2025: BTCC chat & discussion
Discussion
Truckosaurus said:
Indeed. A follow up question for Dan: do you think it matters to the sponsors if the driver is winning or is there more value in the driver being involved in a battle for position that gets more TV coverage?
Good question. It depends on the targets of the sponsor I guess. But ultimately yes. If you are winning and at the front regularly everything becomes easier. People ride the wave.
In terms of business, personally I had my worst BTCC season (save my rookie year) in 2024. But business wise for myself and Cataclean it was our most successful…
We would have of course preferred to be winning tho!!
😉
It's really cool to have inputs from the driver's side of things in the BTCC, although given the amount of hot air that gets vented I'm surprised they even bother. I think Rowbo, Dan Cam, Plato and The Wookie (Ollie Jackson) have posted here in the past, are there any others that pop on here?
Speed Badger said:
It's really cool to have inputs from the driver's side of things in the BTCC, although given the amount of hot air that gets vented I'm surprised they even bother. I think Rowbo, Dan Cam, Plato and The Wookie (Ollie Jackson) have posted here in the past, are there any others that pop on here?
If my memory serves me correctly,Jack Goff and Josh Cook have posted in the past.A500leroy said:
Not the same since they stopped contact being allowed, although obviously it's cheaper for the competitors of course.
Also means that driver skill is much more a part of the racing. Any idiot can push another car out of the way.There's still too much contact from a club racers point of view. Many driver briefings I've been in the first the thing said is "No contact, you're not BTCC drivers".
As regards the future of BTCC......surely the future will end be the same route that NASCAR took in the very late 70's for similar reasons, that the manufacturers were longer making that type of car.....and it will have to go the same silhouette route. Its still called stock car racing in the US, but they've not actually been that for over 45 years now.
aeropilot said:
As regards the future of BTCC......surely the future will end be the same route that NASCAR took in the very late 70's for similar reasons, that the manufacturers were longer making that type of car.....and it will have to go the same silhouette route. Its still called stock car racing in the US, but they've not actually been that for over 45 years now.
Would the problem there be money/sponsorship from enough manufacturers?NASCAR works because Ford/Chevy/Toyota believe it worthwhile paying for their design cues to be added to NASCAR's generic silhouette.
Without that manufacturer backing, you'd just have a field full of identical generic racecars (not that there's a problem with that per se - Legends and other similar series make for excellent racing), which - to me - isn't what the BTCC is about. Even if it's just a cosmetic exercise, some sort of link back to assorted manufacturers would retain at least a hint of the old BTCC. But in this environment finding a handful of manufacturers who believe that 'win on Sunday, sell on Monday' exists for a domestic 'saloon'(ish) car championship ... or at least believes in it enough for their design cues to be added to a generic silhouette ... might be easier said than done.
Rotary Potato said:
aeropilot said:
As regards the future of BTCC......surely the future will end be the same route that NASCAR took in the very late 70's for similar reasons, that the manufacturers were longer making that type of car.....and it will have to go the same silhouette route. Its still called stock car racing in the US, but they've not actually been that for over 45 years now.
Would the problem there be money/sponsorship from enough manufacturers?NASCAR works because Ford/Chevy/Toyota believe it worthwhile paying for their design cues to be added to NASCAR's generic silhouette.
Without that manufacturer backing, you'd just have a field full of identical generic racecars (not that there's a problem with that per se - Legends and other similar series make for excellent racing), which - to me - isn't what the BTCC is about. Even if it's just a cosmetic exercise, some sort of link back to assorted manufacturers would retain at least a hint of the old BTCC. But in this environment finding a handful of manufacturers who believe that 'win on Sunday, sell on Monday' exists for a domestic 'saloon'(ish) car championship ... or at least believes in it enough for their design cues to be added to a generic silhouette ... might be easier said than done.
BTCC is going to be faced with exactly the same issues sooner, rather than later, and in reality its going to be within the next 2-3 years so a decision can be made for what it is, is in place by end of this decade most likely.
aeropilot said:
The identical generic race car thing wasn't what NASCAR was all about either, but, when the manufacturers were no longer making suitable production cars to race, they had no real option, other than terminating the series.
