British Rallycross 2024

[AndyS]

Originally Posted by flatlandsman

The issue you have with autograss now which oddly does not affect rallycross, is that the cars are identikit. Most classes have a dominant car/package. And in Class 7 its a Mini based spaceframe with bike engines or a big V8, Class 5 is EXACTLY the same, all the cars look the same, sound the same and are built by about 3 or 4 different people.

The variety has all gone, some classes add a sprinkle, but it has become very bland.

Oddly this has not been mandated, it has just happened naturally. Largely through subtle rule changes and attempts to make autograss safer and more in line with other motorsport.

I'm only interested in the racing been good, which it is. Granted a lot are very similar looking, but I couldn't really care less if they are exciting to watch and the racing is good.

[flatlandsman]

AS I said the racing used to be even better with home made cars!!

[tbtstt]

Few pictures from Lydden...













...and a few more here:

Flickr - 5 Nations Rounds 9/10

[BertMk2]

Some great shots there Racing in the dark opens up some possibilities for shots that you don't normally get - the glowing brake discs and enhanced flaming work really well. Shame there aren't more opportunities for racing in the dark (particularly lamenting the loss of the Britcar "into the night" races at Brands ).

Still not convinced about the autograss cars - not sure why they were there (other than it's Liam's latest thing). The cars themselves are fine and autograss itself can provide excellent racing - just not sure why they're needed at a rallycross event.

[CS1]

Any rumours for next year?
Seems the championship is gaining some slow momentum with the supercars.
Pleased to see Barrat win at the last round I feared the car would be up for sale at the end of the year if didn't get a decent result

[flatlandsman]

I think if they are brave they could take some liberties and try and get some more stuff into some classes, most series play it safe, not sure really what could be done, but getting more rally based stuff seems a plan, there are loads of R5 cars about and older S2000 stuff, they dont seem bothered about having numerous classes so why not spread their wings a bit, R5 cars are ten a penny in the UK and abroad,

[tbtstt]

Originally Posted by BertMk2

Racing in the dark opens up some possibilities for shots that you don't normally get - the glowing brake discs and enhanced flaming work really well. Shame there aren't more opportunities for racing in the dark (particularly lamenting the loss of the Britcar "into the night" races at Brands ).

Definitely gives some options for cool shots you wouldn't usually have a chance to get. Not sure if Bennett is particularly heavy footed, but the front discs on that Mini were absolutely glowing.

Personally feel like this was the best weekend for me so far with night/floodlit shots, but still plenty of room for improvement and, as you say, not something there is really much opportunity for.

Originally Posted by BertMk2

Still not convinced about the autograss cars - not sure why they were there (other than it's Liam's latest thing). The cars themselves are fine and autograss itself can provide excellent racing - just not sure why they're needed at a rallycross event.

I personally didn't see them as anything more than a fun filler. Perhaps it is an option they are looking at adding in future but, for that weekend at least, their addition wasn't coming at the expense of a "proper" rallycross class and they became more entertaining once the drivers got a bit more confident.

Originally Posted by CS1

Pleased to see Barrat win at the last round I feared the car would be up for sale at the end of the year if didn't get a decent result

Yeah, so was I. Given the origins of that car, I expected it to be fairly competitive, but it didn't seem at all reliable at the start of the year. Looks like Tony Bardy has it behaving itself now though. Shame that Barratt retired during the Sunday final as I was hoping to be see him and Bennett go at it for a few laps.

Bennett beat the fastest lap time previously set by Patrick on the new layout Sunday but, according to the timing, Barratt was even faster on the Saturday night (but that timing also said Ovenden was even quicker, so I am not sure if something was off there).

Originally Posted by flatlandsman

I think if they are brave they could take some liberties and try and get some more stuff into some classes, most series play it safe

It is certainly an option, but I am not convinced throwing more new classes into the mix is the right way to go. How many have we already seen the last few years? Opening a class up where there is a pool of cars available already is definitely a better suggestion, but I personally think they need to have a tidy up/consolidation of the existing classes before adding any more.


Incidentally, for anyone who missed it, 5 Nations started uploading the finals on their YouTube channel a few days ago:

YouTube - 5 Nations BRX