[BTCC] Round Eight, Thruxton 27-28 Aug, Races 22,23&24

[crmalcolm]

The eighth meeting of the 2022 KwikFit BTCC season sees the second of two visits to Thruxton.

A quick glance of the site and it is easily identified that this track began life as an airfield, with the circuit following what was essentially the airfield perimeter track. The site is also the location of the BARC HQ.

(thruxtonracing.co.uk) Like many race circuits Thruxton was originally a wartime airfield. Commissioned in 1941 the airfield was host to both the RAF and USAF and played a major part in the D-Day landings as a base for troop carrying aircraft and gliders. Declared surplus to requirements in 1946, motorsport started in 1950 with motor bikes on a track comprising both the runways and perimeter roads.

Cars joined the bikes in 1952 for only one year as the deteriorating wartime tarmac was breaking up badly. Amazingly, bikes continued racing until 1965, but by then plans were under way to redevelop the site and motor racing returned on a new track in 1968. The new layout ignored the old runways and followed the lines of the perimeter road with the inclusion of the chicane and further round the track three tight corners in succession: Campbell, Cobb, and Segrave, commonly referred to as the Complex.

Even with these tight corners Thruxton is the fastest race circuit in the UK, with Formula Renaults averaging well over 100mph in race conditions. Thruxton soon gained a reputation as a real drivers’ circuit with its seemingly never-ending high-speed corners around the back of the track where success required total commitment.

Thruxton's fame grew from the Easter Monday Formula 2 meetings where Formula 1 drivers of the day battled with up and coming talent. Household names like Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart and Jochen Rindt all thrilled the crowds in the early races. Since then Thruxton has seen all our recent Formula 1 drivers race regularly at the track at some time in their career.

In 1993 Damon Hill, Formula 1 World Champion, drove a demonstration run in the Williams FW15C, recording an incredible 57.6 second lap of the 2.4 mile circuit, an average speed of 147.25mph.
It is now the high speed rounds of the British Touring car championship and Superbikes that regularly bring in capacity crowds. If you follow these series you may have seen Thruxton on the television or even lapped the circuit on the Playstation Touring Car game, but as always there is nothing like doing it for real.

Thruxton first appeared as a BTCC [BSCC] circuit for the 1968 season, winners that day were Chris Craft (Class A), Graham Janzen (Class B), Frank Gardner (Class C) and Brian Muir (Class D). Since the cars began to run under NGTC regulations, the track has seen a good return for FWD cars, particularly Hondas. From the 2011 season onwards, there have now been 42 winners; of these only 8 wins have been taken by RWD cars, and of these, five were in race-3 reverse grids. At the same time, 21 wins have been taken by Hondas, with Cook picking up nine of those wins followed by Shedden with six. Overall, including pre-NGTC regs, Shedden has seven wins when you include his 2006 win in an Integra.

Having picked up two wins early in the season, this must be Cook’s last chance to get his title ambitions back on track. The heat last time out at Snetterton played into the RWD hands, and so the FWD contenders will be hoping for lower temperatures. If the BTC Honda can perform as well as last time at Thruxton – could this be the occasion we see Plato inch closer to that magic 100 figure?



The full timetable is currently TBC:


Early weather forecast shows that Saturday is forecast to be 18deg with a 25% chance of rain.

Sunday 23deg and 20% chance of rain in the afternoon.



As we enter the final few rounds, the respective championships show that:
Realistically, the main championship is a five-way contest. Cook looks to be slightly adrift of the bunch, but a repeat of his early season results at Thruxton puts him back in the frame. The intra-team rivalry at BMW could see the drivers taking points off each other if the conditions suit the RWD. Will there be a point when one is told to support the challenge of the other?

Driver	Points
Turkington	282
Ingram	267
Hill	258
Sutton	257
Cook	210

BMW look to have a strong lead in the Manufacturers’. The rivals need to score well with both cars is they are to mount a challenge.

Manufacturer/Constructor	Points
BMW	584
EXCELER8	497
Motorbase	480

The Teams’ Championship is close, with only a handful of points separating the top three.

Team	Points
Team BMW	403
Bristol Street with EXCELER8 TradePriceCars.com	394
NAPA Racing UK	364

The Independents Trophy looks to be a four-way contest, but Thompson will need to get strong results to stay in the hunt. The Car Gods pair’s recent form has seen them move close to catching Cook.

Driver	Points
Cook	347
Morgan	292
Gamble	257
Thompson	243

The Independents Teams is currently headed by Rich Energy BTC Racing, followed by Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport.

