The 1989 Esso RAC British Touring Car Championship was the 32nd season of the championship. This season was the final year of the four separate class format, with the championship changing to just two classes for 1990. There were a total of thirteen rounds with the best eleven scores for each driver counting towards the championship. The title was won by John Cleland with a works Vauxhall Astra GTE 16V.^[1][2]

Teams & Drivers

Team Car No. Drivers Rounds Endurance Drivers Class A Kaliber Racing Ford Sierra RS500 1 Andy Rouse All Win Percy 10 Guy Edwards 1-11, 13 Johnny Dumfries Win Percy1 David Sears 12 Arquati Racing Team Ford Sierra RS500 2 Jerry Mahony All Gary Ayles Listerine Racing Team Ford Sierra RS500 3 Mike Newman All Alistair Lyall 4 Graham Goode All Alistair Lyall FAI Auto Parts Ford Sierra RS500 5 Sean Walker All Damon Hill Labatt's Team Ford Sierra RS500 6 Laurence Bristow All Tiff Needell 7 Tim Harvey 1-9, 11-13 David Sears Tomas Mezera 10 Mark Rennison Ford Sierra RS500 9 Mark Rennison 3, 5-6 Graham Hathaway Racing Ford Sierra RS500 14 Graham Hathaway 1, 4-5, 10, 12 Dave Wallis Brooklyn Motorsport Ford Sierra RS500 15 Chris Hodgetts 1-7, 11-12 David Leslie Terry Drury Racing Ford Sierra RS500 16 Dave Pinkney 1-10 Graham Scarborough Jon Dooley 13 17 Mike O'Brien 1-3, 5-13 18 Robin Donovan 1-9 Mike O'Brien Andrew Hepworth 13 Brodie-Brittain Racing Ford Sierra RS500 19 Dave Brodie 1-6, 8-10, 12-13 Andrew Gilbert-Scott Trakstar Motorsport Ford Sierra RS500 20 Mike Smith 1-8, 10-13 Mike Wilds Will Hoy 9 21 Robb Gravett All Jeff Allam Bornebusch Racing Ford Sierra RS500 22 Kaj Bornebusch 1-2 JQF Engineering Ford Sierra RS500 25 Gerrit van Kouwen 1-11 Pierre Dieudonné Tomas Mezera 12 Chris Hodgetts 13 Trident Motorsport Maserati Biturbo 26 Tomas Mezera 3, 6 Nick May 5, 7-8, 10-11, 13 John Lepp 9 Vic Lee 12 Asquith Autosport Ford Sierra RS500 28 Karl Jones All Vic Lee Class B Demon Tweeks BMW M3 30 James Kaye 1 Barrie Williams 7 Alan Minshaw 11-12 John Maguire Racing BMW M3 31 John Clark 1-4, 6-11, 13 Andrew Jeffrey 43 Godfrey Hall 1-8, 10-13 Lionel Abbott BMW Team Finance BMW M3 32 James Weaver All Steve Soper 33 Frank Sytner All Will Hoy Ian Forrest BMW M3 35 Ian Forrest All Bernard Hunter Nettan Lindgren BMW M3 37 Nettan Lindgren 1-2, 7-11 BRR Motorsport BMW M3 44 John Llewellyn All Gerry Marshall Class C Demon Tweeks Volkswagen Golf GTI 50 Alan Minshaw 1-10 John Brindley Team Eurotech Peugeot 309 GTi 53 Mike Jordan 1-4, 7, 11 Peter Tyson John Morris Volkswagen Golf GTI 55 John Morris 1, 3-8, 10-13 Barrie Williams Vauxhall Motorsport Vauxhall Astra GTE 16v 56 John Cleland All Ian Flux 57 Jeremy Rossiter 7-13 58 Louise Aitken-Walker 2-13 Vince Woodman Monorep Vauxhall Astra GTE 16v 63 Tony Lanfranchi 