Whatever happened to this place?

[BTCC2]

Used to be thriving with hundreds on Touring Car fans. Where has everyone gone over the past year?

[PDS]

Looking at the veiws to post ratio...

There are plenty of people veiwing, but no one wants to talk!

[LiamM]

There's just not been much going off since end of the season really.

It has gone downhill in comparison to something like the official BTCC forum though

[Alfa Fan]

But the official forum is absolutely rubbish. Most of the people on there haven't a clue.

[tisme]

But the official forum is absolutely rubbish. Most of the people on there haven't a clue.

Reading some of the posts, the average age of them must be about 9 year's old!

[Eurotech]

I can say I've definately noticed a difference because during the season I haven't been on this too much and between the pre-season and now, everyone seems to have dissappeared...

[mattie007]

Maybe the internet has lost its appeal....

[Daniel]

Perhaps the BTCC isn't as popular as it used to be.

[LiamM]

Perhaps the BTCC isn't as popular as it used to be.

According to trackside attendance that's not true!

[Alfa Fan]

Perhaps the BTCC isn't as popular as it used to be.

You'd just love that to be true wouldn't you. To fit your doom and gloom view of everything!

[Allyc85]

Perhaps the BTCC isn't as popular as it used to be.

So very wrong, its gettin more and more popular every year :p

[reidy_fan]

i have noticed that this forum was very quiet during the season, also a lot of the regulars from a few years ago have gone, guys like iain, dave brockman, suzy, owyfan, knock on just to name a few. one geezer that seems to have gone from the net totally is seat-freak, he used to post here and .net all the time. know the dude had his probs but he was basically sound. also what happened to beansbeansbeans, met him at donny a few years ago. possibly facebook has something to do with it aswell as a lot keep in touch through that

i disagree with the comments about the .net forums, yes there is a few insects on there that froth a bit but there is a lot of hardcore btcc fans that travel the rounds not to mention quite a few team crew and quite a few of us marshals. the mods on there are very tight so any froth gets nipped in the bud, guys like ed1 who is a pretty sound bloke

[Sarah]

The build up to the races is very quiet I remember the good old days people arranging to meet etc. As you say people seem to post more on the official one. Don't think it's becoming less popular at all just there are more ways to keep in touch.

[BTCC2]

Is SEATfreak still around?

[LiamM]

Is SEATfreak still around?

He was banned a while ago, permanent I think, so unless he's here under an alias, he can be found posting on the Touring Car Times forum........

Everyone else probably has there hands full calling each other on the F1 forum

[Allyc85]

Why was he banned?

[Iain]

I think this place used to be so popular because it was frequented by people who all went to the races and met up, then got home and spoke about it. Then started building up to the next meeting. Since we all sort of went our seperate ways around 2005-ish, the forum's definitely quietened down since then. As happens with big groups, they usually splinter off into smaller ones and that's what happened to us. That and the fact a lot of us grew up and got lives outside of the forum (forum engagements, marriages and babies) and the BTCC. Most of us do still keep in touch though thanks to Facebook. :) When you take away all those people, it's difficult to replace them. Not saying that with any disrespect to the new folks, but there's never been the same atmosphere round here since, which is a shame really. When you take away that link between people, it's just strangers posting to eachother on a messageboard if you know what I mean. It was a good forum to post on. Easygoing too, no over-zealous moderating or bans being dished out like other places as generally everyone behaved themselves and there was good banter.

There aren't many of the old crew who still go to the races. 100%/75%Vauxhall Fan/Civic Boy/Astra Boy still goes to some, as does The Rat Fan. Apart from them and MattL, I've not seen anyone else from the olden days this season. I cut right back this year, I only did 5 meetings out of 10, although you could say 4, as I went home after race 1 at Donington because I got absolutely soaked and preferred to watch it from a warm house, rather than dry out, then get wet again as there was nowhere to shelter at that dump.

I'll be honest and say I didn't really enjoy this year. Too many times I came home feeling disappointed and fed up with all the stock car driving tactics that seem to be encouraged rather than clamped down on. It's partly why I'm drifting towards sportscars and GTs these days. Still, the best man won in the end and that ended it on a high note for me. :) Think I'll be cherrypicking my favourite events next year and see what happens.

[kmchow]

Another reason why it's a lot quieter is that SpeedTV stopped carrying the BTCC/WTCC/DTM and V8 supercars. They're concentrating more on Nascar and motorcross. The closest thing they carry is the World Challenge. There's hardly any Works support in the BTCC. The WTCC manages to have 4 works teams.

