[BTCC] BTCC 2023 season discussion, News and Rumours!

[redshoes]

I don't normally pay much attention to teaser videos, but did look at the clip NAPA have posted to their social media accounts
https://twitter.com/naparacinguk/sta...04488446414848

Sutton and Cammish are obviously clearly in view but there's a brief shot showing the shadow of three people. 3x NAPA cars? Maybe with the 4th Motorbase car under a separate team name?

[Pickles]

Yet another awful MB livery, they could've done so much more with that. The Rokit one was boring but at least it had some impact.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Robin Marriott

If you asked 100 people to draw a laser tools livery that’s what they’d draw. Bit dull, innit?

Isn't that the point though?

Or to look at it from another angle - if you showed the livery to 100 people they would instantly recognise it as being Laser Tools.

Being the obvious design for the title sponsor suggests to me a strong brand identity....

[CroftPilgrim]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

Isn't that the point though?

Or to look at it from another angle - if you showed the livery to 100 people they would instantly recognise it as being Laser Tools.

Being the obvious design for the title sponsor suggests to me a strong brand identity....

That is true, I'm not sure what else your could expect. I'm also going to add that personally I think it's a great livery. Very striking. I love the fact that they've managed to incorporate the traditional BMW styling on the bonnet and wings

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

Isn't that the point though?

Or to look at it from another angle - if you showed the livery to 100 people they would instantly recognise it as being Laser Tools.

Being the obvious design for the title sponsor suggests to me a strong brand identity....

My thoughts exactly!
Sponsors are in this for one reason, and that is to promote their brand or products, not to please random spectators with pretty colours that they might like.
No sponsors means no racing, I really don't understand why more people don't understand these simple facts.

[CarfanLUFC]

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

My thoughts exactly!
Sponsors are in this for one reason, and that is to promote their brand or products, not to please random spectators with pretty colours that they might like.
No sponsors means no racing, I really don't understand why more people don't understand these simple facts.

Seconded

I have to say I have pretty much no interest at all in liveries. They could be all pink with yellow spots for me. On track product that I'm interested in.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by redshoes

ISutton and Cammish are obviously clearly in view but there's a brief shot showing the shadow of three people. 3x NAPA cars? Maybe with the 4th Motorbase car under a separate team name?

I don't actually think the shot you refer to is three people - but the same person with three light sources.

[Squiggs]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

I don't actually think the shot you refer to is three people - but the same person with three light sources.

I would say that the video does clearly show Cammish and Sutton suiting up, together with a third unnamed driver...

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Squiggs

I would say that the video does clearly show Cammish and Sutton suiting up, together with a third unnamed driver...

I did see one person ask if this mysterious third driver is called Carl Ivery

[mphplastering]

Napa
Sutton
Cammish
Osborne
AND
ROWBOTTOM

[Squiggs]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

I did see one person ask if this mysterious third driver is called Carl Ivery

[S griffin]

I wonder if TPR will make a comeback, especially as there is space on the grid.

[crmalcolm]

Drivers and Livery:

[billy bleach]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

Drivers and Livery:

What a shame they stuck with the same old livery with Cataclean coming in they could have gone Green/white/silver .....

[crmalcolm]

2023 TBL	Team	Car	Driver	Status	Jack Sears
EXCELR8-1	Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com	Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performance	Ingram	Confirmed in press release	Inel.
EXCELR8-2	Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com	Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performance	Chilton	Confirmed in press release	Inel.
EXCELR8-3	Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com	Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performance	Pearson	Confirmed in press release	Elig.
EXCELR8-4	Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com	Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performance	Halstead	Confirmed in press release	Elig.
Team Dynamics-1	Halfords?	Civic?	Shedden?	Talked about next year with the team	Inel.
Team Dynamics-2	Halfords?	Civic?	???	Talked about next year with the team	Inel.
Aiden Moffat-1	One Motorsport?	Civic	???	’One’ Reported as looking to expand to four Civics	???
Aiden Moffat-2	Aiden Moffat Racing?	???	???	Infiniti described as being end of life by the team	???
Motorbase-1	NAPA Racing UK	Ford Focus ST	Sutton	Confirmed as 3-year deal in press release	Inel.
Motorbase-2	NAPA Racing UK	Ford Focus ST	Cammish	Confirmed as 3-year deal in press release	Inel.
Motorbase-3	NAPA Racing UK	Ford Focus ST	Osborne	Confirmed in press release	Elig.
Motorbase-4	NAPA Racing UK	Ford Focus ST	Rowbottom	Confirmed in press release	Inel.
HARD.-1	HARD.	Cupra León	Butel	Confirmed in press release	Elig.
HARD.-2	HARD.	Cupra León	Thompson	Confirmed in press release	Inel.
HARD.-3	HARD.	Cupra León	Patterson	Confirmed in press release	Elig.
HARD.-4	HARD.	Cupra León	Lloyd	Confirmed in press release	Inel.
Speedworks-1	Toyota Gazoo Racing UK?	Corolla?	Butcher?	Talked about wanting another year with the team	Inel.
Speedworks-2	Toyota Gazoo Racing UK?	Corolla?	???	???	???
Speedworks-3	Toyota Gazoo Racing UK?	Corolla?	???	???	???
WSR-1	Team BMW/Ciceley Commercials?	BMW 330e M Sport	Morgan	Confirmed in press release	Inel.
WSR-2	Team BMW?	BMW 330e M Sport	Turkington	Confirmed in press release	Inel.
WSR-3	Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport	BMW 330e M Sport	Hill	Confirmed in press release	Inel.
WSR-4	MB Motorsport?	BMW 330e M Sport	Jelley	Confirmed in press release - MB talked about a 2-car entry for 2023	Inel.
PMR-1	PMR	Vauxhall Astra	Hand	Confirmed as multi-year in press release	Elig.
PMR-2	PMR	Vauxhall Astra	Watson	Confirmed in press release	Elig.
BTC-1	Starline Racing by One Motorsport	Honda Civic FK8	Moffat	Confirmed in press release	Inel.
BTC-2	Starline Racing by One Motorsport	Honda Civic FK8	Cook	Confirmed in press release	Inel.
BTC-3	One Motorsport	Civic FK8	???	Reported as looking to expand to four Civics	???
Boardley-1	???	???	Boardley?	Has described 2022 as a sabbatical	Elig.
TOCA-1	Not allocated
TOCA-2	Not allocated
TOCA-3	Not allocated
???	HARD.	Cupra León	Taylor-Smith	Confirmed as multi-year in press release	Inel.
???	Parker Motorsport?	Alfa Giulia?	???	Press release states a planned return after hybrid is introduced	???
???	Parker Motorsport?	Alfa Giulia?	???	Press release states a planned return after hybrid is introduced	???
???	Bert Taylor Racing?	???	???	Talked about getting a TBL for 2023	???
???	???	???	Proctor?	Has described 2022 as a sabbatical	Inel.
???	???	???	Smelt?	Has described 2022 as a sabbatical	Elig.
???	???	???	Hamilton?	Talked about being in a car for 2023	Inel.
???	Volvo	Kia	T.Harvey	Rumoured in threads every year, has to be true one day	Inel.

