BTCC 2000 - Donington - Race 1
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00:00Win and the penalty is 40 kilograms.
00:04Coming second, you still get stopped with 30 kilos and even third place, 20 kilos, just
00:10like this, is imposed on the car.
00:12The only saving grace in all of this is that 40 is the maximum.
00:18Super touring class, five drivers are carrying weight.
00:21Points leader and Brands Race winner Jason Plato gets the full 40, so does his teammate
00:29Yvonne Muller.
00:30Ford's Alain Meunier is on 40 as well, Anthony Reid 30 and Ricard Rydell 20.
00:35Last B does not escape, Alan Morrison, James Kay and Mark Lemma all get 40 also.
00:41So what's 40 kilos in real money?
00:44Well for Alain Meunier, it's like trying to do his job tomorrow with his son Maxime, complete
00:48with a grab bag of Swiss goodies coming along for the ride.
00:52And if you're a sensitive new age kind of guy like Jason Plato, bit of a whiz around
00:56the kitchen, well, it's like going to the greengrocers on the way to the track and then
00:59driving around with this mountain of fruit and veg in the boot.
01:03We know that 40 kilos around Dunnington is four tenths a lap, and four tenths a lap in
01:07the British Touring Car Championship is massive really.
01:10It's a considerable amount of difference, not just in acceleration but everything, braking,
01:15tyre wear, car feels lazy, doesn't accelerate very well.
01:18I mean it's a bit like if you've got two people in your road car and you stick another person
01:23in the back, if you're trying hard, you know, doing burn action and the likes, then you
01:27do feel a difference, and it's the same with us.
01:31Forty kilos when you pull in two and a half G on the brakes is now 100 kilos, you know,
01:36when you pull in one and a half G acceleration it's now 60 kilos.
01:41But should 40 kilos be the maximum?
01:43I think 40 kilos is enough, you know, if we've got 40 kilos and we are still faster than
01:51the rest, that means they don't do as good a job as Prodrive and Ford have done.
01:55So I think it's up to them to raise their level and catch us up.
02:02You might have noticed everybody with a weight problem drives either a Vauxhall or a Ford.
02:06So where's Matt Neil?
02:07And what about Honda?
02:09Honda couldn't get a podium between them at Brands Hatch.
02:12To make matters worse, this shunt for James Thompson sees him sitting out Dunnington with
02:16Peter Cox standing in.
02:20Independent hero Matt Neil got to know Honda's Tom Christensen pretty well, but took just
02:24one point for the whole weekend, not great.
02:27I was really down, I must admit, for the whole week after because I'd gone there with such
02:33high expectations and then to come away there with one championship point was a mega disappointment.
02:41Matt won here last year, shocking the works teams, so what are the chances of a repeat
02:45performance?
02:47I'm upbeat, you know, I'm excited about and looking forward to the races and the qualifying
02:54and I think we could have a good crack at it, especially get the weight on them and
02:58put a bit more on them if you like, and we'll have a good crack.
03:01Neil starts from the back for the sprint after ride height problems.
03:05Speaking of problems, check out independent Colin Blair's triple axle.
03:13James Gabrieli Tarquini was best of the rest with a pair of fourths, but it was all Ford
03:17at the front.
03:18Anthony Reid and Alain Meunier took a second and third each, while new boy Ricard Rydel
03:23annexed pole for both races.
03:25OK, Ricard Rydel, well you've got a pair of pole positions here, so you know your way
03:33around the circuit.
03:34Take us round.
03:35Well, going into red gate here, we change down from sixth into second gear and it's
03:40quite a good place to overtake, if you get a good exit out of the chicane, just dive
03:44down the inside.
03:45You've got to be careful on the first lap there to protect the corner, yeah?
03:48Yeah, so I hope I'll be first into red gate.
03:51That's the theory of pole.
03:52OK, craner curve, flat through craners?
03:55Most of the lap it is, but sometimes it's just drivers flat, you think it's flat, but
03:58it's not mechanically flat.
03:59Yeah, not completely flat to the floor, OK, all here have been really important.
