BTCC Driving standards

[Andrew Kitson]

I may not have been around as long as some folks here at 10/10ths, especially some of the gents over in the historic racing forum, but at 46 years old and having attended 30 plus race meetings per year for 40 of my years, I have seen all the greats in that time and a huge amount of races of all types. Saloons have always been a favourite and I was fortunate to go to many meetings as a young child with my father who was a saloon race mechanic in the 1960s/70s.

After reading Edd Straw's 'Expert View' in Autosport on Driving Standards in the BTCC, I feel I must now as he suggests 'avert my gaze'. I have not seen anything in my life as bad as race three at Mondello apart from the ridiculous move by Senna on Prost in the Japanese GP in 1990. I fell out of love with F1 then too but thankfully driving like that was rare until Schumacher met Hill and Villeneuve! It is commomplace year on year in the modern BTCC.

Yes, I may be a purist, there are plenty of us and all with similar views. 100,000 of us at the Goodwood revival each year for a start, but now is the time to look away from the British Touring Car Championship. The racing could be close, clean and fun as it always was. The touring car races at the revival are far more spectacular than anything the modern BTCC has to offer and without contact. If you don't believe me - go. The cars generally come back in one piece, despite being driven hard - and sideways with great skill!

Even in the 90s BTCC boom there were occasionally clashes but nothing like now! I find it really sad that the BTCC is encouraged to provide 'panel bashing action', as described in some adverts and on the MSV website in the Snetterton preview. The BTCC is the new stock car racing when it was previously a fine example of driving skill and close 'non-contact' motorsport.
The 'contact' was for the short oval brigade.
Something must be done. OK, there have always been incidents, when someone makes a mistake and contact is inevitable, but how some of the clashes in recent years can be put down to 'a racing incident' is laughable.

Drivers such as Jack Sears, Jim Clark, John Rhodes, Steve Neal ( Matt's father), Frank Gardner, Brian Muir, Gerry Marshall, Andy Rouse etc were heroes and did not need to 'barge' other competitors out of the way to show their skill. They were famous because of their skills. How modern BTCC drivers can sleep at night having won a race in this fashion is beyond me. Surely it takes far more skill to pass someone in a late braking manouver without touching? If you did it in a single seater, more often than not you would be in the fence.

I will watch the support events, but hope the young drivers in F.BMW/Renault etc do not learn from the main feature. British Touring Car Championship? I feel it may need a new title. Sadly the 'crash-bang-wallop' is encouraged but until the driver talents are showcased again I will not watch. Thankyou Edd Straw for confirming what had troubled me since Mondello.

[Kicking-back]

I agree with you Andrew - it is saddening.

But it's what the organisers and "casual fans" seem to want....

[RobC]

Quality rant, and I agree with it all....its getting silly now, rubbing is part of saloon car racing but barging people out the way just isn't cricket

[redshoes]

Well said Andrew.

Earlier this year TOCA annouced it would be using in-car spy cameras to enforce driver disipline (http://www.btcc.net/artman/publish/article_563.php), so far there's no evidence of that having any effect.

We expect an element of close contact in touring cars but I agree the BTCC drivers have taken things too far. Some would argue that the WTCC has gone too far in the other direction and are now penalising the slightest contact, in many cases unnecessarily. In fairness to TOCA it is difficult to know where to draw the line.

In my office we have what I would call a casual fan. He loves F1 and will occationally watch other racing on TV but not really follow it in the same way people here do. On the Monday morning after the Mondello coverage his first words to me were 'wasn't the third race great'. That pretty much sums up. TOCA need to keep a little 'crash and bash' to keep people like him interested, it's a question of how much is too much.

[Les]

It seems odd to me that the BTCC does nothing, the WTCC does too much (mind you it needs to do something with certain drivers) but neither can sort out the problem.

Is it the caliber of the drivers, the manufacturers willing to put up with it, too much pressure to win regardless of cost or that it sells?

[Sodemo]

It does very much depend on what you mean by "non-contact". I believe that there should be an element of contact in saloon car racing, not punting people off by wacking their rear quarter panel, but a non-intentional gentle kiss while making a pass is part of touring car racing.
Intentional contact, the kind which is meant to either knock off, or de-stabilise an competitor in order to gain an advantage is not what should be allowed.

Rubbin' is racin'.

[rdjones]

At the end of the Rubbin's Racin' - it's only the same as it's always been, but at the momment the BTCC seems a bit more bumper cars and it needs to be controlled. Alan Gow and TOCA need to take control of the situation before someone gets hurt. We only have to look back at the Clio's last year things got a little out of control, but the drivers where spoken to and they carmed down, may Mr Gow needs to do the same.

[Dan Friel]

It's my view that even the smallest element of contact can turn into the biggest of accidents - one of the reasons that i won't be found marhsalling at a BTCC meeting these days...

However, Gow reckons it makes "good TV", so I suggest that he keeps his fingers firmly crossed and hope that something nasty doesn't occur live on ITV.

[speedy king]

Unfortunetly it is not only the BTCC with the problem. Look where the drivers come from. The clios have aways been known for contact, Formula 3 is also getting bad with the young guys apparently, and karting in recent years is beyond belief. Unfortunetly the people from the lower ranks progress and sooner or later the big championships like Formula 3 and BTCC gain some of these guys.

Im a strong supporter that rubbin' is racin' but it has gone too far

[ascarracinguk]

agreed....not been funny but marshalling with these guys is getting extremely scary, you dont know whats going to happen next, their driving is getting increasingly dangerous and someone is going to get hurt very soon. afterall its racing not frikin bumper cars, ok the odd rub to pass i can accept but not running up someones arse or taking them out. for instance i was marshalling at the chicame at doningtons first meeting. toca told us to report any corner cutting because they would be seriously penolised. after the race we reported most drivers, toca then turned around and did nothing, when we asked what was going on they said it made good TV....well lets see if someone getting killed on live ITV will make good tv. they said at the start of the year that a big brother system would be used to control driving standards...personally they have been worse this year than i have ever seen.

[Dave Brand]

Sadly, Andrew, I have to agree with you.

Let's get one thing straight, folks.....motor racing is a NON-CONTACT sport. 'Rubbing' is NOT 'racing' - it's just plain simple bad driving. Yes, accidental contact will occur, but but condoning, indeed encouraging deliberate contact is, in my opinion, irresponsible.

I share ascarracing's fear that all this stupidity will end in a fatal crash; what good publicity for motor sport that will create!

The problem doesn't, unfortunately, stop at BTCC level. Club racers see lousy driving standards dressed up with the cosy little euphemism 'rubbing' & get the mistaken impression that it is acceptable at any level. In the BTCC a written-off car means that the team's mechanics get a bit more overtime; in club racing it can mean the end of a driver's season, or even his racing career.

One of the biggest complaints about BTCC this year has been the pathetically small grids. Could this, just posssibly, be in any way related to the appalling driving standards?

I can see no reason for ever marshalling at a TOCA meeting again until something is done about driving standards. Firstly it must be made known that deliberate contact will not be tolerated, secondly drivers must be punished - not by fines, licence endorsements, etc., but by loss of championship points, exclusion from the meeting or even the championship; a championship which is struggling for entries isn't going to do that though, is it?

[Andrew Kitson]

Thanks for the replies chaps and I find it encouraging I am not alone in my views here. I agree with Dave, even 'rubbin' should be outlawed. Never happened intentionally in the days of Moss, Clark etc, should not happen now.
We know it happens in NASCAR, on those big wide ovals but we are talking about UK circuits here, tight tracks mostly with braking zones, gear changes and great speed differentials due to braking, which are not found on US ovals. It is an entirely different thing.

As I said in my opening post, there are many 'purists' around like myself who love good close, non-contact, clean motor racing. The BTCC COULD be this.
Not only would the 'Max Power' brigade still attend, there would still be the accidental spins and shunts to keep them happy, as all drivers make mistakes under pressure. However many with views as mine would also attend to provide Mr.Gow and the circuits the crowd figures as in the mid 90s. OK, some of the driving standards were not perfect in some cases back then, but much better than we have today. It is the intentional pushing and shoving which must be stopped. Expensive damage for the teams ( always going on about cutting costs?), more retirements therefore fewer cars to watch and downright dangerous too.

Give us clean side-by-side racing where the drivers look skillful rather than muppets and a huge cross section of race going public would surely attend, not just the banger racing fans?

[Pete Fenelon]

I agree with the comment about Clios - for the last few years the driving in that series has been filthy; '05 seems a bit cleaner, but it's still a terrible example to young drivers. I thought it particularly awful a few years back when Andrew Kirkaldy's career was going nowhere and he went into Clios - there seemed to be a conspiracy by virtually the whole to clout him whenever possible!

I've no problem with a bit of close and intense pressure - that's what racing is all about - and maybe at extreme moments a little bit of paint-trading, but I believe that racing is fundamentally a non-contact sport and anyone using the car as a weapon is a lunatic who has no place holding a competition licence.

Accidents will always happen, but a lot of the bumping and barging looks premeditated these days.

"You grunt; I'll groan"?

[silverfox]

Thank heavens someone thinks the same as me.
Not being on this forum for some time I felt like a voice in the wilderness.
I too am concerned that a severe injury or fatality will happen,perhaps not in touring cars but in a clubbie meeting where a novice thinks its ok to ape the tactics of the "big boys".Result,a few column inches in Motorsport News but no direct blame put on the cause.
I have been spectating for over 50 years now and my visit to Snetterton this week is planned to be my swansong. Lets hope it doesnt leave me with a nasty taste in my mouth

[touringlegend]

I agree about the driving standards, but it's worrying when at a BTCC meeting that it seems to me that really what is the crowd want, and by letting this happen TOCA are 'feeding' the majority of viewers.

