Britians 'premier' racing series
Discussion
I have often seen the BTCC referred to as the UK's premier racing series and this just got me thinking. How exactly can it be seen as this. Surely being the 'premier' series would imply that all the top drivers/teams/manufacturers are involved.
Now no disrespect meant to any of the competitors (even the furthest backmarkers are out of my league!) but when a series is mainly reliant on 'pay' drivers, bringing budget to the team (or even running their own teams), or race cars that are 5 of 6 years old, surely its hardly a premier series. I mean for example when you have the likes of Colin Turkington, Fabrizio Giovanardi, James Thompson etc on the sidelines and teams of the calibre of 888 and WSR unsure if they can raise the budget to race, while the likes of Jeff Smith & Liam Griffin can be in a decent cars it seems ironic promoting itself as the premier series.
How popular would footballs premier league be if instead of the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney etc, the teams relied on rich businessmen who fancied turning out for the likes of Man Utd or Arsenal?
Now no disrespect meant to any of the competitors (even the furthest backmarkers are out of my league!) but when a series is mainly reliant on 'pay' drivers, bringing budget to the team (or even running their own teams), or race cars that are 5 of 6 years old, surely its hardly a premier series. I mean for example when you have the likes of Colin Turkington, Fabrizio Giovanardi, James Thompson etc on the sidelines and teams of the calibre of 888 and WSR unsure if they can raise the budget to race, while the likes of Jeff Smith & Liam Griffin can be in a decent cars it seems ironic promoting itself as the premier series.
How popular would footballs premier league be if instead of the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney etc, the teams relied on rich businessmen who fancied turning out for the likes of Man Utd or Arsenal?
Just about every championship outside of F1 and maybe NASCAR (I don't know much about it tbh) is mostly pay drivers. The fact that a national series even has pros in it is pretty special.
There are people racing old cars in WRC, WTCC, DTM and it was even in F1 (sort of) until they banned customer cars.
The "premier racing series" bit is just marketing speak for "most popular".
There are people racing old cars in WRC, WTCC, DTM and it was even in F1 (sort of) until they banned customer cars.
The "premier racing series" bit is just marketing speak for "most popular".
EDLT is right. You cant compare racing to football or other sports as its got a totally different financial basis. Go and buy a pair of football boots. Now go and buy a racing car. See the difference in how much it costs to get involved?
How much or how many drivers or sponsors puts into a racing team isn't any gauge on how good the championship or the driver is. Even Schumacher had to raise money for his first F1 race.
99% of all motor racing in this country or any other country for that matter, depends on drivers bringing sponsors or paying for their drives. The World Rally championship probably only has less than 8 or 10 paid drivers. The World Touring cars probably even less than that. All the rest rely on bringing sponsors etc. Same with GT racing etc. Its just the way it is.
How much or how many drivers or sponsors puts into a racing team isn't any gauge on how good the championship or the driver is. Even Schumacher had to raise money for his first F1 race.
99% of all motor racing in this country or any other country for that matter, depends on drivers bringing sponsors or paying for their drives. The World Rally championship probably only has less than 8 or 10 paid drivers. The World Touring cars probably even less than that. All the rest rely on bringing sponsors etc. Same with GT racing etc. Its just the way it is.
Edited by touring fan on Tuesday 18th January 00:40
EDLT said:
Just about every championship outside of F1 and maybe NASCAR (I don't know much about it tbh) is mostly pay drivers. The fact that a national series even has pros in it is pretty special.
There are people racing old cars in WRC, WTCC, DTM and it was even in F1 (sort of) until they banned customer cars.
The "premier racing series" bit is just marketing speak for "most popular".
F1 has a lot of pay drivers in it, and always has done. The period where Honda and Toyota were in the game meant there was so much money swilling around that there weren't so many then, but it's coming back now.There are people racing old cars in WRC, WTCC, DTM and it was even in F1 (sort of) until they banned customer cars.
The "premier racing series" bit is just marketing speak for "most popular".
They have pay drivers in NASCAR too.
norwichsam said:
Now no disrespect meant to any of the competitors (even the furthest backmarkers are out of my league!) but when a series is mainly reliant on 'pay' drivers, bringing budget to the team (or even running their own teams), or race cars that are 5 of 6 years old, surely its hardly a premier series. I mean for example when you have the likes of Colin Turkington, Fabrizio Giovanardi, James Thompson etc on the sidelines and teams of the calibre of 888 and WSR unsure if they can raise the budget to race, while the likes of Jeff Smith & Liam Griffin can be in a decent cars it seems ironic promoting itself as the premier series.
How popular would footballs premier league be if instead of the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney etc, the teams relied on rich businessmen who fancied turning out for the likes of Man Utd or Arsenal?
Firstly, if the pay drivers are starting their own teams ahead of using existing 'high calibre' teams, then IMHO those teams are doing something wrong and haven't adapted to the current economic climate.How popular would footballs premier league be if instead of the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney etc, the teams relied on rich businessmen who fancied turning out for the likes of Man Utd or Arsenal?
Quite simply, you only need a pair of boots and a ball to be able to practice playing football and gain experience, even in the very cheapest club racing you wont complete a season for less than a 10 grand outlay in the first year.
People seem to have this fantasy that if you're any good then companies will just stroll up to you and fork out thousands of pounds for you to be a racing driver. The truth is that virtually no-one in motorsport gets to a high level without family and friends' financial backing, including the big name drivers, and the true test of a driver is how they perform once they're there, not how much they're personally paying. This has always been the case in motorsport and applies at virtually every level.
Also, be careful judging people like Liam Griffin. There are plenty of drivers that haven't got their head round the Porsche. Despite the level he's racing at he's been racing a very short time and is a phenomenally determined individual, as well as being a very, very nice bloke. If he starts off further back I wouldn't expect him to stay there for long.
The Wookie said:
People seem to have this fantasy that if you're any good then companies will just stroll up to you and fork out thousands of pounds for you to be a racing driver.
I never know if I should laugh or cry when the latest punter who has decided that they will be a really good racing driver trots that one out... If I'd had a pound for each time I'd heard it, well lets just say i wouldnt be hunting down the back of the sofa for a race budget....markcoznottz said:
Well its certainly not the British GT championship, I have never seen such a sparse crowd as I saw at Silvo, truely pitiful, shameful even.
It was even worse at Donington a couple of months later. And such a shame as the Silverstone round was the best British GT round I've ever seen. The last nail-biter I can remember Win Percy was driving a Harrier, it was so long ago! Oulton Park was a total contrast with an excellent crowd. Forums | General Motorsport | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff