[BTCC] BTCC 2018 Rumours & Silly Season

[RS67]

Originally Posted by Matt K

Actually, was there an official announcement from Dynamics that they are entering a new Civic?

Not yet.

[Sodemo]

Is it possible they could start the season with the old car?

[btccbloke]

Originally Posted by Sodemo

Is it possible they could start the season with the old car?

I was thinking that but i dont think its possible
there have been 7 of the old Civics built to NGTC, 1 has been scrapped, Norlin have 2, and Eurotech/Simpson have 3, leaving Dynamics with 1.
No point building up an "old" civic from scratch for the first couple of rounds when that resource could be pumped into getting a new one ready

I would imagine the test is being used A. to the Cammish up to speed, B. Could they be fitting upgrades which may be testable on the old car.

However could they run Cammish in an old car and Neal in a new one? as Motorbase did in 2012 when they introduced the new Focus?

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Matt K

Actually, was there an official announcement from Dynamics that they are entering a new Civic?

Matt Neal has said the new car is behind schedule. https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2018/01/team-dynamics-new-honda-behind-schedule/

[Matt K]

Originally Posted by btccbloke

However could they run Cammish in an old car and Neal in a new one? as Motorbase did in 2012 when they introduced the new Focus?

Or Cammish in a new one because I'm not sure who's got bigger chances to finish higher in the standings
Answering the question, I think there is a chance but honestly I doubt.
I'd say they were testing some things that are the same regardless of the car.
But still, quite surprising that a 'factory' team hasn't finished building a new car to this point.

[btccbloke]

Originally Posted by Matt K

Or Cammish in a new one because I'm not sure who's got bigger chances to finish higher in the standings
Answering the question, I think there is a chance but honestly I doubt.
I'd say they were testing some things that are the same regardless of the car.
But still, quite surprising that a 'factory' team hasn't finished building a new car to this point.

Either/Or, the reason I plumped for Cammish in the older car was purely that we are pretty sure hes in Spain working with it

[Matt K]

Originally Posted by btccbloke

Either/Or, the reason I plumped for Cammish in the older car was purely that we are pretty sure hes in Spain working with it

Yes, you're right about that but hopefully there'll be two new Civics on the grid.

[btccbloke]

actually for championship purposes, if they did split it, Cammish would be better in the older, already developed car rather than learning the BTCC ropes, getting used to FWD and being tasked to develop a new car at the same time, leaving Neal to get the new model up to speed.

but yeah lets hope for 2 new cars

[Matt K]

That's a smart reasoning, actually but still hope for two new cars and hopefully Dan will manage to get to grips with all these new things and he'll get some really good results this year. Sad that Shedden will no longer be a part of BTCC and Honda team but, hey, changes are sometimes really exciting!
And Neal won't be around for too many years, too

[Sodemo]

At the end of the day it all comes down to staff numbers and available time. If they had 25 guys working on the build, I dare say it could be done in 4 weeks, but I guess they have 3-4 guys working on them.

[thlbtcc]

Originally Posted by luckn002

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DW4qzJBX...jpg&name=large

Shredded Wheat sponsorship now on Tordoff's car

Great spot.

Also, check out AMD doing a spot of pre-season testing. Good for them.

[btccbloke]

Originally Posted by Sodemo

At the end of the day it all comes down to staff numbers and available time. If they had 25 guys working on the build, I dare say it could be done in 4 weeks, but I guess they have 3-4 guys working on them.

So what are they going to have in round 1?

Maybe Dynamics really jumped the gun selling the other 2 old Civics to Norlin without having cars ready, what with that, Shedden going and then the Jackson issue, they really have been caught with their pants down this winter!

[BLiTZ]

It really depends how far along they are with the actual design and engineering side of things. I dare say the final bolting together is the 'quickest' part of the 'build' and once you've got all the bits laid out it wouldn't take too long to piece together (just look at how teams 'rebuild' cars in the pits after a heavy shunt).

Then once car 1 is complete, no. 2 will be a copy and paste job. But if they're still making it up as they go along, troubleshooting, engineering/re-engineering parts waiting on other suppliers then who knows how long that'll take.

I know we can't compare to the recent 9th gen Type R and Tourer 'builds' as they were 'simply' elaborate re-skins of the original NGTC 9th gen hatch but compared to that initial build for 2012 then things do seem to be behind schedule. That car was out testing quite early on IIRC.

I know the 9th and 8th gen cars were similar to some degree, similar shape and layout etc so the move from 8th gen S2000 to 9th gen NGTC 'may' have been easier compared to this time round as the 9th and 10th gen cars are quite different.

