25 WILL HOY

CHAMPION:1991

Cambridgeshire racer Will Hoy was a latecomer to motor racing, and took his initial steps in competition in the Clubmans category, which was an unusual path to a career at the forefront of tin-tops.

He was a multiple Clubmans title winner, taking three straight crowns in the early 1980s, before pursuing his ambitions in sportscars. He progressed through the long distance ranks to eventually contest selected rounds of the World Sportscar Championship in 1985 in the C2 division.

Hoy also undertook sportscar races in Japan and that also introduced him to the world of tin-tops, and he went on to take the runners-up spot in the 1988 All Japan Touring Car Championship in a BMW M3 which he shared with Haruto Yanagida.

That same season, he dabbled with the BTCC, being drafted in to the Prodrive team because of his success in the Far East. It was when he joined the BTCC fulltime in 1991 that his star began to shine, and he marched straight to the title with Vic Lee Motorsport. That cemented his place as a regular on the grid, and he was at the heart of the BTCC during its most competitive era.

He drove for Toyota and then was a fundamental part of the Williams Renault Dealer Team attack with its Laguna for two seasons. His full-time career, which included eight wins, lasted until 1998 when he drove for Ford. He campaigned a part season in 1999 in an Arena International Laguna.

Sadly, Hoy, who had become part of the television presenting team for the BTCC, contracted a brain tumour and died in 2002.