Which is the 'Senior' Domestic Series???

[rlinter]

So the British F3, British GT & BTCC camps all claim to be the senior British Series when it comes to billing so the question is simply this:-

Which DOMESTIC series is the more 'Senior'?

[paulzinho]

I voted for F3. Its probably the most importanat series in the UK in terms of career progression towards the International scene.

[rlinter]

Lets not mention the stiffer licence requirements!

[Craig]

All pretty much even I'd say, they all have their good and bad points.

[Takuma]

Not forgetting the higher level of preperation in F3 and the higher level of competitiveness, 30 cars within 107% of pole time, when was that last true in the btcc?

[Mad_Racer_2k02]

Well it would appear that if you sit out side any night club on a saturday night/Sunday morning you will get a better prepared set of taxi's and also get more competition.

Lets face BTCC has lost the spark several years back and has yet to recover - the way that they go around claiming to be the Dogs Dangly bits when lets face it with the exception of some new blood the majority of the drivers race there cause they are too old and fat to race anything else. It is a sad series that let's it's reigning champ go race in ASCAR that will surely be seen as a direct competitor very very quickly.

[Takuma]

is this poll run to Zimbabwean rules? in which case i declare 2cv's the overwhealming winner.

[TimD]

Hmm... most senior series.

Off the top of my head,

Formula 3 - 1950
British Saloon Car Championship - 1958
GTs as a category didn't surface until 1960-odd, so I suppose officially it's F3.

Mark you, I've got to take issue with the question over car preparation. I would suggest that there's a teensy bit more work involved in building up a racing car out of a Porsche 911GT3, a Ford Focus or a Peugeot 406 than phoning up nice Mr Dallara and asking him to fetch you a nice new single-seater off the peg.

But then I'm biased - I'm unconvinced by the "career ladder" theory of motor sport involvement, and I like big, scary sports cars. I also don't buy the idea that you're over the hill and past it by 23.

[Peter Mallett]

I'm not too sure about seniority, but there's a few old blokes in my championship.

[Spudgun]

F3 for me... It's the series that will get you that F1 drive!

[Maisie]

I still disagree with the view that getting into Formula 1 should be the be-all and end-all of motorsport. I don't see why GTs/Le Mans series can't be viewed as of a similar calibre and standard as F1. If anything, endurance racing is just as skillful but much harder on the driver than F1. Devaluing half the motorsport disciplines out there because they're not single seaters is only going to do damage in the long run when it comes to getting sponsors, coverage, drivers, crowds etc.

[paulzinho]

True but there is no doubting that F1 is the highest profile series. This has an effect on young people who watch the sport, although they mature to appreciate other disciplines.

[Lee Janotta]

F1 has stability and a ton of money and instant recognition: That's what puts it at the top. If sports cars are to challenge, they need fast, close racing on extremely challenging circuits; recognizable cars and drivers; uncomplicated 90-minute races, with no driver swaps, which are confusing as all hell for the average fan; consistent, first-rate TV coverage; the defection of high-profile single-seat stars like Jacques Villeneuve, Reubens Barichello, and Adrian Fernandez; races nearly every week; and something sports cars have never had, rules stability.

Basically you'd need a series so compelling that F1 looks like a pale imitation of real racing. Not as impossible as it sounds, but there's a long way between here and there.

[jase]

Originally posted by Lee Janotta
F1 has stability

Changes it's rules when ever it wants to

If sports cars are to challenge

The FIA will never allow it, look how long it's taken rallying to not be seen as a rival

recognizable cars and drivers;

Lister, Viper, TVR, Morgan, Panoz, shall I continue?

uncomplicated 90-minute races, with no driver swaps,

endurance, ie-long distance, and driver changes are sportscars

the defection of high-profile single-seat stars like Jacques Villeneuve, Reubens Barichello, and Adrian Fernandez;

why (btw i'm a fan of JV and RB)? there are drivers like the Hezemans, Jamie Cambell-Walter, Cor Euser, to name but a few.

races nearly every week;

there are many races from February upto September, Daytona, Sebring, LeMans, Suzuka, not to mention the FIA and all the natonal GT/Sports car series

and something sports cars have never had,
rules stability.

see my first comment

Basically you'd need a series so compelling that F1 looks like a pale imitation of real racing. Not as impossible as it sounds, but there's a long way between here and there.

Of course there is, and if the FIA/ACO and other arganisers ot their acts together, they'd have it

[Lee Janotta]

The stability I spoke of is in the series. The World Championship has been held uninterrupted since 1950! How many sports car _series_ can say that?

Agreed, the FIA doesn't care about sports cars. But IMSA does, so why did the ELMS fail?

Far more people know McLaren and Ferarri that Panoz. And how many sports car drivers are household names? Say "Aryton Senna" and "Derek Bell" in a crowded room anywhere in the world, and more people are going to recognize the Brazilian. Sports car drivers are _not_ household names!

If you insist on the endurance format, sports cars will _always_ be marginalized, as the unwashed masses are simply bored to death by it all. Not that we can't still have Sebring, LeMans, and the other enduros, but the series will need to become more important, and these races treated as stand-alone events, not part of a championship.

As for the stability and schedule arguments, these events are under a myriad of different sanctions with different rules. The FIA SSC champ can't run competitively at LeMans; Audi can't run anywhere that doesn't run to ACO rules. You've got series for factories, series for privateers... You have to undertake a serious effort to make sense of it, which F1 doesn't ask you to do. You know the World Championship will be back in two weeks for another go. And national series don't count _because_ they're national! Few national series _ever_ make an international impact, and those are usually touring cars, aside from British F3.