[BTCC] BTCC 2019 - Brands Hatch Indy - Rounds 1, 2, 3

[mattcanary]

Originally Posted by touring fan01

not everything is as it seems
chilton said his penalty was fair
https://mobile.twitter.com/TomChilto...662402/photo/1

Well, he is being generous in my opinion.
Not saying either driver was particularly to blame. More that it was a racing incident. If Matt Neal was quick enough, he could have easily fought back.

[billy bleach]

Originally Posted by Heavyd123

Disgraceful, how many times has neal got away with worse behaviour...

Was it a BTCC investigation or a protest by Neal?

[btccbloke]

Originally Posted by touring fan01

only the podium place getters usually get ride height checked and weighed after the race. not all 30 cars get checked.

So in theory you could run a lower car which may pick up a performance advantage, finish 4th every round and take the title in an illegal car

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by mattcanary

In fact, I would say it was 50/50, more or less as to who was blame. […] You cannot apportion blame to one person only for every piece of contact

It's not a matter of whether Neal was at fault or not. If driver A is at least partially at fault, and benefits from the contact, then a form of redress is required.

If Chilton had 30%, 50% or 100% liability, and benefited from the contact, then it has to be addressed. Neal did not benefit from the contact, so the amount of liability he has for the incident is irrelevant.

The simple way to look at incidents involving contact is to ask two simple questions:
Did driver A benefit from the contact?
Was driver A at least partially responsible for the contact?

If the answer to both questions is yes, then driver A has a responsibility to redress the gain received, or the stewards will probably step in.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by btccbloke

So in theory you could run a lower car which may pick up a performance advantage, finish 4th every round and take the title in an illegal car

In addition to the podium winners, all other cars are subject to random checks at any time during the meeting.

There is also the case of whether you can demonstrate, beyond all reasonable doubt, that the cause of being under the height was due to substantial damage that was not of your causing.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by billy bleach

Was it a BTCC investigation or a protest by Neal?

Does it matter?

[richib2002]

Originally Posted by billy bleach

Was it a BTCC investigation or a protest by Neal?

It was an official protest by Neal to the stewards of the meeting. BTCC not involved!
Dynamics obviously realised that BTCC would have thrown it out!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Johno.UK]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

Does it matter?

Given that there was far worse contact that went unpunished with drivers gaining positions I'd say it does matter. If the race director didn't refer it to the stewards then he was happy that it was within the rules.

[Alfisti]

I'm still annoyed by it. Kudos to Tom, he has shown by his message on twitter that he's a big man. He's grown and matured since I first met a wild eyed man child piloting the Barwell Astra. Hope to see him back at the front next time out.

[Alfisti]

So, biggest whinger of the meeting award?

Is it:

Jason "the nasty flag marshal fooled me into not parking in my box, I'll be crap on the supermarket run" Plato

Or

Matt "the nasty bully kicked me up the fat old arse" Neal

Or

Any other contenders?

[Craner Curves]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

It's 2019. The driving standards that they are racing to are different. Whether a driver pulled a similar move in the past without punishment is not relevant, because it's in the past.

Can we all take a look at the calendar and realise that it is 2019, and in 2019 the BTCC uses NGTC machinery and a current set of sporting regulations that are different to previous seasons?

The drivers appear to have got their heads around this, is it that hard for us as spectators to?

But Dennis Leach did it in his Rover in 87 and got away with it! #outraged

[Rob877]

To be fair if you look closely at the replay of the Neal/Chilton incident, Chilton gives a slight tap in the rear of the Honda just as you get on the brakes for Clearways. It's hard to see but you can see the trajectory of the Honda changes slightly at this point. I'd imagine that was what the penalty was for, rather than the side to side contact in Clearways

[Sodemo]

re: Chilton / Neal

I’ve seen far worse incidents go unpunished in prior years, but it is what it is. We can just hope that these decisions are consistent throughout the rest of the year should similar circumstances arise.

Overall a good day out at Brands. A shame the support package looks quite threadbare in places, the Ginetta Juniors have good numbers this year but not many others do. The package is stale for me and has been for a number of years, needed a refresh at least 3-4 years ago.

[CroftPilgrim]

Originally Posted by Heavyd123

Disgraceful, how many times has neal got away with worse behaviour...

The difference is the rules have now changed as many posters have pointed out.

We should also note that the stewards/clerk of the course have access to far more data than we do so what looks innocent enough to the tv or trackside viewer might not be so

[S griffin]

I enjoyed watching all 3 races. It's great to have the BTCC, although Chilton's R3 penalty leaves a bit of a bitter taste in the mouth. For me it was not worth that much of a penalty, after such a great drive in all 3 races by Sonic. And it's an injustice for AMD after all their hard work to pick up their maiden victory through a contentious penalty. Not like Adam Morgan inherited his first win through a Plato penalty, as what he did was a lot more blatant

Anyway, great win for Cook, showing slicks were the right way to go, just like last season here. He's leading the championship, but we can't really draw too many conclusions after what was a very topsy turvey weekend.

