Four years of excellent, hard-driving, door-bashing action
from the European Touring Car Championship at a great price.
In its heyday the ETCC saw brilliant drivers such as Johnny
Cecotto, Roberto Ravaglia, Steve Soper and Gerhard Berger compete in
‘souped-up’ versions of ordinary saloon cars such as the Ford Sierra, BMW 3-
and 6-Series and Rover’s Vitesse. It makes for compelling viewing as the field
jockey for positions in often very closely matched cars on some of the most
famous circuits Europe has to offer. Expect lots of slides, spins and
‘friendly’ nudging!
1984 saw Tom Walkinshaw and the Jaguar XJ-S go on the
offensive, taking the fight to Volvo, BMW and Alfa in their own backyards and
coming away with the driver’s title.
1985 was the year of the Volvo turbo – driven by Brancatelli
and Lindström
to the championship win, although Alfa retained their stranglehold on the
constructor’s title. Bonus: Profile of ’85 Rover Team.
1986 saw a fiesta Bumper-to-bumper racing, a host of driving
stars in legendary cars and a down-to-the-wire title battle – surely one of the
most memorable seasons of tin top racing ever?
1988 the final year of the old ETCC. What a corker it turned
out to be. The racing was simply sensational and the title chases went right
down to the wire. What a way to go out!