BTCC Round 3 - Thruxton
Discussion
steve-5snwi said:
The Subaru's seem hopeless, are they still getting to grips with the engine or have the competition moved on ?
One thing I have always noticed is how much they move around on their suspension compared to the other cars, it was the same with the MG6s when Plato raced them as well.In the middle of last year they had the car raised to counter the centre of gravity advantage they had and this year they switched engines, perhaps the new one is less powerful. Combine that with the longer first gear that RWD cars have to run anyway and the whole Subaru project seems a bit of a dead end. If they'd spent the same amount of time, effort and cash developing a conventional FWD hatchback they'd be running away with the championship.
EDLT said:
In the middle of last year they had the car raised to counter the centre of gravity advantage they had and this year they switched engines, perhaps the new one is less powerful. Combine that with the longer first gear that RWD cars have to run anyway and the whole Subaru project seems a bit of a dead end. If they'd spent the same amount of time, effort and cash developing a conventional FWD hatchback they'd be running away with the championship.
I thought the change was that they had to put weight plates near the top of the engine bay to counteract the low slung engine not that they had to raise the entire car?It's the same engine as last year just a different tuner and inlet manifold.
FourWheelDrift said:
One thing I have always noticed is how much they move around on their suspension compared to the other cars, it was the same with the MG6s when Plato raced them as well.
While I agreed with this the thing is Sutton is still up in the mix and was the champion last year all in “the same car “ as Plato so maybe they just dont suit Plato’s way of driving or his lost the passion for it
EDLT said:
In the middle of last year they had the car raised to counter the centre of gravity advantage they had and this year they switched engines, perhaps the new one is less powerful. Combine that with the longer first gear that RWD cars have to run anyway and the whole Subaru project seems a bit of a dead end. If they'd spent the same amount of time, effort and cash developing a conventional FWD hatchback they'd be running away with the championship.
At that time, RWD seemed to have somewhat of an advantage. Last season the first two cars were also RWD, and Tordoff very nearly won in 2016 as well.So probably not, it they had the 'ultimate' car, it would just mean that they would have even less boost. It is a very fine line between having a good car but yet not being hampered enough by the regulations and because of that, it is always difficult to predict who will become strongest. Sutton said in today's short interview that other teams might had 'saved up' some performance in testing, while they hadn't.
Also, the fact that the field has become even more crowded it makes things even more tricky.
It is a very similar problem with WTCR as well.
I think there will be other tracks were the RWD cars might perform a bit better (depending on the weather of course...).
littlepaul said:
While I agreed with this the thing is Sutton is still up in the mix and was the champion last year all in “the same car “ as Plato so maybe they just dont suit Plato’s way of driving or his lost the passion for it
Bernd Tost said:
Ouch, that Clio crash 
Not impressed re the officials, total confusion at the start with waved double yellows yet the lights go as normal & that should have been a straight red flag, Shirley?
Is there a video of the clio crash? All I could see from the exit of the complex was a massive plume of dust.Not impressed re the officials, total confusion at the start with waved double yellows yet the lights go as normal & that should have been a straight red flag, Shirley?
Allyc85 said:
Is there a video of the clio crash? All I could see from the exit of the complex was a massive plume of dust.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTQpsd_CS-Eacer12 said:
What’s the deal with rob Austin? He was being talked up no end on here and on social media pre season to the extent that I was expecting regular wins / podiums but the reality is that he hasn't even been in the top 10 in the last 6 races
Brand new car and it's a one car team so less setup info being generated etc. Rob Austin is always talked up as he's good at the whole social media side of things.His supporters were dancing again at the top of bank near the complex 
I was there yesterday and was alot of fun, really like how close you can get to the action. I dislike Neal but him & Cammish did a good job even with ballast, but the Subaru's were awful.
Made myself unpopular (people next to me were fans) because I enjoyed Collard not getting anywhere as he didn't push people off the track for a change.
Ingram making up so many places was exciting in race 2 & 3 so he didn't drop too many points was good
Had plans in the evening so had to watch the last race at home how awful is Harvey at commentating?!?
I was there yesterday and was alot of fun, really like how close you can get to the action. I dislike Neal but him & Cammish did a good job even with ballast, but the Subaru's were awful.
Made myself unpopular (people next to me were fans) because I enjoyed Collard not getting anywhere as he didn't push people off the track for a change.
Ingram making up so many places was exciting in race 2 & 3 so he didn't drop too many points was good
Had plans in the evening so had to watch the last race at home how awful is Harvey at commentating?!?
FourWheelDrift said:
Alan Gow was away on holiday.
he was there all weekend. I saw him driving the panamera course car before every race.(reminds me that I heard an interview with him not long ago when he said that in all his nearly 30 years in charge he hasnt missed a single btcc race meeting, which is pretty impressive. i wish my workers were as xxxxxxx reliable!)
acer12 said:
What’s the deal with rob Austin? He was being talked up no end on here and on social media pre season to the extent that I was expecting regular wins / podiums but the reality is that he hasn't even been in the top 10 in the last 6 races
Same as Team HARD, masters of hype to get the money coming in pre season. Gassing Station | General Motorsport | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff