[BTCC] BTCC 2022 season discussion, News and Rumours!

[crmalcolm]

Some of the conversation earlier in the thread:

https://twitter.com/AbbieEaton44/sta...eEEcCy_Xw&s=19

[antnee]

I would like to see Chilton in a competitive car, I think he could go well in a Hyundai alongside Ingram.

[Moneyseeker]

Originally Posted by antnee

I would like to see Chilton in a competitive car, I think he could go well in a Hyundai alongside Ingram.

He is/was in a competitive car....

[S griffin]

To be fair it's been tough for Tom since he came back, although he's had a few wins along the way. Just a shame it hasn't worked out this year, but I expect him to be back, but with another team. Hopefully he can find something, we might be surprised, you never know

[MagicBoy]

Going to a new team nearly every year can't be helping matters....

[AJD]

I'd quite like to see him in with Butcher in the Corolla. I think that car has bags of potential. Possibly could even win the title outright. Whether it's a move for him that's possible who knows.

[auroan]

Originally Posted by Moneyseeker

He is/was in a competitive car....

The second Cicley car has never been competitive regardless of what it is

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by auroan

The second Cicley car has never been competitive regardless of what it is

That may be true - but context is everything here.

The first time Ciceley entered a second car was 2018, and that was driven by Tom Oliphant in both is first season in BTCC, and first time racing a FWD car.
In 2019, Rowbottom drove the car, again in his first BTCC season. By this stage, Laser Tools had already reached the conclusion that the Mercedes had reached the end of development and switched to the Infiniti. Moffat's results were only marginally better than Rowbottom's.
Another new driver appeared in 2020, and Butel's results have been similar in the Hyundai.
Finally, 2021 saw Tom Chilton in a new team, new car and new drivetrain.

So whilst the second Ciceley car may not have achieved strong results, that is only based on 4 seasons, 3 of which were with first-season drivers and a car at the end of development.

[coffinpilot]

Back to the Constable thing, he's running the PMR #123 Astra today at Silverstone. Is that the development role, or something a little more serious?

And on Charlie Martin getting a run with WSR, if it's true could that just be because of being very close friend of Tom Oliphant?

[Steel Wheels]

Originally Posted by coffinpilot

Back to the Constable thing, he's running the PMR #123 Astra today at Silverstone. Is that the development role, or something a little more serious?

And on Charlie Martin getting a run with WSR, if it's true could that just be because of being very close friend of Tom Oliphant?

Or could be to do with MB looking at what WSR could do for them in the future.

[Robshillito1990]

Originally Posted by AJD

I'd quite like to see him in with Butcher in the Corolla. I think that car has bags of potential. Possibly could even win the title outright. Whether it's a move for him that's possible who knows.

Personally think he will end up partnering Tingram. He has Hyundai connections with driving for them in Pure ETCR and Excelr8 have said they want to use Hyundai engines so.....

[medius]

I get the feeling JP has done a deal to put himself in a new built current model car for 2022. Based on:

Facebook comment liked by a PMR member. (Q what new cars would you want to see next year? A Whatever is in build in PMRs workshop)
Plato's esire to get 100 wins.
Dan Lloyd's pace towards the end of 2021 season.
Plato saying the Astra was at the end of the development curve.
Hybrid regs.

Yes that's a huge stretch of conjoined thinking but we all know Jason likes a deal. And a driver with substantial backing has just come become a free agent (Chilton) to partially bankroll such a project plus knows the team. Plato and Chilton in a Adrian Flux PMR hybrid something ...?

[S griffin]

I wonder if PMR have got a new Vauxhall coming up and are looking to keep Plato and Lloyd

I think the FB comments could be a clue. The Astra has probably had it’s day. Plato has still got it in him to win races, if not championships. And him and Lloyd have made a great team. Time for an upgrade. I’m already excited

Can’t wait to see the entry list. We will have to see who has the backing. But PMR could continue a good partnership with the Vauxhalls

[auroan]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

That may be true - but context is everything here.

