BTCC Live - Disappointing

Words I would use to describe my day at Rockingham for the latest round of the British Touring Cars...

Shocking, distant, disappointed, lacking, cold, windy.

Let me try this again.

In 2012, can families be expected to pay £30 per adult (children were free) just to watch cars race round a track. You may think that a strange question, after all I was at a race meeting where the focal point tends to be cars racing round a track... But hear me out.

I was brought up going with my Dad to watch BTCC meetings at various tracks, DTM at Donington, and Eurocar meetings at Mallory Park among others, along with other race meetings.

Back then BTCC was in its hey day, the height of the 2.0 litre era with Cleland, battling Hoy, Menu, Tarquini among many others. Vauxhall, Ford, Renault BMW, Audi, Alfa Romeo etc, back then the list was long. I saw Nigel Mansell stuff his Mondeo in the wall at the Old Hairpin at Donington. You get the idea.

That was then, and this is now. Now I am the Dad taking my girls to see racing live... And I question whether it is enough for an events organiser in 2012 to simply say here is some racing, come see?

At a club level this is fine. The focus is more on the drivers than the spectators. However BTCC is supposed to be the top National racing series, and therefore the event should be the best day out in the Country as well.

Unfortunately I was disappointed. If the BTCC is to attract sponsors the show must not only look good on TV but also at the track, and to me families are the key. Gone are the days of a Dad taking his son to a cold, muddy circuit with smelly toilets and bad food. In 2012 families have many options and little money so a day out must be complete. The Mom must be entertained, the children must have fun and the Dad must enjoy himself as well. Smelly toilets and a muddy bank don't cut it anymore.

Now Rockingham has never had old school facilities and does not do muddy banks and I was glad to see that the place looked as good as ever!

However one thing Rockingham used to understand was how to put on a show for a family. How to get the fans and the families involved in the day, how to bring the business of "show" to the races.

A BTCC meeting could do with a bit more "show" and a bit more family. It could also do a lot more to take the racing and the cars to the paying public. We wanted to walk round the support paddock before the first touring car race only to find the paddock appeared to be closed to spectators! We found a gap in the fence and went in anyway but we were the only people there. Since when did stopping the fans going into a paddock become the norm, I was appalled. Even the BTCC pit road walkabout at lunch time was not good enough. The teams could at least push one of their cars out of the garage so the fans can actually get close to a real race car, er no.

Maybe my day was blighted by the bitterly cold weather. Maybe returning to Rockingham is harder for me than I expected because of my history with the place. Maybe I am a bit out of touch with live motorsport in this country, or maybe just maybe putting some cars on a track and saying there you go is not good enough anymore.

When I was at Rockingham we did everything we could to firstly take the racing, the cars and the drivers out of the garages and up to the fans, and secondly make the events a full family day out. I had hoped British motorsport had learnt something from that... Apparently not.

My daughter is now an MG fan with a picture of Platos MG6 on her wall so it wasn't all bad, but as a family day out it could have been so much more.

Come on Mr Gow, you are getting the Championship right, now concentrate on the events.

In 2012 a family day out at the touring cars should be so much better.

Good days racing... S'pose...

Good family day out... No...

Shame...

PS Thank you to Colin and Sue White of CWS for your hospitality. It was good to catch up!

Dodge, Road Racing BS, and AJ

Get the Hell Outta Dodge… Actually… Please Don’t

I am saddened by the news that Dodge is pulling out of NASCAR racing at the end of this season. Ever since Ray Evernham brought the third of Detroit’s big three manufacturers back into the sport I have enjoyed watching the Chevy Vs. Ford Vs. Dodge battles.

As a Mopar fan I may be biased, I drive a Chrysler PTCuiser and also have a Chrysler Voyager (Dodge Caravan in the US) in the family, but the 2012 Nationwide Series Challenger and the 2013 Cup Series Charger are two good looking race cars! The new 2013 Cup Series bodies suited the Charger so well, allowing Dodge to finally race a car that looked like the bold road car. Next years grid will be worse off without the Dodge in the field.

 

AJ – What a Waste

 

I was also saddened to hear what has happened to AJ Allmendinger. I think he was one of the next “stars” of the sport, and was impressed by his performances in some average machinery over the past few years. Remember he qualified for every race while driving for Richard Petty, at a time when the team had no provisionals to fall back on! Regardless of whether what happened was an innocent mistake or something else I am sorry to see such a talented young driver jeopardise his racing career in this way. NASCAR are right to do what they have done, I just hope AJ can sort himself out and do what is necessary to get behind the wheel of a Cup car again.

