[BTCC] Support Our Paras Racing withdraw from 2016 season

[Famine]

Reportedly not paying their suppliers earlier in the year and after last season's driver musical chairs, SOPR is now out...

http://www.insidebtcc.com/support-our-paras-racing-withdraws-btcc-entry/

 

[AudiMan2011]

Well that sucks. The Infinitis were the more interesting cars on the grid. I wonder if the cars will be bought by another team or find a home in the B-TEC series.

 

[Liquid]

 

[Legro]

Paras from Finnish to English.
Translation Context Audio
Adjectives
1. top informal
2. best
3. dear
Nouns
4. best

• 
  Inflections
• hyvä - superlative
• hyvä - an inflected form

Examples

• Hän on maailman paras juoksija.
  • He is the best runner in the world.

I guess they just didn't live up to their name then.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

I guess they just didn't live up to their name then.

Oh, but they did:

Inflections

• hyvä - superlative
• hyvä - an inflected form

Examples

• "Hän on maailman paras juoksija."
• He is the best runner in the world.

The key word being "superlative" - they were the most disappointing team of 2015, and the most mis-managed team of 2015.

 

[mustafur]

Very little thought was given into it, would of been much better if they just Got RJN to make it given the links with Nissan and their ability to make competitive cars.

 

[GOTMAXPOWER]

Good. They added nothing to the BTCC on track and from what I hear the attitude of some of their team members was no better off it.

 

[Famine]

Good. They added nothing to the BTCC on track and from what I hear the attitude of some of their team members was no better off it.

I'm not sure I'd be too quick to judge the attitudes of former serving military who've suffered significant life-changing injuries...

I guess they just didn't live up to their name then.

As above, the team was Support Our Paras Racing. The "Paras" in question are former members of the Parachute Regiment who have been injured in arena - ranging from invisible things like PTSD to spinal injuries and limb amputation - who are being given the chance to retrain in a trade to reintegrate into civilian life. Like Mission Motorsport, for example.

When it comes to 'the best', I'd say that the intention of supporting these guys is up there.


Some of you could do worse than reading Richard Hawken's tweets today - and bear in mind just how badly his experience with SOPR/Pro Motorsport went.

 

[GOTMAXPOWER]

I'm not sure I'd be too quick to judge the attitudes of former serving military who've suffered significant life-changing injuries...

I seem to remember one of the team members threatening fans online after Hawken's was sacked, it doesn't matter who you are there is no excuse for behaviour like that.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

When it comes to 'the best', I'd say that the intention of supporting these guys is up there.

The intention is certainly there, but their actual plan to do that left a lot to be desired. They tried too much, too quickly. They would have been better off buying a second-hand chassis and getting experience running a team for a year or two before trying to expand their operations to a two-car manufacturer outfit.

 

[Famine]

The intention is certainly there, but their actual plan to do that left a lot to be desired. They tried too much, too quickly. They would have been better off buying a second-hand chassis and getting experience running a team for a year or two before trying to expand their operations to a two-car manufacturer outfit.

They had factory support from a very large car manufacturer, making them a full factory outfit and part of the manufacturer's championship.

Which then pulled out after three races. If you want to point a finger at someone for trying to do too much too soon, it would have to be Infiniti.

I seem to remember one of the team members threatening fans online after Hawken's was sacked, it doesn't matter who you are there is no excuse for behaviour like that.

Yeah I know, mental illness like PTSD caused by having lost one of your limbs (in his case, his right hand) serving your country is no excuse for having aggression issues and poor judgement. What a fanny, eh?

You'll note that, as you mention, he was sacked. This took place before the third round of the championship, in April. Can you tell me what the problem you have with the other 'some of the team members' is that causes you to take glee in the team's withdrawal and the loss of livelihood and support for the injured servicemen trying to retrain?


Here's Richard Hawken's Twitter. There are lessons there...

 

[prisonermonkeys]

They had factory support from a very large car manufacturer, making them a full factory outfit and part of the manufacturer's championship.

Which then pulled out after three races. If you want to point a finger at someone for trying to do too much too soon, it would have to be Infiniti.

Call me a cynic, but I have to wonder how the team's efforts would have been received if they didn't have the noble intentions of assisting wounded servicemen. I am reminded of the disastrous Mini John Cooper Works WRC project, which was similarly mismanaged.

 

[Furinkazen]

Call me a cynic, but I have to wonder how the team's efforts would have been received if they didn't have the noble intentions of assisting wounded servicemen. I am reminded of the disastrous Mini John Cooper Works WRC project, which was similarly mismanaged.

What is a regiment of troops to do with a WRC team?

 

[Famine]

Call me a cynic, but I have to wonder how the team's efforts would have been received if they didn't have the noble intentions of assisting wounded servicemen. I am reminded of the disastrous Mini John Cooper Works WRC project, which was similarly mismanaged.

Again though, Pro Motorsport simply happened to be the team Infiniti chose to run the cars it wanted to run in BTCC. Where SOP's involvement came into it I'm not quite sure*, but they were the guys chosen to crew for Pro Motorsport.

The team was classed as a full factory entry from the start because Infiniti provided full factory support and then withdrew it after three races. That's the overreach, not Pro Motorsport or SOPR. Pro Motorsport was given two brand new cars (Q50 diesels, oddly) and money for brand new chassis and Swindon engines, so that's what they ran. If Pro Motorsport was running their own entry, they'd probably have used 2 year old Chevrolets or something as you suggest.


*Pro Motorsport is based in Lesmahagow, Infiniti UK in Sunderland (under Infiniti EU, in Switzerland) and the SOPR team at Mallory Park... They're not naturally close entities.

 

[GOTMAXPOWER]

You'll note that, as you mention, he was sacked. This took place before the third round of the championship, in April. Can you tell me what the problem you have with the other 'some of the team members' is that causes you to take glee in the team's withdrawal and the loss of livelihood and support for the injured servicemen trying to retrain?

Of course its a shame when people lose their jobs but from a sporting point of view those spots on the grid will be better filled by entries which are competitive enough to fight at the front (those teams will also need people to run the cars, so people will still be employed).

 

[prisonermonkeys]

What is a regiment of troops to do with a WRC team?

Nothing, which is my point - both Infiniti and Mini entered the respective championships with an under-developed car that was run by an under-prepared team. The crucial difference is that Support Our Paras Racing was made up of injured servicemen, while Prodrive was not. I am curious as to whether people are willing to forgive SOPR's mismanagement because of their noble intentions; it's not a courtesy that was extended to Prodrive when the Mini project fell apart.

Pro Motorsport simply happened to be the team Infiniti chose to run the cars it wanted to run in BTCC.

So ... why did nobody at Pro Motorsport stop and say "you know, maybe this is more than we can handle"?

Where SOP's involvement came into it I'm not quite sure*, but they were the guys chosen to crew for Pro Motorsport.

From the sounds of things, it's Pro Motorsport competing as "Support Our Paras Racing". Probably with some kind of strategic alliance between the two entities to make it work.

 

[Famine]

Nothing, which is my point - both Infiniti and Mini entered the respective championships with an under-developed car that was run by an under-prepared team. The crucial difference is that Support Our Paras Racing was made up of injured servicemen, while Prodrive was not. I am curious as to whether people are willing to forgive SOPR's mismanagement because of their noble intentions; it's not a courtesy that was extended to Prodrive when the Mini project fell apart.

Do people blame Prodrive?

So ... why did nobody at Pro Motorsport stop and say "you know, maybe this is more than we can handle"?

I don't know that they did or didn't. Nevertheless, Infiniti would have found someone to run its new car with the motorsport ambitions it held - and whomever had done so would have still found themselves running two new cars as full manufacturer entries. This:

They would have been better off buying a second-hand chassis and getting experience running a team for a year or two before trying to expand their operations to a two-car manufacturer outfit.

simply doesn't apply, because those two (or rather two, three, two, one, two and finally one) cars were what was going to be raced.

Incidentally, Pro Motorsport isn't exactly a new team. Alongside prepping GT4 cars for European GT competition in the mid-00s, it also ran the Blair/Leslie Nissan Primera for the 2000 season of... BTCC.

Like RJN Motorsport, Pro Motorsport is a bit of a Nissan specialist and you'd have to say that of all active teams past and present, the best bet for it.

From the sounds of things, it's Pro Motorsport competing as "Support Our Paras Racing". Probably with some kind of strategic alliance between the two entities to make it work.

Yes, that's the case. SOP provided support and personnel (but not money) to Pro Motorsport to form SOPR at Mallory Park. My point was that they're not exactly two naturally related entities and while I know where Pro Motorsport and Infiniti came together (Pro Motorsport have a lot of experience making Nissan race cars, Infiniti is Nissan and wanted to race cars), I'm not sure how the decision to have it crewed by injured servicemen happened.