BTCC 2021 — Snetterton June 12/13
Discussion
SpudLink said:
tardelli said:
Sutton is a different gravy to everyone else.
He will go far in the Motorsports world.
He has looked to be a class above the field since his first season. The question is, where is there for him to go? The BTCC has such a high profile, is there really an incentive to international touring car racing?He will go far in the Motorsports world.
SpudLink said:
He has looked to be a class above the field since his first season. The question is, where is there for him to go? The BTCC has such a high profile, is there really an incentive to international touring car racing?
International touring car racing? As you've said, not as "high-profile" as the BTCC which has an international following. That's the reason Laser Tools got out of WTCC and into the BTCC. Seems to have worked for them!SpudLink said:
He has looked to be a class above the field since his first season. The question is, where is there for him to go? The BTCC has such a high profile, is there really an incentive to international touring car racing?
I'd like to see him, Turkington and Harry King in GT World Sprint or Endurance (was Blancpain), GT3 or GTE. King in particular could follow the same route as Estre did, this is worth a watch, start of the N24 this year, video title is wrong (only shows to P2, #4 car was leading at the time). https://youtu.be/l49Ehl4Eq6IKing is just maing the rest of them look daft. Sutton & Turkington I think have the temperament.
Edited by Crafty_ on Monday 14th June 23:10
Crafty_ said:
I'd like to see him, Turkington and Harry King in GT World Sprint or Endurance (was Blancpain), GT3 or GTE. King in particular could follow the same route as Estre did, this is worth a watch, start of the N24 this year, video title is wrong (only shows to P2, #4 car was leading at the time). https://youtu.be/l49Ehl4Eq6I
King is just maing the rest of them look daft. Sutton & Turkington I think have the temperament.
With BMW looking like they're going to be building an LMdH car for IMSA/Le Man's there's going to be sportscar opportunities available. Especially as it looks like more manufacturers will also be going the same way. King is just maing the rest of them look daft. Sutton & Turkington I think have the temperament.
Edited by Crafty_ on Monday 14th June 23:10
I don't think anyone is going to take a tintop racer and shove them in an LMP car when you've got the likes of Bamber, Estre, Tandy, Christensen etc available (and thats just within the porsche stable), not even sure if the licence system would alow it, but it could open up the need for drivers in GTs of some description.
Especially as Soper and Priaulx both had chances in prototypes and didn't really shine.
There are some who did make the jump successfully - Farfus is one who comes to mind - but on the face of it, it looks like a bit of a lottery whether a touring car driver will thrive in a prototype or not.
In which case taking the best of the single seater talent through national GTs and into International may be seen as a safer bet? Pure speculation from me.
There are some who did make the jump successfully - Farfus is one who comes to mind - but on the face of it, it looks like a bit of a lottery whether a touring car driver will thrive in a prototype or not.
In which case taking the best of the single seater talent through national GTs and into International may be seen as a safer bet? Pure speculation from me.
I think the danger is that you become a specialist at driving one type of car and struggle to adapt to something that’s completely out of your window. Also some types of car naturally suit the style of some drivers and are flattered by them.
Originally I struggled jumping between different cars but my time working at Lotus driving a massive range of different types and configurations of car day in day out did seem to sort me out.
I jumped in a Ginetta G57 which is an LMP style car a few years ago and, contrary to what I expected, I was actually pretty quick out the box, was only a few tenths off the Ginetta factory drivers despite my usual weight disadvantage and about half an hours running. I think the car suited me though and flattered me.
That said it’s easy to underestimate how important and hard to achieve those last few tenths are in the sharpest end of any type of motorsport. The guys that are at the top of any top series aren’t just good but have also usually been doing it for years and can rock up and churn out some epic laps virtually on autopilot.
In the same way that you might find some pretty s
t hot GT drivers would struggle to jump into a BTCC car and get right up the front these days.
Ultimately yes there are a few exceptional talents but broadly speaking being a competitive racing driver is about being good at a range of different skills that exist within the discipline of motorsport. Different classes and cars favour different skills.
Good example, I’m pretty average at putting in a single lap but I’ll usually drive past the two or three cars I should have out qualified off the start, not so useful in a series with rolling starts
Originally I struggled jumping between different cars but my time working at Lotus driving a massive range of different types and configurations of car day in day out did seem to sort me out.
