Dunlop react to GT decision and offer 100% support to Britcar

[RacingRod]

Dunlop Press Release 21/06/05

Dunlop Motorsport confirms that it has signed a deal with EERC for three years to be sole tyre suppliers to the Britcar and Production S1 series including the Willhire 5 HR and Silverstone 24hr events to 2008. In addition the Birmingham based Motorsport operation is committing to support the championship with team incentives and marketing activities. Dunlop is the sole tyre supplier and has been involved with the championship since its inception.

Gary Wassell, Manager Dunlop Motorsport UK said:

“This series is almost certainly the fastest growing in UK and following SRO’s decision regarding the contract to supply British GT our focus will now be concentrated on Britcar.
We survive by, and excel at, supplying teams (our customers) with a package they want and without doubt the EERC series is doing exactly that
“By working with EERC we aim to provide our customers with what they are looking for in a series and we will continue to talk to them and listen to their opinions.
On top of running with a premium tyre at superb circuits we are offering full works technical support, PR and promotional support as well as a £40,000 tyre prize fund and a Spa 24 Hour drive. We’re also bringing Café Dunlop which has already proved to be successful with the teams, organisers and media at BTCC and British GT. Discussions are ongoing and further announcements will be made in due course.”

[archibold]

Not a surprising outcome really. Certainly shows that there is a lot of momentum in Britcar in advance of the 24 hour race...

[Redlake27]

I does appear that BritCar has the more attractive package compared to BGT.

BGT teams can't run at Oulton, Snetterton, Brands, will probably lose Combe, maybe lose Rockingham if the number of meetings are reduced.

BGT can't call itself a national championship if it only goes to Thruxton, Silverstone, Donington, Knockhill and Croft. The teams may as well do a proper international championship, or a more varied series like BritCar.

I had BGT plans......but not any more. BritCar has become my aim when selling to sponsors

[Svierge]

Rockingham? Not been there since '03 because the F3 teams weren't keen on the first chicane. Rather Mickey Mouse anyway, though a great place for spectators.

It can't call itself a national Championship when it only visits circuits ranging from Scotland down to Hampshire? Hmm...

[Redlake27]

It is not the geographical spread that is the problem. It is the weak choice of circuits. SRO's failure to promote their championships to spectators means they can't afford to be at MSV venues.

When I stand on the spectator bank at Thruxton or Croft and see how few people are coming in to watch F3 and GT, I'm amazed at SRO's lack of effort. OK, Combe will be different as they know how to promote an event, but when you look at BTCC crowds for just a dozen cars (queues to get out of Oulton on Sun eve) and contrast that with the failure to attract spectators to see supercars and future superstars in F3, I desspair at the incompetence or complacency of Ratel's mob.

[Svierge]

I know what you mean, but the problem is one of cash to promote the events. The BTCC has the support of various manufacturers (I know there are only two works teams, but Renault, BMW and Porsche play their part), while GT racing is the domain of the privateer. Look what happened in '03 when SEAT joined us and put their full weight behind us - huge crowds at Oulton and 43,000 at Rockingham, which remains that circuit's biggest crowd to date; bigger than any of the Champ Car or BTCC events.

We need a title sponsor, which is where Avon comes in. I know they never made best use of F3, but realistically what would you do with F3? The cars are dull and although there may be some drivers who'll get to F1, there'll be a lot that don't. The link between supercars and road car tyres is a far better one to promote.

The only real money in British motor racing is in the TOCA paddock and British Superbikes. Superbikes have it because they offer truly brilliant racing with a massive crowd base and clearly have a superb PR team with the money to do their own promotion, while TOCA also has its own pool of promotional cash. We only have the continued enthusiasm of competitors like Embassy and John Guest, Eurotech's backer. Yes, you'll se a big crowd at BTCC events and they have many genuine fans, but a lot of them are also there because of free tickets from the likes of SEAT, Vauxhall and Halfords. Our promotional team is essentially just David Addison, the commentator, and his tiny company, running on about a fiver for the year. The circuits won't pay to promote the races because they say they might not get a return so it's probably not worth it, nor will they allow free ticket offers of the type Rockingham offers - Rockingham promotes its own Championship in ASCAR, so has to do it itself.

Which brings us back to Avon. Dunlop, let's not forget, has had ample opportunity to become our title backer since the end of the Privilege deal, yet chose to throw its weight behind TOCA instead. We have been crying out for a Championship sponsor for ages, but at least SRO has found one now.

