And the end of season curtain falls.

[MG Freak]

Well, it's all over for another year....but what a great year.
We've stilll got to wait to see which manufactors compete next year though......

Ive had an idea, why doesn't everyone put down there favourite moment of the season??

Mine has to be Colin Turkington's first win at Brands :D Magic.

[Claw]

Sorry, but I wouldn't call it a great year. Not even good. :(

There weren't to many stella races, not enough new cars and not to many new drivers in the top class.

2004 is gonna be good though. :)

[Alan]

Well Claw - I'm sorry but I have to disagree - this may not have been the best year ever but it was good, if not excellent. There have been some good races and it all came down to the last weekend again.

There may not have been any new cars but that is largely irrelevant I think as it is the quality of the cars you have which is important - and that, as the results this year have shown, is improving all the time. The grids are slowly increasing too which is important.

As for new top drivers, they have never exactly come along in bus loads have they, but we do have at least two new top class drivers this year in Colin T and Paul O - and then there is Tom Chilton and you must not pass over Luke Hines and Gareth Howell. All are potential (if not current) stars.

[VkmSpouge]

I thought this year was okay, not the best year ever but certainly not the worse. As for best moment of the season it had to Round 16 at Brands Hatch on the restart after the Safety Car, when Muller ran wide and Colin Turkington shot through to win.:)

[Les]

my best moments - easy - everytime I walked through the gates on qualifying day knowing I was starting a weekend of meeting friends and watching some great racing

[Claire]

There have been so many good bits that I couldn't list them all but the ones that stick in my mind are Alan Blencowe's first production win last weekend and him clinching 2nd in the production champhionship, Dan's two indie wins, Colin T's first podium for MG then his win and Paul's ever improving race form and his win at Snetterton.
The Clio's have also entertained me and I have enjoyed the heritage cars as well.
It's been an awesome season and it's made even better by sharing all that with my friends roll on 2004. :)

[Amanda]

It has been another great year, I can't believe that it is over already!

There has been some great racing and a good mixture of new drivers and experienced ones.

The best bit for me has been spending time with good friends and making new ones.

Now all we need is for the 2004 calendar to be confirmed and I can start booking hotels!:D

[Jamie P-E]

The best bits of 2003 have been seeing Alan get his first production win and meeting such fantastic people (Amanda, claire and Co.)

The 2004 series will even better

Roll on 2004!!

Jamie :)

[Peter]

It's definitely been the best year of BTC Touring. Even if the drivers' championship wasn't as close as least season, it was great to see all three MG drivers winning races and Honda giving Vauxhall a run for their money in the majority of races. The quality of drivers this season has been outstanding- I don't think any of the BTC Touring seats were wasted.

The most memorable race for me would have to be Race 1 in the first Brands Hatch meeting. There were so many incidents I could not possibly name all of them! It was also made particularly memorable because it took place in front of the 40,000 crowd and there was a real ampitheatre atmosphere.

I also have lots of other fantastic memories. I was also really pleased to have met a number of you for the first time this year. Thanks for helping me enjoy this season, guys.

Roll on Thruxton:D

[Freddie]

Would love to remember the best times but too many to list.
Watching Colin Turkington mature from a promising driver to a fully fledged star. He probably wouldn't have had the confidence to try that move at Brands that led to his win earlier in the season.
Seeing Gareth Howell get into a left hooker and be on the pace from the start.
The Clio's were good value, as were the Porches. And who could fail to enjoy watching those crazy Legends. How about reverse grids for the Tourers, Alan?
Not as keen on the single seaters but they are growing on me and will make an effort to find a favourite to follow.

Now how can I make the Winter go quickly enough? Any one know of a tardis going cheap?

[Stuart]

I only got to one meeting this year, and that was my first since 1999...
Much as I love the championship I'm involved in, I really wish I'd had more time to get to more BTCC races because what I saw on TV and live at Thruxton was just brilliant... a reminder of how the BTCC was 8-10 years ago.
I've regained my faith in the BTCC and I can't wait for 2004 - I just hope the calendar clashes are minimal.
Until then, I guess I just have to survive the winter on a diet of season review videos... time to blow the dust on 1988 (old faithful) and start working forwards...:(

[Invincible]

I thought 2003 was a great season, it hasn't been the best season but is certainly up there with some of the classics.

Anyway despite the Brands Hatch moment its been great to see Monsieur Muller win his first (Touring Car) title since his French sucess eight years back. And well done to Rob Collard in the Indies, fully deserved!

And a fond farewell to the Production Class, well done to Luke, in his first year of tin-tops, although I always felt that Bentwood was unlucky during the season especially at Rockingham!

Six or Seven months to go before 2004, don't worry it'll only seem like six or seven minutes before their all ready to go!

[Toto]

I agree with Peter - that first race at Brands was something very special. The atmosphere was extraordinary. I think TOCA's decision to stick with the Indy circuit is more than justified if it can generate the same buzz in 2004.

I know people will find this hard to swallow because of the adoration with which O'Neill is held, but I believe that Neal's final corner move on him was justified. Very rough and tough, but O'Neill should have bargained for something like that. He'd given away a lead of almost two seconds in the last four laps and should have done more to cover against a rival manufacturer's driver. His refusal to get angry afterwards suggests to me that he knew this. (How many people got upset about the Thompson/Turkington clash in race two)?

Just to contradict myself, O'Neill was far more deserving of victory at Brands that day than he was at Snetterton later in the year (Morrison thoroughly deserved that one).

Turkington's emergence as the next big superstar name has been terrific to watch. However, I wouldn't say it led to him 'sticking a move' on Muller at Brands. More Muller made a rare error and Colin slipped past. A great win, nonetheless ...

A very strong year for the BTCC with even greater things in store in 2004.

[Tag]

It has been a good year, and the best bit is knowing that next year is going to be even better!!!!!
As for 2003 I'm just glad that Muller finally got the championship he deserves. And the indenpdent champioship was great this year and looks amazing for next year, it is going to be intresting to see if there are any works teams bringing in ETC cars. Correct me if I'm wrong but are all the ETC cars being entered so far Indenpendents?

[VkmSpouge]

So far as I know they're all Indies but there's still plenty of time for a works effort.

[The Stig]

Better late than never with my modest contribution to this thread !

Best bits off track were making and meeting new friends through the forum. Some of the people made the meetings I attended twice as nice.
Paul O'Neill on the podium at Brands having just been mugged by Matt Neal

Worst bits off track involved Yvan Muller and his runaway gob at Rockingham, and then again at Brands where he got off with a slapped wrist for shaming himself.

On track highlights ?? Where do I start ??
Most of Turkingtons efforts in the second half of the season,
Paul O'Neill at Snetterton,
Muller and Hughes (I think), playing speedway at Brands,
Worst bits on track ?
Bentwod escaping with only a headache at Rockingham and Collard escaping with only a hefty bill at Thruxton
Matt Neal at Brands driving through Paul O'Neill