10, 12-13 Class D Phil Dowsett Toyota Corolla FX GT 70 Phil Dowsett 1-2, 4-7, Mark Goddard Rayscar 10-11 PG Tags Racing Honda Civic Si 75 Ray Armes 7-13 Five Star Racing Toyota Corolla GT 77 Geoff Kimber-Smith 1-5, 7-13 Barbara Cowell Mark Goddard 6 Tony Dolley Toyota Corolla FX GT 81 Tony Dolley 1-3, 5-7, 10-13 Les Liddiard Toyota Corolla FX GT 85 Les Liddiard 2-7, 10-13 Steve King Tony Crudgington Toyota Corolla GT 88 Tony Crudgington 2-13 Chuck Nicholson 1Drove car illegally. Calendar All races were held in the United Kingdom. Overall winners in bold. Round Circuit Date Pole Position Fastest Lap Class A Winner Class B Winner Class C Winner Class D Winner 1 Oulton Park (International), Cheshire 24 March Andy Rouse Robb Gravett Robb Gravett James Weaver John Cleland Geoff Kimber-Smith 2 Silverstone Circuit (Grand Prix), Northamptonshire 9 April Andy Rouse Robb Gravett Andy Rouse James Weaver John Cleland Phil Dowsett 3 Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire 1 May Andy Rouse Andy Rouse Tim Harvey Frank Sytner Louise Aitken-Walker Phil Dowsett 4* Donington Park (National), Leicestershire 7 May Robb Gravett Robb Gravett Laurence Bristow Tiff Needell Frank Sytner Will Hoy John Cleland Ian Flux Phil Dowsett Mark Goddard 5 Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire 29 May Dave Brodie Robb Gravett Andy Rouse James Weaver John Cleland Tony Crudgington 6 Silverstone Circuit (National), Northamptonshire 4 June Andy Rouse Robb Gravett Robb Gravett James Weaver Louise Aitken-Walker Phil Dowsett 7 Silverstone Circuit (Grand Prix), Northamptonshire 16 July Andy Rouse Andy Rouse Andy Rouse James Weaver John Cleland Ray Armes 8 Brands Hatch (Grand Prix), Kent 23 July Robb Gravett Robb Gravett Robb Gravett James Weaver John Cleland Ray Armes 9 Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit, Norfolk 6 August Robb Gravett Robb Gravett Robb Gravett James Weaver John Cleland Ray Armes 10 Brands Hatch (Grand Prix), Kent 20 August Andy Rouse Andy Rouse Andy Rouse James Weaver John Cleland Phil Dowsett 11 Birmingham Superprix, Birmingham 28 August Robb Gravett Andy Rouse Andy Rouse James Weaver John Cleland Geoff Kimber-Smith 12 Donington Park (Grand Prix), Leicestershire 17 September Robb Gravett Robb Gravett Tim Harvey James Weaver John Cleland Ray Armes 13 Silverstone Circuit (Grand Prix), Northamptonshire 8 October Karl Jones Andy Rouse Andy Rouse James Weaver John Cleland Ray Armes 1 hour endurance race. Driver Standings/Results Overall DC Class Pos Driver Class OUL SIL THR DON THR SIL SIL BRH SNE BRH BIR DON SIL Pts 1 1 John Cleland C 15 19 19 9 15 Ret 21 14 16 14 16 17 20 110 2 1 James Weaver B 6 13 8 11 8 13 13 9 12 7 11 12 10 109 3 1 Andy Rouse A Ret 1 Ret Ret 1 3 1 2 2 1 1 3 1 78 