Any ideas on Martin Johnson car for 2011?

[CarsCarsCars]

Today (at Rockingham) he said that next year he might have a new car and possibly a team mate.
Any ideas what car he might drive? (I know this is very early but someone may have heard something)

[Pato]

Maybe an ex-Arkas Astra sport hatch?

[LeeCS]

Maybe an ex-Arkas Astra sport hatch?

im sure Thorney motorsport bought those Astras....

[redshoes]

Thorney were going to buy the Sports Hatches but had to back out of the deal when a sponsor pulled out.

Unless there's a last minute rule change by TOCA the BTCT-spec cars will no longer be allowed from the end of this year so continuing with the Astra Coupe is not an option. At this point I doubt even Martin knows what he'll be driving next year. It will depend on what cars are available and at what price come the off-season.

[snetty_boy]

If the funds could be found, a vectra would be my bet.

Under the new rules i thought the btc spec cars were being phased out this year and that the sport hatch astra's were btc spec :confused:

[jason.lynn]

Could he replace my mate John george at team sunshine ?

[Stitch]

Don't mind, but I wish him the absolute best. met him at Knockhill and in Edinburgh at the promo street race thing. Incredibly down to earth guy, some great tales...

Nice to see him mixing it up today as well. I couldn't watch the races but I did see him right up there in the top ten in one of them...

[Daz-NCFC]

He is a top top bloke, who I chat to very regularly at BTCC events. Very friendly, and best wishes to him with everything, I love his team, all of them are such great people to talk to. Hope he gets more points finishes and an even better car for 2011 :D

[VR6Steve]

He has done an incredible job in my opinion in what must be a 9 year or so old car?

I guess it will depend how deep his pockets are over the closed season as to what we see him in next year.

I guess with the new regs impending, it something he needs to try a get right 1st time?

[mike_bax]

New regs coming in fully next year, I reckon if he can't pick up a Vectra (or something similar) which I guess could be "rebuilt" to NGTC spec, he might go for the TOCA customer car

[Stitch]

New regs coming in fully next year, I reckon if he can't pick up a Vectra (or something similar) which I guess could be "rebuilt" to NGTC spec, he might go for the TOCA customer car

What's the TOCA customer car? Not heard of that. :/

[603270466]

Who knows. I hope he gets adecet car, and a decent drive for next season. It'll be interesting to see how quick he is in up to date machinery after showing good pace in a 10 year old car!!

But he's a top chap. When we were stodd awaiting our turn in the pit lane walkabout, he was telling every kid "see these people next to me, they help me all the time, make sure you help other people too" It's great to see Martin giving advice to young kids, but he's got time for every single person that comes up to see him. He was overjoyed about his best ever result too :D He got a loud cheer at the end of race 3

[aylesburyape]

Might be a Cavalier?

[CarsCarsCars]

Might be a Cavalier?

They dont make those now do they?
So they wont be allowed under the new regulations.

[Reidy_fan]

i reckon he will go for a vectra, he has done far better in BTCC than he did in clios and has wrung the astra dry. as others have said he is one top bloke who deserves every bit of success.

could his name be on the fans trophy this year?????

[timmyrose]

think he might be joking bout the Cavalier our kid. that stopped production in 1996 and was replaced by the vectra, which has been replaced by the insignia.

i would love to see him get hold of a vectra, top bloke

[aylesburyape]

Hes certainly shown that if he gets a crack in a decent car hes a capable enough driver to get some decent points.

[mike_bax]

What's the TOCA customer car? Not heard of that. :/



http://www.btcc.net/html/generalnews_detail.php?id=1875&month=0&year=2010&form=&searchterm=

[team freebie]

I assume that Martin if he went for the customer car would pick a car and thats the shell they would build it from? If thats the case it wont be a Vectra as its no longer on sale through the dealer network and the new regs say
"Base vehicle must be freely on sale in the UK through the manufacturers normal dealer network"

[Stitch]

http://www.btcc.net/html/generalnews_detail.php?id=1875&month=0&year=2010&form=&searchterm=

Thanks you!

[redshoes]

http://www.btcc.net/html/generalnews_detail.php?id=1875&month=0&year=2010&form=&searchterm=

That's just a proof-of-concept prototype, there's no such thing as a TOCA customer car. There will be a TOCA-badged engine (as already used by Pinkney and Jordan) but teams still need to build their own chassis.

