Born in Wishaw, Cleland raced autocross and hillclimb in the 1970s, and won his class in the Scottish Rally Championship in 1976 driving a Mitsubishi Colt.

The following year he won three races and finished second in the championship to Will Hoy, taking Vauxhall's first ever overall BTCC win.

Despite the Volvo 850 and Renault Laguna often having the edge in speed, in the hands of Rickard Rydell and Alain Menu respectively, Cleland's consistent run of points finishes allied to a four-race winning streak in the mid-season allowed him to beat both drivers to the title.

1998 was better, and Cleland took two victories, both at Donington Park - a traditional happy hunting ground for the Scotsman - before a heavy crash at Snetterton interrupted his season.

He finished his last race at a wet Silverstone in tenth place, after being given a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pits, which provoked a typically belligerent reaction from Cleland over a live radio link to his car that had been set up by the BBC.

[6] In a 2005 poll by Motorsport Magazine, Cleland was voted the 10th greatest touring car driver of all time.