Touring Car discussion - WTCC, BTCC etcTouring Cars

[Prince.M5]

Why not next year? They have the M3 GTR which is a beautifull car

I'm not really sure. But from what I know, they won't enter the DTM until 2012 because the current rules that they're not interested. But in 2012, they'll change the rules and BMW will enter.

 

[Kutscher80]

I'm not really sure. But from what I know, they won't enter the DTM until 2012 because the current rules that they're not interested. But in 2012, they'll change the rules and BMW will enter.

Exactly! At the Moment the DTM cars are prototype racecars. They have nothing in commong with a normal car. Unlike the WTCC cars.

There is a big "rumour" that the DTM will feature GT3 cars in 2012. Audi has the R8 LMS, Mercedes the SLS GT3 and BMW the Z4 GT3.
But I guess to make the series "standout" from the ADAC GT Masters (the german GT3 "Cup"), I think they will "use" the GT3 rules and change them a bit.

Greetings
Matt

 

[Prince.M5]

Exactly! At the Moment the DTM cars are prototype racecars. They have nothing in commong with a normal car. Unlike the WTCC cars.

There is a big "rumour" that the DTM will feature GT3 cars in 2012. Audi has the R8 LMS, Mercedes the SLS GT3 and BMW the Z4 GT3.
But I guess to make the series "standout" from the ADAC GT Masters (the german GT3 "Cup"), I think they will "use" the GT3 rules and change them a bit.

Greetings
Matt

Yah as the current DTM cars are all purpose built chassis. BMW also made a statement that they will stay away from Prototype and Formula racing to concentrate more on Touring car and GT racing. This has something to do with the relation of their current procuction car and motorsport

The rumour sounds good but we will see in a couple of months(or year) time 👍

 

[Ardius]

Had a fantastic day yesterday at Oulton Park for the BTCC. The last time I went to this event was 11 years ago in 1999! So I wasn't used to seeing such a massive crowd here, I seriously couldn't believe how manic the place is compared to the usual race day (e.g. British GT, F3, etc).
Saw quite a lot of race action from several points on the track, I didn't go for all-out viewing but more for good corners and sections to see the cars going flat out. For the majority of the racing action though, I stood at Clay Hill looking down on Knickerbrook and in view of the chicane, a bit of Cascades and both straights up the hill to the hairpin. I managed to catch Plato taking Chilton under brakes going into the chicane and it was great watching Andrew Jordan getting sideways almost every lap at Knickerbrook.

My other spots for watching were Druids and the straight between there and Lodge, Lodge itself and Old Hall. I picked Lodge just for some nice action shots from the inside of the corner.
I spotted and photographed several notable faces in the paddock, I didn't photograph everyone but I caught a few people. I have to say it was a bit weird walking around seeing Tim Harvey discussing race setups with his crew, Sarah Moore and David Moore strolling about, Louise Goodman running after interviews and Tom Chilton being chased by his many adoring fans! The pit walk was crazy and I only managed to get Paul O'Neil's autograph.

A few of the many pictures I took from the event:

Meanwhile, finally we have confirmation of Turkington finally racing somewhere!

Colin Turkington to compete in 2010 World Touring Car Championship
Current British Touring Car Champion, Colin Turkington, is poised for a dramatic return to the track.

The 28 year old from Portadown confirmed today he has signed up for an initial three rounds of this year’s World Touring Car Championship – and may be running further rounds.

Turkington plans to join the grid on 4 July for the WTCC round in Portimao, Portugal, followed by Brands Hatch on 18 July and Brno in the Czech Republic on 1 August

He said today he was excited about the possibility of testing himself against some of the best drivers in the world.

“I feel this is a natural progression for me after last year’s championship,” said the current BTCC and Independents’ champion.

“We were bitterly disappointed when – due to insufficient sponsorship - we were unable to compete in either the BTCC or WTCC full programmes. This opportunity – initially for three rounds - has been made possible through the support of a group of private sponsors. We are really grateful to them and hopefully, with further support from others, we may be able to make additional rounds towards the end of the season.”

Turkington will be re-united with West Surrey Racing (WSR) for the WTCC programme.

