BTCC 2024 News & Rumours

[MarcusH26]

Originally Posted by coffinpilot

There is one other possibility. Deals (some, or all) might be signed, but with there being a gap to testing kicking off the BTCC team might have asked for announcements to delayed and spread out.
I mean it's March 2nd, we're a month away from official testing (I know some teams will start creeping out of the garage soon) which leaves a bit of a big gap to fill. In other years when there was a bigger grid you could drip releases every few days, but with three drives (or more if a.n.other joins the grid) the championship wouldn't want all three announced tomorrow. I get the feeling with the new PR team they're trying to coordinate to stay in the news.
The worst thing they can have now is a few weeks where everything is known and nobody has anything to gossip about!

https://www.btcc.net/2024/01/09/coming-soon-in-the-btcc/

Going off this from January it sounds like there is some spreading out planned. I don't think we've had anything announced via Kwik Fit yet?

[S griffin]

Hopefully something is announced soon. Been too quiet right now

[SSmith]

Originally Posted by coffinpilot

There is one other possibility. Deals (some, or all) might be signed, but with there being a gap to testing kicking off the BTCC team might have asked for announcements to delayed and spread out.
I mean it's March 2nd, we're a month away from official testing (I know some teams will start creeping out of the garage soon) which leaves a bit of a big gap to fill. In other years when there was a bigger grid you could drip releases every few days, but with three drives (or more if a.n.other joins the grid) the championship wouldn't want all three announced tomorrow. I get the feeling with the new PR team they're trying to coordinate to stay in the news.
The worst thing they can have now is a few weeks where everything is known and nobody has anything to gossip about!

I agree. Worth adding that we are coming up to the cut-off date for registering for the championship as outlined in BTCC Regulation 1.4.1 although there is the possibility of a late registration:

"All drivers, entrants, teams and manufacturers/constructors must register with TOCA for the Championship in accordance with Commercial Undertaking 6.5. The completed and signed Registration Form, Waiver and Indemnity Agreement and Privacy Policy statement with the Registration Fee must be received by the Co-ordinator prior to 12 noon on Friday, March 15th, 2024. The Administrator has the right at their absolute discretion to accept or reject any registration for the Championship received after Friday, March 15th, 2024 upon such terms as they think fit. Applicants will be notified whether or not they have been accepted as entrants to the Championship by Friday, March 22nd, 2024, to a maximum of 32."

Pure guesswork here, but I would imagine it could be the week commencing Monday, March 18th that the final pieces of the puzzle will begin to be announced, with the remaining 3 (or perhaps 4-5) announcements made in the ensuing fortnight before official testing begins.

[TyH]

Originally Posted by SSmith

I agree. Worth adding that we are coming up to the cut-off date for registering for the championship as outlined in BTCC Regulation 1.4.1 although there is the possibility of a late registration:

"All drivers, entrants, teams and manufacturers/constructors must register with TOCA for the Championship in accordance with Commercial Undertaking 6.5. The completed and signed Registration Form, Waiver and Indemnity Agreement and Privacy Policy statement with the Registration Fee must be received by the Co-ordinator prior to 12 noon on Friday, March 15th, 2024. The Administrator has the right at their absolute discretion to accept or reject any registration for the Championship received after Friday, March 15th, 2024 upon such terms as they think fit. Applicants will be notified whether or not they have been accepted as entrants to the Championship by Friday, March 22nd, 2024, to a maximum of 32."

Pure guesswork here, but I would imagine it could be the week commencing Monday, March 18th that the final pieces of the puzzle will begin to be announced, with the remaining 3 (or perhaps 4-5) announcements made in the ensuing fortnight before official testing begins.

Great work and insight that^^^ Will be good to see who takes the last few seats, as well as these mystery Cupra's 'laying' about

[coffinpilot]

Originally Posted by SSmith

I agree. Worth adding that we are coming up to the cut-off date for registering for the championship as outlined in BTCC Regulation 1.4.1 although there is the possibility of a late registration:

"All drivers, entrants, teams and manufacturers/constructors must register with TOCA for the Championship in accordance with Commercial Undertaking 6.5. The completed and signed Registration Form, Waiver and Indemnity Agreement and Privacy Policy statement with the Registration Fee must be received by the Co-ordinator prior to 12 noon on Friday, March 15th, 2024. The Administrator has the right at their absolute discretion to accept or reject any registration for the Championship received after Friday, March 15th, 2024 upon such terms as they think fit. Applicants will be notified whether or not they have been accepted as entrants to the Championship by Friday, March 22nd, 2024, to a maximum of 32."

Pure guesswork here, but I would imagine it could be the week commencing Monday, March 18th that the final pieces of the puzzle will begin to be announced, with the remaining 3 (or perhaps 4-5) announcements made in the ensuing fortnight before official testing begins.

