THE ZANDVOORT SNOW STORM! The BTCC Team that Smuggled Drugs
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- Опубліковано 16 гру 2021
- Vic Lee Motorsport was one of the top teams in the BTCC in the early 90s. But in 1993, too many trips to Zandvoort got team owner Vic Lee imprisoned for 5 years.
How did it happen? Let's find out.
Enjoy! And remember to like and subscribe for more!
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I can imagine Vic Lee's driver briefings before races : "Stay between the white stuff and don't cut it too fine. You'll have a snorter of a race as long as you don't blow it and chop across the line."
😆👍
This was too good
About as funny as your mum riding the milkman and you drinking his white stuff
Hi Aidan,
I love hearing about these kinds of shenanigans that we non-Brits either missed at the time, or just haven't heard of. I also just want to thank you for your unbiased F1 coverage. Have a good Xmas and best wishes from the Great Penal Colony Down Under.
True story... Back in '92 i had arranged via a family friend to do school work experience the following term with Vic Lee motorsport - then based in Northfleet, Kent, I had got to go into the workshop a couple of days in what must have been school holidays, I even remember 1 day one of the prodrive BMWs was there(cant remember why) anyway I did some odd jobs with them, even got given tickets for me and my dad for Brands GP when they didn't put the cars out in time.... I was given a BMW t shirt and a few bits signed by Steve, Tim and Ray. Obviously the work experience for latter part of the year didn't happen, and I ended up spending 2 weeks in Woolworths in Gravesend instead. My recollection of when I met Vic was that he was actually a nice guy, but obviously I wouldn't have been involved in any shady business. As a sliding doors moment for me, i will never know if I could have gone onto be a top btcc chief mechanic or just a County lines runner.
I bet he would have tipped you 100 pound notes just for bringing him his coffee order everyday!
I’ve done a lot of research into Vic like how Vic beat the Prodrive Works BMW’s team with his very own which then miraculously became a semi works M Team that got access to works parts but had to go through Prodrive still not Garching BMW Motorsport.
Vics first BMW M3 was infact a Bigazzi Racing M3 which won the World Touring Car Championship, that would possibly be the most valuable Bmw M3 in the world for this reason but then to go into the British Touring Cars and beat Prodrive takes it higher .
Like you said Vics a diamond geezer and was flash, actually very nice polite and easy to talk too but won’t no matter what will not get involved in the past and talk about it despite his story being more interesting than any other British motorsport story.
This is where it gets very very interesting , Vics bird was Nick Whitting who was a Thunder Saloon racing drivers Mrs, Nick was the brother of Charlie Whitting who was top man in Formula 1 as Race Control Director and safety expert .
Nick was m*****ed after being kidnapped and 5 cars stolen from his garage nr brands hatch and turned up ironed out buried on rainham marshes in Essex . Nick was said to be involved with Kenneth Noye another heavy criminal from that neck of the woods .
Even before Vic got put away the first time the day after it all got on top Vic sold his winning team in the BTCC to Matt Neals dad Steve Neal while in custody 😂
Matt Neal was already racing a Vic Lee Racing M3 with Team Dynamics sponsorship when the old bill customs and excises and interpol showed up.
When vic got out Steve Neal got Vic a gig running another team which ended up running works Peugeot’s in the BTCC with Halfords sponsorship and lightening struck again. Vic managed to get one of the biggest names in British European and World touring cars Steve Soper to drive a Halfords Peugeot when Vic got busted in a McDonalds carpark in his BMW M3 with associates who if you look them up were heavy heavy duty .
One done a runnner when the police pulled up and somehow escaped and got convicted in his absence for what the police found , there was £250,000 and 2 million quids worth of pure white in the boot of Vics m3 .
Looking at the guy who ran off and the one who got caught I’d of said they were muscle if the deal got heavy , also convicted was BTCC driver Jerry Mahoney who was with Vic.
