The British Touring Car Championship is a series for highly tuned cars that nevertheless bear a strong visual resemblence to production saloons. This year, a cheaper and less high performance category is added to allow teams and drivers to enter the high-profile series without the levels of financial support necessary to run a works Super Touring operation.
Will update to 2002 when the Driver/Team combinations have been confirmed.
Super Touring
Rickard
Rydell
James Thompson
Jason Plato
Yvan Muller
Vincent Radermecker
Matt Neal
Alain Menu
Anthony Reid
Gabriele Tarquini
Colin Blair
Tom Kristensen
Class B
Alan
Morrison
Tom Ferrier
Marc Nordon
Robert Collard
Mark Lemmer
James Kaye
Richard Cuene-Grandidier
Gavin Pyper
Nick James
David Pitcher
3 - Rickard
Rydell
Age: 32
Nationality: Swedish
Team: Ford Team Mondeo
BTCCwins: 21
Date of Birth: 22.09.67
Lives: Täby, near Stockholm
Family: Married to Ulrika with three children
Car/Class: Ford Mondeo/Super Touring
1998 champion Rydell switches from Volvo to the blue oval outfit for 2000 hoping to bring more success to the Ford Mondeo team. After a lean BTCC debut season with Volvo in 1994, he has won at least one race every year since, a record he will want to keep going in 2000.
4 - James
Thompson
Age: 25
Nationality: English
Team: Redstone Team Honda
BTCC wins: 12
Date of Birth: 26.04.74
Lives: London Family: Single
Car/Class: Honda Accord/Super Touring
Yorkshireman Thompson scored his highest finish in the BTCC in 1998 when third overall. He joined Honda in 1997, following two years and two wins with Vauxhall, and has been edging in on his first drivers' title ever since. Expect him to be very strong this year.
5 - Jason
Plato
Age: 32
Nationality: English
Team: Vauxhall Motorsport
BTCC wins: 6
Date of Birth: 14.10.67
Lives: Oxford Family: Single
Car/Class: Vauxhall Vectra/Super Touring
1996 ELF Renault Spider UK Cup champion Plato took the BTCC by storm when he made his debut in 1997. With Renault, he claimed pole position in his first three races, won two races and finished third overall. Two more races victories, one each in '98 and '99, preceded his move to Vauxhall for 2000 where his looking to add to his victory tally.
6 - Yvan
Muller
Age: 30
Nationality: French
Team: Vauxhall Motorsport
BTCC wins: 4
Date of Birth: 16.08.69
Lives: Seppois Le Bas, Altkirch
Family: Single with one daughter
Car/Class: Vauxhall Vectra/Super Touring
Five in a row Andros Trophy Ice Racing Champion Muller brought his spectacular driving style to the BTCC in 1998 claiming three podium finishes for Audi. He moved to Vauxhall last year and his claimed his first victory. Ever flamboyant behind the wheel, there is no doubt Muller will entertain while challenging for the title in 2000.
8 - Vincent
Radermecker
Age: 32
Nationality: Belgian
Team: Vauxhall Motorsport
Best BTCC finish: 2nd
Date of Birth: 05.06.67
Lives: Liege Family: Married to Carine with one daughter Car/Class: Vauxhall
Vectra/Super Touring
Radermecker switched to the BTCC last year with Volvo after two good years in the Belgian Procar Championship. A former runner-up in the British Formula 3 Championship, the Belgian has joined Vauxhall for 2000 still hungry for his maiden victory in British touring cars.
9 - Matt
Neal
Age: 33
Nationality: English
Team: Team Dynamics Max Power Racing Team
BTCC wins: 1
Date of Birth: 29.12.66
Lives: Freckenham, West Midlands
Family: Single with two children
Car/Class: Nissan Primera/Super Touring
Reigning Michelin Cup for Independents Champion Neal became the 'people's champion' last season by winning the £250,000 prize on offer to an Independent for winning a BTCC race outright. Spurred on by that performance at Donington Park at the first meeting, Neal blitzed the Michelin Cup and is favourite to do so again.
