1988 Dunlop RAC British Touring Car Championship - Discussion & Results

[Tim Wilkinson]

Position	Number	Driver	Team/Sponsor	Class	Car	Time/Laps
1	#22	Andy Rouse	Rouse-Kaliber	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	31m54.36s
2	#7	Mike O'Brien	Docking / Autoglass	A	Holden Commodore VL	32m09.06s
3	#8	Jerry Mahony	Dowson-Arquati	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	32m40.10s
4	#5	Tim Harvey	Drury / Sumo Giants	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	32m52.79s
5	#14	Mike Newman	Goode / Burlington	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	32m55.38s
6	#33	Frank Sytner	Prodrive-BMW Finance/Mobil	B	BMW M3	33m14.25s
7	#44	Alan Minshaw	Minshaw-Demon Tweeks	B	BMW M3	33m15.24s
8	#36	Godfrey Hall	Maguire / MILA	B	BMW M3	33m20.00s
9	#27	Peter Buxtorf	Buxtorf	A	BMW 635CSi	16 laps
10	#70	Phil Dowsett	TOM's GB	D	Toyota Corolla GT	16 laps
11	#60	Mark Hales	CHMS / AJG Transport	D	Toyota Corolla GT	16 laps
12	#77	Geoff Kimber-Smith	AGK Motorsport	D	Toyota Corolla GT	16 laps
13	#20	Graham Hathaway	Hathaway / Soans	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	16 laps
14	#32	Mike Smith	Prodrive-BMW Finance/Mobil	B	BMW M3	16 laps
15	?	Kevin Eaton	MIL Motorsport / East Midlands Transport	D	Toyota Corolla GT	15 laps
DNF	#50	James Kaye	Minshaw / Demon Tweeks & Slick 50	C	VW Golf GTI 16v	14 laps – driveshaft
DNF	#39	Lionel Wiffen	Drury	B	Ford Escort RST	12 laps – turbo pipe
DNF	#15	Graham Goode	GGR / Listerine -Texaco	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	11 laps – engine
DNF	#19	Laurence Bristow	Rouse-CAM Shipping	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	10 laps - diff
DNF	#16	Karl Jones	Asquith / Duckhams	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	7 laps – engine
DNF	#10	Pete Hall	Rouse / ICS	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	4 laps
DNF	#38	Dave Wallis	Drury / Kenwood Car Hi-Fi	B	Ford Escort RST	3 laps – accident
DNF	#48	Andrew Jeffrey	Specialist Cars Aberdeen	C	VW Golf GTI 16V	3 laps – driveshaft
DNF	#17	Bob Sands	CC Racing / Crystal Facilities	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	1 lap – gearbox
DNF	#1	Chris Hodgetts	MIL / Shell - Toyota	A	Toyota Supra Turbo	0 laps – driveshaft
DNA	#6	Steve Soper	Eggenberger-Texaco	A	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	Dock strike

Fastest laps - weather was drizzly for the race, so times were slower than qualifying
Class A - Bristow 1m45.91s
Class B - Sytner 1m49.09s
Class C - Kaye 1m57.68s
Class D - Dowsett 1m53.93s

Race had originally been scheduled for 16 laps, then upped to 20. Eventually ran over 17 (47.07miles), as William said, because of the Minshaw crash. There was a bit of contention about that "accident".

Grid (3-2-3) - I would assume that pole at Oulton was on the right rather than the the left
3 - Bristow, 2 - Mahony, 1 - Rouse (A pole - 1m41.67)
5 - P Hall, 4 - Goode
8 Sands, 7 G Hall, 6 - Sytner (B pole - 1m44.90s),
10 - ?, 9 Newman ,
13 Minshaw, 12 Harvey, 11 Jones
15 O'Brien 14 Hodgetts,
18 Smith 17 Hathaway, 16 Buxtorf,
20 Hales, 19 Dowsett (D pole 1m50.39s)
23 Eaton, 22 Kimber-Smith, 21 Wallis
25 Kaye, 24 Jeffrey (C pole 1m56.11s)
26 Wiffen



James Weaver deputised for Smitty in testing and a practice session, due to Mike's broadcasting commitments - this might account for the missing number 10 slot on the grid, which could shift the rest of the grid around. Maybe there's more info on the video? I have it, but don't have a VHS player any more!

Other info - The two Golfs are both ex-Tarmac rally cars. Mike O'Brien was still in the VL Commodore as the evoultion engine hadn't turned up from Australia. Andy Rouse won AT Oulton on Friday, and then also won the first round of the French championship at Nogaro. Pete Hall retired, both from the race, and from racing due to work pressures.