You couldn’t make this lot up , Steve Soper was gutted because he trusted Vic like gave him another chance but I reckon Vic was either in too deep or just liked making millions easily .
Jerry Mahoney was a pilot so if you add it all up you’ve got a right old story
Best thing about all this is it’s all true and can be verified ,it’s the stuff that nobody knows about which is even more unbelievable.
When Vic got out the second time he went straight into Corbeau which caused controversy, how did that happen well Vics been using Corbeau for ever and rumour was his money that was being minded bought it for him .
They say Vic kept a Pagani Zonda at Corbeau that was in Ray Bellms name but was actually Vics …. Not bad eh
honestly, if I had a drug smuggler available to manage my business, I'd hire them.
drug smuggling is hard work, complex to manage, and you gotta be super careful and smart. those are some seriously useful skills for business
Capabilities are one thing, trust is another. You want to trust your people to be clean, or they're gonna make your company's reputation disappear. Reputation is something hard to earn and easy to lose in business.
Unless you can pull off a bad boy image, but even then it's risky.
And he was pretty bad at it obviously because he was caught twice 🤣
Vic Lee used to say 'And not to be sneezed at!'
Soper drove like he'd been at some of that secret stash that day.
I was a very young and very casual fan when I first started watching F1 in my preteens, I don’t believe Zandvoort was on the circuit at the time, got to my teens and 20’s and sort of fell out of F1, then, now in my 30’s in late 2019 I bought F1 2020 while drunk one night, ended up re-falling in love over the next few months with F1, and Zandvoort is my favourite track now, it feels like rollercoaster in a sim game, I can only dream of what it feels like in real life, and now this story just cements my love for this track, what a story!
Wooo! Nothing like a new video to brighten up a cold Friday.
I love how in a hilariously ironic sequence of events, it wasn't so much the law he couldn't get away from so much as it was Matt and Steve Neal. This is stuff you just cannot make up.
Between this and the Whittington Brothers, I am now REALLY fascinated in how many more of these operations were taking place in their respective countries.
Have a great Christmas aswell Aidan, and can't wait for you're return to more sim racing content. Also want to say thank you for the year of amazing content that you've blessed us with.
Funnily enough, i know someone who worked for said racing team during these times. I'm not at liberty to say who, but the stories of what went on, not just regarding the snow, but what they did to the cars to make them as fast as possible.
Don’t know if you’ve covered it previously, but the mention of Team Dynamics and subsequently the Supercars series reminded me of another story you could discuss. There was a team in the mid-2000’s in V8 Supercars called Team Dynamik that got caught doing some illegal testing in 2004 might be worth doing a story time about that
You took your time to make subject matter relatable. Academy sports send that man something
Another great video, never lets us down
Thanks for all the stories and commentary.
I remember as a kid I had the vcr of of the highlights of the 1991 btcc season and I watched it so much it wore the tape out.
Never actually knew about the Vic Lee drug smuggling though so this was a very interesting listen
Have a good Christmas
Nascar was founded on smuggling I think he missed a comparison
Great story
Another Great video Aidan. Thanks for all the effort you put in to your videos.
Hope you have a Great Christmas.
Cheers from Queensland Australia.
👍👍👍
For those that don't remember (I do as I was watching it track side), 92 was the famous year that saw John Cleland taken out by Steve Soper at the final round. Steve Soper had played team player to help his team mate Tim Harvey win the 1992 BTCC championship. Both Steve and Tim drove for Vic Lee in the Listerine backed BMW's, and despite a substantial amount of mouth wash being around, the whole thing left a bitter taste in the mouth of the fans, and drivers on the grid. Tim Harvey would go on to race Porsche's and become a rather good TV pundit, Steve Soper would later give up motor racing due to an accident. Vic Lee's team positions would still stand, despite the drug conviction.
YES
I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS! Thanks Aidan!
