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Remembering the BTCC's most controversial act

As the British Touring Car Championship shapes up for its 2020 title-decider, Autosport relives the controversial 1992 finale that thrust the series into the national press and truly lit a fire under Super Touring with its three main players

It's one of the most famous races in tin-top history. The 1992 British Touring Car Championship decider on Silverstone's grand prix circuit had everything that epitomised the Super Touring era: manufacturers battling it out for supremacy, incredibly tight racing, and controversy.

The clash between Vauxhall's John Cleland and Steve Soper's BMW that helped Tim Harvey win the crown is what everyone remembers, but there was far more to the race than that.

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Author Kevin Turner

Kevin Turner is Autosport’s Chief Editor. While studying History at the University of York, Kevin began covering UK club events as a freelance reporter for Autosport and Motorsport News. He joined the Autosport staff as Editorial Assistant on the magazine in 2006, winning what is now known as the Motorsport UK Young Journalist of the Year Award. He became National Editor in 2008 and over the next few seasons covered a range of international events, including the Le Mans 24 Hours, as well as the British Touring Car Championship and British GT. Kevin became Features Editor before switching to edit Motorsport News in 2014.

He returned to Autosport in 2016 to become editor of the magazine, a dream job that is still part of his role.

He became Chief Editor in 2020, helping to plan content for autosport.com and Autosport’s podcast as well as seeing the magazine through the coronavirus pandemic. Kevin also led work on the special publication celebrating 70 years of Autosport and has been a judge on the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award, formerly known as the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award, since 2008. He lives in Warboys with his wife and two children.