February's BTCC news update dives into the surprising announcement of Dan Robotton joining Jason Plato Racing as both driver and part team owner, bringing new sponsorship and potential team dynamics. The podcast also covers Lewis Selby's promotion from the JCW Minis to the NAPA team, highlighting the challenges and opportunities for rookies stepping up. Discussions include speculation on team lineups, driver mentorship, and the importance of consistency in the grid. The hosts share insights on driver styles, team strategies, and the evolving landscape of the British Touring Car Championship for the upcoming season.
""...has been announced as the first driver to be in that team Jason Plato racing.""
Jason Plato racing is a car racing team named after Jason Plato, a famous race car driver. They race cars in competitions against other teams.
Jason Plato racing refers to a racing team associated with Jason Plato, a well-known British racing driver, particularly in touring car championships. The team competes in various motorsport events, often involving touring cars.
""What is happening is that Dan Robotton is in that A class saloon or CLA, as I suppose it's technically is, but yeah, whatever it is.""
The Mercedes-Benz CLA is a small fancy car that looks sporty and is comfortable to drive. It's a type of sedan, which means it has four doors and a trunk.
The Mercedes-Benz CLA is a compact luxury sedan known for its sleek design and sporty driving dynamics. It is classified as a saloon car in many markets and is part of Mercedes-Benz's entry-level luxury lineup.
"If you haven't seen it on Instagram, the BTCC House of Memes has done a fantastic gallery."
BTCC is a car race in Britain where special race versions of normal cars compete.
BTCC stands for British Touring Car Championship, a popular touring car racing series in the UK featuring modified production cars competing on circuits.
"will be coming up from the JCW Minis and taking that seat."
JCW Minis are special versions of MINI cars that are faster and better for racing. They are used in car races and have stronger engines and better handling than regular MINIs.
The JCW Minis refers to the John Cooper Works variant of the MINI, a high-performance version of the MINI Cooper designed for racing and spirited driving. These cars are often used in motorsport series and are known for their enhanced power and handling.
""I think from my perspective and possibly Napa's perspective and maybe even the rest of the grid, I think it weakens the team.""
A racing team is a group of people who work together to race cars and try to win races.
A racing team is a group that fields cars and drivers in motorsport competitions. Teams manage car preparation, strategy, and driver development to compete against other teams.
""No offense to Selby. He's a rookie coming into the series. He's going to have a lot to learn.""
A rookie is someone new to racing who is still learning how to compete with more experienced drivers.
A rookie is a driver who is new to a racing series and lacks experience compared to veteran competitors. Rookies often face a steep learning curve as they adapt to the competition and racing environment.
""And we know that Napa have always been up against it with Hyundai and Accelerate.""
Hyundai is a car company from South Korea that also races cars in competitions.
Hyundai is a South Korean automotive manufacturer that participates in various motorsport series with factory-supported teams. They are known for competitive racing programs in touring cars and other categories.
""...well-funded and well-stocked in experience to help you in your touring car career.""
Touring car racing is a kind of car race where cars that look like regular street cars are made faster and race on special tracks.
Touring car refers to a type of motorsport racing involving heavily modified road cars competing on closed circuits, emphasizing close competition and manufacturer involvement.
"whether there's gonna be one more driver with an Audi."
Audi is a car company from Germany that makes fancy cars and also races cars in big competitions.
Audi is a German automotive manufacturer known for its luxury vehicles and participation in various motorsports, including endurance racing and Formula E.
"Now, of course, if you look at what's happened, WSR, Turkinson has been announced as going to the GTs,"
WSR is a racing team that competes with sports cars in races. They have drivers who race cars in special competitions called GT racing.
WSR stands for Walter Wolf Racing, a motorsport team known for competing in various racing series including GT racing. They often participate in GT championships with professional drivers.
"Turkinson has been announced as going to the GTs, which is a great move for him, and one I'm not surprised about. Which we kind of expected as well, when they said they were gonna be joining the GTs,"
GTs are special racing cars that look like fast sports cars you can buy, but they are changed to race on tracks. People watch races where these cars compete.
GTs refers to Grand Touring cars, a category of race cars that are based on production sports cars but modified for racing. GT racing is a popular motorsport category featuring high-performance cars competing on circuits.
"He says he's excited for the new 2026 season sort in the Turin cars and the regulations that are coming in,"
Turin cars are regular cars changed to race on tracks. They look like normal cars but are made faster and safer for racing.
Turin cars refer to touring cars, which are race cars based on production models but modified for racing. Touring car racing is a popular motorsport category with specific regulations to balance performance.
"in the Turin cars and the regulations that are coming in,"
Regulations are the rules that all race cars and drivers have to follow so the races are fair and safe for everyone.
Regulations in motorsport are the rules and technical specifications that cars and drivers must follow to ensure fair competition and safety. Changes in regulations can affect car design and racing strategies.
"A couple of months ago, it was going to be a Jaguar and Alfa Romeo."
Alfa Romeo is a car company from Italy that makes sporty and cool-looking cars that are fun to drive.
Alfa Romeo is an Italian car manufacturer famous for its sporty vehicles and involvement in motorsports, known for distinctive design and driving dynamics.
