[BTCC] BTCC 2018 - Knockhill - Rounds 22, 23, 24

[Evantra]

Last year's results -

PP - Plato
R1 - Plato
R2 - Sutton
R3 - Ingram

Driver changes include Carl Boardley replacing Caine at HARD; also the last round for Ricky Collard and Geddie (at least at the moment.)

[thlbtcc]

If Jordan doesn't bag a race one pole and the race one win in the BMW this weekend then I fear he'll never properly 'gel' with Colin's car.

Expect Plato to be on the podium again, claiming set-up break-throughs, just like 2017, then go back to the bottom of the grid at Silverstone and Brands.

Race 2 is set to be an Ash Sutton charge. Race 3 needs a bigger number pulled out of the hat if a FWD car will win this weekend.

[touringlegend]

Wonder if Plato will be in a position to gift the win to Sutton. He needs to score some big points if he’s got hopes of the title this year.

[thlbtcc]

Originally Posted by touringlegend

Wonder if Plato will be in a position to gift the win to Sutton. He needs to score some big points if he’s got hopes of the title this year.

Arguably he should have done that last season at Knockhill, but didn't. Doubt he would do it this season either.

[Racer65]

Originally Posted by thlbtcc

Arguably he should have done that last season at Knockhill, but didn't. Doubt he would do it this season either.

He said he wouldn't give up a win as it affects his earnings. Presumably he has a win bonus with the sponsors. He said he would have no problem giving up any other position.

Even without the financial side of it I can't see him giving up a win when he's so close to 100 wins.

[Evantra]

Boardley's colour scheme -

https://twitter.com/debbiesquires33/...446461440?s=21

[S griffin]

What's the weather forecast for the weekend?

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by S griffin

What's the weather forecast for the weekend?

Scottish!

[aland]

Originally Posted by S griffin

What's the weather forecast for the weekend?

if you can see the mast on the hill its going to rain, if you cant it is raining. if the mast hits you on the head its windy

[Alfisti]

Quack quack. Preferably with a woolly jumper or two, when the wind blows you get to know about it!

[gregc]

In fairness, since 2012 when I made my first pilgrimage up north, I only remember one really wet weekend. This one isn't looking great at the moment though I must admit....

[Alfisti]

I believe that he does have a bonus payment for wins; plus of course that 100 win target at the back of his mind. JP giving up a win is about as likely as something very unlikely: Boris Johnson becoming a paid up member of the Labour party for example!

[S griffin]

It’s amazing we haven’t had a proper wet race here since 2006. Could that all change this weekend?

[porsche962fan]

Originally Posted by S griffin

It’s amazing we haven’t had a proper wet race here since 2006. Could that all change this weekend?

Turks probably prays for scorching heat the only conditions were his Beamer really worked well this season

[Craner Curves]

Originally Posted by porsche962fan

Turks probably prays for scorching heat the only conditions were his Beamer really worked well this season

It's worked reasonably well everywhere if he's the championship leader and that's with the Donington disaster as well.

I think the title is Ingrams to lose. If he falters through reliability or something, then turkington will benefit with his consistency. Or Sutton will fluke it...

[Sodemo]

Originally Posted by porsche962fan

Turks probably prays for scorching heat the only conditions were his Beamer really worked well this season

The irony is that we had 7 weeks of scorching hot weather but not one race weekend fell during that period.

[mattcanary]

Originally Posted by Sodemo

The irony is that we had 7 weeks of scorching hot weather but not one race weekend fell during that period.

Thruxton, Oulton and Croft did. That's three race weekends.
Snetterton came about three days after the end of the heatwave!, (Saturday was very sunny but not that warm - very breezy indeed). Sunday was just ****-poor, (although the sun came out for the first time all day, about half an hour after the final race of the day - the 60th anniversary race!). I went to Snetterton too as it's my local track - this part of Norfolk really is located within the driest part of the UK, so it was very unfortunate that the meeting happened just after the heatwave ended. I went to a club meeting there about three weeks before and that was run under glorious conditions - conditions made for circuit motor racing. The bad weather at the BTCC meeting did seem to affect the attendance on the Sunday - thought it was really low, personally.

I have never liked the summer break, mind you. Britain doesn;t have the best of weather for much of the time, as we all know. So why take a month out during the time when you are most likely to get the best weather? Season ends too late in my opinion and starts too early. First race of 2018 at Brands was later than in 2017, at least. I went to Donington this year and last. It's too early in the year. I love the flowing track where there are plenty of great viewing spots. But weather has been poor both years - really cold in 2017, and even worse in 2018, (bitter weather with plenty of rain mixed in too). I'd run the season between May and September only.


