Corgi
VA13601
VW Golf GTI 16v Mk2,
James Shead

1:43 Scale 

One of two ex-works rally Golfs sold by David Sutton Motorsport to be turned into BTCC contenders, the car modelled was purchased by the then 23 year old James Shead and his famous yacht designer father Don. The bodyshell retained its distinctive VW livery but was completely rebuilt by John Maguire Racing for James who, in his debut BTCC season, impressed all with his fast, consistent and crash free driving. He scored class victories at Thruxton and Silverstone plus a double at Donington and, while Scottish rival Andrew Jeffrey in the other ex-works Golf also won Class C in 4 of the 13 races, Winchester lad Shead claimed the Championship by 4 points.

VW’s sister company, Audi, formerly withdrew from rallying in July 1988 so, in order to keep the company’s cars in motorsport, VW’s UK product manager, Nigel Walker, came up with the ‘VW Bonus Programme’ which supported entrants who wanted to enter VW products in racing or rallying if they had a chance of success. The total budget for John Maguire Racing to run a BTCC car during 1988 was just under £10,000 so having VW pay even a small percentage of that helped the team remain competitive throughout the season.