Team	Points
Rich Energy BTC Racing	372
Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport	361

The Jack Sears Trophy seems to have settled into a two-horse race between Thompson and Gamble, with Hand and Osborne retaining an outside chance of success

Driver	Points
Thompson	333
Gamble	331
Hand	268
Osborne	240

Much criticism has been levelled at Rich Energy and HARD. in recent times. But between them they are in contention for 3 and possibly 4 of the trophies on offer. Are the results going to speak for them at the end of the season?

[porsche962fan]

safe to say this is Cookie's last chance, if he does't do really well here he is out of title race

anyone noticed now that Turkington has really strong teammate again in Hill it seems he performs much better again ? just like in the Jordan days

[Matt K]

Quite interesting how the second Thruxton visit will differ from the first one in terms of teams and drivers' performance. One of the key questions is - will Cook find his mojo back and fare similarly to the first Thruxton event or will this be a confirmation of a slope in BTC's performance?

[Evantra]

I think the weather will decide the champion. If it continues to be hot and dry, advantage BMWs. If things get colder and wetter, advantage Ingram and Sutton.

[SR18]

Originally Posted by porsche962fan

safe to say this is Cookie's last chance, if he does't do really well here he is out of title race

anyone noticed now that Turkington has really strong teammate again in Hill it seems he performs much better again ? just like in the Jordan days

Absolutely. In particular in Qualifying, Hill is much stronger than Jordan has been to Colin.

[Matt K]

Yes, I have to say Hill's surprised me positively. I mean, I've always rated him highly and knew he's a very talented driver but in the beginning of the season when he made a few unforced errors and then started dropping in points behind Top 3, I thought he won't be consistent enough to really challenge Turkington. Whereas now it looks like a proper four-way title fight that Hill is part of.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Evantra

I think the weather will decide the champion. If it continues to be hot and dry, advantage BMWs. If things get colder and wetter, advantage Ingram and Sutton.

I definitely agree - but I also think that if the temperature does get down significantly, it will bring the BTC Honda back into contention too.

From anecdotal comments - it seems like the M-Sport engine is currently very reactive to temperature changes, and does not like high ambient temperatures.

Cook's best results have come when the temperature has been at 15deg or lower, so they will probably be hoping the cloud builds over the next couple of weeks.

If the temperature does get down - I think this could be the chance for Plato to chalk win 98 on the board.

[crmalcolm]

Timetable (v1):

Time	Activity	Championship	Laps
Saturday, August 27
09.00 – 09.20	Qualifying	ROKiT F4 British Championship
09.30 – 10.10	Free Practice	Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship
10.30 – 10.45	Qualifying	Michelin Ginetta Junior Championship
10.55 – 11.25	Qualifying	The Quaife MINI CHALLENGE Trophy
11.35 – 11.55	Qualifying	Millers Oils Ginetta GT4 SuperCup Championship
12.05 – 12.45	Free Practice	Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship
12.45 – 13.35	Lunch Break
13.35	Race	ROKiT F4 British Championship	20 mins
14.10	Race	Michelin Ginetta Junior Championship	15 mins
14.45 – 15.15	Qualifying	Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain
15.25 – 15.55	Qualifying	Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship
16.10	Race	The Quaife MINI CHALLENGE Trophy	20 mins
16.45	Race	Millers Oils Ginetta GT4 SuperCup Championship	15 mins
17.15	Race	ROKiT F4 British Championship	20 mins
17.50	Race	Michelin Ginetta Junior Championship	20 mins
Sunday, August 28
10.00 – 10.30	BTCC Pit Lane Walkabout / Autograph Session
10.50	Race	Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain	20
11.30	BTCC Pit Lane Opens
11.45	Race	Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship	16
12.25	Race	Millers Oils Ginetta GT4 SuperCup Championship	20 mins
13.00	Race	The Quaife MINI CHALLENGE Trophy	20 mins
13.25 – 13.45	Marshals’ / Lunch Break
13.45	Race	Michelin Ginetta Junior Championship	20 mins
14.20	BTCC Pit Lane Opens
14.35	Race	Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship	16
15.15	Race	ROKiT F4 British Championship	20 mins
15.50	Race	Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain	20
16.30	Race	Millers Oils Ginetta GT4 SuperCup Championship	20 mins
17.05	BTCC Pit Lane Opens
17.20	Race	Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship	16
17.55	Race	The Quaife MINI CHALLENGE Trophy	20 mins

[Evantra]

So an earlier start, hopefully with some pre-show build up, and two Mini races. Thumbs up!

[SSmith]

As Evantra has said, we should hopefully get a more 'normal' show on ITV4 for Thruxton. Looks like the possibility for 10 live races + maybe highlights of the 1st Porsche race during the lunch break.

