[BTCC] BTCC 2020 season discussion, News and Rumours!

[Daverb]

Originally Posted by thetool

There's not going to be anyone at the venues.

There will be lots of people at the venues

[Daverb]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

I might not be willing to accept the risk of you forming part of a crowd at a BTCC meeting, and then spreading the infection to me.

So you stay at home

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Daverb

So you stay at home

And let you bring the infection back from a crowd and spread it to places I shop or visit through work.

Sorry, I'd rather we all took precautions, rather than a selfish few causing others to suffer further.

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by Daverb

So you stay at home

It’s not about looking out just for yourself, it’s about looking out for others too. Even people you don’t know. Imagine that!

I realise some have no interest in this.

Still, I hear that the UK government has relaxed the 2m rule and you are now allowed to lick people’s faces again or something. But not in a gym.

[Moneyseeker]

In MNews today it reports that Darren Turner will be conducting the intial testing of the hybrid system with a first outing at the July Snetterton test in the Toyota Corolla.

[RS67]

Originally Posted by Moneyseeker

In MNews today it reports that Darren Turner will be conducting the intial testing of the hybrid system with a first outing at the July Snetterton test in the Toyota Corolla.

The BTCC site states he will be doing the majority of the testing for TOCA and Cosworth, not just initial testing.

[Evantra]

Originally Posted by RS67

The BTCC site states he will be doing the majority of the testing for TOCA and Cosworth, not just initial testing.

Interesting... would it not have been more useful to get an actual touring car driver to test touring car stuff though? (Obviously he has raced in the BTCC before but 12 years ago!)

[Craner Curves]

Originally Posted by Evantra

Interesting... would it not have been more useful to get an actual touring car driver to test touring car stuff though? (Obviously he has raced in the BTCC before but 12 years ago!)

Why? He's an experienced test and development driver who can give good feedback. Plus he's a neutral choice.

[S griffin]

I see nothing wrong with him doing the testing either. Even if he last raced in the BTCC in S2000 era, he has got tonnes of experience, his feedback can be trusted and he has no ties to anyone in the series

[bella]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

And let you bring the infection back from a crowd and spread it to places I shop or visit through work.

Sorry, I'd rather we all took precautions, rather than a selfish few causing others to suffer further.

yep.

so here's a scenario.

someone, let's call them bob, has picked up covid from a work colleague. he's fortunate enough to be asymptomatic, so he doesn't realise he's ill other than feeling a bit rubbish. but he wants to go and watch the btcc because it's been a really long off season.

bob also has a mate who works in the porsches. let's call him gary. they meet up during a quiet moment, have a chat, bob might have a look at the car. unfortunately, gary has caught covid from bob, and since it's the weekend of the 1st/2nd august, gary's got a long month to go.

unwittingly, over the next 7-10 days, gary passes the virus on to almost the entire team, including the driver. they all self isolate as soon as they realise, but three of them feel really crap and the truckie had to go to hospital because he has diabetes and a heart condition. he also passes it on to a few mates in other teams because everyone has a mask, but it's either hot or raining, and it just gets in the way so nobody wears it. they have to self isolate too, and several teams are without key staff for the next round.

meanwhile, the driver packs it in for the season, having lost faith in his team. their second driver, who didn't catch it, does as well. that team folds, because word got around, and nobody wanted to work with them.

now, let's look at the same scenario when spectators aren't allowed.

bob has covid.

that's it.

no brainer, isn't it?

[andy97]

Originally Posted by Craner Curves

Why? He's an experienced test and development driver who can give good feedback. Plus he's a neutral choice.

I think the face that he is not a current participant is important, as it will not give any perceived advantage to a current driver who then races in the hybrid era.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by bella

yep.

One only has to look at the Nick Watney situation to understand why spectators at a sports meeting is not a good idea at the moment.

PGA Tour Pro tests negative on Tuesday. On Friday morning, a health monitor advises that something may not be right.
Has a further test and is positive. 11 other people are contact traced, and are all negative.