04:03It is very important because it's uphill all the way up to McLean's and you need to be
04:06on the power early, get a good exit, because it's like fourth, fifth, sixth gear going
04:10all the way up to McLean's.
04:11You're really, really quick through there, important to get out of here neatly though.
04:15McLean's I think you can gain a lot of time going in and the straight after it is not
04:18that long, so you can gain more on the entry than you do on the exit.
04:22I hate this corner, Coppice.
04:23Coppice is very important because you can't see the apex of the corner and it's very important
04:28to be on the throttle early because it's a very long straight after it, you go from third
04:32gear, fourth, fifth and sixth and you stay in sixth gear all the way to the limiter.
04:36It's easy to get wrong, just like here into the chicane, you've got to protect it, haven't
04:39you?
04:40Another good overtaking spot, if you get a good exit, the chicane is just quite tight
04:44second gear.
04:45You be on the kerb on the inside, the outside and then you finish the lap off.
04:49Well theoretically with two poles you won't have to do any overtaking.
04:52Hopefully.
04:53OK, well that was fine in principle, Riccardo Riedel with a clear track in front of him.
05:01Now whether that's the reality once the flag drops, we're going to know in a minute.
05:05He's got the whole world to keep behind him, but what an orderly world it is.
05:08Have a look at this, never seen anything like it.
05:11Three Fords, Riedel, then Reed, then his team mate Menu right behind them, followed by three
05:16Hondas and then three Boxstores.
05:18Amazing stuff.
05:19Gabriele Tarquini is the first of the Hondas, then behind him, Christensen and then Peter
05:24Cox in the third of the Hondas.
05:26Now rotten luck for James Thompson of course, he's picked the wrong time to be away just
05:30as Hondas start to pick up.
05:32Then right behind the three Hondas, would you believe it, three Boxstores.
05:36First of all we've got Ivan Muller, then we've got Rademacher and of course Jason Plato.
05:40Now they reckon that these Boxstores are actually pretty good in the race, but they're rotten
05:44at qualifying.
05:45Well they won't be good at the race, because they are so far back in the grid.
05:48Maybe the only saving grace for them is it's about to bucket it down.
05:53And I thought all the rain at Easter had fallen at the British Grand Prix.
05:57Well there we see drops on the windscreen, but let's look at the grid.
06:00Ricard Rydell with ballast on pole position alongside of teammate Anthony Reid also with
06:04ballast, but with 10 kilograms less.
06:07The Ford that's carrying the most is Alain Meunier, 40 kilograms, on the second row alongside
06:12the lead Honda of Gabriele Tarquini.
06:14Tom Christensen and Peter Cox make up row three.
06:18Both Boxstores have got ballast on board, Muller and Plato on row four, Vincent Rademacher
06:22in the lead independent, Colin Blair in row five.
06:25And class B runners Morrison and Kaye in row six, Lemmer and Debutante Collard in row
06:30seven.
06:31And a very different pair of Nissans in row eight, Norton and Neal, who by the way, the
06:35rain stopped.
06:37Lights on red, waiting for a start, and they're green and away.
06:40Rydell away, so is Reid, and look at Meunier.
06:43Meunier just darts through the middle, cuts off the nose of Reid and Rydell.
06:46They started all right, but he started his race like it began yesterday.
06:50There's Tarquini looking for a way around the outside, Meunier leads in, and Peter Cox
06:55getting pushed a little bit wide, and look at Matt Neal, past all the class B cars already,
06:59down to the craters for the first time.
07:02Three by three by three, Meunier followed by Rydell, then Reid behind him, into the
07:07old hairpin, on board with Ivan Muller, and they're just pulling away from him, lots of
07:13noise, but Muller's going nowhere.
07:15Sounds to me like the clutch is gone, you can hear the engine spinning, but there's
07:18no drive.
07:19I have the clutch, it's finished.
07:21I have the clutch, it's finished.
07:23OK, Ivan, OK, Ivan, come in the pit, he's coming in the pit.
07:26No, I can't come back in the pit.
07:30Appalling luck for Muller, he's going to have to watch this race from the sidelines.
07:33Jason Plato isn't, though, he is very, very much on the back of Peter Cox.
07:37Here's the Beuner from Plato's car, down the back straight, under the bridge, and into
07:42the braking zone, and the chicane for the first time.
07:45The place to pass.
07:48Yeah, there's Cox up on the brakes, but way, way, way too far back.
07:53Streaming through the S's, there's Plato, Cox still ahead of him.
07:57Menu first, then Rydell, then Reid Tarquini, very, very much in touch.
08:03There's a big puff of smoke from Tarquini's car, and Matt Neil having a look down the
08:07inside, a very strong pass into red gate corner, straight past Rademacher in the Vauxhall.
08:12He's making up ground big time.
08:14And the Vauxhall boys know it.
08:16Losing space all the time.
08:18Rademacher trying to stay in touch with Matt Neil, he's opening up a gap, remember he
08:22started off the back of the grid in this race because of qualifying.
08:25Now here's that flying start from Menu.
08:28Remember, nobody's got tyre warmers, but no one's told Alan Menu he just slices between
08:33his two teammates, gets clear air as he comes down into red gate, and really an outstanding
08:37start from the Swiss.
08:39Now here's the view from Tarquini's car, there is Alan Menu, already gone.
08:43Cuff under the ear for Reid on the way past.
08:46Rydell thinking to himself, this isn't in the script, I was supposed to lead into the
08:49first corner.
08:51Now there is Menu, and there's the gap back to Rydell.
08:54He's got a lot of work to do, Rydell now.
08:56Reid and Tarquini still in touch, there's a bit of a gap starting to open now on that
09:01first four, Wally.
09:02And really that's a big surprise, Rydell carrying 20kg less, but Alan Menu ought to be able
09:07to make the best of his front-row position.
09:09Matt Neil starting to now move in onto the back of Jason Plato, he's clearing away from
09:13Christensen.
09:14There's Menu, meantime, and here's a little bit of fun and games, Rydell moves to cover
09:18Anthony Reid, trying to find a way past.
09:20Reid ducks to the left, there's the Tarquini view.
09:23Reid dead in front of him, that's really not worked to Reid's advantage, he's been held
09:27up now.
09:28Anthony Reid really under pressure also from Gabriele Tarquini, the lead hunter.
09:32Remember he hasn't any ballast on at all.
09:35Now Reid really, really moving in tight there.
09:38Testing whether or not he can get past Rydell, Rydell testing the manners within the Ford
09:42camp.
09:43Cutting off his nose, back up the hill towards McLean's corner now, that's Christensen with
09:48the white flash on the Honda behind his teammate Tarquini.
09:51So it's Ford, Ford, Ford, then Honda, Honda, Honda.
09:55We go up into Coppers' corner.
09:59As neat as you like and as close as you like.
10:01Christensen looks as though he's almost trying to get past Tarquini there, got a little bit
10:05of legs.
10:06Much better exit out of Coppers for Christensen, gets the run, down the straight into the chicane.
10:10But really the horsepower difference is nothing.
10:13Into the chicane now.
10:15That's Rydell, that's Reid, that's Tarquini, that's Christensen, the man we were just speaking
10:19about.
10:20Running a little bit wide on the exit.
10:22McNeil running a little bit wider, you saw that red Nissan back further in the field.
10:26Really charging hard through there.
10:28How close are these cars, one after the other.
10:30There are the three Hondas, Tarquini, Christensen, Cox right behind.
10:33Then Plato joining under that gaggle as they stream down the hill again.
10:37There we have it.
10:38Menuh, Rydell and Reid.
10:39Ford, Ford, Ford.
10:40Tarquini, Christensen, Cox.
10:42Honda, Honda, Honda.
10:43Six laps down.
10:44Then Plato.
10:45Neil spoiling the symmetry with an independent Nissan in eighth place.
10:49And Rademacher rounding out the nine.
10:51The field streaming past Norden in the second of the Nissans.
10:54His teammate actually, Robert Collard, was leading Class B.
10:58And the other Class B Nissan, only to have to retire.
11:01Some problems for him.
11:02No problems for Jason Plato though, because he's right up behind Peter Cox.
11:06And he's pushed him off.
11:07Cox has been pushed into the infield.