The first time Ciceley entered a second car was 2018, and that was driven by Tom Oliphant in both is first season in BTCC, and first time racing a FWD car.
In 2019, Rowbottom drove the car, again in his first BTCC season. By this stage, Laser Tools had already reached the conclusion that the Mercedes had reached the end of development and switched to the Infiniti. Moffat's results were only marginally better than Rowbottom's.
Another new driver appeared in 2020, and Butel's results have been similar in the Hyundai.
Finally, 2021 saw Tom Chilton in a new team, new car and new drivetrain.

So whilst the second Ciceley car may not have achieved strong results, that is only based on 4 seasons, 3 of which were with first-season drivers and a car at the end of development.

There are a number of things mentioned in the paddock about the second seat. Especially if you read into the public comments that Matt said regarding it as people said he shouldn't be bringing Robo into his team based on what he did at Cicily. Both chilton, olliphont and robo have been front line racers in other series and a match if not better than Morgan. There is an issue with the second seat, and it's not the car or driver.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by medius

Facebook comment liked by a PMR member. (Q what new cars would you want to see next year? A Whatever is in build in PMRs workshop)
[...]
Plato saying the Astra was at the end of the development curve.

That's interesting in the context of Adam Weaver's comments in October:
'We've got a lot of additional costs with the upgrades of the [current] cars for hybrid'
and
'There's a narrative that's sort of worked its way out there that our cars are old and I keep being questioned whether we need to upgrade the cars and build new ones for next season. Jason's car for example is one of the newest cars on the grid; it was brand new for the start of the season. So the car's not old by any means and as many people that are fanatical about BTCC will know, there's a lot of control parts on there.
The front subframe and the rear subframe are the same on every single car. Technically you could go and get a car from the 1980s and build it into a current British Touring Car. Obviously the cars have to be manufactured now, but what I'm trying to get across is the fact that the outside shell of the car, other than the aerodynamic benefits that the right shell can give you, doesn't make a difference to the performance of the vehicle.'

Could this be behind the reports discontent in the PMR garage?

[auroan]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

Could this be behind the reports discontent in the PMR garage?

It was mentioned that the cooling package was pants on the Astra and that they would loose power if stuck in a pack of cars, as the engine air intake temps increased. Maybe its the lack of investment in solving that issue that's the source of discontent.

[VXDave]

If PMR have regained some Vauxhall involvement, the new Astra would be a good fit, and a good way to market its new hybrid tech.

Whether it would actually be much better / faster is debatable- Adam W is obviously correct that really all the cars are more or less the same bar drive train and engine orientation. New Astra has a smidge longer wheelbase and a lower roofline, and I suppose it would allow for a new cooling package. It's also a much better looking car than current (or certainly a lot less boring)!

[medius]

Originally Posted by VXDave

If PMR have regained some Vauxhall involvement, the new Astra would be a good fit, and a good way to market its new hybrid tech.

Stellantis are full behind EV tech so I doubt they'd be interested in using motorsport to promote hbrids, so I think that rules out any input in an official capacity. With Stella also looking at slashing the dealer network that'll mean no deal-backing so I reckon indie once again. No bad thing if theres a solid sponsor.

[Matt K]

As much as I'd love a bigger involvement of Vauxhall in the BTCC and a new Astra, I doubt it'll ever happen. However, it can't be ruled out that PMR would still choose to run Astras and switch to a new model.

[Pickles]

My guess would be if PMR were planning to switch models they may not have built a brand new car for JP this year.

[Craner Curves]

Originally Posted by Pickles

My guess would be if PMR were planning to switch models they may not have built a brand new car for JP this year.

It was actually a shell built in 2017, they just turned it into a racecar this year.

[Petoli]

Originally Posted by Pickles

My guess would be if PMR were planning to switch models they may not have built a brand new car for JP this year.

It wasnt a brand new car for this year per se

When they built the Astra's back in 2017 they built 3

2 Race cars and 1 spare shell

The car Plato used this year was the spare one. Surely just the case of transferring parts from one shell to another

[Pickles]

Gotcha, I read from AWs comment that it was a newly built shell (although presumably to the same design as 3 years ago anyway)

[S griffin]

I think they needed a new shell to stay competitive, although as you say it's getting a bit long in the tooth now the Astra

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Craner Curves

It was actually a shell built in 2017, they just turned it into a racecar this year.

Chassis No PMR 17-03, built 2017.
This is the car as it looked in Feb 18:


So whilst not a new build for 2021, this was the first season the car turned a wheel.




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