The circuits thing is a bit of a pain. Oulton is great and Brands GP is superb, but when Palmer is willing to give the circuits to TOCA for free yet wants to charge us full hire price (which we can't afford because we previously had a discount), what was M. Ratel supposed to do? There was a principal at stake and he managed to get us on the grid for the FIA race at Magny Cours instead, which is exactly what any team would want - a chance to go up against the best in the World.

As I wrote in the Britcar Vs BGT thread, this country has the best national Championship competitors in all of Europe (I wrote 'World' in the other thread, but forgot ALMS...) and our teams can confidently head onto the World stage and be competitive. We have the fastest 360 Ferraris in the World and supply top Porsche teams - even our Mosler teams are making a hell of an impact. If BGT died and all we were left with was Britcar, then the jump onto the World stage would be far too great for teams to contemplate - they'd have to go to Belcar first or maybe FFSA GTs.

[SALEEN S7R]

Originally Posted by Svierge

Which brings us back to Avon. Dunlop, let's not forget, has had ample opportunity to become our title backer since the end of the Privilege deal, yet chose to throw its weight behind TOCA instead. We have been crying out for a Championship sponsor for ages, but at least SRO has found one now.

Agreed, Dunlop made its bed and now it has to lie in it. British GT's as you say have been wanting a title sponsor for many years and now it finally has one. Good on SRO and Avon for giving the series what it needs. IMO.

As I wrote in the Britcar Vs BGT thread, this country has the best national Championship competitors in all of Europe (I wrote 'World' in the other thread, but forgot ALMS...) and our teams can confidently head onto the World stage and be competitive. We have the fastest 360 Ferraris in the World and supply top Porsche teams - even our Mosler teams are making a hell of an impact. If BGT died and all we were left with was Britcar, then the jump onto the World stage would be far too great for teams to contemplate - they'd have to go to Belcar first or maybe FFSA GTs.

I agree, if British GT does die there will be no real breeding ground for potential British FIA GT/LMES teams, IMO. The British GT championship is essential, not only to keep International grids strong but to keep some form of top line sportscar racing in the UK. Britcar whilst it is a great series is not primarily a sportscar series IMO, yes the series has a GT3 class but there are more touring cars in the races than GT's, IMO it is not a true sportscar championship.

British GT's too have produced some of the best sportscar teams out there, from Veloqx and Gruppe M to Scuderia Ecosse, Eurotech and Rollcentre. To lose this great series IMO would be a massive blow both to UK Motorsport in general and to sportscar racing on the International scene. There is more than enough room in the UK for British GT and Britcar to co exist peacefully and hopefully this will be the case IMO.

[JAG]

BGT teams are of a very high standard, no doubt.

But if these teams moved to Britcar, the standards in that championship would also rise.

The problem for BGT is that it has been so good at bringing on teams, the best jump ship to the international scene sooner rather than later.

[TheNewBob]

Originally Posted by SALEEN S7R

British GT's too have produced some of the best sportscar teams out there, from Veloqx and Gruppe M to Scuderia Ecosse, Eurotech and Rollcentre. To lose this great series IMO would be a massive blow both to UK Motorsport in general and to sportscar racing on the International scene. There is more than enough room in the UK for British GT and Britcar to co exist peacefully and hopefully this will be the case IMO.

Let's not forget the Lister squad too, who became FIA GT champions after winning British GT the previous year. Means we have a good source of potential world-beaters.

Without BGT, who would be the next great team to come out of Britain? The likes of Damax with their 360's would go into Britcar's GT3 class and probably fade away, instead of a possible attempt at working up to the top of GT2.

Britain needs a SPORTSCAR series - not a touring car club championship which happens to accomodate GT3's. What's more, it needs one which gets proper promotion. I do hope Avon have big plans for the series...

[JAG]

Lets not forget their is also Britsports for small prototypes. This class is gaining momentum and could be very useful for British teams looking to step upto LMP2 in the next few years.

If there's demand for a GT2 class, whos to say it will not be added to Britcar, or possibly Britsports!

[TheNewBob]

I guess the other side of the argument is that true GT racing is, afterall, endurance. There's that in abundance in Britcar - and somewhat little of it in BGT, even though 1-hour races are the longest the series has had for as long as I can remember.

[SALEEN S7R]

Originally Posted by JAG

If there's demand for a GT2 class, whos to say it will not be added to Britcar, or possibly Britsports!