BTCC is going to be faced with exactly the same issues sooner, rather than later, and in reality its going to be within the next 2-3 years so a decision can be made for what it is, is in place by end of this decade most likely.
Sorry ... maybe I didn't articulate myself well enough originally.BTCC is going to be faced with exactly the same issues sooner, rather than later, and in reality its going to be within the next 2-3 years so a decision can be made for what it is, is in place by end of this decade most likely.
We agree on there being a need to do 'something' in the next few years.
My point was that the BTCC may not be big enough to land in the same place NASCAR did.
Because of NASCAR's reach and audience, it was able to tempt several manufacturers to put their design details on NASCAR's generic template ... leading to commentators being able to say such things as "It's Larson leading in the Chevy, followed by Hamlin in the Toyota and Logano in the Mustang". This creates a bit of interest and rivalry between the fans of the various brands, giving narratives to the series.
If the BTCC cannot tempt any manufacturers in on their journey to silhouette racing - due to a perceived lack of reach in target audiences, you'd essentially have all the cars being branded identically and end up in a situation where the commentary team are saying "And it's Hill in the Chevron B1417, followed by Sutton in the Chevron B1417 and then Dan Cammish also in the Chevron B1417". (I've used the TOCA Junior car as an example ... obviously I don't have a clue who would manufacture the racers if the BTCC did go down that route) Therefore the BTCC would lose that element of interest, rivalry and narrative that NASCAR has managed to retain in their transition to silhouette racing. If that happened I think it would fundamentally change the identity of the BTCC and it would struggle to stand out above other spec series in the UK domestic racing scene. It might soldier on for a few years trading off the nostalgia and name recognition from the glory days, but I can't see ITV4 dedicating a full Sunday of coverage 10 times a year for a generic silhouette series.
If the BTCC were able to keep a number of manufacturers involved in the transition and we had cars with some semblance of an individual identity (i.e. they manage to achieve what NASCAR did), then I could see the series continuing with a reputation as one of the top tier domestic racing series, and with a similar reach to its audience. I'm sure there'd be a few turning their back on the series for not being what it used to be, but not enough to fundamentally sink the BTCC.
So in my eyes it all hinges on being able to get enough manufacturers interested in sponsoring a generic silhouette series before making that leap.
Rotary Potato said:
My point was that the BTCC may not be big enough to land in the same place NASCAR did.
I agree its likely not.Like most other forms of current motorsport, over the next 5 years its going to be a case of evolve into something (whatever that may be) or die.
I suspect most tin-top series that rely on current production vehicles will die.
aeropilot said:
....
I suspect most tin-top series that rely on current production vehicles will die...
...unless they pivot into being an electric car series (perhaps with a standardised motor and battery pack).I suspect most tin-top series that rely on current production vehicles will die...
TBH, sprint races like the BTCC would be ideal for battery cars as they'd only need around half an hour's capacity.
They could get series sponsorship form Scalextric.
Truckosaurus said:
aeropilot said:
....
I suspect most tin-top series that rely on current production vehicles will die...
...unless they pivot into being an electric car series (perhaps with a standardised motor and battery pack).I suspect most tin-top series that rely on current production vehicles will die...
TBH, sprint races like the BTCC would be ideal for battery cars as they'd only need around half an hour's capacity.
They could get series sponsorship form Scalextric.
I even gave up on following and watching F1 about 6-7 years ago, and don't miss it in the least.
I still miss the Euro rallycross though, was hard after following it since the late 70's, but must try and get to a few of the retro rallycross events this year.
GlobalRacer said:
There's still too much contact from a club racers point of view. Many driver briefings I've been in the first the thing said is "No contact, you're not BTCC drivers".
Or, when we have had BTCC drivers appear with CSCC, I enjoy the briefings when the clerk, looks directly at said BTCC driver and says, “it’s a non-contact sport, unlike BTCC” and then goes on to explain the concept of “track limits”Gassing Station | General Motorsport | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff