# John Cleland (racing driver)

John Cunningham Cleland (born 15 July 1952) is a retired British auto racing driver, best known for winning the British Touring Car Championship in 1989 and 1995.
Born in Wishaw, Cleland raced autocross and hillclimb in the 1970s, and won his class in the Scottish Rally Championship in 1976 driving a Mitsubishi Colt. He switched to circuit racing, achieving success in British Production Car and Thundersaloon championships in the 1980s, before joining Vauxhall for the 1989 British Touring Car Championship. He was most recently a co-commentator alongside Martin Haven on the English world feed of the World Touring Car Championship.

## Racing career
### Pre-BTCC

In the mid-1980s, Cleland's father Bill purchased the 1984 Bathurst 1000 2nd place Holden VK Commodore (an Australian car) from Peter Brock's Holden Dealer Team for his son to race in Thundersaloons. During this time the Commodore ran as a Vauxhall Senator.

### BTCC

Cleland adapted quickly to touring car racing and won the BTCC at his first attempt, in the days when the championship consisted of four separate classes, each in their own races but scoring points for the same title. Cleland won 11 of his 13 races in class C for 1.5l cars. The 2-litre Cavalier was introduced the next year, in readiness for the single 2-litre format in 1991. Cleland finished 2nd in class to his rival Frank Sytner in 1990 after a fierce season long battle, and 5th overall. The following year he won three races and finished second in the championship to Will Hoy, taking Vauxhall's first ever overall BTCC win. In 1992 Cleland battled with Hoy and Tim Harvey for the title, but was denied at the last round by a controversial collision with Steve Soper, the teammate of eventual champion Harvey. In 1993 and 1994 the championship was dominated by BMW and Alfa Romeo respectively, and Cleland had to make do with fourth overall in both years.
1995 proved to be the breakthrough year for the Cavalier, ironically in its last year of competition. Despite the Volvo 850 and Renault Laguna often having the edge in speed, in the hands of Rickard Rydell and Alain Menu respectively, Cleland's consistent run of points finishes allied to a four-race winning streak in the mid-season allowed him to beat both drivers to the title.
For 1996, the Cavalier was replaced by the new Vectra, which turned out to be a problematic package. Cleland finished 8th in the title chase. 1997 proved to be even worse, with Cleland slipping to 12th in the standings and Vauxhall finishing bottom of the Constructors' title. 1998 was better, and Cleland took two victories, both at Donington Park - a traditional happy hunting ground for the Scotsman - before a heavy crash at Snetterton interrupted his season. In 1999 Cleland was outpaced by team newcomer Yvan Muller and decided by mid-season to retire. He finished his last race at a wet Silverstone in tenth place, after being given a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pits, which provoked a typically belligerent reaction from Cleland over a live radio link to his car that had been set up by the BBC.
In a 2005 poll by Motorsport Magazine, Cleland was voted the 10th greatest touring car driver of all time.

### Post BTCC

Aside running his long running car dealership, he has done several guest drives since retiring from the BTCC, including a season in a Dodge Viper in the British GT Championship in 2000, co driving with Dave Clark for the CSi Brookspeed team. He later drove in an ASCAR race at Rockingham, twelve Bathurst 1000s between 1993 and 2005 for Advantage Racing, Pinnacle Motorsport, Gibson Motorsport, Triple Eight, Greenfield Mowers Racing and Brad Jones Racing with a best finish of 2nd in the 2001 event, co driving with Brad Jones, and the BTCC Masters race in 2004. He now runs a Volvo dealership in Galashiels Scotland. His son Jamie has started a racing career. Cleland is also a co-commentator for Eurosport on their WTCC coverage. He replaced fellow Scot David Leslie after his death in 2008.
Cleland purchased his old Vauxhall Vectra super tourer, and now races in the Historic Super Touring championship, alongside his contemporaries Patrick Watts and Tim Harvey.

## Racing record
### Complete European Touring Car Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | DC | Pts |
| 1980 | Dealer Opel Team | Opel Monza 3.0E | MNZ | VAL | BRH | SAL | BRN | PER | NUR | SIL 17 | ZOL | | | | | | NC | 0 |
| 1981 | Dealer Opel Team | Opel Monza 3.0E | MNZ | VAL | DON | SAL | BRN | PER | SIL Ret | ZOL | | | | | | | NC | 0 |
| 1982 | Monorep Ltd. Vauxhall Opel Dealers | Opel Monza 3.0E | MNZ | VAL | DON | PER | MUG | BRN | SAL | NUR | SPA | SIL 24 | ZOL | | | | NC | 0 |
| 1983 | GM Dealer Sport | Opel Monza 3.0E | MNZ | VAL | DON | PER | MUG | BRN | ZEL | NUR | SAL | SPA | SIL 13 | ZOL | | | NC | 0 |
| 1986 | GM Dealer Sport | Holden VK Commodore SS Group A | MNZ | DON | HOC | MIS | AND | BRN | ZEL | NÜR | SPA | SIL Ret | NOG | ZOL | JAR | EST | NC | 0 |