[SSmith]

NAPA Racing UK/Motorbase have put together a very strong team. Looking forward to seeing how they get on this season.

[Robin Marriott]

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

My thoughts exactly!
Sponsors are in this for one reason, and that is to promote their brand or products, not to please random spectators with pretty colours that they might like.
No sponsors means no racing, I really don't understand why more people don't understand these simple facts.

Oh I understand it. Doesn’t mean I have to think it looks good though.

Corporate colours don’t have to mean a copy and paste livery.

[Squiggs]

Originally Posted by CarfanLUFC

Seconded

I have to say I have pretty much no interest at all in liveries. They could be all pink with yellow spots for me. On track product that I'm interested in.

Thirded...

[mphplastering]

Team Dynamics with Adrian flux?

[Pickles]

Originally Posted by billy bleach

What a shame they stuck with the same old livery with Cataclean coming in they could have gone Green/white/silver .....

With the money that NAPA is putting in I'm sure they'd prefer blue and yellow. It's possible to produce a good looking corporate livery (Motorbase) to satisfy sponsors etc without just resorting to sticking the main sponsor on the side at a funny angle (MB). At least there's some stripes on it this year.

[Evantra]

Originally Posted by SSmith

NAPA Racing UK/Motorbase have put together a very strong team. Looking forward to seeing how they get on this season.

Personally think this year’s livery is an improvement even with the extra sponsors kinda tacked on. Rowbottom is a good signing too, that’s 3 drivers you’d expect to be finishing in the top ten regularly. Same with WSR, going to be busy at the front! Excerl8 not looking so good in comparison.

Would say Osborne really needs to improve otherwise he’s going to be made to look a little silly by his teammates, but I guess his seat is fairly safe! For a 4 car line-up you can’t expect more than that though.

Strong seat open at Dynamics… although is it as enticing as it once was?

[billy bleach]

Originally Posted by Evantra

Personally think this year’s livery is an improvement even with the extra sponsors kinda tacked on. Rowbottom is a good signing too, that’s 3 drivers you’d expect to be finishing in the top ten regularly. Same with WSR, going to be busy at the front! Excerl8 not looking so good in comparison.

Would say Osborne really needs to improve otherwise he’s going to be made to look a little silly by his teammates, but I guess his seat is fairly safe! For a 4 car line-up you can’t expect more than that though.

Strong seat open at Dynamics… although is it as enticing as it once was?

Strange Rowbottom stepped away

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by billy bleach

Strange Rowbottom stepped away

Stepped away - or followed his sponsor's move to a partnership with another brand?

As he mentioned - 'An AMAZING opportunity came along for @catacleanuk'. As with (almost) all seats on the grid, the choice is down to finances.

[SSmith]

Originally Posted by Evantra

Personally think this year’s livery is an improvement even with the extra sponsors kinda tacked on. Rowbottom is a good signing too, that’s 3 drivers you’d expect to be finishing in the top ten regularly. Same with WSR, going to be busy at the front! Excerl8 not looking so good in comparison.

Would say Osborne really needs to improve otherwise he’s going to be made to look a little silly by his teammates, but I guess his seat is fairly safe! For a 4 car line-up you can’t expect more than that though.

Strong seat open at Dynamics… although is it as enticing as it once was?

I think it does look a little better, I'm pleased they removed the NASCAR-inspired driver numbers from the rear doors of the car. I'd hope Osborne can score points more consistently this year - he's not a bad driver, I think the strength and depth of the field was possibly behind his lack of points last year.

I think it could be a very competitive season up front. Lots of very competitive drivers and cars - with the return of different tyre compounds we could see a lot of drivers running up at the front.

I hope we see a decent lineup at Dynamics - this was in Autosport's coverage of the NAPA announcement;

"Rowbottom’s departure from Dynamics with his coveted Cataclean backing leaves one of the heritage teams of the BTCC still working on its 2023 programme, with three-time champion Gordon Shedden hoping to remain on board with the Honda squad.

“There’s a lot going on behind the scenes, and we’re all working to try and piece something together,” Shedden told Autosport."

I hope they can work something out - not long to go until the season starts.

[InYourMirrors45]

Strong line up that. Would expect Sutton to be there or there abouts, Cammish with a heap of podiums and some wins and Rowbo to more than likely chip in with a podium or two.