“Obviously we know the WSR guys very well. They’re a top team and have been a big part of my success in recent years,” said Colin. “I’m also indebted to Team Principal, Dick Bennetts with whom we have been working very closely over the past few months to make this deal a reality.”

Turkington will be driving the BMW 320si in which he won the 2009 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship. “This is part of our plan to target a full programme in 2011. We will be working hard over the coming months to demonstrate the WTCC is a fantastic event with which to be associated as a sponsor and will be speaking with a number of organisations in the hope they will come on board for next year.”

Turkington admits to being touched by the wave of support from the racing fraternity since the beginning of this season.

“We have received hundreds of email messages of support from our fantastic fan base. It’s going to be great to get back behind the wheel again. I can’t wait.”

WSR Team Principal, Dick Bennetts, commented: “We are all really looking forward to seeing how Colin and the team go in the WTCC. The guys have nearly finished rebuilding his BMW and we are just waiting on a fresh engine and some parts from BMW Motorsport, before doing some testing prior to our first race in Portimao on 4 July.”

WSR will be competing as Independents and definitely don’t underestimate the calibre of the competitors. “It will be tough going to circuits like Portimao and Brno, where we’ve never raced before; although we’re sure there will be very good support for Colin and the team at Brands Hatch on 18 July.”

“The team had been looking at both the BTCC and the WTCC, however Colin felt that he’d like a new challenge, after being the BTCC Champion last year and the BTCC Independents Champion for the last three years.”

 

[Clark]

I was there aswell at Oulton at it was a great day, saw some good action at Knickerbrook and Island Hairpin in the last race. Was unexpected to see Jordan (who I support as he comes from my town) up the tyres and then Boardman come sliding to a halt right in front of me after is contact with Neal. I was hoping my fave driver Jackson would get a win or at least a podium, but at least he got a good haul of points and was robust with Plato in race 1.

Championship is really hotting up, just imagine how good it would be with Turks and Gio still here though.

 

[homeforsummer]

Glad to see people enjoying the BTCC still, I'm hoping to get to the qualifying day for Croft next weekend - I've not managed the race day for the past two years due to various reasons and it's the same again this year! Still, it saves me an extra £30 ish and the last two years have been washouts weather-wise.

I caught some of the Oulton action on TV, and it looked pretty good. I'm glad to see that the BTCC is still serving up the excitement, much more so than most other top-flight (car) motorsport.

As a dose of nostalgia and on the Oulton theme, I found this vid on Youtube the other day:

​

I must admit, it's good now but it was pretty damn good back then too... 1993 was roughly when I first started watching the BTCC at the grand old age of 8 years...

 

[Ardius]

I was actually at this race and saw Thompson give Plato some of his own medicine!


👍

 

[RPM_Online]

We were at the Belgium Touring Car Series pas weekend during their 12 hours endurance race at Spa Francorchamps, some fine cars and more...

Some more coverage on the site www.rpmonline.nl. Sure starting to like this kind of series though and are lookin forward to the 24hours races coming up at Zolder and Spa here in Belgium

 

[Open Addict]

V8 Supercars at Skycity Triple Crown Darwin (Hidden Valley) this weekend.

Lets hope for some more exciting racing like we already have seen this year.

Hear is an interesting look at the course in Wincup's car from last years event. (love the distortion)

 

[homeforsummer]

BTCC, Croft - success for Honda, Jordan's first win

(Photo... me!)​

The three touring car races at Croft have just been completed. Privateer Andrew Jordan won the final race to take his first BTCC victory. The first race was won by the narrowest of margins - Gordon Shedden pipped Rob Collard to the post by 0.035s - and the second race was won by Shedden again with his team-mate Matt Neal.

Congrats to Jordan though, he seemed understandably chuffed at his first victory, in such a competitive series!

 

[Ardius]

As usual, Croft delivered some fantastic racing, the usual turn 1 and hairpin shenanigans. The first race had an amazing close finish, the 2nd race had a fantastic battle between Onslow-Cole and O'Neill right to the end and the 3rd race again had a great fight this time between Boardman and O'Neill.

