The _TCC Series Thread

Peteroli34 · Post by **Peteroli34** » 10 May 2015, 21:00

East Londoner wrote:Massive shoutout to Sophia Floersch, who just now became the first female to win a Ginetta Juniors race, at just 14 years of age.

First BTCC race was a slow burner, Smith choked it away at the start and then a puncture hammered it in.

Floersch is not the first female to win a Ginetta Junior race though as Sarah Moore and Louise Richardson have won races. Moore in fact won the 2009 championship

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 15 May 2015, 01:49

East Londoner wrote:Massive shoutout to Sophia Floersch, who just now became the first female to win a Ginetta Juniors race, at just 14 years of age.

This is someone born in a year starting with a two.

Now I'm scared.

Post by **Londoner** » 16 May 2015, 13:22

It's looking like Simon Belcher's season is over, as it turns out the damage to his Toyota from the accident with Mike Bushell at Thruxton last week was far greater than originally thought. I'd wager that means the shell of the car is totally bathplugged. A real shame, as he was improving a lot this season, and he's a pretty cool chap from all reports.

Oh, and in that "other" touring car series, Citroen once again made a mockery of the series. No-one had an answer to them at all, even with max ballast on the Citroens. Jose Maria Lopez breezing past BOTH works Hondas on the long straight at the Ring in Race 2 like they weren't even in the same race, absolutely ridiculous. Muller's already conceded the title to Lopez. What an absolute joke.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 16 May 2015, 14:33

Those WTCC drivers who do still fancy racing should accept a pay cut and go drive in BTCC for a while! The Infinitis could use a couple of decent drivers and Motorbase have at least two seats going - pretty sure they're joining the series at Snetterton.

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 16 May 2015, 14:38

I know at least Thompson has called it quits for now. Maybe he could make another comeback.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 16 May 2015, 16:59

And let's not forget that Sabine Schmitz is now a WTCC points scorer! :dance:

Finished 10th in race one, and followed that up with an 11th in race 2.

Samster · Post by **Samster** » 16 May 2015, 18:07

AndreaModa wrote:Those WTCC drivers who do still fancy racing should accept a pay cut and go drive in BTCC for a while! The Infinitis could use a couple of decent drivers and Motorbase have at least two seats going - pretty sure they're joining the series at Snetterton.

Motorbase still have Mat Jackson and James Cole signed, in fact they went testing at Brands with them yesterday.

I still can't believe that a series as boring as the WTCC is racing on the Nordschleife. I wish they had changed up the race format to give them a reasonably long race, who would want to pay to attend a race where they only see the cars go by twice? :facepalm:

Barbazza · Post by **Barbazza** » 22 May 2015, 18:00

East Londoner wrote:Oh, and in that "other" touring car series, Citroen once again made a mockery of the series. No-one had an answer to them at all, even with max ballast on the Citroens. Jose Maria Lopez breezing past BOTH works Hondas on the long straight at the Ring in Race 2 like they weren't even in the same race, absolutely ridiculous. Muller's already conceded the title to Lopez. What an absolute joke.

I've only just got around to watching that (I never watch BTCC or WTCC live, I just don't have the time) and the final lap actually made me really angry. Just when I thought WTCC couldn't get any more stupid.....

Post by **Londoner** » 29 May 2015, 16:35

Some breaking news tonight - Infiniti have pulled their works support from the Paras Racing team, with immediate effect.

Whilst it's a shame to lose a manufacturer, quite frankly this team deserved to lose their support with the way they've acted this season so far. That whole Richard Hawken/Martin Donnelly fiasco earlier this month was scummy as hell. Or maybe Infiniti realised they should have put their money into Motorbase or WSR instead.

Anyway, the Palmers plan to continue racing, butI can't see the team lasting past Snetterton now they've lost the Infiniti support.

In other BTCC news, Mike Bushell is back on the grid for Oulton Park after his accident at Thruxton, but it's touch and go whether Simon Belcher can get his Toyota repaired in time for next weekend.

Post by **Ataxia** » 29 May 2015, 17:00

East Londoner wrote:Some breaking news tonight - Infiniti have pulled their works support from the Paras Racing team, with immediate effect.

Whilst it's a shame to lose a manufacturer, quite frankly this team deserved to lose their support with the way they've acted this season so far. That whole Richard Hawken/Martin Donnelly fiasco earlier this month was scummy as hell. Or maybe Infiniti realised they should have put their money into Motorbase or WSR instead.

Anyway, the Palmers plan to continue racing, butI can't see the team lasting past Snetterton now they've lost the Infiniti support.

Yeah, I've been told the team burned through their budget and apparently had to make payments at Thruxton when some bailiffs came knocking on their garage door. Not a surprise in the slightest.

