BTCC 2007 News, Rumours, Entries... - Page 15

thereal_tdb · 25 Jan 2007, 20:49 (Ref:1825958)

Alfa fan. you missed Mark Jones off your S2000 list.

Quote:

Originally Posted by redshoes

I would probably discount Kizilirmak anyhow on the basis that he wouldn't necessarily choice to drive a BTC-T car

Well i have to disagree, on the grounds that he turned down S2000 cars and chose to purchase all 3 888 astra sport hatches for 07!

But i do agree that it is Alan Gow's hard work, enthusiasm and understanding of what Teams want and need that has made the BTCC the success it is today!

touring fan01 · 25 Jan 2007, 22:55 (Ref:1826069)

Quote:

Originally Posted by redshoes

The point Boots, Andy and myself are trying to make is that if Gow had decided not to switch to S2000 then his subsequent work would have come to very little.

thats a very very strange way of looking at it!
the fact is that he did, so your "what if" hypothesis is completely meaningless.

besides, how do you know what alternative he would have done if he didn't switch to S2000 and if his work would have come to very little? with respect thats more meaningless hypothesis. you are presuming he would just keep things the way they were? he's a lot smarter than that!

we are so very good at talking things down around here and coming up with all sorts of 'armchair expert' theories mostly which prove to be nonsense.

we sit in our armchairs thinking we know it all but we dont. like I said before, his record speaks for itself and thank gawd he is in charge and not us :-)

**touringlegend** · 26 Jan 2007, 10:01 (Ref:1826266)

Media Day confirmed for the 13th March at Rockingham: http://btcc.net/html/generalnews_detail.php?id=395

BootsOntheSide · 26 Jan 2007, 12:57 (Ref:1826440)

There will be a lot more S2000 cars on the grid in 2007 than ever before. Probably more than the overall car count at most 2005 races. The BTC-spec cars can be thought of as a bonus, and right now we're expecting at least 7 of those. Entering the BTCC in a S2000 car was always off-putting, especially to privateers, because of the difficulty of evening out the rules to make both car types equally competitive - that problem is basically gone now. There are lots of ex-works S2000 cars on the market, but very few BTCs now that Honda and MG are gone from works competition.

redshoes · 26 Jan 2007, 18:13 (Ref:1826716)

Quote:

Originally Posted by touring fan01

besides, how do you know what alternative he would have done if he didn't switch to S2000 and if his work would have come to very little? with respect thats more meaningless hypothesis. you are presuming he would just keep things the way they were? he's a lot smarter than that!

Now you are just being pedantic. When I said "decided not to switch to S2000" I of course meant "decided to stick with BTC-T", which was the context that this was original brought up on the last page.

I'm a firm believer that had we stuck with BTC-T the series would be in a much poorer state now, and I'm not the only one who believes that. That's not to say there is anything wrong with BTC-T - back in 2001 it was the right thing to do but it's been overtaken by events. Once the opportunity arose I don't believe Gow would have gone any other way bar S2000. The formula may have it's faults but it was the only realistic option.

touring fan01 · 26 Jan 2007, 23:26 (Ref:1826890)

Quote:

Originally Posted by redshoes

Now you are just being pedantic. When I said "decided not to switch to S2000" I of course meant "decided to stick with BTC-T", which was the context that this was original brought up on the last page.

I'm a firm believer that had we stuck with BTC-T the series would be in a much poorer state now, and I'm not the only one who believes that. That's not to say there is anything wrong with BTC-T - back in 2001 it was the right thing to do but it's been overtaken by events. Once the opportunity arose I don't believe Gow would have gone any other way bar S2000. The formula may have it's faults but it was the only realistic option.

same difference. the point is that it was Gow that decided to take the rules and series in the direction he has. so to say that it was the switch to s2000 that is the main momentum for the series is endorsing exactly what i said, that its all down to Gow's leadership. he took control of a rudderless ship, he made the decision to go the direction it is going and he ramped the whole championship up again.

or do you really believe the series would be in better shape now if he wasn't in charge? its real simple, if the asnwer is no then you must agree that its all down to his leadership.

the interpreter · 27 Jan 2007, 10:39 (Ref:1827055)

any news on the Arena Motorsport BMW plans?

ATF · 27 Jan 2007, 14:02 (Ref:1827145)

Quote:

Originally Posted by the interpreter

any news on the Arena Motorsport BMW plans?

Since the initial speculation of Arena running BMWs, there have been no announcements and it is thought to be no longer happening.

Aunt Sally · 27 Jan 2007, 16:13 (Ref:1827216)

Quote:

Originally Posted by the interpreter

any news on the Arena Motorsport BMW plans?

They were looking at BMW's, but decided against coming into the BTCC this year! They are now planning a return in 2008...

**FIRE** · 27 Jan 2007, 17:23 (Ref:1827258)

Isn't Arena planning every year to enter touring BTCC...

**touringlegend** · 27 Jan 2007, 18:12 (Ref:1827289)

I assume they'll be looking for a manufacturer team to run if they come back.

I guess the BMW option is appealing but they'd be up against RAC and maybe not have the same funds to prepare the cars.