11 - Alain
Menu
Age: 36
Nationality: Swiss
Team: Ford Team Mondeo
BTCC wins: 35
Date of Birth: 09.08.63
Lives: Geneva
Family: Married to Caroline with two children
Car/Class: Ford Mondeo/Super Touring
Former BTCC Champion Menu finished runner-up for three consecutive years until finally landing the title in 1997 for Renault, a team he drove for from 1993 until last year when he joined Ford. The most successful of current drivers, he scored the blue oval team's only victory last year and will want more in 2000.
12 - Anthony
Reid
Age: 40
Nationality: Scottish
Team: Ford Team Mondeo
BTCC wins: 7
Date of Birth: 17.05.59
Lives: Oxford Family: Married to Tina
Car/Class: Ford Mondeo/Super Touring
As a Nissan driver Reid was involved in the 1998 title showdown at the final meeting of the year but lost out to Rickard Rydell, despite winning more races than any other driver that year. He joined Ford at the end of 1998 and after a lean spell last season will be out to make amends this year.
18 - Gabriele
Tarquini
Age: 38
Nationality: Italian
Team: Redstone Team Honda
BTCC wins: 10
Date of Birth: 02.03.62
Lives: Monaco
Family: Single
Car/Class: Honda Accord/Super Touring
Former Formula One ace Tarquini won the BTCC at his first attempt, scoring eight wins with the all-conquering Alfa Romeo 155 in 1994. He returned with Honda in 1997 and again, for a few guest appearances, last year. In 2000 he could be an outside bet for the title.
45 - Colin
Blair
Age: 41
Nationality: Scottish
Team: PRO Motorsport
BTCC wins: 0
Date of Birth:
Lives: Glasgow
Family: Married to Audrey with two children
Car/Class: Nissan Primera/Super Touring
Michelin Cup for Independents competitor Blair makes his debut in the BTCC in 2000, his first season in front-wheel drive and only his fourth season as a racing driver. Prior to charging round Britain's race circuits in saloon cars, Blair worked for a recruitment company in his hometown.
77 - Tom
Kristensen
Age: 32
Nationality: Danish
Team: Redstone Team Honda
BTCC wins: 1
Date of Birth: 07.07.67
Lives: Monaco
Family: Single
Car/Class: Honda Accord/Super Touring
1997 Le Mans winner and Denmark's Driver of the Century, Kristensen is a new face among the BTCC manufacturer teams. He is not new to Honda, however, finishing third in the German Super Touring championship last year with three wins in an Accord. Once he has learned the circuits he will be a threat to the established stars.
Class B
13 - Alan
Morrison
Age: 29
Nationality: British
Team: Touring Car VIP Club
Date of Birth: 03.03.71.
Lives: Killyleagh, Co Down
Family: Single
Car/Class: Peugeot 306 GTi6/Class B
Morrison had his best year to date in 1998, winning the Ford Fiesta one-make series and then the Vauxhall Vectra Scholarship. The Scholarship led him into last year's Vauxhall Vectra SRi V6 Challenge where he finished runner-up. Before he turned to cars, Morrison was a champion Moto-X rider.
16 - Tom
Ferrier
Age: 18
Nationality: English
Team: GA Racing
Class B wins: 8
Date of Birth: 14.11.81
Lives: Bletchingly, Surrey
Family: Single
Car/Class: Alfa Romeo 156/Class B
Ferrier makes his debut this year in saloon cars, following just one season in single-seaters. The youngster started in Karts aged 11 and won the British Senior Intercontinental A title in 1998. He contested the 1999 Formula Renault Sport series and won the Star Cup for young drivers.
