Vauxhall (1991 - 2006)  

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Vauxhall Cavalier Vauxhall Cavalier Vauxhall Cavalier Vauxhall Cavalier Vauxhall Cavalier Vauxhall Vectra Vauxhall Vectra Vauxhall Vectra Vauxhall Vectra
J. Cleland J. Cleland J. Cleland J. Cleland J. Cleland J. Cleland J. Cleland J. Cleland J. Cleland
J. Allam J. Allam J. Allam J. Allam J. Thompson* J. Thompson D. Warwick D. Warwick Y. Muller
D. Leslie D. Leslie J. Allam(*1)
A. Portman H. Nuttall M. Briggs(*2)

R. Verdon -Roe
2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006
Vauxhall Vectra

Vauxhall Astra Coupe

Vauxhall Astra Coupe

Vauxhall Astra Coupe

Vauxhall Astra Coupe

Vauxhall Astra Sports Hatch

Vauxhall Astra Sports Hatch
Y. Muller Y. Muller Y. Muller Y. Muller Y. Muller Y. Muller T. Chilton
J. Plato J. Plato J. Thompson J. Thompson J. Thompson C. Turkington F. Giovanardi
V. Radermecker J. Thompson M. Neal P. O'Neill L. Hines G. Smith G. Smith
P.Bennett P. O'Neill E. Kizilirmak
Vauxhall Sport opened the 1991 season with the pairing of stalwart John Cleland and Jeff Allam behind the wheel of two 'works' Cavaliers.  It was a much fancied set up and the team were expected to do well in the run up to the season.  When the racing finally started the pair were always in contention for podium placings with both cars scoring well.  During the first half of the year Allam was the more consistent of the two drivers, although he didn't actually win a race.  Cleland, however came strong in the latter part of the championship and was in a position to win it , with the title being decided by the last race of the season.  Cleland finally finished in second place, the championship going to Will Hoy in a BMW M3.  

John Cleland - 1991 Vauxhall Cavalier

John Cleland - 1992 Vauxhall Cavalier

 Dave Cook Racing prepared two brand new Cavalier GSis, again for John Cleland and Jeff Allam, for the 1992 season.  The '91 machines were passed to the Ray Mallock run Ecurie Ecosse Team.   The Scottish based team also entered a two car outfit with David Leslie and Bobby Verdon-Roe (replaced by Alex Portman later in season) driving.  Although privately entered the team were supported by  manufacturer, Vauxhall, and were closer to a semi-works team in reality.  The first two races of the year went to Cleland and he quickly became the favourite to win the title.  The 'works' Vauxhalls dominated most of the season, consistently finishing in the top three.  Cleland scored another win, and Allam won at Knockhill and Silverstone.  Everything appeared to be going to plan for Vauxhall with Leslie also achieving good results for the Ecurie Ecosse team.  Vauxhall's grip on the trophy began to slip however as the BMWs of Tim Harvey and Tony Soper made a late resurgence towards the seasons end.  As in the previous season the outcome of the championship would be decided by the final race of the year.  Three drivers were in contention, Cleland (Vauxhall), Harvey (BMW) and Hoy (Toyota).  The final race at Silverstone was full of incident and eventually finished with Harvey as champion, after Cleland had been 'taken off' by Soper.  Vauxhall consoled themselves by taking the manufacturers title with Cleland and Allam finishing 3rd and 4th, respectively, in the drivers table.
The same set up was kept for 1993 by the 'works' team but at  Ecurie Ecosse, headed by Ray Mallock, Harry Nuttall was drafted in as the no. 2 driver.  Both teams started well with the 'works' entrants achieving consistent top five finishes courtesy of both drivers, although the first win didn't arrive until round 9, with Cleland, at Knockhill.  Despite some good results Cleland and Allam once again saw themselves overhauled by BMW who eventually went on to win the championship.  John Cleland eventually finished the season in  4th position as the highest placed 'works' driver.  Leslie achieved some fantastic qualifying times for the Ecurie Ecosse team to take four pole positions during the season but only managed one race win at Thruxton in round 14.  Nuttall managed mid table mediocrity for most of the season but gained 6th place at Pembrey and looked on for a podium place at Brands Hatch, until he was taken out of the race by his team mate... David Leslie.  Towards the end of the season Leslie and Ecurie Ecosse was regularly leaving the 'official' factory Cavaliers trailing in their wake.  The seasons end saw Cleland finish in 4th place in the drivers' table, Leslie 8th, Allam 9th and Nuttall 17th. 

