MaximumGroup. Net2019 Touring Car Trophy (TCR)

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by touring fan01

it’s like driving past an accident. cant help but look

Sadly it is this exactly. It's not blood and guts on the carriageway but tumbleweed on track. I went to some last year, thinking it'll get better. It never did. Croft in particular sucked, spot the car and spot the spectator. Wasn't many of either.

I'm in truth a sad git who spends way too much time trying to find racing to watch. BTCC is only 10 weekends, so there is need for more for the minority like me. Think I'll have to retire to the States where there's racing of some sort pretty much every weekend except deep mid winter.

I hope SL has it pitched right and can get some bums in seats; if not then I think it'll be a one year wonder like TCR UK was. No idea on costs or tyres, my gut says the TCT costs stay as were and TCR UK exists in name only - so TCT costs and rule book applies. No doubt somebody will spill the beans...

[S griffin]

What a waste it was. A great idea gone bad. It could have been great. Too few cars and not enough interest

It would have been a great stepping stone to the BTCC. BTCC is great, but TCR UK could have been great it’s in own right. But there’s plenty of motorsport out there. Of course the states has enough racing each weekend from different varieties of cars all over the country

At least the cars live on in this series. It has a big chance. It deserves to go well

[S griffin]

I feel TCR UK is a missed opportunity. It would have been a great stepping stone to the BTCC. Instead of that, it has gone down the swanny and a potential great national series never got anywhere

Imagine how great it could have been had everything been in place. You could have stars of the future, established drivers from others series, plus the occasional guest ride

I do hope TCT succeeds where TCR UK failed. It would be a great credit if it did

[Alfisti]

Yeah, I for one agree. An opportunity, but due to incompetence (don't think that is in doubt) and greed (jury still out) they attracted hardly anyone.

I think SL saw this, re-jigged parameters and arrived at TCT. Going to try and be at the first meeting and suck it and see...

[touring fan01]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

Yeah, I for one agree. An opportunity, but due to incompetence (don't think that is in doubt) and greed (jury still out) they attracted hardly anyone.

but thats the thing though. there obviously wasnt an opportunity. there was no space for it in an already overcrowded british motorsport which is why they had so very few solid series long entries despite all the months of hype and buildup

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by S griffin

I feel TCR UK is a missed opportunity. It would have been a great stepping stone to the BTCC.

TCT is being marketed as a bit of a stepping stone too - but is one really needed.

Looking at the route to the grid of current BTCC drivers, most have gone straight from single-marque series into the BTCC. If anything, TCR UK and TCT are more like a holding ground for teams/drivers due to an already crowded BTCC grid.

[Alfisti]

I still think their is possibly an opportunity, but the pricing and exposure are key. TCR massively failed on both counts.

[S griffin]

Yeah, there is an option there. Hopefully they can learn from the mistakes of TCR UK. That series had so much potential unrealised

[S griffin]

I think TCT has a lot of the right ingredients in place. It’s taken the good bits of TCR and tried to build on them. If only this was better organised from the start

[pescaraproductions]

TCR UK so far has been a massive waste of opportunity, it should have been doing everything the TOCA package was getting a little rusty at, like going to different circuits and bringing that professionalism to new crowds, having a field thats more talent based than sponsor based, picking up those who didn't get a TBL, being a better platform into overseas Touring Cars, hell even being a better step up into BTCC than the now dead Clio series! They picked a perfect time to do it, just as the little flaws in BTCC were being uncovered. TCT is only a stepping stone if your dad is Matt Neal, its a holding ground for his kids while they wait for him to retire or Cammish to get the boot, for the rest its just a test session for people who didn't get a TBL or those who fancy a day out of Britcar for 5 minutes. Surely if they wanted a cost cutting, step up route they'd have aimed it towards the S2000 spec machines.

