TMSR may appear ....

[Super Tourer]

According to Motorsport News, TMSR are still working on a deal to enter the BTCC this year.

Team boss Tim Blake says that Brands is a no-no, but hopes to be out at Oulton.

I think we've heard all this before but who knows they may be out at OP!

[touringlegend]

Wouldn't hold my breath, remember that 2nd car? Well I have seen pictures of it.

[Cleland]

Let us hope and pray!

[Eddie_harasym]

And what are the pictures like TL?

[touringlegend]

A bare shell of a Lexus IS200.

[Cleland]

[touringlegend]

Sorry, should have mentioned that was like August last year, but I'm sure they have two cars prepared.

[pink69]

I really hope they do make the grid. The Lexus is a beautiful car and they could do with plenty of track time this year.I hope they make it, we really need more RWD cars.

[Super Tourer]

I'd like to see the Lexus out there too, but I don't believe that TMSR are the team to do it. They seem to be built on sand and Tim Blake portrayed himself as over optimistic at best (we never saw Radermacker or a 2nd car did we!).

I doubt that much meaningful development has been carried out on these cars over the winter and they haven't turned a wheel since the last race.

The game has been raised for this year and we await TMSR's much vaunted sponsorship deal.

Lexus should be in the BTCC, but with a team that can do it justice, against the much stronger opposition that the BTCC now provides.

I admire TMSR's effort's but in reality the car soon reached a plateau that they couldn't get over and ended up taking more of a backward step. It's a tremendously difficult and expensive task for a privateer to design, build, run and develop a team of two BTC cars as both TMSR and JSM found out.

Really its only within the remit of a factory backed team - who have the funds and engineering skills neccesary to compete at this level. IMO

[runnyhunny]

ST,

I agree with that.

Mind you, having watched all my 2001 Grandstand TV programmes recently, that Lexus was FAST at times. In particular, Thomas Erdos had a few strong fourth places, where he out-paced the FACTORY Peugeots.

Ultimately, though, despite 'BTC Touring' being cheaper than Super Touring, it's still not really possible for privateers to build their own cars. Shame.

We need the manufacturers to make new cars for 2003, then privateers can buy the 2001/2 cars. Or perhaps if a manufacturer would like to build a couple of cars for a factory team, but build bare-ish cars for sale to privateers?

[KA]

Originally posted by Super Tourer


Really its only within the remit of a factory backed team - who have the funds and engineering skills neccesary to compete at this level. IMO

In which case, the BTCC- in the long-term- could be in trouble, because the cost-cutting measures haven't worked.
If the series remains totally dependent on the manufacturers in the top class, then we could be right back where we were in 1999/2000 within a couple of years. It HAS to be possible for independent teams to compete in the Touring class without being an embarrassment and bankrupting themselves if the series is to maintain any kind of long-term stability- manufacturers come and go on the whims of their marketing departments.

Unless there are plenty of ex-factory cars available for independent teams next year, then I can't see BTC-T entries increasing beyond their present level at best.

Unifying the BTC and ETCC regulations during the next few years would help, as that would increase the pool of available cars

[Cleland]

Well maybe you are right!