British GT Championship 2010

[macca]

Unless it's hiding under another title, I can't see a thread on this - although there are threads on everything else under the sun...........

So is anyone else watching it on Motors TV? (and bits can be seen on Youtube) The entry seems a bit patchy, and some teams have missed some races; hardly any Porsches, no Moslers, only the odd Viper and Corvette, lots of Ferraris...........and some terrible driving standards (and I don't necessarily mean the J*nes twins!).

Paul M

[Andy 308GTB]

As I recall there were no Porsches in British GT last year either but despite the relatively small grid it was an exciting series to watch - the Motors TV coverage was excellent. I haven't seen the Knockhill round yet but I'll form more of an opinion after that - either way I'll still be at Brands in September to watch it.

As an aside, the Britcar GT series grid has shrunk a bit this year - but the Bute GT Cup has got a huge grid (40 cars). It has to come down to costs. The GT Cup is a series of individual races not a championship - so you don't have to commit to the whole series, this must be appealing to teams on a tight budget.

[SALEEN S7R]

No Porsches? What about the Trackspeed Porsche that took part at Knockhill. Ok only 9 GT3 entries for Knockhill but this race traditionally gets less entries than some of the other races, Oulton however had 12 GT3 cars. There has been a fair ammount of variety in this years GT3 class, Aston, Ferrari, Porsche, Ascari, Viper, and Audi. What more do you want?

Sure GT cup has more entries, but it doesent have the quality IMO, same applies for Britcar.

[GroupOfOne]

Oulton was an excellent race(s), especially as the two United Autosports Audis were boosting the grid, and will do again later this season.

There may only be one Porsche, but in the hands of Ashburn and Siso Cunhill it was one of the quickest cars in Oulton. As proved by that and the sister car both looking pretty useful in GT3 at Silverstone earlier this month.

As Saleen says, Knockhill always attracts a reduced grid, but the grid has actually grown in 2010 from 2009, so things are looking up.

[Andy 308GTB]

Originally Posted by SALEEN S7R

Sure GT cup has more entries, but it doesent have the quality IMO, same applies for Britcar.

I don't disagree with you.

However, there are some top quality entrants in Britcar and the GT Cup/Trophy series - why don't they step up to the British GT series? Is it too big a commitment or is it cost?

I am a huge fan of the British GT series, I'd love to see 20/25 car grids but the numbers seem to be going the wrong way.

[TheNewBob]

Originally Posted by macca

The entry seems a bit patchy, and some teams have missed some races; hardly any Porsches, no Moslers, only the odd Viper and Corvette, lots of Ferraris...........and some terrible driving standards (and I don't necessarily mean the J*nes twins!).

Not seen a 'Vette in BGT for a few years!

What strikes me about BGT nowadays is surely the fact that there is absolutely nothing that makes this series stand out anymore. Poor grids, poor driving standards, expensive, and cars which largely resemble those found in larger numbers in more characteristic series like Britcar and GT Cup.

So my question is - why should anyone bother with BGT anymore?

[renkadima]

Originally Posted by TheNewBob

Not seen a 'Vette in BGT for a few years!

What strikes me about BGT nowadays is surely the fact that there is absolutely nothing that makes this series stand out anymore. Poor grids, poor driving standards, expensive, and cars which largely resemble those found in larger numbers in more characteristic series like Britcar and GT Cup.

So my question is - why should anyone bother with BGT anymore?

Poor driving standards? Who says? Expensive? You pays your money, you takes your choice. Poor grids? Could be better, but there were more cars at BGT Knockhill than Britcar Croft a fortnight ago. Cars? Where else will you see a Porsche GT3 R, Ferrari Scuderia, Ascari KZ1R or Audi R8 LMS race in a UK series this year?

Why BGT? Prestige largely, and the opportunity to compare yourself against the likes of Allan Simonsen.

Watch the Knockhill race on Motors - that might answer a few questions.

[AstonGeoff]

Trouble is your average punter wants to see a lot of GT cars on the track, ok so BGT has better quality than GT Cup (which is now a championship I beleive) and Britcar, but.... Would your average punter know the difference between a Scuderia and an older 430, or the latest Porker GT3 and a 3 year old one? So from a specatators point of view GT Cup is the best option at the moment, I watched them at Silverstone not long ago and it was a fantastic grid and fantastic racing all the way down the field.

BGT is a money game, most of the cars have a pro-driver and the owner or pay-driver, the more money you have the better the pro and the better the car, and with the way the economy has been lately there is less money about as we all know. I'm guessing that GT Cup and Britcar are a lot cheaper to enter than BGT by some way, but all three get TV coverage to some extent, plus the rules and equalisation are probably better and more consistent than the constantly changing BGT ones!

Hopefully BGT will pick in a year or so's time, it sure needs to! I'd love to see a grid of 30 or more proper GT3 cars with no need for a few GT4 cars to try and pack the grid out. There are plenty of GT3 cars out there...