BTCC: Silverstone preview: Britain's top motorsport title goes down to the wire
13 September 2000
Three into one normally doesn't go - but it will on Saturday evening (September 16) when one of Ford's trio of drivers will take the 2000 Auto Trader British Touring Car Championship title. In one of the closest finishes to a season in memory, Anthony Reid, Alain Menu and Rickard Rydell all have a chance to lift the crown in the season's final two rounds, the night races at Silverstone, Northamptonshire. Reid is in pole position, leading the championship by nine points following his excellent performance at Oulton Park last weekend, but he will carry 40kg of success ballast at Silverstone and that could cause the Scot's downfall as both his team-mates are ballast free. Another factor that could resolve the title showdown is dropped scores. Each driver must drop his four lowest scores from the season and Reid is worst affected because of his consistency. If he finishes higher than fifth in one race and sixth or better in the other, he will have to discard 11 points from his total score. Menu, meanwhile, only has two points to discount while Rydell has none. There are numerous equations that could decide the fate of the title. Basically: if Reid beats both his team-mates he is champion; if Menu finishes in the top five in both races, beating Reid and Rydell in the process, he will be celebrating; and if Rydell gets both pole positions, leads round 24 (earning a bonus point), wins one race, finishes third or higher in the other with his team-mates fifth or lower in both, he will put his name on the trophy for the second time. If they all tie on points, Menu will be champion by virtue of his superior total of race wins. Reid says: "My plan is to concentrate on my own game. I don't have to win to take the championship but I will be looking to get a podium finish in at least one of the races. I think I'm perfectly capable of doing that because all the time I have carried ballast this year, which has been at most of the races, I have got good results. "If I win, it will be the toughest championship I've ever won. It will certainly be a career defining moment. I think I have driven better this year than I have ever done in the past and I know that whatever happens, I will have done my best. Menu says: "I feel like I've won enough races to have already won the title. In a normal year I would have been champion by now, but I've had my worst year in terms of bad luck. "I think my experience will help me having already won a BTCC title. I think Anthony will feel the pressure more because he has not won the championship before and is carrying 40kg of weight, so if he does take the title he will certainly deserve it. “Rickard is also under pressure because he has to win the races, but he is very good at Silverstone. He was fastest there earlier this year and will go well again. It's going to be very exciting." Rydell says: "I think I will be competitive at Silverstone, I won the final two races there last year and the title there in 1998, but as far as the championship is concerned I think I have lost too many points this year. Some years everything goes your way and some years it doesn't. "I'm looking forward to it. I will try to do my best, as I always do, but I don't think anyone can afford to lose as many points as I have and still win the title." With the three Ford Mondeo men looking at their championship hopes, the rest of the Super Touring field will be trying to end the year on a high with victory. Vauxhall's Jason Plato was a winner last time the championship raced in the evening (at Snetterton) while team-mate Yvan Muller was victorious in his Vectra at Silverstone earlier this year. Honda's James Thompson scored his only win of the year in the Accord at Silverstone (round 11) and would love to repeat that performance this weekend and fellow Accord ace Tom Kristensen, in the wars in recent rounds of the BTCC, will be another gunning for a final victory. One man they will all have to watch out for though is Michelin Cup for Independents champion Matt Neal. The Team Dynamics Max Power Racing Team star recorded a memorable win at Brands Hatch (round 19) in his Nissan Primera and has stated he wants to increase his victory tally this weekend. Last year's runner-up David Leslie makes a welcome return at Silverstone, in the PRO Motorsport run independent Primera and could give Neal a run for his money. The Class B title is another heading for a grandstand finish under the cloak of darkness at Silverstone. Alan Morrison (Touring Car VIP Club) heads the points standings but is only 11 ahead of Barwell Motorsport's James Kaye. The pair have been the class of the class all season, with Morrison taking 12 victories in his Peugeot 306 GTi and Kaye eight in his Honda Accord. They will be joined in the Class B division this weekend by former one-make sportscar champion and former Renault BTCC test driver Bryce Wilson, in the RJN Motorsport Nissan Primera plus former BTCC driver Geoff Kimber-Smith, who last raced in Britain's premier motor racing championship in 1989. He returns behind the wheel of a Toyota Carina. The BTCC contenders are warming up for the season's finale on Friday, September 15, with both day and night practice sessions. Qualifying takes place on Saturday during the day with Round 23 (Sprint Race, 15 laps, 34.02-miles) scheduled to start at 6.30pm and Round 24 (Feature Race, 30 laps, 68.04-miles) getting the green light at 10.10pm. The champions will be crowned about an hour later! Silverstone ticket hotline: 01327 857271