STCC: BMW confirms entry

JMeissner · 23 Dec 2002, 13:58 (Ref:456139)

BMW confirms entry
STCC 23/12/02

BMW has also confirmed their entry for STCC 2003. One car is ready for start, but the ambition is to have two cars on the startline in may. Who will drive this one car, or perhaps two, is not set yet. This makes BMW the third manufacturer to officially have entered the STCC. Audi and Honda are the two other, though there are a couple of makes rumoured to make more or less official entries for STCC 2003.

"We will come to start with a car that can win the championship," said Dick Jönsson of Westcoast Racing. "The conditions are good as we have a close co-operation with Ravaglia Motorsport and a good technical support from Germany. It is clear that we will have at least one car ready for STCC, but our ambition is to have a two-car team. The car is presently in Italy and we will start making tests with BMW Motorsport during January and February. By then it will also be clear who the driver or drivers will be."

Source: STCC

Johan Meissner
johan@meissner.se

kmchow · 23 Dec 2002, 18:48 (Ref:456309)

Will these STCC cars be brand new or ex-ETCC? It sounds like ex-ETCC considering the Ravaglia Motorsport link? Though technically, they could get Ravaglia to build them some new cars from scratch? Sweden seems to be a very touring car crazed country? Was it because it previously didn't have a very strong racing organization promoting a series or didn't have a series that captured people's attention?

racer69 · 24 Dec 2002, 04:45 (Ref:456571)

Great news, the field is growing and it looks like it will be a very competitive year.

Are the STCC competiters able to get wildcards to the local ETCC round?

JMeissner · 24 Dec 2002, 09:42 (Ref:456655)

Quote:

Originally posted by kmchow
Will these STCC cars be brand new or ex-ETCC? It sounds like ex-ETCC considering the Ravaglia Motorsport link? Though technically, they could get Ravaglia to build them some new cars from scratch? Sweden seems to be a very touring car crazed country? Was it because it previously didn't have a very strong racing organization promoting a series or didn't have a series that captured people's attention?

The BMW is ex ETCC just as the Honda is.

And yes, Sweden is a very touring car crazed country, with such large crowd, number of compettitors and international recognition for such a small country as Sweden. Though I don't mind that

Don't know really the reason for why it hasn't been that big before. Though STCC, but it went under a different name before, has existed for almost as long as the BTCC.

STCC got its boost when Volvo entered the BTCC. A Swedish make with a Swedish driver in the BTCC was really good fuel for the STCC back here at home. Volvo then decided to compete in the STCC as well, and there it went...

Of course, Volvo was not the sole reason for the STCC getting its good going, but partially.

And yes, if the cars are ex ETCC, like many will be in the STCC, they can get "wildcards to the local ETCC" round, and not only the local round.

Michael H · 24 Dec 2002, 10:43 (Ref:456691)

This is great news for the STCC. BMW have a great tradition in Sweden's premier motor racing series.

kmchow · 26 Dec 2002, 06:06 (Ref:457484)

Quote:

Originally posted by JMeissner
And yes, Sweden is a very touring car crazed country, with such large crowd, number of compettitors and international recognition for such a small country as Sweden. Though I don't mind that

Yep, I have always been amazed at the STCC's seemingly dominance of motorsports? Or perhaps my view/observation is biased?

Quote:

Don't know really the reason for why it hasn't been that big before. Though STCC, but it went under a different name before, has existed for almost as long as the BTCC.

I guess Sweden doesn't have a national series like Nascar is to the US, DTM to Germany, V8 Supercar to Australia? What about the Camaro Cup? Any Formula Ford, F1600,F2000 series? It seems STCC just appeared and either beat all the existing series or filled the motorsport void in Sweden?

Quote:

[b}
STCC got its boost when Volvo entered the BTCC. A Swedish make with a Swedish driver in the BTCC was really good fuel for the STCC back here at home. Volvo then decided to compete in the STCC as well, and there it went...
[/B]

It's really too bad Saab never bothered to get on the touring car band wagon. Didn't some STCC team (Picko Troberg)try to build a Saab 900 to ST specs?

JMeissner · 26 Dec 2002, 13:51 (Ref:457652)

Quote:

Originally posted by kmchow

I guess Sweden doesn't have a national series like Nascar is to the US, DTM to Germany, V8 Supercar to Australia? What about the Camaro Cup? Any Formula Ford, F1600,F2000 series? It seems STCC just appeared and either beat all the existing series or filled the motorsport void in Sweden?

Well at least nowdays STCC is what Nascar is to US, etc. But it isn't really comparable...

Quote:

Originally posted by kmchow

It's really too bad Saab never bothered to get on the touring car band wagon. Didn't some STCC team (Picko Troberg)try to build a Saab 900 to ST specs?

It was a Saab tuner named R.Uhr that wanted to build a Saab 900 (as it was named then) in Super Touring spec with an Opel ST engine in it. Though it never made it to the STCC, I think it was rebuilt later on to run in long distance racing such as Nürburgring 24 hrs.

But this year an Saab 9-3 was run in the SLC built very much like an Super Tourer as I have understood it, with Saab sponsorship and all.

cybersdorf · 26 Dec 2002, 16:06 (Ref:457691)

Quote:

Originally posted by kmchow
I guess Sweden doesn't have a national series like Nascar is to the US, DTM to Germany, V8 Supercar to Australia?

No?
What, if not a national series, is the Swedish Touring Car Championship (STCC)?

kmchow · 26 Dec 2002, 22:48 (Ref:457848)

Quote:

Originally posted by JMeissner
It was a Saab tuner named R.Uhr that wanted to build a Saab 900 (as it was named then) in Super Touring spec with an Opel ST engine in it. Though it never made it to the STCC, I think it was rebuilt later on to run in long distance racing such as Nürburgring 24 hrs.

But this year an Saab 9-3 was run in the SLC built very much like an Super Tourer as I have understood it, with Saab sponsorship and all.

Yeah, with R Uhr, I think they had trouble designing an aero kit for it? I recall he eventually did build a 900, but it was only a 2 door? I guess he needed homologation from the FIA before being allowed to race the car? And Saab wasn't about to help him?

JMeissner · 26 Dec 2002, 22:50 (Ref:457850)

Quote:

Originally posted by kmchow
Yeah, with R Uhr, I think they had trouble designing an aero kit for it? I recall he eventually did build a 900, but it was only a 2 door?

I have an article with it in some old magazine some where, I'll see if I can find it some time...

rustyfan · 30 Dec 2002, 13:11 (Ref:460065)

Westcoast Racing announced today that they have secured the running of two cars in next years' STCC.

JMeissner · 30 Dec 2002, 15:13 (Ref:460154)

Bakajev Motorsport has bought two ex. ETCC BMW's to run in the STCC 2003. One of these BMW is the 320i that Fredrik Ekblom drove during 2002 for RBM. "We have in principle bought the entire Belgian team that drove in the ETCC during 2002 with all the parts that they upgraded until the last race. The car Ekblom drove will arrive to us during January and it will be driven by Jan Brunstedt. The other car will arrive during February and this car has no driver yet even though there are a couple that has shown interest. But we haven't started any real negotiations until the deal is diffidently finished," said Georg Bakajev, the owner of Bakajev Motorsport.

Bakajev Motorsport will now focus on the STCC and will leave the series S60 Challenge where they in 2002 competed. "We have guarantee us support from Schnitzer and BMW Motorsport during the season and will get availability to start with tests somewhere in Europe at the end of February together with the Schnitzer team. The engine is the latest version and we will get the all the latest developments during the coming season."

Johan Meissner
johan@meissner.se

JMeissner · 30 Dec 2002, 15:15 (Ref:460157)

So at the moment we have in the STCC 2003:

2 WSR BMW 320i's
2 BM BMW 320i's
4 KMS Audi A4's
1 HMS Honda Civic

These are the confirmed, but I guess we can expect at least one or two Volvo S60's and perhaps around four other cars. Many rumours going on now...

kmchow · 5 Jan 2003, 03:14 (Ref:464100)

Quote:

Originally posted by JMeissner
So at the moment we have in the STCC 2003:

2 WSR BMW 320i's
2 BM BMW 320i's
4 KMS Audi A4's
1 HMS Honda Civic

These are the confirmed??? But I guess we can expect at least one or two Volvo S60's and perhaps around four other cars. Many rumours going on now...

The 4 Audis are confirmed? Or should we say that KMS WANTS to race 4 Audi A4s?

JMeissner · 5 Jan 2003, 23:52 (Ref:464925)

Yes, KMS wants 4 cars, 2 cars are defedently certain, and you could say a third is as well. But the fourth car is more uncertain, but the team is optimistic about it what I have understood...

kmchow · 6 Jan 2003, 07:00 (Ref:465070)

Quote:

Originally posted by cybersdorf
No?
What, if not a national series, is the Swedish Touring Car Championship (STCC)?

Let me clarify, I meant BEFORE the STCC, was there ANOTHER national touring car series that the STCC? If there is another existing series, it seems any ST championship will suffer. In the US, there was Nascar so ST didn't stand a chance. In Australia, there was the V8 Supercar so the NATCC couldn't stand a chance. In Germany, ST briefly flourished after the collapse of the DTM. In the UK, the BTCC has been the top series, so whatever touring car rules, it can survive okay at the very least.

My theory is that because the STCC did not have to compete with an existing national touring car or racing series, it has been able to succeed.

kmchow · 6 Jan 2003, 07:02 (Ref:465071)

Quote:

Originally posted by JMeissner
Yes, KMS wants 4 cars, 2 cars are defedently certain, and you could say a third is as well. But the fourth car is more uncertain, but the team is optimistic about it what I have understood...

Can I assume it maybe 2 KMS built/raced cars and 1 or 2 KMS built/privately run/financed cars??

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