[Bezza]

I think this place used to be so popular because it was frequented by people who all went to the races and met up, then got home and spoke about it. Then started building up to the next meeting. Since we all sort of went our seperate ways around 2005-ish, the forum's definitely quietened down since then. As happens with big groups, they usually splinter off into smaller ones and that's what happened to us. That and the fact a lot of us grew up and got lives outside of the forum (forum engagements, marriages and babies) and the BTCC. Most of us do still keep in touch though thanks to Facebook. :) When you take away all those people, it's difficult to replace them. Not saying that with any disrespect to the new folks, but there's never been the same atmosphere round here since, which is a shame really. When you take away that link between people, it's just strangers posting to eachother on a messageboard if you know what I mean. It was a good forum to post on. Easygoing too, no over-zealous moderating or bans being dished out like other places as generally everyone behaved themselves and there was good banter.

There aren't many of the old crew who still go to the races. 100%/75%Vauxhall Fan/Civic Boy/Astra Boy still goes to some, as does The Rat Fan. Apart from them and MattL, I've not seen anyone else from the olden days this season. I cut right back this year, I only did 5 meetings out of 10, although you could say 4, as I went home after race 1 at Donington because I got absolutely soaked and preferred to watch it from a warm house, rather than dry out, then get wet again as there was nowhere to shelter at that dump.

I'll be honest and say I didn't really enjoy this year. Too many times I came home feeling disappointed and fed up with all the stock car driving tactics that seem to be encouraged rather than clamped down on. It's partly why I'm drifting towards sportscars and GTs these days. Still, the best man won in the end and that ended it on a high note for me. :) Think I'll be cherrypicking my favourite events next year and see what happens.


:up: Good post Iain.

I think its clear that things have become less exciting on the forum thesedays.

Back between 2001 and 2004 was probably the peak for the forum in terms of having a core of regular posters who also met up and spoke externally to the forum as well. I met up with some guys once in 2005 and enjoyed it - Hazell B mainly, Civic Boy and some others were there. I Met Meat Loaf - whatever happened to her? was there too. Iain, we met, briefly, as well :D

Unfortunately it seems to have drifted on since then and I have only been to Oulton Park and nowhere else for the last three seasons, even missing there in 2006.

I still enjoy the BTCC but not as much as in the past, I have gone F1 mad completely now and the BTCC forum is not as exciting thesedays.

My last months post about Matt Neal would have got about 50 members complaining a few years ago, now it barely raised a sound ! Ian McC, BeansBeansBeans, RaddersUK, etc would be on me like a flash ;)

Still I pop in from time to time, although I find that some members post on all sections of the Motorsportforums without having the necessary knowledge of each motorsport category. This irks me, and it has happened in this thread just to back that up!!

You never know there may be a second wind, but the BTC

[Daniel]

Still I pop in from time to time, although I find that some members post on all sections of the Motorsportforums without having the necessary knowledge of each motorsport category. This irks me, and it has happened in this thread just to back that up!!

Should there be some sort of test Bezza? I don't mind if you come to the WRC forum and post even if you're not as knowledgeable as some others there.

I know most won't agree with me and that's fine. I respect your right to have an opinion and I think people should do likewise for me. it's my opinion that the BTCC has gone backwards in many ways and there are other people around who agree but unlike me they can't be bothered having an argument with people who don't want to listen.

Like Iain I don't like the fact that it's become a bit bumper carish and I also hate silly things like when they had the wheel of grid place choosingness. I mean that was just silly and the sort of thing you'd expect to see down at the local grass racing circuit. Perhaps it's just the fact I'm not British but the WTCC offers a much better level of driver skill and manufacturer involvement for me and as such is a better series for me as someone who appreciates good motorsport whether it's in my backyard or on the other side of the world.

It's funny you mention the type of people that met up Iain, in the World Rallying forum there are people who will meet up at WRC events a few times a year every year and have a fantastic time, yet every time I've tried to suggest a meetup at the Cambrian rally (my local event) people aren't really bothered. If people get to know each other outside of the forum that's when the forum will really pick up and become interesting. going to an event and being around likeminded people rather than just casual spectators just makes it so much better.

[Bezza]

Should there be some sort of test Bezza? I don't mind if you come to the WRC forum and post even if you're not as knowledgeable as some others there.