John Cleland - 1993 Vauxhall Cavalier

Jeff Allam - 1994 Vauxhall Cavalier

 Ray Mallock (RML) took the reins of the works outfit for the '94 season, and Vauxhall were again much fancied for great things.  The season started well with Cleland gaining consistent podium finishes early on in the year.  Unfortunately for Vauxhall, despite a very respectable season, Alfa wiped the floor with the rest of the field and claimed most of  the silverware during the championship.  Allam's season was best described as mediocre, finally finishing 10th, but Cleland managed two race wins during rounds 8 & 9, at the double header meeting at Oulton Park.  He eventually ended the year in 4th.  The Cavaliers were known not to be the quickest cars on the track but  their reliability  usually saw them finish the distance.  Of more concern for Vauxhall was the fact that they only managed 5th in the manufacturers table.
1995 was the Cavalier's 'swansong' as a 'works' concern, with the new Vectra ready to take the field the following year.  It finally all fell into place for the Vauxhall squad after many previous seasons of promise.  James Thompson became the youngest driver to take the seat in a factory sponsored car, aged 20, replacing Allam as the No. 2 driver.  Cleland started the season as he meant to carry on and took 1st and 2nd in the first two rounds at Donington Park.  After a bad weekend at Brands Hatch, where he ended up in the gravel at Paddock twice, he went on to take another 5 race wins on his way to the drivers title.  Thompson scored his first BTCC pole position, and race win in the same meeting at Thruxton.  Unfortunately for him he didn't make it through the whole season, however.  After a horrendous crash at Knockhill, during testing, he was forced to rest for the remainder of the season and replaced by Jeff Allam(*1) and Mike Briggs(*2) for the last five meetings.  Vauxhall, Volvo, Ford and Renault all pushed for the manufacturers title throughout the season, with Renault finally grabbing the laurels from Vauxhall by 5 points.  Otherwise it was Vauxhall's year, Cleland as champion, Thompson a very creditable 7th in his first 'works' season and the factory outfit also took the Team title.    Also of note was the fact that Mike Briggs finished 15th in the final drivers table, above all the Alfa Romeo drivers who had contested far more rounds than Brigg's mere 8 races!  The Cavalier bowed out in style.

John Cleland - 1995 Vauxhall Cavalier

John Cleland - 1996 Vauxhall Vectra

 After six years of success with the Cavalier RML introduced the Vectra for the 1996 championship.  Although it proved to be a capable race car it lacked the vital edge in qualifying, and more often than not both Cleland and Thompson found themselves starting down the grid  on race days.  It proved to be a learning year for all concerned at Vauxhall although in it's first season the Vectra performed reasonably well.  Top three finishes were pretty spartan compared to previous seasons but both drivers did get onto the podium during the year.  Thompson took Vauxhall's only win of the year, at Snetterton during round 11, with Cleland taking 3rd in the same race.  Neither drivers, or cars, figured in the final championship standings by the close of the season.  
Things got worse for '97.  Triple Eight Race Engineering took over the reins from RML and Derek Warwick (from Alfa Romeo) replaced James Thompson in the second car.  The initial '97 spec cars were lightly re-worked '96 models and didn't perform well.  The combination of new management and under spec cars proved to be a disastrous one.  Neither driver made the top 10 in the drivers points and a few fifth places were the teams best results.  All in all a year to forget for the Luton based team.

