[BTCC] Holes and Stickers

[Passo]

Hello.

Is it just me, or is the use of stickers on the front grilles of a lot of the grid a little ugly? Instead of using proper grilles, the teams cut a gaping hole in the front of the car and then disguise it with a horrendous-looking sticker.

How long has that been the case? And why the change? Any regs which relate to that? I'm just curious, really - I never noticed it until media day.

[Pettersson]

I guess it's a matter of aerodynamics? Using a grille from a production vehicle has a lot of holes, gaps. etc. in it and isn't perfect for aerodynamics and maybe upsets the airflow into the engine. And such parts can also be very expensive spare parts when loking into the manufacturers pricelists.

Many touring cars have a front end casted/moulded in one piece without a proper grille (e.g. Vauxhall Vectra S2000 BTCC, BMW 320 TC WTCC, SEAT Leon S2000), with separate intake in the bumper etc. for cooling the engine and brakes. Some have just stickers, some has some sort of "cover" that looks like a grille. So I guess having holes, gaps etc. in places where the air can get into the engine bay (like through a grille, and not a specific cooling intake) is bad for aerodynamics in cars with a quite low amount of horsepower. My cents, but I can be very wrong, too

[awrb]

Also, for stability you want as much air to go over the car rather than under it - which is why you'll notice all of the air intakes are at the bottom of the bumper and the top grill is the one blanked off.