BTCC 2018 : All Chat Here

[surprising_skoda]

Is it OK if I start this thread? Mid-January and nobody else has. Maybe it's just me watching what develops for this year for the most entertaining race series we've got!
This is the 60th year of it all too...

Calendar:
March 27: Donington Park, for the Livery reveals and all that stuff.

April 8: Brands Hatch (Indy Circuit). Brands has been doing BTCC since 1958 and this 1.21m track has a long-standing LR of 48.498 by Neal in 2011.
April 29: Donington Park. Hosting BTCC races since 1977 and current LR is Shedden with a 1:09.741 in 2015.
May 20: Thruxton. Surprisingly no-one has yet beat the 1:17.303 of 2002 by Muller, at the fastest track of the year.
June 10: Oulton Park. Another mainstay since 1960 and Priaulx holds this LR with a 1:26.404 in 2015.
June 24: Croft. last before summer and always good racing. Turks holds a 1:24.542 LR.
July 29: Snetterton. Home of the Bentley straight, it's been going since '59 and Collard is the LR holder with a 1:56.352 on the almost 3 mile course.
August 12: Rockingham. Only on the calendar for 15 years this year, and featuring a long banked section unlike anywhere else BTCC races - Shedden has the LR of 1:23.193 from '15.
August 26: Knockhill. The annual pilgrimage to the tiny Scottish track where you can see 25 cars go round a hairpin badly 20 times every race. Turkington also managed to do this fastest, in 2016 with a 51.982.
September 16: Silverstone (National Circuit). The iconic track has a LR of 58:464 by Mat Jackson.
September 30: Brands Hatch (GP Circuit). Where all the action happens. Turkington has this race LR as well, 1:31.372 set two years ago.

 

[surprising_skoda]

What news thus far?

In order that I know of it being announced:

Michael Caine announced for Team HARD to drive a VW CC. Mike Bushell also announced later.
Ollie Jackson and rookie Sam Smelt confirmed for AmD Tuning in the Audi S3s.
Dave Newsham has retired from the BTCC (shame).
Chris Smiley (he's from here, if you didn't know, so you better support him) will be driving a CTR this year, again for BTC Norlin Racing.
Eurotech are also using the CTR with Jack Goff driving again.
WSR are running Turks and Collard in the BMWs and AJ in a Pirtek branded one as before.
BMR will have a #1 number on Ash Sutton's Levorg.
Mat Jackson and Tom Chilton will run Focus RS's for Motorbase/Team Shredded Wheat
Alfa Romeo are back in the BTCC with the lovely Guilietta, run by Duo Motorsport, but unfortunately it will be destroyed as Rob Austin is their driver.
PowerMaxedRacing are putting Josh Cook into an Astra.
The big (or interesting at least) news is that AmDTuning took on the MG6 TOCA Licences so they're running 4 cars now.


Someone else can add some more, that's pretty much everything I've heard or seen.

 

[Uncle Buck]

Gordon Sheddon not racing this year so new partner for Matt Neal

 

[Dan.86]

Wow that’s big news. He’s headed to the internationals?

 

[surprising_skoda]

From BTCC.net:

Honda and Halfords Yuasa Racing would like to thank Gordon Shedden for his years of loyal service to the brand and team in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), as the Scot departs for a new challenge ahead of the 2018 campaign.


Gordon first joined Honda in its Team Halfords guise back in 2006, completing three seasons for the squad in his initial stint, claiming ten victories and a best championship finish of third as he immediately made his mark in Britain’s premier motor sport series.


Affectionately known as ‘Flash’ within the paddock, Gordon rejoined Honda in 2010, since when he has gone on to claim 38 further race wins and a hat-trick of Drivers’ crowns – in 2012, 2015 and 2016. In so doing, he formed a formidable partnership with team-mate Matt Neal – himself a three-time BTCC Champion in Honda machinery.


Halfords Yuasa Racing is continuing its preparations for the 2018 season and will announce Gordon’s replacement in due course.


Gordon Shedden said: “Today is a really difficult and emotional day for me. I can confirm I will not be competing in the British Touring Car Championship in 2018, which obviously means I will not be racing with Honda and Team Dynamics. They have been part of my life for the last 11 years and I have been made to feel a part of the family.


