1994 British Touring Car Championship

The 1994 Auto Trader RAC British Touring Car Championship season was the 37th British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) season.

Gabriele Tarquini with Alfa Romeo 155 in Thruxton.

Changes for 1994

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  • The number of double header meetings were increased from three to eight
  • Double headers now awarded full points in both races instead of half, as had previously been the case

Season summary

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The lead up to the 1994 season saw both consolidation and major news amongst the manufacturers. Reigning champions BMW retained Joachim Winkelhock and Steve Soper, and the team would again be managed by works outfit Schnitzer Motorsport. Soper however would miss some races when they clashed with his JTCC programme; his place would then be taken by Roberto Ravaglia. Ford were looking to build on their late 1993 success with Paul Radisich and Andy Rouse, while Toyota added Tim Sugden to their 1993 drivers Will Hoy and Julian Bailey. While Vauxhall retained drivers John Cleland and Jeff Allam they had handed over the running of their works team to Ray Mallock Ltd., who had previously run semi-works cars as Ecurie Ecosse.

Renault also retained their drivers Alain Menu and Tim Harvey, but replaced their Renault 19 with more modern Lagunas. Keith O’Dor continued with Nissan but was joined by ex-Formula One driver Eric van de Poele, who replaced Win Percy. Patrick Watts moved from Mazda to Peugeot, replacing Robb Gravett, while Mazda expanded to a two-car line up with drivers Matt Neal and David Leslie. Mazda however would not see out the season, a collision between both drivers at the first Silverstone meeting of the season resulted in Neal spectacularly barrel rolling down the circuit several times, writing off his Xedos 6 car in the process. Neal wouldn't drive again that year as the team could not afford to provide a replacement car, and they subsequently soldiered on for a further three meetings with Leslie as their sole entry, before finally running out of money and withdrawing from the championship just before the Knockhill meeting.

Two new manufacturers joined the championship. Tom Walkinshaw made a comeback with Volvo, the Swedish manufacturer surprisingly choosing to run the estate version of their 850 model. 1988 Le Mans winner Jan Lammers and Swedish Formula Three racer Rickard Rydell would be the team’s two drivers. Alfa Romeo was the other manufacturer to join; Italian works outfit Alfa Corse would run two cars for Gabriele Tarquini and Giampiero Simoni. Alfa had produced a unique homologation special version of their 155 model complete with wings and spoilers, significantly improving the aerodynamics of the car. The 155 was to revolutionize Super Touring racing. The rules stated that aerodynamic wings could be used provided they were fitted to a limited number of road cars. Peugeot, Ford and Toyota had all run with rear spoilers in previous years due to this. Alfa exploited the rules by releasing a special edition of the 155 called the 'Silverstone' just to gain the aero advantage.[1] Renault and BMW eventually followed suit by releasing limited "homologation special" editions of their cars, the Laguna Airflow and the 318is, respectively.

The start of the season showed that Alfa Romeo had a substantial advantage over their opponents as Gabriele Tarquini dominated, taking the first five wins of the season. Several complaints and protests were lodged by other manufacturers, and just prior to Oulton Park Alfa were told to run without the aerodynamic aids fitted. Alfa refused and left the circuit in protest, allowing Alain Menu to take Renault’s first win of the season. Eventually matters were resolved and Alfa re-instated after agreeing to run with the spoilers lowered, but having lost out on any points from Oulton Park. Even with lowered spoilers, however, Tarquini was able to keep much of his advantage.

Silverstone hosted the twelfth round of the championship, and there rule changes were exploited by other manufacturers to add aerodynamic aids to their own cars. This levelled the playing field considerably and allowed Joachim Winkelhock to make a bid for victory, overtaking Tarquini and winning the race. Tarquini would only win one more race that season, but was always in contention: it was not so much a matter of if but when the Italian would become champion. When turned out to be the penultimate weekend at Silverstone, where Tarquini’s second place in the first race of the day secured the title for him. The main battle going into the final rounds at Donington Park was for second place, and would stand between Alain Menu and Paul Radisich. Radisich won the first race of the day bringing him up to level on points with Menu, but mechanical gremlins put a stop to his challenge in the second race. Menu thus finished second in the championship from Radisich, with John Cleland in fourth and Simoni in fifth.

