[BTCC] Rounds 25-27 Brands Hatch Indy

[Evantra]

Originally Posted by bella

in a rare bit of intelligence in this industry, the organisers of the big mini championship cut the number of rounds to keep it affordable (and manageable in terms of workload) for the competitors. the grid is huge, and being sensible meant that most of them stayed around even though they couldn't offer their sponsors any real value.

it's been an interesting year from what i've seen. pretty sure harrison is going to win it, everyone chasing him has had too many crap races. but it's still all to play for, there's some dropped scores nonsense to take into account yet.

heard a rumour f4 and brdc f3 might merge for next season which would be the sensible choice. but we all know the rules about motorsport being sensible.

Yeah, the races I've seen have been great, and the grid is very, very good. No problem with the rounds being reduced, it's just a shame I / we didn't get to see a bunch of them.

That would be a good plan I think. Wonder if it would be a part of TOCA or the BGT package.

[touringlegend]

Originally Posted by bella

just a hunch but i’d imagine they’re going to be talking about british gt more than btcc. i think the latter is reasonably safe

Might have been a blessing that the BTCC was classed as an elite sport !

[bella]

Originally Posted by Evantra

Yeah, the races I've seen have been great, and the grid is very, very good. No problem with the rounds being reduced, it's just a shame I / we didn't get to see a bunch of them.

agree. itv have done them a bit dirty, particularly considering how entertaining the races are. the commentary has been universally decent across all the supports i've managed to watch - they take the time to humanise the drivers with the viewer and mention a few sponsors which i'd imagine is invaluable for the competitors.

Originally Posted by touringlegend

Might have been a blessing that the BTCC was classed as an elite sport !

quite, it's obviously sucked massively for everyone wanting to be at the races and competitors needing to invite guests but it has protected the sport from some of the uncertainty. and i don't think in the long run it's a bad idea to have been seen and recognised by the government either.

[billy bleach]

Originally Posted by bella

agree. itv have done them a bit dirty, particularly considering how entertaining the races are. the commentary has been universally decent across all the supports i've managed to watch - they take the time to humanise the drivers with the viewer and mention a few sponsors which i'd imagine is invaluable for the competitors.

quite, it's obviously sucked massively for everyone wanting to be at the races and competitors needing to invite guests but it has protected the sport from some of the uncertainty. and i don't think in the long run it's a bad idea to have been seen and recognised by the government either.

So, in summary inspite of all the slagging he got from experts on here it turns out Gow has done a good job.....

[bella]

Originally Posted by billy bleach

So, in summary inspite of all the slagging he got from experts on here it turns out Gow has done a good job.....

steady on now, let's not get carried away

the number of people present at btcc events who aren't actually working makes me angry, it feels like it's one rule for the big boys in the garages and another for the rest of us. it's now noticeable versus the start of the season.

[peebee2]

You’re totally right. It’s selfish people that ignore the rules that mean we now go back under lockdown. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if they canned it because of this as I know it has been noticed.

[S griffin]

The worst ones are the anti maskers/anti lockdown who gather in great numbers to shout their idiocy. I think they should all be locked up for that.

[billy bleach]

Originally Posted by bella

steady on now, let's not get carried away

the number of people present at btcc events who aren't actually working makes me angry, it feels like it's one rule for the big boys in the garages and another for the rest of us. it's now noticeable versus the start of the season.

I watch from the TV but has there been a single case out of the TOCA Paddock? Seems he has done a great job. He had the vision in April to realise the start would have to be no sooner the August, he convinced the circuits to play ball, he has reacted to changing circumstances , the teams - all of them seem to have made it work. Credit where it’s due.

[bella]

the difference between f1 and toca is that nobody has to say anything out loud about test results at toca events. nobody has to get tested, you’re expected to sort it out yourselves. the cheeses wouldn’t want any cases publicised anyway lest it have them told to stop racing.

[sceptic]

Originally Posted by bella

the difference between f1 and toca is that nobody has to say anything out loud about test results at toca events. nobody has to get tested, you’re expected to sort it out yourselves. the cheeses wouldn’t want any cases publicised anyway lest it have them told to stop racing.

I suspect that next season they will have to introduce testing, even if it is just temperature checks on entry.

You already have people scanning your passes on entry, so it's simply a case of getting them to point an infra-red thermometer at everyone at the same time.

[bella]

as i’m sure you’re aware, they did that at croft and silverstone. we had a few failures but they passed as soon as they stood outside and cooled down a bit. all we do now is drive to the circuit with the aircon on full blast and masks off just to be sure.

i agree though - it’ll be costly and difficult to organise a proper covid test but somethings going to change.

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

Given that everything was already behind closed doors, what is actually being forced to change here? Who will be there to police it all anyway?

