Steve Soper

Championship runner-up 1993

Steve Soper was something of a groundbreaker. He was the first British driver to be signed to a manufacturer purely as a gun for hire, anchoring BMW’S tin-top challenge for a decade.

He had risen through the ranks as a dedicated saloon car specialist, initially in Minis and then in the Metro Challenge, before his talent was spotted by Tom Walkinshaw. Soper joined the BTCC in 1982 in a Metro before becoming one of the few to truly tame the Walkinshaw-run Rover Vitesse the following year. He won the title in ’83, except he didn’t: post-season technical wrangling concerning the V8 machine meant that the Rovers were kicked out and Soper lost his crown.

After a spell with Eggenberger in the fearsome Ford Sierra RS500, Soper was probably next known for his association with BMW, and he was a powerhouse in the BTCC without ever claiming the title. He was second in 1993, only losing out to Jo Winkelhock late on in the campaign by just 13 points, a puncture at the penultimate meeting at Donington Park proving crucial. He continued with BMW in ’94 for another attack, but then left to concentrate on the firm’s projects elsewhere.

He returned to the BTCC in 2001 at the wheel of a factory-backed Peugeot 406 but a last-round shunt at Brands Hatch left him with a badly damaged neck, and he was told by doctors to hang up his helmet – although he has taken part in several historic events.