The only championship to remain undecided right until the end of the final race of the season was the Hilton Independents Cup. For Rob Collard and the Collard Racing team, the pressure was on until the chequered flag dropped at the end of round 20. With that flag came the reward that meant so much – being crowned 2003 BTCC Independents Champion.

After two frustrating years in the Production class of the BTCC, Collard decided to take the ultimate gamble for 2003, by stepping up to join the big boys in the Touring class. Having acquired an ex-works Vauxhall Astra Coupe, the biggest hurdle to overcome was that of funding a full season of racing at the top level. Fortunately for Collard, he was able to secure a number of sponsorship deals in order to ease the financial burden involved with running a successful team.

To aid the move up in to the touring class, Collard also brought in an experienced Vauxhall engineer and former GR Motorsport boss Paul Ridgway as team manager. However the team has continued to be staffed primarily by volunteers.

The season got off to an encouraging start when Collard took an impressive double class victory in the wet at Mondello Park. A barren spell was to follow however, with just one points finish from the next five races. Thruxton on the May Bank Holiday weekend brought the situation most dreaded by any Independent runner – serious damage to the car. The team worked flat-out to have the Astra ready to race again by the following meeting at Silverstone, albeit with the season’s budget severely dented.

Rockingham marked the halfway point in the championship and also provided the boost that the team needed to get the title assault back on track. Two class wins put Collard at the top of the standings. Croft, Snetterton and Brands Hatch brought varying results, but the points earned were enough to stay out in front, but only just.

At the penultimate meeting of the season at Donington Park, Collard knew that only a top performance would be enough. Sure enough, he delivered. In qualifying he was third quickest, beaten only by James Thompson and Matt Neal, and ahead of the likes of Yvan Muller, Alan Morrison and Anthony Reid. Hopes of a race upset were dashed when a drive problem slowed the Astra in the race.

Ahead of the final meeting at Oulton Park, the battle for Independent glory was down to a three-horse race. Just one point separated Collard and James Kaye, with Carl Breeze just a further six behind. With a maximum of thirty points available, there was still everything to play for. Qualifying brought positive results, with a six and seven place cushion back to Breeze and Kaye respectively.

In round 19, Collard drove a controlled race to finish 8th overall and ahead of both Breeze and Kaye. Breeze’s 7th position in the class meant that his title aspirations were over, and it was down to a head-to-head between Collard and Kaye. It was Collard who made the better start to the final race and he was soon in control. The tension was clear as the team conducted their final mandatory pitstop of the season, but all went to plan and Collard was able to close out the remaining laps and bring the car home to rapturous applause from the team.

When Collard pulled in to parc-ferme after the race, there was no holding back. The emotion from he and the team was that of absolute delight. Once out of the car, Collard was on to the roof to salute the waiting crowd which responded with an ovation befitting a champion.

With a broad smile on his face, Collard commented, “It’s been very hard this season. It has put the whole team through the mangle, so to speak. Our emotions have been up, they’ve been down, they’ve been everywhere! There are a lot of volunteers on the team and I think it means as much to them as it does to me.”

“This is the high point of my career. I’ve worked very hard coming up from stock cars on the ovals, spitting sawdust. Then it was Formula Ford, the Vectra championship, and the Production class as well. Going off to Europe last year was a hard call, but it was good. To come and do this, this year, running at the front with the top guys, out-qualify them on quite a few occasions, it has been a very good season for me.”

With this title under his belt, his intentions are clear: “I would love to be a works driver – it would take the pressure off me financially and I could really knuckle down and concentrate on my driving. I think it’s worth another three or four tenths a lap if you don’t have to worry about who’s paying the bills!”

“I’m going to give out as many business cards as possible to team managers and hope that they may ring me over the winter. If not, we’ll just have to work hard with the car and with the team and get ready for another attack next year.”

Team manager Paul Ridgway added: “It’s an absolutely fantastic feeling. It’s been a funny old year. Up and down. We never would have started as favourites, but we’ve been quick when we’ve needed to be. We had some bad luck as well, some crashes and some duff old races. But we came through it. The team, for a bunch of guys who have relatively little experience, have done a magnificently good job. We’ve had our ups; we’ve had our downs, like all seasons. I’m just ecstatic!”

“I think Rob has proved himself. I can see him moving on to bigger and better things, but that doesn’t stop him still owning the team, and me potentially running it for him. I wish Rob all the best in finding a works drive. I think he more than deserves it.”

“We’ll see what happens, but I’ll be back. I’m firmly committed to touring cars, and have been for many years. I took a year out last year, but I’ve come back this year and proved we can still be part of something that is very competitive.”

No-one can deny the overwhelming sense of team spirit within the Collard Racing set-up – a truly ‘Independent’ team. Amongst those who have experienced the highs and lows of recent seasons with the team is mechanic Tony Andrews, who said after the race, “It’s absolutely brilliant. I can’t believe we’ve done it. It looked like we’d lost it a couple of meetings ago, but we’ve come back strong and we’ve done it. We’ve worked very hard. It’s been a hard season, and we’re there. We have done it!”

Perhaps fittingly, the final word on the team’s achievements go to Rob’s ever-supportive wife Deborah: “It’s absolutely magical. We’ve worked so hard for so many years. It’s never been perfect, but this is perfect. Down to the last race. All the other championships were decided before the second race – we were the only ones who were left to the last race, and it feels amazing. Absolutely mega!”

All that remains is to congratulate Rob Collard and the Collard Racing team on taking the BTCCPages.com supported Vauxhall Astra Coupe to victory in the 2003 British Touring Car Championship Hilton Independents Cup.