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The 1991 Esso RAC British Touring Car Championship season was the 34th British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) season and marked the first year of the Super Touring era.

Changes for 1991

After a transitional year in 1990, the multi-class Group A regulations was fully dropped and replaced by the new Super Touring rules that had evolved out of Group A's Div. II category. Group A cars were still allowed to participate, but only as long as they were restricted to bring them down to Super Touring speeds.

Season summary

Group A had towards the end of its existence been dominated by Ford and their Sierra RS500. Super Tourers had first appeared in 1990, and with BMW and Vauxhall running their cars in that category they effectively had a years head start on their opposition for 1991. BMW also had the numerical advantage, the factory Prodrive team entering two cars and the semi-factory Vic Lee Motorsport team entering four. Vauxhall had two cars, as had Toyota, while Ford only appeared with a single car for Robb Gravett's Trakstar team. Nissan missed the start of the season but then ran a single-car effort for Keith O'Dor driving a 2.0 Primera entered by Janspeed, and was joined by ex-Formula One driver Julian Bailey towards the end of the season and Mitsubishi was back, engineered by BTCC stalwart John McGuire Racing, fielding a one car team for Mark Hales, the team elected to run the Lancer GTI at the beginning of the season but was replaced by the larger Galant mid season.

The privateer entries would consist mainly of BMW M3s with the odd Ford Sierra entry, the most notable being Andy Middlehurst, and the odd appearance of Jeff Wilson in a Vauxhall Belmont.

Rover and Peugeot would also be represented briefly by privateers Grahame Davis and Andrew McKenzie while possible entries from Audi,^[1] Honda,^[2] Renault and Lancia ^[3] were mooted but never materialised.

The championship battle would stand between Will Hoy and John Cleland. Hoy won the first two races of the season and kept scoring consistently, but as the season progressed it was Cleland who came out on top more often than not. Hoy's consistency however put him in a position to claim the championship at the penultimate round at Thruxton, provided he scored a good enough result. Indeed, Hoy took the lead of the race thanks to BMW team tactics, but soon thereafter he was controversially tapped into a spin by works BMW driver Jonathan Palmer. Hoy dropped down the field and later retired after contact with Cleland. Cleland would go on to finish 8th with a damaged car, taking the championship to the final race. There Hoy was able to finish ahead of Cleland, and thus claiming the first Super Touring championship win. Andy Rouse finished third for Toyota, and Steve Soper ended up fourth overall despite missing several races due to clashing commitments in the German DTM championship.

The 7th meeting of the season at Silverstone would be notable for the debut of future 3-time Champion Matt Neal in a Pyramid Motorsport-run BMW M3, finishing 13th out of 17 finishers.

Teams and drivers

Team	Car	No.	Drivers	Rounds
Manufacturer
Trakstar Motorsport	Ford Sierra Sapphire	1	Robb Gravett	All
Kaliber ICS Team Toyota	Toyota Carina	3	Andy Rouse	All
Kaliber ICS Team Toyota	Toyota Carina	33	Gary Ayles	All
BMW Team Labatt's	BMW M3	4	Tim Harvey	All
		9	Laurence Bristow	1–11, 13
		9	Armin Hahne	12
Vauxhall Sport	Vauxhall Cavalier	5	John Cleland	All
		6	Jeff Allam	All
		56	Bob Berridge	12–13
BMW Team Listerine	BMW M3	11	Will Hoy	All
BMW Team Listerine	BMW M3	12	Ray Bellm	All
BMW Team Finance	BMW M3	22	Jonathan Palmer	All
		44	Steve Soper	1, 3, 7–10, 12
			Tim Sugden	2, 5–6, 11, 13
			Christian Danner	4
Nissan Janspeed Racing	Nissan Primera eGT	23	Kieth O'dor	2–13
Nissan Janspeed Racing	Nissan Primera eGT	24	Julian Bailey	11–13
John Maguire Racing	Mitsubishi Lancer	88	Mark Hales	1–5
John Maguire Racing	Mitsubishi Galant	88	Mark Hales	8–13
Independent
Pyramid Motorsport	BMW M3	2	Frank Sytner	1–8, 10–11
		2	David Leslie	13
		18	Matt Neal	7
			Alistair Fenwick	12
			Godfrey Hall	13
Sean Walker Racing	Ford Sierra RS500	7	Sean Walker	2
BMW Team Sweden	BMW M3	10	Nettan Lindgren	1–3, 5–6
BMW Team Sweden	BMW M3	91	Peggen Andersson	1–3, 6
R&D Motorsport	BMW 318is	13	Angus MacKay	1–2
R&D Motorsport	BMW 318is	13	Alistair Lyall	4, 7, 13
ACE Motorsport	Peugeot 405 Mi16	17	Andrew MacKenzie	7, 10
Judge Developments	Ford Sierra RS500	19	Dennis Leech	1–4
Moto-Build	Rover 216GTi	20	Grahame Davis	1–2, 7, 10
Brodie Brittain Racing	Ford Sierra Sapphire 4x4	21	Dave Brodie	10–13
Drambuie Racing	BMW M3	45	Ian Forrest	All
HWR Motorsport	Vauxhall Belmont	58	Jeff Wilson	9, 11, 13
HWR Motorsport	Vauxhall Belmont	58	Tony Bardy	12
BRR Motorsport	BMW M3	59	Ian Flux	1, 3–5, 13
			Matt Neal	9
			Val Musetti	11
Auto Trader Techspeed Team	BMW M3	66	Nick Whale	1–5, 8–9, 11–13
			David Leslie	7
			John Llewellyn	10
		77	Nick Baird	1–5, 7–8, 12–13
		77	Matt Neal	11
Graham Goode Racing	Ford Sierra RS Cosworth	99	Andy Middlehurst	All

