Monday 2nd August 2010

Avensis: The Future Of The BTCC?

Toyota Avensis is the test-bed for the next generation of touring cars

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TOCA, the British Touring Car Championship series organiser, has confirmed that the 'car in front will be a Toyota' (at least as far as the future of the BTCC is concerned). TOCA has announced that it is to use a Toyota Avensis as the development car for the Next Generation Touring Car (NGTC) regulations that will come into force in 2011.

As well as being a fine opportunity for an endless series of jokes ('will the brakes work properly?' etc, etc), the Avensis is effectively a test-bed for the NGTC regulations - rules designed so that cars share more common parts and can be up to 50 per cent cheaper than current Super 2000-spec racers.

The S2000 cars will, however, remain eligible for competition until at least 2013.

And for those who fear an entire grid of Avensises (Avenses?) don't worry - BTCC teams will be able to build up their own choice of car and engine to NGTC specification.

Former double BTCC Champion James Thompson has been appointed as official test and development driver of the NGTC Avensis, and the car - to be built by GPR in Buckinghamshire - is expected to make its debut at Brands Hatch this October.

"To be able to support the premier British motor sport series with the Avensis was a great opportunity for Toyota to help an 'old friend'," says Scott Brownlee, Toyota's UK PR boss. "The BTCC is a series we greatly respect and have enjoyed a long and successful involvement with in the past. Whilst we've made no commitment to re-enter the championship with a works team at this time, we will be following the prototype build with great interest."

[HowardB]

you asked for a series of comments,.. that would be too easy,...

The real question is surely how is this good for the BTCC?

Will more people want to watch or get involved when the car in front is a Toyota?

;-)

[touring fan]

Its another manufacturer on the grid - how can that be a negative thing??!!
Damn good news that Toyota is obviously looking at maybe getting involved in the BTCC again, in my book.

(Or are you somehow mistakenly thinking that every car on the grid will be a Toyota?)

Edited by touring fan on Monday 2nd August 11:59

[Riggers]

touring fan said:

(Or are you somehow mistakenly thinking that every car on the grid will be a Toyota?)

No :

PH article said:

And for those who fear an entire grid of Avensises (Avenses?) don't worry - BTCC teams will be able to build up their own choice of car and engine to NGTC specification.

[PetrolHeadSeb]

I think it's good that a new manufacturer is getting involved, whether they take the next step and actually run in the championship remains to be seen of course.

Given that this is a prototype for the "next generation" I would have rather see a car that I would want to own. Strangely, an Avensis doesn't really do it for me...

[german tony]

50% cheaper = more cars & that's got to be a good thing + shared parts = closer racing & that's unarguably even better.

[BelperJim]

If it helps make the series more interesting it gets a big from me

[RTH]

When this new era comes fully in to force, the current plan appears after an optional phasing in period, every car irrespective of make may then it seems likely to be required to use the same unbranded engine, in the interests of cost cutting and performance equilisation, manufacturered specially by Swindon racing engines for the BTCC, the same gearboxes, brakes, suspension, wheels, electronics and more also to be used.

http://www.racecarengineering.co.uk/news/cars/4938...

The whole story was dealt with a month or so ago in Racecar Engineering magazine in great detail in a 4 full page article, clearly it is a big long term project and a large investment to build, manage and service a lot of power units.

Edited by RTH on Tuesday 3rd August 16:38

[touring fan]

RTH said:

When this new era comes in to force every car irrespective of make will be obliged to use the same engine, manufacturered specially by Swindon racing engines

Pure nonsense. With respect you obviously havent understood the regs properly or read the Racecar Engineering story properly.

EVERY team can design and build their own engine. For the smaller teams that can't then they have the option of using the Swindon engine. But its certainly NOT obligatory!

Read this (particularly the engine section): http://www.btcc.net/html/generalnews_detail.php?id...

Edited by touring fan on Monday 2nd August 12:28

[sklar]

Ahhh, the good ol' days

[Oddball RS]

Well there will be a ready supply of cars if they bend any, the local mini cab rank.