4 2 Robb Gravett A 1 2 5 2 Ret 1 2 1 1 Ret 5 2 3 74 5 2 Louise Aitken-Walker C 20 15 12 16 19 22 15 17 15 17 18 Ret 72 6 2 Frank Sytner B 10 Ret 7 6 19 Ret 15 11 13 9 12 13 11 70 7 1 Phil Dowsett D Ret 21 17 13 Ret 20 26 16 Ret 56 = 3 Tim Harvey A 2 16 1 3 2 2 4 Ret 3 2 1 2 56 9 2 Tony Crudgington D Ret 20 15 20 24 29 Ret 22 Ret 24 25 37 = 3 John Llewellyn B 14 24 26 7 13 16 19 12 15 19 14 15 14 37 11 4 Ian Forrest B Ret 18 18 8 Ret 15 17 DNS 14 10 13 14 35 12 4 Laurence Bristow A NC 3 Ret 1 18 6 5 6 5 2 3 10 4 32 13 3 Ray Armes D 25 17 19 Ret Ret 21 21 31 = 5 Godfrey Hall B 12 15 9 Ret 12 17 Ret DNS 15 13 31 15 4 Geoff Kimber-Smith D 18 Ret DNS Ret 22 28 20 23 20 20 22 Ret 30 16 3 John Morris C Ret 16 Ret 17 21 Ret 20 19 Ret 23 27 17 4 Jeremy Rossiter C 23 16 18 Ret 18 19 22 26 18 5 Les Liddiard D 26 25 Ret DNS DNS 27 21 23 26 25 19 6 Tony Dolley D 19 25 22 Ret 30 21 DNQ DNQ 27 22 = 5 Alan Minshaw C Ret 22 24 16 Ret 22 24 19 21 Ret 22 21 5 Sean Walker A 5 NC 4 4 6 5 9 Ret 6 4 8 5 8 17 22 6 Mark Goddard D 13‡ 23 15 23 6 Mike Jordan C 16 23 21 14 Ret DNS 15 24 6 Mike Newman A 4 8 3 Ret 3 Ret Ret 5 Ret 5 22 7 DNS 14 25 6 Nettan Lindgren B NC 17 18 13 20 17 Ret 12 = 7 John Clark B Ret Ret 14 Ret 18 Ret 18 Ret 18 Ret 15 12 27 7 Mike Smith A 7 10 10 Ret 5 4 10 3 Ret Ret 9 7 10 28 8 Tiff Needell A 1‡ 9 = 8 Will Hoy B 6‡ 9 = 7 Ian Flux C 9‡ 9 = 7 Tony Lanfranchi C 21 20 24 9 32 9 Guy Edwards A Ret 7 13 DSQ DNS DNP 3 4 Ret 7 6 8 33 10 Karl Jones A Ret 11 2 Ret 4 12 12 7 Ret Ret DNQ 8 9 7 = 11 David Sears A 3‡ 4 7 35 13 Jeff Allam A 2‡ 6 = 9 Gerry Marshall B 7‡ 6 = 8 Vince Woodman C 12‡ 6 = 8 Chuck Nicholson D 15‡ 6 = 12 Graham Goode A Ret 4 DNS DNQ 10 Ret 6 Ret 11 6 9 6 Ret 6 = 14 Chris Hodgetts A 8 6 Ret DNQ Ret 7 8 4 11 5 6 41 15 Jerry Mahony A 3 27 6 Ret Ret 9 11 8 9 8 10 Ret Ret 5 42 16 Tomas Mezera A Ret DNS 3 Ret 4 = 10 Bernard Hunter B 8‡ 4 = 9 Peter Tyson C 14‡ 4 = 11 Steve Soper B 11‡ 4 = 17 Gerrit Van Kouwen A Ret 9 Ret 5 7 11 7 7 Ret 6 4 47 18 Damon Hill A 4‡ 3 = 19 Will Hoy A 4 3 = 10 John Brindley C 16‡ 3 51 12 James Kaye B 17 2 = 20 Pierre Dieudonné A 5‡ 2 = 13 Alan Minshaw B DNQ 16 2 53 21 Andrew Gilbert-Scott A 10‡ 1 = 14 Barrie Williams B 20 1 55 22 Graham Hathaway A 9 Ret DNS 13 Ret 0 = 23 Robin Donovan A Ret Ret 12 Ret 9 14 Ret 0 = 24 Mike O'Brien A 13 14 11 Ret Ret DNQ 14 10 10 12 DNQ Ret 12 0 = 25 Mark Rennison A Ret DNS 10 0 = 26 Kaj Bornebusch A 11 12 0 = 27 David Pinkney A DNQ Ret 23 Ret 11 Ret 16 Ret 0 = 28 Nick May A 21 Ret  ? DNQ 0 = 29 John Lepp A 27 0 Vic Lee A Ret‡ DNQ 0 Lionel Abbott B Ret‡ 0 Mike Wilds A Ret‡ 0 Dave Wallis A Ret‡ 0 Andrew Jeffrey B Ret‡ 0 Barrie Williams C Ret‡ 0 Alistair Lyall A Ret‡ 0 Graham Scarborough A Ret‡ 0 Win Percy A Ret‡ 0 Gary Ayles A Ret‡ 0 Steve King D Ret‡ 0 Barbara Cowell D Ret‡ 0 Johnny Dumfries A DSQ‡ 0 Andrew Hepworth A  ? 