Like Iain I don't like the fact that it's become a bit bumper carish and I also hate silly things like when they had the wheel of grid place choosingness. I mean that was just silly and the sort of thing you'd expect to see down at the local grass racing circuit. Perhaps it's just the fact I'm not British but the WTCC offers a much better level of driver skill and manufacturer involvement for me and as such is a better series for me as someone who appreciates good motorsport whether it's in my backyard or on the other side of the world.


In terms of viewers and spectators then the BTCC is doing very well indeed. However, it has gone backwards I agree in terms of quality of drivers and realism of the championship.

I have always hated the 3-races idea. And reverse grids frustrate me too. It is not pure racing, it is just for novelty and I'm sure the outcome of the last few championships would have been different should it have been run with the sprint/feature combination which worked so well.

Having said that, I find the WTCC a boring version of 90's BTCC - on poor tracks with poor television coverage. ITV try their best with the BTCC as well but just miss the point sometimes. They are too fake and serious.

[Neil Adams]

generally i got fed up every post being dissected into an array of potentional meanings and conclusions by seatfreak

i normally have a look at whats being discussed and usually someones allready posted what i was thinking so there seems little point in adding to the thread

there seems to be a lot less controversy between drivers now, gio and plato are almost the best of mates and this seems to have filtered down to the fans as well

ive lost some interest in the championship, its beyond me how some of the drivers can take get out of the car smiling after ramming their way to the front

my interest in motorsport has lead me to take part in racing myself, so i post in other forums more

[Spyder]

But the official forum is absolutely rubbish. Most of the people on there haven't a clue.


Reading some of the posts, the average age of them must be about 9 year's old!


It does seem very childish, I haven't posted there for years. Even Alan Gow seems to treat the posters with contempt when he answers any questions in his thread. He does seem to have an arrogant nature.
I mostly watch BTCC on television these days, I go to the occassional meeting if it is convenient. I must say I think it is still one of the most entertaining series and the support races are well chosen to give a good balance.
As has been said, this used to be the busiest BTCC forum but seems to have gone very quiet. I often wondered why.

[Mark]

I think the disappearance of coverage from terrestrial television is a big factor.
Most people, like me, mostly just look at the TV planner as to what's on the main 5 channels with maybe a quick glace at Sky1 etc.

I've missed the BTCC at numerous times this year as I didn't know it was on, being way down there on ITV4.

Plus it's live coverage only. Now don't get me wrong, this is a good thing, but I don't have all Sunday to sit down at the right time to watch each race in turn. It was much better when you used to get an hours highlights programme on the Sunday of the race, there will be many more people watching!

Since BTCC lost its terrestrial coverage I expect it's slipped out of the consciousness of many a casual follower.

[Bezza]

I think the disappearance of coverage from terrestrial television is a big factor.
Most people, like me, mostly just look at the TV planner as to what's on the main 5 channels with maybe a quick glace at Sky1 etc.

I've missed the BTCC at numerous times this year as I didn't know it was on, being way down there on ITV4.

Plus it's live coverage only. Now don't get me wrong, this is a good thing, but I don't have all Sunday to sit down at the right time to watch each race in turn. It was much better when you used to get an hours highlights programme on the Sunday of the race, there will be many more people watching!

Since BTCC lost its terrestrial coverage I expect it's slipped out of the consciousness of many a casual follower.

I agree. Its on a poor channel down the schedules and is overkilled. Realisitcally I don't want to spend from 11am to 6pm on a Sunday afternoon watching TV.

A one-hour highlights show would be perfect with the odd live race here and there as per the late 90's.

[Mark]

A one-hour highlights show would be perfect with the odd live race here and there as per the late 90's.

Although when ITV1 did it, it wasn't bad, with a recap of Races 1 & 2 and race 3 almost as it happened.

BTCC is totally off the radar these days, you don't see it on the news, you miss it on TV, there's nothing on the BBC website about it for example.

I'm sure it's still a great day out - I haven't been for a good while - but it does seem like BTCC doesn't 'matter' any more.

[tdb]

I got fed up arm chair fans thinking they know everything.
I used to post info and teasers from the inside, to then get asked for sources and argued with, also a couple of members seemed to be on a crusade to try and attack every post.
So i just don't bother anymore.

