[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by thetool

I know you'd argue with your own shadow, but at the cost of indulging you, yes, it does matter - at least longer term.

The BTCC has been built on close-racing, a degree of unpredictablity, and most crucially, the personalities and personality clashes that have developed due to this.

There's so little agro these days, so little that writes column inches outside of the dedicated specialist press.

Plato & Muller's duel in 2001 somewhat mitigated an otherwise dire season. Neal & Plato, whilst a rivalry that cetainly got tiring in the end, produced endless column inches and attention from outside the dedicated fanbase. I bet if you ask the man on the street for a BTCC driver, if he could name one, it would be one of them.

At the moment the series is probably close to being the most competitive it has ever been. But the drivers are almostly completely devoid of showmanship. It's OK when some of the contenders are, and that's always been the case. Shedden and Turkington have always been dull. But when they're pitched against equally dull clones like Ingram, Sutton, Hil, Cook, Lloyd and Morgan, it makes that side of it a bit dull.

I never thought I'd say this, but the series misses a Rob Collard type character. Or even a Jeff Smith or Rob Austin. I know they weren't everyone's cup of tea, but they could be relied on to provide some sort of talking point every now and again. I look at this years lin-eup and there's not a single driver that I'd say I'd expect to make for an exciting race.

And it's not a matter of just being related to increased professionalism. In it's heyday you had the likes of John Cleland, Anthony Reid, Matt Neal and Jason Plato who'd liven up any race they happened to be in.

I think that's a little unfair (but this is only my opinion). For me, the battling between Sutton and Hill in races 1 & 2 at Knockhill (for example) certainly livened things up for me. Plus, I'd say that Plato would be more well-known outside of the BTCC fanbase, but as a BTCC driver due to his appearance on the Fifth Gear TV programme.