11:09Welcome back to Touring Cars, Peter.
11:11Pushed off by, I think, Plato.
11:13I was held up by Beckmacher.
11:16And I'm trying to get out of the hill, but it's not easy.
11:19Okay, Peter.
11:21Peter clearly not very happy with that little move by Plato.
11:24But it was predictable.
11:26Cox was slowing to McLean's.
11:28Plato got the run.
11:29He didn't have to hit him.
11:30But he did.
11:31Well, that's really made a mess of the pack as well,
11:34because Tarquini and Christensen have now cleared off.
11:36Plato's lost a lot of momentum in that move.
11:38You can see the gap.
11:39Alain Menou, our race leader, moving up on Kay and Lema,
11:42the leading Class B cars into Redgate.
11:44Rounding the corner now.
11:46Oh, hello, boys.
11:47What's going on there?
11:48That's Jason Plato and Matt Neil at play.
11:51Jason Plato this time got bitten back.
11:54But Matt Neil took an ambitious dive on the inside.
11:56We'll see it later.
11:58This looks busy.
11:59Waddy into the old hairpin.
12:00That was Kay Tarquini just passing.
12:02Maybe giving him a little bit kiss on the way past.
12:04Running wide, but everybody through.
12:06Kay and Lema, there they are.
12:08They're busy, busy having their own race.
12:10That's fair enough.
12:11Meantime, here's the earlier passing incident
12:13with Jason Plato and Cox.
12:15Cox didn't really know which part of the track to use.
12:17Plato certainly did.
12:18He could have avoided hitting the back of Peter Cox's car,
12:21but just, you know, taste belligerent.
12:23Sorry, chap.
12:25Leaving old Peter Cox there, beast on the grass.
12:27And it's pretty wet grass, too.
12:28No good for a picnic, but he will have a great view.
12:31Meantime, down the back straight.
12:32Nobody in front of us.
12:33That's because we're on board with a race leader.
12:35And there is, in fact, somebody in front of us.
12:37It's Alvin Morrison in the leading Class B Peugeot.
12:40It's actually a pretty fast little roll escape,
12:42but it won't be fast enough for Alain Bendu.
12:45Here's a very good look at the speed differential.
12:47Yes, enormous differential.
12:48Remember, that car was dominant at Brands Hatch.
12:51Ended up on its roof, but back down four wheels.
12:55On board now with Morrison.
12:57He's got a pretty handy lead.
12:58He's 10th outright, but he's got a very handy lead
13:00over Kay and Lemmer.
13:02That was Rydell zipping past.
13:04This is a tricky part of the circuit to be negotiating.
13:06There goes Reid through as well.
13:08Down through the crane of curves.
13:10It's really one line through there, not tons of room.
13:12That's Anthony Reid.
13:13Tarquini is getting alarmingly close to him
13:15as we move back up the field towards McLean's.
13:18The scene of so much strife over the last couple of laps.
13:21Now, Rydell, what's he going to do?
13:23He's still in touch,
13:24but Menuh is just starting to ease out of gap.
13:27This race is 18 laps.
13:28We've got to see if that weight penalty of Menuh
13:30is going to hurt him or not.
13:31Rydell only got 20 kilograms on board.
13:34Menuh's got 40.
13:35If it's going to hurt, it'll happen in the closing stages.
13:37And this is really where it ought to be helping Rydell.
13:40Down the big drag, down the back straight.
13:44And more rain starting to drizzle again
13:46and find up on that warm-up lap.
13:48The sun came out, made a liar of me.
13:50Now it's raining again.
13:51And as raining as you come into the chicane,
13:53easy to misjudge your braking,
13:54but clean through for the leading forwards.
13:56I want to stay off that paint, John.
13:58If it gets any wetter, it'll be terrible coming out of there.
14:00Dust and dirt getting kicked up
14:01and wet paint as well on the markers.
14:05The Vauxhall team, I don't know what they're looking for.
14:07Oh, here's what they're looking for.
14:08There are two drivers playing with Matt Neil.
14:10There's Rademacher moving in
14:12and very, very sideways, Rademacher.
14:14I don't think he was assisted.
