Steve Soper
Not to be confused with Sope Stever
Steve Soper (born 27th September, 1951, in Surrey, England) is a British former racing driver best known for his appearances in Touring Car and Sportscar racing.
WTCM
Soper joined the newly-formed World Touring Car Masters in its first season in 1988, racing a works Ford Sierra alongside Tim Harvey, Roland Ratzenberger and team owner Andy Rouse. Despite only taking two wins all year, Soper managed to finish the inaugural season in second place overall, finishing 28 points behind teammate Harvey.
1989 saw Ford change their allegiance from Rouse's team to Zakspeed, leaving Soper to remain alongside Rouse in an independent outfit. The emergence of Nissan and Toyota as credible rivals to Ford meant that Soper was further back this season - taking only two third place finishes on his way to ninth in the standings.
Soper remained alongside Rouse in 1990 but at this point the lack of works Ford parts had severely hampered the team - with Soper only making the grid on a handful of occasions.
Volkswagen snapped up Soper in 1991 to lead their works team alongside New Zealander ace Paul Radisich. Unfortunately, the VW Golf Mk3 was a bit of a dog to drive and he'd struggle to pick up points all season.
BTCC
1992
Following the Volkswagen debacle, Soper returned to Britain in 1992, where he competed for the BMW works team in the British Touring Car Championship. He would bounce back in style, scoring a handful of podiums, including season-best 2nd place finishes at both Pembrey and Donington en route to finishing in the top 6 in the final standings.
Complete World Touring Car Masters Results
Year | Team | Car | Class | WDC | Pts | Class | Pts | |||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1988 | Kaliber Industrial Control Services Racing | Ford Sierra RS500 | A M | Template:AUS | Template:USA | Template:FRA | Template:GBR | Template:BEL | 2nd | 198 | 3rd | 321 | ||||||||||||||||||
E | S | E | S | E | S | E | S | E | S | E | S | E | S | E | S | E | S | E | S | E | ||||||||||
BAT 5 |
BAT 3 |
FUJ 4 |
FUJ 2 |
GLN 2 |
GLN 4 |
NOR 3 |
NOR 3 |
KYA Ret |
KYA 3 |
HOC Ret |
HOC 4 |
CHA Ret |
CHA 9 |
BIR Ret |
BIR 3 |
MNZ 4 |
MNZ 3 |
SPA 1 |
SPA 1 |
NUR 2 | ||||||||||
1989 | Kaliber Industrial Control Services Racing | Ford Sierra RS500 | A I | Template:USA | Template:FRA | Template:FRA | Template:GBR | Template:BEL | Template:AUS | 9th | 95 | 10th | 135 | |||||||||||||||||
E | S | E | S | E | S | E | S | E | S | E | S | E | S | E | S | E | S | E | S | E | ||||||||||
FUJ 6 |
FUJ 3 |
GLN 3 |
GLN 5 |
KYA Ret |
KYA 13 |
PAU 5 |
PAU Ret |
BRN 5 |
BRN 8 |
MNZ DNQ |
MNZ DNQ |
CHA DNQ |
CHA DNQ |
BIR 8 |
BIR 9 |
SPA DNQ |
SPA DNQ |
NUR Ret |
NUR 27 |
BAT Ret | ||||||||||
1990 | Kaliber Industrial Control Services Racing | Ford Sierra RS500 | A I | Template:USA | Template:GBR | Template:FRA | Template:FRA | Template:GBR | Template:BEL | Template:AUS | 36th | 20 | 23rd | 25 | ||||||||||||||||
E | S | E | S | E | S | E | S | E | S | E | S | E | S | E | S | E | S | E | S | E | S | E | ||||||||
FUJ DNQ |
FUJ DNQ |
GLN DNQ |
GLN DNQ |
LAG DNQ |
LAG DNQ |
BRH DNQ |
BRH DNQ |
PAU DNQ |
PAU DNQ |
BRN DNQ |
BRN DNQ |
MNZ DNQ |
MNZ DNQ |
CHA DNQ |
CHA DNQ |
BIR DNQ |
BIR DNQ |
SPA Ret |
SPA 12 |
NUR 6 |
NUR 7 |
BAT Ret |