Fantastic to see Andrew Jordan take his first win in such commanding style, also great to see Steven Kane continue his statistic of podiums at every race meeting this season, amazingly going from 19th to 3rd in race 3!

The support races also added to the fun once again, overall the BTCC package and the ITV coverage is fantastic and we in the UK are really spoilt.

 

[Clark]

Three brill races today, shame my fave Matt Jackson didn't really have a great day. Glad to see Jordan finally winning , good to see my local driver (he's from the same town as me) getting the success he deserves after the bad luck he's had this year.

 

[Sureboss]

Yes, fantastic racing yesterday in the BTCC. Did anyone see Neate's penalty for his move on Jordan at Oulton Park? Shocking driving.

 

[Ardius]

Yes, fantastic racing yesterday in the BTCC. Did anyone see Neate's penalty for his move on Jordan at Oulton Park? Shocking driving.

Yeah, couldn't be more blatant about it and totallly uncalled for.

 

[homeforsummer]

As usual, Croft delivered some fantastic racing, the usual turn 1 and hairpin shenanigans. The first race had an amazing close finish, the 2nd race had a fantastic battle between Onslow-Cole and O'Neill right to the end and the 3rd race again had a great fight this time between Boardman and O'Neill.

I thought Neill's move on Onslow-Cole at the hairpin in race two was a bit cheeky (basically had half his car cutting the corner) but I still cheered when he got past, it'd been about 8 laps in the making that move!

Jackson's climb up the field in R3 was brilliant too. Croft is definitely up there with the best tracks for touring car racing in the country. Gets one of the biggest audiences too.

 

[Ardius]

O'Neill did it again in race 3 on the last lap, though that time he looked like he lost control either due to contact or on his own. He's probably the most clean and fair driver on the grid, but when he needs to, he can make his own space in true touring car fashion.

 

[homeforsummer]

It was definitely some impressive driving. Probably one of the best aspects of the BTCC is how many drivers are actually capable of winning. I'd say a good 75% of the grid are either winners already or potential winners. We've already had nine different winners in 15 races.

The effective rules certainly help with that too. In comparison to virtually any other motor racing series, I have absolutely no questions about the BTCC rulebook - Alan Gow knows exactly what he's doing.

 

[Clark]

Just imagine how much better it would be with Turks, Thommo and Gio, though. I have to say Croft R3 was the best since the final round at Brands last year. The BTCC has entered a new golden age this year and it's just a shame that those three guys aren't part of it. I watch the WTCC aswell but this is so much better, mainly as the drivers get stuck and the cars are closer (as well as more varied), the main reason I think BTCC see is so good is the tracks. In Britain alot of the tracks are bumpier, more narrow and generally older with more 'ballsy' corners. The cars have to be set up softer and the move about a bit and have to brake later so there's more chance for overtaking. The WTCC is more like GT racing with pretty stale racing and stiffly spring cars for the long, wide tracks that they run, I only really think it's good when they run the street circuits (and Brands).

And HfS about the Neate on Jordan incident at Oulton, it happened right in front of me when I was there. But I didn't see it all, I was too busy watching Shedden go off.

 

[homeforsummer]

I didn't see the one at Oulton, I didn't watch all the races on TV. So I've no idea what happened! The cheeky move I was on about was at Croft between O'Neill and Onslow-Cole.

 

[Ardius]

Just imagine how much better it would be with Turks, Thommo and Gio, though. I have to say Croft R3 was the best since the final round at Brands last year. The BTCC has entered a new golden age this year and it's just a shame that those three guys aren't part of it. I watch the WTCC aswell but this is so much better, mainly as the drivers get stuck and the cars are closer (as well as more varied), the main reason I think BTCC see is so good is the tracks. In Britain alot of the tracks are bumpier, more narrow and generally older with more 'ballys' corners. The cars have to be set up softer and the move about a bit and have to brake later so there's more chance for overtaking. The WTCC is more like GT racing with pretty stale racing and stiffly spring cars for the long, wide tracks that they run, I only really think it's good when they run the street circuits (and Brands).

