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BTCC 2016 Official Thread


lionel hutz

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Was down at Croft at the weekend, cracking days racing although the amount of cars going off at Clervaux and Hawthorn didn't half lead to a lot of safety car periods.

 

If anyone's going to Knockhill you need to see the Subarus in real life. The TV just does not do them justice, they are stunning bits of kit, some of the best looking and best engineered touring cars I've ever seen. The sound is incredible too, that boxer engine is at least twice as loud as most of the others.

 

Good to see them prepared to battle with each other as well, no team orders there! The first and second races they were the class of the field, but the BMWs were obviously strong too on their traditional haunting ground. Glad to see Jack Goff continuing to improve in RWD, and my tip for the title Sam Tordoff once again was strong despite a full engine change between R1 and R2. Having seen the state that car was in about an hour before the race started it's remarkable it got out at all!

 

Miserable weekend for the Hondas, both looked miles off the pace and Shedden in particular looked far more hesitant than he normally is behind the wheel. His car was displaying all the body language of one which wanted to get home as soon as it could.

 

Race 3 was pretty fascinating. Delighted for Ash Sutton getting his first win, after everything he's been through, and I was surprised by how good the MG looked again. Obviously with Triple Eight running out of the same workshop as BMR there's been quite a bit of data sharing between Plato and the MG boys and it seems to be working. The guys on slicks didn't stand a chance as the rain go heavier, but kudos to Alex Martin for sticking with them. His laps were woefully slow, but he spent most of his time drifting through the complex which was good entertainment.

 

Drive of the weekend though? Jake Hill in R1. That's an ancient car he's running now, and it looked a real handful, but he held off Collard expertly to take his best ever finish. It's a shame his budget consists of 2 buttons and a smarties tube, because he's easily one of the most talented drivers on the grid.

 

Big summer break now, and plenty of work for Honda to do. I think I'm right in saying that the annual tyre test at Snetterton isn't too far away, so that will be interesting.

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I'm a little behind with the BTCC and the support races this year, I've still to watch Thruxton and however many rounds after that. I'll catch up with them all after the Euros.

I'm going to Knockhill for the Super Tourers then obviously the BTCC. I'm wondering how you can buy VIP tickets for the BTCC though. I used to go VIP every year with my dad and brother with Peugeot Sport and I was hoping to return the favour to him this year but I have no idea where to look.

Has anyone done this before? Or does anyone know how or where I could get tickets like this? I'm not really fussed about what team it is, I'm just looking for some information.

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I'm a little behind with the BTCC and the support races this year, I've still to watch Thruxton and however many rounds after that. I'll catch up with them all after the Euros.

I'm going to Knockhill for the Super Tourers then obviously the BTCC. I'm wondering how you can buy VIP tickets for the BTCC though. I used to go VIP every year with my dad and brother with Peugeot Sport and I was hoping to return the favour to him this year but I have no idea where to look.

Has anyone done this before? Or does anyone know how or where I could get tickets like this? I'm not really fussed about what team it is, I'm just looking for some information.

You'd be best to drop them a message on Facebook or Twitter if you can. Hospitality is pretty massive in the BTCC at the moment so there's plenty of options, but Team Hard seem to be particularly vocal on Twitter/Facebook about it. I'd try them first if you fancy it, but just fire any of the major teams a message on Facebook/Twitter and they'll point you in the right direction. BKR do it alongside Triple Eight (assuming it's the same as it was at Croft) as well, so I'd imagine that could be pretty good.

 

Hard

 

Speedworks

 

Jack Goff

 

BKR

 

That's a few links to Facebook pages, I'd fire one of them a message and I'm sure they'd point you in the right direction!

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I'm going to go to knockhill for the first time in a good few years in August. I'll be honest I can't be bothered with the support races I usually skip them if I remember to record the race day.

Rob Collard has impressed me the last few race meetings and Ash Sutton was immense in the rain in the final race at croft.

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You'd be best to drop them a message on Facebook or Twitter if you can. Hospitality is pretty massive in the BTCC at the moment so there's plenty of options, but Team Hard seem to be particularly vocal on Twitter/Facebook about it. I'd try them first if you fancy it, but just fire any of the major teams a message on Facebook/Twitter and they'll point you in the right direction. BKR do it alongside Triple Eight (assuming it's the same as it was at Croft) as well, so I'd imagine that could be pretty good.

Hard

Speedworks

Jack Goff

BKR

That's a few links to Facebook pages, I'd fire one of them a message and I'm sure they'd point you in the right direction!

Cheers for that, I'll check them out tomorrow. I was quite surprised last year with the amount of hospitality at Knockhill, in fact the whole race day was pretty busy! I've been some years when the crowds were quite poor, so it was great to see.

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Cheers for that, I'll check them out tomorrow. I was quite surprised last year with the amount of hospitality at Knockhill, in fact the whole race day was pretty busy! I've been some years when the crowds were quite poor, so it was great to see.

Croft at the weekend was the busiest I've ever seen it. The queue for the pitlane walkabout went the length of the paddock! I remember about 2005 feeling the series might die a low death and become a far more low Key Championship, but NGTC has completely reinvented it, it's fantastic to see crowds similar (or even greater) than in the Supertouring days.
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Croft at the weekend was the busiest I've ever seen it. The queue for the pitlane walkabout went the length of the paddock! I remember about 2005 feeling the series might die a low death and become a far more low Key Championship, but NGTC has completely reinvented it, it's fantastic to see crowds similar (or even greater) than in the Supertouring days.

Aye the switch to NGTC was brilliant. Is this not the 2nd year in a row we have a full grid? The introduction of Subaru was something I never though would happen in the BTCC. ITV's coverage definitely helps too, that's why even the support races are going strong. It's honestly great to see.

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  • 1 month later...

Today was pretty horrific in all honesty. Two very nasty accidents, and we're lucky to escape with no (major) injuries or even a death after the goings on in R3.

Anyway, as you know I'm a big fan of Dan Welch and his car took a monstrous shunt today. It's effectively a write off and the team already run with near enough the lowest budget in the paddock, so if any of you can spare any money at all to help them out then it would be great. Crowdfunder (feel free to take this down, Div, if it isn't allowed by the way)

Here's the R3 accident

And here's a fairly dusty video of what happened to Dan and most of the lower half of the field!

Cos8jz3UIAEgSZ8.jpg

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The race three crash was one of the scariest I've seen for a while, between the back of the car landing on top of the barriers and then wiping out the camera tower. Heart in mouth stuff until hearing the guy was OK.

Andrew Jordan had a tremendous rant about driving standards during the wait to restart the race and for me he's right. There are some utter jobbers at the back of the grid who should be spending a bit more time in a support series or club racing, not taking part in one of the top championships in the country just because they can afford to race in the BTCC. Having said that, I do think there are too many cars now which doesn't help, especially on some of the smaller tracks in the UK.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Who is heading to Knockhill this weekend? I wasn't going but I've won tickets - for hospitality with Motorbase no less! Best remind myself who their drivers are...

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Had a fantastic time. Was in the Pirtek hospitality unit which was the only one that had a rooftop balcony so watched two of the BTCC races from there - the second was fantastic at the hairpin. Got my breakfast and lunch, Q&A and photo with Andrew Jordan and an F4 driver, tour of the garage and then onto the grid before the final race - which Motorbrase won :)

One of my photos from the grid.

Cp1tZpFXYAAwBdx.jpg

 

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That was a smashing days racing, up at half 5 and home for 8 which, by Knockhill standards, is pretty decent. Stunning driving by Mat Jackson in R3, some of the best defensive stuff I've seen and delighted to see Dan Welch in the points (sporting my name on his spoiler, along with all the other donors) in a car which was completed midway through last week after endless hours in the garage.

Cracking driving by Dave Newsham considering he's been out for the entire season, and he's never driven the Cruze with RML parts or the 2017 TOCA spec engine. It's a shame he doesn't have the budget because he's a quick driver and a lovely guy.

Pleased for Mark Howard winning the JST. He's not quick, but he's clean and keeps the car on the track which is more than can be said for plenty of the other JST contenders. Also delighted for JP getting his first Subaru win in his 500th career race.

MG had an absolute nightmare, as did Aron Smith and Shedden will be majorly disappointed to miss out on a podium. He can blame straight line speed all he wants, but that Honda is ridiculously good on the brakes and the fact he set the fastest lap in R3 (and Neal complained about being held up by Jordan on the straight) doesn't help his "need more boost" cause.

