TTA 2012 - The new kid on the block

[PorscheFanNo1]

Tomorrow at 12 TTA will hold its press conference to officially launch its 2012 concept. Hopefully we will get some answers on this new serie and see what they are really about.

[Jimmy Magnusson]

Buys SRL. Well, colour me surprised. Hope Lindström made sure the GT's are given equal billing when they signed the contract, would be a damn shame to see it reduced to second fiddle. And even as he spoke I thought his words were somewhat disconected from the rest of the gang - the GT's are, as he said, a tried and tested concept with cars all over Europe. Which is (spec series aside) one of TTA's major problems.

So still not sure why you would lay the foundations of a strong series only to let someone else come in and steal your thunder. Well, I suppose they (Leif-Stanley-Poker) got out on the plus side money wise and can stay involved with less risks. Not the fate of many who starts a racing series.

It does give them a lot better footing to stand on than SSK with Porsche. FrenchSpecs, GT's, Abarth, Ginetta's and the motorcycles is a package that will fill a day of racing no problems. Carrera Cup stays with STCC, which isn't surprising what with Solvalla and the GT's being a direct competitor. Not that it matters much in the long run, the GT's are a stronger platform and should win out in the end. Might still get a decent enough field in CC but nothing compared to the GT field.

Final race in Gothenburg? Pretty sad that both series will run gimmick finales. It's no way to decide a championship, though I suppose Gothenburg is more survivable than Solvalla. Makes you wonder how the contracts looked when TTA were able to steal it from STCC, whether or not Volvo owns the track. Unless it expired this year (which I don't think it did?), you would have thought a normal contract would have put it on both calendars (or even just STCC, if it had been written by Bernie).

No Mantorp or Knutstorp? I mean, there's two TBA's, sure, but what about the GT and Autoropa cooperation? Seems like a strong tieup to throw in the dustbin. Quite survivable with this new package, yes, but was there really no way to work those events into the main calendar? And you run on three permanent tracks when we've got eight in this country (same applies to STCC with four), please come the **** on. But hey, Anderstorp is back, so there's at least something to like.

And as far as I could hear there was nothing about TV coverage mentioned? Though I suppose it shouldn't be as difficult now with the GT package. Would be damn funny if both STCC and this ended up on Viasat.

In closing, surprised to see it end up with SRL? Yeah. But it takes away many organizational questions and makes it happening a lot more likely. And with STCC's quite frankly useless TV coverage still going strong, whoever can actually bring a race to the viewer and let them know what's going on (as opposed to randomly filming cars going by) will probably get out on top. Provided that the racing isn't dull.

[duke_toaster]

By Gothenberg, have they poached the street race from the STCC?

[Speed-King]

Originally Posted by duke_toaster

By Gothenberg, have they poached the street race from the STCC?

Yup. The rights for it are actually held by Volvo or Polestar, so wherever they go they'll take it with them.

[Valker]

What did I say?

[FIRE]

The total SRL package is good. With Porsche Cup run by Flash I assumed they would join SRL. But maybe there's a contract between STCC and Porsche Cup which prevents that.

I hoped they would show a car or at least some images.
Still don't understand why they want to use KERS.

[Jimmy Magnusson]

Originally Posted by Valker

What did I say?

And I explained my reasoning as to why I thought it wouldn't happen. Solid reasoning based on what people wanted to achieve with their championships and how they thought racing should be done. Without counter-arguments taking pride in a guess is quite pointless. Not that they joined SRL though, they bought them.

And I assume the Porsche Cup will fold and the cars there will be allowed to run in a Carrera Cup B class. CC will need all the cars they can get, and there's no logic in running classes that are direct competitors on your race weekends. The people who would run there could easily run in GTB instead - no party will have any interest in keeping it going. As far as I'm aware there should be some sort of contract governing this between FEAB and Porsche, just like CC.

[I Rosputnik]

To be honest my only issue with the TTA has been the rules. I'm just not a fan of Solution-F. I would have no issue if they came up with a rule set that was cheaper then NGTC, but still kept production based cars. Would make sense if they just gone with the same rules that Superstars uses?

[Jimmy Magnusson]

Originally Posted by I Rosputnik

To be honest my only issue with the TTA has been the rules. I'm just not a fan of Solution-F. I would have no issue if they came up with a rule set that was cheaper then NGTC, but still kept production based cars. Would make sense if they just gone with the same rules that Superstars uses?

