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SuperTouring History
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The start of the 1999 season saw a big payout for independant driver Matt Neal who scooped one of the TOCA bonus payments by taking overall victory in the
feature race at Donnington Park. Neal, driving a year old Nissan Primera, started the race from pole and appeared comfortable at the front until the pitstops.
Stalling in the pits dropped him to 5th but he managed to regain the lead before the finish, going home £250k better off.
The rest of the year also belonged to Nissan, the manufacturer taking a record clean sweep in the championship with driver, manufacturers, teams and independant
titles. This did not mean the series was any less competative, with all six manufacturers scoring at least one race win during the year.
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The new format for 1999 was night racing, with two rounds at Snetterton being held under the cover of darkness. Over 30,000 spectators had been encouraged by the
new initiative which saw additional floodlighting around the curcuit to aid visibility.
It was also the season which saw the retirement of John Cleland, the Vauxhall driver quitting the BTCC after an increadible 218 races over 10 seasons. In tribute
his team dressed in tartan and he was piped aboard his car for the final time at the last round at Silverstone.
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2000 was the final season for the SuperTourers in the BTCC. Only three manufacturers contested the series - Ford, Honda and Vauxhall, each running three
cars in an attempt to boost grid numbers. These were backed up by a hastily introduced second class for Production type saloons, which added little to the series,
but without which the grids would have appeared half empty.
On the track the Ford trio of Menu, Rydell and Ried were the dominant team. Although they did not have it all their own way, the Prodrive built and run Mondeos
were by far the best cars and only newly introduced success ballast kept the team from totally dominating the opposition.
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After a close season long battle it was Menu who took the drivers title, the only driver to win a second BTCC SuperTouring title.
His Ford team mates took the two runner up slots and Matt Neal took the Independants title against very little competition.
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