Dan Cammish’s shock split from Team Dynamics, just two months before the start of the 2021 British Touring Car Championship, turned out to be a precursor to what most had already started to fear: Honda UK has withdrawn its factory interest in the BTCC.
Reading between the lines of the original statement issued by Dynamics around the Cammish split, it was clear neither party wanted this and that bigger-picture news was in the offing. The split was motivated by financial pressures and confirmation has now followed: Honda is pulling the plug on its long-standing support for this stalwart team. Without that backing, it’s now obvious why Cammish could not be retained.
The Dynamics Civic Type-R is among the best cars on the grid, but in a year when model production is due to cease in Swindon, the benefits of works representation in the BTCC has dwindled for Honda – even at a time when the series is back to its best.
Make no mistake, losing the prestige and gelt of Honda’s presence is a blow to the series. But manufacturers come and go from motor racing, as BTCC boss Alan Gow knows from long experience. That’s why he’s built a set of technical regulations that are Teflon-coated to boardroom red pens. It’s a loss, but the series has suffered and survived much more.
The move is potentially more severe for Dynamics, although there has been good news for the squad in its signing of three-time champion Gordon Shedden, who returns to the team after a largely disappointing spell in the World Touring Car Cup, and Dan Rowbottom. The latter brings a big financial package in the form of a "multi-year partnership" between his sponsor Cataclean and long-time Dynamics backer Halfords.
It only serves to illustrate just how reliant even the biggest squads are on drivers who can bring budget. That doesn’t necessarily mean a loss of competitiveness - most drivers, bar Colin Turkington and reigning champion Ash Sutton, bring money to teams – but it certainly brings an extra layer of pressure to Dynamics’ season.
As for Cammish, instead of looking forward to his fourth season in the BTCC and another tilt at the title, he’s been left high and dry. If it was October instead of March another BTCC team might have a deal for the 31-year-old. It will be harder to find a berth elsewhere in time for Thruxton on the first weekend of May. So how about a return to the Porsche Carrera Cup with his former team Redline Racing? The two-time champion versus highly- rated Harry King in Team Parker’s entry would be a duel to savour, but it hardly represents the career progression Cammish would be looking for. He deserves better.
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I consider myself an enthusiast, but frankly I can hardly tell which cars are which with all the livery and aerodynamic bits. But I know that with all the control parts, they are all essentially the same anyway - except of course some have added weight as a result of previous success, and cars starting at the front are not always the fastest.
If the BTCC was a group N series with showroom spec hot hatchbacks where the fastest win, then I would take the rouble to watch it. Even if there were few accidents and not much overtaking.
Lets be honest, what percentage of Hondas car is actually Honda, and what percentage are stock parts that must be used by everyone, BTCC is a joke.
I am not surprised. Never saw what this expense did for Honda's image or desirability.
Just a big black hole on the P&L sheet for a company which is struggling.
Going to be seeing more of this as manufacturers have woken up to the fact nobody watches and nobody cares. Better off sponsoring sport - a footy team or tennis tournament, for example.
LOL, so funny, after F1 it is the biggest Motorsport in the UK, and watched by millions, it has had biger and bigger viewing figures since ITV has been showing it live, and attendance at venues has increased 5 fold over the last few years, you idiotic comment "better of sponsoring sport" ummm, it is sport, MOTOR SPORT, and why would they sponsor something that would only have a name attached to it as opposed to utlising its actual products, on TV, with hours worth of free advertising, not to mention the Kudos it gives in having a successful teamBTCC is IMHO a better Motorsport than even F1, it has better drivers, more action, more incidents and just over all a far superior even all round. I suggest you actually look at its figures, before saying silly things which are so easily disproved.
JonBoy, the trouble with your argument is.....that despite your correct assertion that many people watch BTCC, it hasnt done a thing for Honda's image or sales figures. They are still seen as primarily a blue rinse brigade vehicle!
And that my friend is the whole reason for Car manufacturers spending horrific sums of money on this glorified banger racing - arguably with the lowest standards of driving this side of Banger racing where the actual aim is to trash the cars.
The 'Free' advertising you elude to (have you actually seen how many millions a season costs for a two car team - hardly free then), is only any good if it translates into more sales....otherwise it is purely an ego trip that Honda can ill afford. Hondas sales meanwhile are dwindling, raising the question of whether they will survive in the UK or even Europe.
Look at the Subaru Levorg....around 500 sold last year - not in the UK....that figure covers the whole of Europe!! At least half of those are probably demonstrators! So BTCC has really raised their profile then.
BTCC has beome so divorced from reality that they seem to have forgotten the whole point of Motor Sport (to sell more vehicles), they dont even mention the Brand in the team name in most of the teams.....I mean 'Team Halfords Yuasa' what does that mean to a casual observer - bicycles and batteries yes, but Honda....?
LOL indeed! Putting 'sport' on the end of a word doesn't make it a sport.
Total (likely optimistic) attendance figures for the 2018 BTCC season? 420,000! Wowee! Do you know how many people attend the Australian Open, held over two weeks? 800,000+. Do you know how many people attend the AFL grand final? Hell, even a normal AFL weekend? Or, in your country, EPL?
In Australia people chat about the footy on a monday morning, in every office I've ever worked in. I've never heard anybody chatting about F1 or touring cars.
It's not sport, it's maketing trying to be entertaining. It's boring as batshit to the majority of the popualtion. Get over it.