I've heard people around a circuit saying they've come to see some big accidents, and I'm not joking.

[Andrew Kitson]

Originally Posted by touringlegend

it seems to me that really what is the crowd want, and by letting this happen TOCA are 'feeding' the majority of viewers.

I've heard people around a circuit saying they've come to see some big accidents, and I'm not joking.

Hence the sadness with the way the Championship has gone.
To have a possible Champion who may have won races with these 'panel bashing' driving antics, having his name engraved on the same trophy previously won by Sears, Percy, McGovern, Gardner, Rouse etc etc is a sham.
They all won titles with skill, not do-or-die desperate barging overtaking measures.

[ascarracinguk]

agreed

[Hazard]

I don't think Plato or Collard are in with a chance of the title.

Neal & Muller are two of the best drivers in modern touring car racing, and I don't believe they're doing the damage most of you are referring to. Agreed the midfield's a little more 'rearfield' these days...I don't think these standards haven't been seen before (e.g. Super Production) - but with the smaller fields this year, it's more apparent perhaps.

Gow's already made comments that the current driving standards are warranting attention...I'd expect it to be something that will be more enforced as the season now continues.

[J-C]

Agree with what has been said. I was watching the 1992 season review earlier today, and whilst we all know how that one ended up, 95% of the racing was clean and without contact throughout the season.

It's deeply concerning that the general public seem to want to see banger racing, and in a quest for TV ratings the penalties have been extremely lax. In every other major touring car championship in the world (WTCC, DTM, V8 Supercars) punishments are handed out when a driver gets an advantage from punting someone off. As a result, the driving standards are generally better - there certainly isn't really any "intentional" contact.

As has been said, because penalties in the BTCC are weak (6-place grid penalties are pathetic), the bad driving standards filter down to the lower catagories, and as a result driving standards across motorsport corrode.

[luke]

It is a shame that the racing is on the line of crash bang wallop racing, but never the less, encourages last minute descion moves, and nine times out of ten, exciting racing.

[Knowlesy]

You can have exciting racing without banging into each other though.

At the end of the day, all the drivers on that BTCC grid are capable of racing cleanly. A lot of them have done for many years in fact.

If this kind of thing is regulated then it dissapears, simple as that.

Since BTCC started getting more major coverage with ITV and MotorsTV, it has erred towards "wreckin' racin' " and show enhancements (such as mystery pace cars to close the field up). The series is advertised as such as well - for example, there is always hype over whether Plato and Muller will punt each other again. never mind the championship fight, or clean racing! It's all about Plato and Muller!

It's a shame that the real fans are overlooked in favour of the non-racing fans who would only watch, say, the start of a GP to see if there was a massive shunt, or what have you and then switch over to the Eastenders omnibus.

Sad indeed.

[ascarmarshal]

The legends and pick ups at Brands Hatch on Sunday proved you can have close clean racing. The Toruring car drivers have to realise that if they don't clean up their act then someone could well end up being killed

[bella]

the thing is though bad driving isn't *just* limited to the btcc. it's the same in gp2, formula bmw (both uk and germany), formula renault, and any of the feeder series. i think it's a sign that drivers aren't spending enough time learning how to overtake cleanly and how to pass without taking someone elses line unfairly.

having said that, i've seen some magnificent passing in eurof3, and some clean moves in fbmw occasionally as well so that's not to say that decent standards don't exist, it's just that they're a bit lost in all the dodgy driving.

tom chilton's career is a fine example. he's learning how to pass in the top touring car series in the country. surely that can't be right? surely he should have learnt before?

[Andrew Kitson]

Originally Posted by bella

tom chilton's career is a fine example. he's learning how to pass in the top touring car series in the country. surely that can't be right? surely he should have learnt before?

Good point Bella - this shows that the BTCC in no way should be the leading series in UK motorsport when 'top' drivers are learning their basic skills in it. But fact: it is in this position because of the general state of UK motorsport.
The cars should be powerful DTM spec, then maybe.

Don't want to sound like an old fart but probably will - when I were a lad the BTCC was a support act. We had British F1, British F2, later British F3000, Formula 5000, Formula Atlantic - even F3 was way down the list in the scheme of things. The historic meeting at Silverstone last week when many of these old cars took part reminded us of what is presently missing - a good powerful top flight single seater series.

Anyway agree with what you say regarding bad driving in some single seater races, but nothing like the appalling behavour in the BTCC.

[touringlegend]

Originally Posted by knowlesy

You can have exciting racing without banging into each other though.

An example I'll remember for years is Turkington vs Thompson at Donington, 2003 IIRC, side by side for ages seperated by a hairs breadth but no contact. That was spot on.

Perhaps it's also down to the driver being passed to allow enough room for the other to get through.. ?