Teams and drivers

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BTCC

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Team Car No. Drivers Rounds
Manufacturers
  BMW Motorsport Team Schnitzer BMW 318i 1   Joachim Winkelhock All
2   Steve Soper 1–3, 5, 7, 9, 11–13
21   Roberto Ravaglia 4, 6, 8, 10
  Team Mondeo Ford Mondeo Ghia 3   Paul Radisich All
31   Robb Gravett 13
32   Kelvin Burt 12
33   Andy Rouse All
  Vauxhall Sport Vauxhall Cavalier 16v 4   John Cleland All
9   Jeff Allam All
  Toyota Castrol Team Toyota Carina E 5   Julian Bailey All
7   Will Hoy All
57   Tim Sugden 2–6, 8, 12–13
  Team Mazda Mazda Xedos 6 8   David Leslie 1–8
12   Matt Neal 1–4
  Renault Dealer Racing Renault Laguna 10   Alain Menu All
11   Tim Harvey All
  Peugeot Sport Peugeot 405 Mi16 13   Eugene O'Brien 1, 3–12
18   Patrick Watts All
  Volvo 850 Racing Volvo 850 SE/GLT 14   Jan Lammers All
15   Rickard Rydell All
  Old Spice Nissan Racing Nissan Primera eGT 23   Kieth O'dor All
24   Eric van de Poele 1–8
34   Tiff Needell 5, 7–13
  Alfa Corse Alfa Romeo 155 TS 55   Gabriele Tarquini 1–4, 6–13
56   Giampiero Simoni 1–4, 6–13
Independents
  Maxted Motorsport Vauxhall Cavalier 16v 17   Ian Khan 3, 5–7
Toyota Carina E 1–2
29   James Kaye All
  Woodkirk Peugeot Peugeot 405 Mi16 19   James Thompson 1–4, 7–13
SuperPower 20   Ian Flux None
  Geoff Steel Racing BMW 318is 22   Geoff Steel 1–3, 5–6, 10–11
  Team HMSO Cavalier Vauxhall Cavalier 16v 25   Nigel Smith All
  Hamish Irvine BMW 318is 26   Hamish Irvine 4–13
  Harlow Motorsport Renault 19 16v 27   Nigel Albon All
  Roy Kennedy Racing Vauxhall Cavalier 16v 30   Chris Goodwin 2–8, 10–13

ToCA Shoot Out

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Team Car No. Drivers
Manufacturers
  Alfa Corse Alfa Romeo 155 TS 1   Gabriele Tarquini
5   Giampiero Simoni
  Team Mondeo Ford Mondeo Ghia 3   Paul Radisich
31   Robb Gravett
  Vauxhall Sport Vauxhall Cavalier 16v 4   John Cleland
10   Jeff Allam
20   Anthony Reid
  BMW Motorsport Team Schnitzer BMW 318i 6   Steve Soper
  Peugeot Sport Peugeot 405 Mi16 8   Patrick Watts
18   Eugene O'Brien
  Old Spice Nissan Racing Nissan Primera eGT 22   Tiff Needell
  Team Mazda Mazda 323F 24   Matt Neal
Independents
  Team HMSO Cavalier Vauxhall Cavalier 16v 25   Nigel Smith
  Maxted Motorsport Toyota Carina E 29   James Kaye
  Roy Kennedy Racing Vauxhall Cavalier 16v 30   Julian Westwood

Race calendar and winners

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All races were held in the United Kingdom.

Round Circuit Date Pole Position Fastest Lap Winning Driver Winning Team Winning Privateer
1 R1 Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire 4 April   Gabriele Tarquini   Gabriele Tarquini   Gabriele Tarquini Alfa Corse   James Kaye
2 R2 Brands Hatch (Indy), Kent 17 April   Gabriele Tarquini   Gabriele Tarquini   Gabriele Tarquini Alfa Corse   Nigel Smith
R3   Giampiero Simoni   Gabriele Tarquini Alfa Corse   Chris Goodwin
3 R4 Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit, Norfolk 2 May   Giampiero Simoni   Gabriele Tarquini   Gabriele Tarquini Alfa Corse   James Kaye
4 R5 Silverstone Circuit (National), Northamptonshire 15 May   Alain Menu   Paul Radisich   Gabriele Tarquini Alfa Corse   Chris Goodwin
R6   Alain Menu   Paul Radisich Team Mondeo   James Kaye
5 R7 Oulton Park (International), Cheshire 30 May   Alain Menu   Alain Menu   Alain Menu Renault Dealer Racing   Chris Goodwin
6 R8 Donington Park (Grand Prix), Leicestershire 12 June   Paul Radisich   John Cleland   John Cleland Vauxhall Sport   James Kaye
R9   Paul Radisich   John Cleland Vauxhall Sport   James Kaye
7 R10 Brands Hatch (Grand Prix), Kent 26 June   Giampiero Simoni   Gabriele Tarquini   Gabriele Tarquini Alfa Corse   James Kaye
R11   Gabriele Tarquini   Gabriele Tarquini Alfa Corse   James Thompson
8 R12 Silverstone Circuit (Grand Prix), Northamptonshire 10 July   Joachim Winkelhock   Gabriele Tarquini   Joachim Winkelhock BMW Motorsport Team Schnitzer   James Thompson
9 R13 Knockhill Racing Circuit, Fife 31 July   Paul Radisich   Steve Soper   Alain Menu Renault Dealer Racing   James Kaye
R14   Steve Soper   Steve Soper BMW Motorsport Team Schnitzer   Nigel Smith
10 R15 Oulton Park (International), Cheshire 14 August   Alain Menu   Joachim Winkelhock   Joachim Winkelhock BMW Motorsport Team Schnitzer   Nigel Albon
11 R16 Brands Hatch (Indy), Kent 29 August   Joachim Winkelhock   Joachim Winkelhock   Joachim Winkelhock BMW Motorsport Team Schnitzer   James Kaye
R17   Gabriele Tarquini   Joachim Winkelhock BMW Motorsport Team Schnitzer   Nigel Smith
12 R18 Silverstone Circuit (Grand Prix), Northamptonshire 11 September   Tim Harvey   Steve Soper   Tim Harvey Renault Dealer Racing   Nigel Smith
R19   Gabriele Tarquini   Gabriele Tarquini Alfa Corse   James Kaye
13 R20 Donington Park (Grand Prix), Leicestershire 18 September   Joachim Winkelhock   Paul Radisich   Paul Radisich Team Mondeo   Chris Goodwin
R21   Paul Radisich   Giampiero Simoni Alfa Corse   James Kaye

