Mazda BTCC Super Tourer from 1993 to race in the UK for first time in 30 years

A one-time British Touring Car Championship pole sitting Mazda Xedos 6 will make its first UK racing appearance for more than 30 years at Brands Hatch this summer.

The ex-Patrick Watts car from 1993 is among several machines being shipped from New Zealand for the third edition of Super Touring Power on 28-29 June. 

Affectionately known as ‘Rhubarb and Custard’ for its livery, the Roger Dowson-built Xedos was the fastest qualifier for the season’s third round at Snetterton, but Watts spun at the first corner. 

He later led several laps at Knockhill from his front-row start before slipping to fourth, but languished 15th in the standings after non-finishing in nine of the 17 races.

Mazda’s expanded two-car BTCC squad folded mid-season in 1994, but the original model scooped that year’s Nordic title with ex-Formula 1 driver Slim Borgudd. 

It returned to contest the Touring Car World Cup at Donington Park before joining the sole surviving 1994 model in North America.

Current owner Paul McCarthy acquired the V6-powered Xedos in 2016. “When I looked at its history, it appealed to me that it was a little bit odd,” the Kiwi told Autosport. 

“It wasn’t one of 30 or 40 cars built. It was one of three, and I love the paint scheme. When we got the car, the engine was quite unreliable and we had to embark on a bit of a project.”

Tim Harvey, Team Halfords, Peugeot 406 Coupe

Photo by: Malcolm Griffiths / Motorsport Images

McCarthy has contested historic races in his homeland, including in support of Pukekohe’s last Supercars event in 2022. A successful run at Hampton Downs last month convinced him to ship the car across the globe. 

“It’s the strongest it’s ever felt,” he said. “And it just ran faultlessly all weekend.”

McCarthy is set to share transportation with fellow Aucklander Conrad Timms’s 1995 Ford Mondeo, a veteran of the first Super Touring Power. A further contingent is expected from New Zealand’s South Island.

Also joining the Classic Touring Car Racing Club’s Super Tourers grid this year will be former BTCC racer Rick Kerry in an ex-Tim Harvey Peugeot 406 Coupe. 

The BTC-T car was built by Vic Lee Racing in 2001 before Harvey contested the 2002 season under the Team Halfords banner, achieving a single podium finish.

“I loved touring cars in the ’90s and the early 2000s,” Kerry, who won the Gen 1 Cup in TCR UK last year, told Autosport. 

“The challenge to race with some of them, what I would call my heroes of when I was first getting into racing, sounded like a really decent thing to do while I still can.”

Kerry plans a full season in Super Tourers, and may contest further European races in the EDF Motorsports-run car. He has also acquired a second shell, raced by Kiwi Superbike star Aaron Slight in period. 

“We’re going to be restoring that one back into the Aaron Slight colours to have it available later in the season,” Kerry added, with a target for it to break cover at Super Touring Power.