BTCC 2013 - Any thoughts??

[I Rosputnik]

Originally Posted by Thorney

Plan is to build a GTC for Britcar next season, should be a lot cheaper than a BTCC car!

Now you just need a certain Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and Be... I mean Stig to drive the car!

[Craner Curves]

Originally Posted by BtccLee

And leave the BTCC? Might it be worth finishing one project properly before starting another?

How did you get leaving the BTCC from that?! Thorney are different to most BTCC teams. They're a tuning company in their own right and are involved in different series to showcase the technology they use. Hence the GTC project. The BTCC is all about marketing for their company and not so much showing off their technology, although it does show they have the ability to build cars. With the NGTC regs having a lot of spec parts, they can't exactly develop their own bits and stick them on the car like they can with a Britcar.

[Thorney]

Oh we have no intention of quitting the Btcc but as has been said its frustrating for us, we've spent £300k building a car and can't afford to race it! I can bang on about how the costs have rocketed blah blah but it is what it is so we need to move on. Every day I walk past the insignia just sat there when it should be on track but with no main sponsor, no Vauxhall support even though we've now proven its a competitive car we simply don't have the £20k a weekend to run it. We are hoping to sell it so we can assemble the second car and either sell that or race it ourselves next season.

We reckon a GTC Brotcar spec build will be nearer £75k to build so despite lack of tv, coverage something like Britcar would be cheaper for us to run in, ideally I'd like it alongside a Btcc campaign but no money means no money.

[touringlegend]

As soon as I win the EuroMillions Thorney, send me your number just incase..

[Thorney]

lol, I even entered Euromillions the other week.

We are talking with 4 big sponsors for next year who (in their words) 'admired our spirit and sheer will to win' but nothing as yet, am hopeful of course. Now we've proven the car can be competitive (remember Tony only got in it at 7.30am on the Sat for the first time) and only ran our full championship boost in race three I'm sure we can be a top 5 contender next season.

[Sodemo]

Hi Thorney,

What criteria do sponsors usually want fulfilled for a race car? For example, if a sponsor gives you £30,000 for one race, will they want a minimum of 30 seconds of screen time for their sponsor logo, or is it purely points based. So a points score will equal a sponsor bonus etc?

Cheers,

Ben.

[Thorney]

Originally Posted by Sodemo

Hi Thorney,

What criteria do sponsors usually want fulfilled for a race car? For example, if a sponsor gives you £30,000 for one race, will they want a minimum of 30 seconds of screen time for their sponsor logo, or is it purely points based. So a points score will equal a sponsor bonus etc?

Cheers,

Ben.

Every deal is different, some measure by tv time, some by other media or other commercial deals in the background. For example Yuasa are on board as Honda use them as battery supplier, pretty straight forward. I dont know of any points = prizes deals in the UK, these tend to be in the USA. Some people want VIP treatment, some want livery the art is to be flexible.

However get in the top 10 and you get tv time, outside of that there is feck all so thats everyones target. Hence at Snett getting up to that level wa simportant for us, not only showing the car could do it but also that we could justify a spend from a sponsor looking for exposure.

[Burp]

Good luck with everything Thorney, would love to see you team carry on.

[BtccLee]

When will we know about the calender next year?

Support package will be basically known on Sep 1st as that is when a new FRenault plan must be shown, rumours say that FFord will come back, possibly with wings. Clios could leave if they stick with SRO as promoter, although judging by what I have heard from good sources I believe it will switch to the BARC and stick with us. New car also a possibility, again I doubt so till 2014.

[Aunt Sally]

Interesting comments by Matt Neal on BTCC.net about the Motorbase NGTC Focus..

He added: “I think one to watch will be Jackson and the new Focus. With the NGTC common components they have the same suspension and tyres as us and they’ll figure it out very quickly.
“Clearly that Focus has some serious straight line speed and Mat knows how to hustle a car. I could even see him winning more races than any of us in the final four rounds.”