Road Racing… With An Edge

I am from England, where the average racetrack turns left and right, and an oval is a small, less than quarter mile long short track (Rockingham excepted), and the racing on the ovals is not exactly mainstream. NASCAR however does not race in England. In America a race track is oval shaped and a road course is a track with right hand turns.  

Twice a year, however, NASCAR turn right and at Watkins Glen we got one hell of a finish! Should NSCAR have thrown a caution and cleaned up the oil that was being dropped on the track? The English race fan in me says yes. The oil was dangerous and NASCAR should have put out the yellow, cleaned up the track and then finished with a G-W-C. Had this scenario taken place on an oval, this is what would have happened. Thankfully this did not happen last weekend.

NASCAR let the race finish under green and in doing so gave us one of the seasons most dramatic finishes. Road racing with an edge. Car slipping and sliding, slithering and spinning, on track and off, dust flying, and a last lap lead change. What’s not to like!

Close, hard racing without the “BS” as Keselowski put it!

Well said Brad, and well done Marcos!

 

Plato Vs. Neal… Again…

 

At Watkins Glen we saw racing with no, well you know, from Keselowski and Ambrose, in the BTCC, at Snetterton, we got our fair share of, you know, from Jason Plato and Matt Neal.

Jason Plato in his MG6 was obviously holding up the following cars, including Matt Neals Honda Civic, but he was also teaching a defensive driving master class, until Neal changed the game.

With a couple of laps to go Neal went for a “gap” that was never there and pushed Plato sideways. Plato, giving another master class, this time in front wheel drive car control, gathered it all up and followed Neal to the next, the last, corner. Nobody was surprised by what happened next. Plato used Neal as a brake and shoved the both the Civic and his own MG off the track.

 

 

I must admit I did not blame Plato for retaliating. Neal’s move was stupid and uncalled for; Plato’s was payback! NASCAR would have called it “have at it” and America would have loved it! The BTCC officials may not have loved it, but they did leave it alone. They both gave and they both got, so that makes them even.

On a different note, I was pleased to see the new Motorbase NGTC Ford Focus driven by Matt Jackson doing so well on its debut! Bring on more NGTC cars and the racing can only get better. The challenge for Alan Gow and his staff is to keep the technical specs of the cars close, and to keep costs down! I wish them well!

Old Car New Car

NASCAR New Car Blues

What a disappointment.

I had hoped Charlotte was going to be the race where the Chase drivers got it together and gave us the race, the show, this years Chase needs and wants, but it was not to be.

The highlight of the race was Jimmie Johnsons hard hit into the outside wall. That was not the highlight because it involved the 48 hitting the wall, honest, but because good racing was severely lacking.

After Kansas I found myself pondering the riddle of the edgy setups but Charlotte was a different story. This was the aero push story. The drivers could not run close together without loosing the air off the front splitter and could not run side by side without loosing the air off the rear spoiler.

For the first time since the current Cup car was introduced I am wondering if something about the COT is hurting the racing. Maybe the answer is to run the current front with the unloved rear wing out back. The whole point of the wing was that it allowed air to pass under it and on to the following car, unlike the spoiler. I know this is not going to happen but something not only needs to be done to redress the aero balance, when the cars are facelifted for the 2013 season, but also to limit the aero push, which is hurting the racing.

On paper the Championship looks really close and competetive but on track the racing is not living up to the top billing.

RIP Dan Wheldon

I am still in shock over the loss of Dan Wheldon at last weekends Indycar race.

Now is not the time to debate the decision to allow so many cars in the race or whether it was a good idea to dangle such a large carrot in front of any driver who won the race after starting from the back of the grid.

Now is about Daniel Wheldon.

Many experts with a lot more exprience and authority than me have said all there is to say about his life and career. However I will say this. When I was younger I was fortunate enough to race Cadet and then Junior TKM karts. When I raced three names mattered, Jenson Button, Anthony Davidson and Daniel Wheldon... and Wheldon was the best.

As someone who has more of a passion for American motor racing than F1, I was so pleased when Wheldon won the Indy 500, once and then twice.

As has been pointed out there is an unfortunate irony in the fact that Wheldon, who has spent this year developing the new Indycar race car, a car which should be safer and less likely to hit wheels, was killed in the last race for the old spec car which his efforts were working to replace.

Dan Wheldons death is a great loss and my thoughts go out to his family and friends.

BTCC Champ Crowned

Congratulations three time British Touring Car Champion, Matt Neal!

We can now look forward to next season, which I hope will see all the top runners in NGTC spec turbo cars.

My only comments about the next gen. car...

As always make them all rear wheel drive like this years Audi, and make them less liable to rear suspension damage when making contact, sorry racing, side by side.

Neals car this year had a bumper sticker... "Does my Turbo look big in this?"... No and the trophies don't look bad either!