Post by **Londoner** » 07 Jun 2015, 17:18

Dan Welch finishes in the points in the Proton! Automatically, this is an awesome day. :dance:

Third race of the day at Oulton Park was by far the best. Not only did Dan Welch score, but we had battles all the way through the field. Great bit of opportunism by Tordoff when Neal got loose out of the final corner, a well-deserved victory.

Plato's pace in the max-ballasted VW is ominous.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 09 Jun 2015, 23:35

All right then, so you may already know I was at Oulton Park on Sunday. Hadn't been for at least a decade so it was good to go back. It's been spruced up a fair bit since then. Weather was lovely too which made it even better.

There wasn't a massive amount of action, though we were right next to where Rowan Bailey had his big shunt in the second Ginetta Juniors race. That turned a few heads!

Had some good fun playing around with the settings on my camera too, especially on slow shutter speed. It's surprising just how much better they look than when you just have the camera on "auto" setting. Gotta love motion blur! Here's a few I rustled up over the day:

Andrew Jordan - MG 888 Racing - MG 6GT by James Clarke, on Flickr

Jordan Stilp - 20Ten Racing by James Clarke, on Flickr

Andrew Jordan - MG 888 Racing - MG 6GT, passing Matt Neal - Honda Yuasa Racing - Honda Civic Type R by James Clarke, on Flickr

There's a whole set of them on my Flickr page here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/crackers250/sets/72157653909033320

Peteroli34 · Post by **Peteroli34** » 10 Jun 2015, 18:09

East Londoner wrote:Dan Welch finishes in the points in the Proton! Automatically, this is an awesome day.

So they have finally got their self developed engines working after 2 years. Or have they switched back to the TOCA unit

Rabbi Gordon · Post by **Rabbi Gordon** » 10 Jun 2015, 19:07

peteroli34 wrote:
East Londoner wrote:Dan Welch finishes in the points in the Proton! Automatically, this is an awesome day.

So they have finally got their self developed engines working after 2 years. Or have they switched back to the TOCA unit

Apparently, it was the Proton engine in the car!
I'm happy for them. Bonehead thing, but still nice to see an independent, low-budget team do this.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 10 Jun 2015, 19:22

They were the only BTCC team not to have one of the permanent garages in the pitlane. They were in the paddock in marquees amongst the other teams' trucks.

Post by **Londoner** » 24 Jun 2015, 09:19

As the BTCC arrives in Yorkshire for the 5th meeting of the season, Paras Racing have signed some chap called Max Coates to drive the second Infiniti. No, I dunno either.

Other news is that Nic Hamilton will be making his debut in the series, driving the old Rotek Audi (which is probably one of the worst cars in the field). Simon Belcher will be racing, but it looks like this'll be the last time we see him for a while, and Honda have set up a young driver's program for the BTCC, signing BTCC podium finisher Jack Clarke. I guess this is Honda preparing for life without Matt Neal, although Neal's been revitalised this year in the new Civic.

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 24 Jun 2015, 18:57

East Londoner wrote:As the BTCC arrives in Yorkshire for the 5th meeting of the season, Paras Racing have signed some chap called Max Coates to drive the second Infiniti. No, I dunno either.

I remember Max Coates from Ginetta Juniors a few years ago. He was pretty decent, but ran out of money just as he was starting to come good.

Post by **Miguel98** » 10 Jul 2015, 10:26

http://www.btcc.net/2015/07/10/abbott-to-miss-knockhill-rounds/#

At least, it's for a great cause. I wonder who'll do a one off this weekend.

Post by **Londoner** » 07 Aug 2015, 19:51

With BTCC returning to action this weekend at Snetterton, a round-up of all the big news over the past month

Firstly, Motorbase are back for the remainder of the season, running Mat Jackson and James Cole. Early indications suggest the car will be running towards the front of the field.

Unfortuantely, Welch Motorsport are not showing up at Snetterton, citing parts supply. Sadly, I've got a feeling this might be the last we see of Dan Welch and co. Already, Andy Wilmot has ragequit the team[/url], suggesting things are certainly not rosy in the Welch camp.

And finally, TOCA are finally starting to lose patience with Nepotism Racin...sorry, Paras Racing. They've taken away one of their licences, meaning Derek Palmer will no longer have a team mate for the rest of the season.

In other news, guess who's off to Snetterton again this Sunday.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 07 Aug 2015, 20:07

I wonder if the Infinitis will end up anywhere else next year? I think we all know Paras Racing won't be back sadly. To be honest it's pretty piss poor of the race team to be complete wankers not only to a very good charity, but also Infiniti who could have really brought something to the series.

Also, look out for the four BMR VWs, no longer in their sponsor-less black, but now resplendent in the white/orange/blue of RCIB Insurance!

Post by **Londoner** » 18 Aug 2015, 12:54

Having (unsurprisingly) failed to find a driver willing to take the wheel of their second Proton for Knockhill, TOCA have taken away one of Welch Motorsport's licences

Hopefully this means the team can now concentrate their resources on making the remaining Proton a reliable runner at long last.

Post by **Londoner** » 23 Aug 2015, 11:21

Cracking first race of the day at Knockhill. Mat Jackson so nearly won it, but the soft tyres went off just at the wrong time. At least he's got a podium and pole for Race 2.

However, TOCA have got to stamp out this stupidity where drivers are sacrificing the first race for grid position for the second, cough Plato cough...

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 23 Aug 2015, 17:36

East Londoner wrote:However, TOCA have got to stamp out this stupidity where drivers are sacrificing the first race for grid position for the second, cough Plato cough...

Twice he's done that now this season. I hope he loses the title by just a handful of points, to teach him that he needs to be racing for each and every point in each and every race...

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 23 Aug 2015, 17:39

dr-baker wrote:
East Londoner wrote:However, TOCA have got to stamp out this stupidity where drivers are sacrificing the first race for grid position for the second, cough Plato cough...

Twice he's done that now this season. I hope he loses the title by just a handful of points, to teach him that he needs to be racing for each and every point in each and every race...

Odds were he wouldn't have scored in either race anyway. Look what happened to Shedden at Snetterton.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 23 Aug 2015, 17:41

Salamander wrote:
dr-baker wrote:
East Londoner wrote:However, TOCA have got to stamp out this stupidity where drivers are sacrificing the first race for grid position for the second, cough Plato cough...

Twice he's done that now this season. I hope he loses the title by just a handful of points, to teach him that he needs to be racing for each and every point in each and every race...

Odds were he wouldn't have scored in either race anyway. Look what happened to Shedden at Snetterton.

Yeah, maybe. But he didn't even try, unlike Shedden!

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 23 Aug 2015, 19:27

dr-baker wrote:
Salamander wrote:
dr-baker wrote:Twice he's done that now this season. I hope he loses the title by just a handful of points, to teach him that he needs to be racing for each and every point in each and every race...

Odds were he wouldn't have scored in either race anyway. Look what happened to Shedden at Snetterton.

Yeah, maybe. But he didn't even try, unlike Shedden!

And his weekend was a total write-off. Complain about the rules which encourage this if you must, but don't blame Plato for actually doing the sensible thing.

Samster · Post by **Samster** » 24 Aug 2015, 23:33

Are you freaking serious Gow? Remind me why so much of the BTCC fanbase actually like you again. :facepalm:

http://www.btcccrazy.co.uk/btcc/rob-aus ... uspension/

So because Hunter Abbott had to attend the birth of his baby which had come earlier in the day than expected RAR's 2nd TBL is under threat. WTF. What is really infuriating is that they even tried to have Simon Belcher sub for him on race day only to be blocked as Abbott had already qualified the car.

Also how is it that Team Parker got to miss Thruxton without any consequence, or the 2nd Paras for missing Oulton, or the 2nd Welch for Snetterton? Until now I assumed they were allowed to miss one meeting for unforced absence but this is the first violation for RAR. This makes no sense. :facepalm:

Peteroli34 · Post by **Peteroli34** » 25 Aug 2015, 00:25

Samster wrote:Are you freaking serious Gow? Remind me why so much of the BTCC fanbase actually like you again.

http://www.btcccrazy.co.uk/btcc/rob-aus ... uspension/

So because Hunter Abbott had to attend the birth of his baby which had come earlier in the day than expected RAR's 2nd TBL is under threat. WTF. What is really infuriating is that they even tried to have Simon Belcher sub for him on race day only to be blocked as Abbott had already qualified the car.

Also how is it that Team Parker got to miss Thruxton without any consequence, or the 2nd Paras for missing Oulton, or the 2nd Welch for Snetterton? Until now I assumed they were allowed to miss one meeting for unforced absence but this is the first violation for RAR. This makes no sense.

Maybe its to do with fact it was announced months ago that Hunter was going to miss this event. and when they couldnt get a driver Abbott decided to race knowing that he may have had to go home. the examples you give didnt enter any part of the meeting \t all. Maybe if RAR had gone " We cant get a driver to replace Abbott so we wont run the car at all in any part of the weekend" that might have counted as Force Majeure and like the examplaes you give would have ended with no punishment.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 25 Aug 2015, 00:28

If I recall correctly the team had someone lined up to go, but then that fell through and Abbott said he'd do it, pending his wife's situation.

Post by **Londoner** » 06 Sep 2015, 16:35

Someone needs to give Tom Ingram a top car for next season. That was a career-making performance in the final BTCC race today. Brilliant day of touring car action at Rockingham overall. Great to see Mat Jackson winning again.