[LiamM]

It does seem very childish, I haven't posted there for years. Even Alan Gow seems to treat the posters with contempt when he answers any questions in his thread. He does seem to have an arrogant nature.


To be fair to Alan though, he takes time out of his busy schedule to answer questions from the fans, and when you're being asked for the millionth time about a night race or whatever its going to start grating on you. But if you look, if someone poses a proper question to him, his answer will be well thought out and informative

[ATF]

I registered on here in 2000 and used to post all the time. This season i noticed it was particularly quiet so have been browsing more than posting.

I'm still as much a btcc fan as i was back then, but just don't feel the need to post about it all the time, maybe it is the novelty of the internet wearing off.

Funnily enough, I do miss those days where everyone used to post during a race while watching the live timings (back when there was no live tv coverage), trying to figure out what was happening!!

[thetrooper_uk]

I spend a lot of my time on Leighsdiecastdiary/forum as I spend more time talking about the models. Once the season starts again I'm sure things will get a bit more lively.

[BTCC2]

Anyone know why SEATfreak was banned?

I know everybody has their reasons etc. but this thread has seen some of the less active posters make a comment, it would be great if we could get this place back to how it used to be.

[m0rk]

Anyone know why SEATfreak was banned?

No idea, but he hung out on my forum for quite a while

[PDS]

I'm with tdb on this one!

Apart from the Model thread, I don't say too much now.

As for the banning of Seatfreak... without going into detail. He was banned for being Seatfreak! Over reacting to a post someone had made!

[Daz]

i have noticed that this forum was very quiet during the season, also a lot of the regulars from a few years ago have gone, guys like iain, dave brockman, suzy, owyfan, knock on just to name a few.

Ah yes I know that crowd very well and had some amazing trackside camps at BTCC meetings with them. I guess time moves on, so do some people. I have but am still interested in the BTCC and didn't miss a race on TV this year but didn't manage to get any as busy with other things.
I also spend a lot of time now on Reptile Forum UK as now keeping and bredding reptiles.

[Alfa Fan]

I remember you used to love your Lexi daz, the good old days The Claw, Sim Da BTCC Man, Radisich Fan and many others from the old Toca forums as well as here.

[mattie007]

I still love the BTCC as much as ever, but since MG pulled out I dont have much to write about. They were one of the main reasons I went to meetings and even bought a ZS after seeing them out on track.

Im sure next season will be just as fun!

[nik]

I registered here in '02 and every race meeting there was loads of people on here, and I loved posting on here....but too be honest my interest in the BTCC has faded a little.

[tin-top fan]

I think for me times have just moved on a bit? I haven't posted here in ages, but as i'm doing now come around the forums for a bit of browse. When I joined here I think it was pretty much the only forum for the btcc? Now we have this, ten-tenths, the official one and touringcartimes etc. The ten-tenths and btcc official ones are a lot more busy?
I've become quite involved with ice hockey recently. Sites like facebook also seem to keep me occupied when i might have used to come here instead...

[Eurotech]

Anyone know why SEATfreak was banned?

Worryingly I think it was down to something I said because he reacted to something I posted about Vauxhall vs SEAT and I think I may have worded it a bit wrong and he took it to heart....(I can't remember exactly what it was) but I ended up getting an 'official warning' and SEATfreak got banned.

but thats all in the past and I doubt thats the reason why people don't post and Its definately not due to the BTCC not being interesting anymore. I think that people just forget that this place even exists like I did earlier in the season. There isn't many new threads to post on these days....

....I'm going on a one man crusade to gat this forum back to its former glory :)

[Bezza]

I think its not just the Touring Car forum, Chit Chat / F1 the main ones I go on are just dull now. The discussions are pretty boring, arguments erupt from the same core of members each time over "my dads bigger than you" pride, and whenever a debate is in full flow someone spoils it. The members involved, no offence to them intended, are not as exciting or witty as those from a few years ago. We have a lost a lot of core members. Next week my job is changing and I will little time to spend on here, so I may become lost too. Looking around, there isn't much to post about regardless of whether it is the off season or not.

I think its highly unlikley the remaining core members will leave as well. I think the "incident" in the F1 forum might have been the tip of the iceberg.

[Daniel]

I think its not just the Touring Car forum, Chit Chat / F1 the main ones I go on are just dull now. The discussions are pretty boring, arguments erupt from the same core of members each time over "my dads bigger than you" pride, and whenever a debate is in full flow someone spoils it. The members involved, no offence to them intended, are not as exciting or witty as those from a few years ago. We have a lost a lot of core members. Next week my job is changing and I will little time to spend on here, so I may become lost too. Looking around, there isn't much to post about regardless of whether it is the off season or not.