Its good that there are two MINI Trophy races on the Sunday, being that bit slower than the JCWs we should get some very good slipstreaming races.
I'd be interested to see the lap times of the new 992-spec Porsche Carrera Cup cars and the Ginetta G56s on their first ever visit to Thruxton. I reckon we might get a fair amount of lapping/large field spread given the speed differential between Pros and Ams in Carrera Cup and between the G56 and G55.

[Evantra]

Originally Posted by SSmith

As Evantra has said, we should hopefully get a more 'normal' show on ITV4 for Thruxton. Looks like the possibility for 10 live races + maybe highlights of the 1st Porsche race during the lunch break.

Its good that there are two MINI Trophy races on the Sunday, being that bit slower than the JCWs we should get some very good slipstreaming races.
I'd be interested to see the lap times of the new 992-spec Porsche Carrera Cup cars and the Ginetta G56s on their first ever visit to Thruxton. I reckon we might get a fair amount of lapping/large field spread given the speed differential between Pros and Ams in Carrera Cup and between the G56 and G55.

Ah, you just reminded me that they're the crashy Minis, not the proper ones. Fun to watch, but I find them too amateur for the BTCC package really. Would be good to get the Sevens back, they put on a good show at Thruxton a few years ago,

[billy bleach]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

I definitely agree - but I also think that if the temperature does get down significantly, it will bring the BTC Honda back into contention too.

From anecdotal comments - it seems like the M-Sport engine is currently very reactive to temperature changes, and does not like high ambient temperatures.

Cook's best results have come when the temperature has been at 15deg or lower, so they will probably be hoping the cloud builds over the next couple of weeks.

If the temperature does get down - I think this could be the chance for Plato to chalk win 98 on the board.

Cook nowhere and yet Plato and the Toyota with same engine do OK?

[SSmith]

Originally Posted by Evantra

Ah, you just reminded me that they're the crashy Minis, not the proper ones. Fun to watch, but I find them too amateur for the BTCC package really. Would be good to get the Sevens back, they put on a good show at Thruxton a few years ago,

I find the Trophy races a little bit 'hit-and-miss', some great racing marred by red flags and rolls. I think I might have missed their televised race at Croft this year, I can't remember it at all!

I'd also love to see the Se7ens again, there are some great drivers in that series and the racing was fab at Thruxton in 2020.

In the 3 seasons of JCWs on the TOCA bill, they've never gone to Thruxton for some reason (safety? tyres? budgets?).

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by billy bleach

Cook nowhere and yet Plato and the Toyota with same engine do OK?

True - Plato himself admitted that he felt his performance over the weekend was at the peak of what he could produce. And also stated that he had no option to attack cars in front, because the temperatures would go up for the engine. His results benefited from having quick cars in front, that he could let pull away and concentrate on putting pace in with clean air.

The FK8 has always struggled with temps, whether that is running the Neil Brown, Swindon or M-Sport engine. The M-Sport engine seems to compound this issue though as we have gone through the summer months.

As I said - it's anecdotal at the moment. It might just be coincidence, but Cook's results dropped off after Thruxton as the ambient began to rise. It's only speculation, but there does seem to be a correlation between higher temperatures and lower performance.

The sample size is too small to draw any real conclusions, with Collard and Plato only really having a handful of decent results all season.

The only thing that can be certain is that in the championship, Cook is the highest M-Sport driver - 72 points off the leader despite 4 wins early in the season.
Butcher is the only other driver in the top 13 - 98 points off the leader in 6th.

If it is not the engine - what do you suggest might be behind Cook's slide down the table?

[redshoes]

Originally Posted by SSmith

maybe highlights of the 1st Porsche race durinAg the lunch break.

Lunch break immediately after the Mini race? Yeah, good luck with that

[billy bleach]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

True - Plato himself admitted that he felt his performance over the weekend was at the peak of what he could produce. And also stated that he had no option to attack cars in front, because the temperatures would go up for the engine. His results benefited from having quick cars in front, that he could let pull away and concentrate on putting pace in with clean air.

The FK8 has always struggled with temps, whether that is running the Neil Brown, Swindon or M-Sport engine. The M-Sport engine seems to compound this issue though as we have gone through the summer months.

As I said - it's anecdotal at the moment. It might just be coincidence, but Cook's results dropped off after Thruxton as the ambient began to rise. It's only speculation, but there does seem to be a correlation between higher temperatures and lower performance.

The sample size is too small to draw any real conclusions, with Collard and Plato only really having a handful of decent results all season.

The only thing that can be certain is that in the championship, Cook is the highest M-Sport driver - 72 points off the leader despite 4 wins early in the season.
Butcher is the only other driver in the top 13 - 98 points off the leader in 6th.

If it is not the engine - what do you suggest might be behind Cook's slide down the table?

