[STCC] 2010 Post-season thoughts

[Jimmy Magnusson]

Now that's a proper title decider. I've had half a day to reflect on it, and I thought I'd give a few thoughts on the season.

I really feel for Dahlgren. In a way, he's earned it, both for getting close two times previously and for usually suffering the bulk of the technical problems in the team (2005 and 2009, specifically). Still, you have to say it's a failure for him to not win this year. It was pretty much his to loose from the first round, especially considering how off form Rustad has been this year. Like Björk last year he seems to have been punished by some higher power for thinking championship all year. Do you think Ekblom would have lost it from the same position? I find it hard to believe.

And as for Göransson, that's a man driving like a proper champion - his move on Dahlgren at Jyllandsringen being the prime example. If he hadn't done that the title would've been Dahlgren's. He had an off weekend at Knutstorp, but he was punished accordingly for it and barely any points. I used to not like him when he dominated 2005-2006, but nowadays I really like him.

I really wonder why Flash and Björk (can you say horrible season, by the way? Sheesh) didn't swap positions at the end of the second race? It would have given Björk fourth in the championship. After that wet tyre debacle in Knutstorp it seems as if their tactitian needs a boot up his backside.

And isn't anyone else getting tired of the inconsistent penalties? It seems very random who gets penalized and who doesn't. Granted I didn't get a good look at Björk's start, but there's questionable calls every single weekend. I don't care where they draw the line (or I do, but that's secondary), but there needs to be consistency. Bring in a driver to help you, for goodness sake.

On the same note, the fiddling with the boost pressure needs to stop. It doesn't matter if it was the right thing to do or not, you can't go around changing the boost pressure days before the finale! And yes, the same applies to Arena in the BTCC. There needs to be some sort of equivalency test pre-season and then you should stick to that. This is just like the WTCC and the diesels, ridicolous.

And now that we head to a Scandinavian championship with the same rules for everyone (I hope), can we please dig up that penalty chicane at Jyllandsringen and never, ever, talk about it again? Björk knocked two cars out of the race, and got a five second penalty for it. He still ended in 8th and on reverse grid pole. Absurd.

And finally, can we please get a bit better safety? There's not much that needs to be done to the tracks (except maybe some tires at the crest of the hill at Knutstorp), but the way things are done during the weekend needs to change. Park the diggers/JCB's/whatever in safer positions where cars won't come spinning wildly out of control. Not just Thompson, there's been several accidents waiting to happen. And please stop with that waving yellow where a car is off the track and then withdrawing it with the car still there, expecting the drivers to know it's there. A green race track should be clear of any danger. And stop sending the JCB out on a live race track on the racing line (this note goes out to the Danish organizers). And please stop counting yellow flag laps, people have come a long way to watch ~20min races. You have plenty of post-race TV time, just reduce it a bit.

Oh right, I need to talk about TV as well. Does anyone else feel the urge to throw the TV out of the window every, single, time Hubert Bergh appears? The man is an idiot. He can't interview people, he talks during the national anthem, he disturbs the drivers (or riders) seconds before the warmup lap when the grid is already clear, he drags the interviews on like forever. He can't ask proper follow-up questions, just nonsense stuff. Compare with Frida. One or two questions (proper ones), and back to the commentators. Rydell has been great this year (maybe we'll get Rudholm back for next year? He's hardly great, but adequate), Niklas Jidhe has been fine and Thomas is awesome as ever. But Hubbe alone makes me want to cancel my subscription. Surely the producer must notice how horrible he is?

And Part II of the TV... It's hardly great, is it? They don't need many more cameres, but they need to get closer to the action. Cut down those towers in Karlskoga and Gothernburg ASAP. They add nothing. More onboards. They have some cameras (need more, though), but they don't use them enough. And please, stop missing half of the action (usually a bit further down the field), and please, more replays. And stop cutting to replays when there's obviously something just about to happen. And don't spend a full lap or two showing replays (usually of the start) when you finally do. Here's an idea. They spend a million (exactly) on prize money for the team's championship. Does anybody care? And the only people who win those money are Polestar, Flash (not this year, perhaps) and Biogas. I'm sure they think it's great, but they're hardly the ones that need the money the most (if you're going to give the money to anyone, I'm sure a privateer could really use a 100k prize for a race weekend). Better then to spend the money on improved TV production. Selling the package to anyone gets a lot easier if it's actually good!

Bit longer than expected, but whatever
Basically there needs to be a big overhaul in the STCC organization. I always feel the championship is successful despite them, not because of them. [I'd rant a bit on the 2012 regulations now, but that's for another thread]

[PorscheFanNo1]

Feel free to rant about 2012, could be interesting

I share the same thoughts, altho maybe not as strong. You have fair points, but its nothing to complain about IMO, Hubbe is not the best, but he'll do. TV director is not the best, but he makes the cut. Same goes for safety and everything else, its not world class, but its good enough. And I think things can improve next year when its a little bigger and a little better.

BTW, I dont think there was any prize money this year, it was quietly droped for this year for some reason?

And also, now when the season is over I would REALLY like to know what tracks and teams we will see next year!

[Jimmy Magnusson]

Originally Posted by PorscheFanNo1

Feel free to rant about 2012, could be interesting

I share the same thoughts, altho maybe not as strong. You have fair points, but its nothing to complain about IMO, Hubbe is not the best, but he'll do. TV director is not the best, but he makes the cut. Same goes for safety and everything else, its not world class, but its good enough. And I think things can improve next year when its a little bigger and a little better.