Race calendar and winners

All races were held in the United Kingdom.

Round		Circuit	Date	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning Driver	Winning Team
1	R1	Silverstone Circuit (National)	1 April	Steve Soper	Will Hoy	Will Hoy	BMW Team Listerine
2	R2	Snetterton Circuit	14 April	John Cleland	Will Hoy	Will Hoy	BMW Team Listerine
3	R3	Donington Park (Grand Prix)	28 April	Steve Soper	John Cleland	Steve Soper	BMW Team Finance
4	R4	Thruxton	27 May	Will Hoy	Will Hoy	John Cleland	Vauxhall Sport
5	R5¹	Silverstone Circuit (National)	9 June	Tim Sugden	Andy Rouse	John Cleland	Vauxhall Sport
6	R6	Brands Hatch (Indy)	30 June	Tim Sugden	Will Hoy	Tim Sugden	BMW Team Finance
7	R7	Silverstone Circuit (Grand Prix)	14 July	Steve Soper	Steve Soper	Steve Soper	BMW Team Finance
8	R8	Donington Park (National)	28 July	John Cleland	Andy Rouse	Andy Rouse	Kaliber ICS Team Toyota
8	R9	Donington Park (National)	28 July		Ray Bellm	Andy Rouse	Kaliber ICS Team Toyota
9	R10	Oulton Park (International)	11 August	John Cleland	Gary Ayles	John Cleland	Vauxhall Sport
10	R11	Brands Hatch (Indy)	26 August	Andy Rouse	Andy Rouse	Andy Rouse	Kaliber ICS Team Toyota
10	R12	Brands Hatch (Indy)	26 August		Ray Bellm	Will Hoy	BMW Team Listerine
11	R13	Donington Park (Grand Prix)	15 September	John Cleland	John Cleland	John Cleland	Vauxhall Sport
12	R14	Thruxton	22 September	Jonathan Palmer	Tim Harvey	Steve Soper	BMW Team Finance
13	R15	Silverstone Circuit (Grand Prix)	6 October	Andy Rouse	Tim Harvey	Tim Harvey	BMW Team Labatt's

^ – Race was stopped after 10 laps due to heavy rain. The race was not restarted and no points were awarded.

