Heroes & Villains - WTCC Marrakech

A new blog post we will try to do after each FIA WTCC round, that highlights our winners and losers from each race meeting. Be that drivers, teams, tracks or officials, there's nowhere to hide from The Wastegate's WTCC Heroes & Villains. We start with the 2013 Morocco round of the World Touring Car Championship in Marrakech.

Heroes

Pepe Oriola

His first race victory in the WTCC. Not only that, but he defended like a demon, showing 100% commitment to keep the two RML Chevrolet's of Muller and Chilton at bay. Well done Pepe.

Michel Nykjaer

Another first time WTCC winner. It takes real guts to overtake a determined Gabrielle Tarquini. A long time coming for Michel, however. Quick in the Seat in the years gone by, but never lucky. Now he has the car of choice and an ex-Chevy Sweden works team behind him. Maybe now people will take notice of the quiet Dane.

Villains

The F.I.A

We all know that the Marrakech track is a but rubbish. This year it actually gave some very exciting races, but safety, high curbs and concrete walls were all major concerns. It seems the WTCC goes there because there is money, which is fine, to a degree. This year matters seem to have come to a head. We'll see if the WTCC returns in 2014.

The Blue Flag Company

For seemingly forgetting to produce any blue flags. Home driver or not, how Mehdi Bennani was able to drive around at the front of the pack despite being a lap down, was a joke.

Tom Chilton

Driving into the back of team mate Muller in Race 1 and having to retire. Trying to overtake Muller in Race 2 at an impossible part of the track. Getting past Nash in Race 2 using a braille technique. Tom can keep up with Yvan this year and is in the best possible position to do so with a top car and a great team, but a shabby showing in Morocco.

PR or not to PR

In a world where less manufacturers enter motorsport to try and cut costs, Motorsport relies on sponsorship and big money deals to keep the drivers driving. So, it is only natural then that teams that do manage to get sponsorship deals or works drives, try to get value for their backers. A current tend at the moment is to blame parts of the car failing that the team hasn't made.

Picture the scene. You have millions of pounds of sponsors behind the racing team. Maybe you have a few company chiefs visiting the circuit and eating pasta in your hospitality tent. Then the car breaks down. Disappointingly so. The inevitable TV, trackside and website interviews happen, so what do you say? Clearly, your investors are number one priority.

See that wing flapping? Alan Gow's personal fault that is..

So, what has been said in the BTCC of late goes something along the lines of this. "Well, we showed strong pace in practice with the Morrison's Bargain Bananas Mazda so I was really looking forward to the race, I think we had a good shot at a podium. What a shame that one of the TOCA supplied common components, that the Morrison's Bargain Bananas team have nothing to do with at all, failed. It's something that we have no control over and something that we are forced to use, forced to use I say, so a real shame that our hands were tied" etc etc...

You see. Crisis avoided. Wasn't the teams fault, blame it on the regs. Sponsors happy. Or are they...? Here's the rub. Things break. Fairly often. Especially in racing. It is part of the game. I don't think anyone would really begrudge a team and their backers if once in a while the car broke down as fans expect it to happen a few times in a season. So firstly, to blame specific parts failures on the governing body so quickly puts everyone's back against the wall. You certainly wouldn't here something like "well, the Brembo brakes broke and we didn't make them so it's not our fault. Honest". There are thousands of components in a racing car, a lot of them made by outside companies. Do drivers signal out Xtrac by name every time there is a drivetrain problem? No, of course not.

But more prominent is that all this finger pointing is negative for the series and the set of NGTC regulations as a whole. These are newish rules. Most teams are new to the rules. Lets go to MG as a case study. At Croft, they had an electrical problem that appeared at the end of qualifying and for the first race of the day on one car. A certain driver was then understandably upset. In an interview it is fair to say that the TOCA supplied electrical components we heavily critised.Thus shifting blame from the team and hopefully pleasing the representatives of MG, who were visiting the race meeting from China. But, if you point the fingers at the TOCA parts, this is ultimately undermining the regulations and you could see the case of Tesco & MG thinking their money could be taken to another series. Mention TOCA parts and problems too many times and it damages the reputation of the series, potentially making it harder for sponsorship deals. Not just for your team, but others in the championship too.

Will impresses his sponsors

It is, of course, a hard line to balance. I'm not suggesting for a moment never to pass the buck, but there is a point where things could quite easily actually be a negative thing. On at least 3 occasions his year, the MG drivers have "passed the buck". A similar thing has happened (and arguably still happening) in IndyCar of late. It is clear to see that there are underlying problems with the cars, engines, regulations and governing body. But a public spat never, ever, helped anyone. Not the drivers, not the teams and not the championship. We all enjoy racing and a healthy debate is always interesting, but sometimes I wish the taste wasn't so bitter.

Social Networking In Motorsport - Yay Or Nay

Social Networking is ace. No two ways about it. I wouldn't be surprised if there were more Facebook accounts than people on earth.Consequently, this presented an opportunity for companies to promote their products and also sports personalities to interact with fans (and gain followers to promote themselves, to then show to potential sponsors and so on and so forth). When done correctly, Social Media can be a massive win, but there are many many pitfalls and missed opportunities.

This was ever meant to be a British Touring Car Championship BTCC focussed blog and it still isn't. But this series has adopted sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube so heavily of late, it would be churlish to look elsewhere as the teams, drivers and PR assistants all jump on the bandwagon to try and impress potential sponsors and increase fan following.

"Why Didn't You Reply To My Tweet?!"

There are any number of driver twitter accounts you can follow. Matt Jackson, Jason Plato, Dave Newsham, Gordon Shedden, Matt Neal etc etc. Not only that but teams, sponsors and staff have various account all related to the BTCC. In addition, there is an increasing number of BTCC related websites that have twitter accounts and also the writers and commentators can also be followed. If you follow them all (or at least most of them anyway) you can end up with a constant twitter feed, all some way relating to your favourite motorsport series. This is only a good thing for the championship as a whole. NASCAR being the prime example how how to do Twitter (even so far as having a #NASCAR Twitter TV advert. Article here).

And yet, there is still so much to learn. For instance, I simply couldn't fathom by Daniel Welch had not one, but two twitter accounts. I'm sure there must have been a reason behind it. I thought maybe one account was a personal day to day one, while the other was for racing only news. Yet I've seen both tweet about the racing and retweet each other. Confused, much? Thankfully, only one exists as I write this. Perhaps in the future one could be used by a team member to provide live race tweet updates, while the other is Dan himself.

Dave Tries To Tweet & Drive - Fails

One driver that has to be commended with his twitter use is Dave Newsham. He retweets positive messages from fans as a Quote, adding his own "thanks" or comment to the end. It shows he reads what the fans are saying and not only that, but takes time out of his day to do it. Social media is primarily used to build relationships and make things more personal. This is how to do it. I can just picture Dave with his feet up in his Scottish castle by a lake, with a roaring fire, a glass of whiskey and a vending machine, replying to tweets. (Probably not true, but you never know)

As for the other Team ES racing driver. Well, the number of tweets produced, the time taken to tweet and the personal touch are all commendable. But the danger with "out there" comments is that the community can take a slight turn against you. This is one of the many pitfalls. Recently a "Not Chris James" parody twitter account was set up, already amassing 200 followers

Aside from the obvious advantages and disadvantages (never tweet after drinks, no matter how tempting) there is still so much un-tapped potential for the BTCC online. A quick look at YouTube reveals many videos that receive thousands of views, ranging from classic John Cleland & Steve Soper crashes, all the way through to incidents from the latest round at Oulton Park. It is a great way to promote the sport, a fact that has only recently been picked up by the official BTCC.Net YouTube account. It now uploads an "official" highlights real of the previous rounds action. However, the potential is squandered by the time delay. Within hours of a race ending, loyal YouTube-ers have already uploaded the latest videos, so why would you watch it again 3 weeks later? Of course, there may be some agreement with ITV preventing such a thing from happening.

The only team that regularly posts videos is Honda Yuasa Racing. They are up to the minute (uploaded during race day with quick clips and interviews straight after a race) and show Honda PR activities during non-race weekends. This is great. However, while the quick clips that are clearly uploaded straight from a phone are speedy, it would be nice to see a proper feature video round up of the weekends action in addition. Tony Gilham has been leading the way in the respect, by first making a very professional looking video at Brands, followed by a hilarious "Go Hard" music video, which was not only funny but went hand in hand with one of his sponsors.

In fact, to get a lesson in the best YouTube accounts, you have to look to other touring car series. Tom Coronel in the WTCC has built up a large and loyal following by uploading 2 well produced YouTube videos per race weekend. A preview clip to give you a tour of the track with a qualifying report and then race highlights. The main draw is of course on-board race footage, which is shot using GoPro cameras. This is something that I would love to see in the BTCC. Once again, there may be TV rights issues to overcome, but anyone can see Coronel's videos as promotion for the series and a compliment to watching the live race coverage. It adds to the experience as opposed to loosing TV viewing figures. The BTCC live coverage does not use on-board shots and at times, action happening further down the pack can be missed. What better way to relieve a big Plato or Neal fightback through the field than an on-board video uploaded the following week? If there is an agreement that prevents teams from filming then it is short-sightedness on behalf of whoever made that decision.

Jan Flash - Watch My Videos, Now! (Or I'll start my own series..)

Another series that knew a trick of two was the STCC. Was being the operative word, as "Mr STCC" himself, Jan 'Flash' Nilsson has gone with some other teams and formed their own entire series, TTA. But, the point is, long before Mr Coronel made it popular, Flash and his team we doing videos for years (1.5million total views and counting). Be it race highlights, testing clips or interviews. What this enables is an audience outside of Sweden. I'd never heard of the Swedish Touring Car Championship until I stumbled across one of Flash's videos. The beauty is, people worldwide can watch even if there isn't TV coverage in their region. A series' popularity outside of the target nation may seem a little pointless, but an outside audience bolsters the championship's reputation.