BootsOntheSide · 27 Jan 2007, 19:42 (Ref:1827350)

Precisely TL - if there's no real chance of being the top BMW team, there's no real value in entering when you have a CV like Arena and Mike Earle. Another year of sportscars would probably be a far better option long-term.

ATF · 29 Jan 2007, 19:35 (Ref:1828842)

You are both right, but I agree with FIRE - it DOES seem like Arena plans hardly ever materialise in the BTCC. They would be a welcome return IMO and we could have 5 top teams!

Tim Wilkinson · 29 Jan 2007, 23:53 (Ref:1829105)

An interesting comment on someone's website....

Quote:

"TOURING CAR SPARES PROUDLY SPONSOR

THE J-TEAM BMW S-2000 BTCC CAR FOR 2007

GOOD LUCK JIM !"

Ideas and thoughts?

Alfa Fan · 30 Jan 2007, 00:04 (Ref:1829111)

Very interesting. Hopefully we'll see more about this soon!

redshoes · 30 Jan 2007, 13:23 (Ref:1829420)

I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say that that 'Jim' refers to Jim Pocklington and that the car is a ex-BTCC BMW rather than a BMW in the BTCC.

Pocklington used to drive a SuperTouring Primera in Formula Saloons and more recently in Dutch Supercars. Last year the car ran with TCS decals over the wheelarches. That car is now on the TCS website for sale. Pocklington's co-driver in DSC was Michael Wilson (Wilbo on this forum) who owns the ex-Edenbridge S2000 BMW last used in the BTCC by Justin Keen.

My guess is that Jim has now brought that BMW. There's an outside chance he could be in BTCC with it but more likely would be DSC.

Tim Wilkinson · 30 Jan 2007, 13:57 (Ref:1829442)

I'd figured it was that Jim, but we couldn't work out where the BMW link was - I didn't know Michael had one, or that the older versions were S2000.

redshoes · 30 Jan 2007, 18:01 (Ref:1829586)

It's a bit of an assumption, I don't know for definite if Jim has brought that car. If it is that one then it's one of the earliest S2000 - built by Edenbridge towards the end of 2003.

**touringlegend** · 30 Jan 2007, 21:03 (Ref:1829685)

Wasn't it a production car built up with the BMW Motorsport kit ?

redshoes · 30 Jan 2007, 21:26 (Ref:1829707)

That's essentially what all S2000 cars are. BMW provided a shell and S2000 kit which the team had to assemble. WSR will be doing much the same with their cars this year.

TCS · 30 Jan 2007, 21:47 (Ref:1829729)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Wilkinson

An interesting comment on someone's website....

Ideas and thoughts?

Hi , This post has been drawn to my attention and so to clarify , yes Jim Pocklington has bought the ex Edenbridge Justin Keen /Kevin Clarke car , Wilbos's car ( the ex Michael Bentwood car ) has been sold and was closer to a BTC-P Production car than the S-2000 spec BMW that J-Team intend to field in the 2007 BTCC ! Although a couple of years old , this car represents a good value entrant and hopefully after its additional seasons of development , a quick one , although only time will tell .
A purpose built website will detail the cars and teams progress but for now my site will have some info on the front page and maybe a few pics once the livery is fuly sorted ,
Cheers .

Ranald · 30 Jan 2007, 22:00 (Ref:1829740)

http://touringcarspares.com/

This helps clear this up a little.

redshoes · 30 Jan 2007, 22:04 (Ref:1829745)

Welcome TCS, and thanks for clarifying. For some reason I always thought Wilbo had the S2000 car. Still, I got the right car even I got the wrong owner.

Jim's always done well in DSC, so hopefully he can continue do the same in BTCC. Always good to see a new face out there.

Tim Wilkinson · 30 Jan 2007, 22:05 (Ref:1829746)

That's great news, Tony. I heard a couple of hours ago that Jim was doing BTCC, and it's good to have it confirmed by you as I thought I might be having my leg pulled!

Jim's a top guy, and a quick driver, and if his past cars are anything to go by the BMW will be immaculate.

Wilbo · 30 Jan 2007, 22:59 (Ref:1829788)

OK, so its out in the open now!

Jim converted my production car to S2000 which was an S2000 spare to Keens car when I bought but then put back to production spec - follow!

My car is now in Sweden (was a lovely ferry trip home - not!) and is a V8 monster! Hopefully I should be getting some pictures soon!

Jim was going to run my car in S2000 for a year but I had taken a deposit on the car. I knew Kevin was murmmering on the brink of selling so we made a trip over and bought the car.

See Redshoes, your just too good. Go and and hide in a dark room for a while!

This should be the formation of a team which goes on to do good things in the future. There is a possibility of a second S2000 BMW appearing this year but only very slim at this point in time.

Tony's been a great help and we have the formation of a great team. When we won at Brands in the DSC the boys worked miracles in doing an engine change between practice, then no clutch for qually so engine out again, what a job on a supertourer!

Jim's a quick boy so he may spring a surprise or two. However the E90 cars are better on turn in where as the 46's you're always waiting a little to get on the power (see excuses already! ha ha!).

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