Stewart Lines by the way - absolutely fantastic guy! With him now under the Welch Motorsport banner I'm adopting him as one of my drivers, fantastically Brummie accent too :lol:

13987935_1023282257787864_988239543_o.jpg14037405_1023282287787861_454329429_o.jpg13987894_1023282414454515_555203418_o.jpg

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ITV coverage was class as usual and racing was excellent and clean. Having done some track days there I love watching the professionals and their lines and turn in points compared with when I was being shouted at by the instructors [emoji16]

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...
  • 1 month later...

Bumpety bump. Looking like this will be some season with WSR now receiving manufacturer support from BMW for the first time. Absolutely smashing livery too.

C5b6XWzWUAETbmF.jpg

That's now 31 confirmed drivers, 16 of whom have won races, 5 works teams and a host of young guys like Jake Hill, Dan Lloyd and Aiden Moffat who will all have their eyes on a win this season. I genuinely cannot remember a grid with this amount of quality.

Turkington has to be the title favourite in my opinion, but you could genuinely pick any number of drivers for the title without receiving a funny look!

Green = Won Race

Entry #

C

Number

First Name

Surname

Nat

Car

Team

Official Team Name

1

M

52

Gordon

Shedden

SCO

Honda Civic Type-R

Dynamics

Halfords Yuasa Racing

2

M

303

Matt

Simpson

ENG

Honda Civic Type-R

Dynamics

Simpson Racing

3

M

25

Matt

Neal

ENG

Honda Civic Type-R

Dynamics

Halfords Yuasa Racing

4

M

99

Jason

Plato

ENG

Subaru Levorg GT

BMR

Silverline Subaru Team BMR

5

M

?

Ash

Sutton

ENG

Subaru Levorg GT

BMR

Silverline Subaru Team BMR

6

M

20

James

Cole

ENG

Subaru Levorg GT

BMR

Silverline Subaru Team BMR

7

M

?

?

?

?

Subaru Levorg GT

BMR

?

8

M

77

Andrew

Jordan

ENG

BMW 125iM

WSR

BMW Pirtek Racing

9

M

4

Colin

Turkington

NIR

BMW 125iM

WSR

Team BMW

10

M

?

Rob

Collard

ENG

BMW 125iM

WSR

Team BMW

11

M

40

Aron

Taylor-Smith

ROI

MG 6GT

Triple Eight

?

12

M

23

Daniel

Lloyd

ENG

MG 6GT

Triple Eight

?

13

M

?

Senna

Proctor

ENG

Vauxhall Astra

UKPMR

Vauxhall Power Maxed Racing

14

M

?

Tom

Chilton

ENG

Vauxhall Astra

UKPMR

Vauxhall Power Maxed Racing

15

I

48

Ollie

Jackson

ENG

Audi S3 Saloon

AMD

AMDTuning

16

I

10

Ant

Whorton-Eales

ENG

Audi S3 Saloon

AMD

AMDTuning

17

I

22

Chris

Smiley

NIR

Chevrolet Cruze

BTC Racing

BTC Norlin Racing

18

I

17

Dave

Newsham

SCO

Chevrolet Cruze

BTC Racing

BTC Norlin Racing

19

I

33

Adam

Morgan

ENG

Mercedes A-Class

Cicely

Wix Filters Racing

20

I

16

Aiden

Moffat

SCO

Mercedes A-Class

Cicely

Laser Tools Racing

21

I

55

Jeff

Smith

ENG

Honda Civic Type-R

Eurotech

Eurotech Racing

22

I

31

Jack

Goff

ENG

Honda Civic Type-R

Eurotech

Eurotech Racing

23

I

11

Rob

Austin

ENG

Toyota Avensis

Handy

Handy Motorsport

24

I

3

Mat

Jackson

ENG

Ford Focus ST

Motorbase

Team Shredded Wheat

25

I

30

Martin

Depper

ENG

Ford Focus ST

Motorbase

Team Shredded Wheat

26

I

300

Luke

Davenport

ENG

Ford Focus ST

Motorbase

Team Shredded Wheat

27

I

80

Tom

Ingram

ENG

Toyota Avensis

Speedworks

Speedworks Motorsport

28

I

?

Will

Burns

ENG

VW CC

HARD.

?

29

I

?

Michael

Epps

ENG

VW CC

HARD.

?

30

I

?

Jake

Hill

ENG

VW CC

HARD.

?

31

I

66

Josh

Cook

ENG

Ford Focus ST

Team Parker

Maximum Motorsport

32

I

?

Stephen

Jelley

ENG

Ford Focus ST

Team Parker

?

 

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