I think its highly unlikley the remaining core members will leave as well. I think the "incident" in the F1 forum might have been the tip of the iceberg.
I think you're quite right. Back in the day you had a core group of members who knew each other fairly well and often met up with each other.

I think Facebook has killed some of the social aspect of the forum though as others have suggested.

As I said before people need to invest time in getting to know people and spending time on Chit Chat and it will bring a whole lot more enjoyment to the forum.

The incident on the F1 appears bigger than it was. I like you agree that lots of good threads get ruined in F1 and to be fair I'm not always innocent but what Pino did was right, this sort of stuff has gone on for too long so the offenders were banned which should hopefully serve as a warning. There are a lot of people in the F1 forum who think that Ioan is the root of all their problems but if they saw how that thread went down they'd see the blatant trolling and personal attacks that went on and see that Pino's actions were justified.

OT I know but what are ViperMan and Tony Yeboah up to these days Bezza? Although it was rare that I ever agreed with them they were certainly colourful and definitely added to the forum :D

[Bezza]

I think you're quite right. Back in the day you had a core group of members who knew each other fairly well and often met up with each other.

I think Facebook has killed some of the social aspect of the forum though as others have suggested.

As I said before people need to invest time in getting to know people and spending time on Chit Chat and it will bring a whole lot more enjoyment to the forum.

The incident on the F1 appears bigger than it was. I like you agree that lots of good threads get ruined in F1 and to be fair I'm not always innocent but what Pino did was right, this sort of stuff has gone on for too long so the offenders were banned which should hopefully serve as a warning. There are a lot of people in the F1 forum who think that Ioan is the root of all their problems but if they saw how that thread went down they'd see the blatant trolling and personal attacks that went on and see that Pino's actions were justified.

OT I know but what are ViperMan and Tony Yeboah up to these days Bezza? Although it was rare that I ever agreed with them they were certainly colourful and definitely added to the forum :D

No idea about Viper Man and Tony Yeboah, fella.

Viper Man was on my Facebook but then disappeared off the face of the earth, Tony Yeboah I don't know too well in the first place. Viper lives in Skegness I know that much and I presume he is still there :)

Last post from him was actually more recent than I thought, I think he came alive briefly at the start of 09 and then disappeared again.

Do you remember the "Horse Debacle" Danny boy? :D

[Daniel]

No idea about Viper Man and Tony Yeboah, fella.

Viper Man was on my Facebook but then disappeared off the face of the earth, Tony Yeboah I don't know too well in the first place. Viper lives in Skegness I know that much and I presume he is still there :)

Last post from him was actually more recent than I thought, I think he came alive briefly at the start of 09 and then disappeared again.

Do you remember the "Horse Debacle" Danny boy? :D
I do remember the horse fiasco :D

Things got quite heated and perhaps a little nasty but it was fun wasn't it?

[Eurotech]

I think that part of the reason why people don't post here is because this place can become too much like a community. I've just been reading Daniel and Bezza talking to each other and no offence intended, but people don't really want to interrupt it. we need to make new members feel more welcome....maybe its a british thing about politeness or maybe its just me.....

[Daniel]

I think that part of the reason why people don't post here is because this place can become too much like a community. I've just been reading Daniel and Bezza talking to each other and no offence intended, but people don't really want to interrupt it. we need to make new members feel more welcome....maybe its a british thing about politeness or maybe its just me.....
I used to feel excluded when all the BTCC people were chatting about stuff but really all you need to do is get involved and jump in. 99% of the time you'll have a larf.

Nothing gained by hanging back at all :)

[wedge]

Just a blind guess but have they jumped on the BTCC forum and we're just plebs keeping the old forum going?

[Bezza]

I think that part of the reason why people don't post here is because this place can become too much like a community. I've just been reading Daniel and Bezza talking to each other and no offence intended, but people don't really want to interrupt it. we need to make new members feel more welcome....maybe its a british thing about politeness or maybe its just me.....

I don't believe that is correct. As the years progressed new members joined and joined in the discussions. Viper Man for instance was one such person and there were many more. They weren't afraid of being new and jumping in with an opinion and that is absolutely right. Just get stuck in.

Things can and did get heated but at the end of the day it is a "discussion forum" so that is going to happen every now and then. It would be a shame to see this forum fizzle out, so I think one of two things needs to happen - 1) the old members return and get their love back, 2) new members create a new community open to everyone with some good debates.

Personally I would like to see Option 2, it would be good to have a second coming.

[Bezza]

I do remember the horse fiasco :D

Things got quite heated and perhaps a little nasty but it was fun wasn't it?

Indeed! It was my personal favourite thread of all time. It was fantastic fun, although yes it did get heated and went a bit OTT, leading to a stern talking to from Andrea to all of us. :)

Shame the archive is not available, I'd love to read through it again.

[Daniel]

I don't believe that is correct. As the years progressed new members joined and joined in the discussions. Viper Man for instance was one such person and there were many more. They weren't afraid of being new and jumping in with an opinion and that is absolutely right. Just get stuck in.

Things can and did get heated but at the end of the day it is a "discussion forum" so that is going to happen every now and then. It would be a shame to see this forum fizzle out, so I think one of two things needs to happen - 1) the old members return and get their love back, 2) new members create a new community open to everyone with some good debates.

Personally I would like to see Option 2, it would be good to have a second coming.

I agree. It would be nice if the old group of people would come back and just bring that atmosphere with them but it's always nice to see new blood coming in. One person who I think should come back immediately is Oily Oaf who was just the funniest person ever :D Like you say, just get stuck in and it's all good :up: Going into Chit Chat and getting involved in all the interesting non-motorsport discussion is also a must.


Indeed! It was my personal favourite thread of all time. It was fantastic fun, although yes it did get heated and went a bit OTT, leading to a stern talking to from Andrea to all of us. :)

Shame the archive is not available, I'd love to read through it again.

Sure sure..... you just want to find those pictures of Delusional! :p

[speedy king]

I have to say i've had a glance at this place about 3 times this year and seen nothing really worthwhile posting on. Even Chit Chat has been dead. Crazy to think i was 10 when i joined here and now i'm 20 :s But there dosent seem to be an atmosphere here anymore....Plus i got fed up with the "Shoot 'em down in flames' approach of too many members, it felt less of a community and more of a bitch fest.

[Bezza]

I have to say i've had a glance at this place about 3 times this year and seen nothing really worthwhile posting on. Even Chit Chat has been dead. Crazy to think i was 10 when i joined here and now i'm 20 :s But there dosent seem to be an atmosphere here anymore....Plus i got fed up with the "Shoot 'em down in flames' approach of too many members, it felt less of a community and more of a bitch fest.

Jan 2002 to Nov 2009 ? Blimey speedy your ageing quickly!

How is your sister doing thesedays? Please pass on my regards :)

[Clark Trent]

Too much competition these days. That and the racing has cleaned up massively so less controversy to debate.

[tisme]

That and the racing has cleaned up massively so less controversy to debate.

WHAT! You can't be talking about the BTCC?

Cleaned up? Surely you haven't watched it during 2009 then?

[AndySpeed]

I used to use this forum a lot but I don't anymore. One of the reasons is probably facebook and another is having more friends offline who are into the BTCC now. Also given changes in personal circumstances I'm now a hell of a lot busier than in the past.

I read the forums a fair bit but quite often don't feel the need to add anything further to the discussion, unlike a lot of people in the official btcc.net forums which just make for ugly reading!

[Neil Adams]

case in point;
the stig is testing with motorbase tomorrow, in years gone by they'd be a whole thread about that by now!

[reidy_fan]

I agree. It would be nice if the old group of people would come back and just bring that atmosphere with them but it's always nice to see new blood coming in. One person who I think should come back immediately is Oily Oaf who was just the funniest person ever :D Like you say, just get stuck in and it's all good :up: Going into Chit Chat and getting involved in all the interesting non-motorsport discussion is also a must.



Sure sure..... you just want to find those pictures of Delusional! :p

oily oaf's mate posts on another forum, will drop him a pm.

some of the females on here were not just total babes but total petrolheads and the banter used to be great. whatever hapenned to I met Meat Load, Delusional, Kitten Kat, Susy and that gang. surely they cant be spending weekends shopping and watching eastenders :-(

[Bezza]

oily oaf's mate posts on another forum, will drop him a pm.

some of the females on here were not just total babes but total petrolheads and the banter used to be great. whatever hapenned to I met Meat Load, Delusional, Kitten Kat, Susy and that gang. surely they cant be spending weekends shopping and watching eastenders :-(

From what I can tell Delusional is doing well for herself, however Kitten Kat - no idea, Susy - no idea, I met Meat Load (?! - surely a Freudian slip there) was on my Facebook but then disappeared. Lucy, if your reading, hope you are well :)

[Mark]

Lucy, if your reading, hope you are well :)

She's still around; but more than that I don't know.

[wedge]

Too much competition these days. That and the racing has cleaned up massively so less controversy to debate.

I seem to remember it quietened down quite a lot when Rob Collard had his hiatus :D


some of the females on here were not just total babes but total petrolheads and the banter used to be great. whatever hapenned to I met Meat Load, Delusional, Kitten Kat, Susy and that gang. surely they cant be spending weekends shopping and watching eastenders :-(

:eek:

FECK ME!

I regret not checking out this forum more often in the old days!

You guys seem to know each other quite well then. Felt like an idiot trying to join in a private conversation at a social.

[tisme]

Felt like an idiot trying to join in a private conversation at a social.

It hasn't changed that much Wedge!

[Eurotech]

it seems I joined waaay to late....

oh well

[AlrightTreacle?]

Its never been the same since the days my chums such as Forza posted regularly on here :(

[cheekycobra]

I have to say i've had a glance at this place about 3 times this year and seen nothing really worthwhile posting on. Even Chit Chat has been dead. Crazy to think i was 10 when i joined here and now i'm 20 :s But there dosent seem to be an atmosphere here anymore....Plus i got fed up with the "Shoot 'em down in flames' approach of too many members, it felt less of a community and more of a bitch fest.

Thats more or less why I soon got tired of posting. It wasnt so much the "bitch-fest", but more that anything you did post was always put down and bettered by petrol heads who knew anything and everything about the sport, and always made any post made by myself or others who love BTCC, but were never really die-hards inferior. Not just me but a few posters were put down as well, one in perticular (forgot his name), who always got the bad end of the stick.
I still attend the BTCC at Croft, and watch the rest on TV, but soon learned to not put forward an opinion on here, shame really.

[Racingdick]

Strange this post has been going on, I was thinking the same a while back.
I used to use this forum A LOT when in uni, working for various teams and working part time in ntl.
Facebook is here where I keep up to date with many people and also I no longer work in IT where im on the internet all day but in a branch of a bank..
where all i can do is occasionally glance at facebook on my phone.

TBH there aren't a lot of forums I still even look at. Depends on my mood a lot of the time.. Btcc.net, this one and ten tenths are bookmarked and thats it.

I went to most of the btcc in 02/03, some in 04, one in 05 (Thruxton) and one in 09 (Outlon)! Thruston and Oulton I went too mainly went to support friends and hence free tickets..
Since 05 Ive worked Full time and dont have the spare time/enthusiasm to get up early and drive to a race track 200+miles away!

Anyhows off to do some more housework and get uniform ready for another week of hard work.

Rich
Member since 02; 1000+ posts!

[BeansBeansBeans]

Personally, my reasons for being largely absent from this forum is that I don't follow the BTCC (and the TOCA package) as much as I used to.

When I was childless I used to regularly get up on a Sunday and watch the whole programme on Motors TV but that is no longer possible. I make sure I watch all the Grands Prix and catch as many BTCC races as I can, but the days of being obsessive are over, at least until my daughter is old enough to watch it with me!

[52Paddy]

Yeah, I'm in the same boat as most of you here. When I was in school, I had all the time on my hands. But over the past 2 years I was (firstly) working, so had a lot less spare time, and now I'm in Uni so free time is spent drinking. :D

I do keep up to date with the F1 forum during the year, but I find it difficult to commit to following all of the BTCC, WRC, Sportscars, single-seaters and other series that I used to keep a keen eye on. I am (yet again, I've been doing this every year since 2004) going to make an effort to follow the sport in full for 2010 - I still love motorsport, but just haven't disciplined myself well enough to fit it into my schedule. Maybe things will be different this year, but, for the forum, I can't see that much happening. Iain's first post said it all really. When all the "headhonchos" of yesteryear left, the forum lost that warmth it once had. Even though I didn't know any of you personally, I felt among friends in this forum (or maybe parents' is a better comparison!!) but now, its difficult to relate to new members on anything more than a username :mark:

[Julia Fox]

