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17 Dec 2019, 19:25 (Ref:3947217) | #126 | |
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Join Date: Mar 2018
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Well, if we can beleive the rumours that Hyundai may expand to six cars, but only 2 factory backed ones, who could join as a team? And if we think logically, Audi and VW left, Honda has no factory backed team, so is it really worth for them to field 4?
1. M1RA is not a real option in my opinion, as they always struggle with budget for two cars. 2. Engstler Sport? Well if Luca does not get a factory backed ride at BRC? 3. And there is Target. They are a really strong team, having the two Backmans, who are also Hyundai "juniors", and Files won the European championship with Target, but I think he does not have the needed budget for a WTCR season, as he often said in the TCR Talk Facebook group. |
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18 Dec 2019, 11:29 (Ref:3947318) | #127 | |||
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18 Dec 2019, 13:34 (Ref:3947339) | #128 | ||
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I don't know what will be the fate of Farfus and Catsburg as both are BMW drivers "on loan" at Hyundai |
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18 Dec 2019, 16:16 (Ref:3947371) | #129 | ||
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It can't be any of those teams, since they all have manufacturer support.
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19 Dec 2019, 09:28 (Ref:3947487) | #130 | ||
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Quote:
Yesterday it was announced that Catsburg is joining Corvette as a factory driver for the 4 endurance races in IMSA. For me this suggests that he has left BMW, but interesting to see if this affects his WTCR program, or if he will stay at all. |
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20 Dec 2019, 09:36 (Ref:3947683) | #131 | ||
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There were thoughts about rebranding it as a Holden Camaro, or perhaps Chevy being a performance sub-brand in the Aussie market. It's all a bit up in the air. I'd love to see that happen as I love V8 Supercars, I still think it is the best touring car series in the world. It would be amazing to see Mustangs and Camaro's chasing each other all over Mount Panorama! The recent PSA (Peugeot, Citroen, Vauxhall, Opel) and FCA (Dodge, Fiat, Chrysler, Alfa) merger may mix things up a bit more. Perhaps a Dodge Challenger could enter too? |
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21 Dec 2019, 16:22 (Ref:3947897) | #132 | |
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23 Dec 2019, 12:20 (Ref:3948199) | #133 | |||
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I just hope that Ceccon will find a car for next year cause he is a very good driver. |
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23 Dec 2019, 12:27 (Ref:3948200) | #134 | ||
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Join Date: Feb 2014
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As the smallest 'factory team' on the grid, by a fair margin, they did an impressive job with the Alfa. The results were helped a lot by BOP, but even so they had to work for them.
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23 Dec 2019, 12:28 (Ref:3948201) | #135 | |
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They do very well for a team that is largely funded by selling cars and parts to customer teams. There's not much in the way of external investment.
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23 Dec 2019, 12:53 (Ref:3948203) | #136 | ||
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Definitely, as far as I know they didn't receive any support from Alfa financially or developmentally, so compared to the other privately developed cars they did a pretty good job overall
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27 Dec 2019, 15:52 (Ref:3948692) | #137 | |||
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As far as i remember, they did some really good jobs even without penalized competitors. Of course we have to see the BoP, and the track must suit them. But it is impressive, what Romeo Ferraris could achieve without factory backing and of course a car, which base is from 2010... At least they outperformed the Meganes (which had maybe more factory support). I really don't understand, why Alfa is not giving them factory backup...would be the cheapest way to go back to touring car racing (which Alfa stands for more than any other brand!). |
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2 Jan 2020, 09:09 (Ref:3949483) | #138 | |
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TCR 'BoP' was always kind for the car, but they went farther than I ever expect.
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10 Jan 2020, 09:34 (Ref:3950788) | #139 | ||
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Finally, first 4 drivers are confirmed, at Honda
http://sportmotores.com/portal/!site...20055&id=56191 Teams to be announced a bit later |
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10 Jan 2020, 09:37 (Ref:3950789) | #140 | ||
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10 Jan 2020, 15:22 (Ref:3950854) | #141 | |
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I do understand why Honda kept the two Argentinians but the other two. Tiago is now old and not fast enough and Tassi is clear not a talent on the making.
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10 Jan 2020, 15:49 (Ref:3950859) | #142 | ||
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10 Jan 2020, 19:41 (Ref:3950911) | #143 | |
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But I think Munnich is also the better team.