“Steve and Matt Neal gave me a chance in 2006, and we haven’t looked back since. From a Fiesta racer to a triple British Touring Car Champion, I could not have dreamed of the success we have achieved together. That success, along with Matt’s three championships, is a testament to the hard work, determination and passion that is intrinsic in the team. To Steve, Matt, [Technical Director] Barry Plowman and everyone at Team Dynamics I will be forever grateful, in particular my race engineer Eddie Hinckley, who has engineered my car since 2006!


“I am very lucky to have had such a successful partnership with the team, Honda and all our sponsors. We have been on a huge journey together, achieving multiple Teams’, Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ Championships. Along the way, we have had a lot of fun and created memories I will take and cherish forever. It may be the end of a chapter, but it won’t be the end of the friendships I have made.”


David Hodgetts, Managing Director, Honda UK, said: “I would like to thank Gordon for the key role he has played in Honda’s BTCC successes over the past decade. He has made a tremendous contribution to the team, not only winning three Drivers’ titles but also helping us to secure five Manufacturers’ crowns and six Teams’ trophies, which is an outstanding accomplishment by any measure. Indeed, his 48 career victories place him fourth on the all-time list – and we are immensely proud that he achieved every single one of them in Honda cars. I wish Gordon all the best in his future career.”


Matt Neal added: “Gordon is a part of our family and success story. He’s got a new and exciting opportunity and we would never hold him back from that. We wish him the very best of success in his new challenge – he’s a phenomenal competitor and he’s certainly talented enough! One thing is for sure – despite ‘Flash’ racing elsewhere this season, he’ll always remain part of our Dynamics family and part of our team.”

I dislike Shedden, Neal, Honda, Yuasa, Halfords and Team Dynamics so personally I don't care one bit.
The only thing that worries me is that a driver I do like (Andy Jordan for instance) might join the team, and he would become "one of them".

 

[MagicRat]

That'll be a lot less panels and bumpers needing to be replaced this year

 

[Dan.86]

AJ is confirmed he’s staying with BMW this year. I reckon it’ll be a young gun starting with Matt.

 

[Uncle Buck]

https://www.motorsport.com/btcc/news/team-dynamics-chasing-plug-and-play-shedden-replacement-998359/
Dunno who would fit this bill unless there's money getting threw around

 

[Dan.86]

https://www.motorsport.com/btcc/news/team-dynamics-chasing-plug-and-play-shedden-replacement-998359/
Dunno who would fit this bill unless there's money getting threw around

Oh wonder who they’re thinking of then.

 

[Uncle Buck]

Oh wonder who they’re thinking of then.

I'm sure Jason Plato would love a run in a proven car like the Honda even though they have had many a tussle on track, or else they're looking at someone proven from outside the BTCC as there has to be a few drivers left over since the WTCC became the WTCR

 

[Dan.86]

Plato hates Neal and the family though, and the feeling is mutual. They’d sooner see him leave BTCC that offer him a drive if he needed one. James Thompson, Alain Menu, Giovanardi?

 

[lennyd]

Plato and Neal on the same team?

That would be interesting, they hate each other!

 

[Uncle Buck]

James Thompson was usually a proven driver but who knows? According to the article, I think they hope to announce shortly

 

[Uncle Buck]

I was looking on Google and as of last month the 3 Honda works drivers had no drives for this year unless they're all signed up for the WTCR but that's 3 good drivers and all used to driving a Honda so essentially "plug and play"

 

[surprising_skoda]

Could be a right few drivers out of a drive, especially since the WTCR is effectively meaningless without an FIA trophy at the end of it. Not going to prove you're at the top echelons of the sport racing against privateers and "customer teams".

From Touring Car Times:

So there we have it, the WTCC is dead. It’s 13th season was its last. Unlucky for some. And just under a week ago, at the Losail circuit in Qatar, the Super 2000 era which was launched back in 2002 with the FIA European Touring Car Championship, has now been confirmed to be formally at an end, with Sweden’s Thed Björk winning the last FIA World Touring Car Championship drivers’ title.

What we have now in prospect is a fantastic two-year series in WTCR, or the FIA World Touring Car Cup, as WTCC’s promoter Eurosport Events leases Marcello Lotti’s hugely successful TCR formula until 2020.

A brief release today from the FIA World Motor Sport Council detailed some of the key changes, with many more known to be coming for next season.

First, the TCR regulations are locked in of course. There’s no changes to the world’s most successful touring car formula of the last decade – with nearly 500 examples already produced and racing around the world in just three years.

There are no manufacturer entries permitted – which is why the WTCC no longer carries FIA World Championship status. Having no manufacturer programmes has been a key principle of the TCR International Series, which also helped ensure it didn’t directly compete with the WTCC in its three years – though manufacturers have always provided technical support in the form of ‘customer racing’ programmes to the teams in the championship.

SEAT Sport, Volkswagen and Audi engineers have always been heavily prevalent at TCR International Series race meetings, with JAS Motorsport engineers also on hand to support those running the privately developed Honda Civic. It’s this particular programme which may now find itself with much more support from the Honda factory, now their WTCC programme has effectively come to an end.
Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing have all but run their own two-car team at the last two rounds of the TCR International Series, with the i30 N TCR car which was showcased by Gabriele Tarquini and Alain Menu now at the top of many teams shopping lists for 2018.

The smaller, non-factory-backed TCR development programmes will likely suffer, especially with manufacturers showing more interest in TCR. The Kia programme run by Manfred Stohl’s STARD operation has been heavily sideswiped by Hyundai’s programme, and will likely find itself only an option in the smaller, national TCR series. The Ford Focus ST programme has all but been aborted by the Hong Kong-based FRD Team, with the 2.0-litre Ecoboost engine unable to meet the upgraded performance requirements that TCR introduced for its second season.

There are a few other manufacturer-backed customer cars that will likely gain some leftfield interest, with Peugeot and Opel, both part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën Group, having strong packages with the 308 TCR and Astra TCRs.
Two additional wildcard entries per weekend will allow privateer teams to run cars in each race meeting at the discretion of the promoter – which harks back to the old spirit of the Super 2000 TC2 era, when local championships would often field drivers for their home races – such as in Sweden or the UK, when STCC and BTCC teams were able to enter cars that they were racing in their home championships when they were running in matching regulations.

The announcement also confirmed that the FIA and TCR between them would manage the Balance of Performance (BoP). This is also a popular call with many teams and engineers. The BoP has certainly been controversial in TCR, especially this season, and many have said that with the FIA having some input into the calculation, things should be a lot more equal.

The new arrangement will see Marcello Lotti’s WSC Ltd. work to promote the numerous TCR regional and national series throughout the world, with a Korean series announced just last week. The new-for-2018 TCR Europe Trophy will be promoted directly by WSC and effectively replaces the FIA European Touring Car Cup, which has been confirmed as now defunct by the WMSC, and WSC also promotes the TCR Middle East series, which kicks in just a month in Dubai.

Back to the FIA World Touring Car Cup, although the TC1 era was short (four years) and didn’t quite see the WTCC go where it could have gone, TCR for WTCC is perhaps not just a saviour, but the perfect formula for a global touring car series, which already has the best part of a dozen car manufacturers already involved in some capacity.

At the moment, it’s a two-year experiment, and also with Lotti and Eurosport back working together, it’s a bit of “let’s try again” situation after an awkward divorce, so it’ll be very interesting to see how things pan out for the new WTCR.

While always punching above its weight has been the Italian privateer Romeo Ferraris operation with its Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR, despite its lower capacity 1.75-litre engine.

With all these cars available, a massive variety on the grid is possible for the WTCR’s inaugural season in 2018, though in reality, we should expect to see Honda, Hyundai, SEAT, Volkswagen and Audi make up the bulk of the field.

A 26-car limit is also a sensible call. Without manufacturer teams and programmes, the driver level won’t be quite a strong as that of the WTCC, but it’ll certainly have a strong mix of professional drivers and capable privateers, but the 40+ cars that have been seen in the most successful TCR series in terms of grid size, TCR Germany, has made for some problematic race weekends – with red flags and very limited green-flag running often the case due to numerous accidents.

And interestingly, from Autosport:

Honda says it would have left the World Touring Car Championship had the series stuck by its TC1 regulations beyond the end of the 2017 season.
The WTCC will become the World Touring Car Cup this season as part of a two-year deal to adopt TCR regulations, which also signalled the end of the TC1 era of aero-dependent high-cost cars.
In the wake of Citroen's and Lada's exits from the championship at the end of 2016, only Honda and Volvo remained as manufacturers in '17.

