[BTCC] 2015 BTCC news & rumours

[RED55]

oh dear, that seems a little bit complexed .

isnt racing the main aim ?

[850Estate]

Originally Posted by CarsCarsCars

Not sure if im a fan of this. It could lead to some interesting grids though.

I quite like the sound of this. Whilst some Race 2s can see excellent battles from R1 re-started it is often the dullest BTCC race of the day. This should make things more interesting, should even give us a chance of seeing some new winners next year

I like the JST ideas as well. Top rookie or top single car team is a nice idea.

"All engines have now been re-tested and re-validated by both TOCA and an independent specialist company – this will result in a boost level being set for each car/engine type for the season. As the larger amount of success ballast will have a greater effect than before, the lap-time boost level adjustment can be dropped."
^^^Hopefully the above will help Dan Welch after last season's endless issues.

All in all I actually surprised myself by not being vehemently opposed to what they've done!

[CarsCarsCars]

Who were the people setting the best times in races last season? I know Morgan was often right up there getting fastest laps, could be a really good opportunity for him!

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

AJ and Adam Morgan will end up having good R2s. R3 could be very interesting.

[Speed-King]

Originally Posted by RED55

oh dear, that seems a little bit complexed .

It really isn't. The rule about no fresh tires will be pretty self-enforcing, as there will be no point in getting fresh tires for a run at the fastest lap, so what you see (in the race 1 laptimes) will be what you get (on the grid for race 2), with no after race reshuffling and discounting of laps needed.

[850Estate]

Originally Posted by CarsCarsCars

Who were the people setting the best times in races last season? I know Morgan was often right up there getting fastest laps, could be a really good opportunity for him!

The best times in Race 1 at each round were as followed. Couldn't be bothered working out a full grid or top 5!

Track/Name/Position in Race 1

Brands Indy/Andrew Jordan/1st
Donington/Rob Austin/29th (Think he changed all 4 tyres however) so excluding him Sam Tordoff/2nd
Thruxton/Andrew Jordan/1st
Oulton/Colin Turkington/1st
Croft/Colin Turkington/1st
Snetterton/Jason Plato/1st
Knockhill/Colin Turkington/DNF (What happens in the event of a DNF?)
Rockingham/Colin Turkington/1st
Silverstone/Matt Neal/21st
Brands GP/Colin Turkington/3rd

Just quickly searched all that so I may have got it wrong on a few occasions. I guess it'd be further down the grid where we'd see most changes.

Another positive is that if a driver is bumped off early it will give them something to aim for instead of lapping fairly pointlessly with little hope of catching the field.

[porsche962fan]

a chance for Honda to fight back or they will be left on a permanent base boost now ??

[porsche962fan]

something else , with the "single best car team" for Jack Sears very few would have been eligible this season

- AMD
- BTC Racing
- Rotek
- Laser Tools (Moffat)

would Belcher and Speedworks have counted or Clark in his Crabies Focus ?

but this would mean true independents like Dan Welch would be left outside of it cos he has 2 cars as does Rob Austin

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

You can't forget Houseman!!! Or Cicely. Or Pirtek

[BillWiskins]

Originally Posted by porsche962fan

a chance for Honda to fight back or they will be left on a permanent base boost now ??

Originally Posted by Regulation Changes

All engines have now been re-tested and re-validated by both TOCA and an independent specialist company – this will result in a boost level being set for each car/engine type for the season. As the larger amount of success ballast will have a greater effect than before, the lap-time boost level adjustment can be dropped.

.

[porsche962fan]

how do they make sure that's it the same engine spec over the season

for example if they were smart Honda could have sent an inferior engine for tests to get a higher boost then install a better engine in the actual car with the higher boost setting

EDIT also worth mentioning with much higher success ballast the fastest cars may finish in the middle of the grid for race 2 after race 1

[CaptRustyNail]

Originally Posted by Biscuits In A Red Bull

You can't forget Houseman!!! Or Cicely. Or Pirtek

Hehe Pirtek have two cars (Yes i know one is often invisible but still...) :P

[jsmee]

I don't like the R2 grid rule... Makes it far too confusing for trackside spectators. Also, we will also end up with grid dramas when it comes to track limits (ie if a car exceeds track limits on the fastest lap. Could cause more controversy).