0 Jon Dooley A  ? 0 David Leslie A DNQ‡ 0 Dave Brodie A DNA 5 DSQ 10 DSQ 8 DNS 8 11 NC Ret -37 Overall DC Class Pos Driver Class OUL SIL THR DON THR SIL SIL BRH SNE BRH BIR DON SIL Pts Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX) Note: bold signifies pole position, italics signifies fastest lap in class (1 point given). ‡ Endurance driver. Championship results Driver's championship Pos. Driver Car Class Points 1 John Cleland Vauxhall Astra GTE 16V C 110 2 James Weaver BMW M3 B 109 3 Robb Gravett Ford Sierra RS500 A 79 4 Louise Aitken-Walker Vauxhall Astra GTE 16V C 72 5 Frank Sytner BMW M3 B 70 6 Tim Harvey Ford Sierra RS500 A 60 7 Phil Dowsett Toyota Corolla FX GT D 56 8 John Llewellyn BMW M3 B 37 8 Tony Crudgington Toyota Corolla GT D 37 10 Ian Forrest BMW M3 B 35 11 Laurence Bristow Ford Sierra RS500 A 34 12 Godfrey Hall BMW M3 B 31 12 Ray Armes Honda Civic Si D 31 14 Geoff Kimber-Smith Toyota Corolla GT D 30 15 John Morris Volkswagen Golf GTI C 27 16 Andy Rouse Ford Sierra RS500 A 26 16 Jeremy Rossiter Vauxhall Astra GTE 16V C 26 18 Les Liddiard Toyota Corolla FX GT D 25 19 Alan Minshaw Volkswagen Golf GTI C 22 19 Tony Dolley Toyota Corolla FX GT D 22 21 Sean Walker Ford Sierra RS500 A 17 22 Mike Jordan Peugeot 309 GTI C 16 22 Mike Newman Ford Sierra RS500 A 16 24 Mark Goddard Toyota Corolla FX GT D 15 25 John Clark BMW M3 B 12 25 Mike Smith Ford Sierra RS500 A 12 25 Nettan Lindgren BMW M3 B 12 28 Guy Edwards Ford Sierra RS500 A 11 29 Karl Jones Ford Sierra RS500 A 10 30 Ian Flux Vauxhall Astra GTE 16V C 9 30 Tiff Needell Ford Sierra RS500 A 9 30 Tony Lanfranchi Vauxhall Astra GTE 16V C 9 30 Will Hoy BMW M3 B 9 34 David Sears Ford Sierra RS500 A 7 34 Graham Goode Ford Sierra RS500 A 7 36 Vince Woodman Vauxhall Astra GTE 16V C 6 36 Jeff Allam Ford Sierra RS500 A 6 36 Gerry Marshall BMW M3 B 6 36 Chuck Nicholson Toyota Corolla GT D 6 36 Chris Hodgetts Ford Sierra RS500 A 6 41 Jerry Mahony Ford Sierra RS500 A 5 42 Tomas Mezera Ford Sierra RS500 A 4 42 Steve Soper BMW M3 B 4 42 Peter Tyson Peugeot 309 GTI C 4 42 Gerrit Van Kouwen Ford Sierra RS500 A 4 42 Bernard Hunter BMW M3 B 4 47 Damon Hill Ford Sierra RS500 A 3 47 John Brindley Volkswagen Golf GTI C 3 47 Will Hoy Ford Sierra RS500 A 3 50 Pierre Dieudonné Ford Sierra RS500 A 2 50 James Kaye BMW M3 B 2 50 Alan Minshaw BMW M3 B 2 References ↑ "BTCC :: Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship". Archived from the original on 2013-10-30. Retrieved 2013-06-30. Official 1989 BTCC standings ↑ "1989 Esso RAC British Touring Car Championship - Discussion and results - TenTenths Motorsport Forum". External links Official website of the British Touring Car Championship