John Cleland - 1997 Vauxhall Vectra

John Cleland - 1999 Vauxhall Vectra

 Triple Eight produced it's own 'in house' Vectra for 1998, it's second season running the factory outfit, and the car proved to be a vast improvement on it's predecessors.  John Cleland took the car to a pair of wins and a third place (all at Donington) and Warwick took his first BTCC win in round 20 at Knockhill.  Compared to the previous season the Vectra was a much more competitive package but was not consistently quick enough.  In what was seen by many as a positive season Vauxhall finished with great hopes for 1999.  Unfortunately those hopes were to be dashed.  Derek Warwick stood down from driving duties and was replaced by Frenchman Yvan Muller who had driven for Audi the previous season.  A brilliant win for Muller at Brands Hatch was the highlight of Vauxhall's year.  The car lacked qualifying pace and had a bad habit of failing ride height checks.  Triple Eight also saw several personnel 'jump ship' during the season adding to Vauxhall's woes.  In what proved to be Cleland's final year with Vauxhall, and the BTCC, he sadly didn't make the podium once.  Muller managed five podium visits  finishing 6th in the drivers' championship with Cleland a lowly 13th. 

With only three manufacturers entering the 2000 championship Vauxhall were many peoples favourites to win the championship.  Jason Plato (ex. Renault) and Vincent Radermecker (ex. Volvo) joined Muller in a strong three driver line up.  Plato started the season well with a win at Brands Hatch on the opening day of the season and Muller took two wins at Thruxton in rounds 5 & 6.  The Vectra looked strong early in the season and Plato and Muller both took the chequered flag again during the year.  But any thoughts of championship success were dashed as the Vectra failed to match the Ford Mondeo's dominant form.  Radermecker had an un-happy year as the No. 3 driver, even having to hand his car over to Muller at Snetterton after the Frenchman had crashed his own.  Muller and Plato finished the year in 4th & 5th respectively, with Vauxhall taking 3rd in the manufacturers' title.  

With the advent of new regulations for 2001 the Vectra finished it's BTCC career promising much but never quite delivering in full. 

Yvan Muller - 2000 Vauxhall Vectra

Yvan Muller - 2001 Vauxhall Astra Coupe

 The Luton marque entered a four car team, run by Triple Eight Racing, for 2001 with two sponsors.  The two Vauxhall Motorsport cars were driven by Yvan Muller and Jason Plato whilst the Team Egg sponsored cars had James Thompson and Phil Bennett behind the wheel.  Testing of the new Astra had begun well before main rival Peugeot hit the track with it's 406, and with three of the best touring car drivers in the fold Vauxhall were well placed to regain the BTCC title.  From the first green light of the season to the final chequered flag of the year things couldn't have gone any better.  It was unusual if the four Astras didn't occupy the top four places at the end of each race, they were unbeatable all season.  Most podium ceremonies throughout the season saw three Vauxhall drivers holding trophies.  Muller and Plato together won 18 of the 26 races in dominant style for the Vauxhall Motorsport team.  The Team Egg pairing won a further 7 races with only Anthony Reid (MG) preventing Vauxhall from taking a clean sweep of victories, by winning the last sprint race of the season at Brands Hatch.  The drivers championship went down to the final race of the season with either Plato or Muller capable of winning it.  With Muller suffering rare mechanical trouble with his Astra, forcing retirement, Plato finally ran out as champion finishing 18 points ahead of Muller.  This despite the fact that Muller had actually taken more race wins.  Thompson and Bennett took third and fourth respectively in the drivers championship to complete the perfect year for Vauxhall and Triple Eight. 

Pretty much the same set up was maintained by Vauxhall for 2002.  Previous years champion Jason Plato had left to pursue a career in the fledgling ASCAR series, and Muller was joined by James Thompson at Vauxhall Motorsport after having moved over from Team Egg.  Within the Team Egg Sport camp Matt Neal (ex-Team Dynamics) and Paul O'Neill, who had graduated up from the BTC Production field, took the vacated drivers billets of 2001.  Apart from the driver changes Vauxhalls 2002 season started pretty much as they ended 2001 - in front.  The first four rounds saw each Triple Eight driver take a win a piece, as the Astras again proved dominant.  Most race weekends saw a Vauxhall driver lifting the winners trophy, usually supported on the podium by a team mate in second or third place.  The pairing of Muller and Thompson took a total of 11 race wins with Neal and O'Neill taking a further four.  Vauxhall didn't quite have the stranglehold on the championship that they had shown in '01, however.  During the latter part of the season both the Hondas and 'works' MGs gained ground, resulting in Vauxhall only taking two wins in the last six rounds.  Vauxhall weren't too concerned,  having wrapped up the manufacturers title by the penultimate rounds at Brands Hatch, in August.  Both Muller and Thompson were level on points when the series went to Donington Park for the final two rounds of the year.  As in 2001, Muller was forced to retire in the feature race with mechanical problems handing the title to Thompson.  Matt Neal finished the year in third place in the drivers championship with partner O'Neill in eighth.  Another perfect year for the Luton based marque lifting all the silverware in the BTC Touring class.    

