BTCC: Silverstone Sunday report

• Nick Carter
• MNI - Motorsport News International
• Tue Jul 16 07:06:04 EDT 1996

NEWS FROM THE AUTO TRADER 
RAC TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP 
Silverstone, 14/07/96 
 
DAVID LESLIE and the Honda team made up for their 
disappointment of yesterday to take victory in this afternoon's (Sun) 
16th round of the Auto Trader RAC Touring Car Championship at 
Silverstone.

It was Honda's first BTCC victory, made all the sweeter for coming 
after yesterday's round 15 incident, in which Leslie was knocked from 
contention for the lead by the Volvo of Rickard Rydell, a manoeuvre 
for which the Swede was later reprimanded by stewards.

Leslie, who started from pole position, made no mistake at the start of 
the race. Although outdragged initially by the four-wheel-drive Audi 
A4 of championship leader Frank Biela, Leslie's Honda Accord 
quickly re-established itself in front, holding a half-second lead over 
Biela at the end of the first lap.

The Scotsman becomes the eighth different driver to win an Auto 
Trader Championship round, and Honda the sixth different 
manufacturer.

Although Leslie's position never came under serious attack, he was 
certainly made to work hard for his first victory since joining the 
Honda team. Biela was never less than a second behind throughout, 
while yesterday's 15th round victor, Robert Ravaglia (BMW), held a 
watching brief in third. Ravaglia meanwhile had Rydell's Volvo 
breathing down his neck.

At the chequered flag less than two seconds covered the top four, 
with a down-on-power Renault of Alain Menu further adrift in fifth. 
Sixth place was disputed throughout the race by Kelvin Burt (Volvo), 
James Thompson (Vauxhall) and Will Hoy (Renault), with Hoy 
coming out ahead of Thompson and Burt.

Biela's second position today further strengthens his hand in the 
championship. He now has 171 points, 55 more than second-place 
man Menu. In the manufacturers' battle, Audi enjoys a 10-point 
advantage over BMW.

Leslie said after the race: 'It's an absolutely fantastic result.
Everyone has worked so hard since we entered the championship at the 
beginning of last year. I was under a lot of pressure throughout the 
race but I didn't make any mistakes -- and no-one hit me this time!'

Frank Biela said: I thought if I could stay in front for the first lap I 
could perhaps win but Leslie came flying past and there was no way I 
could keep him behind. Second was a fantastic result and together 
with the third place I scored yesterday is more than I could ever have 
hoped for...' 
 
RESULTS 
Auto Trader RAC Touring Car Championship, round 16 
15 laps -- 47.33 miles / 76.16km 
1  David Leslie (GB), Honda Accord, 29m 56.27s, 
94.75mph/152.49kmh; 
2  Frank Biela (Ger), Audi A4, +0.88s; 
3  Roberto Ravaglia (It), BMW 320i, +1.36s; 
4  Rickard Rydell (Swe), Volvo 850, +1.81s; 
5  Alain Menu (Switz), Renault Laguna, +4.67s; 
6  Will Hoy (GB), Renault Laguna, +22.68s; 
7  James Thompson (GB), Vauxhall Vectra, +23.16s; 
8  Kelvin Burt (GB), Volvo 850, +23.84s; 
9  Paul Radisich (NZ), Ford Mondeo, +24.69s; 
10 John Bintcliffe (GB), Audi A4, +25.35s. 
Total Cup Privateers: Richard Kaye (GB), Vauxhall Cavalier. 
Fastest lap: Rydell, 1m 58.71s, 95.58mph/153.83kmh. 
 
CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS 
Drivers: 1 Biela, 171 points; 2 Menu, 116; 3 Rydell, 115; 4 Jo 
Winkelhock (Ger/BMW), 106; 5 Ravaglia, 97; 6 Bintcliffe, 80; 7 
Hoy, 69; =8 John Cleland (GB/Vauxhall) & Leslie, 66; 10 
Thompson, 64. 
Manufacturers: 1 Audi, 181; 2 BMW, 171; 3 Renault, 154; 4 Volvo, 
150; 5 Vauxhall, 118; 6 Honda, 100; 7 Peugeot, 54; 8 Ford, 48. 
Total Cup Privateers: 1 Lee Brookes (GB/Toyota), 190; 2 Richard 
Kaye, 175. 
 


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