[BTCC] Brands Hatch 6/7 May 23, Rounds 4/5/6

[Trebor902]

Originally Posted by Evantra

Rowbottom gets the blame for the Jelley crash. Penalty points and a reprimand.

https://www.barc.net/wp-content/uplo...-Rowbottom.pdf

Absolute joke.

[Trebor902]

Without sounding like a stuck record but that was another boring one.

[Matt K]

Originally Posted by Trebor902

Without sounding like a stuck record but that was another boring one.

Perhaps we were watching different races, mine was nice. A good and interesting race is not about the number of overtakes in my opinion.

Happy to see Ash win, way too early to say Cammish has the upper hand on him...

Must say I already dislike the option tyre. Hybrid already throws some strategy (and mixed results) to the mix so really no use to put another variable iMO.

[porsche962fan]

it was at front

[Evantra]

Thompson on pole for R3. Fingers crossed for a repeat of last year, though he dropped back a bit in that race.

Could well see a Toyota 1-2-3 with them all starting in the top six.

[Mike Harte]

[Sarcasm Alert] To whoever posted that Sutton was no longer the supreme racer, it is now abundantly clear that he is certainly past it and has today only been able to achieve a first and a second. What a waste!

It's obvious that he should immediately give up his seat to allow a young thruster to take it and drive the team forward! [Close Sarcasm]

[Trebor902]

Another weekend, more instances of safety cars being out for a lap or more before anything is done about moving cars

[AnnoyedMoose]

Originally Posted by Trebor902

Another weekend, more instances of safety cars being out for a lap or more before anything is done about moving cars

Until all cars are under control they won't do anything. A close up shot of a stationary car doesn't show what else is happening on track.

Plus, in the instance of a car just stopping like that, they will wait to see if the driver can do a reboot and get going again. If they put a recovery truck out just as the driver got it going people would complain about that as well.

It's not an easy job.

[Greem]

Oh, the ignominy of waiting, counting to ten, pulling on your gloves and running out to a stopped car only to find yourself standing in the middle of nowhere as the car drives off.

On live TV.

Nobody I know has done that. Oh dear me no.

[Trebor902]

Rear punctures on 2 bmws, interesting. And collard rightly penalised for track limits. Every lap he's been off and then putting Sutton on the grass on start straight was his usual disgusting driving standards

[porsche962fan]

what a bummer

BTCC is getting worse than politics

[Robin Marriott]

Originally Posted by Trebor902

Another weekend, more instances of safety cars being out for a lap or more before anything is done about moving cars

If there’s any circuit in the country where they’re going to take safety of the marshals seriously, it’s Brands Hatch.

[Evantra]

Hmm looks like the Collards aren’t playing ball with that.

Same thing happened after Snett with Ingram last year. Take the penalty on the chin, don’t make an idiot of yourself.


Thompson P2, whoop whoop! Sutton 11th to 1st (ish) is a gauntlet thrown.

[Robin Marriott]

Originally Posted by Trebor902

Rear punctures on 2 bmws, interesting. And collard rightly penalised for track limits. Every lap he's been off and then putting Sutton on the grass on start straight was his usual disgusting driving standards

I think 10 seconds was a bit harsh but rules are rules and a big penalty is the best way to try to get everyone to stay between the lines.

Very much enjoyed that last race, penalty aside.

[AnnoyedMoose]

How did he get a 10 second penalty? 3rd offence is 5, 4th is 10 so how do you get straight to 10?

[BTCC frog]

Ultimately it was meaningless because of Collard's penalty (and you could clearly see him going off at Paddock Hill Bend every lap), but that was such a thrilling battle between Collard and Sutton for the lead on the last lap, proper touring car racing once again. So far, I am loving the 2023 BTCC season.

Meanwhile, despite an excellent point-scoring day for Dan Cammish, Sutton has closed to just ten points behind. I think he is the BTCC's best driver since 1991 and is surely favourite for a fourth championship this year, although there are clearly five contenders emerging. Ingram was also outstanding, the second-best driver on the grid, while I think Hill will also be a contender right towards the end of the season. Cammish and Turkington may start to fall away.

So far, disappointing seasons for Cook and Butcher. Butcher often struggles for consistency and is performing similarly to Collard, but Cook's problem appears to be the Honda. It might well be the worst of the seven cars on the grid at the moment. Hopefully it will improve.

Good weekend also from Sam Osborne, while Tom Chilton has clearly stepped up since last year. Bobby Thompson and Ricky Collard are doing extremely well to outperform Lloyd and Gamble, against my expectations, while the Cupra in general seems to be much better this year.

And a very underwhelming weekend from the star of Donington, Andrew Watson for Power Maxed. It was probably just a one-off. Mikey Doble is also proving to be a better than the backmarker pack, but that group seem to all be improving, with Butel's best qualifying.


Also, Sutton scored over 60 points with his remarkable weekend. Has that happened before in the BTCC?

Eaves (Thruxton 2005) and Plato (Brands Hatch 2009) were before 20 points for a win, and I can't remember any other results of 1-1-2 and three fastest laps.

[Jon411]

As much as it pains me to say it - Sutton is looking unstoppable in that Ford.


It will be interesting to see how Snetterton goes but if Ash comes out of there with a decent points haul, especially if he outscores Tom, Colin and Jake then I think we are in for one of the strongest championship runs we have seen in a while.

[Trebor902]

Originally Posted by Jon411

As much as it pains me to say it - Sutton is looking unstoppable in that Ford.


It will be interesting to see how Snetterton goes but if Ash comes out of there with a decent points haul, especially if he outscores Tom, Colin and Jake then I think we are in for one of the strongest championship runs we have seen in a while.

It's seemingly normal service resumed for Ash, he's a step above the rest in anything whether it be fwd or rwd

[Matt K]

Wow what a race from Sutton! Probably not the way he wanted to snatch a victory but rules are the rules and actually looking at the Sutton v Collard battle there was a clear difference between the class of the drivers. Yes, I might be slightly biased but anyway. Collard seems a bit too hot-headed for success at the moment. Ash is absolutely class of the field, the way he performs his manoeuvres and all of that is definitely a top notch. Still a lot can happen, Ingram will be super strong as well, expect Cammish to be in the fight as well, Hill and Turkington will definitely be there as well but Sutton looks way stronger than last year. So far at least.

Shame for Butcher, Gamble and Hill though, pretty unfortunate. And Toyotas looked set for all cars inside Top 6-7 but ended up with just Collard in eighth. Disappointing but the car is certainly fast.

[Evantra]

I thought #33 in that Legends crash had pulled up to help the guy out who rolled… never seen someone run away so fast!

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by BTCC frog

Also, Sutton scored over 60 points with his remarkable weekend. Has that happened before in

Turkington had a 60pt weekend in 2020.

[Evantra]

…and Ricky making himself look like a tool again with that interview I think.

[Matt K]

Originally Posted by Evantra

…and Ricky making himself look like a tool again with that interview I think.

Shame I didn't see that... what did he say?

[Evantra]

Originally Posted by Matt K

Shame I didn't see that... what did he say?

Suggesting that TOCA / BTCC have something against him or his dad!

[Matt K]

Originally Posted by Evantra

Suggesting that TOCA / BTCC have something against him or his dad!

LOL pathetic