I see there is a picture in the latest InsideBTCC of Matt having a close look at the Focus at Snetterton...

[VXDave]

Yeah I could see Jackson winning races pretty easily. I was at Snett and the straight line speed of that new Focus was well- just as fast as the S2000 one! I reckon that engine will be pegged back as soon as he starts doing well, he was just driving around people at Snett! Great to see a new constructor though, need Ford to come back so we can have 3+ manufacturers!

[davyboy]

Originally Posted by Aunt Sally

Interesting comments by Matt Neal on BTCC.net about the Motorbase NGTC Focus..

I see there is a picture in the latest InsideBTCC of Matt having a close look at the Focus at Snetterton...

I agree with Matt Neal... Motorbase know how to make a touring car work and for something that hadn't turned a wheel before it got to Snetterton, it was mesmerizingly fast by the end of the day. In Matt Jackson's hands, it will win races before this year's out and will be a title challenger next year.

[ckBrenneke]

Was watching Andy Neate trundle around in his MG miles behind anyone at Knockhill and thinking about how 888 really need to put someone alongside Plato next season that can compete up front and get good points for the team. Fair play to Neate, he pays his money and spends his weekend doing something we'd all love to do, but he's not a front-running driver.

I'd imagine 888 will construct at least one new MG6 over the winter. Plato should get that new chassis, and (assuming they don't sell any off, which I can't see them doing) they'd have another two cars available. They'd be able to field Neate again if he has the budget in the third car. But they really need to get a good supporting paying driver in that second seat.

I'm thinking they should be having a word with Mr Newsham about his plans for next year...

[Speed-King]

Speaking of 888 - will they have an MG engine next year or continue with the TOCA/Swindon-lump?

[davyboy]

Originally Posted by ckBrenneke

Was watching Andy Neate trundle around in his MG miles behind anyone at Knockhill and thinking about how 888 really need to put someone alongside Plato next season that can compete up front and get good points for the team. Fair play to Neate, he pays his money and spends his weekend doing something we'd all love to do, but he's not a front-running driver.

I'd imagine 888 will construct at least one new MG6 over the winter. Plato should get that new chassis, and (assuming they don't sell any off, which I can't see them doing) they'd have another two cars available. They'd be able to field Neate again if he has the budget in the third car. But they really need to get a good supporting paying driver in that second seat.

I'm thinking they should be having a word with Mr Newsham about his plans for next year...

As I understand it, Neate part funds the team... without him [or somebody similarly well heeled]... the 2012 MG programme wouldn't have happened.

[PDS]

Provisional dates for 2013 released today:

Round, Date, Circuit, County
1, Sat 30/Sun 31 March, Brands Hatch Indy, Kent
2, Sat 20/Sun 21 April, Donington Park, Derbyshire/Leicestershire
3, Sat 4/Sun 5 May, Thruxton, Hampshire
4, Sat 8/Sun 9 June, Oulton Park, Cheshire
5, Sat 22/Sun 23 June, Croft, North Yorkshire
6, Sat 3/Sun 4 August, Snetterton, Norfolk
7, Sat 24/Sun 25 August, Knockhill, Fife
8, Sat 14/Sun 15 September, Rockingham, Northamptonshire
9, Sat 28/Sun 29 September, Silverstone, Northamptonshire
10, Sat 12/Sun 13 October, Brands Hatch Grand Prix, Kent

[ckBrenneke]

Originally Posted by davyboy

As I understand it, Neate part funds the team... without him [or somebody similarly well heeled]... the 2012 MG programme wouldn't have happened.

I'm not saying Andy hasn't paid well for that drive, nor that he doesn't deserve to be there. I'm saying that in order for MG/888 to compete with Honda, WSR and Motorbase as a team, they need to expand to three cars and get a well-funded, quick driver alongside Plato and Neate.

