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BTCC 1999 - Round 5/6 Rounds 5/6
Rounds 7/8 - Brands Hatch 16 May 1999
Rounds 9/10 BTCC 1999 - Round 9/10
Vauxhall's Yvan Muller recorded his first victory in the Auto Trader British Touring Car Championship in Round 7 at Brands Hatch in Kent last Sunday. The French driver took the spoils in his Vectra in the sprint race, following a fantastic overtaking move from third to first shown below.
Muller's blinding move inside to give him his first BTCC win Photograph provided by Jakob Ebrey Photography
Oxford-based Muller, 29, took advantage of compatriot Laurent Aiello's (Nissan) attempted pass on Anthony Reid (Mondeo) eight laps from the finish and dived inside, the trio going into the plunging Paddock Hill Bend three abreast! Muller held his nerve on the tighter inside line, came out in front and never looked back. His advantage at the flag was almost two seconds - ahead of Reid and championship-leader Aiello. He had this to say:
"It is very difficult to overtake at Brands Hatch and in the BTCC with the calibre of drivers we have, so it was very exciting to be able to make a move like that to take the lead."
The victory gave Vauxhall a double celebration with double champion John Cleland taking part in his 200th BTCC race in round eight. On the grid before the start he was presented with a cake! He went on to continue his 100% points scoring record for this season - the Vauxhall Vectra appearing to be very reliable.

Volvo had a very bad weekend. Neither car finished - twice. Nothing worse could happen to them. Rydell had qualified 6th and 2nd, with his team mate Radermecher trailing in 8th and 9th. Obviously the car was not suited to Brands. One car that is very suited is the Renault Williams Laguna. However, despite the fact that Jason Plato posted the fastest lap in both the sprint and feature races, the short and tight Brands Hatch Indy circuit offered few overtaking opportunities. The Nescafe Blend 37 Williams Renault drivers could only come away with 19 manufacturers points to keep Renault third in the BTCC standings behind Nissan and Honda.

The feature race was extended after independent Paula Cook's Honda Accord was stranded at the apex of Graham Hill bend and the safety car was deployed for three laps. This was to be Plato's downfall as his Laguna gave up the ghost with only two laps to go - he had been battling for third place with Matt Neal at the time. Neal has been consistently in the points since his victory in round one, finishing third in the feature race last Sunday. It is thought though that most factory teams generally improve their cars more quickly than the independents', therefore, it is not likely that we will see a repeat of Matt's briliant victory.
Plato was the quickest man on the track, but could only manage 4th place Photograph provided by Williams Touring Car Engineering
The BTCC heads to Oulton Park in Cheshire for rounds 9 and 10 on 31 May 1999 - a Bank Holiday here in the UK. As ever, our review will be online the Friday following the race.

Race report by S.O' (Email)
Muller and the Vauxhall Vectra seem to be improving their performance Photograph provided by Jakob Ebrey Photographic

Round 8 - 53 laps
  • 1 - Laurent Aiello (Nissan Primera GT) - 43:54.147
  • 2 - David Leslie (Nissan Primera GT) - 43:56.853
  • 3 - Matt Neal (Nissan Primera GT) - 43:57.586
  • 4 - Peter Kox (Honda Accord) - 43:58.489
  • 5 - Yvan Muller (Vauxhall Vectra) - 43:59.876
  • 6 - James Thompson (Honda Accord) - 44:00.113
  • 7 - Jean Christophe Boullion (Renault Laguna) - 44:01.193
  • 8 - Anthony Reid (Ford Mondeo) - 44:03.614
  • 9 - John Cleland (Vauxhall Vectra) - 44:03.207
  • 10 - Mark Blair (Honda Accord) - 44:12.639
Fastest Lap - Jason Plato (Renault Laguna) - 47.103

Manufacturers' Points
  1. Nissan: 147
  2. Honda: 100
  3. Renault: 93
  4. Vauxhall: 73
  5. Volvo: 64
  6. Ford: 42
Round 7 - 29 laps
  • 1 - Yvan Muller (Vauxhall Vectra) - 24:31.508
  • 2 - Anthony Reid (Ford Mondeo) - 24:33.489
  • 3 - Laurent Aiello (Nissan Primera GT) - 24:33.994
  • 4 - Jason Plato (Renault Laguna) - 24:34.829
  • 5 - Jean-Christophe Boullion (Renault Laguna) - 24:35.336
  • 6 - David Leslie (Nissan Primera GT) - 24:35.512
  • 7 - James Thompson (Honda Accord) - 24:35.910
  • 8 - John Cleland (Vauxhall Vectra) - 24:38.007
  • 9 - Mark Blair (Vauxhall Vectra) - 24:44.987
  • 10 - Paula Cook (Honda Accord) - 24:46.704
  • 11 - Russell Spence (Renault Laguna) - 25:08.466
  • 12 - Alain Menu (Ford Mondeo) - 25:36.531
Fastest Lap - Jason Plato (Renault Laguna) - 46.855

Drivers' Points
  1. Laurent Aiello: 79
  2. James Thompson: 62
  3. Jason Plato: 59
  4. Matt Neal: 51
  5. David Leslie: 42
  6. Rickard Rydell: 41
  7. Yvan Muller: 39
  8. Jean Christophe Boullion: 35
  9. Peter Kox: 33
  10. John Cleland: 27
  11. Vincent Radermecker: 25
  12. Anthony Reid: 22
  13. Alain Menu: 18
  14. Lee Brookes: 5
  15. Russell Spence: 5
  16. Paula Cook: 3
    Mark Blair: 3

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