[STCC] 2010 Post-season thoughts

[Jimmy Magnusson]

Now that's a proper title decider. I've had half a day to reflect on it, and I thought I'd give a few thoughts on the season.

I really feel for Dahlgren. In a way, he's earned it, both for getting close two times previously and for usually suffering the bulk of the technical problems in the team (2005 and 2009, specifically). Still, you have to say it's a failure for him to not win this year. It was pretty much his to loose from the first round, especially considering how off form Rustad has been this year. Like Björk last year he seems to have been punished by some higher power for thinking championship all year. Do you think Ekblom would have lost it from the same position? I find it hard to believe.

And as for Göransson, that's a man driving like a proper champion - his move on Dahlgren at Jyllandsringen being the prime example. If he hadn't done that the title would've been Dahlgren's. He had an off weekend at Knutstorp, but he was punished accordingly for it and barely any points. I used to not like him when he dominated 2005-2006, but nowadays I really like him.

I really wonder why Flash and Björk (can you say horrible season, by the way? Sheesh) didn't swap positions at the end of the second race? It would have given Björk fourth in the championship. After that wet tyre debacle in Knutstorp it seems as if their tactitian needs a boot up his backside.

And isn't anyone else getting tired of the inconsistent penalties? It seems very random who gets penalized and who doesn't. Granted I didn't get a good look at Björk's start, but there's questionable calls every single weekend. I don't care where they draw the line (or I do, but that's secondary), but there needs to be consistency. Bring in a driver to help you, for goodness sake.

On the same note, the fiddling with the boost pressure needs to stop. It doesn't matter if it was the right thing to do or not, you can't go around changing the boost pressure days before the finale! And yes, the same applies to Arena in the BTCC. There needs to be some sort of equivalency test pre-season and then you should stick to that. This is just like the WTCC and the diesels, ridicolous.

And now that we head to a Scandinavian championship with the same rules for everyone (I hope), can we please dig up that penalty chicane at Jyllandsringen and never, ever, talk about it again? Björk knocked two cars out of the race, and got a five second penalty for it. He still ended in 8th and on reverse grid pole. Absurd.

And finally, can we please get a bit better safety? There's not much that needs to be done to the tracks (except maybe some tires at the crest of the hill at Knutstorp), but the way things are done during the weekend needs to change. Park the diggers/JCB's/whatever in safer positions where cars won't come spinning wildly out of control. Not just Thompson, there's been several accidents waiting to happen. And please stop with that waving yellow where a car is off the track and then withdrawing it with the car still there, expecting the drivers to know it's there. A green race track should be clear of any danger. And stop sending the JCB out on a live race track on the racing line (this note goes out to the Danish organizers). And please stop counting yellow flag laps, people have come a long way to watch ~20min races. You have plenty of post-race TV time, just reduce it a bit.

Oh right, I need to talk about TV as well. Does anyone else feel the urge to throw the TV out of the window every, single, time Hubert Bergh appears? The man is an idiot. He can't interview people, he talks during the national anthem, he disturbs the drivers (or riders) seconds before the warmup lap when the grid is already clear, he drags the interviews on like forever. He can't ask proper follow-up questions, just nonsense stuff. Compare with Frida. One or two questions (proper ones), and back to the commentators. Rydell has been great this year (maybe we'll get Rudholm back for next year? He's hardly great, but adequate), Niklas Jidhe has been fine and Thomas is awesome as ever. But Hubbe alone makes me want to cancel my subscription. Surely the producer must notice how horrible he is?

And Part II of the TV... It's hardly great, is it? They don't need many more cameres, but they need to get closer to the action. Cut down those towers in Karlskoga and Gothernburg ASAP. They add nothing. More onboards. They have some cameras (need more, though), but they don't use them enough. And please, stop missing half of the action (usually a bit further down the field), and please, more replays. And stop cutting to replays when there's obviously something just about to happen. And don't spend a full lap or two showing replays (usually of the start) when you finally do. Here's an idea. They spend a million (exactly) on prize money for the team's championship. Does anybody care? And the only people who win those money are Polestar, Flash (not this year, perhaps) and Biogas. I'm sure they think it's great, but they're hardly the ones that need the money the most (if you're going to give the money to anyone, I'm sure a privateer could really use a 100k prize for a race weekend). Better then to spend the money on improved TV production. Selling the package to anyone gets a lot easier if it's actually good!

Bit longer than expected, but whatever
Basically there needs to be a big overhaul in the STCC organization. I always feel the championship is successful despite them, not because of them. [I'd rant a bit on the 2012 regulations now, but that's for another thread]