2000 British Touring Car Championship

The 2000 Auto Trader RAC British Touring Car Championship season featured 24 rounds across 12 meetings, it commenced at Brands Hatch on 9 April and concluded at Silverstone on 16 September.[1]

2000 BTCC season
Previous: 1999 Next: 2001

2000 marked the final year for Super Touring specification cars in the championship. The champion was Alain Menu driving a Ford Mondeo, his teammates Anthony Reid and Rickard Rydell finished 2nd and 3rd respectively. The Michelin Cup for Independents was won by Matt Neal driving a Nissan Primera.

The newly introduced Class B, for Super Production specification cars, was won by Alan Morrison driving a Peugeot 306 GTi.

Alain Menu won the championship driving a Ford Mondeo
Anthony Reid finished 2nd driving a Ford Mondeo
Matt Neal won the Independents Cup driving a Nissan Primera
Gabriele Tarquini finished 6th overall driving a Honda Accord
Alan Morrison won the Class B championship driving a Peugeot 306
James Kaye finished 2nd in Class B driving a Honda Accord

Driver changes

There were several changes of driver for the 2000 season. Nissan, Renault and Volvo retired their works teams because of the rising costs of staying competitive in the BTCC, thus leaving only three manufacturers with factory supported entries: Ford, Honda and Vauxhall.[2][3] 1999 Drivers' Champion Laurent Aïello did not return to defend his title; the Frenchman tested for Honda,[4] however he instead joined Audi to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race and the newly revived Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters championship in Germany.[5] His place was taken by 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans co-winner and former Super Tourenwagen Cup driver Tom Kristensen.[4] In the meantime, Peter Kox switched to competing in the European Super Touring Car Championship. Initially Honda planned to run two cars but to level the playing field with Ford and Vauxhall decided to draft in 1994 champion Gabriele Tarquini in a JAS Motorsport prepared car that originally would have been driven alongside Kox in the European championship.[6]

1998 series champion Rickard Rydell joined that year's runner-up Anthony Reid and 1997 overall winner Alain Menu at the Prodrive Ford team following Volvo's departure. At the Vauxhall team, Yvan Muller was partnered by Jason Plato and Vincent Radermecker, having joined from Renault and Volvo respectively.[7] After a difficult 1999 season, former double champion (1989 and 1995) John Cleland announced his retirement from the BTCC.[8] Independent driver Matt Neal drove a 1999 Nissan Primera fielded by Team Dynamics, who had semi-works support from the manufacturer and running with updated 2000 body work.[9][10] A second Nissan was entered by PRO Motorsport for rookie Colin Blair. David Leslie would race the car at selected rounds later in the season following Blair's withdrawal halfway through the season.[11] Lee Brookes appeared on the entry list but his plans of competing in the championship in 2000 did not come to fruition.[12]

Regulation and sporting changes

Michelin, now the series' control tyre supplier, developed new compounds of tyres for the drivers but an intermediate option would no longer be available. The only choice for drivers was slick dry tyres or full wet compounds which meant tyre choices in greasy or changeable conditions were more crucial than before. To make matters even more difficult, tyre warmers were no longer allowed in advance of the race. As a result, the drivers had to take to the track on ill-handling cold tyres at the beginning of all races and after the mandatory pit stops.[13] All teams were restricted to 28 sets of dry tyres for all race meetings and test sessions to lower operating costs but no limitations existed for wet-weather compounds.[14]

Success ballast to help the championship have close and competitive racing and to prevent any team from dominating the series was introduced for the 2000 season. The top three finishers of the sprint and feature race at a meeting were allocated a ballast to be applied at the next meeting. It was distributed as 40 kg (88 lb) for a winner, 30 kg (66 lb) for second place and 20 kg (44 lb) for third place, with the ballast capped at 40 kg (88 lb).[13] No team was permitted to change the engine of their cars between the second qualifying session and the sprint race or the driver would incur a grid penalty that would see him start at the back of the grid. Also, replacement cars were not allowed except in force majeure when he would be allowed to drive his teammate's entry.[14]

The points scoring system for the Drivers' and Teams' Championships remained unaltered from the 1999 championship. However, the Manufacturers' Championship was now limited to each team nominating a maximum of three cars for points, up from two from the previous season, to reward committed manufacturers.[14] Furthermore, a dropped point score system was put into operation for the 2000 season. This meant all drivers would be required to drop their four worst results from the season before tallying his overall points haul.[15]

From 1 March 2000, a complete ban of private testing at any licensed motor racing circuit in the world was enforced, except for official test sessions organised by the series promoter TOCA that lasted for half a day and were held before each race weekend. The ban was enacted to greatly reduce operating costs for all teams and to restrict the amount of available time for drivers to set up their cars for each track to ensure a greater variation in performance and less predictable racing. Furthermore, test cars were barred from all official sessions unless they had been driven in the preceding race meeting.[14]

Class B

The 2000 season saw the introduction of a type of car regulation called "Class B" to bolster the number of entrants on the grid. The class was open to all vehicles that complied with the FIA Super Production regulations and the National Saloon Championship.[16] To allow for suitable grid sizes, Class B entries were accepted on a "first-come, first served" basis from teams who could commit to competing in the BTCC full-time.[17] Class B was created as a consequence of a request to series promoters TOCA from potential competitors in the National Saloon Championship in December 1999 as a means of promoting themselves in a more visible national motor racing series.[17] TOCA subsequently formed a partnership with the British Racing Drivers' Club-organised PowerTour series in January 2000, so that the two championships could work closely with race dates, regulations and marketing and promoting of Class B.[18]

Other

The entry fee for the Independents' Championship was abolished; teams would receive a starting money fee of £5,000 for each race meeting they entered, tyres would be given to teams at no extra cost and the champion of the category would receive £10,000 in prize money.[19]

Entry List

The following 32 drivers and 14 teams took part in the 2000 British Touring Car Championship (BTCC).

Team Car No. Drivers Rounds
Manufacturers
Redstone Team Honda with JAS Motorsport Honda Accord 2 David Leslie 3
4 James Thompson 1, 4–12
7 Peter Kox 2
18 Gabriele Tarquini All
77 Tom Kristensen All
Ford Team Mondeo Ford Mondeo 3 Rickard Rydell All
11 Alain Menu All
12 Anthony Reid All
Vauxhall Motorsport Vauxhall Vectra 5 Jason Plato All
6 Yvan Muller All
8 Vincent Radermecker All
Independents
PRO Motorsport Nissan Primera GT '00 2 David Leslie 9, 12
45 Colin Blair 1–7
Team Dynamics Max Power Racing Nissan Primera GT '00 9 Matt Neal 1–11
Nissan Primera GT '98 12
Class B
VIP Touring Car Club Peugeot 306 GTi 13 Alan Morrison All
14 Will Hoy 6
24 Lee Linford 9
25 Toni Ruokonen 10
26 Dan Eaves 11–12
Gary Ayles Motorsport Alfa Romeo 156 16 Tom Ferrier 10–12
44 Gavin Pyper 10–11
Bintcliffe Sport Nissan Primera 20 Marc Nordon 1–3, 5–12
21 Rob Collard 2–3, 5–12
Barwell Motorsport Honda Integra Type-R 23 Mark Lemmer 1–11
Honda Accord 12
33 James Kaye All
Arnold James Sport Honda Integra Type-R 48 Nick James 6–12
RJN Motorsport Nissan Primera 50 Andy Middlehurst 11
51 Bryce Wilson 12
David Pitcher Honda Integra Type-R 69 David Pitcher 1
GR Motorsport Ford Focus 71 Simon Harrison 11
81 Gareth Howell 11
Geoff Kimber-Smith Toyota Carina E 74 Geoff Kimber-Smith 12
Sources:[20][6][21][11][22][23]

Calendar

All races were held in the United Kingdom. A provisional 28-round calendar for the BTCC was officially announced on 28 July 1999. For the first time since the 1996 season, the series raced on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix layout and it served as the championship's season-opening meeting in April.[24] Two meetings were held at night: the sole Snetterton Circuit round in July and the season-closing meeting at the Silverstone Circuit in mid-September.[25] TOCA director Alan J. Gow explained that the advance publication of the calendar was so that the remaining British motorsport series could plain theirs but was told to reduce the number of rounds because of budgetary constraints for some teams.[26]

In response, the management of the Thruxton Circuit agreed to forego its second planned meeting in August and lower the number of rounds to 26.[25] Later, the Donington Park National circuit meeting, which had been proposed to be the season's second meeting on 23 April, was moved to late March to avoid a clash with the 2000 British Grand Prix but this decision was later reversed. The series' planned inaugural meeting in Ireland at Mondello Park was cancelled because the track needed improving to bring it to Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and TOCA standards, bringing the final number of rounds to 24.[27]

Round Circuit Date Pole Position Fastest Lap Winning Driver Winning Team Winning Class B
1 R1 Brands Hatch (Grand Prix), Kent 9 April Alain Menu Jason Plato Alain Menu Ford Team Mondeo Alan Morrison
R2 Alain Menu Anthony Reid Jason Plato Vauxhall Motorsport James Kaye
2 R3 Donington Park (National), Leicestershire 24 April Rickard Rydell Alain Menu Alain Menu Ford Team Mondeo Alan Morrison
R4 Rickard Rydell Rickard Rydell Alain Menu Ford Team Mondeo James Kaye
3 R5 Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire 1 May Yvan Muller Jason Plato Yvan Muller Vauxhall Motorsport Alan Morrison
R6 Jason Plato Jason Plato Yvan Muller Vauxhall Motorsport Alan Morrison
4 R7 Knockhill Circuit, Fife 14 May Alain Menu James Thompson Rickard Rydell Ford Team Mondeo Mark Lemmer
R8 Gabriele Tarquini Tom Kristensen Gabriele Tarquini Redstone Team Honda Alan Morrison
5 R9 Oulton Park (Island), Cheshire 29 May Alain Menu Jason Plato Alain Menu Ford Team Mondeo James Kaye
R10 Tom Kristensen Tom Kristensen Tom Kristensen Redstone Team Honda James Kaye
6 R11 Silverstone Circuit (International), Northamptonshire 11 June Rickard Rydell Yvan Muller James Thompson Redstone Team Honda Alan Morrison
R12 Rickard Rydell Yvan Muller Yvan Muller Vauxhall Motorsport Alan Morrison
7 R13 Croft Circuit, North Yorkshire 25 June Rickard Rydell Rickard Rydell Rickard Rydell Ford Team Mondeo Alan Morrison
R14 Rickard Rydell Rickard Rydell Rickard Rydell Ford Team Mondeo James Kaye
8 R15 Snetterton Circuit, Norfolk 8 July Jason Plato Jason Plato Jason Plato Vauxhall Motorsport Alan Morrison
R16 Rickard Rydell Jason Plato Alain Menu Ford Team Mondeo Rob Collard
9 R17 Donington Park (Grand Prix), Leicestershire 30 July Gabriele Tarquini Anthony Reid Anthony Reid Ford Team Mondeo Alan Morrison
R18 Gabriele Tarquini Anthony Reid Gabriele Tarquini Redstone Team Honda James Kaye
10 R19 Brands Hatch (Indy), Kent 28 August Rickard Rydell Matt Neal Matt Neal Team Dynamics Racing Alan Morrison
R20 Tom Kristensen Tom Kristensen Alain Menu Ford Team Mondeo James Kaye
11 R21 Oulton Park (Island), Cheshire 10 September Anthony Reid Gabriele Tarquini Anthony Reid Ford Team Mondeo Alan Morrison
R22 Gabriele Tarquini Gabriele Tarquini Gabriele Tarquini Redstone Team Honda James Kaye
12 R23 Silverstone Circuit (International), Northamptonshire 16 September Rickard Rydell Tom Kristensen Tom Kristensen Redstone Team Honda Alan Morrison
R24 Tom Kristensen Tom Kristensen Tom Kristensen Redstone Team Honda Dan Eaves

Championship results tables
Points system
 1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th   8th   9th   10th  Pole Position Fastest Lap Lead a lap
in feature race
15 12 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 1 1
Source:[28]
  • No driver may collect more than one "Lead a Lap" point per race no matter how many laps they lead.[28]
  • Drivers' top 20 results count towards the championship.[28]

Drivers Championship
Pos. Driver BRH DON THR KNO OUL SIL CRO SNE DON BRH OUL SIL Pts
Touring Class
1 Alain Menu 1 7* 1 1* 8 3 2 Ret 1 6 Ret 3 5 2 Ret 1* 8 9 4 1* 5 6 Ret 3* 195
2 Anthony Reid 5 2* 3 4 2 4 3 3 5 3 2 Ret 2 DSQ 4 6 1 3* (8) 4 1 2* (7) Ret(*) 193(201)
3 Rickard Rydell 3 4* 2 3* 4 Ret 1 2 Ret Ret 8 DSQ 1 1* 3 5 Ret 6 3 2 Ret 8 2 DNS 178
4 Yvan Muller 2 3 Ret 5 1 1* 7 4 Ret 5 7 1* 8 5 Ret 4 4 4 5 6 3 3 (8) 5 168(171)
5 Jason Plato 4 1* 6 7 3 2* 8 8 7 2 Ret 5 Ret Ret‡ 1 2 5 7 7 3* 9 4 Ret 2 160
6 Gabriele Tarquini 9 6* 4 2* Ret 5 Ret 1* 9 8 5 2 6 Ret‡ 6 7 6 1* 9 10 2 1* Ret 6 149
7 Tom Kristensen 7 Ret 5 6 9 Ret 5 Ret 3 1* 3 6* 4 9 2 Ret 10 Ret 2 8 8 Ret 1 1* 143
8 Matt Neal (10) Ret 8 8 7 Ret 4 5 6 9 4 Ret 3 3 5 8* 2 2 1 9 7 7* 5 7 129(130)
9 James Thompson 6 Ret 6 DSQ 4 4 1 4 7 4 Ret 3* 3 5* 6 5* 4 5 3 8* 129
10 Vincent Radermecker 8 5 7 Ret 5 Ret* 9 6 2 7 6 Ret 9 Ret‡ Ret DNS 9 8 10 7 6 Ret 4 4 81
11 Colin Blair 11 8 9 10 10 6 10 7 8 Ret 9 10 26
12 David Leslie 6 Ret 7 10 6 Ret 15
13 Peter Kox Ret 9 2
Class B
1 Alan Morrison 12 Ret 10 13 11 7 NC 9 Ret Ret 10 7 10 7 7 13 11 12 11 15 10 13 9 Ret 264(266)
2 James Kaye 13 9 11 11 13 Ret 12 11 10 10 11 8 NC 6 8 10 12 11 Ret 11 12 9 10 10 260(265)
3 Mark Lemmer 14 10 12 12 12 DSQ 11 10 11 12 12 9 12 10 9 11 13 13 14 13 15 12 12 Ret 185(200)
4 Rob Collard Ret Ret DNS DNS 12 11 13 Ret 11 8 Ret 9 14 Ret Ret 12 Ret DNS Ret Ret 81
5 Dan Eaves 11 10 11 9 53
6 Nick James 14 11 14 11 11 12 16 Ret Ret DNS Ret Ret 13 Ret 51
7 Marc Nordon Ret DNS Ret DNS DNS DNS 13 Ret DNS DNS 13 Ret‡ 10 Ret Ret Ret 15 Ret Ret Ret Ret 12 30
8 Tom Ferrier 13 14 Ret Ret Ret DNS 18
9 Gareth Howell 13 11 18
10 Toni Ruokonen 12 Ret 14
11 Geoff Kimber-Smith 14 13 11
12 Bryce Wilson Ret 11 10
13 Andy Middlehurst 14 Ret 6
14 Lee Linford 15 Ret 6
15 Will Hoy Ret Ret 2
16 Gavin Pyper Ret DNS Ret DNS 1
– Simon Harrison Ret Ret 0
– David Pitcher DNS DNS 0
Pos. Driver BRH DON THR KNO OUL SIL CRO SNE DON BRH OUL SIL Pts