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10 Jan 2020, 20:29 (Ref:3950923) | #144 | ||
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ps: Ok, I'm hungarian but not a "blind" fan, and Tassi's season was a dissapointment, as many have anticipated before the season. BUT: this announcement means that there will be no more than 4 Hondas, as many people said that we will see 6, with the increase of the car/manufacturer limit. Also this makes another good question: will be the 4 car/brand limit increased, or not??? |
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11 Jan 2020, 01:09 (Ref:3950956) | #145 | ||
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Clearly, my focus was elsewhere when the 2020 calendar was announced.
First off, there are a few things that are total BS that need putting to bed. In terms of "countries and territories with no motorsport tradition", Portugal and Macau do not apply. Macau has the most tradition of any notable race meeting in Asia that immediately comes to mind, having been run annually since 1954. As for Portugal, the street circuit at Vila Real, in one guise or another, has been hosting race meetings since 1931. There was also even a short-lived Estoril street circuit in the late '30s. And don't forget that Portugal hosted F1 three times in the "classic" era: Porto (1958, '60) and Monsanto Park (1959). And yes, that would be the same Circuito da Boavista that, in modified form, hosted the WTCC much more recently; the first iteration of the circuit started hosting sports cars in the early 1950s. And don't go comparing WTCR to DTM; DTM might as well be a GT1 series by comparison. Funnily enough though, I think Zolder, which is on the DTM slate, would be better suited to these cars than Spa. This second iteration of Marrakech has not enthused me; at least the first one had those number of long straights between the chicanes for slipstreaming. And I've never been a huge fan of the Hungaroring just generally. Slovakia Ring simply feels too big for these cars, and I'm somewhat concerned that Aragon may give off that same sense. Algarve certainly did in the alternate years it hosted the WTCC. Sepang may give off a certain amount of the same, but it's not as bad as some others. Ningbo is just kind of painful with how fiddly and slow it is with all those corners stacked on top of each other. The suggested venue I can most get behind is the Austrian one; I'd love to see the WTCR head to the Salzburgring. The one question I have is how well these cars can pull the back stretch, but otherwise, I think it could be a lot of fun to watch, as long as they don't wad them up in the opening chicane. (They really should put the old road back to give the option to omit the chicane right after the initial start.) Monza might be okay, and I'd gladly swap out Marrakech, Hungaroring, or Ningbo for it. Spa and Mugello are going to have the same issue as the Nordschleife, unfortunately. That is, these cars, the TCRs as opposed to the TC1s, are just too anemic. What I mean is, they don't have enough power relative to the drag they produce to pull those long, uphill straights (uphill being the crucial piece). When you pull out of the slipstream, you just hit a brick wall and can't make the pass. As for an Italian round, besides Monza, I suppose Adria would be okay; I'd take it over Misano since the MotoGP changes back around 2007. Likewise, I consider the MotoGP makeover of Estoril to be awful for the cars, whether it's WTCR or ELMS. As for the UK, again, for anything but the really fast stuff, Silverstone just seems too big to be properly filled up. Perhaps Brands Indy or Donington Nat'l, or if you're doing the long course somewhere, try something different, internationally speaking, and go for the Int'l Circuit at Oulton Park. TBH, from where I sit, the Nordschleife, Vila Real, and Macau are easily the most interesting circuits the WTCR visits, so much so that i don't really mind the lack of overtaking. I could definitely do without the "joker lap" at Vila Real, but apart from that, let's see these guys and their machines tackle the spectacular challenge. I will hold my verdict on Aragon until the races. However, I'm quite happy see an international series go back to Inje Autopia in South Korea. I certainly, vastly prefer it to the empty, comparatively flat expanses of Yeongam. I'd like to see higher-spec equipment give it a go again, but I think it may well not leave the TCRs too breathless on the stragiths, and some of the technical bits could be rather fun, to say nothing of the stunning scenery and elevation changes. It definitely could be better, but I think this year overall is an improvement, though I would like to have kept Zandvoort. Last edited by Purist; 11 Jan 2020 at 01:19. |
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11 Jan 2020, 14:01 (Ref:3951014) | #146 | ||