### Complete British Touring Car Championship results

(key) Races in bold indicate pole position (1 point awarded all races 1996 onwards, 1989–1990 in class) Races in italics indicate fastest lap (1 point awarded all races - 1989–1990 in class) * signifies that driver lead feature race for at least one lap (1 point awarded - 1998 onwards)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | Overall pos | Pts | Class pos |
| 1989 | Vauxhall Motorsport | Vauxhall Astra GTE 16v | C | OUL ovr:15 cls:1 | SIL ovr:19 cls:1 | THR ovr:19 cls:3 | DON ovr:9 cls:1 | THR ovr:15 cls:1 | SIL Ret | SIL ovr:21 cls:1 | BRH ovr:14 cls:1 | SNE ovr:16 cls:1 | BRH ovr:14 cls:1 | BIR ovr:16 cls:1 | DON ovr:17 cls:1 | SIL ovr:20 cls:1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1st | 110 | 1st |
| 1990 | Vauxhall Motorsport | Vauxhall Cavalier | B | OUL ovr:7 cls:3 | DON Ret | THR ovr:7 cls:1 | SIL ovr:7 cls:2 | OUL Ret | SIL ovr:9 cls:2 | BRH Ret | SNE ovr:6 cls:1 | BRH ovr:7 cls:1 | BIR Ret | DON ovr:12 cls:6 | THR Ret | SIL ovr:7 cls:1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 5th | 128 | 2nd |
| 1991 | Vauxhall Sport | Vauxhall Cavalier | | SIL 3 | SNE 9 | DON 2 | THR 1 | SIL 1 | BRH 12 | SIL 6 | DON 1 3 | DON 2 10 | OUL 1 | BRH 1 4 | BRH 2 3 | DON 1 | THR 8 | SIL 9 | | | | | | | | | | | | 2nd | 132 | |
| 1992 | Vauxhall Sport | Vauxhall Cavalier | | SIL 1 | THR 1 | OUL 11 | SNE 2 | BRH 1 | DON 1 2 | DON 2 4 | SIL 3 | KNO 1 DSQ | KNO 2 3 | PEM Ret | BRH 1 4 | BRH 2 3 | DON 3 | SIL Ret | | | | | | | | | | | | 3rd | 145 | |
| 1993 | Vauxhall Sport | Vauxhall Cavalier | | SIL 3 | DON 4 | SNE 10 | DON 7 | OUL 2 | BRH 1 Ret | BRH 2 5 | PEM 7 | SIL 6 | KNO 1 1 | KNO 2 2 | OUL 3 | BRH 12 | THR 8 | DON 1 Ret | DON 2 6 | SIL 7 | | | | | | | | | | 4th | 102 | |
| 1994 | Vauxhall Sport | Vauxhall Cavalier 16v | | THR 2 | BRH 1 3 | BRH 2 2 | SNE Ret | SIL 1 7 | SIL 2 4 | OUL 7 | DON 1 1 | DON 2 1 | BRH 1 5 | BRH 2 4 | SIL DNS | KNO 1 5 | KNO 2 6 | OUL Ret | BRH 1 Ret | BRH 2 DNS | SIL 1 4 | SIL 2 4 | DON 1 8 | DON 2 5 | | | | | | 4th | 177 | |
| 1995 | Vauxhall Sport | Vauxhall Cavalier 16v | | DON 1 1 | DON 2 2 | BRH 1 Ret | BRH 2 Ret | THR 1 2 | THR 2 5 | SIL 1 3 | SIL 2 5 | OUL 1 2 | OUL 2 3 | BRH 1 2 | BRH 2 1 | DON 1 1 | DON 2 1 | SIL 1 | KNO 1 5 | KNO 2 6 | BRH 1 3 | BRH 2 1 | SNE 1 13 | SNE 2 3 | OUL 1 3 | OUL 2 2 | SIL 1 3 | SIL 2 3 | | 1st | 348 | |
| 1996 | Vauxhall Sport | Vauxhall Vectra | | DON 1 5 | DON 2 6 | BRH 1 7 | BRH 2 Ret | THR 1 4 | THR 2 4 | SIL 1 10 | SIL 2 Ret | OUL 1 Ret | OUL 2 9 | SNE 1 3 | SNE 2 2 | BRH 1 10 | BRH 2 4 | SIL 1 10 | SIL 2 Ret | KNO 1 Ret | KNO 2 6 | OUL 1 7 | OUL 2 7 | THR 1 5 | THR 2 7 | DON 1 6 | DON 2 8 | BRH 1 6 | BRH 2 Ret | 8th | 97 | |
| 1997 | Vauxhall Sport | Vauxhall Vectra | | DON 1 11 | DON 2 Ret | SIL 1 6 | SIL 2 6 | THR 1 14 | THR 2 9 | BRH 1 11 | BRH 2 9 | OUL 1 5 | OUL 2 12 | DON 1 12 | DON 2 8 | CRO 1 6 | CRO 2 5 | KNO 1 10 | KNO 2 6 | SNE 1 7 | SNE 2 16 | THR 1 19 | THR 2 11 | BRH 1 13 | BRH 2 12 | SIL 1 12 | SIL 2 11 | | | 12th | 44 | |
| 1998 | Vauxhall Sport | Vauxhall Vectra | | THR 1 4 | THR 2 6 | SIL 1 6 | SIL 2 7 | DON 1 1 | DON 2 3* | BRH 1 6 | BRH 2 9* | OUL 1 7 | OUL 2 6* | DON 1 5 | DON 2 1* | CRO 1 6 | CRO 2 8 | SNE 1 9 | SNE 2 Ret | THR 1 | THR 2 | KNO 1 13 | KNO 2 Ret | BRH 1 8 | BRH 2 Ret | OUL 1 9 | OUL 2 11 | SIL 1 8 | SIL 2 Ret | 8th | 106 | |
| 1999 | Vauxhall Motorsport | Vauxhall Vectra | | DON 1 8 | DON 2 4* | SIL 1 10 | SIL 2 8 | THR 1 7 | THR 2 9 | BRH 1 8 | BRH 2 9 | OUL 1 12 | OUL 2 Ret | DON 1 6 | DON 2 Ret | CRO 1 9 | CRO 2 Ret | SNE 1 12 | SNE 2 12 | THR 1 12 | THR 2 Ret | KNO 1 8 | KNO 2 9 | BRH 1 11 | BRH 2 9 | OUL 1 8 | OUL 2 Ret | SIL 1 5 | SIL 2 10 | 13th | 51 | |
| Source: |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
* ^ – Race was stopped due to heavy rain. No points were awarded.

