[WTCC] 2016 WTCC news & rumours

[Mies7337]

Totally agree with the fact that the WTCC is way too expensive, but Ribeiro had to change to the TC1 rules thanks to Citroen. The future is the TCR, unfortunately for the WTCC. Touringcars can't be too expensive, we want to see action on track, not drivers knowing they cannot have an accident, otherwise they'll miss the next round of the championship.
The WTCC needs at least 2 more manufacturers in the near future, otherwise the racing will be as boaring as it has been the last 2 years.

[Bramzel]

Originally Posted by GM10

A world championship with 20 cars is a bit ridiculous. In 2006/2007 there were about 20 cars counting only works team, for a total of 25-26 adding indipendents entries.

20 cars is plenty, as long as thh racing is good. Which it isn't

[Matt]

The cars need to not be made entirely of carbon fiber. They're too brittle.

Just run NGTC rules everywhere.

[Loran]

Originally Posted by Matt

The cars need to not be made entirely of carbon fiber. They're too brittle.
Just run NGTC rules everywhere.

Rule NGTC are interesting to nobody outside Britain. And NGTC too expensive for the national championships. Swedes tried them to use, at them it didn't turn out.

[Matt]

BTCC is a national championship and they've now got two series in the country running the cars.

Sweden is a mess from a Touring car standpoint anyway, just look at STCC.

[Bramzel]

BTCC has NGTC up and running, but any other championship would be silly to choose NGTC over TCR. Which, to go back on-topic, would be the better format for WTCC. Actually Lotti left the WTCC because he didn't agree the direction they took, and now he's proven his point. Ribeiro should drop his DTM-act.

[Matt]

IMO, the TCR cars just don't seem spectacular enough to warrant top billing for the world championship.

[GM10]

Originally Posted by Bramzel

20 cars is plenty, as long as thh racing is good. Which it isn't

And you're absolutely right

I don't like so much NGTC specifications, because there are too many different types of car, although there is also a large number of manufacturers involved. The show in touring car championships is needed, but it's also necessary a bit of basic equality between the cars. And TCR, for me, is the right thing.

[BSchneiderFan]

Originally Posted by Matt

IMO, the TCR cars just don't seem spectacular enough to warrant top billing for the world championship.

They also seem to be geared towards hatchbacks rather than saloons, which I think is a shame. But if we need an affordable, universal set of touring car rules, I suppose we may have to swallow TCR.

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by Matt

BTCC is a national championship and they've now got two series in the country running the cars.

Sweden is a mess from a Touring car standpoint anyway, just look at STCC.

NGTC would be right choice for WTCC but is way to expensive for a national championships.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by FIRE

NGTC would be right choice for WTCC but is way to expensive for a national championships.

How is NGTC too expensive for a national championship when the BTCC has ~32 cars at every race meeting, and they've got enough cars to start up a second tier championship as a feeder series using the same cars?

[GregoryDG]

Originally Posted by Matt

How is NGTC too expensive for a national championship when the BTCC has ~32 cars at every race meeting, and they've got enough cars to start up a second tier championship as a feeder series using the same cars?

The BTCC is bigger than Formula 1 in the UK, isn't it?

[Metzo]

Originally Posted by GM10

Ribeiro definitively killed the category, thank you so much François.

wasn't it lotti who came up with the tc1 rules, at least worked on them? ribeiro took over just 2 months before the first race of 2014, can't really blame him for everything.

[Rubio]

Originally Posted by Bramzel

20 cars is plenty, as long as thh racing is good. Which it isn't

IMO, the main problem is not the the amount of entries, not the TC1 regulations (although, yes, it's harder to overtake now) - it's the poor level of the competitiveness which leads to dull races. When Citroens were in the midfield racing was simular to pre-TC1 era (Motegi, Moscow, etc). Unfortunately it's tough to cope with it, competitors should become stronger

[iceman-1987]

Btcc dead at the end of 2000!! The actual btcc is just bulls**t of championship!

Ribeiro doesn't know more what to invent to give appeal to the series that he is destroying! Wtcc has no future going on in this way!! The ex D2 regulation was cancelled just because of high cost cause the cars were too expensive for an whole season and now we arrived at the same point! The champions now barely survive thanks to the 4 manufacture and few historic team. Before if some manufacture left the serie there were anyway indipendet team that could buy the cars now it happens always more rarely! The TCR is without doubts the future

[Rubio]

As for TCR - yes they are the regulations of the future. For national and regional championships. It's a great formula for privateers.

