Bill Blydenstein

Bill Blydenstein
Driver Details
Nationality	{{{{{natflag}}}}} British
Date of Birth	Unknown
Date of Death	12/9/2007
Début	Crystal Palace 1959
Championships	0 (3rd 1961)
2015 Position	Unknown
First Win	Unknown
Previous Teams	Cooper Car Co. Lawrencetune Engines
Career Statistics
Total Entries	0 (0 Starts)
Pole Positions	0
Fastest Laps	0
Wins	0 (0 in Class)
Total Points	0
Current Season
Team	Unknown
Car	Unknown
Number	Standings	Points
'	–	0

Bill Blydenstein was a former British Touring Car Championship driver and class champion, having won the Class B championship in 1961. Blydenstein competed in the BSCC for  years, and was a respected figure in the paddock, later known for helping the Vauxhall challenge get off the ground in the late 1960s.

Background

Little is known of Blydenstein's pre-BSCC career, only that he entered his first race in 1958. Blydenstein was known to have an interest in engineering, a fact which would see him develop the first Vauxhalls to race successfully in British motorsport at a national (and later international) level.

BTCC History

Blydenstein entered his first BSCC race in 1959, joining the field at Crystal Palace. Using a privately owned Borgward Isabella TS, Blydenstein was able to take second in his class. He followed this with two further second places, before rounding off the season with a class victory at Brands Hatch. 1960 saw Blydenstein enter the BSCC twice in his Isabella, taking a further pair of second places.

1961 proved to be Blydenstein's best year in the BSCC, finishing joint third in the championship and joint class winner in Class B. Two wins and four other podiums saw Blydenstein draw with Alan Hutcheson in his Riley, and it was decided that the pair (as they were not in the running for the title) would share the Class B title.

Unfortunately for Blydenstein, 1962, which saw him run a brand new Austin Mini Cooper provided by the Cooper Car Co., was a dreadful year. Three retirements, combined with the fact that Blydenstein missed three of the first six races, meant that he played little more than a supporting role in John Love's triumph, taking two second places in the final two rounds.

Blydenstein's final bow came in 1963, which saw him begin his association with Vauxhalls. Using a Lawrencetune Engines built Vauxhall VX 4/90, Blydenstein appeared at three rouns in 1963, scoring the car's first points at Brands Hatch. After this, Blydenstein would work with Vauxhall to build competitive racing cars rather than driving.

BTCC Record

A table containing Bill Blydenstein's best results in the BTCC. The figures after the information about the car used indicate Bill Blydenstein's best finish at that meeting in their class.

British Touring Car Championship Record
Year	Class	Rounds											Pts.	Pos.
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
1959	B	GWDI	ANTR	SILV	RDIV	SNET	BHI	KNTI					33	6th
		—	—	—	2	2	2	1
1960	N/A	BHI	SNTI	MALP	OTNP	SNTII	BHKT	BHFT	BHIV				—	—
		—	2	—	—	—	—	—	2
1961	B	SNLT	GWMT	ANTR	SSIT	CPLT	SSET	BHRT	OPGC	SNET			42	4th
		2	1	2	—	1	Ret	3	5	3
1962	A	SNLT	GWMT	ANTR	SSBT	CRYP	ABGP	BHMT	OPGC				12	—
		—	Ret	—	Ret	—	Ret	2	2
1963	B	SNLT	OTNP	GWMT	ANTR	IPTC	CPNT	SBGP	BHMT	BHMT	OPGC	SNET	2	—
		—	—	6	—	—	—	—	4	—	—	5