The first post - a lot of random news and pictures from Snetterton

And here it is, the first post on this all things touring car inspired blog.
I've been procrastinating about doing this for a while and I've finally finished watching the Knockhill highlights and got to the computer.

We're more than half way through the BTCC season and so much has happened. The championship is still wide open, the teams are still developing.We lost one driver at the beginning of the season so he could "ahem" concentrate on his son's karting career (nothing to do with money at all), we lost another at Knockhill over medical concerns (hope your back gets better soon Michael Caine) and for the second race running our resident actor (Kelvin Fletcher of Emmerdale) is being subbed by Dave Newsham while he waits for a baby with bad timing.

Then we get to the racing.

Hunter was very lucky but the ITV cameraman was luckier still. He only suffered a bruised knee but it could have been far worse. We noted that at Knockhill there was more protection around the camera towers but the chances of it happening again are (thankfully) very slim.

This was the one that caused the most damage though and has raised the boys and girls at Welchmotorsport/Goodestone racing to hero status. Dan Welch's Proton "Optimus" was turned around and smashed so badly the chassis looked liked it was attacked with a giant can opener.

In happier news, once the fantastic marshals got the damage cleared away from the aborted race 3 start, Handy Motorsport were ecstatic when Rob Austin came home in a superb 3rd place to give the team their first podium.

But why am I talking about Snetterton when we've just had the Knockhill race?
Because everyone is still talking about the implications of this weekend.

There were cars rebuilt and rebuilt again, drivers miraculously avoiding serious injury, bystanders lucky to avoid injury themselves and TOCA putting their foot down and strengthening rules allowing harsher penalties for bad driving. Plenty of drivers had hissy fits too, many dummies were spat out of team liveried prams some far too publicly over social media.

This was just one weekend. Every race weekend has it's own controversy, whether you are in the teams or fans around the circuit there is guaranteed to be something going on.
If you think watching from your living room (as a Home Unit) gives you everything you need to know about the racing, believe me it doesn't. ITV tries, but there is so much happening you just can't catch it all on camera. If you love the cars and want to see them up close, buy your tickets and walk around the Paddock, take a look into the garages and talk to the teams. The only circuit with restricted Paddock access is Brands Hatch (just because access is so hard for so many people) and you will often rub shoulders with the drivers as they go about their business.

Don't forget to "Bow to the Gow" as he does a final checking lap of the circuit in his Porche Panamera. Doff your branded cap as he drives by.
Then get into the spirit of fun with a dance and a cheer as the race cars roll by on the green flag lap.