The Superstars rules are everything TTA doesn't want, performance balanced to the max. And to be frank, I think those rules are pretty terrible aside from the PB issues. So far I'm not convinced by any set of regulations, but NGTC and S2000+ seem not as bad as the rest. We'll see about the DTM when I get to see them in the flesh. But this isn't about rules, not really. It's about a bunch of people who've decided they've had enough and if they're already putting their asses on the line to bring the show they should get a bigger slice of the cake. STCC has been run quite poorly for several years now and needed an overhaul, but this isn't it. What it mainly needed was a good promotor, and more professional people running the show. The basis for a great series for everyone was already there, it was just being squandered.

As far as touring car regulations in general go I expect nothing will work out. Six, seven, maybe eight years from now, a bunch of failed or struggling championships with second hand cars noone wants to buy. If we're lucky maybe these years will teach people to come togeather and write a universal set of regulations instead of splitting the market ever and ever more.

[FIRE]

After 15 years of Super Touring and S2000 (was there a STCC before?) moving to a 100% spec series is in my opinion a step to far. With Sweden being a small country I understand they go for something more cheaper as S2000 and NGTC but why not a compromise? E.g. spec chassis powered by a NGTC engine (so far the engine part of NGTC is a big success) or spec chassis with original body parts attached like the new New Zealand V8 Supertourer or Argentinian/Brazilian TC2000.

[rustyfan]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Magnusson

No Mantorp or Knutstorp? I mean, there's two TBA's, sure

Fingers crossed Ring Knutstorp won't turn out to be either TBA. It's too slow, too twisty and too Mickey Mouse.

Personally I'm dreaming that they somehow, someway, will make it possible to run at either configuration at Gotland Ring. I expect that it will remain a dream, however.

Originally Posted by Jimmy Magnusson

And as far as I could hear there was nothing about TV coverage mentioned? Though I suppose it shouldn't be as difficult now with the GT package. Would be damn funny if both STCC and this ended up on Viasat.

Whatever network they end up on, I hope they start showing everything from the support races - right now we get better, more complete coverage of club racing and other smaller regional championships in Europe than most of the support races to the STCC where only the second race is shown for whatever odd reason. And it's been that way for years and only here in Sweden.

Originally Posted by FIRE

After 15 years of Super Touring and S2000 (was there a STCC before?) moving to a 100% spec series is in my opinion a step to far.

I see what you're saying, but at the same time a spec series is what provides the best racing in Sweden (shown on TV, anyway) right now; Camaro Cup. It's bloody fantastic. Ok so I might be a tad biased, with my love for V8s and american-style racing overall, but anyway...

[FIRE]

I have seen only 2 Camaro races and I like it too but at the end it stays a single make cup.
BTW they should allow Mustang and Charger bodies.

[PorscheFanNo1]

Originally Posted by rustyfan

I see what you're saying, but at the same time a spec series is what provides the best racing in Sweden (shown on TV, anyway) right now; Camaro Cup. It's bloody fantastic. Ok so I might be a tad biased, with my love for V8s and american-style racing overall, but anyway...

Biggest problem with Camaro Cup is the pathetic racelength, 9 times out of 10 you get 1 green lap then safetycar, you then get a restart and at best 3-4 more green laps after that before the race is over. They usually only run 10-13 laps, with a feild of 33 cars they should run twice the length so we can actually see some racing.

[Pettersson]

Originally Posted by FIRE

I have seen only 2 Camaro races and I like it too but at the end it stays a single make cup.
BTW they should allow Mustang and Charger bodies.

Actually, that's being discussed within Camaro Cup (allowing Mustang and Challenger bodies). But I don't see the point now with TTA. Camaro Cup is fun to watch with large grids and a lot of different drivers, but the cars do look a bit silly when all plastic come off (which they tend to do in races ). I had a look at the cars that were involved in the "big one" at Karlskoga, and it's not much of a car under that plastic body. (and personally I can't stand plastic silhuette cars, they are just large RC cars) But never mind that when the races are entertainging and attracts large grids.

As for TTA, I like their concept about how to arrange a championship, get the teams involved and how they will work together with the track owners. But I really don't like the cars they'll be using. I haven't heard or read many people in Sweden saying good things about the racing in DTM lately, and it's not even broadcasted on Swedish TV this season. But still, Swedes tend to think that DTM-style cars is God's gift to motorsport and that's what everyone wants to see, and not the "taxi cars" used in STCC today. The TTA car is really what the drivers want to race, and the teams like it since the cars are ready and all they can focus on is setups, no expensive development. Will be interesting to see what the spectators think. It's like "mail-order" racing where you buy, sorry, "lease" or "rent", a car that is turn-key ready. No more new Polestar Racing or Brovallen companies that develops their own cars through racing in TTA. Such new companies have to develop through other disciplines.

