Best BTCC Driver Ever?

[Radisich Fan]

I would go for John Cleland or Alain Menu.. what do you think guys?

[V6.]

If he had had the right car it would have been Paul Radisich VS Alain Menu

[thommo_fan]

personally i'd say thommo because he has been a front runner in the championship so long and now he has finally won the title.

menu was also very good tho.

[Claw]

John Cleland, Rydell, Radisich and as much as I don't like him, you have to say Biela.

2 seasons, about 15 wins, 20 odd podiums. Can't be bad with 34 starts!

[Amanda]

This is an easy one for me ~ Jason Plato

[Radisich Fan]

Cleland, Radisich & Menu

[Peruzzi]

Menu is my favourite, but i dont know about the best.

[Radisich Fan]

Welcome back mate! :D

[Peruzzi]

Cheers!

Is there a list somewhere of confirmed drivers/teams for next season?

Sorry if this has been posted, but i havnt had time to look through the forum.

[Radisich Fan]

Yes, it is in the forum.... somewhere... either that or go the site with the dark blue background :p

[johnny grownup]

Best BTCC driver ever ?
Got to be either, Andy Rouse, Steve Soper or Jason Plato

[thommo_fan]

does anyone have a list of who has won the most btcc races?
i know andy rouse has won the most with 60 odd, but where do drivers like menu, cleland and rydell come?

[Claw]

Rouse had around 58, Menu 36 and Cleland only had 17.

Dunno about the rest.

[Alfa Fan]

Jack Sears, Win Percy or John Cleland

[AussieV8]

Ive seen most of all the drivers above at Bathurst so they all must be good if they are invited here by the Oz teams.

[thommo_fan]

its surprising that cleland only won 17 races

[Claw]

Yeah, those 17 were all outright victorys, and remember he had many class victorys in 1989.

[Sim_Da_BTCC_Man]

Cleland is my No.1 Driver of all time, closely followed by the Ledgend Will Hoy.

[Radisich Fan]

Cleland, Radisich & Menu are my faves!

[King Cleland]

Originally posted by Radisich Fan
Cleland, Radisich & Menu are my faves!

Rydell, Tarquini, Winkelhock & Soper too are very good!

[thommo_fan]

oppps. i forgot tarquni.
he was a great champion and fantastic character.
the btcc needs more characters like him

[MG-ZS EX260]

umm, only been into the BTCC for 2 years, so i have to say reid, great guy, my favourite BTCC driver

[the rat fan]

Has to be Paul Radisich!:D The mans a legend.

[V6.]

He sure was, i reckon if he came back now he could blitz the championship

[Le Mans]

Best ever?
Has to be Jim Clark.

Jim Clark (1936-1968)

Born - Kilmany, Scotland, March 4, 1936.
Died - Hockenheim, Germany, April 7, 1968.

Formula One World Champion (1963, 1965)
Formula One Runner Up (1962)
Tasman Series Champion (1968)
British Touring Car Champion (1964)
Indianapolis 500 Winner (1965)
Indianapolis 500 Polesitter (1964)
Le Mans 24 Hr Third Place (1960)
25 Formula One Wins (Belgium, Great Britain, United States 1962, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Great Britain, Italy, Mexico, South Africa 1963, Netherlands, Belgium, Great Britain 1964, South Africa, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Netherlands, Germany 1965, United States 1966, Netherlands, Great Britain, United States, Mexico 1967, South Africa 1968).

Jim Clark is recognised as being the greatest of them all. In a Grand Prix career stretching seventy-two races, he was first to the Chequered Flag twenty-five times. Only Juan Manuel Fangio holds a stronger win ratio.

[AussieV8]

Special mention for David Leslie.

He and I have two things in common his first name we share and he drove a Mazda Xedos6 and I drive a Mazda6. My user might be AussieV8 but my heart lies with Mazda.

Long live the rotary.. zoom zoom

[John]

For best I'd have to say Menu or Rouse (also Cleland and Rydell are up there) but also worth a mention is Tim Harvey - I know he hasn't got the results that some of the others have but considering some of the cars he has had (Peugeot 1998, Alfa 2001, Renault 19 1993 etc) he hasn't done too badly - especially when you consider he was racing back in the late 80s and was champion 10 years ago - how many other drivers from that era are still racing competitively today? - not many

There was a piece in Autosport a while back trying to find the best touring car driver and trying to compare the top drivers in UK, Germany, Europe etc with each other - and they never managed it - its so difficult to do because how do you compare someone whos always had a good car (eg Aiello) with someone whos further down the field - not getting the wins but is totally out performing his team mate?

[AussieV8]

Got a test for ya.
The top 5 in the BTCC and the V8's race against each other in 2lts and taxi's on roids (V8) and let the game begin..

[kestrel]

Without a doubt - 'Racing' Jason Plato - class act in every aspect.

[King Cleland]

We need more personalities!

[King Cleland]

Originally posted by kestrel
Without a doubt - 'Racing' Jason Plato - class act in every aspect.

Certainly not!

Plato was great, but not a legend, and certainly not the best!

[King Cleland]

Originally posted by Le Mans
Best ever?
Has to be Jim Clark.

Jim Clark (1936-1968)

Born - Kilmany, Scotland, March 4, 1936.
Died - Hockenheim, Germany, April 7, 1968.

