Southend racing driver Bill Stilwell is looking forward to next weekend's final round of the MGFCup at Silverstone knowing that he has built a solid foundation for next year's championship.

The 36-year-old came into the championship as a rear-wheel drive novice but has done enough to secure a mid-table spot in the 14-race series.

Now he is hoping to be able to compete in the MGF Cup next season and move up the grid.

"We got off to a slow start which highlights the competitiveness of the series and my lack of experience in this sort of car, but I have genuinely progressed throughout the year to where we feel would be a good point to work on from if we can retain the drive next season," said Bill.

"If we can retain the support of Premier Motors and my sponsors, including Joseph Lamb, it's my intention to compete in the year 2000."

Bill, the sales manager for Southend car dealership Belle Vue Motors, came into the MGF Cup on the back of numerous successes racing front-wheel drive cars over a 11-year period.

He started racing after Bill and his brother Danny persuaded their father to buy them a car in 1987.

"Working in the dealership you are closer to the sport pestered dad to give us a hand to get started," explained Bill.

"Eventually he bought us a Fiat Strada two-litre Abarth to get us going."

The budding racer won the championship 1989 in his third season which led to an offer from VW Sport to compete in the Production Saloon Car Championship driving a 16-valve Golf GTi in 1990. Bill spent three years with the VW and had a number of podium finishes, including a couple of wins.

"In 1993 we went back to our Fiat roots as we were still a Fiat dealership then," explained Bill. "We decided to to build our own race car for the Production Saloon Car Championship based on the Tipo two-litre 16-valve.

"It was the first time we had taken on driving with a brand new model. We had always relied on proven race cars rather than something that was fresh."

It took 18 months for the car to reach its potential and Bill was rewarded with a few wins in 1994. However, he was being noticed by the right people for 1995 saw an offer come out of the blue from Honda to compete in a Civic VTEC in the Saloon 2000 Championship.

"Things really took off and I have never looked back since," Bill added. "It was a turning point in my sporting career."

The team won the championship in their first year and were invited to take part in a 24-hour race at Spa in Belgium where they won their class.

Apart from the wins, Bill was also given the BRSCC award of excellence, presented to drivers displaying the right sporting manner and enthusiasm.

1996 was a year of consolidation for Bill in which he mixed the National Saloon Car Championship with some European races in preparation for Honda's decision to take the team to Europe in 1997.

At the Spa 24-hour race the Honda UK team was second to the Belgian Honda team and driver Patrick Bastines, who went on to win the European championship. "That was the team Honda UK wanted us to beat in 1997," said Bill.

The last race of 1996 was a double-header at Silverstone where local knowledge paid off. The first race was held in rain but it stopped for the second.

Bill's team knew the Northamptonshire circuit dries quickly and rolled their car out on slicks for the second race. The other teams also opted for the smooth tyres, but in the second race Bill went to full wets and beat the Belgian Honda team and also led the BMW works team's M3 Coupes.

That put the wind up the other teams so when the Honda team went to Europe in 1997 they were able to put the pressure on from the start. It enabled them to win the title.

However, Honda then decided to pull out of racing and 1998 became an empty year for Bill. He got his first experience of racing rear-wheel drive cars when a Belgian BMW team asked him to race at the Nurburgring.

Later that year he got the chance to move up to the MGF Cup which was Bill's first one-make championship. He was introduced to people from Romford-based Premier Motors who invited him to drive their car this year.

Full throttle - Bill Stilwell powers round Silverstone during one of the earlier MGFCup rounds

(Left) Race ace - Bill Stilwell

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.