Championship results

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Drivers Championship

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Points system
 1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th   8th   9th   10th 
24 18 12 10 8 6 4 3 2 1
  • Race 2 grid for Double Headers are based on Race 1 results.
Pos Driver THR BRH SNE SIL OUL DON BRH SIL KNO OUL BRH SIL DON Pts
1   Gabriele Tarquini 1 1 1 1 1 DNS WD 3 DNS 1 1 2 Ret DNS 3 2 2 2 1 Ret 4 298
2   Alain Menu 6 18 Ret Ret 3 2 1 5 4 9 6 5 1 3 2 7 7 3 2 2 2 222
3   Paul Radisich Ret 5 4 2 2 1 2 2 2 Ret Ret 3 2 2 Ret 14 DSQ Ret DNS 1 9 206
4   John Cleland 2 3 2 Ret 7 4 7 1 1 5 4 DNS 5 6 Ret Ret DNS 4 4 8 5 177
5   Giampiero Simoni 11 2 DSQ 3 Ret DNS WD Ret DNS 2 2 Ret Ret 9 4 3 3 6 3 3 1 156
6   Joachim Winkelhock 3 Ret 7 Ret 14 14 8 Ret 8 8 7 1 Ret 11 1 1 1 Ret DNS 4 3 147
7   Steve Soper 4 10 6 8 4 4 14 3 1 5 4 22 5 12 Ret 102
8   Patrick Watts 7 7 8 5 5 3 3 7 11 3 3 6 15 Ret 8 6 DNS Ret Ret 7 11 98
9   Tim Harvey 10 Ret DNS Ret Ret 8 Ret 9 10 Ret 11 4 DSQ 4 6 4 Ret 1 18 5 8 78
10   Jeff Allam 14 6 5 6 12 9 6 6 3 19 10 7 4 5 12 13 Ret 8 9 9 13 76
11   Andy Rouse 21 4 3 DNS 4 19 Ret 4 6 6 5 Ret 11 15 Ret 11 DNS 13 8 20 10 66
12   Julian Bailey 20 19 10 Ret 10 5 10 8 5 11 9 DNS 8 7 9 10 6 5 6 6 6 66
13   Will Hoy 5 9 9 12 6 6 Ret 10 7 Ret 17 9 9 8 11 12 DNS 7 7 18 7 48
14   Rickard Rydell 15 22 15 Ret 19 13 5 11 Ret 10 8 8 6 10 Ret 15 8 10 12 10 12 27
15   Jan Lammers Ret 12 16 11 Ret 16 13 14 15 7 16 12 NC 12 7 9 5 16 17 13 16 18
16   Kieth O'Dor 9 11 Ret 4 8 DNS 11 13 12 12 13 DNS 14 14 10 16 DNS 11 Ret 22 18 16
17   Eugene O'Brien Ret 7 11 10 9 16 20 13 Ret Ret 7 13 14 8 Ret 12 Ret 14
18   Roberto Ravaglia Ret Ret 12 9 Ret 5 10
19   Tim Sugden 20 12 Ret 9 7 12 15 14 Ret 9 10 19 14 9
20   David Leslie 8 8 11 17 16 11 Ret Ret DNS Ret 19 11 6
21   Tiff Needell 17 Ret 18 DNS 10 16 13 17 9 15 14 15 15 3
22   Eric van de Poele 13 DNS DNS 9 13 12 14 17 13 14 12 DNS 2
23   Matt Neal 12 15 17 10 15 DNS 1
24   James Thompson Ret 16 18 Ret 21 DNS 18 15 10 Ret DNS Ret 20 Ret 18 Ret 16 19 1
25   Nigel Smith 18 13 14 15 20 Ret 16 20 18 16 20 13 Ret 17 17 19 10 17 16 23 20 1
26   Chris Goodwin 14 13 14 17 17 15 19 17 17 Ret DNS 18 22 11 19 15 14 21 0
27   Kelvin Burt 14 11 0
28   Robb Gravett 11 Ret 0
29   James Kaye 16 17 19 13 18 15 Ret 18 16 15 21 15 12 18 Ret 18 Ret 20 13 17 17 0
30   Nigel Albon 17 Ret DNS 16 22 18 DNS 22 Ret DNS DNS Ret Ret DNS 15 Ret 12 21 DNS Ret 22 0
31   Hamish Irvine 23 20 Ret 23 Ret 21 Ret 14 13 Ret 16 21 DNS 23 DNS 21 23 0
32   Geoff Steel 22 21 20 18 18 24 21 Ret 23 13 0
33   Ian Khan 19 DNS DNS Ret Ret 21 19 20 22 0
Pos Driver THR BRH SNE SIL OUL DON BRH SIL KNO OUL BRH SIL DON Pts

