[BTCC] BTCC 2023 season discussion, News and Rumours!

[Craner Curves]

Originally Posted by redshoes

That Astra may have been first raced last year but it used a shell designed and built in 2017. It may have hard marginally less use that the Focus but it's still a relatively old design.

And the Astra K has a few years of eligibility to go, as it was still on sale very recently.

[Matt K]

Originally Posted by AnnoyedMoose

Do you think they charge a drive like Halstead more than they do Lloyd? I wouldn't be happy if I was Halstead if that were the case.

At the end of the day motorsport is a business first and foremost.

Don't think they do, no, what I meant is that wealthy amateurs can 'easily' (of course don't take this word too literally) afford such a seat, which makes them 'easily' employable, too. So they pay for the seat, give the team some sponsorship stickers, etc. From the business standpoint, it's probably better to get 3 drivers who can afford the seat + possibly give some bigger sponsorship and one star driver than 3 drivers like Lloyd - who would struggle financially and drop out during the season, leaving 'hole' in the budget. At the end of the day, good results (sadly) don't bring any money.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by redshoes

That Astra may have been first raced last year but it used a shell designed and built in 2017. It may have hard marginally less use that the Focus but it's still a relatively old design.

I get that.

Maybe if I pose the thought another way:

In 2021, PMR entered a 4-yr old design, brand new build, FWD hatchback driven by one of the most successful drivers in BTCC history.
They came 11th and 14th in the drivers' championship, and 7th in the teams'.

So if they used ex-Motorbase Focus' in 2023, they would be entering a 3-4 yr old design, used, FWD hatchback. If they retain their current line-up, I'm not sure how this looks like a viable option with potential to move up the grid.

Going back to a previous point - other than Ex-TD Civics, has any team had (genuine) success with a customer NGTC model?

It is the answer to this question that I think makes the argument for introducing your own design to the grid if you want to be at the front. Which is why HARD. deserve the respect for going this route - and seems to be where most other teams are headed.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by AnnoyedMoose

Do you think they charge a drive like Halstead more than they do Lloyd? I wouldn't be happy if I was Halstead if that were the case.

Maybe they don't - I'm not sure. This is just speculation.

But - in terms of how a team is funded, the developments last season suggest that the budget each driver has to 'bring' to a team varies.

Look at the cars in the early rounds:
Ingram and Chilton's cars had strong Bristol Street Motors branding, with Hansford Sensors and Verified Entry in a secondary position.
Lloyd's car had Draper Tools as the main sponsor, with propack in secondary.
Butel had febi bilstein.

After Lloyd's financial issues - it was made clear that Bristol Street increased their backing of Lloyd to allow him to complete the season.

This might mean that as part of Bristol Street's deal with the team, they were funding a larger part of Ingram and Chilton's entries than they were for Butel and Lloyd.

The overall seat price may have been the same, but I guess it depends on how you view the situation. Was Ingram bringing Bristol Street funding to the team, or was he having to bring less overall in return for sponsor commitments associated with the drive?

[Jiiiiiiim]

Originally Posted by billy bleach

Maybe buy the Focus from
Motorbase?

They wanted to, but if Motorbase stick with them, then that shuts that Avenue off.

[S griffin]

I can't see Motorbase wanting to change from the Fords either, they have a good deal there

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by S griffin

I can't see Motorbase wanting to change from the Fords either, they have a good deal there

But they have already admitted that they are considering a change from the Fords.

“We don’t know whether to stick with front-wheel drive or go with rear-wheel. [...] We’ve been looking at Mercedes, Alfa Romeos and Audis – there are three, and it could be any of those four cars [including the Ford] at the moment. We did look at the Jaguar as well, but it just looks as though it will be controversial.”

[Overboost]

Originally Posted by Jiiiiiiim

They wanted to, but if Motorbase stick with them, then that shuts that Avenue off.

Well considering PMR abstained from voting on the rule tweak Motorbase wanted to be able to run the Audi(if they had voted in favour it would have been approved), I’d imagine that deals off, even if Motorbase do switch cars.

[S griffin]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

But they have already admitted that they are considering a change from the Fords.