They won't work in the world championship terms, as manufacturers won't be interested in running these cars as a works entry. On the other hand TC1's are probably too expensive, ideal regulations should be somewhere in the middle - for example, upgraded NGTC formula without standartization.

[Metzo]

Originally Posted by iceman-1987

Btcc dead at the end of 2000!! The actual btcc is just bulls**t of championship!

BTCC had 11 ST Cars and 3-4 Production Cars on the grid at the most races in 2000, people rate the 2000 season as one of the worst in the series history and yet you say today's BTCC, with a grid of 32 cars, is bullshit?

[Matt]

Originally Posted by Metzo

BTCC had 11 ST Cars and 3-4 Production Cars on the grid at the most races in 2000, people rate the 2000 season as one of the worst in the series history and yet you say today's BTCC, with a grid of 32 cars, is bullshit?

Par for the course with him, really.

[Bramzel]

Originally Posted by BSchneiderFan

They also seem to be geared towards hatchbacks rather than saloons, which I think is a shame. But if we need an affordable, universal set of touring car rules, I suppose we may have to swallow TCR.

That's a period thing though. In the 90's the saloons ruled the world, the businessmen of those days drove Cavaliers/Vectra's and Mondeo's, usually saloons. These days the busnessmen drive Golfs, Leons and 308's, as they've evolved and grown even past the size of the Vectra's and Mondeo's. And with the current cross-over trend we might even see those racing in a couple of years

Originally Posted by Metzo

wasn't it lotti who came up with the tc1 rules, at least worked on them? ribeiro took over just 2 months before the first race of 2014, can't really blame him for everything.

By then the discussions were going on for much longer already though from what I know, between Lotti and Eurosport. Eurosport being the promotor called the shots, but Lotti didn't agree. Eventually either he left himself or was replaced with Ribeiro, I don't know which one it was.

Of course I didn't sit at their table so its only hear-say of course. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

Originally Posted by Rubio

IMO, the main problem is not the the amount of entries, not the TC1 regulations (although, yes, it's harder to overtake now) - it's the poor level of the competitiveness which leads to dull races. When Citroens were in the midfield racing was simular to pre-TC1 era (Motegi, Moscow, etc). Unfortunately it's tough to cope with it, competitors should become stronger

While that is true, the TC1 cars do depend on aero too much and are too fragile. I mentioned before that I've never seen as much destroyed rear suspensions as the last 2 years. Competitors need to step up for sure, but the cars need to be beefed up as well though!

Originally Posted by iceman-1987

Btcc dead at the end of 2000!! The actual btcc is just bulls**t of championship!

[Rubio]

Originally Posted by Bramzel

While that is true, the TC1 cars do depend on aero too much and are too fragile. I mentioned before that I've never seen as much destroyed rear suspensions as the last 2 years. Competitors need to step up for sure, but the cars need to be beefed up as well though!

I agree, especially on the part of fragile cars. It's not good when you lose 1/3 of the field after minor touches.

Just a thought - Citroen built a tank having a year to develop the car, Honda built the Civic in somewhere about 4 months and was fragile in 2014, becoming stronger in 2015, Lada built everything in the last minute in 2015 and suffered from a minor scratch. Maybe it's also not the problem of the regulations but rather the problem of timing for manufacturers which were forced to build cars in the short period of time? Time will tell, of course

But then, implementing such costy regulations in 2014 and not in 2015 as initially planned was a big mistake.

[Matt]

Bullshit championship, guys!

[S griffin]

I agree the new regulations have hardly made the racing more exciting in WTCC. That said I didn't care too much about the quality of racing on the Nurburgring as that track is mega enough for any series

[Bramzel]

Originally Posted by Bramzel

And with the current cross-over trend we might even see those racing in a couple of years

http://www.dailysportscar.com/2016/0...r-for-n24.html

[Mark0994]

[QUOTE=Bramzel;3606593]

http://www.dailysportscar.com/2016/0...r-for-n24.html

Not the first time
http://www.webcarstory.com/voiture.php?id=4182
http://www.webcarstory.com/voiture.php?id=10274

[thlbtcc]

[QUOTE=Mark0994;3606633]

Originally Posted by Bramzel

http://www.dailysportscar.com/2016/0...r-for-n24.html

Not the first time
http://www.webcarstory.com/voiture.php?id=4182
http://www.webcarstory.com/voiture.php?id=10274

That Pug was epic.