Thank for these videos man do love this channel and ur content
I spent the entire Nineties in the Royal Navy, and am constantly reminded of how disconnected from the world we were, as I have never heard of these events. Whilst I am a keen watcher of motorsports of all types, I'm obviously not a big enough fan to have caught wind of this previously. Many thanks for filling in the blanks, of which there are many in that decade for me........
Is this channel going to become about Motorsport teams dealing drugs?
I think you should rethink this story. I was getting a lift back to England in Paul Stewart's motor home for Chrissy. I worked for a French team (F3000) at the time so ,I didn't have to pay for ferries etc. At Dover we were gone through like a dose of salt. No problem. Later through the old boy network it was indeed VLM's truckie that got snipped. He new nothing about it. He was told by his boss to pick up G size nitrogen bottle from Heny Voll......g, cause the team had lent him one and they wanted back. I believe the drugs were swapped, but they had been tracking this all the way from Columbia.
And the second time, when he was caught with £1.7m of drugs in the boot of his car? I suppose there's an innocent explanation for that as well.
Fred Nerk@ Your Forgetting that coming back from Zandvoort the Race Cars were found to have secret compartments fabricated under the rear seat area where the original fuel tanks would have been located, or that the Chap that got to friendly with Vic's wife, where after its all apparently sorted his body is discovered in Epping Forest minus its head.
The question that has never been addressed in all these years is that both the E30 M3's were pulled in for
full BTCC scrutineering, as it was at the time, and yet the 'secret compartments' that would have stood out like a sore thumb to those knowing the rules and the cars, passed several inspections without a glitch.
And yet some Customs Officers found the 'Secret Compartments' in seconds at Dover.
There is an awful lot more to this whole debacle as this Vid barley scraps the surface.
@@stevestephens8969 Not one of the Essex Boys?!
@@jamesdyer7960 @ We had a Colleague who raced in Datsun Cherry in the BTCC support Races at the time and it was common knowledge in the Paddock that the ''Securicor'' M3's were always lighter going out than when coming back.
The Green eye turned to red mist and somebody called Customs without doubt.
Vic Lee found a way to keep his Racing, just like Chapman did and several others, Motorsport at a competitive level no matter what Class is never cheap, so supplying some Logistics for 20% of the Nations habit, always seems like a good solution until its exposed.
I had no idea about this. What a gem!
Great video aidan love the content sir 👏
I wouldn't mind you doing a story time video on other teams like Schnitzer or other touring car legendary teams, would be very interesting to see what other mad team owners and stories there are
I love your show you make my day!
first video i watched, instant sub, great great storytelling and accent
Please do a video about the Snowstorm WEC race at Spa a few years ago
Love litterly all ur content.
Please keep ur very good sense of humor in it💪✌️
Respect Vic - Epic Story!
I feel like I pay more attention to these videos than I do my professors at uni
I love the fact you use the proper pronunciation of the Kia Cee'd.
awesome video
"I'm going for one line says John Cleland"
This story tripped me out as there’s a local dirt track racer named victor lee so I just kept thinking man this is wild
You’re brummie accent is a dead ringer for the car cleaning guru, it’s truly incredibly
Meanwhile in Parliament 11 out of 12 bathrooms have BTCC qualified toilets...
Seriously,,, 200 million entry fee. 2+2= four lines on the mirror.
Those listerine 318is looked gorgeous my favourite livery from 92.
I've heard that those Dutch Flower Trucks bring over a load of snow. The flowers mask the smell and while they get delivered to the shops the snow goes to farms or industrial units.
I would listen to, and love any story you would tell.
In a story similar this this one, Dutchman Charles Zwolsman Sr. was a drugs smuggler, that likely used the money earned to pay for his racing career. Guy competed at Le Mans 3 times. His son, Charles Jr. was also a racing driver and was actually accused of using his racing career to launder money. He was acquitted, but by then his career was over.
And zwolsman sr paid cash for his new cars.
Zwolsman Jnr was also a 2006 Champcar driver and winner of the 2005 Toyota Atlantics Series.