I jumped in a Ginetta G57 which is an LMP style car a few years ago and, contrary to what I expected, I was actually pretty quick out the box, was only a few tenths off the Ginetta factory drivers despite my usual weight disadvantage and about half an hours running. I think the car suited me though and flattered me.
That said it’s easy to underestimate how important and hard to achieve those last few tenths are in the sharpest end of any type of motorsport. The guys that are at the top of any top series aren’t just good but have also usually been doing it for years and can rock up and churn out some epic laps virtually on autopilot.
In the same way that you might find some pretty s
t hot GT drivers would struggle to jump into a BTCC car and get right up the front these days.Ultimately yes there are a few exceptional talents but broadly speaking being a competitive racing driver is about being good at a range of different skills that exist within the discipline of motorsport. Different classes and cars favour different skills.
Good example, I’m pretty average at putting in a single lap but I’ll usually drive past the two or three cars I should have out qualified off the start, not so useful in a series with rolling starts
Agree with a lot of that. there are any number of drivers who switched series/car and struggled.
I guess I see GT racing as the next step for a touring car driver, although now potentially we'll see drivers gtaduate up through smaller series in to GT4s and onward.
What with weathertech, ELMS, VLN, the SRO classes, GTE etc there seems to be a fair bit of scope to find drives and have a fairly decent career - even if thats being the pro in an Am car, maybe the chance to switch up to prototypes too.
I guess I see GT racing as the next step for a touring car driver, although now potentially we'll see drivers gtaduate up through smaller series in to GT4s and onward.
What with weathertech, ELMS, VLN, the SRO classes, GTE etc there seems to be a fair bit of scope to find drives and have a fairly decent career - even if thats being the pro in an Am car, maybe the chance to switch up to prototypes too.
Crafty_ said:
Agree with a lot of that. there are any number of drivers who switched series/car and struggled.
I guess I see GT racing as the next step for a touring car driver, although now potentially we'll see drivers gtaduate up through smaller series in to GT4s and onward.
What with weathertech, ELMS, VLN, the SRO classes, GTE etc there seems to be a fair bit of scope to find drives and have a fairly decent career - even if thats being the pro in an Am car, maybe the chance to switch up to prototypes too.
I think a lot of touring car drivers end up moving to GT but few actually seem to go international for various reasons and British GT is more of a step sideways or even down in some respects. I guess I see GT racing as the next step for a touring car driver, although now potentially we'll see drivers gtaduate up through smaller series in to GT4s and onward.
What with weathertech, ELMS, VLN, the SRO classes, GTE etc there seems to be a fair bit of scope to find drives and have a fairly decent career - even if thats being the pro in an Am car, maybe the chance to switch up to prototypes too.
If you have the reputation and do the leg work you might get a paying drive with a gent but the competition is not really as 'direct' as sprint racing and depending on the gent you'll probably be deciding on a compromise between success and income. You might also be walking away from sponsorship.
I'd actually quite fancy going for Porsche Supercup as a next step up in sprint racing but work and life in general means it's just too much of a time commitment for me and my sponsorship and investment in racing is very UK oriented anyway.
The Wookie said:
I think a lot of touring car drivers end up moving to GT but few actually seem to go international for various reasons and British GT is more of a step sideways or even down in some respects.
If you have the reputation and do the leg work you might get a paying drive with a gent but the competition is not really as 'direct' as sprint racing and depending on the gent you'll probably be deciding on a compromise between success and income. You might also be walking away from sponsorship.
I'd actually quite fancy going for Porsche Supercup as a next step up in sprint racing but work and life in general means it's just too much of a time commitment for me and my sponsorship and investment in racing is very UK oriented anyway.
What about a GTE AM drive at Le Mans one day? That would be my bucket list goal as a racing driver. If you have the reputation and do the leg work you might get a paying drive with a gent but the competition is not really as 'direct' as sprint racing and depending on the gent you'll probably be deciding on a compromise between success and income. You might also be walking away from sponsorship.
I'd actually quite fancy going for Porsche Supercup as a next step up in sprint racing but work and life in general means it's just too much of a time commitment for me and my sponsorship and investment in racing is very UK oriented anyway.
Speed Badger said:
What about a GTE AM drive at Le Mans one day? That would be my bucket list goal as a racing driver.
I’d like to do Le Mans but it’s not as high on my list as doing Monaco, plus it’s bloody expensive if you’re an Am and haven’t been placed there by a manufacturer that wants to win it!I’ve got a few contacts at GTE car manufacturers and no one has invited me yet
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