Why a world championship made the ultimate sacrificehttps://www.autosport.com/wtcc/feature/7922/why-a-world-championship-made-the-ultimate-sacrifice)
Honda's ninth generation Civic Type R on which its challenger was based was replaced last year by the FK8 Type R, and the manufacturer is understood to have made it clear it would not commit to a TC1 version of the new model being built.
"It would have been a really difficult situation and we would regret it but we would have stopped. Definitely," Honda Europe motorsport manager William de Braekeleer told Autosport.
"The main reason is this car is no longer sold, it's the previous generation Civic, so it didn't make any sense on the marketing side."
Honda supported customer outfit Zengo Motorsport (pictured below) throughout the TC1 era, while the Proteam Racing and Nika International outfits also ran privateer TC1 Civics in 2014 and '15 respectively.
"Whether customers would have continued to race with our cars... it's a big question mark," de Braekeleer added.
"If you ask my opinion, I wouldn't have been so positive [about that].
"Inevitably, it is still a Civic racing and in a very high visible televised championship and we would have been forced to support the customer just to have a minimum level of performance. This was not the right thing to do either.
"Probably we would have said OK, we stop completely and we prefer not to see any other Civics racing because it was contrary to the brand image interest."
De Braekeleer said it was a "pity" that the TC1 era ended two years earlier than planned, but added Honda had been in favour of a switch to TCR - which restricts the involvement of factory outfits - once it had become clear that TC1 was not viable.
"Each time we were asked our opinion, yes we were in favour [of a TCR switch]," he said.
"As soon as it was clear TC1 had no future, unfortunately - because we still believed this was a very good regulation, it's just a pity no more manufacturers jumped - it had to stop.
"We could not continue with just two brands officially involved in the championship.
"It's a pity that TC1 cannot continue, but there were no other options than TCR."


My hot tip (guess) is Rob Huff. Drove a WTCC Civic a couple of years ago, no confirmed 2018 drive, has been quoted as saying he's looking at WTCR, CTCC (Chinese championship where he's raced a handful of times for VW) and BTCC for '18 - and he's also been quoted as saying he'd need paid a salary to take a full time BTCC drive, and Honda are the only team with enough wallop to do that. Maybe Subaru would fund WSR if they had incentive to, but they don't need any drivers. Honda do.

 

[surprising_skoda]

More news from the past few days:

Senna Proctor was confirmed as staying with PMR.
What I found surprising was that Josh Cook (joining PMR this year) was giving a few hints to the boss of AMD on how to make the MGs handle better. I like good old fashioned sportsmanship like that.

BMR re-sign (retain) Plato for another year - no surprise there.
James Nash confirmed driving for BTC Norlin alongside Smiley.
Also no surprise is Adam Morgan staying at Ciceley driving the A-class. But they've signed a second driver, Tom Oliphant.

 

[Uncle Buck]

Honda BTCC squad picks Cammish to replace Shedden

 

[MagicRat]

Motorbase have dumped Mat Jackson. Allegedly after signing for them he approached Team Dynamics asking to replace Crash Gordon, Motorbase obviously heard about it, waited until Dan Cammish was announced and then sacked Jackson.

 

[Uncle Buck]

A bit harsh but right at the same time.

 

[Dan.86]

Tough break for both driver and team there but I guess that’s what he gets for doing the dirty

 

[surprising_skoda]

Just to recap the last couple of weeks, and give me something to look at in terms of racing - tried to watch the Mexico E-prix last night... no.

Sam Tordoff is also driving for Motorbase (I don't think that's been mentioned here yet) but no replacement for Mat Jackson yet.
Parker Racing is switching from a Focus to a WSR-supplied 125i, Steven Jelley (or Steve Angelli as David Addison seems unable to stop pronouncing it) driving for them again.
WIX is still sponsoring the Mercedes' but now also becoming main sponsor for Eurotech, who've swapped engine suppliers too. Somewhere in there they confirmed three drivers, Jack Goff, Brett Smith and Matt Simpson, but only Goff and Smith are listed as being in WIX livery - unless they're running a third car with different advertising.

And that's all a load of news that hardly registers. The only actual news is Tom Boardman is signed up to pilot one of the MGs for AmD.

 

[surprising_skoda]

So James Cole has moved from BMR Subaru to Motorbase Team Shredded Wheat (flippin mouthful) Ford - didn't see that coming.

 

[Dan.86]

Colin Turkington on Top Gear Extra Gear.

 

[Gibbo]

Can’t wait for this to start, only racing worth watching of late!

 

[MagicRat]

Good coverage on ITV4 of the best motor racing on the planet. More overtaking in two laps than you'd see watching a full year of F1!!
Good start to the year from our local drivers in BTCC and the Porsche 911s.