BTW, I dont think there was any prize money this year, it was quietly droped for this year for some reason?

And also, now when the season is over I would REALLY like to know what tracks and teams we will see next year!

Well, it's not Argentina, I'll give you that - I may be unfair, but I wasn't impressed by the races I watched a year or so ago. I do think it's very important to complain about it though, since all these things are easy to fix. Move the tractors. Sharpen up the safety breifings. Get a driver on the stewards panel. Use Frida when she's already there for a bunch of weekends, she's great. Move the cameras around a bit, send the producer on a course. Don't use the penalty chicane. A championship is not a proper championship unless there is equal opportunity for everyone, and there's no reason to accept substandard safety when a better alternative is whithin reach. And the TV side, well, it's a shame if you have a great championship and it fails because of the packaging.

The prize money was still in the sporting regs for this year, at least. Maybe they're not following them.

Now, 2012 rules rant. I'll begin by saying I have no facts, just a bit of speculation and conspiracy theories. But here's my guess on what may have happened.

STCC looks at the future regulations, NGTC vs 1600. They think, 1.6 liters is a bit meh even with a turbo and the British cars are supposed to be more exciting overall. And we've already got a partnership with them! So NGTC it is. We'll tell the world we've come up with something great and will reveal it soon.

Once STCC starts talking about the exciting rules they get a call from Volvo who says, It's the NGTC rules isn't it. Well yes, how come? Well, we're thinking about a WTCC campaign and really wouldn't want to build two cars to different regulations since it would cost us a bunch. Oh blimey says STCC, well, we'll wait for a bit while you make your mind up.

I'm guessing that's where we are now. NGTC gets dumped in favour of 1.6L turbos, Volvo are very happy they're able to dictate the future of the series all by themselves, the organization is teethless/spineless, the Brits gets screwed again when the main client for picking up NGTC goes away. BTC versus Super 2000 all over again. Fast forward another decade and we'll be asking ourselves why things always gets worse and how we can get Super Touring back (still).

[Mike Sheraton]

100% true jimmy,
The BTCC could really use a boost from the STCC, both series would benifit, its a no brainer, and to be perfectly honest, the racing in the BTCC has always been good, so why cant another championship have faith in their regs for once rather than just following the easy option ( WTCC) + why cant the wtcc just agree some rules with the BTCC, its better for touring car racing as a whole.

[PorscheFanNo1]

Agree. STCC should go NGTC, and the indications have been just as you say. It would be a huge shame if Volvo would be able to stop those plans. Its true that Volvo might have contributed more to the serie then any other manufacturer, but as I see it NGTC without Volvo would be better for STCC then S1600 with Volvo.

[I Rosputnik]

I hope NGTC does expand globally. It looks more fun then S1600, and while it will work with Rally cars, I can't see it working with touring cars. If the WTCC goes with the rules, to make things interesting they could run with NGTC+ rules. Basically NGTC cars, but with more power, aero and speed.

[Speed-King]

http://www.touringcartimes.com/news.php?id=5370



NGTC it is, but not really. Taking NGTC as a baseline, but then going to 380 bhp RWD only...

Not sure what to think of this - on one hand it sounds really really awesome - but on the other it sucks that it won't be possible to swap cars between the UK and Scandinavia...

[I Rosputnik]

Yeah, that was I was talking about for the WTCC...

It's going to be very bizarre now, that the WTCC will be using the slowest cars in touring cars. What do you aspire to now?

[PorscheFanNo1]

As been rumourd for a few months now, sounds great. Alan Gow also said a few months ago (when STCC started talking about RWD only) that BTCC too would likely allow RWD also. So its possible that those cars from STCC could also be ran in BTCC with lower boost.

[Speed-King]

Right, but I think BTCC would allow RWD only where it's also found in the roadcars, and since most roadcars are FWD that wouldn't change all that much.

[Bramzel]

As I posted on TCT: RWD only? Crap, there another championship goes down the drain. Next step silhouettes, see ya later STCC if that happens. NGTC is cool, spec engines are acceptable but spec drivetrains (thus RWD in FWD cars) is a step too far for me.

[duke_toaster]

The principle of a NGTC+ set of regulations is a good idea for the WTCC, but a bad one for the BTCC. STCC would be better served going to straightforward NGTC. WTCC is the series that needs to go for the extra power rules (I'd say the proposed Swedish rules, but with 500hp rather than 380hp). That would obviously be a case of the WTCC using its own rules, but they will be alone in S2000-with-1600cc-turbos.

[Speed-King]

Come to think about it, finding a market for those cars might, despite the different rulesets, not be all that hard: Especially the Swedish cars should be an absolute terror in the "open" series around Europe and with the rather affordable costs I wouldn't be surprised to see quite a number of them appear in VLN, Dutch Supercar, Britcar or the BTCS after a few years...
In VLN, for example, they'd slot in in SP3T, a class that is nowadays mostly populated by Leon Supercopas - if they get allowed in there, it'll really be a case of the "cat amongst the pigeons"...

[Mr Pink]

I would love to see the RWD NGTC+ rules go through, especially if they could be run in the BTCC as well with lower boost.

Sweden needs a boost in credability with stable rules that are the same for everyone and with more spectacular cars than S2000. I would gladly sacrifice some of the road resemblans (i.e drivetrain) to get a credable ruleset.