[BTCC] BTCC 2020 season discussion, News and Rumours!

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by AmD Tuning

Keep positive everyone. The BTCC will happen this year and I think we're going to be VERY busy come July/August.

Shaun Hollamby

I really hope you're right Shaun. I still think people aren't taking this seriously enough though - June is currently the expected peak so to expect the season to start in July or August seems optimistic.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by JDMROB

Cheltenham festival was last week with over 250k people attending over a few days. Has anyone heard any reports of anyone there having caught coronavirus?

Yes - Lee Mack

'is said to have contacted COVID-19 while attending the controversial Cheltenham Festival earlier this month. [...] It looks like he caught it from his driver when he went to the Cheltenham Festival.'

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

Yes - Lee Mack

'is said to have contacted COVID-19 while attending the controversial Cheltenham Festival earlier this month. [...] It looks like he caught it from his driver when he went to the Cheltenham Festival.'

Looks like he'll be 'Not going out' then for a week or two. I do however wish him a speedy & thorough recovery.

[bella]

Originally Posted by peebee2

Yeah, the let’s have 12 races at 3 different circuits in 6 days crowd.

I hope you can find some work outside of Motorsport.

It’s plainly obvious to those that can see that 2020 is going to be a total write-off and that 2021 is going to be very different to anything that came before it sadly.

madness isn't it. let's do consecutive weekends! let's merge the grids! what do you mean the paddocks aren't big enough? everyone will just have to bring fewer vehicles! share awnings! sack off the hospitality units! crazy.

don't get me wrong, it's great to brain storm, but it's important to consider reality. i think we all accept that it's going to be a mad slog when it does get round to happening. i'm not sure it's over and done with for the season either, the real answer is that we've got no idea. give it two months and we'll be in a totally different place with different concerns.

i should be ok, worst case scenario is riding the grocery shopping wave and delivering shopping. it's going to be a long, drawn out and tedious way of paying the rent though.

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by bella

madness isn't it. let's do consecutive weekends! let's merge the grids! what do you mean the paddocks aren't big enough? everyone will just have to bring fewer vehicles! share awnings! sack off the hospitality units! crazy.

Just to clarify Bella - my "merge the grids" comments are based on the assumption that none of the announced grids will actually turn out to be anything like that big once things get rolling. The financial hit businesses are taking means that motorsport sponsorship is going to be a long way down the list of things that get signed off. I suspect a lot of "confirmed" drives will fall through - so paddock space may well not be such an issue.

[S griffin]

I do agree some of the support race teams might struggle to get the budget together due to the uncertainty. Merging might be the best option

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by AmD Tuning

Yes definitely could work but the "hostility" and TV side of the championship wouldn't work so well for sponsors?

Without wanting to downplay the seriousness of our current CV19 situation once the BTCC starts again there'll be demand for an exciting TV friendly sport to fill the TV sports slots that are empty due to cancellation? Just my opinion.

Circuits will want race weekends that pull in the ticket sales and in all honesty the BTCC and BSB are the only UK race series that do. Just my opinion.

Absolutely, TV needs sport - so whatever the organisers can get agreed to run at track I would reckon TV will fall in line.

FOX in the US is putting computer game NASCAR (as I prefer to call it!) on mainstream TV this weekend as they have nowt else other than re-runs. Pretty sure itv4 will be glad of live action when it's available.

Fingers crossed.

How's Mike Bushy recovering - anybody know anything?

[billy bleach]

Originally Posted by bella

every finger is crossed, seriously.

i work in the paddock, and one of my employers has completely shut down for at least six weeks and the other is desperately trying to busy the full time staff with no need at all for us day-rate folks. we’re just all trying to find temp work and keep going until it kicks off again.

boggles my mind how few posters on this thread look at the human impact of all this.

A friends son here in Dublin is driving for Tesco, he is a trainee Lawyer!. He got the job in 48 hours. He says they are hiring everywhere. Get on it. You never know.

[bella]

it's definitely an option, but it's plan e or f as opposed to plan a or b. you have to live close enough to a big branch of a supermarket brand to make it worthwhile, particularly with being PAYE so you can't offset travelling costs!

Originally Posted by BertMk2

Just to clarify Bella - my "merge the grids" comments are based on the assumption that none of the announced grids will actually turn out to be anything like that big once things get rolling. The financial hit businesses are taking means that motorsport sponsorship is going to be a long way down the list of things that get signed off. I suspect a lot of "confirmed" drives will fall through - so paddock space may well not be such an issue.

i know, but you have to admit, it's an unbelievably unlikely suggestion all things considered.

try thinking of reasonably balanced series that commercially could combine grids on the btcc and british gt support bills. beyond the several modern mini series, and mayyyybe the gt5 challenge and ginetta juniors...

[S griffin]

So to try and to keep people’s spirits up, what has everyone been looking forward most to this season?

For me I have been looking forward to seeing Mat Jackson back most of all and also been looking forward to seeing other teams with different drivers from last season, like Sonic and Cook at BTC or Hill at MB Motorsport or Bobby Thompson and James Gornall at TPR. Not forgetting the new Hyundai too

And also seeing how Oliphant does in his second season with WSR and whether Cammish could go one better

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by bella

i know, but you have to admit, it's an unbelievably unlikely suggestion all things considered.

try thinking of reasonably balanced series that commercially could combine grids on the btcc and british gt support bills. beyond the several modern mini series, and mayyyybe the gt5 challenge and ginetta juniors...