[Spiritual_Beggar]

sklar said:

Ahhh, the good ol' days

Just look at the skill involved in that!

A two wheel, fully sideways drift round the corner during a race! Let's see that in F1

[RTH]

If you read the article in the July 2010 issue the intention of these new rules are to cut costs and equalise power and drivability they even invite car companies to badge this unbranded engine with their own names.
The clear long term intention given the investment is eventually to make it a standard component even though initially it is an option.
Looks very like the thin end of the wedge. I don't have confidence that the race organisers will protect the integrity of the most important Saloon car championship in Britain given this latest development.

Edited by RTH on Monday 2nd August 18:53

[german tony]

Isn't this broadly similar to the proposals for the WTCC?

[touring fan]

RTH said:

The clear long term intention given the investment is eventually to make it a standard component even though initially it is an option.

Sorry but that's just pure nonsense.
I'm actually with a BTCC team and I've been involved in the working group helping putting these regs together. There is zero intention and absolutley no desire to make one engine the standard engine. Quite the opposite. The rules are in place until 2017 and those long-term rules state that teams design and build their own engines so please stop putting unfounded conspiracy theories around!

[williamp]

To: James Thimpson

James, wonderful news about this new car. You know that Toyota are in Nascar, dont you? And you know they have very big powerful V8's dont you. Well, why not save time and money by bringing a Nascar V8 engine into BTCC, with slimmer tyres so there is more power then grip. And none of this namby-pamby wait until the track dries before racing nonsense. Big engine, slim tyres, no aero aids. And let them decide whether they want V8 front or V8 rear wheel drive. That'll be fun...

[TheRoadWarrior]

...and what an announcemed it is.

[Scuffers]

touring fan said:

RTH said:

The clear long term intention given the investment is eventually to make it a standard component even though initially it is an option.

Sorry but that's just pure nonsense.
I'm actually with a BTCC team and I've been involved in the working group helping putting these regs together. There is zero intention and absolutley no desire to make one engine the standard engine. Quite the opposite. The rules are in place until 2017 and those long-term rules state that teams design and build their own engines so please stop putting unfounded conspiracy theories around!

OK, how about you tell us what the intentions behind all this are then?

Genuinely interested in where BTCC is going, as (All IMHO) it's gone down hill badly over the last 10+ years, in much the same way WRC has gone.

Problem I see is that there is nothing there to support any specific team/manufacture any more, std components between cars are a joke, for example, look at the cost of the BTCC spec sequential, if that was cost cutting, then god help us.

Personally, I would like to see then get back to more road car oriented stuff, as in if it's not designed like that on the road car, then tough, you can't have it, back in the old days, this meant we (the public) could buy decent cars in much the same way the the homologation rules for rally cars meant 5,000 road cars had to be built, do you think we would ever have had the Imprezza or Evo without said rules?

[touring fan]

Scuffers said:

Personally, I would like to see then get back to more road car oriented stuff, as in if it's not designed like that on the road car, then tough, you can't have it, back in the old days, this meant we (the public) could buy decent cars in much the same way the the homologation rules for rally cars meant 5,000 road cars had to be built, do you think we would ever have had the Imprezza or Evo without said rules?

Manufacturers just aren't going to spend the extra tens of millions of dollars homologating a special run of road cars for motorsport use.
Those days are well and truly over and its a totally different world we live in nowadays.

And you are totally wrong about the BTCC spec sequential box. It might still be expensive compared to a road-car box but its around £20,000 cheaper than what we were using before!

Edited by touring fan on Monday 2nd August 13:51

[Xaero]

What's wrong with Toyota in touring cars?

[Escort Si-130]

A true "dad" car, (dull as dishwater). Since the early 90's Toyota has lacked interesting sports deritive versions of the ultra borina Carina, then Avensis, to the Corolla/Auris. They did have an intresting Starlet in the early 90's but when we got the Yaris in the EU, which I think was still Starlet in other markets it went whack.
I much like the 80's and early 90's Toyota sports cars.