Whatever happened to this place?

[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.