Unlikely yes - becuase there would need to be some reigning in of egos and that'll never happen

The Ginetta GT4 supercup BTCC support could tag onto the British GT grid (they'd need to learn pretty fast to watch their mirrors for the GT3 cars though!). Clios (British GT support) and Minis (BTCC support) should be able to run together reasonably well. Porsche Carrera cup (BTCC support, multi class) should be able to combine with Porsche Sprint Challenge (British GT support) - no commercial 'brand' nose knocking out of joint there either. The juniors probably can't race with anything else - because juniors.

How's this for leftfield - combine BTCC and the Touring Car Trophy

[bella]

Originally Posted by BertMk2

Unlikely yes - becuase there would need to be some reigning in of egos and that'll never happen

The Ginetta GT4 supercup BTCC support could tag onto the British GT grid (they'd need to learn pretty fast to watch their mirrors for the GT3 cars though!). Clios (British GT support) and Minis (BTCC support) should be able to run together reasonably well. Porsche Carrera cup (BTCC support, multi class) should be able to combine with Porsche Sprint Challenge (British GT support) - no commercial 'brand' nose knocking out of joint there either. The juniors probably can't race with anything else - because juniors.

How's this for leftfield - combine BTCC and the Touring Car Trophy

the porsche series combining is probably a good shout - not sure what the lap differences will be. big ginettas run against gt3 cars in gt cup - i'm sure one team or another brought theirs to british gt as well at some point. but you're looking at two completely different formats - big ginetta have six tyres a weekend, british gt are on four sets or something. big ginettas run sprint, british gt has longer races and thus, pitcrew... they could run with gt cup, but i suspect that's going to be one of the casualties with many teams run on a minimal budget as it is.

the new clio iirc isn't as fast as the old one? they were slower than minis anyway and if mini didn't mind you'd need approval from the french, which... well

can you imagine the drama from the btcc/tct merge? that would be AMAZING

[Matt K]

Originally Posted by S griffin

So to try and to keep people’s spirits up, what has everyone been looking forward most to this season?

For me I have been looking forward to seeing Mat Jackson back most of all and also been looking forward to seeing other teams with different drivers from last season, like Sonic and Cook at BTC or Hill at MB Motorsport or Bobby Thompson and James Gornall at TPR. Not forgetting the new Hyundai too

And also seeing how Oliphant does in his second season with WSR and whether Cammish could go one better

One of the things I've been most looking for was to see how Infiniti fares, especially in hands of Ash Sutton. This is kind of a mystery to me.

[Greem]

Originally Posted by bella

can you imagine the drama from the btcc/tct merge? that would be AMAZING

I can, and AMAZING isn't the word that immediately springs to mind!

[redshoes]

Originally Posted by BertMk2

How's this for leftfield - combine BTCC and the Touring Car Trophy

Do most circuits have enough grid space to accommodate all those extra TCT entries?

[S griffin]

If BTCC was struggling to get more than 20 entries it would be worth considering, but with 29, there’s no point adding another class of racing on, however small TCT is

[medius]

TCT was deadder than a dead thing before Covid19 came along.

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by S griffin

If BTCC was struggling to get more than 20 entries it would be worth considering, but with 29, there’s no point adding another class of racing on, however small TCT is

But the big question is - by the time racing starts up again how many of those 29 BTCC entries will actually be there? There's a good chance budgets may well have disappeared.

Originally Posted by medius

TCT was deadder than a dead thing before Covid19 came along.

Ooh - how can you say that? They've announced a driver.

[Peter Mallett]

If what you say is true, I think what we will see is a massive reset. In order to create bigger grids there will be a need to grow back on the current regs which, although designed to be more econimic than ST etc. Are still going to be too expensive for privateers who will be needed to fill the gaps.

Whether it means a quick shift to all electric or a reversion to ICEs and dropping the trick gearboxes etc. I don't know, but it will have to be less costly to enter otherwise the grids will be extremely thin.

[S griffin]

Autosport have a season preview in today's issue. Interesting reading, despite the delay in proceedings

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by S griffin

Autosport have a season preview in today's issue. Interesting reading, despite the delay in proceedings

Well I suppose that this would have been already written and scheduled for this issue as the first round was supposed to be this weekend.

[billy bleach]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

If what you say is true, I think what we will see is a massive reset. In order to create bigger grids there will be a need to grow back on the current regs which, although designed to be more econimic than ST etc. Are still going to be too expensive for privateers who will be needed to fill the gaps.

Whether it means a quick shift to all electric or a reversion to ICEs and dropping the trick gearboxes etc. I don't know, but it will have to be less costly to enter otherwise the grids will be extremely thin.

How exactly would teams fund the build of these new cars? More sensible to grandfather the current cars as they are for 2 or 3 seasons regardless of Homologation life left and put the expensive ( but future looking) hybrids back 1 or 2 years.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by billy bleach

How exactly would teams fund the build of these new cars? More sensible to grandfather the current cars as they are for 2 or 3 seasons regardless of Homologation life left and put the expensive ( but future looking) hybrids back 1 or 2 years.

Or go for an option similar to the S2000/NGTC crossover?

Teams could run:

Full NGTC (current cars)
Current chassis with hybrid PU
Full EV in new chassis

Gradually reduce the competitiveness of older spec cars over a few seasons, and I'm sure TD and WSR will have full EV cars in under 24 months.

[Peter Mallett]

Originally Posted by billy bleach

How exactly would teams fund the build of these new cars? More sensible to grandfather the current cars as they are for 2 or 3 seasons regardless of Homologation life left and put the expensive ( but future looking) hybrids back 1 or 2 years.

Not sure the teams would all be around frankly. But ok if you think it's cheap to run these cars then fine.

[S griffin]

Wonder what the next specification of cars would be called?