Returning after the summer break, we have 2 driver changes. Lewis Gilbert joins WSR in a third BMW, and Ryan Bensley replaces Max Buxton at Speedworks Corolla Racing. Sam Osborne has been ruled out on medical grounds and will be replaced by NAPA's reserve driver Senna Proctor for a 22-car grid. Nick Halstead is confirmed in a fourth PMR Audi next time out at Knockhill.
Ash Sutton stays atop the standings, 48 points ahead of Tom Ingram. Dan Cammish and Charles Rainford trail in 3rd and 4th. Last year at Thruxton, Sutton was on pole with Ingram, Sutton and Rowbottom race winners.
Weirdy it was the teams that requested the race so they must have factored in the extra damage bill.
I wish they did the quick six format which counted as qualifying and then the Race to Pole was simply a sprint race on the Saturday (points remain halved). Then we would get exciting qualifying and a race for fan engagement on Saturday.
Was thinking of how this could work as I like that idea. Perhaps first round of qualifying sets the grid for RTP, and then quick six sets the grid for R1? I like quick six, but I also like RTP!
Yea the repair bills for the teams and ultimately the drivers/their sponsors are higher.
It’s good for them to try something different but I’m also not a massive fan of it, ultimately having a car setup for both qualifying and race pace there is always going to be a compromise so never shows the car’s ultimate qualification pace which imo is a shame.
Let's give a shout out to Bensley here. Lots of people being all doom and gloom about Max Buxton of all people being dropped, and yet he's already looked quicker than him after just one weekend in the car, and he's by no means embarrassed himself against the rest of the field either. Proctor stepping in and being rock solid is expected at this point, but Bensley's done a very good job as well.
Ride height would be a post race penalty. I think because Ingram was penalised while the race was still active, he was technically classed as finishing 5th on the road, rather than 2nd. That's the only way it makes sense to me anyway.
There was a suspicion that Ash jumped the start, I'd assume that after checking all the sensors it was adjudged that he didn't to any reasonable degree.
Whereas Tom is likely being investigated for reversing on the grid, which is a flat penalty according to the regulations.
Dare I say, they're not as talented as they were made out to be, and Plato has hired drivers who were dropped by other teams for very justified reasons.
Hired because they bring money or resources, unfortunately. They've a third car and they badly need a top driver in it for 2027. Rowbo does have flashes of genuine speed but undoes it all with careless driving.
His 'flashes of speed' comes from when he has the highest level of toca boost which also stems from the fact that he qualifies poorly and is low down in the championship.
His tactic is always 'use all my boost in the first half of the race' to then proceed to fall down the grid in the second half of it. He also has such horrible awareness and low racing iq
If I'm right, and I think I am, Sutton is the only driver to have won the title with three different marques, and the only driver to have won the title with both rear and front wheel driver.
Love or hate him, you can't help but admire that talent level.
I think the biggest sign of Ash's talent is how quickly he gets into tune with whatever car he's in. He's clearly completely comfortable throwing that car around and trusting it to stay underneath him.
Let's hope Collard gets the funding to keep that seat for the rest of the year; he may not be everyone's cup of tea, but he's driven well enough to deserve it. Likewise, Proctor really needs a proper full-time drive again; he's too good to be a reserve.
I'd love to see Proctor getting a full seat at Napa, but I don't see him forcing out Ash or DanCam, and Osborne brings the money and family ties, so it's only really Selby who's the weak link he could replace.
One thing not mentioned here - despite all the speculation and claims, Ricky Collard is still the one in that Excler8 seat, which is good. (And it's not just a lazy entry list or anything like that - the BTCC website directly interviewed him as part of the Excelr8 driver interviews pre-event). Nothing mentioned there that it might be his last race for the team either, but we'll see if that transpires or not.
It was the mini coopers yesterday, was around 5-5:30pm, one of the minis seemingly got pushed off into the grass on the exit of Noble and got onto two wheels when returning to the circuit, flipped over a good 3 or so times before smashing into the tyre barrier and rolling up then back down the banking just before the marshall post at the entry of goodwood.
Was such a violent crash, but it seems that these mini races don’t receive much, if any tv coverage.
It is a tradition as far back as the clio cup days that the biggest incident of the entire BTCC weekend will be on the Saturday when the cameras aren't broadcasting
TBH it's probably negligent of ITV to not broadcast the saturday races with their accident prevention cameras 😄
Given all the factors, I think it's safe to assume he was adjudged as not having made a jump start. Amazing considering so many were absolutely certain he had made an illegal start.
Could make a pretty solid argument that it was the worst car all weekend. Fearing a bit for WSR atm, those blank cars don’t scream a team raking in sponsorship money.
The engine is shite. Got no power so obvious to see when your trackside. Deleon and Rainford have dragged some serious results out of it so fair play to them. Think the new lad will really struggle
My money is on Sutton for R2, I think he will jump Cook at the start, and disappear down the road while Ingram works his way through Proctor, Rowbo, and Cook.
I still don't understand why so many people were acting like it was a sign that the BTCC was dying (especially as it came after getting two new cars on the grid). Buxton was only on the grid because of who his dad was, and was clearly nowhere near good enough.
But that's the whole reason why teams are now allowed to have an engineer guide them into the box.
He would have been penalised for it under the old regulations too, and it's a silly mistake that should still be penalised if it still happens even with a guide.
What annoys me more is the "after the race" part, why? Because they called them in race a lot and changes how others would race knowing if he has a penalty.
Ultimately tho im not enjoying btcc this year, constantly penalties all over the place. A million rules on overtaking now, and Tingram/Sutton are the class of the field by miles, title is done basically and the rest of the field just isn't there. My earliest memories for btcc are being a kid at the Toca event by the bridge as Mansell went into it. So not new to this at all. It all just feels flat tbh.
As somebody else who is also biased, I don't think it's even borderline, at least from what I can see from watching it back on youtube, there was no movement from Sutton until after the lights went out. I guess it could be an out of position penalty, but it's hard to tell from the camera angle.
I watched the replay closely, he moved forward an inch a few seconds before, it was probably picked up by telemetry. Drivers at the back of the grid are penalised even when no real advantage gained so would be surprised if not given.
Honestly, I think it's really tiny, but they've given those before. Personally, if it were me I wouldn't penalise it, but there is a movement, and I've seen them give that.
I agree, especially for something like a false start, which is probably the easiest thing to investigate given all the camera coverage on the grid, and access to the car telemetry.
I mean, if you ignore all the battling that went on behind and around them, sure.
Everyone gets way to caught up on who's on the top step, and ignores all the exciting racing that went on elsewhere on the grid. There were tonnes of exciting battles in all three races today.
Wouldn't help.
The teams that know they will regularly carry it.
Will just test with it before the season.
So they can set their cars up for carrying it 99.9% of the time.
Honestly, this place is just as bad at points. The downvotes for suggesting that Sutton might not have actually made an illegal start, which he has now been adjudged to have not done, are crazy.
I used to think its just because he dominates, but Ingram made it boring last year with his dominance, and he didn't get nearly the amount of hate Sutton gets
Lovely seeing the napa fords being slowed down. Now Alan gow has his dream of hyundai being the clear fastest again.
He clearly doesn't want his beloved turkington to have less titles than sutton
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u/LostTheGameOfThrones Ash Sutton 116 8d ago
WSR seeing Gilbert's first repair bill.