No manufacturer has shown any support for TTA so far (officially), and from what I heard in the pits at Karlskoga they still haven't got the rights from any manufacturer to use the silhuettes of Volvo's S60, BMW's 3-Series etc. But TTA said that "the manufacturers haven't closed the door for us, but nothing is confirmed yet". V8 Star, anyone? Unbranded plastic cars with oldschool Nissan V6's is not what I like to see, and then it doesn't matter if Göransson, Rustad or Flash himself is behind the wheel. To be honest, that's the guys you most likely will see in the TTA cars, except new and young talents. Rumors says the Carl-Philip Bernadotte will drive in TTA, but there goes the "elite" from that championship

I feel sorry for the way motorsport on top level in Sweden has taken. And now there's a sandbox "war" between the two parts. It's typically Swedish, once we have a good thing going, our ego will make us think we're bigger and can do things like other, larger series or markets, has failed to do (V8 Star another example) or can do (V8 Supercars, DTM, NASCAR). But in the end we're just a small country in an offside sparsely populated region of the world, with a small market for car manufacturers. Let's just hope things work out in the next couple of years, but with an uncertain financial climate in the coming years, 2 large racing leagues might be too big for tiny Sweden. I really hope I'm wrong and has to eat it up in 2013 or 2014!

[rustyfan]

Originally Posted by PorscheFanNo1

Biggest problem with Camaro Cup is the pathetic racelength, 9 times out of 10 you get 1 green lap then safetycar, you then get a restart and at best 3-4 more green laps after that before the race is over. They usually only run 10-13 laps, with a feild of 33 cars they should run twice the length so we can actually see some racing.

No argument there, but then again, the same can be said for STCC and WTCC as well. I hope TTA is looking at longer races that perhaps include pit stops rather than this silly "sprint race craze" we've had to suffer for years now just because some TV networks decided it.

Originally Posted by Pettersson

I haven't heard or read many people in Sweden saying good things about the racing in DTM lately, and it's not even broadcasted on Swedish TV this season. But still, Swedes tend to think that DTM-style cars is God's gift to motorsport and that's what everyone wants to see, and not the "taxi cars" used in STCC today. The TTA car is really what the drivers want to race, and the teams like it since the cars are ready and all they can focus on is setups, no expensive development. Will be interesting to see what the spectators think.

I think both have its issues; in DTM the cars look fast and they are fast, which makes it more exciting and fun to watch. However, the DTM regs have gone completely overboard when it comes to the aero, making the cars hard to race with. Not to mention they seem to break even from the slightest contact or loose vital aerodynamic winglets and what have you that make the cars even harder to drive.

The "taxi cars", on the other hand, tend to offer closer racing but wow do they look slow or what? Where's the excitement? Where's the feeling that when you're watching a driver you can just tell he's on the ragged edge, wrestling his car through the corners and really driving it? Now now, I'm not saying the S2000 drivers aren't driving hard, because I know they are, but you sure can't tell from the outside for the most part because it just looks so... slow. I suppose all the FWD cars lessen the spectacle as well. Real race cars use RWD

Originally Posted by Pettersson

Rumors says the Carl-Philip Bernadotte will drive in TTA, but there goes the "elite" from that championship

So name one single championship that consists of only "elite" drivers?

Not even Formula 1 or MotoGP qualify.

Originally Posted by Pettersson

I feel sorry for the way motorsport on top level in Sweden has taken. And now there's a sandbox "war" between the two parts. It's typically Swedish, once we have a good thing going, our ego will make us think we're bigger and can do things like other, larger series or markets, has failed to do (V8 Star another example) or can do (V8 Supercars, DTM, NASCAR). But in the end we're just a small country in an offside sparsely populated region of the world, with a small market for car manufacturers. Let's just hope things work out in the next couple of years, but with an uncertain financial climate in the coming years, 2 large racing leagues might be too big for tiny Sweden. I really hope I'm wrong and has to eat it up in 2013 or 2014!

Couldn't agree more. As for V8 Star, I think one of the main problems was that the cars, much like the current S2000 cars, did look very fast - it simply wasn't very exciting to watch. And it's my personal belief the "Excitement Factor" is a very important one to grab the attention of the casual fan, the masses. Don't fool yourselves that the majority of the fans in the stands are diehard fans, like us here at motorsports forums like this. Because they aren't and if you can't appeal to them they might just as well decide to repaint their garage on Sunday rather than care about a race.