20 - Marc
Nordon
Age: 22
Nationality: English
Team: Bintcliffe Sport Racing
Date of Birth: 22.09.77
Lives: Harrogate, N Yorks
Family: Single
Car/Class: Nissan Primera/Class B
This is Nordon's first year in a two-litre saloon following a season in MGFs, where he was a regular top-six runner. He was runner-up in the 1998 Mighty Mini Championship. Prior to that he raced karts, competing against the likes of Jenson Button and Darren Manning.
21 - Robert
Collard
Age: 31
Nationality: English
Team: Bintcliffe Sport Racing
Date of Birth: 01.10.68
Lives: Eversley, Hants
Family: Single with one son
Car/Class: Nissan Primera/Class B
Collard finished third in last year's Vauxhall Vectra SRi V6 Challenge following two years in Formula Ford, where he came eighth overall in '98 and fourth in '97. Before that he was European, British and English Hot Rod Champion.
23 -
Mark Lemmer
Age: 32
Nationality: English
Team: Barwell Motorsport
Class B wins: 1
Date of Birth: 27.04.67
Lives: Cobham, Surrey
Family: Married to Jo
Car/Class: Honda Integra Type R/Class B
Lemmer first appeared in the BTCC in 1998 having won the prize Independent Vectra drive from the previous year's Vauxhall Vectra SRi V6 Challenge. He won the Independents class three times that year, then switched his attention to the National Saloon Car Cup taking three victories.
33 - James
Kaye
Age: 35
Nationality: English
Team: Barwell Motorsport
Class B wins: 5
Date of Birth: 18.02.64
Lives: Alton, Hampshire
Family: Married to Alison with two daughters
Car/Class: Honda Accord/Class B
Following several successful seasons in national saloon series, Kaye won the BTCC Independents Cup in 1992 and '94 and was a works Honda driver in the championship in '95 and '96. He moved to the FIA World GT Championship the following year but was lured back to saloon racing in '98.
43 - Richard
Cuene-Grandidier
Age: 44
Nationality: French
Team: Kermit Racing With Proton Motorsport
Date of Birth: 13.09.55
Lives: Paris
Family: Single with one daughter
Car/Class: Proton GTi/Class B
Banker Cuene-Grandidier has been a circuit marshal, race administrator and general motorsport volunteer in the last 20 years. He started racing seriously in 1998 in the Proton Coupe Cup. He joined the National Saloon Championship last year and races in that series again this year alongside his BTCC commitments.
44 - Gavin
Pyper
Age: 20
Nationality: Scottish
Team: Gary Ayles Racing
Date of Birth: 12.08.79
Lives: St Albans, Herts
Family: Single
Car/Class: Alfa Romeo 156/Class B
This is just Pyper's second year in saloons, having switched from single-seaters at the end of '98 after winning the Formula Vauxhall Winter Series. He won two Vauxhall Vectra SRi V6 Challenge races and finished fourth overall in '99, earning the Scottish Motor Racing Club's Rothmans Trophy, for rising talent
48 - Nick
James
Age: 45
Nationality: English
Team: Arnold James Sport
Date of Birth: 10.03.55
Lives: St Albans, Herts
Family: Married to Camilla
Car/Class: Honda Integra Type R/Class B
Qualified Engineer James began his motor racing career in his early 20s competing in rallycross and rallying. After a break to concentrate on his career, he returned to rallying in the early 1990s, then switched to circuit racing in 1995 and has competed in the Dunlop Rover Turbo Cup and National Saloon Championship.
69 - David
Pitcher
Age: 63
Nationality: English
Team: David Pitcher
Date of Birth: 16.05.35
Lives: Burnham, Bucks
Family: Married to Adele with one daughter
Car/Class: Honda Integra Type R/Class B
Pitcher changed one horsepower for another when he started in motorsport in
1990 following several years as a National Hunt jockey. He debuted in the
Renault 5 Turbo Cup, then moved to the National Saloon Championship, a series
he returned to last year after a brief spell driving in the Eurocar V6 championship.