To me if it ain't broke don't fix it!

[S griffin]

The last fastest race lap times decided the race 2 grid was Brands 97 when Saturday qualifying was cancelled due to Princess Di's funeral and that time cars came in to change tyres to try and get up the grid. But of course that won't work this time.

[crmalcolm]

At this point, I am seeing the proposed changes as broadly positive.
It would appear that the best car will not be any of the following criteria:
Highest Boost
Fastest Top Speed
Best Handling
Best transmission layout

but will be the car/team/driver that is least affected by ballast.

[TimRTC]

So, points 1 & 2 fix Jason Plato's moaning, point 3 fixes the Honda's whining, point 4 no-one cares about and point 6 is pretty ambiguous and most people will forget about until someone actually gets the trophy at Brands.

Fortunately #5 will liven things up, given that at the moment, winning race 1 almost guarantees a win in #2 as well, particularly on circuits like Oulton where there is just no overtaking these days. However I would favour using a different formula, like 2nd best qualifying time as there is a risk that backmarkers might run in quali spec during race 1 with the sole intention of getting fastest lap. Yes it would mean some interesting cars on pole but could well get silly with groups of cars trying to find clear air at the back of the pack to set a fast time.

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

I think it's all interesting and I hope that it produces better racing than the season just gone (but in some cases that will be hard).

[davyboy]

So they're going to 'equalize' the RWD advantage off the start and through the gears but I couldn't see the bit about 'equalizing' the FWD advantage in getting tyres up to temp quicker ?

[medius]

Originally Posted by davyboy

So they're going to 'equalize' the RWD advantage off the start and through the gears but I couldn't see the bit about 'equalizing' the FWD advantage in getting tyres up to temp quicker ?

Because its offset by the fronts going off quicker?

You can't equalize everything, and you shouldn't try to either.

[steve_r]

Fastest lap deciding grid order for race 2 works well in BSB. It's obviously very hard to compare this with BTCC, but I think it could work well. If you are punted off in race 1 through no fault of your own, or you have a mechanical issue it may be slightly easier to turn your weekend around.

The only downside, is that we might be denied a few epic drives from the back of the grid by cars out of position.

They need to be careful when tweaking rules for RWD cars. Collard and Austin occasionally had a good weekends, but were more often in the pack. Forster and Abbot rarely featured towards the front, despite their supposed RWD advantage. They could have just as easily introduced these amended rules for all drivers coming from Portadown called Colin.

[davyboy]

Originally Posted by medius

Because its offset by the fronts going off quicker?

You can't equalize everything, and you shouldn't try to either.

Judging by this season, the current spec tyres don't 'go off' at all. I'd prefer that very little was equalized but Alan Gow has a different view and Jason Plato has a different understanding of the term 'equalization'.

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

Originally Posted by davyboy

Judging by this season, the current spec tyres don't 'go off' at all. I'd prefer that very little was equalized but Alan Gow has a different view and Jason Plato has a different understanding of the term 'equalization'.

it's very true. Imo who's best wins, and hopefully that won't change into who's best at getting the regs changed to their favour...

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Biscuits In A Red Bull

it's very true. Imo who's best wins, and hopefully that won't change into who's best at getting the regs changed to their favour...

I don't think it will get like that, it's more about who can get their car to work best given the regs.

Plato had the regs 'in his favour' during the 2008-09 period without making full benefit of the situation.

[Craner Curves]

It's a shame this school sports day mentality of equality and "everyone's a winner" exists these days.

[SteveLevin]

Originally Posted by porsche962fan

how do they make sure that's it the same engine spec over the season

for example if they were smart Honda could have sent an inferior engine for tests to get a higher boost then install a better engine in the actual car with the higher boost setting

I would assume that TOCA reserves the right to dyno any engine at any time, and if they ever found a significant variation between pre-season and mid-season, that significant penalties would be applied unless it's Ferrari, i which case they will be told to carry on.

(do I get bonus points for combining a real answer with baseless rumors?)

Steve