Lastly, Facebook. This is something that the BTCC needs to look at and perhaps change the way it goes about things. Dunlop for instance have a great page, with regular BTCC ticket competitions. Mac Tools (a sponsor of Frank Wrathall) have set-up a page which is still in it's infancy, but provides race updates, pictures, general Mac Tools news and competitions. In this respect the Honda BTCC and eBay Motors BTCC pages are similarly well run. But, if you look at the individual driver pages, it's all wrong. First of all, the golden rule on Facebook is that your personal page should remain that way. I've added several BTCC drivers on Facebook, who use their personal profile for fans to "Friend". But it should be that they have a Facebook account for their own real-life friends and then a Facebook page for BTCC fans to then Like. For instance, do I really need to know Adam Morgan's relationship status? No, of course not, that's too personal for a fan to know. Also, Redstone Racing's page is still entitled "Airwaves Racing (Redstone)". This can and should be changed.

So, to summarise. Facebook Twitter and YouTube. Absolutely brilliant to raise the profile of the series, the teams, the sponsors and the drivers. But, please, sort it out BTCC


UPDATE: Prior to writing this post, I got word from Rob Austin on Twitter that filming is indeed prohibited on race weekends (with regards to in camera shots during races). Thus no on board footage allowed from the teams. (See here & here).

So I decided to ask the big man himself, Alan Gow, on the appropriately named "Questions For Alan Gow" forum thread on BTCC.net. My question and his response can be seen here (you may have to log in). Bit of a bullet dodging answer, perhaps I should have been more precise with the wording of my question as we all already know that "behind the scenes" items can be filmed. I was aiming for race action, and I did at least mention that. Sigh. Still, nice to get a response I guess. "BTCC teams are allowed (after first obtaining clearance) to film in the paddock, their garage, their awnings, their hospitality or suchlike at an event - in fact anywhere apart from, obviously, the on-track action" No kidding! And no, the forum won't allow me to respond any further.

The Jason Plato Sandwich - A Review

Little did we know, as fans of the BTCC, that Jason Plato's actual number one past time was not over-taking Matt Neal, flying helicopters nor drinking KX energy drinks (or was that a bottle of water I spotted at Oulton....?). No, it turns out our Plato loves a good sandwich. A self-proclaimed "King of Sandwiches" none the less.

Plato - On Sale Amongst The Ginsters

Available in Tesco fuel stations as part of the "exclusive" Deli range, the Jason Plato special is a ham and coleslaw sandwich. Nothing special there then apart from the added Jalapeno mayonnaise. I got it wrong anyway. This is not merely ham but Smoked Ham and not ordinary coleslaw but Crunchy Coleslaw. Not sure what that says about non-Jason Plato Tesco coleslaw if it isn't normally crunchy....

After an initial lag to the taste, about 10 seconds after the first bite, things soon spool up as the hot jalapeno mayonnaise soon smacks your taste buds with all the subtlety of a Plato love tap at Clearways. (Waheey! See what I did there.....boost and overtaking puns, I really should take up this cuisine review lark.) It doesn't blow your face off like a hot curry, but by the end of the sandwich a drink is advised. I had a glass of apple, strawberry & lychee juice, but ordinary water could also be used.

All in all, £2 for a sandwich of this ilk from a fuel station is quite reasonable. The granary bread sets off the whole taste sensation. However minus marks must be awarded for the rather smug looking image of Jason on the rear of the packaging

The Plato Effect

Something strange happened on Sunday. Jason Plato had qualified on pole position in his MG (sorry, MG KX Momentum Racing MG6...) for race one of the day at the Oulton Park BTCC meeting, only for a suspension part to fail before the race had started. Thus he was not able to take part. Even stranger was a feeling of emptiness on my behalf as the MG was wheeled off the grid.

I've never been a Plato fan. Nor have I ever understood why anyone else would be. I had to guffaw at the one man in a Plato MG jacket that cost over £150 when I visited Donington recently. I feel his moves on track bend the rules just a little too far and find off the track his general demeanor (bordering on schizophrenic, in the words of his arch-nemesis, Matt Neal) to be rude and self-congratulating. I may have even been known to cheer slightly in an un-sporting way if he ends up in the gravel trap.


But, with no Plato in the race, something didn't feel right. It wasn't the BTCC. Love to hate him, but without his presence and undoubted ability to extract that extra tenth, the field felt hollow. In the race, we were treated to a Matt Neal win, a Honda 1-2 and plenty of on track action. But, with no Jason Plato from the very start, the feeling was muted.

There is no denying then that he is the BTCCs poison chalice. As Paul O'Neill rightly summarised during the ITV4 coverage, the championship will be a very quiet place without him. No doubt about it, despite claiming to be a "Marketing Genius" and launching his own sandwich (yes, really, the Jason Plato Sandwich, on sale now in Tesco), being able to pull together large sponsorship deals through building up a reputation is a big help to the series as a whole. Long may it continue. Over to car manufacturers UK marketing departments then, to hopefully see value in the BTCC for next year and beyond as sooner or later Plato will retire...