[BTCC] BTCC 2018 Rumours & Silly Season

[Racing Harz]

April 7/8 – Brands Hatch (Indy)
April 28/29 – Donington Park
May 19/20 – Thruxton
June 9/10 – Oulton Park
June 23/24 – Croft
July 28/29 – Snetterton
August 11/12 – Rockingham
August 25/26 – Knockhill
September 15/16 – Silverstone
September 29/30 – Brands Hatch (Grand Prix)
http://www.touringcartimes.com/2017/...sary-calendar/

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by Racing Harz

April 7/8 – Brands Hatch (Indy)
April 28/29 – Donington Park
May 19/20 – Thruxton
June 9/10 – Oulton Park
June 23/24 – Croft
July 28/29 – Snetterton
August 11/12 – Rockingham
August 25/26 – Knockhill
September 15/16 – Silverstone
September 29/30 – Brands Hatch (Grand Prix)
http://www.touringcartimes.com/2017/...sary-calendar/

Same old calendar: I guess it ain't broke so doesn't need fixing.

Seems a bit early to start speculating on which car the Pirtek logo might reside next year... but we've got to start at some point!

How about the Scoooobaruu, might look like the 555 cigarette packet Impreza if you squint...

[luckn002]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

Same old calendar

though Knockhill and Rockingham have switched and a shorter summer break. 60th anniversary year, do we think they'll do anything special?

[S griffin]

First time they've changed the calendar since 2012. So the Rock is now on before Knockhill and the season now ends in September

[CM388]

Thruxton's been bumped forwards by a couple of weeks too, which is great since it won't clash with the Mrs' birthday as it did this year!

[pagey318]

Heard a rumour Kia are coming...

[redshoes]

Originally Posted by CM388

Thruxton's been bumped forwards by a couple of weeks too, which is great since it won't clash with the Mrs' birthday as it did this year!

No doubt moved to avoid a clash with Isle of Man TT and French Open tennis. Oulton and Croft squeeze into the gap between those two and Tour de France.

[sceptic]

Originally Posted by redshoes

No doubt moved to avoid a clash with Isle of Man TT and French Open tennis. Oulton and Croft squeeze into the gap between those two and Tour de France.

No, Thruxton's moved the other way, it's closer to both the tennis and TT.

[VIVA GT]

Well, could be good for me as Donington has been moved away from my wedding anniversary it will cost me far less Brownie Points to go if I get my usual invite!

[Sodemo]

Seems like a little bit of a missed opportunity to do something a little different for the 60th. Could have done a long distance race or a night race for example.

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by Sodemo

Seems like a little bit of a missed opportunity to do something a little different for the 60th. Could have done a long distance race or a night race for example.

I thought OK, 60th anniversary, maybe a 1 hour race. The trouble being that the current crop of BTCC cars (unlike a lot of their Group A predecessors from many years ago) aren't set up for re-fuelling.

[S griffin]

I'd sooo love to see the return of a 1hr race. We had some amazing guest appearances, Damon Hill, Ratzenberger, Grice, Dumfries, Dieudonne, Gilbert-Scott, Blomqvist, Borgudd etc. etc

[Akrapovic]

Donington has moved from mid April to late April. This might help the ridiculous British GT, WEC, ELMS clash we've had for the last 2 years. Having all these series run at once split the fan base, and more importantly, the marshal resources too thinly.

[touring fan01]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

Donington has moved from mid April to late April. This might help the ridiculous British GT, WEC, ELMS clash we've had for the last 2 years. Having all these series run at once split the fan base, and more importantly, the marshal resources too thinly.

well every year the BTCC put out its calendar may months before all the others. So any clashes certainly are not BTCC's fault.

[BSchneiderFan]

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

I thought OK, 60th anniversary, maybe a 1 hour race. The trouble being that the current crop of BTCC cars (unlike a lot of their Group A predecessors from many years ago) aren't set up for re-fuelling.

Could the current cars really not run for an hour on one tank of fuel?

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by touring fan01

well every year the BTCC put out its calendar may months before all the others. So any clashes certainly are not BTCC's fault.

Sorry I don't agree. The bigger the series, the more priority it gets. WEC has to work its way between Formula E, Blancpain, ELMS and F1. It shouldn't have to fiddle with its calendar because a national touring car series posts its dates super early.