Privateers Championship

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Pos Driver THR BRH SNE SIL OUL DON BRH SIL KNO OUL BRH SIL DON Pts
1   James Kaye 16 17 19 13 18 15 Ret 18 16 15 21 15 12 18 Ret 18 Ret 20 13 17 17 340
2   Nigel Smith 18 13 14 15 20 Ret 16 20 18 16 20 13 Ret 17 17 19 10 17 16 23 20 308
3   Chris Goodwin 14 13 14 17 17 15 19 17 17 Ret DNS 18 22 11 19 15 14 21 274
4   James Thompson Ret 16 18 Ret 21 DNS 18 15 10 Ret DNS Ret 20 Ret 18 Ret 16 19 158
5   Nigel Albon 17 Ret DNS 16 22 18 DNS 22 Ret DNS DNS Ret Ret DNS 15 Ret 12 21 DNS Ret 22 108
6   Hamish Irvine 23 20 Ret 23 Ret 21 Ret 14 13 Ret 16 21 DNS 23 DNS 21 23 108
7   Geoff Steel 22 21 20 18 18 24 21 Ret 23 13 72
8   Ian Khan 19 DNS DNS Ret Ret 21 19 20 22 48
Pos Driver THR BRH SNE SIL OUL DON BRH SIL KNO OUL BRH SIL DON Pts

Manufacturers Championship

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Pos Manufacturer THR BRH SNE SIL OUL DON BRH SIL KNO OUL BRH SIL DON Pts
1 Alfa Romeo / Alfa Corse 1 1 1 1 1 DNS WD 3 DNS 1 1 2 Ret 9 3 2 2 2 1 3 1 330
2 Renault / Renault Dealer Racing 6 18 Ret Ret 3 2 1 5 4 9 6 4 1 3 2 4 7 1 2 2 2 259
3 Ford / Team Mondeo 21 4 3 2 2 1 2 2 2 6 5 3 2 2 Ret 11 DSQ 13 8 1 9 248
4 BMW / BMW Motorsport Team Schnitzer 3 10 6 8 14 14 4 12 8 4 7 1 3 1 1 1 1 22 5 4 3 242
5 Vauxhall / Vauxhall Motorsport 2 3 2 6 7 4 6 1 1 5 4 7 4 5 12 13 Ret 4 4 8 5 224
6 Peugeot / Peugeot Sport 7 7 8 5 5 3 3 7 11 3 3 6 7 13 8 6 Ret 12 Ret 7 11 167
7 Toyota / Toyota Castrol Team 5 9 9 12 6 5 10 8 5 11 9 9 8 7 9 10 6 5 6 6 6 137
8 Volvo / Volvo 850 Racing 15 12 15 11 19 13 5 11 15 7 8 8 6 10 7 9 5 10 12 10 12 103
9 Nissan / Old Spice Nissan Racing 9 11 Ret 4 8 12 11 13 12 12 12 DNS 10 14 10 16 9 11 14 15 15 69
10 Mazda / Team Mazda 8 8 11 10 15 11 Ret Ret DNS Ret 19 11 31
Pos Driver THR BRH SNE SIL OUL DON BRH SIL KNO OUL BRH SIL DON Pts

References

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  1. ^ "Road cars of Touring Car Racing - Alfa Romeo 155". 15 March 2009.
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