The Britcar organiser has said there is no room for GT2 class machinery in the Britcar series, and I fear that if Britsports opened up a GT2 class that the GT2 cars would simply cream them, they are struggling to beat Caterhams as it is, let alone a GT2 car run by a top level GT team!

No, IMO British GT's wont be going anywhere anytime soon, despite what some of us would like to beleive. Scare mongering isnt going to work, the British GT championship is here, and its here to stay.

[Redlake27]

I have just had a conversation with my Dunlop contacts, and their intention is to pump a great deal of money into BritCar. I do sense a real buzz around BritCar and Dunlop as to what is possible next year. I think you will see a championship develop that combines the best of BritCar and GT.

[Ian Sowman]

Originally Posted by TheNewBob

I guess the other side of the argument is that true GT racing is, afterall, endurance. There's that in abundance in Britcar - and somewhat little of it in BGT, even though 1-hour races are the longest the series has had for as long as I can remember.

You must have a very short memory. Certainly two years ago when I was doing the PR for the series there were races of two and three hours in length, and I think the standard length was 75 minutes.

[Graham Goodwin]

The opening 2005 race was a 2 hour race and round 2 (for GT2 cars) was a 3 hour race with the FIA GT runners

[Redlake27]

True, but now most of the races are one hour. That means each driver is getting less track time than the drivers in the Ginetta and Mini championships on the same day! Hardly GT racing!

[Svierge]

At the Britcar race at Brands earlier this year you had 30 mins qualifying and a two hour race, didn't you? In a standard BGT weekend we have 30 mins worth of qualifying and 2x one hour races, so that's the same amount of track time, isn't it?

How long do you guys get for free practice? Serious question because I can't remember, having not competed in Britcar since last year. We get 75 mins.

Being a one-day event I suspect there was no warm-up at Brands, while we have 10 mins on Sunday morning, to check things out before race 2.

We also have the very handy test days that are set aside for us before each meeting, giving us dedicated sessions that aren't cluttered and allowing us to stay in one place all weekend.

I know that some of your races are longer, which is where you gain track time massively, but surely you know that BGT is a two race format these days? Apart from when we're having 2 or 3 hour races, of course...

Sorry to have spell things out like that but you must admit that was a fairly silly thing to type!

[JAG]

Originally Posted by SALEEN S7R

The Britcar organiser has said there is no room for GT2 class machinery in the Britcar series, and I fear that if Britsports opened up a GT2 class that the GT2 cars would simply cream them, they are struggling to beat Caterhams as it is, let alone a GT2 car run by a top level GT team!

No, IMO British GT's wont be going anywhere anytime soon, despite what some of us would like to beleive. Scare mongering isnt going to work, the British GT championship is here, and its here to stay.

Not with some of the new machinery turning up in Britsports.

BGT may well be here to stay, good on 'em.

I won't be watching as they don't visit my local circuit Oulton Park.

I'll have to get my local fix of sportscar action from Britcars/sports.

I have no intention of travelling around the country to catch a BGT race, especially with so many international series racing in the UK such as the LMES, FIA GT................ , and thats before considering the likes of Le Mans, Goodwood Festival etc.

[SALEEN S7R]

Originally Posted by JAG

Not with some of the new machinery turning up in Britsports.

BGT may well be here to stay, good on 'em.

I won't be watching as they don't visit my local circuit Oulton Park.

I'll have to get my local fix of sportscar action from Britcars/sports.

I have no intention of travelling around the country to catch a BGT race, especially with so many international series racing in the UK such as the LMES, FIA GT................ , and thats before considering the likes of Le Mans, Goodwood Festival etc.

Well ill be seeing British GT next year at Thruxton, top class sportscar racing in the UK. Shame we dont have another sportscar series anywhere near that level nationally IMO. Britcar I may see a couple of times, but only on Sky sports. British GT however I will see every round of, courtesy of Motors TV.

[TheNewBob]

oops defend my point lol - I know the opening '05 race was 2 hours because I was at Donington for it. I didn't see any 2003 season rounds mainly out of distress for the loss of the top GT class lol. I failed to notice their race length change.

I was kinda referring to 2002 and previous years (I bet I'm wrong again though now, c'mon peeps, show me up again lol). Also meant the normal race length - I know there has been 2 and 3 hour races - they were one-off kinda things, tho...

[JAG]

Saleen your missing the point.

We are not comparing the 2005 seasons, but looking to the future.

Both series may look very different in 12 months time.