Rich man's sport isn't it , especially le mans with the gentleman driver situation . Dodgy money all over the shop. Fascinating in a tabloid way .
If you want another story like this look up the old Foundation Racing Formula Ford team who owned/ran the Vector cars in the 1990’s.
Some fella called Goldney and a bloke who ended up at Ferrari?
@@jamesdyer7960 Puddy doesn’t work for Ferrari does he?
Great recap, interests people to visit your channel to find previous videos and also helps get that crucial 8 min!!
6:01 way to "toot" you're own horn, Aidan 🤣. (I'll see myself out as well.)
Have an alright Christmas yourself, Adian
The drivers and workers on the truck aren't told that anything has been found and don't see the search, so as far as they know the product didn't get found. The delivery goes ahead as planned, and the police can do surveillance and prove the fake product they pick the suspect up with is the same fake product that was placed in the truck during the search at customs. The police then have more of a chance of getting evidence on the distributors rather than just the smugglers.
Aiden.
🎄⛄Happy Christmas ⛄🎄
welcome to the netherlands :-)
Think Sharon was referring to children's bikes as reference to a drug peddler 😂
Simracing’s finest Stewart Lee impersonator.
Still got my model of the '91 BMW M3. Pretty car it was too.
I was standing on the outside of the corner where Steve took out Cleland. How we all cheered- a bully taken out by his own methods. He had been physically harassing Steve and anyone else who got close to him, and so Steve basically said "fuck you"- a bit like Lewis said to Max at Silverstone this year.
Absolutely . Ginger nuts made such a fuss after that race . It was embarrassing to watch . The ooh he's in hospital it's so disrespectful comments . You only have to look at Max at Monza to gauge how much of a #### he gave after driving over the top of Lewis then waltzing off without much of a look over his shoulder to see if he was still alive . The child doesn't know how to drive within the limits of F1 , Perez at the last race Vs Lewis was a prime example of how to drive within the limits . On the limit yes , great to watch , clean racing . Anyone can barge another off the track . I'll stop ranting now .
i dunno maybe its cause I'm Scottish but I always considered john a bit of a legend
@@Shiggiesmalls02 +1
I hate to critique, as love the vids & sarcasm, not long after I worked with the driver of the race transporter when it was stopped at sheerness, he gave a different story, where he & the team were under police surveillance for weeks prior to that fateful day. Again apologies, keep the content coming & remember, the majority of motorsport is crooked or illegal…
Remember this all coming to light back in the day.
He got the name wrong in the end. He thought it was British Travelling Cocain Club.
No one:
Vic Lee in 93: "I'm in love with the coco"
Drugs in holland? Whoda thunk it lol
Josh Revell did a video on this 2 years ago
Interesting to view it as a comparison!
I know this is off topic but can we start a partition to bring back gravel traps to encourage " better" racing.
Brummie accent on point Aidan!
Mum's from West Bromwich and I live in Walsall so I've had 30 years of learning time XD
@@AidanMillward Yam speekin loike a local
Some UK drag racers did much the same although on a much smaller scale , the fake outrage on Pissonheads (sic) was hilarious until another racer threaten to out which of those commenting had shared a bump with him.
Two years running and both drivers ran Daytona Pro Mods IIRC. Drugs will never be far from motorsport because of the costs involved. How an F1 team has never been caught in a compromising situation with a sponsor at the pointy end of flying squad is beyond me.
@@ashleycrane415 one could argue that F1 always had official sponsors with huge drug money, only difference is they are legal and taxed drugs :)
Since when have you been able to buy Corbeau seats from a Halfords?! 😂
“He was a drug smuggler, not a dealer”
That killed me hhahha 💀😹
We were an importer for Corbeau and we never received any cocaine with any of our orders … should I feel ripped off about that?
What I got from this is, Steve Neal is more clever than Vic Lee!!
