Photo: P.S.P.

BMW best manufacturer, RBM best team

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The World Touring Car Championship featured high in the 2007 TouringCarTimes Awards readers poll.

BMW dominated two categories in this inaugural poll. The Bavarian company was by far the most popular Manufacturer in that category with 59% of the vote beating Vauxhall and Audi with 21% and 19% respectively.

TouringCarTimes Awards – manufacturer of the year 2007:

1. 59,4% – BMW – WTCC & STCC
2. 21,3% – Vauxhall – BTCC
3. 19,3% – Audi – DTM

BMW Team UK was also voted the best Touring Car Team with 56% of the vote, taking twice as many votes as the second place team, Abt Sportsline from the DTM.

TouringCarTimes Awards – team of the year 2007:

1. 56,1% – RBM (BMW Team UK) – WTCC
2. 19,4% – Abt Sportsline – DTM
3. 18,0% – VXR Racing – BTCC
4. 6,5% – WestCoast Racing – STCC

Although the WTCC did not triumph in any other category, they finished second in everything else.

Rookie Driver, Tiago Monterio achieved 38% of the vote, Privateer Driver, Pierre-Yves Corthals, finished with 38% in his category. And British driver James Thompson was only 4% behind the winner of the driver of the year, DTM champion Mattias Ekström, with 35% of the vote.

GR Asia also finished second in the Privateer Team award behind Team RAC with 38%.

But the closest finish was in the Race of the Year category, where the WTCC race at Anderstorp in Sweden was just outvoted by the final Thruxton round of the BTCC by a mere 3%.