Response to my previous thread

[TheGazMan]

This is in response to my previous post....

In my opinion this series should be moving forward year upon year, yet on track this season it doesn't appear as if it is going to.

We have a fabulous TV deal and yes I'm sure the action will be great but I can't help but feel that the prestige of the series and the draw of the better/top line drivers is being lost.

We've lost Anthony Reid, Rob Huff, James Thompson from the series and these havn't been replaced by equally talented drivers. I mean I welcome the new drivers to the championship but guys like Curley, Proctor and co can't hold up against the names above.

The thing that worries me most is budgets. Guys...even ones such as Reidy just can't raise them. You've talented guys like Danny Buxton, Paul Rivett, Jonathan Adam, Gordon Shedden etc all more than capable of running at the front of the BTCC series yet they can't raise a budget. Now I don't know what a BTC budget is exactly but if 25 guys can raise a 400k plus budget for a seaon of Brit F3 (which has nowhere near the same promotion and coverage) I can't see how so many drivers are struggling to raise a budget for a series such as the BTCC. The cars and teams are out there yet the budgets can't be raised...this must worry you?

Apart from the manufacturer entrants and perhaps Team Dynamics the series is starting to become overun with ameteur drivers and the next Plato's, Muller's, Menu's etc in the form of the young drivers I've mentioned above are missing out.

By no means am I criticising the excellent work your doing but I feel long term the quality of the championship is beginning and will continue to suffer....

[Alan Gow]

Just a couple of points worth thinking about;

1. All the "known" drivers, started off as "unknowns". Who really knew of Alain Menu before he got his break in the BTCC...or James Thompson...or Rob Huff...or Anthony Reid etc? As touring car drivers, they came into our series as virtual unknowns and become well known from there. The same thing happens with the new guys coming through.

2. Bad example you gave regarding British F3. They do not have 25 guys with those sort of budgets at all. In fact their top class has only 14 entries this year...which one of the lowest number on record. The rest are from "Class B" (which is a lot cheaper).

Budgets are always a problem in the upper-end of motor sport. This year has been particularly difficult as virtually every "professional" domestic race/rally championship is suffering the same problem; their entry levels are down because budgets have been hard to find.

The BTCC is cheaper to compete in than it was 10 years ago. So it's value-for-money/exposure ratio is the best around and certainly better than it ever was. People are amazed at how cost effective it is (for both manufacturers and independents).

However if funding is tight (in all aspects of the sport) as it demonstrably is at the moment, then there is little anyone can do about it. It happens from time to time in all types of sport and business; you just have to ride it out and continue to deliver the very best program that you can.

We have new manufacturers and teams who have concrete plans to enter the championship in the near future. I am privy to that sort of information and if you were too, then I doubt you would be expressing the concerns you have.

And finally....you say that "on track" it appears we have not moved forward. I'm not sure how anyone can say that until they have actually witnessed the quality of the racing. And, after all, it's the quality of the racing that is the most important element.