The new BMW right on the pace, great win by AJ in R2. And Oliphant already on the pace of his team mates is a great sign for the season ahead.

Jelley's penalty in quali may have been in a blessing in disguise for him, as he pointed out had he started at the front, he may have chosen wets. It's great to see him back on his 2009 form

Hill looked good this weekend and it's good to see Blundell getting a couple of points, even if it was down to tyre choice. Him and Nic Hamilton certainly had some good moments this weekend which is good to see.

Sutton did what he could with the car as usual. Plato's trangresion after a great quali ruined his weekend, although considering he started on wets, it didn't really make that much difference.

Hopefully we get a better picture of who's where at Donington

[Sodemo]

It was interesting when I watched back race 1 after returning from Brands, David and Tim Harvey were saying that it was great that in race 1 you can "really get a feel for where everyone actually is that everyone is on base weights", I was like; "yea, wouldn't it be great if that was the case for the whole championship, why restrict it to one race". At least the weights are reduced this year, which is a small blessing.

[Robin Marriott]

I was a bit annoyed by the coverage of Nic Hamilton. In the build up, Paul, Tim and Steve were talking about how he was there on his own merits not those of his brother then the rest of the day, they didn’t stop going on about Lewis being there. Pick a side!

[touring fan01]

Originally Posted by S griffin

I enjoyed watching all 3 races. It's great to have the BTCC, although Chilton's R3 penalty leaves a bit of a bitter taste in the mouth. For me it was not worth that much of a penalty, after such a great drive in all 3 races by Sonic.

https://www.touringcartimes.com/2019/04/08/tom-chilton-race-three-penalty-fair-cop/

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by Robin Marriott

I was a bit annoyed by the coverage of Nic Hamilton. In the build up, Paul, Tim and Steve were talking about how he was there on his own merits not those of his brother then the rest of the day, they didn’t stop going on about Lewis being there. Pick a side!

The coverage is bizarre. Talking about how Nic is there on his own merits. Well, let's be honest - he isn't. And that's fine. It's absolutely fine to use whatever methods you have at your disposal to further your career. He has his brothers support, and he should utilize that. Pretending he isn't is silly.

Tim Harvey is going so far out of his way to not incriminate certain drivers that it's getting a bit silly. Plato parked too far ahead on the grid, and Tim noticed it and didn't say anything so as not to draw attention to it. You're a commentator. Commentate. Similarly, Sutton rammed the Audi in two consecutive laps in Clearways, and Tim says the Audi is sliding. Aye, because of the Subaru that just hit it.

He never wants to say what's actually happening, in case his statement gets someone in trouble. It's mad.

[billy bleach]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

The coverage is bizarre. Talking about how Nic is there on his own merits. Well, let's be honest - he isn't. And that's fine. It's absolutely fine to use whatever methods you have at your disposal to further your career. He has his brothers support, and he should utilize that. Pretending he isn't is silly.

Tim Harvey is going so far out of his way to not incriminate certain drivers that it's getting a bit silly. Plato parked too far ahead on the grid, and Tim noticed it and didn't say anything so as not to draw attention to it. You're a commentator. Commentate. Similarly, Sutton rammed the Audi in two consecutive laps in Clearways, and Tim says the Audi is sliding. Aye, because of the Subaru that just hit it.

He never wants to say what's actually happening, in case his statement gets someone in trouble. It's mad.

In case he Offends someone he manages/ does work for/ maybe work for in the future....

[TR4racer]

Originally Posted by billy bleach

In case he Offends someone he manages/ does work for/ maybe work for in the future....

is that normally referred to as a 'conflict of interest'? If he cannot do his job due to potential conflicts then he should stand aside in my opinion.

[Johno.UK]

Lots of people seem to be totally misunderstanding what Nic meant when he said he was there on his own merit in a recent interview.


What he meant (and actually said) was that he raised the sponsorship and he did the deal. His brother didn't pay for it as many assume.


Now of course his name is going to open more doors than any other disabled driver but there's nothing he can do about that.

If Lewis turns up to support his brother that shouldn't diminish in any way what Nic has achieved.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

So, biggest whinger of the meeting award?

[...]
Any other contenders?

Some posters on here must surely be in line for the award.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

Plato parked too far ahead on the grid, and Tim noticed it and didn't say anything so as not to draw attention to it. You're a commentator. Commentate.

Curious - how do you know that Tim noticed it?

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

Curious - how do you know that Tim noticed it?

When the penalty was announced, Tim said he saw it and didn't want to say anything at the time. Quite literally the opposite of what his job is.