Ga

[lauz]

have they confirmed who will be driving their touring astras yet.

[cos]

Not yet - the smart money is on Gavin Pyper and possibly Gareth Howell.

[lauz]

it would be good to see gavin in the touring class. i think that if he and muller got together on the track then there could be an interesting battle. obviously scotland would win

[The Stig]

With the utmost respect Lauz, Scotland is presently a far better proposal that France.

[thommo_fan]

i think its fair to expect gavin to be one of the astra's, and howell does seem a strong favourite for the second seat but what about aaron slight?
wasn't he being linked with GA, it would be sad not to see slight on the btcc grid at mondello.

[Insider]

Both Pyper and Howell are struggling for the money. Highly unlikely you will see Howell in a GA Astra.

[cav1995]

Maybe Howell will get the third MG later in the season.

[Claire]

If both Gavin and Gareth are struggling for budget who does that leave for the seats? Aaron is a possibilty, this could turn out to be quite interesing. With regards the 3rd MG hopefully we will see Colin Turkington out in that.
I guess we will have to see who is in what car at Media Day.
:confused:

[Rob]

Originally posted by Claire
If both Gavin and Gareth are struggling for budget who does that leave for the seats? Aaron is a possibilty, this could turn out to be quite interesing. With regards the 3rd MG hopefully we will see Colin Turkington out in that.
I guess we will have to see who is in what car at Media Day.
:confused:

its so crap that who gets seats depends on the size of thier $$$$$$$ bank account. we'd have a good championship with all the outcasts from the last few years put together.

[John]

Originally posted by Rob
its so crap that who gets seats depends on the size of thier $$$$$$$ bank account. we'd have a good championship with all the outcasts from the last few years put together.

EXACTLY!!!!!

Unfortunately its the way of the world at the moment :( :mad:

[Alan]

Not so much the size of their bank account as how many people (companies usually) they can persuade to part with some of their cash.

That will be a very hard job at present and I don't envy them one little bit.

Gaining appropriate amounts of sponsorship is as much a part of being a racing driver (at many levels) now as being able to pedal a car quickly. May not be the way we would like it but the way of the world as John pointed out.

[Reynard]

Alan is, of course right in that respect. Being a racing driver is not just down to outright ability - it also depends on the financial package that you can put together.

In teams where budget is an issue, they are much more likely to choose a driver who can bring a reasonable amount of finance from a company that can actually cough up the goods. Sometimes the pressure is such that driving ability doesn't really come into it at all, such is the pressure of teams to find the right sort of money needed to compete at their chosen level.

In times of economic hardship and times where the attention of the commercial institutions are turned elsewhere, sports that require large amounts of money to survive - such as motor racing - are among the first to suffer. As a result, getting the right sort of finance in order to obtain a competetive drive is that much harder, no matter the ability of the driver in question.

Touring cars aside, you only need to look at F1 to see this policy in action. How many times have we seen good drivers bypassed for mediocrity for the simple sake of money? How many good drivers have we seen pass into obscurity for the simple lack of cash?

Ten, fifteen years ago, it was much easier to put a good driver in a good car irrespective of money required to do so, as the money being spent in the sport was not a patch on the current financial levels. Drivers achieved more with less, particularly as technocogy was not such a "must have" and as a result it was easier to be competitive.

Why do you think that such a meal is being made over cost-cutting measures in F1 and even in BTCC? (And it is always the bigger teams that make the most noise...)

The top teams are used to benefitting in terms of technology and competitiveness as a result of the financial davantage that they have over smaller teams and they are loath to give that up. In turn, the smaller teams' objective is to get the biggest budget that is open to them so that they can aquire the technology and car preparation that the bigger teams just about take for granted.

This means that more often than not, a small team will rather employ the driver with the most attractive budget but a lesser ability, not the one with the best ability but a far smaller financial package.

That's the way it goes, unfortunately.

[The Stig]

How much more could the administrators of the BTCC do to lessen the burden to some of the teams ? Consider the way F1 has introduced changes which at a stroke appear to have increased the spectacle and made an honest attempt to curtail costs. Don't believe BTCC team managers/owners have that arrogant attitude of Ron Dennis or Sir Frank Williams. Think Paul Stoddart and his ilk are like a breath of fresh air in that regard.
Does British Touring cars have a "Piranha Club" ??

[Alan]

I don't think we should go there Stig!;)

I certainly can't see Mike Nicholson being in there - far too nice a guy.

The changes to the current "breed" of cars were of course made largely to reduce costs - and as I understand this was generally effective.