Touring car racing has usually been seen as the court jester to the serious stuff of single-seaters, but in a passing conversation at the Goodwood Revival someone said to me words to the effect that it was the saloon car race there that made the event—all the rest, including the TT celebration, was just back-up. Call them saloon cars, touring cars, production cars, or what you will, the subject is vast and, in Europe, has its roots in the races…

The DTM grid at Donington in 1994 was representative of the era, with technologically advanced factory-backed cars from Mercedes-Benz, Alfa Romeo and Opel providing heated competiton to entertain large crowds.