BTCC NGTC
having to go through the whole front and rear subframes listing what was needed. I thought that some guy with CAD could simply print it out. Getting hold of parts at races was also problematic, and we could not always get the components we needed if we wanted to change the set up.’ As with any new enterprise, it should not come as a surprise that there were teething problems, though some were truly elementary, such as incorrectly labelled connections on the supplied wiring loom. However, it should be noted that, as the season progressed, the procurement processes in place improved and access to data such as technical drawings improved.
EXTRA TESTING To aid the teams running the new generation cars, the governing body allowed additional testing at each of the circuits where the series raced, providing the competitors with some much needed development time. But this process was not met with universal approval by the established teams still running S2000-specification cars. ‘We were getting complaints from other teams – “If they can go testing for two days, why can’t we?” – and it’s possible that the extra testing artificially inflated the cars’ performance in relation to those who didn’t test,’ admits Peter Riches, technical director at the BTCC. ‘They then say, “Well, they only beat us because they came here testing and we have not been allowed to.” I think this explains the drop off [in NGTC performance] towards the end of the season at Brands and Silverstone, after the testing was removed.’ Despite this extended
testing allowance, some of the teams still struggled to find a consistent set up. But then the NGTC specifications were never intended to provide a quick route to a front-running car: ‘I think at times they were left swimming in a sea they did not know the way out of, but Touring Cars is not designed to be easy,’ says Riches. ‘Sometimes they needed to sit back and think, and not work on the principal that they know better than the car designer. We
Teams running the New Generation cars were accused as having an advantage thanks to extra testing, which was subsequently removed
but it soon became apparent that changing a racer’s mindset can prove tricky: ‘There were a few occasions where people seemed to think, “We’ve found something that nobody else is going to find and won’t tell TOCA”. But that doesn’t help the development. They have to play for the good of everybody,’ highlights Riches. ‘Given that we were relatively lax on what we would let them try, we had to clamp down on that when they stopped telling us what they were trying, on the basis that potentially they were running outside the rules. Maybe there was a better set up outside the rules which, if they had shared it with everybody, we could have said okay to, and modified the parts accordingly. Then the set up could be better.’ Despite these issues, the
Team Dynojet stepped up to the British Touring Car Championship with Toyota, and had to work hard to meet the technical challenges ahead
had some fairly weird set ups on the cars that did not make much logical sense. But it is not our place to tell them how to set their cars up.’
This all certainly rings true
with Welch: ‘At times the car felt undriveable. At the limit it was not progressive and, when it went, there was no catching it.’ Fortunately, most of the teams now have a deep enough
‘That is how it should be. It’s not a Clio Cup car, or a Ginetta. You are given something that you can tune into a car. Obviously it’s not easy, and that’s the way it should be. Having said that, we had very few issues with the chassis, and when we initially ran it, the times were encouraging. As far as I’m concerned, the car was very close as it was built and it was really just a case of dialling it in.’
“there is still a lot of emphasis on the team’s engineering resources”
understanding of their respective chassis that this is no longer the case. More to the point, several accept that Touring Cars should be a challenge, and a step up from the one-make series they may have competed in previously. ‘What you have to realise is that you are buying a Touring Car kit, so there is still a lot of emphasis on the team’s engineering resources,’ says Frank Wrathall sr, owner of the Dynojet team.
46
www.racecar-engineering.com • February 2012 The teams also needed to
keep in mind the fact that 2011 was a development season for the new cars. This meant they had to go against the usual racers’ instinct of keeping any performance advantage a secret. Initially, TOCA were willing to let teams push the boundaries of what they could run within the rules, recognising that developments could be beneficial to the programme as a whole,
relationship between the new teams and TOCA has still been a productive one, with TOCA receiving and responding to feedback. ‘TOCA have been unbelievable. They could not have been better in the way they have responded to issues we have found,’ states Wrathall enthusiastically.
RESOUNDING SUCCESS There is no doubt that the new TOCA-spec engine has proved a resounding success, and the turbocharged 2.0-litre formula looks set to stay. Ultimately, producing in the region of 300bhp, reliably, from an engine of this size leads to a relatively low stressed unit, and many teams who have adopted the new motor have also seen considerable reductions in running costs. Teams can choose to use
either a TOCA-supplied engine, produced by Swindon Race Engines, or develop their own unit to TOCA’s specification. While a number of teams have opted to run the former, in both S2000 and NGTC cars, several chose to develop their own units, with varying degrees of success. Wrathall admits that deciding
to run with a development of Toyota’s 2.0-litre engine, compared to using the TOCA- supplied engine, produced more issues than the team would have liked during its first season: ‘We
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