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Chris Hodgetts

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Chris Hodgetts
Chris Hodgetts' 1985 British Saloon Car Championship Ford Escort RS1600
NationalityUnited Kingdom British
Born (1950-12-06) 6 December 1950 (age 73)
Tanworth-in-Arden, Warwickshire, England
British Saloon / Touring Car Championship
Years active1980–1990
TeamsChris Hodgetts Motorsport
MIL Motorsport
Brooklyn Motorsport
Team Toyota GB
Demon Tweeks
JQF Engineering
Vauxhall
Hawaiian Tropic
Starts100
Wins3 (36 in class)
Poles1 (30 in class)
Fastest laps6 (31 in class)
Best finish1st in 1986, 1987
Championship titles
1986, 1987
1980, 1981
1985, 1986
1987		British Touring Car Championship
BSCC - Class B
BSCC - Class C
BTCC - Class D

Christopher Leonard Hodgetts (born 6 December 1950 in Tanworth-in-Arden, Warwickshire) is a British former racing driver. He began his racing career in 1979, driving in the Clubman Class A championship.[1]

BTCC career

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Hodgetts debuted in the British Touring Car Championship in 1980. His first overall podium place came in 1981 when he came second. He was consistent in the top five after that, mostly driving for the works Toyota team. He came fourth in 1983, fifth in 1984, second in 1985, before winning the series in 1986 and 1987 at the wheel of a Group C Toyota CorollaAE86.[2] The 1988 season was not a success. The new Group A Toyota Supra needed a lot of development and only a handful of good results were gained.[3] His last race in the BTCC was in 1990. That season he drove for the works Vauxhall team, helping to develop the new Vauxhall Cavalier. Towards the end of the year he switched to a Ford Sierra, before calling time on his BTCC career. During the 1989 season, Hodgetts was driving for Brooklyn in an iconic red Ford Sierra RS500.

After the BTCC

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Besides racing in touring cars, Hodgetts also found success in sports car racing. He shared the BRDC C2 Championship with Tim Harvey in 1989 before retiring and won the TVR Tuscan Challenge in 1990.[4] The 1994 season saw Chris in the Rover Turbo Challenge.[5] He also drove in the World Sportscar Championship on occasion and had seven starts in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, representing team such as Mazdaspeed, Courage Compétition and Spice Engineering. He had a best finish of 7th place overall in the classic 24 hour race.[6] In 1995 he won the GT2 title in the British GT Championship, driving a Marcos LM600. He retired after 1998, when he drove a Lola in the ISRS.[7]

Hodgetts now works for Racing Team & Drivers as a driver instructor. His son Stefan raced in the BTCC in 2004.[8]

Racing record

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Complete British Saloon / Touring Car Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position – 1980–1990 in class) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap – 1 point awarded ?–1989 in class)

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 DC Pts Class
1980 Hughes of Beaconsfield Toyota Celica GT B MAL
3† 		OUL
1† 		THR
? 		SIL
9 		SIL
7 		BRH
DSQ 		MAL BRH THR
Ret 		SIL
? 		6th 45 1st
1981 Hughes of Beaconsfield Toyota Celica GT B MAL
Ret† 		SIL
Ret 		OUL
1† 		THR
11 		BRH
8† 		SIL
12 		SIL
? 		DON
1† 		BRH
8 		THR
? 		SIL
7 		2nd 74 1st
1982 Chris Hodgetts Toyota Corolla GT B SIL MAL OUL THR THR SIL DON
Ret 		BRH
Ret 		DON BRH SIL NC 0 NC
1983 Brooklyn Motorsport Ford Escort RS1600i C SIL
13 		OUL
14 		THR
13 		BRH
Ret 		THR
12 		SIL
7 		DON
Ret 		SIL
13 		DON
9 		BRH
11 		SIL
10 		3rd 43 2nd
1984 Brooklyn Motorsport Ford Escort RS1600i C DON
10 		SIL
11 		OUL
11 		THR
Ret 		THR
Ret 		SIL
? 		SNE
13 		BRH
11 		BRH
Ret 		DON
16 		SIL
Ret 		5th 45 2nd
1985 Brooklyn Motorsport / ECS Ford Escort RS1600i C SIL
10 		OUL
9 		THR
9 		DON
10 		THR
7 		SIL
13 		DON
14 		SIL
13 		SNE
10 		BRH
13 		BRH
10 		SIL
DNS 		2nd 77 1st
1986 Team Toyota GB/Duckhams Toyota Corolla GT C SIL
9 		THR
4 		SIL
7 		DON
4 		BRH
12 		SNE
7 		BRH
5 		DON
7 		SIL
8 		1st 85 1st
1987 Chris Hodgetts Motor Sport Toyota Corolla D SIL
8 		OUL
8 		THR
5 		THR
11 		SIL
9 		SIL
12 		BRH
7 		SNE
7 		DON
9 		OUL
3/5‡ 		DON
8 		SIL 1st 84 1st
1988 MIL Motorsport Toyota Supra Turbo A SIL
8 		OUL
Ret 		THR DON
Ret 		THR
12 		SIL
Ret 		SIL BRH 33rd 7 13th
Brooklyn Motorsport Ford Sierra RS500 BRH
7 		BIR
C 		DON
3 		SIL
Ret
Demon Tweeks BMW M3 B SNE
Ret 		NC 0 NC
1989 Brooklyn Motorsport Ford Sierra RS500 A OUL
8 		SIL
6 		THR
Ret 		DON
DNQ 		THR
Ret 		SIL
7 		SIL
8 		BRH SNE BRH BIR
4 		DON
11 		40th 6 14th
JQF Engineering SIL
5
1990 Vauxhall Motorsport Vauxhall Cavalier B OUL DON
Ret‡ 		THR SIL OUL
15 		SIL
12 		BRH
Ret 		SNE
11 		BRH BIR
8 		DON 16th 46 9th
Hawaiian Tropic Ford Sierra Sapphire THR
7 		SIL
13

† Events with 2 races staged for the different classes.

‡ Endurance driver.

References

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  1. ^ "Chris Hodgetts". Archived from the original on 16 May 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  2. ^ "Car Spotlight>> 'CHMS' Ae86 BTCC Touring Car". September 2008.
  3. ^ "Chris Hodgetts - Toyota Supra Turbo - Silverstone BTCC - 5th June 1988". 5 June 1988.
  4. ^ "Chris Hodgetts". Archived from the original on 16 May 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  5. ^ http://www.dlg.speedfreaks.org/archive/1994/1994.html
  6. ^ "Chris Hodgetts". Archived from the original on 16 May 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  7. ^ "Welcome to the new-look Toyota UK Magazine".
  8. ^ "News and Content for Media". 2 November 2023.
[edit]
Sporting positions
Preceded by British Touring Car Champion
1986–1987 		Succeeded by
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