I went to Thruxton. Very, very hot there - I got very sunburnt and that is what motor-racing should be about. Enjoying the sounds and smells of internal combustion engines in the heat.
I'd rather be sunburnt at Thruxton than wet too. Mainly grass banks there and I'm sure there would be real problems with cars getting bogged down on the ca-parks if it was really wet. All grass, and it was chaos exiting the car parks in the dry!

I like Thruxton though- it has a real old-school feel to it. A total contrast to the Jonathan Palmer run tracks. They do have too much of a corporate feel and track-limit rules get on my nerves. If you don't want people to run wide off corners to get the best lines, put a real disincentive in. Such as sausage kerbs or gravel-traps. Not that I think it is a real problem anyway - so what, if drivers leave the track limits? Doesn;t matter at all, really.

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by mattcanary

Thruxton, Oulton and Croft did. That's three race weekends.
Snetterton came about three days after the end of the heatwave!, (Saturday was very sunny but not that warm - very breezy indeed). Sunday was just ****-poor, (although the sun came out for the first time all day, about half an hour after the final race of the day - the 60th anniversary race!). I went to Snetterton too as it's my local track - this part of Norfolk really is located within the driest part of the UK, so it was very unfortunate that the meeting happened just after the heatwave ended. I went to a club meeting there about three weeks before and that was run under glorious conditions - conditions made for circuit motor racing. The bad weather at the BTCC meeting did seem to affect the attendance on the Sunday - thought it was really low, personally.

I have never liked the summer break, mind you. Britain doesn;t have the best of weather for much of the time, as we all know. So why take a month out during the time when you are most likely to get the best weather? Season ends too late in my opinion and starts too early. First race of 2018 at Brands was later than in 2017, at least. I went to Donington this year and last. It's too early in the year. I love the flowing track where there are plenty of great viewing spots. But weather has been poor both years - really cold in 2017, and even worse in 2018, (bitter weather with plenty of rain mixed in too). I'd run the season between May and September only.


I went to Thruxton. Very, very hot there - I got very sunburnt and that is what motor-racing should be about. Enjoying the sounds and smells of internal combustion engines in the heat.
I'd rather be sunburnt at Thruxton than wet too. Mainly grass banks there and I'm sure there would be real problems with cars getting bogged down on the ca-parks if it was really wet. All grass, and it was chaos exiting the car parks in the dry!

I like Thruxton though- it has a real old-school feel to it. A total contrast to the Jonathan Palmer run tracks. They do have too much of a corporate feel and track-limit rules get on my nerves. If you don't want people to run wide off corners to get the best lines, put a real disincentive in. Such as sausage kerbs or gravel-traps. Not that I think it is a real problem anyway - so what, if drivers leave the track limits? Doesn;t matter at all, really.

I think the idea of the summer break is to give the teams, and therefore the team members a break in the summer. They can then go on holiday with their families & friends during traditional holiday times. (Another side-effect of this is that it also allows super-keen supporters of the series to take holidays with their families and friends without missing any races).
This is The British Touring Car Championship so surely the races should be held in traditional British conditions which also includes the weather? Running a shorter season would make things even more intense for the teams, plus it would reduce the exposure time for the (much needed) sponsors too.

[mattcanary]

Originally Posted by S griffin

It’s amazing we haven’t had a proper wet race here since 2006. Could that all change this weekend?

Knockhill is in the east of Scotland. Annual rainfall isn;t that high there,

[Down F0rce]

Current forecast on BBC is rain all day on Sunday...

[Craner Curves]

The summer break is for TV purposes. So itv can show and work on the Tour de France throughout that time, plus the world cup was on too which takes away production staff.

[Racer65]

If that was the case why do many club series also have breaks at the same time?

The answer is holidays. These aren't professional racers. They have jobs and families.

I expect there is an element of the TV coverage in there but it's not the sole reason.

[Craner Curves]

Originally Posted by Racer65

If that was the case why do many club series also have breaks at the same time?

The answer is holidays. These aren't professional racers. They have jobs and families.

I expect there is an element of the TV coverage in there but it's not the sole reason.

It's primarily the TV coverage side of things. Remember when it was a fully professional series with paid drivers and it ran for 13 weekends from Friday to Sunday across 5 or 6 months and they ran on almost every bank holiday weekend too. It's nothing to do with holidays really, the whole schedule revolves around ITVs needs. If their production staff are in France or Russia, then they can't have a show.

[Evantra]

FP1 - Sutton fastest, 7 tenths under the lap record, from Goff and Jordan. Somehow Bushell put the VW into P5!

Also, at least 3 cars had issues with power steering so hopefully that's not a sign of things to come!

[Robin Marriott]

Sutton with a 51.293 in FP1, do you think we’ll see a 50.xxx if the weather holds off?