And HfS about the Neate on Jordan incident at Oulton, it happened right in front of me when I was there. But I didn't see it all, I was too busy watching Shedden go off.

Agreed, the WTCC has gotten pretty dull lately, seems the FIA have only gotten half their series fixed, F1 and GT1 are fine, WRC and WTCC are really screwed up at the moment.
Agreed on the tracks too, and long may they stay that way, its so refreshing to watch series that still have grass and gravel, not masses of tarmac.
Personally I think the BTCC currently is not that far off its golden era of the 90s right now, its just lacking a few more big name drivers. I would love to see Thommo back (and so does he, it seems). Maybe the BTCC should look at getting guest drivers in a bit like the Ginetta G50s are doing this year, it would help draw in a few more fans and perhaps inspire some drivers to look at coming in/back.
The racing is fantastic, but I do miss fields consisting of Leslie, Cleland, Tarquini, Menu, Biela, Mansell, Plato, Aiello, Radisich, Thompson, Rydell, Muller, Rouse, Hoy, Harvey, Soper...everytime I think of the 90s, I can't believe how spoilt we got with the driver line up! We have some great drivers today, but half the field are also-rans really, Pinkney, John George, etc. I love seeing those guys manage to score points (like Matt Hamilton and Martin Johnson) but they are not in the same league as the front-runners, even if they had the same equipment and budgets.

 

[Sureboss]

I didn't see the one at Oulton, I didn't watch all the races on TV. So I've no idea what happened! The cheeky move I was on about was at Croft between O'Neill and Onslow-Cole.

Using the inside of the a-pex to overtake? Can't say I'm a fan of it, but he's an independent racer who should be getting maximum support. Next year should be interesting, the switch to Turbos should see costs coming down which could see more people coming back to it.

 

[Ardius]

Would it be mad to think Honda/Team Dynamics might add a 3rd car and put O'Neill in it?

 

[Clark]

Sorry HFS I wasn't paying attention last night and it was Sureboss that said it. My bad.

And Ardius I think somebody needs to give O'Neill a drive, although it leads on to the whole Gio/Turks thing about sponsorship, too many good drivers can't reach their potential because of equipment or not even enough funding to race at all. Hopefully the NGTC fixes that and we get more people in competitive cars.

 

[Ardius]

Well, there already are connections with Honda and O'Neill (other than the car he drives) - he's good mates with Matt Neal and he also features on the motorsport quiz they host at local Honda dealerships. I wouldn't be surprised if that happened anyway.

Everything is very dependant on what happens with the economy though obviously, and today we are finding out.

 

[Prince.M5]

Latest news from the WTCC is that from 2011, the Race of Japan will be held in Suzuka International Circuit. The Japanese race has been held twice at Okayama International Circuit, in 2008 and 2009, and will take place there again this year on October 31 which will be the last.

I don't think this will improve the excitement of the race. We need more short and tight circuit not big, long and wide circuit.

 

[Ardius]

Yeah, I definitely agree with the need to go to shorter and less shall we say "groomed" circuits. Although Suzuka should be fun still, the 1st and 2nd sectors are still fantastic for Touring Cars.
Maybe Tsukuba or Motegi would be better?

Its kind of lame they dropped Imola, that worked well (as it does with most series).

 

[Clark]

Do they not race at Imola anymore? They did last year and the racing was good apart from massive T1 crashes, but I liked it, Thommo finished 6th twice in the Priora.

 

[Ardius]

Nope, its not on the schedule this year. I don't know of any international series that go there now, which is a real shame. Probably the biggest and most famous race track to be barely used in the modern day.

 

[Prince.M5]

Yeah, the esses in the 1st sector should be fun, and the 2nd sector is still good too but I think they will use the East version.

In my opinion, hosting the race in Motegi isn't good neither but probably owkey in Tsukuba. True, the loss of Imola from the calendar is a real shame. It was a great race last year but I think it's due to the circuit financial problem.

 

[Clark]

Nope, its not on the schedule this year. I don't know of any international series that go there now, which is a real shame. Probably the biggest and most famous race track to be barely used in the modern day.

International GT Open went there this year.