Thetownend.com

Starts today! This off season has been pretty nuts, lots of big name drivers swapping teams and the Motorbase team dropping out completely after losing Airwaves sponsorship. Honda running the new Civic Type R as well, which looks awesome!

Oh, and as always, Jason Plato is a cunt.

I forgot about it, was it on TV? Might be able to get the highlights.

Agree about Plato.

Yea, itv4. Highlights should be midweek, maybe next weekend. Couple of good races, support races were good too!

Cheers, got the calendar now.

Brands was my first circuit so look forward to it.

Drove past Matt Neal's new Civic the back of a car trailer on the M42 last week, I guess it was on it's way back to Pershore from the launch at Donnington. Was just on an uncovered car trailer towed by an unmarked grey Transic, just highlights the budget contraints of even the better teams.........which is why it is so much better than F1.

BTCC isnt the same since Hamish Irvine left.

If you guys only watch one race all year long, find a replay of the third touring car race from Donington on Sunday. Easily the most entertaining BTCC race in some time!

The clios are well worth a watch as well, I've raced online against Ashley Sutton and he's mega quick on there as well, seems to have fitted into the Clio straight off!

I was at donington for my first BTCC event, and would highly recommend it. As you say the racing is brilliant, the third race being the best, felt very sorry for Cook, thought there was a podium at least for him there. It's great to have the unpredictability where I would say at least half the field had the potential to win.

Great value too, £25 for a whole day including plenty of excellent support races. Better access to the drivers/cars than at any Grand Prix I've been to. Already planning my trip to Thruxton, especially as it fits nicely around the play offs!

Agree, the 3rd race was mental!!  How there wasn't and mass collision when that car re-joined the track sideways I do not know.  A great watch and great racing..

I *might* be going to Thruxton as a Power Maxed VIP if my mate comes through... If not I'll be there anyways!

Swindon's Simon Belcher was involved in a big shunt during quali today, not his fault either, he's ok but the car is fucked so he's not racing today and could miss the Oulton Park round ad well. Bad news!

Did you go in the end?

First time there and loved it. Not the most modern of circuits and not the best of facilities but great views of most of the track from the Complex, and some really great racing all through the field. Was really impressed with Morgan in all 3 races, and he thoroughly deserved the R3 win.

It's so close in the standings too, going to be a great year.

Yup, the Powermaxed team didn't have the best of luck! I was in the garage for race 2 when Josh Cook got half a Dunlop sign over his front, engine temp goes through the roof without the proper airflow so he had to pit, also saw Matt Neal's very broken left front suspension up close!

Being on the grid before race 3 was so cool as well. I'd fully recommend going VIP once!

Got a big old sunburnt face for my troubles, though...

That does sound brilliant! Cook can't seem to get a break at the moment, because he certainly has some goog speed.

Haha, thought it was only me who managed to get sunburned despite the sun only being out for about a total of 20 minutes all day...

nope, forhead started peeling this morning... :(

Cook will get there sooner or later i think, he's quick but as you say, can't seem to catch a break. Seemed like a nice guy, he and Newsham seem to have a friendly rivalry going already.

The summer break is over, BTCC is back today. Races at 12, 2:30 and 5ish on ITV4!

Looking forward to watching this today, looks really close after qualifying. One second covering 13 cars!

Yup, it was a close one! the four BMR cars have a new livery, which are the same main sponsor and colour as the Team HARD Avensis... :/

Jordan has a chrome car for this weekend too, looks pretty cool to be fair!

Its the BTCC finale this weekend... the season has gone so quickly! :(

What a drive by Gordon Shedden in the last race to win the title!

Agree, great drive, but...

I feel the final race made a little bit of a mockery of the title when a lot of the drivers were letting him through, even indicating that they were pulling over at one point.  It's a shame, there was no need for it, but fair play to Shedden, totally deserved..

Plato did exactly the same for Andrew Jordan 2 years back when the latter won the title in his Honda...

You've also got to remember that Plato is a complete fucking cunt, and half of those drivers who moved over have been punted off by the Oxford-based 'Newcastle lad' in the past, James Cole being the latest recipient of Plato's Patented Push to Pass (tm) manoeuvre just 2 weeks ago at Silverstone, Cole being the first car to give Shedds a clean pass. The title is won over 30 races, not just 1...

Did you see either of Plato's anti-team interviews? The first one he accused the team of not supporting him, his 'non-championship fighting' teammate (Aron Smith) having finished in front of him and Turkington, apparently not receiving the message to let them past in the first race. Then, post-race 2, having another pop at Smith for not allowing him through sooner, saying that Smith had just got himself sacked from the team with his actions. He really is a grade A cunt...


If you can catch the replay of the Clios, do so, that was an epic race!

I am talking about making a mockery of the title in general, from a neutral standpoint, I don't care about what Plato did in the past, it de-values the competition.

Plato is a cunt, in your opinion.  Plato is not the only driver to use Push to pass, Matt Neal, Rob Collard to name a couple of others that regularly use it.  In fact the worse one I saw yesterday was Shedden on Menu in Race 3 where he "Pushed"(Slammed) him twice to get passed only to be halted by the safety car, but in the end those "pushes" resulted in a rear tyre puncture.  The title came down to that last race and it was a shame that apart from witnessing great driving from Shedden the final race was a bit farcical.