Formula One World Champion (1963, 1965)
Formula One Runner Up (1962)
Tasman Series Champion (1968)
British Touring Car Champion (1964)
Indianapolis 500 Winner (1965)
Indianapolis 500 Polesitter (1964)
Le Mans 24 Hr Third Place (1960)
25 Formula One Wins (Belgium, Great Britain, United States 1962, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Great Britain, Italy, Mexico, South Africa 1963, Netherlands, Belgium, Great Britain 1964, South Africa, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Netherlands, Germany 1965, United States 1966, Netherlands, Great Britain, United States, Mexico 1967, South Africa 1968).

Jim Clark is recognised as being the greatest of them all. In a Grand Prix career stretching seventy-two races, he was first to the Chequered Flag twenty-five times. Only Juan Manuel Fangio holds a stronger win ratio.

Modern Era!!!

[John]

To be fair it doesn't say modern era does it?

[King Cleland]

No.. but come on! :rolleyes:

[The Stig]

Won't ever top the charts for wins, points, poles etc, but isn't Phil Bennet a bit of a legend ? He must be right up there for entertainment value. Think the BTCC will be a poorer place once he knocks it on the head (or the passenger side door)!!!

[thommo_fan]

phil bennett's great, he's a real character and personality, as is paul o'neill.
the btcc needs more people like them.

[The Stig]

Hasn't Phil Bennett copped bans for his more "robust" driving style ??

[thommo_fan]

he got a one race ban for getting physical with steve soper at croft in 2001 but the ban was a harsh punishment.
it was 6 of 1 and half a dozen of another, because soper absolutely nailed bennett into the hairpin.

[The Stig]

Can't remember the incident but it seems that way - how many of the more experienced drivers in the field, aren't averse to a little bit of "days of thunder", particularly against the younger, dare I say, less street-wise people in the field. Anthony Reid seems to be a pretty decent exponent of the old tap from behind.

[thommo_fan]

the trouble was 2001 was phil bennett 's first season and every time he was involved in a incident the other driver blamed phil, because he was the rookie.
that was quite unfair but phil kept a smile on his face and won 3 of the last 6 races:D

[Carl Breeze fan]

John Cleland, Andy Rouse, Will Hoy, Tim Harvey, Rickard Rydell

What about Frank Sytner? Certainly the best to watch, and very quick, but he did have a wee little temper problem didn't he...

[John]

Just a bit - especially Silverstone 1989 - Murray Walker summed it up best...... (Remember these were team mates and it was only the second round!)

'BANG... Sytner's hit him up the back look... well Sytner really is pushing hard, not content to sit behind his bootlid he's trying to open it... And Sytner seems to be prepared to drive over the top of Weaver if he has to...'

Later that lap:
'Into the left hander and CRUMP onto the gravel bed. There goes Frank on the left. Well this is more like stock car racing than touring car racing'

'There's going to be a brisk demand for BMW body parts tomorrow!'

Classic stuff!!

[Le Mans]

Originally posted by King Cleland
Modern Era!!!

The topic is 'Best BTCC Driver Ever'

[King Cleland]

:rolleyes:

Yes cos you were there to watch Jim Clark :rolleyes:

[John]

Yeah well at least 'Le Mans' is contributing something useful to the forum

[King Cleland]

So am I thank you!

Nice to see you contributing too! LOL

[John]

Yeah well people wont if they get slagged off - and the post does say 'ever' and not 'since 19...'

[King Cleland]

Could you point out where I have 'slagged' anyone off?

Cheers :D

[John]

Originally posted by King Cleland
:rolleyes:

Yes cos you were there to watch Jim Clark :rolleyes:

here??? Whatever though I cant be bothered

[King Cleland]

yes, because that post is insulting and calling somebody a 'name' isn't it?

:rolleyes:

[Moderator 2]

Easy guys - let's keep this pleasant please.
Yes you are being watched!!

[The Stig]

When you ladies have stopped bickering, isn't the question open to individual preference? For example Jim Clark, for me, is an F1 or Indy 500 legend. How many contribtors to the question can recall or have seen in action all of the nominations ?

[King Cleland]

Sorry mate!

Just I didn't think I had done anything wrong and John was out of order....

Sorry again! :)

[kestrel]

Originally posted by Le Mans
The topic is 'Best BTCC Driver Ever'

Exactly !! and NOT legends !

We are all entitled to our opinions King Cleland !!!

As previuosly said "Jason Plato" !:)

[The Stig]

We're all (knowledgeable) fans aren't we ? That's the beauty of this forum, we can express honestly held opinions and invite counter discussion. We all take part for one reason, our shared passion. I personally learn loads from this forum and want to carry on doing so. We need to find a way to disagree in a civilised fashion.

[King Cleland]

Originally posted by The Stig
When you ladies have stopped bickering, isn't the question open to individual preference? For example Jim Clark, for me, is an F1 or Indy 500 legend. How many contribtors to the question can recall or have seen in action all of the nominations ?

[King Cleland]

Originally posted by kestrel
Exactly !! and NOT legends !

We are all entitled to our opinions King Cleland !!!

As previuosly said "Jason Plato" !:)

Yes, and I argued saying Plato is by far, not the best ever BTCC driver! If you can give your opinion, then be prepared for others! :rolleyes: