Cleland returns to touring carsposted in BTCC16 | 04 | 2014
SCOTLAND'S MOST SUCCESSFUL touring car racer, double British Touring Car Championship winner John Cleland, roars back into action this weekend. The Galashiels racer will pilot his famous 1997 Vauxhall Vectra (pictured being prepared by Jamie Cleland in Galashiels) in the opening double-header of the new Super Touring Car Championship at Thruxton.
Cleland, a consistent BTCC front-runner and race-winner from 1989 to 1999, won the fiercely-contested crown in both 1989 and 1995.
The Vauxhall stalwart was one of the championship’s most colourful and charismatic characters, and is chuffed to be reunited with his 1997 Vectra.
“Super Touring was a big part of my life,” the Wishaw-born racer, who now runs a successful Jaguar and Volvo dealership in the Borders, said.
“I was lucky enough to drive some of the most high-tech cars of the day, and the BTCC was the most successful touring car championship in the world. It was unquestionably the place to be, and the place to be seen.
“We had Murray Walker’s dulcet tones on primetime TV, manufacturers and drivers from all over the planet wanted to be involved in the BTCC, the racing was good – and best of all, we got paid!
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"At one stage, I think there were more Super Touring drivers being paid to drive than F1 drivers. It was an era of big money, multiple manufacturers and lots of television interest. It was a golden age, and a great time to be part of the championship.
“I drove my title-winning Cavalier again at Goodwood a few years ago. I hadn’t so much as seen it since 1995, and when I sat in it, I was struck by how basic it was – nothing fancy or flash at all. There was no carbon-fibre, no multitude of switches, nothing.
“Compare that to the 1997 car, which was such a technical piece of kit. Everything was bespoke, it had a full carbon-fibre floor and if it moved on the car, it was data-logged! The only thing that bore any resemblance to the road car at all were the wiper blades...”
Whilst much time has passed since he last raced a touring car in anger, Cleland leaves no doubt that once the visor comes down, the fire inside will still be burning bright.
“I spent 35 years of my life being competitive in motorsport,” he underlined. “I personally don’t have anything to prove anymore. I don’t need to win, but no matter how much you say it’s purely for fun, it’s not – you never want to finish second. Everybody wants to win.
“There are a couple of loose cannons out there, which invariably seems to be the case in touring cars, but hopefully we can race closely in what is rather expensive machinery without ending up off the road.
"Thruxton has always been a fun circuit to drive, too, and although this particular car never did very well there, now’s the opportunity to set that record straight...”
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Jim McGill
Photo: Jamie Cleland