next corner he overcooked it and took to the grass, gifting the place back to Harrison.

And after hitting neutral for a brief moment, Moen also made it past, bumping him down to third. An eventful few corners for Kaye.

As if things hadn’t been going bad enough for Muller, he was then hit with a drive-through penalty. Thankfully for him, the fourth placed Touring Car was so far behind that it wouldn’t make much of a difference.

Heading into the final lap it was all change at the front of the Production race, as Moen and Harrison had been exchanging places for the lead. Kaye was sat behind ready to pounce, and saw his opportunity. He bashed his way past Harrison to make it into second. 

Plato took the win with Bennett in second to register his best race result yet, and Muller took third after a horrible evening for him. 

Amazingly, Thompson had managed to continue after being punted into the gravel on the first corner, and ended up taking fourth, a long way down the road.

Moen took the win in the Production class, with Kaye in second and Harrison in third.

A brilliant evening under the lights with plenty of action and plenty of bad luck for Muller. He remained top of the driver’s championship at the end of the weekend, but Plato was in hot pursuit.

Next up: Rounds 9 & 10 at Mondello Park.

Round 8 Results

Position	Class	Driver	Team	Car	Laps	Time	Best
1		Jason PLATO	Vauxhall Motorsport	Vauxhall Astra Coupé	30	51:33.094	1:40.539
2		Phil BENNETT	Egg Sport	Vauxhall Astra Coupé	30	11.786	1:40.540
3		Yvan MULLER	Vauxhall Motorsport	Vauxhall Astra Coupé	30	30.345	1:40.498
4		James THOMPSON	Egg Sport	Vauxhall Astra Coupé	30	52.183	1:41.898
5		Steve SOPER	Peugeot Sport UK	Peugeot 406 Coupé	30	1:29.076	1:42.966
6		David PINKNEY	JS Motorsport	Alfa Romeo 147	30	1:37.321	1:43.229
7	P	Roger MOEN	HTML	Peugeot 306 GTi	30	1:37.517	1:45.120
8	P	James KAYE	Team Kaliber Sport with Barwell	Honda Accord	30	1:38.465	1:44.975
9		Kurt LUBY	ABG Motorsport	Lexus IS200	30	1:24.345	1:42.963
10	P	Simon HARRISON	HTML	Peugeot 306 GTi	30	1:37.517	1:45.120
11	P	Gareth HOWELL	GR Motorsport	Ford Focus	29	+ 1 LAP	1:45.982
12	P	Paul O’NEILL	Tech-Speed Motorsport	Peugeot 306 GTi	29	+ 1 LAP	1:45.788
13	P	Jim EDWARDS Jnr	TCR/Interactive Network Solutions	Honda Accord	29	+ 1 LAP	1:45.963
14	P	Dave ALLAN	Synchro Motorsport	Honda Accord	29	+ 1 LAP	1:46.424
15		Kurt LUBY	ABG Motorsport	Lexus IS200	15	51.098	1:30.822
16	P	Dave ALLAN	Synchro Motorsport	Honda Accord	29	+ 1 LAP	1:46.424
17	P	Colin BLAIR	GA-Janspeed Racing	Alfa Romeo 156	15	56.416	1:35.258
18	P	Rick KRAEMER	GR Motorsport	Ford Focus	29	+ 1 LAP	1:46.935
19		David PINKNEY	JS Motorsport	Alfa Romeo 147	30	1:37.321	1:43.229
20	P	Nick BEAUMONT	Team B&Q/Talksport Radio	Honda Integra Type-R	29	1:07.976	1:36.011
21	P	Annie TEMPLETON	Tech-Speed Motorsport	Peugeot 306 GTi	30	1:41.898	1:43.229
R		Dan EAVES	Peugeot Sport UK	Peugeot 406 Coupé	13	DNF	1:42.152
R	P	Gavin PYPER	GA-Janspeed Racing	Alfa Romeo 156	13	DNF	1:44.940
R	P	Colin BLAIR	GA-Janspeed Racing	Alfa Romeo 156	13	DNF	1:47.067
R	P	Mat JACKSON	GR Motorsport	Ford Focus	9	DNF	1:45.935
R	P	Annie TEMPLETON	Tech-Speed Motorsport	Peugeot 306 GTi	4	DNF	1:49.612
R		Tim HARVEY	JS Motorsport	Alfa Romeo 147	0	DNF	N/A
NS	P	Nick JAMES	Arnold James Sport	Honda Integra Type-R	–	DNS	N/A
R	P	Simon GRAVES	Team Kaliber Sport with Barwell	Honda Accord	7	DNF	1:45.927
R	P	Rob COLLARD	Collard Racing	Renault Clio	6	DNF	1:46.263
R	P	Nick BEAUMONT	Team B&Q/Talksport Radio	Honda Integra Type-R	11	DNF	1:38.804

Touring Car Driver’s Championship Standings After Round 7 & 8 – Leaders

Driver	Points
Muller	108
Plato	99
Thompson	89
Bennett	66

Touring Car Team Championship Standings After Round 7 & 8

Team	Points
Vauxhall Motorsport	79
Team Egg Sport	75
Peugeot Sport UK	20
ABG Motorsport	18

Production Car Driver’s Championship Standings After Round 7 & 8 – Leaders

Driver	Points
Harrison	93
Kaye	75
Moen	64
Howell	44
Jackson	44

Production Car Team Championship Standings After Round 7 & 8 – Leaders

Team	Points
Barwell Motorsport	62
GR Motorsport	60
HTML	47
GA Janspeed	26