I DONT KNOW JUST SAYING THATS ALL. One can take Plato’s engine comments with a pinch of salt. His default position is always everyone else has better engines. As far as I can tell everybody was racing in the same heat - fair play to Plato he had a good weekend

[touring fan01]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

If it is not the engine - what do you suggest might be behind Cook's slide down the table?

it might be convenient for him to blame the engine but obvioulsy there must be other factors

the two toyotas and even the cupra (thompson) has outperformed cook in the races or qualifying since thruxton with that same msport engine and at the weekend plato comprehensively outperformed him all weekend with the exact same car and engine

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by touring fan01

it might be convenient for him to blame the engine but obvioulsy there must be other factors

the two toyotas and even the cupra (thompson) has outperformed cook in the races or qualifying since thruxton with that same msport engine and at the weekend plato comprehensively outperformed him all weekend with the exact same car and engine

I think the other factors are that he has gone into each weekend since Thruxton with limited hybrid available, particularly compared to other M-Sport cars, but has still managed two R3 podiums and a points finish in all but one race.

His decline from the top of the championship has (IMO) made his troubles more apparent. Butcher aside, I think (without checking) that he is still the second highest points scoring M-Sport driver since Thruxton.

[antnee]

It is likely there are several factors at play. The cooling package design (and associated bodywork/aero feeding it) is a balance between drag and cooling performance. BTC might have tried to reduce the drag but are seeing the trade off (more so when mid-pack) that it can't handle the higher temps quite as well as others.

[S griffin]

Cook really has looked out of sorts since the summer break. It's a mystery why. Whether it's the car, something mechanical or something within himself is hard to tell. Maybe it is a combination of things

Anyway our second meeting at Thruxton, which will go back to one meeting next year with the introduction of a round on the Donington long circuit

[SSmith]

Originally Posted by redshoes

Lunch break immediately after the Mini race? Yeah, good luck with that

The timetable was probably created with MINI clean-up times in mind.

To be serious for a moment, I hope that we don't see any MINI Trophy rolls or nasty shunts this weekend like we've had the past few times at Thruxton. Its optimistic, but I'm hopeful.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by antnee

It is likely there are several factors at play. The cooling package design (and associated bodywork/aero feeding it) is a balance between drag and cooling performance. BTC might have tried to reduce the drag but are seeing the trade off (more so when mid-pack) that it can't handle the higher temps quite as well as others.

IIRC - BTC are limited in what they can do to the front aero because the design was homologated by Team Dynamics?

The issues with running in higher temperatures date back to when the FK8 was first introduced. BTC and Team Dynamics drivers have routinely talked about the temperature issues, particularly when running in the pack.

Out of interest - a lot has been made about Cook having dropped off. If looked at from the opposite angle - should we be asking why Butcher was struggling in the early rounds instead?


When you compare the results across the season for the leading M-Sport drivers, you can see that Cook's scores have plateaued a bit, with Butcher performing better in the latter part of the season - but only Plato and Collard show a recent upturn.

Season long, most M-Sport drivers follow the same trend.



In the first nine rounds, Cook had two surges around rounds 4-5 and 8-9 compared to other M-Sport drivers.


In the latest twelve rounds, Butcher has been the strongest performer. But Cook's results are broadly following the same trend as other M-Sport drivers. Only Plato and Collard deviate from the trend, based on Snetterton only.



As previously mentioned - I think Cook's results are highlighted by the position he is/was in the championship. But compared to other M-Sport drivers he is still performing well.

[SSmith]

Dan Lloyd still has an approx. £50k deficit in his budget and could miss the final two rounds.

Dan Lloyd quoted in Autosport "It was fantastic to bounce back from what happened at Oulton Park with the double win at Croft, but I think it might have given the false impression that we were okay in terms of being able to complete the season," Lloyd said.

"Unfortunately that couldn’t be further from the truth and as it stands, there is a genuine possibility that Thruxton [27-28 August] will be my final races of the campaign.

"Although we’ve been able to bring some fantastic new partners onboard since the accident, they were deals that I’d been working on for some time. I’m hugely grateful that they decided to back me - and that my existing partners have been so understanding of the situation - but the hard facts are that we are still around £50,000 short of being able to settle the repair bill and take part in the final two rounds."

It would be a real shame if he can't see out the season.

[Evantra]

Yeah not looking good, hope he can attract a few more sponsors. He does not have a good track record of finishing BTCC seasons!

I guess Gornall would be top of the list to replace him.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Evantra

I guess Gornall would be top of the list to replace him.

I'd agree that Gornall would seem the obvious candidate. I imagine the question comes down to whether he would bring budget that Lloyd is not able to muster up?

If the team need to enter a driver just to retain the TBL - would Gornall offer more to the team than keeping Lloyd in the seat?