Touring Cars and the British Grand Prix

Sherman · 6 Apr 2002, 17:35 (Ref:253612)

What is the possibility of the BTCC joining forces with the British Grand Prix again like in the good ol' days? I noticed the support schedule looked a bit lean again this year. There is a non-championship F3 race. How about a non-championship touring car race involving tourers from across the world?

If Mr West wants to promote the new look series i can think of no better way of doing it, and it will give me something interesting to look forward to after the F1 field zoom past 60 times in exactly the same order.

I maybe dreaming again........

**Craig** · 6 Apr 2002, 17:41 (Ref:253619)

PLEASE NO!

If we're lumbered with having to support the most overpriced and overhyped weekend of the year there will be many unhappy regulars... don't do it Mr West!

ozywoodwards · 6 Apr 2002, 17:45 (Ref:253624)

I think that putting BTC cars in direct comparison to F1 machines will only be bad for them, as it will highlight how much they lag behind F1 in terms of speed and spectacle. I remember being bored rigid during what would normally be considered to be an interesting BTCC race at one of the GP in the mid 90's, just because they seemed so slow and quiet.

Carrie · 6 Apr 2002, 19:10 (Ref:253679)

I might have been happy for that to happen back in the days when I could still just about afford to go to the British GP, but not anymore. I wouldn't want to have to miss a touring car race just because they happened to be a GP support.
Hmmm, being bored rigid when the touring cars were supporting the GP, never encountered that. Now getting bored with the GP, that's a different issue altogether

Speedworx · 6 Apr 2002, 19:23 (Ref:253696)

Interesting idea.

Eddie_harasym · 6 Apr 2002, 19:55 (Ref:253731)

Personally I think it is on Mr Wests agenda, but he needs to have a stable base before bringing the spectacle to the F1 corruption circus.

I don't think its the best thing for the fans of BTC but will probally improve the credit rating of the series.

Gonzo_Rules · 6 Apr 2002, 21:38 (Ref:253768)

The BTCC being a support race to something is a stupid idea!

Sherman · 6 Apr 2002, 21:42 (Ref:253771)

Woah! Some very anti-F1 people here! It was just a small suggestion! I agree with the whole over-priced thing though. Im seriously considering going to Spa next year instead. Maybe the BTCC could go there.....No wait, you're all gonna have a go at me again!

Mocko · 7 Apr 2002, 09:38 (Ref:253993)

I think it's quite a good idea but I doubt that there is a good chance that it will happen. I think that one problem would be is to see how the racing would work on the Grand Prix track. The Super T's were really good to watch on TV but I think the BTC-T's will be rather different, ie slower.

Gonzo_Rules · 7 Apr 2002, 10:00 (Ref:253999)

Last time it supported a GP they weren't allowed to show it on TV!
Now we don't want that again!

Mocko · 7 Apr 2002, 10:04 (Ref:254002)

WHY?

redshoes · 7 Apr 2002, 10:38 (Ref:254013)

Do you mean why was it not shown on TV? The situation may have changed a little since then but put simply the FIA own all media rights to all GP support events. So if you want to show coverage on teh TV or include it in your end-of-season highlights tape then you need to negotiate with the FIA.

For F3 it's probably less of an issue. It's an invitational race rather than a British championship round (unlike Touring Cars, F3 rules are pretty much identical across the world) and it's probably more important for F3 drivers to be seen in front of F1 team managers rather than TV viewers.

racer69 · 8 Apr 2002, 10:55 (Ref:254697)

Yeah, the '96 support race wasn't shown on the review tape, although the previous races were. If anything, the rules regarding footage would be tighter and even more costly now, not that i see the point though.

The BTCC should have a round at the GP i reckon, they used too, plus they would get to run on the GP circuit. Also i think it is more likely now than between 97-2001 because ITV now cover both championships, possibly getting a few of the problem's out of the way. They could probably show the race live as well, in Australia we see alot of the support races from the AGP on our free-to-air coverage. Maybe the post produced package causes some of the problem's.

KA · 8 Apr 2002, 11:55 (Ref:254762)

Quote:

Originally posted by redshoes

For F3 it's probably less of an issue. It's an invitational race rather than a British championship round (unlike Touring Cars, F3 rules are pretty much identical across the world) and it's probably more important for F3 drivers to be seen in front of F1 team managers rather than TV viewers.

I won't swear to this, but I'm sure I've read somewhere that the TV rights issue is the main reason that the F3 race is non-championship invitational rather than a regular championship round.

Presumably it would make negotiating the TV rights for the series more difficult- you can just imagine the conversation- something along the lines of 'we also have a high-profile showcase appearance at the British Grand Prix, but you won't be able to show that unless you pay extra to cut a separate deal with Bernie....Er, hello, are you still there?'

A non-championship race might be an attractive idea, but with the variety of touring car regs in use at the moment, there doesn't seem much point- the big advantage of the invitaitional format is that you could attract additional entries from outside the championship regulars, but unless BTC-Touring is adopted beyond the BTCC in the near future that isn't likely to happen

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