[BTCC] Round Seven, Croft 18-19 Sept, Races 19,20&21

[crmalcolm]

First appearing on the BTCC (then BSCC) calendar in 1968, Class winners that day were:
A-Gordon Spice, B-John Fitzpatrick, C-Frank Gardner, D-Roy Pierpoint.

Croft’s history saw a period of time when there was no tarmac surface, and Rallycross was the main category raced at the venue. 1997 saw a major revamp though, and BTCC returned that year with Alain Menu dominating proceedings. Matt Neal also took an Independent win that day and will be hoping for similar success this weekend.
There is a widely held view that the circuit favours RWD cars. This in part due to the Hairpin and tight changes of direction. The first time that constructor NGTC cars raced there though, Honda took a 1st and 3rd, sandwiching the BMW of Collard. The other two races that day also went to FWD machinery.

2013 saw Turkington take two wins and a second, seeming to underline the view that the circuit favours RWD. A feat he almost matched in 2014. 2015 saw a BMW 1-2-3 in the first race, and RWD cars take all three wins. RWD success continued through the rest of the NGTC era, with FWD cars only seemingly getting results in the 3rd race reverse grid. This was the case when the series visited in 2019, with Jordan taking two wins in his BMW, before the Focus of Chilton managed a R3 win, however all changed in 2020 with Cook taking two wins and Turkington getting the only podium for a RWD car that day with a 3rd place in race one.

With the series visiting later in the year again, will this mean the circuit is back as being FWD-friendly again?

At just over 2.1 miles in length, Croft is one of the longer circuits on the BTCC calendar, with a technical nature and tight corners, particularly the final hairpin that sees cars sometimes 3 or 4 abreast coming onto the start/finish straight. Following the recent resurfacing, Jordan set a new Qualifying lap record in 2019 of 1m21.734s, with Turkington setting a race lap record of 1m21.781s in 2020.


Neate is due to return in the Ford, following the two rounds competed by Rivett.

Early weather forecast is for fair conditions on both days, temperature around 15deg.

[porsche962fan]

Ash Sutton for 2 wins

[S griffin]

Originally Posted by porsche962fan

Ash Sutton for 2 wins

As much as a dead cert he was going to win R3 at Oulton, oh wait

[BTCC frog]

Originally Posted by S griffin

As much as a dead cert he was going to win R3 at Oulton, oh wait

Has Tim Harvey eaten his hat yet?

[bella]

*insert obligatory "he's eaten everything else" pun*

[Craner Curves]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

First appearing on the BTCC (then BSCC) calendar in 1968, Class winners that day were:
A-Gordon Spice, B-John Fitzpatrick, C-Frank Gardner, D-Roy Pierpoint.

Croft’s history saw a period of time when there was no tarmac surface, and Rallycross was the main category raced at the venue. 1997 saw a major revamp though, and BTCC returned that year with Alain Menu dominating proceedings. Matt Neal also took an Independent win that day and will be hoping for similar success this weekend.
There is a widely held view that the circuit favours RWD cars. This in part due to the Hairpin and tight changes of direction. The first time that constructor NGTC cars raced there though, Honda took a 1st and 3rd, sandwiching the BMW of Collard. The other two races that day also went to FWD machinery.

2013 saw Turkington take two wins and a second, seeming to underline the view that the circuit favours RWD. A feat he almost matched in 2014. 2015 saw a BMW 1-2-3 in the first race, and RWD cars take all three wins. RWD success continued through the rest of the NGTC era, with FWD cars only seemingly getting results in the 3rd race reverse grid. This was the case when the series visited in 2019, with Jordan taking two wins in his BMW, before the Focus of Chilton managed a R3 win, however all changed in 2020 with Cook taking two wins and Turkington getting the only podium for a RWD car that day with a 3rd place in race one.

With the series visiting later in the year again, will this mean the circuit is back as being FWD-friendly again?

