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]
| Chris Hodgetts | |
|---|---|
 Chris Hodgetts' 1985 British Saloon Car Championship Ford Escort RS1600 | |
| Nationality |  British |
| Born | 6 December 1950 Tanworth-in-Arden, Warwickshire, England |
| British Saloon / Touring Car Championship | |
| Years active | 1980–1990 |
| Teams | Chris Hodgetts Motorsport MIL Motorsport Brooklyn Motorsport Team Toyota GB Demon Tweeks JQF Engineering Vauxhall Hawaiian Tropic |
| Starts | 100 |
| Wins | 3 (36 in class) |
| Poles | 1 (30 in class) |
| Fastest laps | 6 (31 in class) |
| Best finish | 1st 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 |
BTCC career
editHodgetts 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
editBesides 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
editComplete British Saloon / Touring Car Championship results
edit(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
edit- ^ "Chris Hodgetts". Archived from the original on 16 May 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- ^ "Car Spotlight>> 'CHMS' Ae86 BTCC Touring Car". September 2008.
- ^ "Chris Hodgetts - Toyota Supra Turbo - Silverstone BTCC - 5th June 1988". 5 June 1988.
- ^ "Chris Hodgetts". Archived from the original on 16 May 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- ^ http://www.dlg.speedfreaks.org/archive/1994/1994.html
- ^ "Chris Hodgetts". Archived from the original on 16 May 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- ^ "Welcome to the new-look Toyota UK Magazine". Toyota. 19 September 2012.
- ^ "News and Content for Media". 2 November 2023.