It was clear 888 were having engine woes at Knockhill from the start. Before the first race, I passed the 888 awning, and Ian Harrison and a Swindon engineer were have a rather deep conversation regarding the engine. In race one, Plato was holding everyone up before Smith punted him - and IMO, it was a punt - because it appeared he simply had no grunt from the engine.

Moreso in race two. Was expecting Plato to come tearing through the pack (ala 2009 in the Lacetti), yet he could hardly keep up with Jeff Smith's Civic. Before race three, they had a Q&A at the Tesco stand, where they lamented the awful weekend, and Neate mentioned how they'd been having significant electrical issues, resulting in the car switching off the engine and resetting itself throughout the lap.

The sooner MG/888 develop their own engine, the better. My mechanic mate that was with me had a look at the engine of the MG6 road car and told me it was running a turboed K-series engine, so I'm assuming they'd have to use that as the base for their NGTC engine.

[Icebaby]

888 have stood behind Andy Neate so why would they drop him, where is the proof he pays for his drive, he's there surely because the team pick him?

[Craner Curves]

Originally Posted by Icebaby

888 have stood behind Andy Neate so why would they drop him, where is the proof he pays for his drive, he's there surely because the team pick him?

He's there because they picked his bag of cash. Which as far as I am aware, is not a crime. But you'd think it was in some cases the way some people go on about it.

[ckBrenneke]

Just to clarify...

Originally Posted by ckBrenneke

I'm not saying Andy hasn't paid well for that drive, nor that he doesn't deserve to be there.

I'm certainly not a Neate hater. He's entitled to spend his money how he likes, and I'm sure he'd beat me in a race. But regardless of how much money he has, he's not a front-runner, which surely MG need. It cannot be good marketing seeing one of the MGs off the pace week in, week out.

Which is why I would think 888 would be looking to field a THIRD car - not dropping anyone - for someone like Newsham, Tom Onslow-Cole, or even Rob Collard, ie well-funded and competitive. I'd think Dave Newsham would be fantastic in NGTC machinery.

[Craner Curves]

Would the team leader appreciate having a competitive teammate though?

[davyboy]

Originally Posted by Icebaby

888 have stood behind Andy Neate so why would they drop him, where is the proof he pays for his drive, he's there surely because the team pick him?

It's common knowledge that Andy Neate [Ceravision] paid for his drive with 888. If you want proof, then a nod from 'Aunt Sally' on here is about as close as you'll get to it. As has been said, there's absolutely nothing at all wrong with that and I'm quite sure that 888 are delighted to have him [and his funds] on board.

[Aunt Sally]

You can think whatever you like about the circumstances why Neate is at 888. I am not going to tell you any different.

But what I will say - I don't believe his seat is gauranteed for 2013, for two reasons. Firstly 888 are currently in 5th place in the teams championships and second, some 40 points behind Honda in the constructor/manufacturer table.
I would expect that Jason Plato has scored most of those points as Neate is currently in 17th place in the drivers table, 206 points behind his team mate!

Yes MG need someone with a decent budget, but at what cost to overall results of the Team, which, let's face it, must be MG's priority.

And the second reason??? I'll leave that one for later....

[ckBrenneke]

Originally Posted by Aunt Sally

Yes MG need someone with a decent budget, but at what cost to overall results of the Team, which, let's face it, must be MG's priority.

Like I said, there's some competitive drivers out there that could bring a decent budget to the table, and play second fiddle to Plato in race-winning machinery while securing good points for the team and even the odd win for themselves. But if MG are prepared to pay for a driver, they'd be totally stupid not to look at Paul O'Neill or Colin Turkington.

And the second reason??? I'll leave that one for later....

Wouldn't have anything to do with Andy's tweets recently, this?

[Aunt Sally]

Originally Posted by ckBrenneke

Wouldn't have anything to do with Andy's tweets recently, this?

Enlighten us!

I don't tweet, too much BS on it!