[BTCC] Rounds 10, 11, 12 - Oulton Park

[BLiTZ]

Whilst it was a shame for Josh to go out how he did. His defensive driving was getting a bit too much and something was going to snap eventually! From watching on TV it appeared that half the contact from Gordon was down to Josh driving so slowly and backing things up mid corner. He was guilty of going into the car in front a fair few times in R2 and no ones said anything. If it was anyone other than Neal, Plato or Shedden nobody would be complaining and it'd have just been a racing incident.

I also thought there were rules regarding the number of times you can deliberately block the car behind, as Josh was weaving around quite a bit. It was clear Gordon was faster and had Josh stuck to the racing line instead of slaloming he'd have been past cleanly much earlier in the race. I get that no driver wants to let cars past easily, but when you're only part way through a race and it's that obvious that the people behind are quicker, then why risk such dicey driving and losing points by desperately trying to keep the whole pack behind you?

[Peter Mallett]

I think the point is, that if you are faster you should go past, not through, the car in front. If Cook was driving badly then he should have been black flagged. Them's the rules for the rest of the world.

Sadly a talented driver like Sheddon drove like a rock ape yesterday and cost a team a lot of money. What happens if budgets get tighter? Cars that suffer too much damage will be lost to the grid.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

drove like a rock ape yesterday

Had to laugh at that description, given the reputation of 'Rock Apes' in the RAF at times.

[The SpeCTator]

Cannot work out that if "push to pass" gets a penalty, driving into the rear quarter of a another car, breaking the suspension on a known weak spot and causing its retirement gets nothing!

Deemed another Shedden accident I suppose.

Did he learn that overtaking style at Goodwood?

[Akrapovic]

I don't understand why people expected that Shedden move to be penalised. Have people been watching the same BTCC I have for the last 20 years?

The initial 'nibbles' on the rear were never going to get penalised. They just don't ever penalise somebody for little bumps, whether it is one or whether it is constant. So that was going to get him a penalty.

The contact that broke Cooks rear suspension was clearly unintentional, and since BTCC rarely even penalises deliberate contact, how likely is it they'd punish an accident? It wasn't a racing incident, and Shedden was 100% at fault, but it was very obviously not what he was trying to do.

I think it should've been punished, but I also think most of the moves we seen all weekend should've been given at least a talking to. Several drivers (including Cook) forced others off the road. That's not defense driving, that's just dangerous. So quite why people expected a penalty I don't know.

[S griffin]

I agree there were a lot worse incidents. Moffat for example had grounds to be penalised in all three races

[Sodemo]

Moffat deserves a ban for his swipe across the track on Newsham. Terrible driving.

[Peter Mallett]

Never saw that but if it was bad I would agree.

The point is, bad driving standards are just that. Two wrongs don't make a right.

Perhaps the punters love it but all it does is reduce the value of the series in many people's eyes.

[Sodemo]

From the sounds of things there were questionable driving in a lot of the races yesterday. I must admit I didnt see too much of the supports, however I think some of the drivers briefings need to be a touch more harsh.

I have sat in these kind of briefings before, nothing anywhere near the level of national racing, but kart meetings in the university championship I used to take part in. The race control comes on all harsh in the briefing, saying you will get a penalty for this, a stop and go for that, once the race actually starts drivers forget everything they had been told and are just running amok, you have to question why you even follow the rules if so many others aren't...

[thlbtcc]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

I think the point is, that if you are faster you should go past, not through, the car in front. If Cook was driving badly then he should have been black flagged. Them's the rules for the rest of the world.

Absolutely. Defending and attacking is part of the skill. Cook could and should have continued in that vein for the next 14 laps.

[thlbtcc]

Sutton is world class. With Croft next on the calendar, where Subaru were strong in 2016, you can count him in the championship hunt at the halfway mark.

[Greem]

https://twitter.com/cooksport/status/866634751909789696

Decent gesture from Flash there. For those who don't do Twitter, here's a screenshot...

[porsche962fan]

well Flash does have some class unlike other drivers...


also did anyone noticed the digs Cook made on Motorbase during the interviews ?? that they with a much much smaller budget have better results than Motorbase

[Peter Mallett]

Originally Posted by Greem

https://twitter.com/cooksport/status/866634751909789696

Decent gesture from Flash there. For those who don't do Twitter, here's a screenshot...

Originally Posted by porsche962fan

well Flash does have some class unlike other drivers...