BTCC is a national series. It should fit between the big events that only come once a year. It appears they have done just that with the Donington date.

[BillWiskins]

Originally Posted by BSchneiderFan

Could the current cars really not run for an hour on one tank of fuel?

Well... I'm no engineer or technical expert, but they're designed and built very specifically for the BTCC, right? Which has had three 20-25 minute races per meeting for the last one hundred years. So why bother giving them the fuel capacity to run for longer than they'll likely ever need to?

[touring fan01]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

Sorry I don't agree. The bigger the series, the more priority it gets. WEC has to work its way between Formula E, Blancpain, ELMS and F1. It shouldn't have to fiddle with its calendar because a national touring car series posts its dates super early.

BTCC is a national series. It should fit between the big events that only come once a year. It appears they have done just that with the Donington date.

don't agree at all. BTCC has by far biggest audience in UK of any of those series apart from F1 of course. So it would be ridiculous for it to play second fiddle to much much less popular races.

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by touring fan01

don't agree at all. BTCC has by far biggest audience in UK of any of those series apart from F1 of course. So it would be ridiculous for it to play second fiddle to much much less popular races.

The highest figure I can find for BTCC is 44,000 (Brands Hatch 2015). Most seem to come in at a very respectable 30,000 for a weekend. 2016 WEC at Silverstone was 52,000.

TV is probably a different story, but given that more people attend WEC ELMS weekend (it is a double header), and WEC has to fit round major series world wide, it is significantly easier for BTCC to move their date - which is exactly what they have done. This will benefit both series, since Donington and Silverstone weren't a million miles apart and just stealing fans from each other that weekend.

[touring fan01]

I was talking TV audience. It's silly to think BTCC should take second place to series that have a very very small following in this country. do you think NASCAR or Australian v8 series would alter their calendar because there is a blancpain race that hardly anyone watches on TV (by comparison) on the same weekend in Italy for example? of course not.

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by touring fan01

I was talking TV audience. It's silly to think BTCC should take second place to series that have a very very small following in this country. do you think NASCAR or Australian v8 series would alter their calendar because there is a blancpain race that hardly anyone watches on TV (by comparison) on the same weekend in Italy for example? of course not.

I think you're misunderstanding my point (and why BTCC has moved the date). NASCAR and Blancpain (or Australian V8s) aren't happening in the same country, nevermind on close proximity. So nobody needs to move a date because they aren't really tripping over each other.

However BTCC was hosting a race weekend on the same weekend as WEC and ELMS, and only 60 miles away. It wasn't the TV clash that was the problem, it is splitting the gate attendance and marshal resources between the sites. And then to add insult to injury, 70 miles the other direction from BTCC was British GT at Oulton Park. So again, the gate attendances take a hit, and marshals get diluted further. They had a marshal making this point on the Midweek Motorsport podcast that this wasn't really sustainable.

You're right about TV, but TV wasn't the problem. The finite number of fans, marshals and resources in a very condensed area wasn't good for any of the series. WEC has problems moving because a lot of drivers do double duty with Formula E and Blancpain, whilst for BTCC it was a relatively simple move - and that's exactly what they've done. Potentially you'll raise attendances and improve marshalling on both weekends because of that move, so it's great to see BTCC look at the wider motorsport picture and move a weekend or two over.

[Greem]

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

I thought OK, 60th anniversary, maybe a 1 hour race. The trouble being that the current crop of BTCC cars (unlike a lot of their Group A predecessors from many years ago) aren't set up for re-fuelling.

That makes it sound like they get filled up at the start of the season! Amazing fuel economy if so

[Akrapovic]

That's the next step for F1 and WEC. Engine and Gearbox must last 5 races, and fuel must last a season.

[Matt K]

But do you think that 1hr race would really work? I'd rather see new circuits on the calendar...

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by Matt K

But do you think that 1hr race would really work? I'd rather see new circuits on the calendar...

I can't see why it wouldn't - although you do have to wonder how many cars would be left by the end, there are plenty of casualties in the short races!

Which circuits would you like to see added to the calendar? I'm not sure if there are any that could host the BTCC - Castle Combe, Pembrey, Anglesey, Mondello Park are the obvious candidates but they all have issues that probably mean they're not viable.