 The independents championship was one of the most keenly contested for years.Defending independents champion Lee Brookes switched from a Toyota to a Peugeot, whilst rookie Jamie Wall drove the Mint Motorsport Vauxhall Cavalier used by Richard Kaye in 1996.Matt Neal would again enter in his Team Dynamics built Mondeo, however the team looking to have closer ties to a manufacturer switched to a Nissan Primera mid season.