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British Touring Car Championship Greatest Hits

The British Touring Car Championship has seen more than its share of spectacular crashes over the years. Stephen Dobie recalls some of the best

October 2009

The BTCC isn’t just about crashing, of course. It’s been providing edge-of-the-seat racing since 1958, and was many a racing fan’s championship of choice during its 1980s and ’90s heyday. Thanks to HayFisher’s BTCC – The First 50 Years DVD you can educate yourself on the twists and turns the series has gone through, from its early amateurish days as the British Saloon Car Championship through the big-budget ’90s to today’s championship in which independent teams play a much bigger role.

There’s a heap of archive footage and interviews with the sport’s most important people – they’ve even let Tim Harvey in there to share his experiences from years of paint-swapping in a variety of cars. An extra disc also boasts four of the great end- of-season shootouts, including 1992’s classic between Harvey, Cleland and Hoy. Oh, and there’s crashes on there too. Brilliant. (£14.99 from Motorsport DVD, www.msdvd.co.uk)

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Silverstone 1993: Toyota teammates swap panels
Donington 1993: Mansell and Needell clash
Donington 1993: Mansell and Needell clash
Donington 1993: Mansell and Needell clash
1. Silverstone 1993: Toyota teammates swap panels

Will Hoy and Julian Bailey led one-two at Silverstone before Bailey punted his teammate off, flipping Hoy’s car.



2. Donington 1993: Mansell and Needell clash

In a 'last-man-standing' race race at Donington Park, in front of around 60,000 spectators, Nigel Mansell...



3. Donington 1993: Mansell and Needell clash

... ended up mangling his Mondeo. He appeared to have got an unexpected slide well under control before Tiff...



4. Donington 1993: Mansell and Needell clash

Needell rear-ended him sending Mansell’s Ford headfirst into barriers and back into oncoming traffic.



Knockhill 1994:Tarquini rolls an Alfa
Knockhill 1994:Tarquini rolls an Alfa
Knockhill 1994:Tarquini rolls an Alfa
Silverstone 1994: Matt Neal on a roll
5. Knockhill 1994:Tarquini rolls an Alfa

Italian Gabriele Tarquini had been shipped across to drive Alfa Romeo’s works 155. He’s remembered for this...



6. Knockhill 1994:Tarquini rolls an Alfa

... dramatic roll sequence. ‘The only door left on it was my door,’ says Tarquini. ‘It stopped on its wheels after...



7. Knockhill 1994:Tarquini rolls an Alfa

... rolling about three or four times. I had to have a bit of a sit-down for a few moments to recover.’



8. Silverstone 1994: Matt Neal on a roll

Neal's Mazda Xedos was pincered by two cars coming out of Copse, and sent rolling at around 120mph. Ouch.



Oulton Park 1996: Volvo meets armco
Oulton Park 1996: Volvo meets armco
Oulton Park 1999: Spence fancies a burger
Oulton Park 1999: Spence fancies a burger
9. Oulton Park 1996: Volvo meets armco

Kelvin Burt smashed his Volvo 850 touring car side-on into a barrier, dispersing a load of tyres as he did so.



10. Oulton Park 1996: Volvo meets armco

The car swung back to a standstill in a shape similar to the one in which it had left the track. Viva side impact bars!



11. Oulton Park 1999: Spence fancies a burger

Wet qualifying at Oulton saw Russell Spence struggling, After a Mondeo left the track in front of him, Spence...



12. Oulton Park 1999: Spence fancies a burger

... outbraked himself and vaulted his Laguna over the Ford before parking on fencing 20 yards from a burger van.



Brands Hatch 2007: Jackson causes spin
Brands Hatch 2008: John Georges
Brands Hatch 2008: John Georges
Croft 2009: Vaulkhard goes for a spin
13. Brands Hatch 2007: Jackson causes spin

Contact between Matt Jackson’s BMW and Neals's Civic caused a 13-car pile-up as rivals piled into each other.



14. Brands Hatch 2008: John Georges

It was the final round of the season when a scuffle with Darren Turner led to George’s Honda Integra cannoning...



15. Brands Hatch 2008: John Georges

... off the barriers and into a series of spectacular rolls. He escaped uninjured and said: 'we’re not playing tiddlywinks.’



16. Croft 2009: Vaulkhard goes for a spin

Harry Vaulkhard's punctured Lacetti lead to an interaction with Chilton's Focus, keeping him out of races 2 and 3.