r/btcc

I’m still confused why they didn’t properly change the name? Is this a regs issue or something? Also more to the point of the topic, do we think this just a placeholder livery to get changed on the site?

Hi,
I was wondering what the best seasons were in terms of drama. As a Tordoff fan, I know that 2016 immediately springs to mind but I am not sure if there’s any other seasons that I should rewatch in terms of unfolding suspense. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks

I want some predictions for 2027 driver plus potential new teams seen as there’s new regs . Drop them below

Lots of good points being made in the recent posts about Plato, changes we’d like to make, etc.

While there’s lots of comments about Alan Gow, TV coverage, unsustainable costs, etc., one thing I haven’t seen mentioned much is the BTCC’s commercial model.

It’s hideously out of date. I don’t mean the broadcast strategy. I like the idea of keeping it on free-to-air. I mean sponsorships, partnerships, promotion, marketing, etc.

The difference between the BTCC and British Superbikes (BSB) is stark.

Context for those unfamiliar with BSB: BTCC is rightly regarded as the premier, top-tier national 4-wheel racing series in Britain - it’s more popular than British GT and isn’t primarily a junior series like GB3 or one-make like Porsches. BSB is Britain’s equivalent for 2-wheeled racing.

I’ve followed both BTCC and BSB and attended their races for decades. I was at Thruxton this weekend for BSB. Whoever Stuart Higgs (BSB’s Alan Gow) has selling sponsorship is who the BTCC needs to be speaking to. Count the number of brands featured in trackside sponsorship at BSB races. Every series/championship on the schedule has a title sponsor. Each individual round has a sponsor (Thruxton was the R&G Race of the South). There’s countless individual sponsored awards and trophies (Datatag Fast Start, Speedy Hire League, etc). Some rounds have cool mini competitions (race of aces, king of the mountain, etc) and guess what…they’re all sponsored too!

Barring the title sponsor (Kwik Fit), the tyre supplier (Goodyear) and a bit-part sponsor (Liqui Moly) the BTCC has nothing. It pulls comparable crowds to BSB, has just as many races over a season, and has FTA TV coverage (BSB is tucked away on TNT).

A lot of folks are saying Alan Gow needs to step aside. Maybe they’re right. But I think a big part of BSB’s commercial success is that wider management team and I wonder how much of that is influenced by MSVR who run the championship (same company that operate Oulton, Donington, etc). BTCC is run by BARC. BARC also runs Croft and until recently, Thruxton too. When I see that those BARC tracks haven’t had any real investment for years, compared to the MSV tracks, I think the level of investment, activity, etc in the series is probably comparable. So if the BTCC was run by a back room team from MSVR I think the series would be in a far stronger position.

A strong commercial team and portfolio gives teams, drivers, sponsors/partners, and us fans confidence that the series is growing, relevant and worth their while. The series management can’t control what the teams do and who they hire/fire. But it can create an environment that gives teams a stable platform to compete and attract drivers and sponsors.

It’s not the only thing I’d change - the idea a BTCC season is costing a driver £750k when next year’s top tier WRC rally cars are being capped at €345k each is absolute madness. The costs have to come down too. But maybe those costs don’t need to come down so much if commercially the series is brought into the 21st century.

I’m making some assumptions there and I’m sure there’s folks on here better placed than me so I’m keen to hear whether people agree/disagree!

So, I've been reading all the discussions about this stuff and here is my proposal:

1. Adopt the V8 Supercars rules for BTCC. Yes, I'm deadly serious. This would be a great idea, and here's why. Firstly, the Ford Mustang is already sold here so there's already a showroom car in the UK that would fit under the V8 Supercars regs. Secondly, it would encourage European manufacturers that are still into the idea of having V8s in their road cars (e.g. Porsche, Mercedes) to build cars to the V8 Supercars specifications as they could race them in both the UK and Australia - more mileage out of the regs for them. Thirdly, it would allow BTCC drivers to take part in the Bathurst 1000 again. If the regulations are exactly the same, it's the world's easiest crossover because the BTCC drivers would already be used to it.

2. Create a "BTCC Electric" class that runs separate races on the same weekends but is treated as part of the BTCC umbrella. This would be like how the electric cars in Nitro Rallycross ran separately with their own championship standings, but were treated as part of the same championship. The BTCC Electric class could, again, use a whole bunch of electric cars that we can already buy or will be able to buy soon in the UK (e.g. the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, the Nissan Leaf Nismo).

3. Merge TCR UK into BTCC, with the same situation as my proposed BTCC Electric class. Runs separate races on the same weekends, and is treated as part of the same overall umbrella.

What does everyone here think about it? I personally think it could be a cool idea. Expand the championship into something more exciting, while giving both a bit of 2020s elements into the championship via the EVs and a bit of heritage back via crazy super-powerful top class cars and the possibility that BTCC drivers could return to racing at Mount Panorama once a year.

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Hi, I'm a new fan of the BTCC, and I'm really enjoying it so far. The race times work perfectly for me, I love the short race format, and the series produces some great door to door racing.

I don't know all the drivers yet, so I'm curious about the overall level of the grid. How good are BTCC drivers compared with drivers in GT3, Australian Supercars, and other major touring car or GT championships?

Also, apart from Ash Sutton and Tom Ingram, who are the drivers I should keep an eye on?

An idea that could only be fuelled by customers....!

https://preview.redd.it/cxb9foh764kh1.png?width=1624&format=png&auto=webp&s=eeab0f41400d6c1d91db8cdcac96cfb319ae22d0

So, Plato in administration, another decent driver leaving presumably due to budget issues, Proctor, Lloyd and what seemed like half the GT3/4 Pro drivers at Snetterton yesterday who can't afford a BTCC drive.

So I thought we as reddit may as well fix things. I've said it before on here and got downvoted to hell, but I'll say it again - costs need to come down considerably, Gow needs to lose his ego and think of the sport. As someone succinctly put on twitter earlier, "TCR needs the prestige of BTCC, and BTCC needs the costs of TCR". Of course, the issue with that is that the BTCC teams would be left with cars and spares only fit for CTRC, with associated values...

So what is the answer? I know we'll have the comments along the lines of "this is all cyclical, everything will be fine", but I think my point would be that when things were on their arse before, drastic measures were taken!

Hello, I'm new to BTCC after following F1 all my life and realising how much better this racing seems to be in comparison. The questions I have are: How much is similar in comparison to good teams down to not so good teams for example are the cars at the back much worse or is it more driver skill? And is Ash Sutton much better than everyone else and/or is the Napa car much better than those around him?

For anyone currently there, what's the weather like and the forecast for the day? Leaving here in about 90 minutes to head East, and hoping its not as pish as it is here.

They says it's a one-off. Really should keep it!