[BTCC] Round 7,8 and 9 Thruxton 2018

[porsche962fan]

I don't want Plato to leave the series, enjoy it too much seeing him at the back

I can so remember back in 2015 at the finale, If I remeber on ITV interview he hinted his team mates for not supporting him or something and suddenly most drivers in the series didn't put up a fight to Shedden from back of the grid.... and he lost the title by just 4 points


if i remember some Plato fans raged on so much in the btcc forum that there was a conspiracy and all drivers who let Shedden easy thru should be on trial on something Jordan in particlar even blinked him thru

[Alfisti]

Reaping what you sow. I think it's fair to say Flash is more popular with his fellow competitors. Less whining and banging peoples back bumpers over the years being amongst the more obvious reasons.

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by GT6

However if Plato does decide to give up it will have an effect on the sponsorship of the team, so i hope he sees the season out

The Flux deal is not dependent on Plato.

Sutton was signed and Flux announced before Autosport. Platos sign off occurred afterwards...

[S griffin]

They can get sponsors. Sutton has made the right choice staying, he’s really leading the team, with good backing too. Plato though will surely retire at the end of the season

[porsche962fan]

wonder what changes have been done that Cook mentions

“I don’t think people really appreciate the amount of work that the guys did during the winter,Some other teams wind down when the season ends, but these guys have been flat out. When I first drove the car after the changes they had made, I was blown away and so excited about what was to come.

Alongside my engineer, we’re in a position now where we can miss stages out and get straight to the end result in terms of setting up the car without the need to go round the houses and – when you add in the expertise of the team – it makes it so much easier"

[Pringles]

Originally Posted by Craner Curves

Interesting. Anyone got a spare fiver? https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/09356881

Could mean anything or nothing. But adds to the rumours of BMR having money issues.

3 charges one to Subaru UK, liberty leasing and Clydesdale Bank plc all outstanding charges. As I understand it that means loans that have yet to be repaid in full.

Warren is the only listed director of the company.

As for the overdue accounts it does happen from time to time but a good company would get the accounts done on time really to avoid any hassle. A notice to be struck off and dissolved in 2 months from now unless shown to the contrary and all assets and rights will belong to the Crown.

Let's hope for people's sakes they get the accounts filed pretty soon or we could see cars disappearing from the grid.

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

It was a great day out at Thruxton, despite the sun. The touring car action was refreshingly clean, but very exciting, and was only bettered by the support races!

In terms of the touring car talk, Vauxhall have their act together, and have two drivers who are coming on almost as nicely as their car! Good to see BMW running so well at Thruxton, but the lack of ballast was likely part of it. I would also not discount any Honda teams, and Neal was certainly looking the part.

Ingram and Sutton had more pace than their finish positions show. Ingram was obviously hampered by Race 1, but Sutton was certainly looking racey relative to the cars behind. Plato, in race 1, had a nice scrap with Sam Smelt for last place, which he eventually lost before pitting.

Despite the protests of many, it seems that if the depth of quality and the standard of racing is as high as it has been, Plato is in no way a pivotal figure for the championship. He can trundle around at the back making a mockery of his win tally and, quite frankly, nobody really cares. They are more focused on the immense quality at the front and in the midfield. If Plato wants to kick up a fuss, that's fine, but the BTCC will continue on a high whether he wins races and titles or leaves for good. Him missing race 3 didn't make a noticeable impact on the crowd, or the race. Whilst it would be shocking and rather sad actually to see such a great of the BTCC (and of touring cars in general) go out with such a whimper, at the end of the day there are already superior drivers - see his teammate, who also proves that the BTCC can have feisty drivers without other drivers races being jeopardised by egotistical, farcical barging.

Dare I say, if anything, Neal could be a bigger loss, as it may well mean Team Dynamics fade away too...

[Sodemo]

I really am scratching my head over the Subaru situation. I don't understand how they can go from a front running car in 2017, to an "also ran" in 2018.

[Craner Curves]

Originally Posted by Sodemo

I really am scratching my head over the Subaru situation. I don't understand how they can go from a front running car in 2017, to an "also ran" in 2018.

See also: the first 3 meetings of last year.

[AdrianM]

Every season they've started with some issue. First year it was the inlet manifold, last year it wasn't getting a handle on the weight changes and this year it's a new engine tuner.

[redshoes]

Originally Posted by Sodemo

I really am scratching my head over the Subaru situation. I don't understand how they can go from a front running car in 2017, to an "also ran" in 2018.

Look at the times from Thruxton qualifying. Subaru are on similar times to last year, when everyone else has got quicker. Plato was 0.1s quicker this year, Matt Neal took 0.4s off the pole record.

How much development work did Subaru do over the winter? I don't recall them doing much, if anything, in the way of testing.

[Sodemo]

Originally Posted by redshoes

Look at the times from Thruxton qualifying. Subaru are on similar times to last year, when everyone else has got quicker. Plato was 0.1s quicker this year, Matt Neal took 0.4s off the pole record.

How much development work did Subaru do over the winter? I don't recall them doing much, if anything, in the way of testing.

Whilst that is all true, aren't the RWD cars 30kg heavier this year? (plus any additional performance balancing measures that aren't made public).

