# 1958 British Saloon Car Championship

The 1958 BRSCC British Saloon Car Championship was the inaugural season of the championship. The series was open to four separate classes, up to 1200cc, 1201-1600cc, 1601-2700cc and 2701cc and above. Equal championship points were to be scored in each class, meaning any driver could win the championship without winning any races outright. The first ever round was actually held on 26 December 1957 at Brands Hatch. The final round of the year was held on 5 October back at Brands Hatch.
Jack Sears and Tommy Sopwith ended the final race on the same number of championship points. With this a possibility going into the final round it was initially suggested the champion would be decided by the toss of a coin. The idea was very unpopular with both drivers, and it was decided two identical looking Marcus Chambers-owned Riley One-Point-Five works rally cars would be brought along for a five lap shoot-out. To make the race fair, they raced five laps, switched cars, then raced five laps again with the driver who had the quickest combined time being crowned champion. In extremely wet conditions, the first head to head was won by Sopwith by 2.2 seconds. The second race was won by Sears by 3.8 seconds. This meant that Sears was crowned the first ever BSCC champion.

## Calendar

Overall winners of multi-class races in bold.
| Round | Round | Circuit | Date | Class A Winner | Class B Winner | Class C Winner | Class D Winner |
| 1 | A | Brands Hatch, Kent | 7 April | John Sprinzel | Not contested. | Jack Sears | Not contested. |
| 1 | B | Brands Hatch, Kent | 7 April | Not contested. | Alan Foster | Not contested. | Tommy Sopwith |
| NC | NC | Aintree Motor Racing Circuit, Liverpool | 19 April | Unknown. | Alan Foster | Peter Blond | Gawaine Baillie |
| 2 | A | Brands Hatch, Kent | 20 April | John Sprinzel | Not contested. | Not contested. | Not contested. |
| 2 | B | Brands Hatch, Kent | 20 April | Not contested. | Tommy Bridger | Not contested. | Not contested. |
| 2 | C | Brands Hatch, Kent | 20 April | Not contested. | Not contested. | Jack Sears | Tommy Sopwith |
| NC | NC | Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire | 3 May | Graham Hill | Les Leston | Jeff Uren | Mike Hawthorn |
| 3 | A | Mallory Park, Leicestershire | 11 May | John Sprinzel | Not contested. | Not contested. | Not contested. |
| 3 | B | Mallory Park, Leicestershire | 11 May | Not contested. | Les Leston | Jeff Uren | Gawaine Baillie |
| 4 | A | Brands Hatch, Kent | 18 May | John Sprinzel | Not contested. | Not contested. | Not contested. |
| 4 | B | Brands Hatch, Kent | 18 May | Not contested. | Tommy Bridger | Jack Sears | Tommy Sopwith |
| NC | NC | Goodwood Circuit, West Sussex | 26 May | John Sprinzel | Barney Everley | Duncan Hamilton$^1$ | Duncan Hamilton$^1$ |
| 5 | A | Brands Hatch, Kent | 8 June | John Sprinzel | Not contested. | Not contested. | Not contested. |
| 5 | B | Brands Hatch, Kent | 8 June | Not contested. | Tommy Bridger | Jack Sears | Tommy Sopwith |
| NC | NC | Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit, Norfolk | 29 June | John Sprinzel | Les Leston | Edgar Wadsworth | Tommy Sopwith |
| 6 | 6 | Crystal Palace, London | 5 July | George 'Doc' Shepherd | Alan Foster | Jeff Uren | Tommy Sopwith |
| NC | NC | Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire | 19 July | Bob Gerard | Les Leston | Jack Sears | Walt Hansgen |
| 7 | 7 | Brands Hatch, Kent | 4 August | John Sprinzel | Alan Foster | Jack Sears | Tommy Sopwith |
| 8 | 8 | Brands Hatch, Kent | 30 August | George 'Doc' Shepherd | Les Leston | Jack Sears | Tommy Sopwith |
| 9 | 9 | Brands Hatch, Kent | 5 October | George 'Doc' Shepherd | Les Leston | Jack Sears | Tommy Sopwith |
| NC | NC | Brands Hatch, Kent | 26 December | George 'Doc' Shepherd | Les Leston | Jeff Uren | Gawaine Baillie |
$^1$Classes combined.

## Championship results

Driver's championship :
| Pos. | Driver | Car | Team | Class | Points |
| 1 | Jack Sears | Austin A105 | Jack Sears | C | 48 |
| 2 | Tommy Sopwith | Jaguar 3.4 Litre | Equipe Endeavour | D | 48 |
| 3 | John Sprinzel | Austin A35 | Team Speedwell | A | 47 |
| 4 | Doc Shepherd | Austin A35 | Team Speedwell | A | 41 |
| 5 | Alan Foster | MG Magnette | Dick Jacobs | B | 40 |
| 6 | Jeff Uren | Jaguar 3.4 Litre Ford Zephyr | Jeff Uren | C | 36 |