Championship results

Drivers Championship

Pos	Driver	SIL	SNE	DON	THR	SIL†	BRH	SIL	DON		OUL	BRH		DON	THR	SIL	Pts
1	Will Hoy	1	1	Ret	3	3	2	2	Ret	DNS	2	2	1	3	Ret	5	155
2	John Cleland	3	9	2	1	1	12	6	3	10	1	4	3	1	8	9	132
3	Andy Rouse	5	3	9	8	4	3	7	1	1	4	1	Ret	Ret	4	2	115
4	Steve Soper	18		1				1	2	Ret	3	6	Ret		1		96
5	Ray Bellm	6	2	6	7	5	7	4	6	2	6	14	Ret	4	5	6	90
6	Jeff Allam	2	4	5	2	2	5	8	5	Ret	Ret	8	Ret	6	10	8	80
7	Jonathan Palmer	7	Ret	Ret	6	11	6	5	4	3	5	7	6	Ret	2	21	66
8	Tim Harvey	10	7	DSQ	4	7	4	3	Ret	6	7	Ret	5	2	Ret	1	42¹
9	Andy Middlehurst	4	Ret	13	Ret	10	Ret	16	7	7	8	11	4	8	7	3	41
10	Tim Sugden		Ret			12	1							5		Ret	32
11	Robb Gravett	20	13	Ret	14	18	9	Ret	9	4	9	5	2	7	9	13	28
12	Frank Sytner	DNS	5	3	Ret	6	8	10	Ret	DNS		9	7	Ret			26
13	Laurence Bristow	Ret	6	7	12	16	10	11	8	5	Ret	Ret	DNS	Ret		7	20
14	Gary Ayles	9	DSQ	4	Ret	8	Ret	Ret	Ret	DNS	Ret	3	DNS	14	Ret	10	19
15	Armin Hahne														3		12
16	David Leslie							9								4	12
17	Kieth O'dor		Ret	Ret	11	13	15	Ret	10	8	10	Ret	Ret	9	6	11	10
18	Christian Danner				5												8
19	Peggen Andersson	8	8	12			11										6
20	Dennis Leech	16	14	8	Ret												3
21	Nick Baird	11	Ret	15	9	14		12	12	9					DNS	17	2
22	Ian Flux	13		Ret	10	9										14	1
23	Mark Hales	17	10	16	16	DNS			14	Ret	14	13	Ret	Ret	11	Ret	1
24	Nettan Lindgren	19	Ret	10			13	14									1
25	Nick Whale	14	12	14	13	17			11	Ret	11			10	12	19	1
26	John Llewellyn											10	Ret				0
27	Ian Forrest	12	11	11	15	15	14	15	13	NC	12	12	Ret	12	13	22	0
28	Jeff Wilson										13			11		Ret	0
29	Julian Bailey													Ret	Ret	12	0
30	Matt Neal							13			Ret			DNS			0
31	Valentino Musetti													13			0
32	Angus MacKay	15	15														0
33	Dave Brodie											Ret	DNS	DNS	Ret	15	0
34	Bob Berridge														Ret	16	0
35	Andrew MacKenzie							17				DNS	DNS				0
36	Alistair Lyall				DNS			Ret								18	0
37	Godfrey Hall															20	0
—	Grahame Davis	DNS	DNS					DNS				Ret	DNS				0
—	Sean Walker		DNS														0
—	Tony Bardy														DNS		0
—	Alistair Fenwick														DNS		0
Pos	Driver	SIL	SNE	DON	THR	SIL†	BRH	SIL	DON		OUL	BRH		DON	THR	SIL	Pts

Colour	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	Second place
Bronze	Third place
Green	Points finish
Blue	Non-points finish
Blue	Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple	Retired (Ret)
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Red	Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black	Disqualified (DSQ)
White	Did not start (DNS)
	Withdrew (WD)
	Race cancelled (C)
Blank	Did not practice (DNP)
	Did not arrive (DNA)
	Excluded (EX)

Note: bold signifies pole position, italics signifies fastest lap.

^ – Tim Harvey was docked 48 points in round 3 for not keeping within the limits of noise regulations.

† Race was stopped early due to heavy rain, and no points were awarded. Note: Most fastest laps are unknown.

Manufacturers Championship

Pos	Manufacturer	SIL	SNE	DON	THR	SIL†	BRH	SIL	DON		OUL	BRH		DON	THR	SIL	Pts
1	BMW / BMW Team Listerine/BMW Team Labatt's/BMW Team Finance	1	1	1	3	3	1	1	2	2	2	2	1	2	1	1	134
2	Vauxhall / Vauxhall Sport	2	4	2	1	1	5	6	3	10	1	4	3	1	8	8	116
3	Toyota / Kaliber ICS Team Toyota	5	3	4	8	4	3	7	1	1	4	1	Ret	14	4	2	111
4	Ford / Trakstar Motorsport	4	13	8	14	10	9	16	7	4	8	5	2	7	7	3	102
5	Nissan / Nissan Janspeed Racing		Ret	Ret	11	13	15	Ret	10	8	10	Ret	Ret	9	6	11	53
6	Mitsubishi / John Maguire Racing	17	10	16	16	DNS			14	Ret	14	13	Ret	Ret	11	Ret	45
Pos	Manufacturer	SIL	SNE	DON	THR	SIL†	BRH	SIL	DON		OUL	BRH		DON	THR	SIL	Pts