UK based viewers will find this three part documentary an interesting watch. Gaucho Productions will debut Touring Car Legends on ITV4 on February 5th. My interest in BTCC has significantly waned in recent years, with front wheel drive, low power outputs and dubious driving standards designed to pander to TV. This series takes us right through the entire history of Touring Car racing in the UK back to the time when Lotus Cortinas were driven by Formula One drivers.
Touring Car Legends has been written and directed by Gaucho’s MD, Alistair Weaver. A man after my own heart, he comments, “I fell in love with cars watching the Ford RS500’s do battle in the 1980s so this project has been a real treat for me. The British Touring Car Championship has always been about the cars and the characters and with the passage of time we’ve been able to tell what really happened in some of the sport’s most memorable moments.”
The series tells the inside story of the British Touring Car Championship from the first race on Boxing Day 1957 to the present day. Narrated by Tiff Needell, the 3x1hr shows mixes evocative archive footage with bespoke interviews with the major protagonists, from drivers to team managers to Murray Walker. Each episode focuses on a different period, shedding fresh light on the legendary drivers, the legendary cars and the legendary moments that have made the BTCC such a success.
It’s sure to bring back memories for us all. For me, it’s a European Touring car event at Donington. Soper in the Texaco Ford Sierra, a great sounding, if slow privateer BMW M6 and Roland Ratxenberger in the screaming Schnitzer BMW E30 M3 that made your ears bleed. Happy times.