### Complete V8 Supercar Championship results

Supercars results :
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | Position | Points |
| 1999 | Greenfield Mowers Racing | Ford Falcon EL | EAS R1 | EAS R2 | EAS R3 | ADE R4 | BAR R5 | BAR R6 | BAR R7 | PHI R8 | PHI R9 | PHI R10 | HID R11 | HID R12 | HID R13 | SAN R14 | SAN R15 | SAN R16 | QLD R17 | QLD R18 | QLD R19 | CAL R20 | CAL R21 | CAL R22 | SYM R23 | SYM R24 | SYM R25 | WIN R26 | WIN R27 | WIN R28 | ORA R29 | ORA R30 | ORA R31 | QLD R32 | BAT R33 Ret | NC | 0 |
| 2000 | Gibson Motor Sport | Holden Commodore VT | PHI R1 | PHI R2 | BAR R3 | BAR R4 | BAR R5 | ADE R6 | ADE R7 | EAS R8 | EAS R9 | EAS R10 | HID R11 | HID R12 | HID R13 | CAN R14 | CAN R15 | CAN R16 | QLD R17 | QLD R18 | QLD R19 | WIN R20 | WIN R21 | WIN R22 | ORA R23 | ORA R24 | ORA R25 | CAL R26 | CAL R27 | CAL R28 | QLD R29 14 | SAN R30 | SAN R31 | SAN R32 | BAT R33 Ret | 51st | 48 |
| 2001 | Brad Jones Racing | Ford Falcon AU | PHI R1 | PHI R2 | ADE R3 | ADE R4 | EAS R5 | EAS R6 | HID R7 | HID R8 | HID R9 | CAN R10 | CAN R11 | CAN R12 | BAR R13 | BAR R14 | BAR R15 | CAL R16 | CAL R17 | CAL R18 | ORA R19 | ORA R20 | QLD R21 Ret | WIN R22 | WIN R23 | BAT R24 2 | PUK R25 | PUK R26 | PUK R27 | SAN R28 | SAN R29 | SAN R30 | | | | 37th | 520 |
| 2002 | Brad Jones Racing | Ford Falcon AU | ADE R1 | ADE R2 | PHI R3 | PHI R4 | EAS R5 | EAS R6 | EAS R7 | HDV R8 | HDV R9 | HDV R10 | CAN R11 | CAN R12 | CAN R13 | BAR R14 | BAR R15 | BAR R16 | ORA R17 | ORA R18 | WIN R19 | WIN R20 | QLD R21 17 | BAT R22 19 | SUR R23 | SUR R24 | PUK R25 | PUK R26 | PUK R27 | SAN R28 | SAN R29 | | | | | 51st | 60 |
| 2003 | Brad Jones Racing | Ford Falcon BA | ADE R1 | ADE R1 | PHI R3 | EAS R4 | WIN R5 | BAR R6 | BAR R7 | BAR R8 | HDV R9 | HDV R10 | HDV R11 | QLD R12 | ORA R13 | SAN R14 20 | BAT R15 9 | SUR R16 | SUR R17 | PUK R18 | PUK R19 | PUK R20 | EAS R21 | EAS R22 | | | | | | | | | | | | 41st | 160 |
| 2004 | Brad Jones Racing | Ford Falcon BA | ADE R1 | ADE R2 | EAS R3 | PUK R4 | PUK R5 | PUK R6 | HDV R7 | HDV R8 | HDV R9 | BAR R10 | BAR R11 | BAR R12 | QLD R13 | WIN R14 | ORA R15 | ORA R16 | SAN R17 Ret | BAT R18 Ret | SUR R19 | SUR R20 | SYM R21 | SYM R22 | SYM R23 | EAS R24 | EAS R25 | EAS R26 | | | | | | | | NC | 0 |
| 2005 | Brad Jones Racing | Ford Falcon BA | ADE R1 | ADE R2 | PUK R3 | PUK R4 | PUK R5 | BAR R6 | BAR R7 | BAR R8 | EAS R9 | EAS R10 | SHA R11 | SHA R12 | SHA R13 | HDV R14 | HDV R15 | HDV R16 | QLD R17 | ORA R18 | ORA R19 | SAN R20 21 | BAT R21 7 | SUR R22 | SUR R23 | SUR R24 | SYM R25 | SYM R26 | SYM R27 | PHI R28 | PHI R29 | PHI R30 | | | | 42nd | 168 |

### Complete Bathurst 1000 results

| Year | Team | Co-driver | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class pos. |
| 1993 | Mobil 1 Racing | Peter Brock | Holden Commodore VP | A | 142 | 17th | 17th |
| 1995 | Pinnacle Motorsport | Tony Scott | Holden Commodore VR | | 158 | 6th | 6th |
| 1996 | Gibson Team Sega | Mark Skaife | Holden Commodore VR | | 159 | 7th | 7th |
| 1997* | Vauxhall Sport | James Kaye | Vauxhall Vectra | | 32 | DNF | DNF |
| 1998* | Vauxhall Sport | Derek Warwick | Vauxhall Vectra | ST | 157 | 5th | 5th |
| 1999 | Greenfield Mowers Racing | Cameron McLean | Ford Falcon EL | | 138 | DNF | DNF |
| 2000 | Gibson Motorsport | Rodney Forbes | Holden Commodore VT | | 78 | DNF | DNF |
| 2001 | OzEmail Racing Team | Brad Jones | Ford Falcon AU | | 161 | 2nd | 2nd |
| 2002 | OzEmail Racing Team | Tim Leahey | Ford Falcon AU | | 157 | 19th | 19th |
| 2003 | OzEmail Racing Team | Andrew Jones | Ford Falcon BA | | 160 | 9th | 9th |
| 2004 | OzEmail Racing Team | Andrew Jones | Ford Falcon BA | | 29 | DNF | DNF |
| 2005 | Team BOC | Dale Brede | Ford Falcon BA | | 159 | 7th | 7th |
* Super Touring race

### Complete British GT Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos | Points |
| 2000 | CSi Brookspeed Racing | Chrysler Viper GTS-R | GT | THR 1 | CRO 1 | OUL 1 Ret | DON 1 4 | SIL 1 3 | BRH 1 WD | DON 1 3 | CRO 1 WD | SIL 1 | SNE 1 | SPA 1 | SIL 1 | 21st | 28 |
| 2000 | Cirtek Motorsport | Porsche 996 GT3-R | GTO | THR 1 5 | CRO 1 WD | OUL 1 | DON 1 | SIL 1 | BRH 1 | DON 1 | CRO 1 | SIL 1 | SNE 1 | SPA 1 | SIL 1 | 25th | 12 |