TOCA need to do something about Alex Martin and Derek Palmer. Martin is a danger to himself and others on the track with his driving. Palmer is hilariously incompetent. I make that SIX races in a row he's either spun off or buried his car in a gravel trap. Even Andy Neate wasn't this bad behind a touring car...

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 06 Sep 2015, 17:08

Really hoping Warren Scott does the sensible thing and replace Aron Smith with Tom Ingram - there's only 12 points between them now.

Samster · Post by **Samster** » 06 Sep 2015, 17:43

East Londoner wrote:Someone needs to give Tom Ingram a top car for next season. That was a career-making performance in the final BTCC race today. Brilliant day of touring car action at Rockingham overall. Great to see Mat Jackson winning again.

Shout out to Josh Cook as well who after a few quiet rounds also took his first podium in Race 2 after a great drive through the field. With Moffat at Knockhill that is three first time podiums in four races.

East Londoner wrote:TOCA need to do something about Alex Martin and Derek Palmer. Martin is a danger to himself and others on the track with his driving. Palmer is hilariously incompetent. I make that SIX races in a row he's either spun off or buried his car in a gravel trap. Even Andy Neate wasn't this bad behind a touring car...

Alex Martin = The new Andy Neate. Its between him and the horribly slow Stewart Lines for ROTY for me.

East Londoner wrote:Really hoping Warren Scott does the sensible thing and replace Aron Smith with Tom Ingram - there's only 12 points between them now.

I'd rather he'd replace himself and have four competitive cars running.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 06 Sep 2015, 18:24

I reckon that is now 8 races out of 9 entries that Nic Hamilton has now finished. Considering the DNF record of some of the other drivers mentioned above, that makes Nic a steady pair of hands. With more experience, I wonder how much more he could achieve?

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 06 Sep 2015, 19:22

East Londoner wrote:Someone needs to give Tom Ingram a top car for next season. That was a career-making performance in the final BTCC race today. Brilliant day of touring car action at Rockingham overall. Great to see Mat Jackson winning again.

TOCA need to do something about Alex Martin and Derek Palmer. Martin is a danger to himself and others on the track with his driving. Palmer is hilariously incompetent. I make that SIX races in a row he's either spun off or buried his car in a gravel trap. Even Andy Neate wasn't this bad behind a touring car...

Agree with all of that.

Ingram's move on Plato to retake the lead was brilliant! Move of the day in my mind. Cook's outside pass for third place on the final lap of race 2 a close second.

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 06 Sep 2015, 19:32

Samster wrote:
East Londoner wrote:Really hoping Warren Scott does the sensible thing and replace Aron Smith with Tom Ingram - there's only 12 points between them now.

I'd rather he'd replace himself and have four competitive cars running.

Yes, but that's not going to realistically happen, is it?

Barbazza · Post by **Barbazza** » 14 Sep 2015, 20:21

East Londoner wrote:TOCA need to do something about Alex Martin and Derek Palmer. Martin is a danger to himself and others on the track with his driving. Palmer is hilariously incompetent. I make that SIX races in a row he's either spun off or buried his car in a gravel trap. Even Andy Neate wasn't this bad behind a touring car...

Alex Martin is truly atrocious, I am amazed that they haven't taken his licence away yet. At least Palmer is harmless enough and truly rejectful in a good way.

Mind you, they weren't alone. Nick Foster (I can only assume absolutely no-one else was available) was his usual dreadful self and for some strange reason, Hunter Abbott was also driving like an idiot.

Post by **Londoner** » 27 Sep 2015, 11:51

Looks like the title is Shedden's to lose after Race 1 at Silverstone. Holding onto 3rd place in a max-ballasted Honda, whilst Plato trolls around outside the top 10, eventually retiring with a puncture.

If only Mat Jackson and Motorbase had contested the entire season.

Post by **Londoner** » 27 Sep 2015, 14:06

Goddamnit Dunlop, that's three left front punctures for front runners today.

Post by **Londoner** » 07 Oct 2015, 08:18

Alain Menu's back racing again!. It's just for this weekend, replacing the injured Warren Scott, but hopefully he can grab some good results in the VW.

In other news, Eurotech Racing are to race the Type-R Civic as used by the works team next season, and they're planning to run a three-car operation. Presumably Jeff Smith's decided to do a Warren Scott and create a superteam of doom. Now, if he can get some good drivers in...

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 07 Oct 2015, 09:52

East Londoner wrote:In other news, Eurotech Racing are to race the Type-R Civic as used by the works team next season, and they're planning to run a three-car operation. Presumably Jeff Smith's decided to do a Warren Scott and create a superteam of doom. Now, if he can get some good drivers in...

Yeah, let's hope those Type Rs aren't wasted on Smith and Depper. Have barely seen either of them all year.