[BTCC] Rounds 1,2,3 Brands Hatch Indy 2017

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by pimmy

It was confirmed on the Brands TV coverage that the wheels are the same size as they were previously.

I guess they must have already been on a j10 wheel then.

The old tyres 245/650R18 had a range of J8.5-J10.
The new tyres 265/660R18 have a range of J10-J11.

[850Estate]

Totally moving away from BMR, I stumbled across these pictures this morning...An MG I actually like. Would make a very smart BTCC car too...

[auroan]

TD's next car ?

[BillWiskins]

Is there an internal competition every couple of years at Honda to see how much lumpier and uglier they can make the next Civic?

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by BillWiskins

Is there an internal competition every couple of years at Honda to see how much lumpier and uglier they can make the next Civic?

In seriousness, I think it comes down to how to make a FWD hatchback as fast as possible. The same sort of thing was seen with the Evo from about mk5 onwards, to the extreme of having a 'sharks tooth rear vortex generation disperser'!
Each lump and bump is similar to every wing/fin/winglet/finlet/element that are now seen on F1 cars.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by auroan

TD's next car ?

So many elements of that will be lost in turning it into NGTC spec.

[Sodemo]

At least it looks nice from the front.

[BLiTZ]

Whilst I love the fact they've gone back to a more traditional 90's hatchback profile with a longer bonnet compared to the MPV-esk look of the EP, FN and FK, there are certain elements that look fussy and over designed and then areas that look unfinished like the rear arch extension which could have been made to look a load better with a simple trim piece grafted to the edge of the rear door.

Unfortunately as a global car it's had too much influence from the American design department and lost some of the purity that would have resulted from a UK/Japan led design.

And no modern Type R is a patch on the original EK9 and DC2, the whole ethos of a lightweight bare bones car with a race-derived engine has been lost to a sea of bells and whistles! (The closest thing on the market right now is the Golf Clubsport but even then at £40+ they're still a luxury item).

It'll make a great looking Touring car that's for sure (I'm still disappointed that they're not running it this year seeing as they managed to be able to use the FK Type R a few months early) but as it'll be bigger it may lose some of the nimble characteristics of the FK.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Sodemo

At least it looks nice from the front.

I think Dynamics won't want many people seeing the front of it though - they'll be interested in people having to stare at the back end all race.

[porsche962fan]

Dick Bennets mentioned on TTT that a team in the paddock is complaining about the BMW start advantage


any idea ? as we can exclude Plato and BMR

[thlbtcc]

Originally Posted by porsche962fan

Dick Bennets mentioned on TTT that a team in the paddock is complaining about the BMW start advantage


any idea ? as we can exclude Plato and BMR

No idea on the complainer, but they have managed to get amazing starts in each of the Brands races. Are they still running with a TOCA restricted/enforced ECU start mapping to help reduce their advantage?

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by porsche962fan

Dick Bennets mentioned on TTT that a team in the paddock is complaining about the BMW start advantage


any idea ? as we can exclude Plato and BMR

All of them! Did he say the complaint was specifically about BMW or RWD in general?

[Moneyseeker]

If we have the same at Donington on the start line, it maybe that instead of trying to regulate cars ,TOCA/BARC say that they will be looking seriously at start line incidents and will issue driver penalties. I imagine that this will be raised in the drivers briefing too. We want to see good, but clean starts and as Martin Brundle often says in F1, in these sort of incidents drivers are driving into a wedge that is closing, so really it is down to the drivers.

[Sodemo]

This really is a storm in a teacup. We have had FWD, RWD and even 4WD before on the same grid. Drivers need to be the ones making the change(s), changes to their driving.

[S griffin]

Originally Posted by Sodemo

This really is a storm in a teacup. We have had FWD, RWD and even 4WD before on the same grid. Drivers need to be the ones making the change(s), changes to their driving.

Yes, the sooner they accept that, the easier everyone's life will be. As I've said before every car has an advantage and disadvantage

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by porsche962fan

Dick Bennets mentioned on TTT that a team in the paddock is complaining about the BMW start advantage

Just heard some of the show. It may have seemed in passing, but Chilton got a complaint about BMW starts in. I don't think it was a serious whinge, but it is these seemingly general comments that can influence thinking.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by porsche962fan

Dick Bennets mentioned on TTT that a team in the paddock is complaining about the BMW start advantage


any idea ? as we can exclude Plato and BMR

He actually said a certain team in the paddock has complained about RWD starts, not specifically BMW.

[stuart thompson]

This one really irks me, I may be biased being a BMW fan, but it's not as if they are dominating, yes they get good starts but then they are hanging on for dear life for the next handful of laps while their tyres warm up. More often than not this is where they lose the lead and the fwd cars normally get past.

[billy bleach]

Originally Posted by thlbtcc

No idea on the complainer, but they have managed to get amazing starts in each of the Brands races. Are they still running with a TOCA restricted/enforced ECU start mapping to help reduce their advantage?

Because Dick Bennetts has never wyend or stuck the knife in.......