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Long time I didn't watch the whole races of a weekend for BTCC and... wow! Amazing races!

Great pics! You must have been sat fairly near me - I was in the Paddock Hill grandstand too and saw that from pretty much the same angle.

Well, it's true. BTCC can hardly be called professional compared to WTCC or DTM. You'll get no argument from me that BTCC is a far better series than both of those, but it certainly isn't professional in any way. The drivers spend half the time beating on each other, the series is completely inconsistent in how it applies the rules, and sometimes it feels as though they encourage poor driving standards to increase the excitement.

However does BTCC pretend to be professional? Not in the slightest. BTCC knows what it's good at, and knows what it's doing. It isn't pretending to be a high brow awesome standards series that is the top of the touring car/tin top ladder. So if anyone says that BTCC wasn't as professional as WTCC, then they are right. But if anyone says WTCC was more entertaining than BTCC, then they were most likely wrong.

Different series set out with different goals, and despite using the same cars, BTCC is not aiming for the same ground as WTCC. They are surprisingly different series, and should be treated as such.

It's the same reason banger racing at your local stock car oval will be brilliantly entertaining, but not professional. But if F1 was run like banger racing, then we'd all be pissed off at how crap it suddenly became.

Exactly Dave. But as race fans, you'll find very few people who prefer WTCC to BTCC, irrespective of the professionalism. What exactly is the difference? In WTCC you have a few top teams and a lot of privateers; isn't that what BTCC is?

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Dan Wheldon | 1978 - 2011

Well you'd never seen Thorne turning up in WTCC and spinning on the formation lap, and under SC, in the same weekend. You wouldn't even see Rob "I'm a legend" Austin turning up and drifting his Audi around every corner, whilst having more body roll than the QE2.

The fact MG were able to turn up to Brands with a car that had only ever turned 10 laps and fight for the victory, regardless of the driver, shows the level that BTCC is currently at. I don't mean that in a negative way, because BTCC has found a sweet spot with its current state and none of us want it to change. But anyone claiming it's even remotely professional is kidding themselves.

Oh of course, but we know how slick an operation Triple 8 is. Look where Neate was. When Arena arrived with the Ford they were awful for half a season, so you can't just rock up and win every time.

I agree with you, but people who rubbish the BTCC and praise the WTCC needs their head checked. I think part of the reason WTCC loses out is they just go to the wrong circuits.

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Dan Wheldon | 1978 - 2011

Looks like Thorney have lost a sponsor. They were claiming Thorney had removed their logo from the sunvisor but Thorney have proved otherwise.

Shame there are such shifty sponsors out there. They're the ones helping drivers lose their seats.

Its just the snobbery that's involved when people start comparing the BTCC to other series that gets to me...

Ben C wasn't really arguing that the BTCC is less professional than other series, he was just clutching at any straw he could to do the BTCC down and boost the WTCC.

I'd much rather have the everyman drivers in the series than the more robotic and boring WTCC "professional" drivers.
Its as if they were arguing that if you don't get paid to go racing you shouldn't be on track, which is just nonsense and patronising of the highest order.

The BTCC is a great series but it seems there are those out there that love to get on their high horse about it for whatever reason that suits them.
A glance over at the Marshals forum of Ten-Tenths (or even T-T as a whole) shows this too...

Its almost like as soon as a series has a higher ratio of side by side racing (and yes, when there's more overtaking going on, it is just inevitable that not all those moves will come off and end in contact) people enjoy decrying it in favour of their own preferred championships that can't hold a candle to the quality of racing you get in the BTCC

Oh well, I've surprised you all, today's rant isn't about Plato after all, merely BTCC snobbery in general!

(He's still a dick tho )

On another note, it had to turn up eventually, here's the first one so far:

[youtubeidiot]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pTT9xYjMig&feature=plcp&context=C426a0c2VDvjVQa1PpcFPLgIup3TXne3Q82YRmSifWsG6j1S7mo1I%3D[/youtubeidiot]

Hopefully better angles will turn up eventually.

Remember when BTCC seemed to be immune from flips?

And here is an on-board from Mike Bushel from the big Clio crash:

[youtubeidiot]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LgdmbY3gJ0&feature=g-u-u&context=G2e7fc21FUAAAAAAACAA[/youtubeidiot]

Thanks for the videos.

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BTCC Pick Em's Champion 2010
Formula Fun Cup Champion 2013
http://www.the-fastlane.co.uk

Spot on. In the 1994-1998ish era when every manufacturer wanted to be in the BTCC above any other touring car series on the world and the best drivers came from all over the racing globe - it was professional. But then Super Touring ended, the truly abysmal cars of 2001 were introduced and it's been a high level pro-am national series ever since.

That's no bad thing. Times changed, the manufacturers and top class drivers just aren't around any more so (with the best respect in the world) drivers like Paul O'Neill and Dave Newsham (who likely would never achieve too much on the world stage) have managed to make surprising progress to the front. Talented but never world class drivers like Neal and Plato have dominated for years.

I don't care that the BTCC isn't a "professional" series as such - it's just wicked entertaining. I made a point of always getting to Khill to see it and am delighted to have raced on the support bill for the series.

Besides, if being "professional" means you're as skull crushingly boring as WTCC and *spit* DTM, then give me clubman stuff every time.

The only thing that makes WTCC "professional" is the level of manufacturer cash in the series, and the level the FIA is willing to be swayed by those manufacturers. Manufacturer support at the level Seat and Chevy has brought it, and the emphasis on teams rather than drivers has ruined the competition in WTCC and brought it to DTM levels of boredom, and BTCC is far better off without it. Professionalism or whatever word you choose to describe what WTCC is, IMO BTCC is what touring car racing should aim to be.

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Seems Collard was given three points on his licence and a £500 fine for his doughnuts

Whaaaaaat? Who gave him those points, Max Mosely?

Some (not very good) photos from Sunday. Currently uploading amateurish vids to youtube.

I'm still bright red.

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Check out the Touring Car Driver Database! (if you'd be so kind)
Motorsport playlists on YouTube

I'm sure Collard doesn't care though. £500 and a few points was probably well worth it.

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BTCC Pick Em's Champion 2010
Formula Fun Cup Champion 2013
http://www.the-fastlane.co.uk

Was he fined for the worst Donut ever, bit harsh if you ask me, but worth the effort.

When Scottish Legends were on the support at Khill in 2007 we were the last race on the Sunday and as a big crowd had stayed to watch, people like Jon Jon Higgins and Dave Newsham were doing loads of donuts on the slowdown lap (guys like me didn't - couldn't afford the engine rebuild!) Word afterwards was that the BARC (who run the touring car meetings) were pretty annoyed about it bringing down the tone of the meeting or something.

I applaud Collard for doing it and hope he does it again - British racing could so with being less stuffy.

[youtubeidiot]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6FSEuUWPPA[/youtubeidiot]