Note: bold signifies pole position in class (1 point awarded all races), italics signifies fastest lap in class (1 point awarded all races) and * signifies that driver lead feature race for at least one lap (1 point given).

‡ Retired before second start of race

Independent's Championship
Pos. Driver BRH DON THR KNO OUL SIL CRO SNE DON BRH OUL SIL Pts
1 Matt Neal 10 Ret 8 8 7 Ret 4 5 6 9 4 Ret 3 3 5 8 2 2 1 9 7 7 5 7 345 (369)
2 Colin Blair 11 8 9 10 10 6 10 7 8 Ret 9 10 141
3 David Leslie 7 10 6 Ret 36
Pos. Driver BRH DON THR KNO OUL SIL CRO SNE DON BRH OUL SIL Pts

Manufacturers Championship
Pos Manufacturer BRH DON THR KNO OUL SIL CRO SNE DON BRH OUL SIL Pts
1 Ford / Ford Team Mondeo 1 2 1 1 2 3 1 2 1 3 2 3 1 1 3 1 1 3 3 1 1 2 2 3 515
3 4 2 3 4 4 2 3 5 6 8 Ret 2 2 4 5 8 6 4 2 5 6 7 Ret
2 Honda / Redstone Team Honda 6 6 4 2 6 5 5 1 3 1 1 2 4 4 2 3 3 1 2 5 2 1 1 1 411
7 Ret 5 6 9 Ret 6 Ret 4 4 3 4 6 9 6 7 6 5 6 8 4 5 3 6
3 Vauxhall / Vauxhall Motorsport 2 1 6 5 1 1 7 4 2 2 6 1 8 5 1 2 4 4 5 3 3 3 4 2 399
4 3 7 7 3 2 8 6 7 5 7 5 9 Ret‡ Ret 4 5 7 7 6 6 4 8 4
Pos Manufacturer BRH DON THR KNO OUL SIL CRO SNE DON BRH OUL SIL Pts

Touring Teams Championship
Pos Team BRH DON THR KNO OUL SIL CRO SNE DON BRH OUL SIL Pts
1 Ford Team Mondeo 2 1 3 2 3 3 1 1 3 1 2 3 205
4 3 4 3 6 Ret 2 5 6 2 6 Ret
2 Vauxhall Motorsport 1 5 1 4 2 1 5 2 4 3 3 2 196
3 7 2 6 5 5 Ret‡ 4 7 6 4 4
3 Redstone Team Honda 6 2 5 1 1 2 4 3 1 5 1 1 176
Ret 6 Ret Ret 4 4 9 7 5 8 5 6
4 Team Dynamics Max Power Racing Ret 8 Ret 5 9 Ret 3 8 2 9 7 7 47
5 PRO Motorsport 8 10 6 7 Ret 10 10 Ret 19
Pos Team BRH DON THR KNO OUL SIL CRO SNE DON BRH OUL SIL Pts

‡ Retired before second start of race

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References
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  28. "BTCC Regulations". BTCC Pages. Archived from the original on 20 March 2009. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
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