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Morocco is nowadays a very hyped turist destination from Europe, you see a lot of commercials of the country everywhere, even on Eurosport of course. The royal family invests a lot in the race, and there is Bennani, so they have a driver too. There needs to be a chinese round nowadays in every series, as they are paying, even if there are no supporters at all, and the tracks are in the middle of nothing in some cases. But for the manufacturers, Asia is the main market for promotion in recent decades. And don't forget Lynk&Co of course! About Korea I'm not completely sure, but the short course on Suzuka was trash, and they needed a replacement asian round. Well Malaysia was epic last month, but you saw it too, that the tribunes were empty, as the locals don't really know anything about this type of racing... or at least just a really small percentage of the population. As for other European rounds, with the addition of Spain which replaces the Netherlands, we are standing at 5, and with no round in the Americas, I don't think we will see more in the near future. The UK would be a nice addition, but they don't have a TCR Europe round either, and the reason is clear. It is called BTCC. Even if I love the BTCC, it has an unquestionable place on the top of the british motorsport pyramid, and ITV and TOCA are trying everything to keep it there. And even the fans got used to it. A friend of mine who visits 2-3 BTCC race weekends in every year, in 2018 went to Brands Hatch as DTM returned to UK, and was surprised that everything was empty. He said that there were less than a third of the people compared to that years BTCC round at Brands. |
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11 Jan 2020, 15:04 (Ref:3951019) | #147 | |||
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In europe we are full of circuit and country with lots tradiction and yet wtcr continue to ignore them same as for a round in south America (Argentina or Brazil)! |
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11 Jan 2020, 22:13 (Ref:3951085) | #148 | ||
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Cerebrally, I get the marketing thing, but I don't really care.
I see Macau as a stand-in for China; it's a Special Autonomous Region anyway, isn't it? And no, even the WEC presently doesn't see China as absolutely essential. The UK has BTCC while the US has NASCAR. Not really new territory there. As for France, Pau or Dijon would work. I wouldn't subject anyone to the modern Charade. I'm good with Inje being in there. As for Japan, it would seem like a circuit such as Sugo would be a better option for these cars than Suzuka or Motegi. Iceman, Marrakech isn't in the same category in terms of its confines compared to the other two, or in a certain sense, the Nordschleife as well. Heck, the first half of the lap is almost like a permanent circuit in some ways. South America would be another big trip for the series, but also, as Csaba pointed out with the UK and BTCC, Brazil has, well, Stock Car Brasil, and Argentina has Super TC2000, TRV6, and Turismo Carretera. Do either of those countries feel like they need a visit from the WTCR? I do think the European rounds could be better distributed, like not having two races each in Iberia and Eastern Europe, and then only one more slot left. |
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12 Jan 2020, 16:21 (Ref:3951225) | #149 | ||
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Quote:
And there could be a WTCR/TCR Europe round in Monza and Paul Ricard too (but as many of the fans, I don't like Paul Ricard), as we had last year on the Hungaroring. I was there on both saturday and sunday and the general feeling was impressive, with 60 TCR cars (as the Eastern European Championship was also present) we felt like we are in heaven ). And the ticket for the full race weekend guaranteed you pit access after the races and near the motorhomes. Just a general question: do the people who are at least generally interested in motorsport know about WTCR in the states? As there was a WTCC round in Sonoma a few years ago. |
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12 Jan 2020, 20:43 (Ref:3951249) | #150 | ||
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I'd have to think that awareness of it here in the States is pretty darn low. I can't recall the series ever coming up in conversation at any of the race events I've attended in person. Also, at Sportscar events, where you're most likely to see TCRs as part of the IMSA support package, most of the car corrals are for luxury/performance brands (Ferrari, Porsche, etc) or performance models (Corvette).
And the layout they used at Sonoma really wasn't the best for a good showcase, to say nothing of them running the event later in the year, when the effects of the dry season there in Northern California would be most apparent. They either needed to use the 2.52-mile layout at Sears Point, or go a few hours down the coast to Laguna Seca. They'd probably consider it too far inland and/or out-of-the-way, but I actually think the VIR North Course might be good for this class of car when they're running by themselves. Of course, it's not totally surprising. The closest we have to touring/stock cars over here that gets any visibility is NASCAR, naturally, which is most akin to V8 Supercars, or perhaps how DTM was with the V8s. The TCRs are considered an undercard even within their own series (Michelin Pilot Challenge) to an extent. And that itself is a support series for the main IMSA event. And going back to NASCAR, you see a significant drop-off in attendance and notoriety just going from Cup to the Xfinity Series. Last edited by Purist; 12 Jan 2020 at 20:52. |
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