BTCC Rounds 10-12 - Oulton Park

[steveaki13]

So meeting four after a months wait.

Championship standings after 9 Rounds

1.ANDREW JORDAN ---------- 141pts
2.GORDON SHEDDEN----------133pts
3.COLIN TURKINGTON---------123pts
4.MATT NEAL -------------------110pts
5.JASON PLATO-----------------106pts
6.ROBERT COLLARD------------88pts
7.MAT JACKSON----------------79pts
8.SAM TORDOFF ---------------75pts
9.ADAM MORGAN --------------49pts
10.FABRIZIO GIOVANARDI ---47pts
In Qualifying yesterday Colin Turkington won out.

2014 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Oulton Park – Qualifying
1. Colin TURKINGTON (eBay Motors): 1:42.310s
2. Jason PLATO (MG KX Clubcard Fuel Save): +0.649s
3. Gordon SHEDDEN (Honda Yuasa Racing): +0.830s
4. Rob COLLARD (eBay Motors): +1.149s
5. Sam TORDOFF (MG KX Clubcard Fuel Save): +1.183s
6. Rob AUSTIN (Exocet Racing): +1.322s
7. Mat JACKSON (Airwaves Racing): +1.380s
8. Marc HYNES (Quantel Bifold Racing): +1.538s
9. Tom INGRAM (Speedworks Motorsport): +1.543s
10. Nick FOSTER (eBay Motors): +1.553s


So what y'all guys see happening this weekend.

[steveaki13]

I didnt see qualifying, but it seems a massive gap between Colin and the rest. Did he just do a great job? Or was there a reason behind it.

[Langdale Forest]

Boring race 1 with about as much overtaking as in F1.

[steveaki13]

Well Race one was a bit of an anticlimax.

Turkington and Collard getting the ebay BMW 1-2.

Neal working hard all race to move from 14th to 13th and Jordan lost a couple of places and sat their in 15th.

Seems the revised layout has made passing very tough.

Good tight battling though despite the lack of action.

[steveaki13]

Boring race 1 with about as much overtaking as in F1.

haha. Snap.

I just said exactly the same.

[Langdale Forest]

Hopefully race 2 will be better than R1.

[christophulus]

Not a great layout, the only real overtaking point was the hairpin and now they aren't using it! Drivers getting frustrated and the bumper cars are inevitable really

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[steveaki13]

Still been an amazing lack of overtaking.

At least the battles have been better in Race 2.

Dave Newsham had a nasty prang. He seems OK though, and Alan Menu nurfing Giovinnardi off.

SC in lets see what happens in the last few laps

[steveaki13]

Not a great layout, the only real overtaking point was the hairpin and now they aren't using it! Drivers getting frustrated and the bumper cars are inevitable really

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This. Why have they got rid of the slow hairpin?

[steveaki13]

Livened up in the last few laps, but still so tough to pass.

[Langdale Forest]

rACE 2 WAS BETTER THAN RACE 1, WITH Collard possibly becoming a championship contender.

[christophulus]

This. Why have they got rid of the slow hairpin?

In a way it's nice not to see people just getting nudged out of the way under braking, but overall I'd still change it back next year

[Langdale Forest]

The 3rd race should be interesting especially as some of the lesser drivers are on the 1st row and the lack of overtaking.

[Langdale Forest]

Will race 3 run if the conditions are bad??

[christophulus]

And rain too! Looking forward to the super tourers, once they've changed tyres

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[christophulus]

Or not. They're now racing after the coverage finishes so I hope they show the highlights at some point

[inimitablestoo]

Nothing wrong with the layout. It's the proper Oulton Park, not that Mickey Mouse version the BTCC's been using for far too long. The support races were able to race there. Watch any British GT meeting from there and you'll see overtaking from all categories. Yes, even Formula 3 :eek: Sadly, the lack of biff and bash means they'll probably be back on one of the shorter versions next year. Ho hum.

I do have one theory on the lack of overtaking though. This was the first BTCC meeting at which mandatory breath tests were introduced. So clearly, the racing was considerably better when everyone was drunk :D

[steveaki13]

like

[MrJan]

For those that were wondering the STCC race that got pushed to the end of the day is now on Youtube in full, including interviews after the race.

[BDunnell]

Seems to me from post-race comments that some teams and drivers won't be happy until the BTCC is turned into a one-make series, maybe also racing at just one circuit to ensure absolute parity.

[Bezza]

They should use the "Fosters" version again. Cut out the whole Island / Shell Oils completely.

The shortest version gave great battles, and meant Knickerbrook didn't need the chicane and was flat-out again (albeit from a slower start than pre-1991!). Cascades was a different beast too , having to straighten up on a bumpy dip to brake into a tight right hander, always provoked mistakes.

Also, it would mean more laps - and therefore more action for spectators.

I'm sure the reason why they don't use it is because they can't fit as much spectators in.

[MrJan]

They should use the "Fosters" version again. Cut out the whole Island / Shell Oils completely.

The shortest version gave great battles, and meant Knickerbrook didn't need the chicane and was flat-out again (albeit from a slower start than pre-1991!). Cascades was a different beast too , having to straighten up on a bumpy dip to brake into a tight right hander, always provoked mistakes.

Also, it would mean more laps - and therefore more action for spectators.

I'm sure the reason why they don't use it is because they can't fit as much spectators in.

I agree, also means that the passing is actually a bit more skillful and not just shoving the nose in a non-existent gap and ramming the other guy out the way like you get at hairpins (see also: Knockhill, Rockingham et al)

[BDunnell]

I agree, also means that the passing is actually a bit more skillful and not just shoving the nose in a non-existent gap and ramming the other guy out the way like you get at hairpins (see also: Knockhill, Rockingham et al)

Conversely, I was never keen on the Fosters layout — it seemed just too short. There is no 'perfect' layout for the BTCC at Oulton. The full circuit used to be fine, but that was in the days before live coverage of every race, so maybe judicious editing helped make the races on it look better than they were.

[MrJan]

Conversely, I was never keen on the Fosters layout — it seemed just too short. There is no 'perfect' layout for the BTCC at Oulton. The full circuit used to be fine, but that was in the days before live coverage of every race, so maybe judicious editing helped make the races on it look better than they were.

It's definitely short...but think that the corners work and for fans actually at the circuit it would mean more chance to see the cars!

[inimitablestoo]

I'd rather see fewer laps of a proper circuit, though, than more laps on a short Mickey Mouse track (Silverstone National, anyone?). It's the old quality v quantity debate. Alan Gow often bangs on about more chances to see the cars, at which point I want to ask him why they don't just run on the many quarter-mile ovals that are up and down the country...

[BDunnell]

I'd rather see fewer laps of a proper circuit, though, than more laps on a short Mickey Mouse track (Silverstone National, anyone?). It's the old quality v quantity debate. Alan Gow often bangs on about more chances to see the cars, at which point I want to ask him why they don't just run on the many quarter-mile ovals that are up and down the country...

The full Oulton circuit and the Silverstone GP layout used to be fine for the BTCC in the earlier Super Touring years. What's so different now? Surely it's not that many of its spectators and viewers just want to see loads of contact and nothing more?

[Bezza]

The full Oulton circuit and the Silverstone GP layout used to be fine for the BTCC in the earlier Super Touring years. What's so different now? Surely it's not that many of its spectators and viewers just want to see loads of contact and nothing more?

I know what you mean. It is such a shame that spectators don't get to see the cars at Oulton struggling round the two best corners. Druids, which is an awesome corner, has no spectator viewing. Knickerbrook is now a dull chicane. In my eyes, unless they bring in the Fosters circuit again, they need to rejig the track. Move the chicane further away from Knickerbook and allow that corner to be taken at reasonable speed again. It doesn't need to be pre-1991 danger level, but faster would be better. At the moment it is a shadow of the track it once was. Safety has come on leaps and bounds since 1991 so I see no need for the chicane to be so close to the corner thesedays.