Am I imagining things, but did the registration get delayed at the last minute last year for Hard - I'm thinking Edwards? I'm sure they'd put it back a little if there are a couple of deals close to being sorted without activating the financial penalty for lateness.

[billy bleach]

I would think they will accept entries on the eve of the first race at the moment !!

[S griffin]

Originally Posted by billy bleach

I would think they will accept entries on the eve of the first race at the moment !!

Shades of Plato 09

[SSmith]

Originally Posted by coffinpilot

Am I imagining things, but did the registration get delayed at the last minute last year for Hard - I'm thinking Edwards? I'm sure they'd put it back a little if there are a couple of deals close to being sorted without activating the financial penalty for lateness.

I also seem to recall something along those lines as the Edwards deal came together late in the day.

[MarcusH26]

I wouldn't be surprised if something comes up as late as Media Day in terms of announcements. If this extra shell for an existing team rumour that was in Autosport last week is true that could be one that runs close.

[touring fan01]

Originally Posted by SSmith

I agree. Worth adding that we are coming up to the cut-off date for registering for the championship as outlined in BTCC Regulation 1.4.1 although there is the possibility of a late registration:

"All drivers, entrants, teams and manufacturers/constructors must register with TOCA for the Championship in accordance with Commercial Undertaking 6.5. The completed and signed Registration Form, Waiver and Indemnity Agreement and Privacy Policy statement with the Registration Fee must be received by the Co-ordinator prior to 12 noon on Friday, March 15th, 2024. The Administrator has the right at their absolute discretion to accept or reject any registration for the Championship received after Friday, March 15th, 2024 upon such terms as they think fit. Applicants will be notified whether or not they have been accepted as entrants to the Championship by Friday, March 22nd, 2024, to a maximum of 32."

Pure guesswork here, but I would imagine it could be the week commencing Monday, March 18th that the final pieces of the puzzle will begin to be announced, with the remaining 3 (or perhaps 4-5) announcements made in the ensuing fortnight before official testing begins.

theres a difference between when registrations close and when the entry list is published on april 16

entry list is always published on their media day so we might not know the last few pieces until then

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by SSmith

I agree. Worth adding that we are coming up to the cut-off date for registering for the championship as outlined in BTCC Regulation 1.4.1 although there is the possibility of a late registration:

"All drivers, entrants, teams and manufacturers/constructors must register with TOCA for the Championship in accordance with Commercial Undertaking 6.5. The completed and signed Registration Form, Waiver and Indemnity Agreement and Privacy Policy statement with the Registration Fee must be received by the Co-ordinator prior to 12 noon on Friday, March 15th, 2024. The Administrator has the right at their absolute discretion to accept or reject any registration for the Championship received after Friday, March 15th, 2024 upon such terms as they think fit. Applicants will be notified whether or not they have been accepted as entrants to the Championship by Friday, March 22nd, 2024, to a maximum of 32."

The key phrase here is - 'The Administrator has the right at their absolute discretion to accept or reject any registration for the Championship received after Friday, March 15th, 2024 upon such terms as they think fit.'

Originally Posted by coffinpilot

Am I imagining things, but did the registration get delayed at the last minute last year for Hard - I'm thinking Edwards? I'm sure they'd put it back a little if there are a couple of deals close to being sorted without activating the financial penalty for lateness.

Originally Posted by touring fan01

theres a difference between when registrations close and when the entry list is published on april 16

entry list is always published on their media day so we might not know the last few pieces until then

For reference, the 2023 date for registration fees to be paid (ordinarily) was March 17th. The following drivers were confirmed publicly after that date:

Jade Edwards - April 4th
Nic Hamilton - April 6th
Will Powell - April 11th

[Craner Curves]

Turkington is definitely back if you listen to Dick Bennetts on the latest Rusty's Garage podcast.

[ScottS]

Has anyone else seen the small subtle media changes happening within BTCC ever since the new media company has taken over? I'm seeing more driver content popping up on YouTube and just recently, I've been getting the On The Limit Series 4 trailer come up as an advert before watching any F1 content on YouTube.

I feel like the media company have been given some pocket money to try and tap into the YouTube market and maybe drag more of an audience into BTCC.

Could I be getting my hopes up too soon on just more BTCC content hitting the 'tubes through the season...

[Dudley]

At this point, regardless of what he's going to say in public Gow should be considering this a crisis. From the 32 cars he apparently didn't want really quite recently we're looking at a likely 21, maybe even 20 this year and 15-16 of those are concentrated in 3 mega teams.

If WSR, Exelr8, "Alliance" or Speedworks pull out then suddenly you start looking at grids of the size of the immediate post super touring era.

