How sick is the Touring Car Racing in Europe?

Who is Jan Nilsson?
Jan Nilsson, better known as Janne “Flash” Nilsson, is team owner of Flash Engineering and drives in the Swedish Touring Car Championship. Flash was born on the 15th of december 1960 and lives in Karlstad, Sweden. In 1989 he won the Swedish Formula 3 championship, but soon switched to Touring Cars. In 1996 and 1997 Flash won the Swedish Touring Car Champion-ship. Since his debute in STCC he has had 29 race wins.

I got the question if I wanted to write my opinion and thoughts about the touring car racing in Europe in a column. Difficult but fun, and right now I have very strong opinions on how FIA and the different manufacturers are dealing with our finest championships. I will rank the biggest championship that are closest to me and of course I start with the DTM.

DTM

One of the world’s biggest and most prestigious championships, and definitely the biggest in Europe. Still I don’t think too many of you would disagree with me when I say that something is not right in the series. Despite that the series is king of touring car championships, no other than Audi and Mercedes wants to compete there. Team orders and boycotts are scandals that lower the credibility each year.

Rumor is that they will change the rules for 2009 and that we will see a complete silhouette car with common parts except for the engine that already has good regulations. If this is true, the DTM will take off and knock away the platform for WTCC immediately. I keep my fingers crossed, this could be the save for touring car racing in europe.

WTCC

BMW, SEAT and Chevrolet (Alfa are only waiting, without any real support for N-Technology, for their contract with WTCC to run out so they won’t get penalized) is not enough to create a hype around the championship. The rules are not good enough to last two race weekends without changing constantly since they have decided that everyone must win.

Slow, uninteresting cars and cheats written in to the rules so manufacturers that are important for the championship can win despite having a worse package. The WTCC is sick and is dying a slow death. It is a shame because the championship is OK. If the new rules of DTM are well thought over they will kick over WTCC immediately. I keep my thumbs that the DTM succeeds with that.

BTCC

It was once the mother of all touring car championship. But since my team visited the finale this year at Thruxton I suspect that the BTCC and Alan Gow just were lucky during the nineties. A country with a population of more than 60 million runs the BTCC final at a track that makes the Swedish track Gelleråsen look like Monaco. They have speakers from before the war, no screens to watch the race on, a pit lane and paddock with holes in the tarmac that makes you afraid of breaking your ankle, stands for 2% of the spectators, pit garages that looks like a outhouse at a junkyard, entry lists in the support classes that reminds me of Swedish racing before 1995 and BTCC teams that barely reach the standard of what the STCC teams have kept for many years.

If you then compare the drivers you quickly see that the top of the BTCC and the support classes keep very high standards, but after that – oh my god! The fact that the organization only manage to get ca. 30.000 spectators in an area that has millions within 100 kilometers from the track only shows that the BTCC is at a dead end.

I am ashamed for the championship when I am there, sadly. If I had met Alan Gow there and then, he would not liked me when I would have told him that we felt fooled going there and paying much money to get in for that shit. Frankie says: no more!

STCC

The same problems as WTCC. The STCC organization make rule changes so that Opel and other teams, who does not have testing/development/engineers, can be as competitive as the top teams. Embarrassing and a credibility question, but something that is built in from the S2000-rules. The race setup with one race and pitstop, so that the front wheel-driven cars can keep up through the entire race, is good.

But the STCC organization needs to think over the way they inform the spectators of who is in the lead and who has been in the pits – quickly. Sweden is a small country that represents motorsport at its best and I think we are closer to DTM when it comes to the organization of the events than most people think. Give us a real set of rules like the new DTM rules that kills the moped S2000-rules and we are going to get the rest.

Summary

– The DTM is a fantastic championship, but with too expensive cars.
– The WTCC is a good championship, but with poor cars.
– The BTCC is a terrible championship with poor cars.
– The STCC is a great championship but with the same car issue as WTCC and BTCC.

So what to do? Keep our fingers crossed that “ze Germans” after 20 years finally get the perfect rules so we really can race. Because I will not rely on the FIA. If this comes through, we can really say: “Gentlemen start you engines!”

UPDATED DEBATE! The debate after this column has run warm at the Ten-Tenths forum. Nilsson kept a close eye on the debate and has posted a reply on the forum.
To read it click here!