playnext.fm

BREAK/FIX the Motorsports & Vehicle Enthusiast Variety Show

The British Touring Car Championship: We Were There

·50 min·5 clips
Gentleman Jack Sears' 500-horsepower Ford Galaxy humiliated Jaguars in his first BTCC race.
John Summers, the Motoring Historian, hosts with his high school buddy Mark Gammy to delve into the British Touring Car Championship. They set the context by noting the championship's origins as the British Saloon Car Championship in 1958, with early winners like Jack Sears. Sears' story is highlighted, including his win in an Austin Westminster and later in a Holman Moody Ford Galaxy with a 500-horsepower engine built for Daytona. The hosts discuss the 1970s era, mentioning tuner Bill Blydenstein and driver Jerry Marshall, who raced Vauxhalls like Big Bertha and Baby Bertha while known for drinking beer. They transition to the 1980s and 1990s, recalling cars like BMW M3s, Ford Sierras, and the two-liter formula with an 8,000 rpm rev limit. The role of TV coverage is emphasized, with Murray Walker's commentary making BTCC exciting and accessible. The hosts describe the narrow, undulating British club circuits like Brands Hatch, Thruxton, and Donington Park, where passing was aggressive. Memorable drivers and incidents are covered, including Gabrielle Tarquini's two-wheel antics in an Alfa Romeo 155 and Nigel Mansell's rain-affected win in a Ford Mondeo. They touch on the TOCA Touring Car video game from 1996, which featured damage modeling and helped popularize the series. The conversation shifts to personal anecdotes about driving cars like the Renault Laguna and Nissan Primera, linking road cars to their racing counterparts. The episode concludes with thoughts on the regulation changes in 2001 that reduced costs but also spectator interest, ending the peak era of BTCC.

As heard by us

A 1990s BTCC discussion grounded in British circuit culture and the feel of driving.

The 1990s British Touring Car Championship gives this episode its center, treated as a high point in a longer British saloon-car tradition. John Summers and Mark Gammy use that frame to move between period context and the lived character of the circuits, with Summers' paper…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want BTCC in the 90s with a paper agenda, British club circuits, and the occasional corner-name wobble.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →
Listen to the show on
Apple PodcastsSpotify
Play clips from this episodeMore from BREAK/FIX the Motorsports & Vehicle Enthusiast Variety Show