“We don’t know whether to stick with front-wheel drive or go with rear-wheel. [...] We’ve been looking at Mercedes, Alfa Romeos and Audis – there are three, and it could be any of those four cars [including the Ford] at the moment. We did look at the Jaguar as well, but it just looks as though it will be controversial.”

Oh yeah, I forgot that. Audi has been hinted at

[Craner Curves]

Tom Oliphant has stated his intention to race in his new homeland https://www.v8sleuth.com.au/btcc-rac...upercars-shot/

[Matt K]

Originally Posted by Craner Curves

Tom Oliphant has stated his intention to race in his new homeland https://www.v8sleuth.com.au/btcc-rac...upercars-shot/

Well, I imagine there are quite a few current BTCC drivers who'd love to race there as well so good luck to Oliphant, this is potentially a nice career opportunity. On the other hand though, it might prove difficult for him to get inside the Aussie world of Supercars without any connections. Allegedly he's already spoken to someone thanks to Dick Bennetts' help but that's still far away from materialising anything.

[billy bleach]

Originally Posted by Matt K

Well, I imagine there are quite a few current BTCC drivers who'd love to race there as well so good luck to Oliphant, this is potentially a nice career opportunity. On the other hand though, it might prove difficult for him to get inside the Aussie world of Supercars without any connections. Allegedly he's already spoken to someone thanks to Dick Bennetts' help but that's still far away from materialising anything.

Good luck being a “whinging Pom “ in V8SC! Probably better off doing Aus GT

[S griffin]

I hope it goes well for Oliphant in V8SCs, this is a big chance for him

[Steel Wheels]

Originally Posted by Overboost

Well considering PMR abstained from voting on the rule tweak Motorbase wanted to be able to run the Audi(if they had voted in favour it would have been approved), I’d imagine that deals off, even if Motorbase do switch cars.

That seems like shooting your self in the foot! Might be other cars coming up for sale.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Steel Wheels

That seems like shooting your self in the foot!

I'm not so sure.

Looking at it from PMR's perspective - they have seen:

Ash Sutton drive a 'novel' car and take his first championship.
Ash Sutton driver a reworked RWD concept and take his 2nd and 3rd championships.

They were being asked to vote on what would see (in theory) Ash Sutton in a new, novel RWD car being engineered by the crew that saw him take three previous titles in RWD machinery.

Maybe they weren't voting against the concept, as much as voting against Ash Sutton dominating future season(s)?

[Craner Curves]

Bert is being cryptic again on Twitter.

[billy bleach]

Originally Posted by Craner Curves

Bert is being cryptic again on Twitter.

Attention seeker …… probably got a Rich Energy deal

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by billy bleach

Attention seeker …… probably got a Rich Energy deal

True - it might seem like that.

But, where is the line between 'seeking attention' and trying to garner interest from/for potential future backers?

Not aimed at you - but we regularly read in these threads about frustration from some posters about how personnel are 'quiet' on social media and they want to hear more.
On the other hand, if someone is regularly on social media, they face potential criticism of being attention seeking. See - #gamechanger, #shakewithshaun #Creesy etc.

Sometimes it seems that they are damned if they do, damned if they don't.

[S griffin]

I wish Bert the best of luck, be nice to have another team on the grid.

[redshoes]

Autosport has some more details about the change in hybrid rules change that weren't in the original BTCC.net story.

Deployment speeds doesn't just increase for those inside the top 7 but actually changes in bands. For reference the 2022 limit was 120 km/h

Pos	Deployment Speed
1	135 km/h
2	135 km/h
3	135 km/h
4	130 km/h
5	130 km/h
6	125 km/h
7	125 km/h
8+	115 km/h

I had spotted it in the original story, but you can now use hybrid on the first lap after a safety car, and there's a 5 sec min between deployments

[antnee]

Bert will just be trying to keep his/team name in people's minds.

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

Sometimes it seems that they are damned if they do, damned if they don't.

Welcome to the internet

[Craner Curves]

Michael "Creesy" Crees has offers from Team Hard and PMR and has been talking to Speedworks too apparently.

[billy bleach]

Originally Posted by Craner Curves

Michael "Creesy" Crees has offers from Team Hard and PMR and has been talking to Speedworks too apparently.

Toyota would be a good spot to be judging by Butchers late season form?

[S griffin]

Toyota did start to look good at the end. Even Ricky was up there on occasion.