Think that Iain's first posting on this thread hit the nail on the head.
I well remember when there were not to many of us around and that very first meeting at Brands was an event.
Out of the regulars then I still keep in touch with Corrinne but often wonder what happened to Funks,LK,Radders and the gorgeous Andi.Not forgetting Nick the Flick(nobody could ever forget him)
So if any of you old uns remember Silverfox drop me a line

[Les]

So if any of you old uns remember Silverfox drop me a line

I remember him

[Ian McC]

My last months post about Matt Neal would have got about 50 members complaining a few years ago, now it barely raised a sound ! Ian McC, BeansBeansBeans, RaddersUK, etc would be on me like a flash ;)


Don't you worry, I am keeping my eye on you Bezza and your world famous 'I hate Matt Neal' campaign!

Things change, people move on, some even get lives, though not many

[EavesFan09]

Worryingly I think it was down to something I said because he reacted to something I posted about Vauxhall vs SEAT and I think I may have worded it a bit wrong and he took it to heart....(I can't remember exactly what it was) but I ended up getting an 'official warning' and SEATfreak got banned.

but thats all in the past and I doubt thats the reason why people don't post and Its definately not due to the BTCC not being interesting anymore. I think that people just forget that this place even exists like I did earlier in the season. There isn't many new threads to post on these days....


You seemed to be the culprit yet whilst you got a warning, seatfreak was the one banned?

[cazvxr]

I remember him

And i remember youuuuuuuuuuuuu.x

[Bezza]

Think that Iain's first posting on this thread hit the nail on the head.
I well remember when there were not to many of us around and that very first meeting at Brands was an event.
Out of the regulars then I still keep in touch with Corrinne but often wonder what happened to Funks,LK,Radders and the gorgeous Andi.Not forgetting Nick the Flick(nobody could ever forget him)
So if any of you old uns remember Silverfox drop me a line

Yes, I remember silverfox. We often disagreed, but thats normal for me :laugh:

Andi / Andrea was and will always be the best :up:

[Drew]

Somebody start up a rumour that Lexus are going to enter for the 2010 season!! Just for old times sakes :)

[Alfa Fan]

Somebody start up a rumour that Lexus are going to enter for the 2010 season!! Just for old times sakes :)

Where's Daz when you need him!

[Eurotech]

Somebody start up a rumour that Lexus are going to enter for the 2010 season!! Just for old times sakes :)
Official (ish) Lexus are going to enter next season but with 2 bioethanol chevy lacettis ;)

[CroftPilgrim]

Plus i got fed up with the "Shoot 'em down in flames' approach of too many members, it felt less of a community and more of a bitch fest.

I'll be frank and say that this was one of the reasons I stopped visiting this forum. I was also fed up with the incessant driver bashing that was going on.

I started using the official forum which, tbh, isn't as bad as some suggest. However, that has started to driver bash too much as well. You could almost predict what was going to be on the forums after watching the races. Neal this, Plato that etc....

Let's hope everyone is a little more gracious this year. That will hopefully bring new members in, old members back and maybe even some drivers!

[nicemms]

I'll be frank and say that this was one of the reasons I stopped visiting this forum. I was also fed up with the incessant driver bashing that was going on.

I started using the official forum which, tbh, isn't as bad as some suggest. However, that has started to driver bash too much as well. You could almost predict what was going to be on the forums after watching the races. Neal this, Plato that etc....

Let's hope everyone is a little more gracious this year. That will hopefully bring new members in, old members back and maybe even some drivers!


I started to use the official forum to but I'm a bit fed up with it now as its constant Driver bashing and rumours which get a bit annoying.

I reckon forums might have seen a decline due to people getting older and married etc but also due to Facebook.

[Alfa Fan]

The forum has gone downhill. I think it started in 2006/7 really, coincidentally? the same time that all the "insiders" started posting and shooting down everyone's discussion about stuff that had appeared in Motorsport News, Autosport, whatever, by imparting their own "inside" knowledge in telling us how this wasn't happening or that was happening etc, and mocking anyone who discussed things they didn't think were going to happen.

[Allyc85]

I think this thread should be locked now. everyones had there say and looking at the rumours thread things arnt going to get any better..

[MattL]

Fair comment Alfa Fan. It's been an interesting read for me in terms of the forum being part of BTCCPages.com Thanks for your comments - if anyone else has any feedback, feel free to send me a PM!