[BTCC] 2014 BTCC Croft (Rds 13-15)

[davyboy]

Can't seem to find a thread on this... so have decided to open this one.

Free Practice 1 has seen Rob Austin and Fabrizio Giovanardi make contact with one another. Meanwhile Turkington tops the timing charts.

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

Adam Morgan finished 3rd and Nick Foster 4th. Not bad eh?

Weather is a bit iffy, and of course we get to see the new RWD gear ratios in effect for the first time...

[davyboy]

Originally Posted by Biscuits In A Red Bull

Adam Morgan finished 3rd and Nick Foster 4th. Not bad eh?

Weather is a bit iffy, and of course we get to see the new RWD gear ratios in effect for the first time...

Do they use 1st gear out of that hairpin ? If not, I'm not sure we'll see the effect until the start of race 1 tomorrow.

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

Originally Posted by davyboy

Do they use 1st gear out of that hairpin ? If not, I'm not sure we'll see the effect until the start of race 1 tomorrow.

We get to see isn't the same as we got to see. I probably should've written we'll get to see to add more clarity, but never mind. You can't really tell the effect through one hairpin anyway.

[Sodemo]

Austin caused the red flag. An off at T1.

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

P2 over now, Tordoff 1st, Jordan 2nd again (pole?), ahead of Morgan (P1 no fluke...), Turks, and Glynn Geddie.

Austin had a big shunt to end the session, whilst Plato was about to set his first flying lap after issues forced him into the garage when Austin crashed, preventing him from doing so.

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

Stockton has withdrawn with unsolvable engine issues...

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

Turks on pole by 3 tenths (not ten tenths) with 45kg. That isn't RWD advantage, that's Colin Turkington advantage

[S griffin]

And Plato can't blame his spin on the RWD advantage!

Paul O'Neill is right. Colin is the best at the moment. Justice has been done in that the best driver is on pole, despite the latest rule meddling. And with 45kg too.

[S griffin]

Also well done to the Alain Menu, let's hope he has a clean weekend, so we can finally see what he can do. Disappointment for the Fords though, the best is Jackson on row eight.

[davyboy]

Originally Posted by S griffin

And Plato can't blame his spin on the RWD advantage!

Paul O'Neill is right. Colin is the best at the moment. Justice has been done in that the best driver is on pole, despite the latest rule meddling. And with 45kg too.

It was a great lap by Colin... but as Paul O'Neill said, there'll probably be plenty of whingeing in North Yorkshire this evening about a BMW advantage.

[PandaKing]

Colin Turkington's pole time from last year would only have got him 14th on the grid this year. That was a new lap record, so it's says a lot for the NGTC development.

[porsche962fan]

Colin Turkington should be BTCC 2014 champion for sure, such raw talent and one of the nicest guys in the paddock

and enough winging from Plato and co , it isn't like the BMW are totally dominating, it's just Turks being very good

if it was the Civic Tourer at front Plato would moan that estates have an unfair advantage or something

[Sodemo]

I look forward to the next bout of moaning about the BMWs after croft and knockhill.

[davyboy]

Originally Posted by porsche962fan

Colin Turkington should be BTCC 2014 champion for sure, such raw talent and one of the nicest guys in the paddock

Very few would disagree with you there... however there are a few races to be taken care of first

Turkington's lap today will go down as one of the finest BTCC qualifying efforts in a long time. He's 0.732 ahead of Rob Collard, who's no slouch himself, and 1.2 seconds clear of Nick Foster... all while lugging 45Kg of ballast ! I'm afraid that the others will need to 'man up' and put that one down to the driver. Jason Plato came closest to alluding to it during his post qualifying when he said "That’s what happens when you get a great driver (Turkington) in a car with an advantage."

See here.

[porsche962fan]

I bet Turks could beat Plato if he is same car , he is that good

BTW if Plato moans that he wants to be in a RWD why doesn't he pull out cash out of the bag and pays for a WSR drive ?

[maximus]

Do you have a thing for Plato? It's all you seem to go on about, please give it a rest.

However I would love to see Turks take the title, he deserves it and is a classy driver.

[Bramzel]

Agreed on the above, enough with the moaning about Plato moaning. You made your point, time to move on.

[skells22]

i think that 30 cars for todays action and then we in a summer break as this championship, I wonder if there might be a few 1st turn issues today?

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

http://www.touringcartimes.com/2014/...d-in-the-btcc/

What Plato forgets is that there is Rob Collard - a fast driver who is on occasion a match for Turks - with 45kg less ballast than Turks sitting 6th on the grid. Plato needs to do something he tells everyone to do a lot - open his eyes. I'm sure that if he was in that car with 45kg he would've qualified on row 2, but nobody else on the grid could've taken pole by that much. Andy Jordan is the only other driver close to Turks...

...this is classic Plato. I'm not winning, and I can't change that, so change the rules. What he doesn't realise is that he's not the best driver in the business, and that WSR are a match for 888...

[redshoes]

Originally Posted by Biscuits In A Red Bull

Stockton has withdrawn with unsolvable engine issues...

Have you read the press release the team have put out - "We thought we were so prepared for the season...". They did zero pre-season testing and have been chasing their tails ever since. How exactly is that being prepared?

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

Originally Posted by redshoes

Have you read the press release the team have put out - "We thought we were so prepared for the season...". They did zero pre-season testing and have been chasing their tails ever since. How exactly is that being prepared?

Well, they've been sorting that car since the end of 2012 iirc, so I have no idea what they're doing...

[Sodemo]

Originally Posted by Biscuits In A Red Bull

http://www.touringcartimes.com/2014/...d-in-the-btcc/

What Plato forgets is that there is Rob Collard - a fast driver who is on occasion a match for Turks - with 45kg less ballast than Turks sitting 6th on the grid. Plato needs to do something he tells everyone to do a lot - open his eyes. I'm sure that if he was in that car with 45kg he would've qualified on row 2, but nobody else on the grid could've taken pole by that much. Andy Jordan is the only other driver close to Turks...

...this is classic Plato. I'm not winning, and I can't change that, so change the rules. What he doesn't realise is that he's not the best driver in the business, and that WSR are a match for 888...

Hmm, but I thought the BMW laptimes were "fine" and it was the starts they needed to peg back. Now its the laptimes aswell...?

I think possibly what it may be is down to the fact that the MG6 is a year older than the BMW, is a longer wheelbase and just isn't a great base for a racing car. I think 888 have done a good job, but maybe they themselves need to look at what they have done to improve their own car over the winter? Also I will take up Plato's point on the tyre degradation. This just isn't the case. We have seen from races this year that the BMWs have been struggling with their rear tyres towards the end of the race, remember Donington race 3? Also the tyres are totally designed around the FWD cars and their needs. The FWD cars suffer very little degradation over the course of the race, unlike the super exotic Michelins of the super touring era, which used to go off noticeably as the race wore on.

Also, no one seemed to bat an eyelid when Jordan won a race at pretty much every round in 2013. Or when MG had a dominant Oulton Park again in 2013.

[codename_47]

I would MUCH prefer a championship of RWD than the dominance of FWD TBH

Plato gotta Plato,
Remember when he had a clear advantage in straightline speed with the Turbo Diesel SEAT?
That was FINE! Anyone who complained about it was WRONG!

I know he plays a role and probably doesn't even believe half the stuff he says, I know he's the panto villain the BTCC probably needs, but I can't help looking forward to when his loud mouth and dirty driving presence retires from the series tbh

[BtccLee]

Originally Posted by codename_47

I would MUCH prefer a championship of RWD than the dominance of FWD TBH

Plato gotta Plato,
Remember when he had a clear advantage in straightline speed with the Turbo Diesel SEAT?
That was FINE! Anyone who complained about it was WRONG!

I know he plays a role and probably doesn't even believe half the stuff he says, I know he's the panto villain the BTCC probably needs, but I can't help looking forward to when his loud mouth and dirty driving presence retires from the series tbh

For those concerned about a further Rear Wheel Drive penalty, I tweeted Neil Hudson of Touring Car Times

I asked "So Sir, Can we expect Mr Gow to ignore Plato and the rest or is it all mounting up now #BTCC"

His response: " I can assure you, Gow will only take action if he believes there is an imbalance too, not because he is pressured by Plato."