James Thompson - 2002 Vauxhall Astra Coupe

Yvan Muller - 2003 Vauxhall Astra Coupe

 For 2003 Triple Eight Race Engineering fielded a three car entry, retaining three of the drivers from 2002.  Muller, Thompson and O'Neill stayed put whilst Matt Neal had left to join the Honda 'works' team.  A subtle name change saw the cars in a new livery sponsored by VX Racing, formerly Vauxhall Motorsport.  Reigning champion James Thompson started his title defence off strongly, with victories in the opening two rounds at Mondello Park.  Muller and O'Neill also scored well and by the third meeting of the year, at Thruxton, all three VX Racing drivers were in the top three slots having accrued more points than the other three manufacturers added together!  As in the previous two years it wasn't unusual to see Vauxhall drivers hogging the podium after race finishes and all three spent most of the year in the top three slots of the championship standings.  Vauxhall's long-term investment in touring car racing was proving to pay dividends as the Astra was once again the class act of the field.  Another impeccable year followed and the season finale, at Oulton Park, again saw both Thompson or Muller capable of taking the drivers championship title.  The Team championship had already been won following the previous meeting at Donington.  After being 'bridesmaid' on two occasions Yvan Muller finally won the Championship taking a tally of six race wins throughout the year, James Thompson in second place with 4.  Paul O'Neill finished in 4th having been 'pipped' into 3rd place by Honda's Matt Neal, following disappointing results in the final two rounds.  Another good year.    
It had been rumoured for 2004 that Vauxhall, Triple Eight, and VX Racing would enter the championship with the new Vectra.  It was indeed considered, but voted down and the last two champions, James Thompson and Yvan Muller, returned for another season with the trusty Astra Coupe.  The third car was driven by Luke Hines who had been brought in after winning the BTC Production title in 2003.  The team and drivers had worked hard during the winter to develop the already successful Vauxhall Astra Coupé, and this was proved in pre-season testing at Donington Park.  The VX Racing drivers dominated the time sheets and proved to be considerably quicker than the previous lap record set under the current BTCC regulations, with Thompson almost a second faster than 2003 pole qualifying times!  James Thompson started the year well, pushing the Astra to victory in the first race of the season, at Thruxton, with Muller taking a win in the third race of the day.  Luke Hines wasn't too far behind in claiming his first win when he took a win a Brands Hatch in the second meeting of the year.  As in previous years the Astra proved to be a quality act and all three drivers were consistently finishing, often in podium positions.  But the success of the Vauxhall drivers wasn't so much on a massive superiority in podium finishes, more on the consistency that the team had perfected.  The final meeting of the year, as in 2003, saw both Thompson and Muller still able to win the drivers title, with only four points separating them.  In actual fact the drivers title race went all the way to the final chequered flag of the day, with Thompson taking the championship by just one point.   Thompson was drivers champion, Muller finished second and Hines ended the year in tenth, having taken two wins throughout the year.  The Luton based marque had won all the championship silverware again, becoming the first manufacturer in the history of the BTCC to secure the team, manufacturers’ and drivers’ championships for four consecutive years.