There's also the question of how much impetus Honda UK are providing on the engineering side. In 2012 you got the impression they were heavily involved, TD made a lot of reference to having access to the CAD data for the 9th gen car which made life easier (same story as the MG in 2013 when they (MG) provided more information to the team). Since Honda's reduced involvement in 2016 are they getting that same level of information/support?

[S griffin]

Well they must still be getting enough to be at the front and sign top line drivers

[Alfisti]

The Norlin cars: they got one of last years raced cars (think Flashes, but not 100% sure on that) plus a new chassis which I believe was a spare that Dynamics have had for a while.

So pretty sure that Dynamics have only the one old car which is indeed in Spain. It'll give Cam and Neal some running - it's NGTC after all, so Cam will gain some experience of this type of car, and I suppose if push comes to shove could be pressed into action if they don't have both new cars ready for Brands.

As Blitz says, once the first car is done the next is quick and easy in comparison: you work out the problems on the first. BMR took a long time getting Subaru no. 1 together, the other 3 went together in next to no time... although I believe they were sleeping in bags on the workshop floor for the last couple of weeks!

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

The Norlin cars: they got one of last years raced cars (think Flashes, but not 100% sure on that) plus a new chassis which I believe was a spare that Dynamics have had for a while.

All information is on Touring Car Register - to summarise:

The two cars Norlin have are both Ex-Shedden cars.

#2 was ran by Shedden from '12-'15, then Simpson in '16. Re-shelled in '17 after accident in testing, and now with Norlin.
#7 was ran by Shedden in '16 and '17, now with Norlin.

The only previous car TD still have is #5 - ran by Neal from '13-'17.

#1, #4 and # 6 are with Eurotech/Simpson.
#3 is scrapped.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by CM388

Let's sprinkle some extra conspiracy dust into the mix:

I've just seen on Twitter that Ciceley Motorsport have liked one of the news stories about MJ's departure from Motorbase. What can it mean?!

That they are lining up MJ to drive their Focus?

The car is still described as being a spare car, and not stripped down for parts....

[redshoes]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

The car is still described as being a spare car, and not stripped down for parts....

Probably should be listed as a spares car, rather than a spare car. i.e. being used as a source of spare parts.

Ciceley bought the car with the TBL, which they needed to run the 3rd Mercedes. They don't have have another TBL to run the Focus as well.


Ciceley liking a tweet by another team doesn't have to mean anything. They recently liked a tweet about Red Bull F14 testing but that doesn't mean they are going to offer Daniel Ricciardo a job any time soon.

[btccbloke]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

That they are lining up MJ to drive their Focus?

The car is still described as being a spare car, and not stripped down for parts....

Jackson wont be in the series this year, possibly not again IMHO

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by redshoes

Probably should be listed as a spares car, rather than a spare car. i.e. being used as a source of spare parts.

Ciceley bought the car with the TBL, which they needed to run the 3rd Mercedes. They don't have have another TBL to run the Focus as well.


Ciceley liking a tweet by another team doesn't have to mean anything. They recently liked a tweet about Red Bull F14 testing but that doesn't mean they are going to offer Daniel Ricciardo a job any time soon.

Darn you and your sensible responses!!!

[mark_l]

Originally Posted by redshoes

Probably should be listed as a spares car, rather than a spare car. i.e. being used as a source of spare parts.

Ciceley bought the car with the TBL, which they needed to run the 3rd Mercedes. They don't have have another TBL to run the Focus as well.


Ciceley liking a tweet by another team doesn't have to mean anything. They recently liked a tweet about Red Bull F14 testing but that doesn't mean they are going to offer Daniel Ricciardo a job any time soon.

I thought it was a firm indication that Ciceley were going to enter F1.

[Dudley]

Originally Posted by btccbloke

wow few names there i had forgotten! Charlie Cox I remember destroying his Mondeo possibly at Thruxton and next time i heard the name i think he was commentating on Moto Gp!

The missing link there is once he stopped driving in BTCC he took over from Murray in commenting on it, which meant when the always unimaginative BBC got the MotoGP gig they transferred him rather than hire someone.

[Liquoriceman]

(background)

https://twitter.com/AmDessex/status/968122390306836480

Sent from my R7plusf using Tapatalk

[thlbtcc]

Originally Posted by Liquoriceman

(background)

https://twitter.com/AmDessex/status/968122390306836480

Sent from my R7plusf using Tapatalk

"Toc". Interesting.

[Jiiiiiiim]

Interesting picture from AmD testing in Spain as mentioned about, someone with a sense of humour or a clue . Think it’s the former though I’d Love it to TOC back!