Indeed thanks for posting that Greem. Doesn't change the view on standards for me but in terms of sportsmanship that goes right to the top.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Greem

https://twitter.com/cooksport/status/866634751909789696

Decent gesture from Flash there. For those who don't do Twitter, here's a screenshot...

It is that type of communication between drivers, and the public acceptance of fault, that probably contributes to some of the grid being more favourable to Shedden and 'parting for him like the red sea at the final round' as has been claimed previously.

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

Indeed thanks for posting that Greem. Doesn't change the view on standards for me but in terms of sportsmanship that goes right to the top.

I agree with you there Peter. As I was always told as a youngster, you are better off not doing the wrong thing in the first place, but if you do, at least have the good grace to apologise afterwards. It doesn't take away what Flash did, but as you say, a class apology.
I also have to say that I'm impressed by Josh Cook, his driving appears to have just enough aggression without being too wild & dangerous, plus, he seems to have a great attitude when interviewed. Hopefully the boy will be a star of the future.

[billy bleach]

How about the constant battering that Shedden dished out from the start until his final "misjudgement". Classic butter wouldn't melt from this thug

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by billy bleach

How about the constant battering that Shedden dished out from the start until his final "misjudgement".

What about the minor contact?

[porsche962fan]

I said Tuks would leave the table come summer break but this was a real freak weekend for him with those gremlins and he is now 31 points behind Shedden and 15 points behind Collard

hope he bounces back after this fiasco he had

BTW Ash Sutton : 112 , Plato 18 points... says it all


BTW 2 Josh Cook is the best Ford scorer 2 points ahead of M Jackson

[Sodemo]

I don't think Turks was quick enough even when his car was running normally. Something just didn't look right with the car.

[Peter Mallett]

Overall I enjoyed the coverage and most of the racing. I've had the pleasure of meeting and sharing a track with quite a few of the drivers so my criticism is not personal.

In particular I was sorry to see Mat Jackson's travails. If anyone deserves some luck it's him in my opinion.

[AdrianM]

Originally Posted by porsche962fan

for what exactly ? just some weird dude moaning about Neal push to pass when he didn't do anything like that the whole weekend

As opposed to pretty much every other weekend over the last few seasons.

To be honest I'm getting hacked off with the driving standards in BTCC and the support packages. It's red flag after red flag and loading drivers up into the corners to get by is becoming the norm.

I doubt they'll do anything about it though as it's all about entertainment for TOCA. Fortunately with the advent of YouTube live streaming there are plenty of other series with betters standards to watch.

[maximus]

Originally Posted by porsche962fan

BTW Ash Sutton : 112 , Plato 18 points... says it all

Yet you get upset when anyone bashes Neil or Shedden. Ironic.

[porsche962fan]

Originally Posted by AdrianM

I doubt they'll do anything about it though as it's all about entertainment for TOCA. Fortunately with the advent of YouTube live streaming there are plenty of other series with betters standards to watch.

then please watch those and don't come back to moan about soemthing you don't like , that simple

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by porsche962fan

then please [...] don't [...] moan about soemthing you don't like

Because of course, everyone else on here is always positive about everything BTCC-related?

Originally Posted by porsche962fan

starting to become farcial

Originally Posted by porsche962fan

the facelifted Toyota looks terrible

Originally Posted by porsche962fan

hope BTC Norlin do get some more stickers

Originally Posted by porsche962fan

meh seem all like corporate robots

we need characters like Dave Brodie back

Originally Posted by porsche962fan

it sounds pathetic , they can just say thanks to our sponsors and team etc but no need to always say WE

Originally Posted by porsche962fan

back in 1987 [...] the cars themselves were so exiting to watch and hear all by themselves[...]this is missing from 2017

Originally Posted by porsche962fan

what sucks with all this support packages is that they are all single make,

Originally Posted by porsche962fan

let's hope Mark Howard doesn't end up on the grid

Originally Posted by porsche962fan

so can't understand why they want more grip tires at all !!

Originally Posted by porsche962fan

sorry to say but increased grip sucks

watch those old Group A Sierras and early super tourers, they were fun to watch all by themselves thru corners and being lose all over the place


increased grip makes racing more dull and procession cos it's harder to pass

Originally Posted by porsche962fan

frankly so far the pre season is a bit dull

Originally Posted by porsche962fan

and 2 weeks later nothing "exiting" came out