At just over 2.1 miles in length, Croft is one of the longer circuits on the BTCC calendar, with a technical nature and tight corners, particularly the final hairpin that sees cars sometimes 3 or 4 abreast coming onto the start/finish straight. Following the recent resurfacing, Jordan set a new Qualifying lap record in 2019 of 1m21.734s, with Turkington setting a race lap record of 1m21.781s in 2020.


Neate is due to return in the Ford, following the two rounds competed by Rivett.

Early weather forecast is for fair conditions on both days, temperature around 15deg.

I'm so disappointed you didn't mention the return of the knowledgeable Croft crowd.

[hen henths]

I have to wonder why the resurfacing work at Croft is thought to have reduced any RWD advantage. Could it be less hard on tyres now so the FWD cars can push harder and worry less about managing tyre wear?

[Sodemo]

Curious how BMW seem to have lost so much pace this season...? The Infinity seems as fast as last season, so i'm sure Sutton will get some good results here. He could practically wrap up the title here if results go his way.

[billy bleach]

Originally Posted by Sodemo

Curious how BMW seem to have lost so much pace this season...? The Infinity seems as fast as last season, so i'm sure Sutton will get some good results here. He could practically wrap up the title here if results go his way.

Didn’t the Chief engineer / designer leave WSR last year?…

[sceptic]

I'm expecting a driver change next weekend...

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by sceptic

I'm expecting a driver change next weekend...

Other than Neate returning - or related to?

[sceptic]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

Other than Neate returning - or related to?

Unrelated.

Whether Neate returns seems dependent on how he feels after he tests the car at Brands tomorrow.

[Racing Harz]

Nick Halstead replacing by Rick Parfitt.
https://www.btcc.net/2021/09/09/nick...e-up-at-croft/

[S griffin]

Good luck to Halstead, although I don’t expect him to do any better than Parfitt tbh

Any more news on Plato?

[sceptic]

Originally Posted by S griffin

Good luck to Halstead, although I don’t expect him to do any better than Parfitt tbh

I'd expect him to do substantially worse.

[thetool]

Originally Posted by sceptic

I'd expect him to do substantially worse.

Can he really do that much worse? Parfitt hasn't scored a point all season.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by thetool

Can he really do that much worse? Parfitt hasn't scored a point all season.

Yes, if you look at Jack Sears results.

Parfitt has picked up 157 points in 18 rounds - so if Halstead scores less than 26 Jack Sears points you could make a case for having under-performed Parfitt.

(Parfitt has also picked up 16 points in the Independents' that you could compare Halstead's results with).

[Heavyd123]

Originally Posted by S griffin

Good luck to Halstead, although I don’t expect him to do any better than Parfitt tbh

Any more news on Plato?

What’s happened to Plato? Or is it ‘punch my racer’ thing?

[Evantra]

Originally Posted by sceptic

I'd expect him to do substantially worse.

Yep, he's been a backmarker (even in the Ams) from what I've seen of him in the supports, which is usually him facing backwards. I guess it doesn't really matter for one round, but I find it hard to believe there wasn't a better option!

[porsche962fan]

Originally Posted by Evantra

but I find it hard to believe there wasn't a better option!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lqdErI9uss

[psq43]

Well Mike Bushell has just posted a photo of a BTCC Cupra with his name in the back window. Testing or is someone 'stepping down'?

[thetool]

Is it really a Team HARD entry if there isn't a revolving door of drivers each weekend? More drivers have been fielded by that team than Dynamics and WSR combined!

[Robshillito1990]

Originally Posted by thetool

Is it really a Team HARD entry if there isn't a revolving door of drivers each weekend? More drivers have been fielded by that team than Dynamics and WSR combined!

I thought toca put a stop to this a few seasons back when team hard had about 300 different drivers in a season.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Robshillito1990

I thought toca put a stop to this a few seasons back when team hard had about 300 different drivers in a season.

Yes - and HARD. have far less driver changes than many make out here. In recent times, Motorbase are probably top of the driver swaps league.
This season (so far) HARD. have had one change from 7 cars. The same can be said of BTC and Excelr8.....

[S griffin]

We’ll see if the Bushell picture means anything or if it’s just something harmless like when people speculated earlier this year