Also it's always encouraging to see the moral busybodies out in force on a motorsport forum of all places. Can we stick to talking about touring cars instead of ranting about how we should lOcK uP tHe NoN-cOmPliAnT pOpUlAtIoN...? It might be a sign of the times and the fact I've returned to this forum after an absence of a couple of years but it seems that many threads get derailed by people wanting to showcase just how morally wonderfully they are (or at least how immoral others are) when I'd have thought most people on here have come to talk about motorsport and leave the non-motorsport discussions to the specific non-motorsport section of this forum. Perhaps I am wrong but it's all so tiresome and performative to me.

[bella]

i'd say covid is pretty important in motorsport at the moment, particularly touring cars. lots of us dependant on the income, particularly teams, employees, and drivers.

sorry if that offends you.

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

And ranting about locking up those 'who's fault it is?'

It's one thing discussing the impact of covid on motorsports and it's another talking about who is and isn't worthy of being allowed to participate in society in general.

[Alfisti]

The thermometer thing to detect it is a nonsense. I speak as someone who was involved in work in fancy pants thermal CCTV systems that can pick out hot people in a crowd. They work, but are easily fooled if you are so minded. The Chinese manufacturer has back peddled on it's covid claims in the wake of legal threats in China and elsewhere, which says it all.

Some Welsh boffins have a prototype thing that you breath on and it detects near instantly with good accuracy. Possibly will be at the manufacturing stage by late spring - I see this being a BIG thing.

[billy bleach]

Originally Posted by bella

i'd say covid is pretty important in motorsport at the moment, particularly touring cars. lots of us dependant on the income, particularly teams, employees, and drivers.

sorry if that offends you.

How come if you are dependant on income from the TOCA events you are so apparently anti?...

[tux]

I expect the round will still go ahead because of the elite sport ruling. Its good, i want to see the title played out fully. Id be interested as to if they'd cancel British GT, there isn't any difference between the two championships from an elite sport point of view imo

[redshoes]

Originally Posted by tux

I expect the round will still go ahead because of the elite sport ruling. Its good, i want to see the title played out fully. Id be interested as to if they'd cancel British GT, there isn't any difference between the two championships from an elite sport point of view imo

I can't find a copy now but the last list I saw of elite sports events included British GT. That was around the time that the Formula Ford Festival was declared, although that was more to do with allowing overseas entries. I suspect BGT was on the list for the same reason. The remaining British GT round is at Silverstone so would have been behind closed door anyhow. I except BGT will still go ahead.

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by billy bleach

How come if you are dependant on income from the TOCA events you are so apparently anti?...

I don't believe bella is anti-TOCA, but what you are suggesting is that people are not allowed to criticise their employers. Have a think about that stance.

[Moneyseeker]

Originally Posted by bella

i'd say covid is pretty important in motorsport at the moment, particularly touring cars. lots of us dependant on the income, particularly teams, employees, and drivers.

sorry if that offends you.

OT - It will also hit some of the large scale motorsport events next year in terms of advance ticket sales. If the lockdown rumbles on into the new year it will be right in their key advance ticket window. Many of them are nursing losses from cancelled events this year and will be desperate for the cash flow, I imagine.

As for large scale indoor events, even worse picture IMO.

[S griffin]

Tough times ahead. Let’s hope we get some progress come 2021. There needs to be enough motorsport for the circuits to keep operating. Thankfully we’ve had the minimum amount of racing in this country to keep everything going. We should hopefully see the venues survive, no reason why they can’t as long as racing keeps happening. Might be a different story elsewhere though

[thetool]

Confirmation that the BTCC finale is on for now

http://www.btcc.net/2020/11/02/btcc-...-the-go-ahead/

[Sodemo]

I think this will be the first year since 2003 that I haven't been to any BTCC races, which is a shame but totally understandable.

[billy bleach]

Originally Posted by S griffin

Tough times ahead. Let’s hope we get some progress come 2021. There needs to be enough motorsport for the circuits to keep operating. Thankfully we’ve had the minimum amount of racing in this country to keep everything going. We should hopefully see the venues survive, no reason why they can’t as long as racing keeps happening. Might be a different story elsewhere though

I suspect that most tracks - certainly the only one we have in Ireland - is more dependent on track days and Corporate stuff than club meetings which may be a blessing I went to a track day a while ago and covid compliant was pretty simple

[S griffin]

I guess track days will become more common, especially at the ones where major race meetings don’t take place, like your Mondello Park. It’s not an ideal situation, but needs must and if it can circuits through the worst, it’s worth it. Then they can keep running race meetings and keep the good quality series going. It might be the best thing to do at this time and it will keep people busy