1983 British Saloon Car Championship


The 1983 Trimoco RAC British Saloon Car Championship was the 26th season of the championship. Steve Soper driving a works Rover SD1 built by TWR was initially champion, but after he and the team was disqualified on a technicality, Andy Rouse won his second drivers title in an Alfa Romeo GTV6.

Season overview

The sporting regulations changed to FIA sanctioned Group A specification, and three different classes competed for honours. TWR expanded their team and ran a trio of Rover Vitesses for Pete Lovett, Jeff Allam and Steve Soper. Austin Rover would also back Roger Dowson Engineering who ran Turbo Metros in Class B whilst Ford supported a semi-works Ford Escort outfit in Class C. GM/Opel entered a single Opel Monza for Tony Lanfranchi. Reigning champion Win Percy would once again drive for Toyota, this time at the wheel of a Supra Turbo. Meanwhile, Frank Sytner raced for the works BMW team.
TWR dominated the season, winning all 11 races. The drivers had the races pretty much their own way until Sytner, who had fallen out with Walkinshaw and left TWR the previous season, protested the legality of the Rover cars to the governing body. In response, Walkinshaw protested Sytner's BMW which led to extended legal wrangling which would drag on until long after the season was over.
Soper beat his more experienced team mates and won the outright championship, while Andy Rouse who had taken over the Alfa Romeo GTV6 run by Pete Hall won Class B after a season long dice with the Metros. In Class C, Alan Minshaw took the class honours in his Volkswagen Golf, seeing off the Ford challenge.
However, six months after the championship was over, Sytner's protest was heard by a Tribunal of Enquiry, chaired by veteran legal counsel Lord Hartley Shawcross. The result was the RAC disqualified the Rover team entirely over bodywork irregularities and engine installation issues, handing the title to Rouse. In response, Austin Rover withdrew from the BSCC immediately as a works outfit to concentrate on competing in Europe, and would not return until 2001 under the guise of MG Rover.

Teams & Drivers

Calendar & Winners

Overall winners in bold.
RoundCircuitDateClass A WinnerClass B WinnerClass C Winner
1Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire20 March Steve Soper Hamish Irvine Win Percy
2Oulton Park, Cheshire1 April Jeff Allam Jon Dooley John Morris
3Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire4 April Pete Lovett Jon Dooley Alan Greenhalgh
4Brands Hatch, Kent10 April Steve Soper Andy Rouse Alan Curnow
5Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire30 May Pete Lovett Andy Rouse Alan Curnow
6Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire12 June Steve Soper Andy Rouse Chris Hodgetts
7Donington Park, Leicestershire25 June Pete Lovett Andy Rouse John Morris
8Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire16 July Steve Soper Jon Dooley Richard Longman
9Donington Park, Leicestershire14 August Steve Soper Tony Pond Alan Minshaw
10Brands Hatch, Kent29 August Pete Lovett Andy Rouse Chris Hodgetts
11Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire2 October Jeff Allam Andy Rouse Chris Hodgetts

Championship Standings

Drivers' Championship

Points were awarded on a 9, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1 basis to the top six finishers in each class, with one bonus point for the fastest lap in each class. In races where a class had less than four starters, points would be awarded to the top two finishers with one point for the fastest lap. A driver's best nine scores counted towards the championship, dropped scores are shown in brackets. Positions are shown as overall/class.

Notes:
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