Team Dynamics

From its earliest guise as Rimstock Racing – fielding BMW M3s and 318s – to the latest works Honda, Yuasa-backed outfit we know today, Team Dynamics has a 20-odd year history in the British Touring Car Championship.

They were founded by Steve Neal in 1992 and, when joined by his son Matt for their debut season after he had made his BTCC debut the season previous, quickly established themselves as one of the leading Independent outfits. The Indy Drivers’ title for Neal came in four of the next seven seasons – 1993 (BMW 318), 1995 (Ford Mondeo) having skipped the previous year, 1999 and 2000 (both Nissan Primeras). This included Neal’s outright race win at Donington Park in ’99 – the first ever by a BTCC Independent entry.

In 1997, they started with the Mondeo which they had run since ’95 but switched to the Primera at the halfway stage. They flirted with multi-car lineups a couple of times in the nineties, Ray Bellm, Andy Wallace and Alex Portman joining Neal in ’93 and former champion Robb Gravett coming on board for the ’96 season.

Their first outright BTCC title came in 2005 – again via Neal – when the Team Halfords-liviered (but Dynamics-run) Honda Integra Type-Rs proved superior, and the team – aided by Dan Eaves’ third overall and second in the Indy points – scooped up the Independent Teams’ Championship award too. They repeated the feat in 2006, with Gordon Shedden joining the team and finishing fourth overall.

By Dynamics’ standard, a ‘lean’ period followed. With the BTC-spec cars no longer allowed, a switch to the Civic proved initially unsuccessful and a Fabrizio Giovanardi-led VX Racing took their crown. Neal departed for the Vauxhall squad for the 2008 and 2009 season, while Dynamics placed third and fifth in the Teams’ standings. This time included a Civic for Shedden – the team’s only real regular driver – and also saw them field James Thompson and Johnny Herbert at times during the 2009 season.

Since 2010, Dynamics have been the works Honda team, winning a trio of Manufacturer’s titles on the spin. Their first year as a manufacturer effort saw Neal and Shedden finish second and third. They also supplied the Drivers’ Title-winning cars for the past two seasons – Neal and Gordon Shedden finishing top of the pile in 2011 and 2012. The team’s development of the Civic has seen it transform from a frontrunner to a pacesetter – a monopoly the 2012 titles an example of this.

TEAM DYNAMICS BTCC HISTORY

* 2008 Team Halfords were neither a works or an independent entry.
** Donington Park Neal used car number 500 as it was his 500th BTCC race.

Profile by Scott Mitchell