So - it seems Watney was carrying the virus prior to the event, and was asymptomatic and feeling well.
The control measures in place meant that only 11 other people were required to take a test, and hopefully the spread amongst competitors has been contained.

Change that scenario to a crowd of just a few thousand - with a single spectator testing positive a couple of days after the event. How many people have to be traced and self isolate? How many competitors and support staff are affected? All because people feel that the virus is 'someone else's issue'.

[Evantra]

Originally Posted by Craner Curves

Why? He's an experienced test and development driver who can give good feedback. Plus he's a neutral choice.

Yep definitely, but touring cars are of course very different to GTs. You wouldn't send a touring car driver to test out a new GT3 system?

[bella]

Originally Posted by Evantra

Yep definitely, but touring cars are of course very different to GTs. You wouldn't send a touring car driver to test out a new GT3 system?

i might be mis-speaking, but a gt3 car is significantly more complex than a touring car...

you could make that argument with say, a formula renault driver doing gt3 testing. but this is literally one of the best british drivers in the business...

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by bella

yep.

so here's a scenario.



now, let's look at the same scenario when spectators aren't allowed.



that's it.

no brainer, isn't it?

Well done Bella, I think that sums the whole situation up nicely

[Peter Mallett]

All very well, but how's Bob?

[bella]

well he’s asymptomatic, so he’s fine aside from a gentle, lingering sense of guilt that he can’t quite pinpoint

[crmalcolm]

Except Bob's not in a vulnerable group - so he won't feel guilty about spreading it.

[Peter Mallett]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

Except Bob's not in a vulnerable group - so he won't feel guilty about spreading it.

I'm sure Bob is nowhere near as heartless as you.

[mark_l]

I think it was a good choice to have Darren as the development driver.

He is an experienced driver, someone who is not connected to another team in BTCC so Speedworks will be able to be fully honest with him and not worry the information will end up with a rival team.

Darren can also develop the hybrid system without other teams crying foul about one driver having an unfair advantage/knowledge of the system when it comes in to the championship.

[HarryBrown]

Originally Posted by bella

i might be mis-speaking, but a gt3 car is significantly more complex than a touring car.

you could make that argument with say, a formula renault driver doing gt3 testing. but this is literally one of the best british drivers in the business...

While a gt3 car may be technically more complicated, driving a touring car and a gt3 car couldn't be more different. I would even say that the driving aspect of a touring car is more complicated given the lack of driving aids and strange front wheel drive characteristics.

Look at Mark Blundell for example, undoubtedly a fantastic driver but really struggled to get along with a touring car.

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[S griffin]

But Turner has driven in the championship before and quite successfully too with a few wins, so it wouldn’t be completely alien to him

[kipper]

Originally Posted by HarryBrown

While a gt3 car may be technically more complicated, driving a touring car and a gt3 car couldn't be more different. I would even say that the driving aspect of a touring car is more complicated given the lack of driving aids and strange front wheel drive characteristics.

Look at Mark Blundell for example, undoubtedly a fantastic driver but really struggled to get along with a touring car.

I understand the point, however, the likes of Dan Cammish and Rory Butcher came into the championship with relatively little front wheel drive/saloon car experience and did well. So whilst Blundell struggled it's not a given that all drivers will have difficulties in adapting to the quirks of a BTCC car.

[bella]

Originally Posted by kipper

I understand the point, however, the likes of Dan Cammish and Rory Butcher came into the championship with relatively little front wheel drive/saloon car experience and did well. So whilst Blundell struggled it's not a given that all drivers will have difficulties in adapting to the quirks of a BTCC car.

gawd, this.

the bloke drives all sorts of things, and besides, testing isn't an entire day of qualifying laps. they've got all sorts of things to work through.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by bella

gawd, this.

the bloke drives all sorts of things, and besides, testing isn't an entire day of qualifying laps. they've got all sorts of things to work through.

Agreed - it's not like he has to be competitive in the car either.