If you put aside your hatred for Plato for a minute you might get where I am coming from.  By the way, I am a Shedden and Morgan fan..

http://www.touringcartimes.com/2015/10/11/jason-plato-id-have-more-points-if-others-played-the-game/ (http://www.touringcartimes.com/2015/10/11/jason-plato-id-have-more-points-if-others-played-the-game/)

That interview was given to the media. He owns a marketing company, he knows how he should present himself, he knows how to play the game, but his actions yesterday were disgusting.

I watched the race again this morning, and saw 2 cars give him an easy ride, Cole and Jordan. Priaulx tries to overtake him again when he was battling with Collard... He only catches up with Morgan and the other two because Neal got stuck in, battling them and slowing them down.

Plato's push to pass on Shedds was worse than his on Menu, they're direct title rivals and it should've been a clean fight, but the first chance he got he punted him up the arse into druids, then punts him again into Surtees. Also, at the start of race 1 Plato hits Shedden's rear quarter as they're decending Paddock Hill, an obvious attempt to unsettle the Civic and spin him out. Shedden didn't hit Plato once.

I don't see what Plato says has anything to do with the racing and the fact that the final race turned into a bit of a farce.

Your argument is because Plato did it before it is ok, which is a slippery slope for the series if that is the way it is going.  As I said, apart from Shedden's drive, Race 3 was a bit of a joke and a sad way to end the season.  I want to see teams/drivers racing, not indicating, pulling over and letting people through.  You sound like you are too hung up on your hatred for Plato to see an alternative opinion to yours.

IMO BTTC is the best form of car racing to watch, Push to pass is used by most of the field and as long as it doesn't go too far is part of the spectacle that makes it great to watch.  The final race should have been an epic, but was completely ruined by half the field not bothering to race or defend, even if I was glad with the result in the end.

Thats rubbing and rubbing is racing....

Stopped watching BTCC years ago, but prior to that part of the reason I got disillusioned was the fact that Matt Neal seemed to constantly force people off the track and it just got boring...

However it is considerably more interesting than watching Lewis Hamilton touring round in a car that is obviously 20x better than anything else on the grid and then whinging and whining if the race doesn't go his way. He is not the best driver in the world and a successor to Senna (in his dreams), he is on balance just the marginally better driver at Mercedes!

Agree with all of this.  Oh and Matt Neal is the one driver that I really cannot stand on the BTTC grid.  Everybody seems to take issue with Plato (probably because of the success that he has had) but Neale has been just as guilty as Plato over the years but never seems to get the same level of vitriol.

Part of the reason for my point on yesterday's race 3 is because I don't want to end up like you and losing interest.  Most of the races have been very good this year, but ultimately the title did come down to that last race and I wanted to see a no holds barred racing conclusion, but instead I saw a race that came down to mirror, signal manoeuvre which is a huge shame. 

I agree with Leggett's point that a championship is won over 30 races and not one, but if after 29 races you are down to 2 contenders that have put themselves in a position to win it, it deserves to be raced for not manufactured. I get team orders, but when over 50% of a grid conspire to decide the outcome of a championship (because they don't like one of the contenders) it leaves a bad taste in the mouth, and devalues the whole sport.

Lets agree to disagree on the way race 3 went down... One car signalled, one car obviously moved over. A heap more actually raced Shedden.

I know precisely nothing about BTCC, but it sounds as if a bit of stewarding and some tightening of the rules might have sorted out your tiff.

It was a debate, that's all.  Leggett loves me really...

I know. It just sounded as if the rules ought to be tightened to make a better spectacle.

:D

over-stewarding and extra rules would be crap, I like the BTCC for how open it is, the access you get to the teams and all that jazz! Don't want it to head towards F1 territory!

Well if there aren't any rules, you can't complain about underhand tactics then!

It's sort of like Rollercar if I understand correctly.

Yeah, Leggett is right.

There are rules, they are just perceived differently depending on what end of them you are.  The series doesn't need any tightening up and made more clinical, it works as it is, they just maybe need to make it clearer at what point certain things become unacceptable, but this is always going to be open to an individuals opinion, so it's difficult to enforce.

Aaaanyways, the silly season had already started before the last race, Jeff Smith and Martin Depper are getting three spanking new Civic Type Rs for next season, lots of speculation over who will drive the third (as you'd expect, that's an in-demand car!)

Neal and Shedds confirmed at Honda again next year.

Plato and Turkington signed multi-years deals with BMR so expect to see them there again next year, not sure what they'll be driving yey. Team owner Said they're looking at a couple or options.

Rob Austin building two new cars. Dan Welch also building two new cars.

Bumped into a certain Mr Rob Austin on iracing (A racing simulator), racing around Brands Hatch GP in Kia Optimas (The only Touring Car-esque thing on the sim at the minute, they've scanned the Civic and BMW but have yet to release them...) and for 9 laps I was less than a second off him which I'm very happy with, got tangled up with a back marker into Paddock Hill bend so dropped 5 seconds back, but still very happy indeed with my pace!