I and many others replied to TCR's unveiling of the 2019 calendar online that it was basically the BTCC schedule with a costly trip out to Spa, which would make them look stupid because the BTCC will be bigger and better than them at each round and it'll kill the series. We got blocked for that, as did a massive amount of people who were fans before that moment. Now is the time to listen to people and learn, I hope they can save it and they bring it to places that don't get a look in from the big national championships like Castle Combe, keep it to 1.5 mile tracks where a 12 car field doesn't look too bad until it grows. But if they can't its death is mainly down to sheer incompetence and their downright refusal to accept any critical comment from people who wanted to see it succeed. It was always their way or shut up

[Umai Naa]

I honestly didn't think Combe suited the cars. Not enough of a straight line speed difference between the cars for any of them to make use of the straights, and only one or two main passing opportunities.

But you're right about smaller tracks for smaller fields. I'd even shake up the format; 2x20min races, rather than 2x25min races. I think 20min races are the sweet spot for sprint races in these cars. Drivers will push harder for longer, and in theory create better racing.

The Spa idea with fall over. They've already started to back away from it by making it non-points.

[pescaraproductions]

The good thing for spectators about Combe was that no one went in with 4 billion hours on a simulator or a set up they could download based off similar machinery that's ran there. I thought it was one of the best of the year imo, race 1 had that last lap pass and race 2 everyone stuck together until Dan got through, but the whole meeting was let down by BRSCC trying to cram far too much on the schedule, just like they'd done the year before.

You're right about the races, they were always 10 minutes too long, and the set up to the grid took far too much time (particularly when you're stood in the pouring rain at Donington). Spa gets more visits from club UK racing these days than some tracks actually in the country!

[redshoes]

Originally Posted by Umai Naa

The Spa idea with fall over. They've already started to back away from it by making it non-points.

Spa has to be non-points as only the TCR cars can go there. Other TCT classes (S2000/NGTC) aren't invited.

[Umai Naa]

You would assume TCR UK would have its own point score within TCT.

[redshoes]

Originally Posted by Umai Naa

You would assume TCR UK would have its own point score within TCT.

That's another unanswered question.

The draft (pre-merger) regs just show points based on overall results not based on separate classes. Actually, there is no mention of classes at all, just a list of eligible types of cars.

[jsmee]

It was stated in the press release that a TCR UK trophy will be separately awarded

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

[S griffin]

Well that's good, gives those guys something to aim at. The right move in my book

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by redshoes

That's another unanswered question.

The draft (pre-merger) regs just show points based on overall results not based on separate classes. Actually, there is no mention of classes at all, just a list of eligible types of cars.

'TCR UK competitors will receive a dedicated classification for the TCR UK title within the Touring Car Trophy (TCT) series. Four drivers had already confirmed their participation into TCR UK this year so far.

The announcement means that a revised calendar will be issued featuring new race dates incorporating the TCR UK class.'

[pescaraproductions]

It's worth noting that apparently there will be BOP between TCT and TCR spec machines (I'm guessing the BTCC stuff will be weighed down?). So the aim looks to be to have both classes competing on equal times but in their own classes. We'll see how well that goes down when different classed cars start hitting each other.

[Petoli]

I was under the impression that their would be an overall TCT championship open to all classes (TCR/NGTC/S2000) and a separate TCR UK championship for the TCR cars.

So if a TCR car finishes 2nd behind a NGTC car they would score points for 2nd place in TCT but would sore the points for the win in TCR UK.

The same way that TCR Benelux competitors finishes 2nd in TCR Europe they score the points for 2nd in that championship but points for the win in Benelux

[antnee]

Just like Indie points in the BTCC....

[Evantra]

Entry list for this weekend:

NGTC
Alex Day - Audi A4
Henry Neal - Honda Civic FK2

S2000
James Turkington - SEAT Leon Supercopa

TCR (UK)
Sunny Wong - Volkswagen
Lewis Kent - Hyundai
Carl Swift - CUPRA
Ollie Taylor - CUPRA
Darrelle Wilson - Opel

🤔

[Northern Monkey]

So in the end, the TcT musters three entries on its own for the first race had it not merged with TCR UK

[Alfisti]

In a word: pants.

Clown Car Racing Championship is the void in British motorsport that needs filling...

[redshoes]

Originally Posted by Evantra

NGTC
Alex Day - Audi A4
Henry Neal - Honda Civic FK2

S2000
James Turkington - SEAT Leon Supercopa

Neal and Day were announced back in December. So in 5 months we've had one new entry.