ETCC cars the future for BTCC?

[KA]

If all of the rumoured ETCC-spec cars for the BTCC that are being talked about in the press actually happen next year, there's going to be quite a number of them out there-

Apart from the Edenbridge BMWs and GA Alfas announced a while ago, there have been reports in the press of Clio team Aurok Motorsport stepping up to the BTCC running ETCC-spec machinery, and this morning Motorsport News reports there will be a pair of BMWs from ETCC team Carly Motors in Britain next season for former Edenbridge ETCC team-mates Tom Ferrier and James Hanson- they're apparently expected to test the cars at Brands later this week.

So, will the BTCC fully adopt the ETCC Super 2000 regs in the next few years and ultimately abandon the BTCC-Touring class cars altogether?

[Super Tourer]

It will be natural progression I guess, as the entrabts will eventually dictate the direction and you have to say that all 'new' entrants will be via ETCC spec cars.

It's interesting to read that Vauxhall will be building the new Vectra to BTC spec, I suspect that would be for one sason only, as by 2005 the number of ETCC cars will be increasing.

[KA]

The momentum certianly seems to be heading that way- I think it's the right way to go, simply because it makes it possible both for manufacturers to enter the BTCC with an existing ETCC car, rather than having to develop a specific BTCC car, and it also increases the choice of second-hand ex-factory machinery available to the independent teams

[BootsOntheSide]

It's ahrd to tell. The major factor next seaosn will be how the handicapping works to amke the cars equal. bear in mind that most of the ETCC-spec cars wil be semi-works (such as Carly) or Privateer (GA and Edenbridge). Therefore, even if the BTCC-type cars are in front, but it doesn't neccessarily make that the better way to go.

Rules will have to be set so that the cars can compete on level footing, and I hope people remember that, on truly level footing, the teams running ETCC cars would be expected to be behind overall.

Still, it's good to see Ferrier back home, Hanson back behidn the wheel, and some official BMW presence. 30 cars on the grid next season seems possible. Roll on Easter Monday!

[peter briggs]

BMW are not giving any official support to the teams running ETCC spec cars in the BTCC. The support is the same for all private BMW customers Carly,Edenbridge and the same for the teams in Sweden. The only official teams run in the ETCC .Schnitzer,Ravaglia and Priauxs team.

[kykiske]

The BTCC desperatly needs a works ETCC spec team for 2004 in my opinion otherwise gauging the speeds of the 2 specs against one another and possibly ballasting accordingly, as Alan Gow wants to do, will be pointless.

No disrespect to Barwell, GA, Edenbridge etc but i doubt their cars will be properly sorted for the first few races, thus making effective comparison impossible

[peter briggs]

I can assure you that the BMw,s are allready well sorted. The on track performance will depend as allways on the calibre of drivers.We have just received a new Motorsport engine built to the latest spec.This will be used for winter testing and then returned to have any upgrades fitted before the Championship starts.As for the chassis ,we have a new 2003/4 car, Schnitzer are the works team and test constantly developing parts for the customer teams these are made available to all teams. They also test on Dunlop tyres and give set up advice to the Swedish teams and also to any customer in the BTCC.

[racer69]

Originally posted by Super Tourer
It's interesting to read that Vauxhall will be building the new Vectra to BTC spec

I suspect the reason that Vauzhall are running the Vectra in BTC-Touring spec. is that it is cheaper to just take the control components out of the Astra's and fit them straight to the Vectra, rather than developing a whole new car to a different formula.

[KA]

From what Peter says, the BMW, at least ought to be pretty well-sorted- and it's not as if any of these teams are going to be trying to develop an unproven car- whether it's the Alfa or the BMW, it's a proven package that ought to be quick and reliable. The question is how well the equivalency works between the two types of car, and whether TOCA get the ballast right.

Bearing in mind that, so far, these will all be independent teams, and their overall performance may depend on their budget and, as Peter suggested, the quality of driver they're able to put in the car, it may be we don't get the real picture until one of the factory teams makes the change.

I do think that once the first factory team changes to an ETCC-spec car, unless they get beaten out of sight, the others will probably soon follow.

[pink69]

We won't know how much of a difference there is between the BTC spec and Super 2000 cars till they start testing next year. Its alittle early to assume the BTC cars will blow the ETCC spec cars out of the water. It probably will take a few races to get the weight balance right but there wasn't much difference in the times between the 2 when both lapped Donnignton Park earlier this year.

[Neil Adams]

i dont think running btcc spec should mean a set ballast for every btcc car, as any new manufacturers building btcc spec cars would be hindered by ballast as well as having an undeveloped car.

This however is probably how it'll happen meaning that btcc spec will gradually diminish, with the norm being etcc spec.

However if the btcc spec cars are still quick enough to win, then the etcc spec cars could be just seen as the b class or where new drivers start out.

[kykiske]

Originally posted by peter briggs
I can assure you that the BMw,s are allready well sorted.

apologies. looking forward to seeing those beemers fly off the line by the way!

by the way does anyone know if the BTCC are going to run gearbox regulations on ETCC-spec cars like in the ETCC? (Ie car fitted with sequentials will be ballasted, but not those with H-patterns)

[touringlegend]

It's a pretty smart move for the likes of Peter and GA Motorsport in running ETCC spec next year. I don't see it in anyway possible that any of the ETCC cars will be off the pace, if they are to be compared to the fastest overall cars. I just can't see it possible - there's no way there'll be a "Proton" type ETCC car..

If I were out looking to enter the BTCC I'd go for the ETCC car, either a BMW or an Alfa Romeo. Those two makes are heavily involved and as Peter pointed out are developing new parts all the time, then of course there's the fact that the ETCC regulations are used in several countries (probably more soon) so selling them on would be easy surely.

Remember though if Vauxhall are building the Vectra to BTC-T spec, it's possible to use that car till the end of 2006 - the same amount of time that the Astra has been around for..

[GTRMagic]

Nup, once the V8 SUpercar category gets FIA accreditation it will likely be run at Silverstone sometime... according to the delusional category manager, the whole world will want to run Supercars... proper ones, with 5 Litre Ford or Chev engines, noisy, fast, attractive!

[Go_For_Pole]

One question: Do you really think there is any chance that the equivelance formula will ever benefit the privateers and hurt the work teams?

[kmchow]

I think it must be a real dilemma for Vauxhall. In the short term, while it is cheaper/easier to use Astra running parts in the BTC spec Vectra. Long term, it makes more sense to run to the S2000 formula. I think the ETCC's future global hopes would receive a big boost if Vauxhall went S2000 spec.

[FIRE]

I think it must be a real dilemma for Vauxhall. In the short term, while it is cheaper/easier to use Astra running parts in the BTC spec Vectra. Long term, it makes more sense to run to the S2000 formula. I think the ETCC's future global hopes would receive a big boost if Vauxhall went S2000 spec.

Maybe Vauxhall is hoping that Opel will enter ETCC in the near future. At the moment they are concentrating on DTM but this effort isn't very succesfull.

[Craig]

I think that the various technical and sporting regs will go on largely as they are for two or three more years and then sense will prevail and everyone will sit down and thrash out some regs that take the best bits of all of those around at present. These new regs will not necessarily be ETCC or BTCC or whatever but will combine the best bits of them all.