[team freebie]

That's just a proof-of-concept prototype, there's no such thing as a TOCA customer car. There will be a TOCA-badged engine (as already used by Pinkney and Jordan) but teams still need to build their own chassis.

I think it will be a bit more than just an engine. Complete cars without engine are listed as costing £100k + or - 5% and an engine at £25k there is also to be a full prototype which will take part in the qualifying at the last meeting of the season, but it doesnt say what the bodyshell will be.
From what I can gather GPR can build you a complete car to your requirements you just pick the bodyshell its going to wear.

Of course Martin could run an S2000 car until 2013 instead.

[Stitch]

It's a shame Lada don't sell over here, would love to see one in the championship! :D

[redshoes]

I think it will be a bit more than just an engine. Complete cars without engine are listed as costing £100k + or - 5% and an engine at £25k there is also to be a full prototype which will take part in the qualifying at the last meeting of the season, but it doesnt say what the bodyshell will be.
From what I can gather GPR can build you a complete car to your requirements you just pick the bodyshell its going to wear.
TOCA will not be selling cars. £100K is the projected cost for a team to build a new car.

GPR will be the single source supplier for the common components only, i.e. front/rear subframes/suspension. They have not been commissioned to build customer cars, and I would be very surprised if they were allowed to.

The car will will take part in the free practice sessions at Brands, not qualifying.

[team freebie]

TOCA will not be selling cars. £100K is the projected cost for a team to build a new car.

GPR will be the single source supplier for the common components only, i.e. front/rear subframes/suspension. They have not been commissioned to build customer cars, and I would be very surprised if they were allowed to.

The car will will take part in the free practice sessions at Brands, not qualifying.

Yeah practice sesionwas what I meant to say not qualifying:o

I took it that as the news article mentioned the following "In-house capabilities include CAD design, engineering, machining, fabrication, manufacturing, vehicle assembly, vehicle set-up and testing." they would be offering that service as part of the deal.

I couldnt see the likes of 888 WSR Motorbase Dynamics etc needing their services but thought it was maybe aimed at the privateers and those without the budget and facilities of the biger teams.

Pure supposition & conjecture on my part;)

[Mondeo2]

I couldnt see the likes of 888 WSR Motorbase Dynamics etc needing their services but thought it was maybe aimed at the privateers and those without the budget and facilities of the biger teams.

Pure supposition & conjecture on my part;)
The idea of the new regs. is that whetehr the team is big or small the build costs would be the same. Of course smaller teams may not have the facilities to build their own cars but I'm fairly sure I read that the idea was for smaller teams to be able to buy cars from bigger teams who were building their own. That way small teams could be running upto date machinery if they have the funds instead of running last years etc.

[redshoes]

I took it that as the news article mentioned the following "In-house capabilities include CAD design, engineering, machining, fabrication, manufacturing, vehicle assembly, vehicle set-up and testing." they would be offering that service as part of the deal.
That's PR-speak for "they are very experienced even though you've probably never heard of them before"

In an ideal world some of the more experienced teams and/or engineering companies would build cars to order, in much the same way as Triple Eight had planned to build/sell GT4 Jaguars this year. In practice I'm not expecting to see that happen for a couple of years, if at all.

[obsessivecompulsive2]

Whatever Martin chooses or can afford to run,i wish the guy all the very best,for this season and the next..............i just love watching that guy come from almost nowhere and get himself up in the top 10.

Still yet to meet and talk to him,and judging from the comments on here,i'm looking forward to it!;)

[Ben @ AmD Essex]

Whatever Martin chooses or can afford to run,i wish the guy all the very best,for this season and the next..............i just love watching that guy come from almost nowhere and get himself up in the top 10.

Still yet to meet and talk to him,and judging from the comments on here,i'm looking forward to it!;)

Martin is a genuinley nice guy. Had him at work today for a re-map on his RS6. :)

[soperfan]

I met Martin for the first time at Thruxton this year and couldn't agree more with all the comments on here. He is a top bloke who seems to have time for everybody. My lads were there to se their heros Plato and Jackson but after meeting and talking to Martin were giving him a cheer in the races too.

Love to see him continue in something half decent next year.