14:15Maybe the grease.
14:16I think maybe just the little rain that's falling
14:18just caught Rademacher turning into Redgate,
14:20but he's got it back together.
14:21Here's Matt Neil, he's hunting.
14:22He's already had a little bit of a bouffant barge
14:24with Jason Plato.
14:26Now he's got Rademacher in his sights.
14:27Down through the old hairpin,
14:28Rademacher taking no prisoners through there.
14:30Hops the kerb.
14:32Neil can sense it, though.
14:34Up through the back straight,
14:35one more left-hander into McLean's corner.
14:37Neil's looking as though he's about to pounce.
14:39Gives him a nudge, and another one.
14:41A left, right, right, left,
14:42and then a punch, and he's off!
14:44Oh, Matt Neil has not helped himself.
14:47Knocked Rademacher.
14:48Jason Plato has stalked through,
14:49said, thanks a lot, boys.
14:50I'll have the place back you're offering up.
14:52Well, that was just totally unnecessary.
14:54Matt Neil misjudged it completely.
14:56And really, with a car like Matt has got,
14:58that car's capable of winning any of these events on merit.
15:01And to do that is just throwing away your chances.
15:04Three red cars, two red Vauxhalls,
15:06and the third red one with lots of dents in the bonnet,
15:08that's where Matt Neil's been using his passing technique.
15:11Left and right through the chicane,
15:13kicking out the dust again.
15:14Matt's got it all to do all over again.
15:18This guy hasn't got anything to do all over again.
15:20It's Alain Menu.
15:21All he's got to do is keep going round and round and round
15:23and keep those other two.
15:24One, two, three.
15:25It doesn't get any better than that.
15:27Alain Menu, Ricard Rydel as close as you like at the end.
15:30Reid in third position.
15:31Gabriele Tarquini, very strong drive for him in the Honda,
15:34in fourth position.
15:35And Tom Christensen as well,
15:37very much in touch with his teammate
15:39right behind him in fifth place.
15:40Jason Plato, best of the Vauxhalls.
15:42Rademacher behind him, bad luck for Muller.
15:44Then Matt Neil, the lead independent.
15:46And Morrison, the leading class B.
15:49OK, now back to that race-winning move from Menu, the start.
15:53Was he as surprised by it all as Rydel and Reid seem to be?
15:59I knew... I thought about it all night.
16:02I knew that was my only chance, really.
16:04I knew that if I led the race after the first corner,
16:07then I would have a very good chance to win it.
16:10So I had to have a fantastic start
16:12and it was probably one of my best starts ever.
16:14So I went through the middle of Reid and Rydel and that was that.
16:18And let's hear it from Jason Plato and Matt Neil on their little barmy.
16:23It's difficult because, you know, at this level,
16:26the opportunities that arise are, you know, few and far between.
16:31But you kind of have to understand what really is an opportunity
16:35and what is just a potential opportunity.
16:37And Matt sees everything as opportunities
16:39and there wasn't really a gap for him.
16:41But he had a go and, of course, there was contact
16:43and he nearly took the pair of us off.
16:47I... I thought I was quicker than Jason at that point.
16:53Jason wants to have a look what he did to Coxsey up at the top,
16:56actually, if he's got a problem.
16:58I don't want to beef with Jason because he's a really good mate,
17:01but, you know, I went for the inside and he shut the door,
17:04but I'd already got my nose alongside
17:06when he was trying to get to the inside of the circuit,
17:09which is exactly what happened at the top
17:11into Coppice with him and Coxsey.
17:14So, you know, if he can dish it out, then he can take it.
17:17The fact of it is, we didn't go off.
17:19Neither of us left the circuit,
17:21so as soon as there was going to be real contact, I backed off.
17:25Class B spoils went to Alan Morrison.
17:27You might remember him from his Brands Hatch acrobatics.
17:31You know, the guys have just been working absolutely flat out
17:34these last two weeks.
17:36And, you know, we made such a good start last week, you know, with the car,
17:40and then we had the accident,
17:42but, you know, we've got it all back together
17:44and the car's just every bit as good as what it was when we first got it,
17:47so we're pleased.