Batchelor's Shot at Brilliance

[Londoner]

Evening everyone

GP Rejects may be focussed on Formula One, but the essence of being rejectful can affect every single motorsport series on the planet, and this time we've taken a look at touring cars, specifically the FIA's resumption of the World Touring Car Championship. We've come across a story so quintessentially rejectful that it almost defies belief. This is the story of Brilliance, a tie-up between a hopeful Chinese manufacturer and perennial BTCC backmarker and general spiv John Batchelor (yes, that's John B&Q for those who remember early 2000s BTCC). A entry which looked, well, brilliant on paper, but quite like Stefan GP, never turned a wheel in anger.

Another debutant to our writing roster, it's Pinkd56 who takes centre stage, having stumbled across the Brilliance story in other motorsport forums and was determined to bring it to a larger audience (well, GPR is world-famous after all ). Read his efforts right here tonight!

Batchelor's Shot at Brilliance

[dinizintheoven]

Well, there's one I didn't know. I do remember "John B&Q" in the BTCC standings - usually not doing very well, I remember the Brilliance BS6 and the abortive attempt to sell it in Europe (Auto Express was really trumpeting its imminent arrival) right up to the point where its crash test showed you'd be better off driving a Fiat Panda with terminal rust into a big wall. But I'd never heard of the attempt to put those two together.

I doubt it'd have fared too well, mind - and that's before we get to what would happen had the car been in the kind of spectacular accident that touring car racing is known for; Gabriele Tarquini (of Reject fame) and Charlie Cox (of "Reject Top Gear" fame) spring immediately to mind.

[dr-baker]

That article was quite simply...















How shall I put it it?














....Brilliant.

Thank you.

[Alextrax52]

I loved this article because I’d never heard of this operation before. I guess that’s the beauty of having a community like this because we all learn something we didn’t know

One thing I’m curious about is the article mentioned Cyan Racing has Chinese links but I couldn’t find anything along the lines because I thought Cyan were a Swedish operation. Could anyone expand on this?

Cyan Racing is runnin the Lynk & Co cars in WTCR. Lynk & Co is a parent company of Volvo that is chinese!

[Klon]

I must say I adore your writing style and would like to see more from you in the future. A brilliant debut, no doubt. Lame puns aside, really, great job.

[Har1MAS1415]

For extra-rejectful measure, Batchelor also entered the 2005 BTCC with the Super 2000 Honda Civic, initially with him to drive and later with Richard Marsh but, like Brilliance in the WTCC, the car didn't appear at all!

Having said that though, his team weren't too bad in 2003, Tom Boardman scored 7 class wins and only a slow start and engine penalties stopped him from being a title contender.

[Pinkd56]

One thing I’m curious about is the article mentioned Cyan Racing has Chinese links but I couldn’t find anything along the lines because I thought Cyan were a Swedish operation. Could anyone expand on this?

Cyan Racing is runnin the Lynk & Co cars in WTCR. Lynk & Co is a parent company of Volvo that is chinese!

Cyan Racing - despite being a Swedish team (formed from the original Flash Engineering!) is now wholly owned by Volvo and in turn Geely. So not so much a Chinese team but as the two are so intrinsically linked it is worth mentioning.

Thank you all for your kind comments however

[SuperTourer0911]

Very enjoyable article!