1995 BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON

The '1995 British Touring Car Championship season' was won by John Cleland in his Vauxhall Cavalier. The season was held over twenty-five rounds and saw a total of eight different winners.
It was a year notable not only for Cleland's emotional title victory, but also for the emergence of Rickard Rydell and Volvo as championship contenders, Alain Menu and Renault showing hints of their future domination, a new rising star in James Thompson, and Ford's last season as victory contenders (excepting 2000, where they were one of only three factory teams to compete). On the negative side, the season was blighted by a series of first lap accidents and heavy shunts, such as those which befell Thompson and Charlie Cox. The en masse adoption of aerodynamic rear spoilers (as pioneered by Alfa Romeo the previous year) by the teams also made overtaking slightly harder.
The season started with Rounds 1 and 2 at Donington Park. Rydell showed his speed by taking pole for both races. The first round saw Cleland take a dominant victory after outgunning the Swede at the start, chased by Menu and Paul Radisich. Rydell struck back in round 2, leading all the way to win. Cleland took second, beating Tim Harvey in the second Volvo 850 into third.
Rounds 3 and 4 at Brands Hatch's Indy circuit saw rain play a key role. Rydell took another double pole but in the race it was Harvey, a noted wet-weather expert, who propelled himself to the front. Cleland led the first lap but went off with brake problems, and then Rydell's chances disintegrated when he was forced to pit with a fogged-up windscreen. Paul Radisich clawed through the field to claim second place after starting midfield, followed closely by his rookie team-mate Kelvin Burt. Round 4 had to be red-flagged and restarted after a high-speed accident involving Radisich and Peugeot's Patrick Watts. The race restarted with the Volvos battling the Vauxhalls. Cleland went off after hitting Rydell, but rejoined nearly a lap down. While trying to prevent Harvey from lapping him, the Scotsman crashed heavily at Paddock Hill Bend. Harvey took his second win of the day ahead of Thompson, making his first visit to the podium. Rydell overcame Burt for third.
The ultra-fast Thruxton circuit was the next venue on the calendar. Menu converted pole position in Round 5 into victory ahead of Cleland in an attrition-filled race which saw Watts take third. Thompson took pole for the next round, but the race would provide the biggest fright of the season when privateer Charlie Cox barrel-rolled his Ford Mondeo coming into the Club chicane. The Australian suffered head injuries that would put him out of action for four months. The restarted race had Thompson comfortably holding off Menu to take his maiden victory, becoming the youngest BTCC race winner at the time - he had turned 21 the previous week. Six races down and Menu led the title chase by eight points from Cleland.
The next two rounds at Silverstone saw a resurgence by Paul Radisich and the Ford team. Rydell was on pole for both races, but Radisich stole the lead at the start of round 7. He lead until his Mondeo's tyres started to degrade, which allowed Rydell to close up and pass the Kiwi in the closing stages. Cleland took third after a tight battle with team-mate Thompson and Renault's Will Hoy. Race two looked to be a repeat with Radisich overtaking polesitter Rydell at the start, but this time Radisich held on to take a well-earned victory. Harvey was third. Rydell took over the championship lead as a result.
The teams headed to Oulton Park for rounds 9 and 10 and the weekend would bring victory for first Rydell and then Alain Menu. Cleland kept his consistent run of points going with second and third places. Rydell now had 142 points, with Menu second on 122 and Cleland third on 118.
It was back to Brands Hatch for two races on the Grand Prix circuit, and it would be a eventful weekend. The first race was held in damp conditions, which caused Thompson to spin across the field at Paddock Hill on lap 1 and bring out a red flag. After the restart, Menu held Cleland off until Tim Sugden had a heavy off in his Toyota Carina, stopping the race and handing the Swiss driver victory. Round 12 had to be stopped twice after shunts for privateer Nigel Smith and then Rydell, who rolled after his throttle stuck open. Cleland grabbed the lead at the third start and led Thompson to a Vauxhall one-two, with Menu, Hoy and Harvey following close behind. Cleland now led the championship by two points over Menu, with Rydell down to third after managing only a seventh place in race one.
Cleland then boosted his title charge with a commanding double victory at Donington, followed home by first Rydell and then Radisich. This was the latter's last podium finish in a BTCC race.
The British Grand Prix support race at Silverstone followed, in torrential weather conditions. Cleland took pole and battled with Radisich for the first few laps, the two drivers outbraking and outbluffing each other in an impressive dogfight. Cleland pulled clear to win, while Radisich fell back with handling problems, finishing in sixth. Will Hoy made his first visit to the podium in 1995 with second, ahead of Thompson. With Menu and Rydell both finishing outside of the points, Cleland now had a 52-point lead in the drivers' championship.
The teams headed to Knockhill for the series' annual trip to Scotland. Menu led race 1 until his gearbox seized, gifting Volvo a one-two finish, Rydell leading Harvey. The Swiss driver was luckier in the second race, taking his fourth win of the season ahead of Rickard. John Cleland struggled on his home track, managing only fifth and sixth respectively. The Vauxhall team could nonetheless count themselves lucky, as Thompson had survived a huge crash in testing, though the injuries sustained would put him out for the remainder of the season. His place was taken for the weekend by Vauxhall veteran Jeff Allam.
Brands Hatch was the venue for the next two races, which would provide controversy a plenty. The contest opened with Will Hoy taking a well-deserved first win of the season after grabbing the lead on the first lap. Rydell beat Cleland into second, but the Scot was less than happy, complaining that the Volvo man had tagged him repeatedly prior to passing him. Rydell led round 19 from pole, but Cleland was in hot pursuit. The pair battled and they clashed at Clearways, Rydell being pushed into a half-spin and falling to third behind Cleland and Hoy. Both contenders had their licences endorsed for their shenanigans.
Rounds 20 and 21 took place at Snetterton in Norfolk. Race 1 was enlivened by a rainstorm at the start, which turned the race into a lottery. Pole man Rydell was passed by Cleland at the start. A lap later Menu and Harvey collided, eliminating both men. Paul Radisich passed Rydell and set of in pursuit of Cleland, but both they and Rydell had put on wet-weather tyres - which turned out to be the wrong choice as the track dried out. In the end it was Radisich's team-mate Kelvin Burt who took his maiden victory, winning by some twenty seconds. Patrick Watts took his best result with second place after some last-lap fisticuffs involving himself, Vauxhall substitute Mike Briggs, and Honda's David Leslie (Leslie actually came second on the road but was handed a time penalty for causing the incident and dropped to eighth). Independent Robb Gravett provided further surprise by claiming third place. This would remain the highest placing for a privateer in the modern-day BTCC until Matt Neal's famous win at Donington in 1999.
Rydell lead from pole in race 2 but his brakes malfunctioned at Sears and he spun off into a gap in the Armco barrier, narrowly missing an ambulance. Hoy won his second race in as many meetings with a circumspect Cleland third. The Vauxhall team leader led the points on 294, ahead of Rydell on 242, with Menu all but mathematically out of contention on 215.
Battle recommenced at Oulton Park for the penultimate race meeting of the season. Cleland could clinch the title with a pair of strong finishes, but he would have to contend with the Renaults, who were on dominant form. Indeed, Menu led all the way to win, while Hoy passed Cleland at mid-distance to take second. Rydell was fifth behind Cleland and reigning champion Gabriele Tarquini. Menu made it a double top in the next race with a dominant victory over Cleland, moving him back into second place in the championship. Runner-up spot was however more than enough to give Cleland the title. In the post-race interview, the Scot was overcome with emotion at his victory - "Delighted, it's just...I dunno what to say now, it's been a long year coming, and er, it's just great, really good...." On another note, Cleland's fellow Scot David Leslie gave the Honda Accord its first podium with third place.
The last two rounds were held at Silverstone. Even though the drivers' title had been decided, the Manufacturers' Cup was still very much up for grabs with Renault looking to beat Vauxhall to the spoils. Cleland took pole for race one, but a bad start instead left him battling for third with Kelvin Burt. He passed the Mondeo, but Menu and Hoy were too far ahead to be caught. Renault took over the championship lead. In race two it was Hoy's turn to win, with Menu second to give Renault maximum points and the title. They did not have it all their own way, though, as Leslie put up an inspired fight in the improving Honda, splitting the blue-and-yellow cars before falling back to fourth behind Cleland at the flag. And that concluded the season.
The Independents' title was won by Matt Neal in his Team Dynamics Ford Mondeo with fourteen class wins.

Contents

Drivers

Manufacturers

Independents

Drivers

1. John Cleland - Vauxhall Cavalier - 348 points
2. Alain Menu - Renault Laguna - 305
3. Rickard Rydell - Volvo 850 - 255
4. Will Hoy - Renault Laguna - 195
5. Tim Harvey - Volvo 850 - 176
6. Paul Radisich - Ford Mondeo - 130
7. James Thompson - Vauxhall Cavalier - 124
8. Kelvin Burt - Ford Mondeo - 117

Manufacturers

1. Renault - 419
2. Vauxhall - 414
3. Volvo - 359
4. Ford - 236

Independents

1. Matt Neal - Ford Mondeo - 430 points
2. Richard Kaye - Ford Mondeo - 342
3. Nigel Smith - Vauxhall Cavalier - 298
4. Hamish Irvine - Peugeot 406 - 188