BTCC 2018 in-season discussion

[VIVA GT]

I think that Mr Gow's main reason for reducing the grid numbers is to give himself more financial clout, maybe increase the price of the TBL's?
With 6 less cars there will effectively (and hopefully) more people clamouring to take part...

[touring fan01]

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

I think that Mr Gow's main reason for reducing the grid numbers is to give himself more financial clout, maybe increase the price of the TBL's?
With 6 less cars there will effectively (and hopefully) more people clamouring to take part...

they dont charge for the TBLs they were given to the teams. sometimes the teams will trade them amongst themselves but TOCA dont get anything from that either

[Sodemo]

Originally Posted by Craner Curves

Read the story rather than the headline. It's mainly because of logistics and the toca paddock getting too big for a small space.

Maybe they could just limit the number and size of all the tents and awnings etc?

[touring fan01]

Originally Posted by Sodemo

Maybe they could just limit the number and size of all the tents and awnings etc?

they already do.

[redshoes]

Gow has said several times in the past that he would like to see a reduction from 32 cars. He even mentions that in the interview. This isn't exactly news.

[thlbtcc]

If some teams leave at the end of the season and no one takes their place, Gow has covered his tracks.

[GT6]

Well i like having 32 cars start the first race, it is exciting and as the field spreads out the spectator gets to see more cars and less open space. If only 26 cars start then some times by race 3 the field may be further reduced, Surely better to restrict the space provided to each team than reduce the size of the grid.

[touring fan01]

Originally Posted by redshoes

Gow has said several times in the past that he would like to see a reduction from 32 cars. He even mentions that in the interview. This isn't exactly news.

thats true. i remember him saying it a year or two ago in an interview so its not really new news

[Racer65]

Problem is that more and more space is needed for the facilities for sponsors. It's not just an awning on the side of a truck for two cars. Even in the support paddock the amount of room each team takes is expanding.

[luckn002]

Originally Posted by Racer65

Problem is that more and more space is needed for the facilities for sponsors. It's not just an awning on the side of a truck for two cars. Even in the support paddock the amount of room each team takes is expanding.

Suppose my ideal would be to leave the BTCC as is and take the Ginetta Supercup off the support bill.

Surely better to take a couple of entrants away from each support category though than 6 from the main event..?

[redshoes]

Originally Posted by luckn002

Suppose my ideal would be to leave the BTCC as is and take the Ginetta Supercup off the support bill.

Removing the Supercup means removing 20 mins qualifying and 2 or 3 thirty min races. Over the course of the weekend you've now got a 2-hour hole in your timetable with nothing happening on track. Not exactly value for money for spectators.

[luckn002]

Originally Posted by redshoes

Removing the Supercup means removing 20 mins qualifying and 2 or 3 thirty min races. Over the course of the weekend you've now got a 2-hour hole in your timetable ....

Well obviously the other sessions would be bunched together / lengthened. Only thinking aloud here

My point is that maybe shouldn't change the main event. Us fans would miss 6 BTCC grid spots, especially if those are the likes of the aforementioned Turkington, Goff, etc. but nobody's really going to notice 1 or 2 spots down across the supports.

[Racer65]

The support and BTCC don't usually share the same paddock though so making space in the support paddock doesn't necessarily help the situation.

[medius]

Remember why TBLs were I troduced - to stop the revolving door of chequebook no-talent at each round from some teams. Not very professional I think Gow is of the belief that some TBLs are in the hands of teams still living race weekend to weekend, and I'm not convinced he's alone in the Motorsport industry with that thought. While we don't see the trading of drivers anymore, some entries are only barely getting out on the grid because financially its tight. Look at BMR/triple 8s woes in the last couple of years.

Trimming the fat from that perspective improves the show. Nobody wants to see people struggling to tread water. Sometimes old Yella needs taking to the garden with a shotgun!

[Dixon9]

Do Triple 8 struggle in the BTCC? I've been out of Northern Hemisphere touring cars for a while. Triple 8 are a formidable force in Supercars.

[Racing Harz]

Originally Posted by Dixon9

Do Triple 8 struggle in the BTCC? I've been out of Northern Hemisphere touring cars for a while. Triple 8 are a formidable force in Supercars.

Triple 8 are out of the BTCC after last year.

[touring fan01]

Originally Posted by Dixon9

Do Triple 8 struggle in the BTCC? I've been out of Northern Hemisphere touring cars for a while. Triple 8 are a formidable force in Supercars.

triple 8 closed their doors last year and have had nothing to do with the australian team for some years

[Matt K]

Originally Posted by Dixon9

Do Triple 8 struggle in the BTCC? I've been out of Northern Hemisphere touring cars for a while. Triple 8 are a formidable force in Supercars.

Triple Eight Race Engineering and Triple Eight Racing have nothing in common now. The previous is Australian and is thriving, being a force in Supercars, having huge sponsorships and Holden factory backing. The latter... well, it struggled like hell in recent past and does anybody know whether they still exist?
Anyway, 888 in Australia and in the UK used to be almost the same, but as time went by they drifted away from each other, finally completely losing ties to each other. This was when the British 888 changed the name to Triple Eight Racing and created their new logo.

[Dixon9]

That's a shame. Didn't they run the factory Vauxhalls back in the day? I liked those cars.

[luckn002]

Originally Posted by Dixon9

That's a shame. Didn't they run the factory Vauxhalls back in the day? I liked those cars.

Yep.

https://www.btccblueprints.co.uk/pro...th-anniversary

[Matt K]

Originally Posted by Dixon9

That's a shame. Didn't they run the factory Vauxhalls back in the day? I liked those cars.

It is a shame indeed. I wonder what caused this once great team to struggle so much.

[redshoes]

Originally Posted by Matt K

It is a shame indeed. I wonder what caused this once great team to struggle so much.

Mainly because they were no longer running the factory Vauxhalls. Life is so much harder when you need to find your own sponsors/budget and you are no longer relying on a big manufacturer to just hand over whatever cash you needed.

[S griffin]

It was only really the deal with MG that probably saved them from going under earlier

[Sodemo]

I noticed that the BMWs have now totally closed the gaps behind the front arches (in front of the front doors). They have also cut a gap from the section of door skirt near the front arch. (They started the season with a tapered front arch, but have now totally closed it).

I’ve not noticed much visual change on any of the other cars.

[Evantra]

Has anybody heard or seen anything from Mat Jackson since he left Motorbase? Seems to have disappeared off the face of the planet!