Alain Menu

CHAMPION 1997, 2000

There was a single-mindedness about Alain Menu that marked him out among his contemporaries in the BTCC.

The Swiss was among the first to ride the crest of the wave that crashed down on the BTCC in the early 1990s to reshape the series – gradually, the gentlemen drivers were forced to pull over for the career-focused racers.

Menu was one of the first, perhaps spurred on by a single-seater career that failed to deliver the glories it should have, even though he made it to F3000 level. He drove for BMW initially as part of its junior team, but it was when he was picked by Renault to lead its maiden factory BTCC bid in 1993 that his tin-top career kicked into life.

A title in a Laguna followed, and Menu would become a lynchpin of the French firm’s success until he headed for Ford in 1999.

Even that didn’t stop him, as a second title followed in 2000 in a Prodrive-run Ford Mondeo, probably the most expensive and high-tech BTCC car ever, to sign off the Super Touring era for a man who had been a consistent winner throughout.

And it is that longevity, plus his unstinting pace throughout that period, that means he was a thorn in the side of anyone who wanted to take a crown in that eight-year period. He has gone toe to toe with several of those who took part in our poll – and they clearly haven’t forgotten him.