[S griffin]

I don't know if they need to have that much weight and I don't like any performance balancing throughout the season

[touring fan01]

Originally Posted by S griffin

I don't know if they need to have that much weight and I don't like any performance balancing throughout the season

there’s been zero performance balancing throughout this season. the weights and boost levels were set before race 1 and haven’t been touched since then.

i think they do a mid season review this year

[S griffin]

There’s no need for it and quite right too, rules should stay the same. I don’t know how much they will do mid season, hopefully it won’t be too much though

[52Paddy]

Originally Posted by peebee2

Lol - how about respecting contracts with sponsors and, God forbid, maybe he wants his salary from the deals he put together.

Maybe he does have contracts with sponsors but they can be broken in many circumstances, especially in a situation that makes Plato look he's very out of touch. And I just can't accept that a handsome salary would be a priority over getting successful results. It doesn't suit Plato and it isn't suiting BMR. I'm sure contractual issues could be worked around - how much is he even bringing to the team at this point?

Regardless, I'm not a Plato fan nor a Plato basher. But I do find it a little disheartening to see him take such a plunge down the order since hooking up with Subaru and investing so much confidence in the package. I do think he still has pace within him and that, perhaps, the package just isn't gelling with him (whether that's for technical reasons, inter-team relationships or something else I don't know). But if he jumps ship mid-season or for 2019, I do believe he can harvest the speed that he has within him and use it in a car and team that is more suited to him - where that would be I don't know but I don't think he'd have too much trouble finding a competitive FWD car somewhere on the grid.

Stephen Jelley was mentioned earlier in the thread. He hasn't had the success of his previous BTCC stint and maybe that's due to a lack of pace or a more competitive field. But one thing that is quite noticeable is how many incidents he has been involved in. It seems any time Jelley is shown on camera it's for some damage incurred. Obviously starting in the second half of the grid increases your likelihood to end up in such antics but it seems that Jelley is tangled up in them more often. Maybe it's a similar situation to Matt Simpson where he needs to get his elbows out more and hold his own.

[S griffin]

I’m sure the team does have sponsors, and I think Plato is doing his best, it’s not the end of the world that he’s behind Sutton., he did help make this work. He probably won’t go on though, he has got nowhere else to go. He’ll probably retire. I think it will be a respectful thing to do

Jelley hasn’t had the best luck so far, he should be further up, even in this competitive field. He does seem to be involved in incidents, that’s just how he seems to go. I think up at the front he would be interesting

[luckn002]

Originally Posted by 52Paddy

Regardless, I'm not a Plato fan nor a Plato basher. But I do find it a little disheartening to see him take such a plunge down the order ... But if he jumps ship mid-season or for 2019, I do believe he can harvest the speed that he has within him and use it in a car and team that is more suited to him.

Stephen Jelley was mentioned earlier in the thread. He hasn't had the success of his previous BTCC stint and maybe that's due to a lack of pace or a more competitive field.

I think it's very wishful thinking that Plato will be back for 2019. With BMR also teetering on the edge, I'd actually bet against him coming back after the summer break. Think it's Sutton's postion we should be more concerned about!

Jelley and TPR have been very disappointing, given the team's prominence in other series. Nothing against Jelley but I just don't think he has the talent that we see in so much of the grid. Ideally TPR need to sign an experinced NGTC driver for 2019 if they want to be in the mix.

[S griffin]

I think Plato will leave at the end of the season. I also think he will see the year out though, nothing to do with Subaru. We’ll see what happens to Sutton in 2019

Jelley and TPR haven’t had the best start to the season, but I think it is wrong to question Jelley, he is doing his best and has shown in the past he is cut out for the series. That said, I can see a new driver in the car in 2019, when it will be important to have a experienced driver in the car

[Matt K]

It's interesting to see what will happen to Sutton in case of BMR's withdrawal. But he's so talented that he should easily find a place - if not in BTCC, then in WTCR. And he's having his eye on Supercars- I'd love to see him there, as the first European to succeed!

[S griffin]

I think BMR will stay, even if it’s without factory support, but there’s no gurantee of a seat for Sutton. I can’t see him going to Europe or Australia, I don’t think he’s ready for that. His heart is in Britain

[52Paddy]

Originally Posted by luckn002

I think it's very wishful thinking that Plato will be back for 2019. With BMR also teetering on the edge, I'd actually bet against him coming back after the summer break. Think it's Sutton's postion we should be more concerned about!

I just find it hard to believe that everything can be lost for Jason as soon as he made the Subaru move. He was competitive in the VW in 2015 and was best of the Subarus in 2016. Last year just seemed to have flattened him and I find it hard to believe that he can go from the sharp end to dead last in the space of one season. If BMR make an escape I'd be concerned about Sutton's rest of the season but can't imagine himself or Plato having difficulty finding a drive for 2019. Genuinely. And I hope I'm not proven wrong. From Plato's point of view, I doubt he'll call it quits himself at such a lacklustre period in his career. He'll want to be back on the top and with one more competitive season (perhaps in 2019) under his belt, then it would make sense for him to hang up his gloves.

[S griffin]

He has not had it this year. He didn’t look that impressive in the VW, and Colin was better in the scooby in 2016. He has looked alright but nothing special the last couple of years. I think BMR will stay, but Sutton may be out of a seat and it may not be that easy to find another one. Plato will probably decide not to do another year, there’s no point hanging out another year if he knows it is the right time

[peebee2]

Sutton is managed by the BMR owner, who has invested heavily in him...

[S griffin]

Well that’s good, so they should always be a seat for him at some point