[CarfanLUFC]

Team HARD have just become active again on facebook and have posted about the scholarship programme.

[BobJones]

Originally Posted by ScottS

Has anyone else seen the small subtle media changes happening within BTCC ever since the new media company has taken over? I'm seeing more driver content popping up on YouTube and just recently, I've been getting the On The Limit Series 4 trailer come up as an advert before watching any F1 content on YouTube.

I feel like the media company have been given some pocket money to try and tap into the YouTube market and maybe drag more of an audience into BTCC.

Could I be getting my hopes up too soon on just more BTCC content hitting the 'tubes through the season...

Fantastic, hope so - sadly, I think the championship has failed this platform/demographic for a long time.

[Millvi]

Originally Posted by Dudley

At this point, regardless of what he's going to say in public Gow should be considering this a crisis. From the 32 cars he apparently didn't want really quite recently we're looking at a likely 21, maybe even 20 this year and 15-16 of those are concentrated in 3 mega teams.

If WSR, Exelr8, "Alliance" or Speedworks pull out then suddenly you start looking at grids of the size of the immediate post super touring era.

But if another Cupra appears and an additional Focus or Hyundai then it’s hardly a crisis. And perhaps 2 or 3 Civics back for 2025?

I do think Mr Gow will be under pressure from M-Sport though. I wonder if the contract stipulates a minimum number of participants using the TOCA engine option? Wasn’t that the reason for the additional Cupra and Astra last year?

[Robin Marriott]

Originally Posted by Dudley

At this point, regardless of what he's going to say in public Gow should be considering this a crisis. From the 32 cars he apparently didn't want really quite recently we're looking at a likely 21, maybe even 20 this year and 15-16 of those are concentrated in 3 mega teams.

If WSR, Exelr8, "Alliance" or Speedworks pull out then suddenly you start looking at grids of the size of the immediate post super touring era.

But maybe that’s a good thing. The dire grid sizes post SuperTouring eventually lead to a new rule set which encouraged a boom in entries. That could be exactly what needs to happen.

I don’t think he’ll have his head in the sand about it all…

[Millvi]

Originally Posted by CarfanLUFC

Team HARD have just become active again on facebook and have posted about the scholarship programme.

And perhaps to run a single Cupra for Crees? A rental TBL and car from Carl Boardley?

[BobJones]

Smaller grid, sure - but there are still several drivers who could win any race at any time. If the new rules mix things up as they should, I expect more on-track drama, more controversy, more eye-balls and then hopefully for 2025, more sponsors.

Wishful thing - maybe. But I believe that's what Gow is hoping for.

[Millvi]

Did anyone watch the YouTube piece with Matt Armstrong visiting Aston Martin F1? There's a bit of a link there with Valvoline.

Matt chatted with Jess Hawkins and she did say she has confirmed race plans for 2024 but went no further. Could that be a BTCC Focus (she's driven it before) and Valvoline livery perhaps? I think that would be amazing. And given what Pete Osborne's pulled off this last couple of years he might just have something like this up his sleeve.

That Valvoline livery went down so well last year.....

[Millvi]

EDIT - ooops! double posting. Deleted this duplicate.

[Dudley]

Originally Posted by Robin Marriott

But maybe that’s a good thing. The dire grid sizes post SuperTouring eventually lead to a new rule set which encouraged a boom in entries. That could be exactly what needs to happen.

I don’t think he’ll have his head in the sand about it all…

Oh yeah, but that's basically what I mean. He won't be stupid enough to say it publicly but he needs to take it seriously and I'm sure he is.

Originally Posted by Millvi

But if another Cupra appears and an additional Focus or Hyundai then it’s hardly a crisis. And perhaps 2 or 3 Civics back for 2025?

Well yes if it magically becomes not a crisis it won't be a crisis.

But I will say I never believe "We've suspended our program for one year". I can think of many, many examples of that meaning "You'll never see us again" and off the top of my head only 1 (Motorbase) where it was true.

An additional Focus or Hyundai run by the same team doesn't help though, because it's much more of a problem to me that we have only 6 teams than it is the car number itself. If Toyota or BMW get cold feet or Mr Osbourne gets bored suddenly you really are looking like immediate post super touring grids and considering a "Class B" again.

[TyH]

Originally Posted by Millvi

And perhaps to run a single Cupra for Crees? A rental TBL and car from Carl Boardley?

Just seen the post on Facebook, someone asked for a BTCC operation update, and they replied along the lines of they'll be an official update soon, fighting away.

I think the 1 car entry could be a real possibility, as if they have completely ceased operations, you'd like to think they wouldn't put 'fighting away'

Thoughts?

[Robin Marriott]

https://www.autosport.com/btcc/news/...turn/10582978/

Well then…