Have you ever done a video on the FOTA F1 breakaway series? Like what caused it, the drama and what it possibly could of become?
To complete the story, you need to ask how Vic Lee was laundering the drugs money he made. It might be helpful to know who his girlfriend was at the time. Pretty well everyone inside UK motorsport at that time knows what was going on.
how many times did they go to holland,they were wealthy people who obviously own teams and business still today,and everyone knew it
Why an honourable mention to Cadwell Park, didn't think the BTCC ever raced there? More the pity.
Hey Aidan
The ETCR Is Going To Turkey And Will Race At The Istanbul City Circuit
are the seats any good?
Vic Lee has been in twice for drugs second time was with formal BMW in the engine sumps air bottles we're used the first time so now will it be in race seat?
Would they have been caught had they been based at Zandvoort? A lot more likely to test at 1/8 UK tracks as you mentioned.
Steve Rider talks about this in his book My Chequered Career
Good thing NL doesn’t do drugs anymore 😅
Heard about this before. Funny I was just racing with the 320 in Rf2.
The mental Max Verstappen fans say otherwise 🤣
Interesting
Big up SN1
With all those people getting caught smuggling drug to pay for racing, I wonder if some didn't get caught..
"I'm racing because I like it not that I have to" of the 90s 😅
He's an example that the system doesn't work. Prison is first and foremost a deterrent and he recommitted...
I once joked that my Corbeau seat was a bit powdery, didn't even know about this story
Somehow smuggling it in a race hauler doesn't have the same panache as landing a plane on the back straight.
A duplicate plane too! :)
I believe the guys that Vic Lee got mixed up with were involved with the death of Nick Whiting (Brother of late F1 race director Charlie). You also failed to mention Jerry Mahony (ex BTCC racer) who was also arrested at the same time as with Vic Lee in 2005 for drug smuggling and jailed for 11 years. As I understand it Vic was given the job of importing more cocaine in 2005 (when he was busted) by the same gang as in 1993, if he refused he would of found the same ending as Nick Whiting. In 1993 the drugs were found in the bottom of air cylinders as well as the race transporter having secret compartments that were operated by a series of levers and buttons. HM Customs retained the transporter for training purposes.
Only reason I “failed” to mention Jerry Mahoney is because there wasn’t any reference to him in any of the sources I looked through.
I remember this. Didn't ex btcc driver Jerry Mahoney also go down for this as well?
He did, that was at the same time as Vic's second conviction in 2005, however.
"Reefer" 🤣
I remember when this happened
Wasn't this plot already in Alistair MacLean novel "The Way To Dusty Death" from 1973? Was Vic Lee taking influence from there?
I love my country
So this is the European version of Randy Lanier/Whittington Brothers.
I remember back in the time drug dealer Charles Zwolsman drove a Ferrari F40 at Zandvoort many times. Later it all came out and he went to prison.
Aidan "motorsport fact boi" Millward
1:54 Aidan telling his viewers that his viewers are number one
i remember this
in the 90's renting zolder for a day was 12500 euro a day
i think if we knew every persons secrets, nobody would be good enough
The guy who painted the BMW cars was shafted by Lee for the money. He had the cheek to go back to him when he got the Peugeot gig !
That Birmingham axcent xD
Mum’s from West Bromwich. I’ve been around it long enough. 🤣
The funny part of the story is that he got out of jail and promptly got caught again.....
As with all motorsport videos, won't someone PLEASE think of the children (and their bicycles)?!
Vic Lee: "I'm an expert of the prison system working! I paid my debts to society!"
Everyone: "but you were popped for the same thing twice!"
Vic Lee: "And both times I got paroled and got a good job. Checkmate, mate"
@@ShitHappensRLY Vic Lee: "I am an expert on logistics"
What happened to your whittington video?
Nice way to tarnish the Motorsport industry in the UK as well the world. He and others involved should have received a life ban in any involvement in the sport.
1:35 good reference