Vauxhall were one of the big boys. Competing against many manufacturers such as Alfa-Romeo, Renault, Ford, Peugeot, Volvo, Toyota, BMW and Honda Vauxhall were the pick of the bunch in 1995 with John Cleland at the wheel. He took the spoils by 43 points in his Vauxhall Cavelier from Alain Menu in a Renault Laguna. The Cavelier was a great weapon in the BTCC, especially with Cleland behind the wheel. It was involved in some iconic BTCC moments, such as the final race of the 1992 season where Cleland and Soper in a BMW came to blows and spun each other out of the race, gifting Tim Harvey his only BTCC title.
In 1996, Vauxhall Motorsport switiched to the Vectra which was used until 2000. The Vectra was driven by some of the legendary drivers and champions of the British Touring Car Championship like John Cleland, James Thompson and Jason Plato although the car never won the title.
Now we are approaching the second half of 2014 and it has been announced that Team BMR are replacing their 2 Insignias with Volkswagen Passat CC's meaning there will be no Vauxhall on the grid for the first time in 25 years. I personally think this is rather sad, even though the Insignia never really lived up to the high expectations other models left behind.
Vauxhall are a big part of the BTCC's history. Let's hope Warren and Jack do well with their new machines, because it's sad to see a legend go.