Steve Soper
| Steve Soper | |
|---|---|
Soper driving a McLaren F1 GTR at Donington Park, England in 1997.
|
|
| Nationality | English |
| Born | 27 September 1951 |
| BTCC record | |
| Teams |
Mini, Rover, TWR, Ford, BMW, Peugeot Sport UK |
| Drivers championships |
0 |
| Wins | 14 |
| Podium finishes | – |
| Poles | – |
| Fastest laps | – |
| Debut season | 1982 |
| First win | 1983 (Overall) |
| Best championship position | 2nd |
| Final season (2001) position | 6th (93 points) |
Steve Soper is a racing driver from Surrey, England, born in 1951.
He raced in major sports car and touring car categories in the 1980s and 1990s. He won the 24 Hours Nürburgring in 1987, the 24 Hours of Spa in 1995 and the Guia Race in 1997 – many of which through his longest association, with BMW.
Across just over two decades Soper won three major races: the 24 Hours Nürburgring in 1987, the 24 Hours of Spa in 1995 and the Guia Race in 1997.
Soper had been successful in one make series, before making his BTCC debut in 1982 in a Metro. His talent was spotted by Tom Walkinshaw and he joined TWR in 1983. He won the championship in his first season with the works Austin Rover team but rival Frank Sytner protested the TWR team and his Rover Vitesse was later deemed illegal due to an issue with the engine installation. TWR was disqualified and the title was awarded to Andy Rouse. He later joined Eggenberger Motorsport and finished as runner-up in the series in 1988 in a Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth, enjoying many on-track battles with Andy Rouse in the process.
Soper would challenge for the title in 1991, finishing 4th and in 1993, finishing as runner up behind teammate Joachim Winkelhock for BMW. Soper had led the championship for most of the season but a run of bad luck towards the end of the year damaged his title challenge. During the season finale of the 1992 championship, Soper was involved in the infamous collision with John Cleland, which cost Cleland the title and famously led him to label Soper 'an animal.' 1995 saw Soper race in the Japanese Super Touring championship for Schnitzer BMW, winning the championship outright that year. Soper raced in the German Super Tourenwagen Cup in 1996, challenging for the title until an incident late in the season with his team mate ended his championship chances. He finished second overall to Emanuele Pirro. In 1997 he came second in the FIA GT Championship. Soper finished fifth driving a Ford Sierra for Eggenberger Motorsport in the one-off World Touring Car Championship in 1987 run under Group A regulations. That year, he won the Bathurst 1000, but was later disqualified for a technical infringement
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