Yvan Muller - 2004 Vauxhall Astra Coupe

Yvan Muller - 2005 Vauxhall Astra Sports Hatch

VX Racing unveiled the new Astra Sport Hatch and a major change to its driver line up, for 2005.  Yvan Muller, remained for his sixth season with the marque but both Thompson and Hines had moved on.  The conversion of the road-going car to the striking touring car took a little over three months, with the car making its track debut in January.  The road-going cousin of the VX Racing Astra Sport Hatch, the Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch, went on sale to the public at Vauxhall dealerships the same weekend as the opening round of the 2005 BTCC season, at Donington Park in April.  Also making their VX Racing debut at Donington Park were new signings Colin Turkington and Gavin Smith.  Turkington joined the team for his fourth BTCC season whilst Gavin Smith graduated from the SEAT Cupra Championship and was confirmed as the third driver only two weeks prior to the season start.  Things went well, Turkington secured pole for the first race of the year, only to slide into the gravel on the outside of Redgate corner, and Muller took the car to it's first win in race two, also securing third place in race three.  With only two 'works' teams entered for the season it was expected that VX Racing, albeit with a completely new setup would give SEAT a run for the championship title.  The next meeting, at Thruxton, proved otherwise.  The Honda Integras of Team Halfords took all three race wins at the Hampshire circuit and showed that they were also worthy contenders for the title crown, as an independent team.  The new Astras proved to have good race pace and were always in contention.  Further wins for both Muller and Turkington followed, but the team consistency of previous years wasn't matched, and the podium placings proved harder to come by.  Muller was always in with an outside chance of taking the drivers title, and was in second place behind Matt Neal (Team Halfords) as the championship went to Brands Hatch for the season finale.  Muller failed to gain points in the last two races of the year and, yet again, finished 2nd in the final drivers table, to Matt Neal.  Turkington took sixth place with Smith finishing in ninth slot. Vauxhall took the manufacturers title, but this was their only silverware with Matt Neal, and Team Halfords taking the rest of the end of season trophies.  All in all  a very good consolidation year for the new Astra, but also a frustrating one!

Before the end of the 2005 championship work had already begun for the 2006 season, with additional focus on the mechanical dynamics of the suspension and other structural and handling systems of the 2006 car. Changes in the driver line-up were also muted and by the time the new season started both Turkington and Muller had left.  In their place VX Racing went for proven racing experience in recruiting 39 year old Italian, Fabrizio Giovanardi, and one of the up and coming stars of British 'Tin Top' racing in Tom Chilton.  Although Giovanardi had won most of the top accolades in Europe he had never raced in Britain, and consequently had nine new tracks to learn.  Chilton, however, had much experience on UK circuits, and proven BTCC results.  The third driver was Gavin Smith who started his second year with the team.  With only two manufacturers contesting the 2006 season Vauxhall were hoping to reclaim the drivers title. Chilton opened the season by sending a warning shot across the bows of his rivals, claiming pole position for the first race of the year at Brands Hatch.  He then had the crowd on its feet for most of the 27 laps as he battled for the lead with two-times champion Thompson (SEAT Leon). Chilton held on to second place, crossing the line 1.3s behind Thompson.  Fabrizio Giovanardi and Gavin Smith, had a mixed afternoon. Giovanardi crashed out of his first ever BTCC race, hitting the barriers as he spun off Cooper Straight, then finished in eighth and seventh places; Smith scored sixth, fourth and eighth places.  Unfortunately this seemd to set the standard for the rest of the year.  As in 2005 the Astra had the pace but didn't seem to perform on race days.  Triple Eight and VX Racing spent a lot of time trying to find a better balance for the race set up, which seemed to compromise qualifying times.  As a consequence the car didn't get its first win until round 23, at Knockhill, when Giovanardi took his first UK win.  Smith and Chilton had taken various podium finishes as the championship had  progressed but only one more win was to be forthcoming.  Giovanardi finished 1st at Brands Hatch in the third race of the meeting.  After the inaugural hopes, 2006 finished a miserable year by Vauxhall standards.  No silverware and despite there being only two 'works' outfits vying for the manufacturers title, Vauxhall finished second to SEAT.  Giovanardi took 5th in the drivers table with Chilton 7th and Smith 8th. Turkish driver Erkut Kizilirmak drove a fourth car at selected rounds during the year.

Fabrizio Giovanardi - 2006 Vauxhall Astra Sports Hatch
Audi Alfa Romeo BMW Ford
Honda Mazda Mitsubishi Nissan
Peugeot Proton Renault Rover/MG
SEAT Toyota Vauxhall Volvo