"But again, there's a lot that why would you do too much now when so much can change next season? So maybe it's a bit of a consolidation season for WSR."
A consolidation season means the team is taking a break from big changes and just keeping things steady for now.
A consolidation season refers to a period where a racing team or company focuses on maintaining its current position and resources rather than aggressively expanding or investing heavily.
Select text to request an explanation
As February draws to a close, it's time to pop down your pancakes. Say goodbye to Cupid and
get back behind the seat of the British touring cars. This is the touring car, February-ish,
news update.
What are you going to say with popping down something there? Yes, hello and welcome back
to the British touring car podcast. Join us once again and we're going to take you through
some of the exciting news that we've had in February. We've finally got some again.
We have. We are recording this sort of in the last week of February, so there will
be some more news before the end of the month. We know that it will be swept up
as appropriate.
Yeah, it's Monday. We're hoping to get it out on the Tuesday. So anything that
happens after then, we'll be in the next one.
And we know there's going to be at least two car livery wheels after this pod, but we decided
not to wait until you've seen some color on a car because, frankly, it's a car with
some color on it.
I don't think they want to see our faces again as well.
Yes, and the flag.
And the flag, yes.
And the flag, yes.
How have you been?
Yes, not too bad. Not too bad. February has flown by and we are, absolutely. We are
starting to get a little bit of momentum now behind some of this touring car news.
Pieces are falling into place a little bit more.
Some of them are.
Yeah, I am feeling with some of the news we're about to deliver.
We might have a shorter grid that we might expect towards the start of the
season, but we'll see how things develop, apart from that.
Not too bad.
Good news. Right. We'll start with perhaps the biggest news story, certainly
for us, for in terms of reaction from you guys and how things have flown on
socials and bits and pieces.
And it was the first Jason Plato seat.
Fairly unwell.
No one saw this coming.
Yeah, no.
Everybody saw this coming.
Perhaps not to the extent that it's come out as, but Dan Robotton, unsurprisingly,
has been announced as the first driver to be in that team Jason Plato racing.
Just going to cover a few things off quickly here.
No, it won't be Andrew Jordan, Matt Neal or Jason Plato in the other seat.
If it is any of those three, then I will never speak on this podcast again.
He will eat the flag.
Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'll eat the flag.
Yeah, you're fine. I'll eat the flag.
It's not happening.
What is happening is that Dan Robotton is in that A class saloon or CLA,
as I suppose it's technically is, but yeah, whatever it is.
And he's more than just a driver.
Yeah, a part team owner, which I don't know whether some people might have
missed in that small little video release that they did, but he will
be going into this season as a part team owner.
And I think a lot of that is down to the work that he's been doing with Jason
and I think also Jodie Kidd in the YouTube series and the road trips
that they've been doing.
I think they've grown closer together and built trust in each other.
And obviously, with Robotton comes Cateclean, a big sponsor as well.
You assume because Jason has said that he's got two big sponsors
that have never been in the series before.
I know, but it includes or they aren't those two.
But Cateclean has come with Robotton.
I've seen today.
Yes, but will it be massively down the side of the car?
Is it going to be on the bumpers in a smaller capacity?
That is going to be interesting.
I have to say, even if you take away the fact that everybody knew
it was going to be Robotton, it does make the most sense
because if you ask me to pick the most Plato style driver on the grid
currently, it's probably Dan Robotton.
I think he lived up to that towards the end of last season, didn't he?
Yes. Yeah, I'd be interested to see if Kamish wants to get a closer look
at that Mercedes into the first corner of Donnington Park in a few weeks time.
I think it's fair to say and I think you can back this up.
He's burnt some bridges there as well.
Yeah, it appears on social media that some unfollowing has been done,
shall we say? I'll just leave it at that.
If you haven't seen it on Instagram, the BTCC House of Memes
has done a fantastic gallery.
Yes, it is well worth dropping them a follow
and just looking through that gallery of memes
because each one gets better and better and better.
Yeah, so it says in the article released
on the British Touring Car website that Catechling and Robotton
have had their success over the years
and they will be continuing their partnership.
But the the biggest thing for me personally
is the fact that he is going to be a part team owner.
And what that could mean for him going forward?
Yes, it certainly secures his short term future within the Touring Cars.
And if he wants to move into more of that team leader role,
then it's a brilliant opportunity for him.
And it also begs the question, then what sort of driver
are they going to bring in because Robotton is going to have
a say on it now as well.
Absolutely. One thing just before we do a bit of speculation,
it's great news for us is that I don't know if you've seen it,
but there was a story of him doing some promo material
and it looked like he was using Canva, which we do as well.
So it's great to know that we are amongst company
in terms of using that as a tool for our graphics.
In terms of driving, it's a very good point.
One I had actually thought until you managed it there.
Yeah, he will have a say on who it is.
So I don't think we know it be Camish,
but I don't think Camish was ever in for a chance
in the following bits and pieces of last year.
I'm really interested to see whether they go for
another robust, well-known name on the grid.
Morgan is a name that keeps coming up in these circles,
or if they go for a more development or rookie
or giving a chance to a driver.
On that side of things, people have suggested
people from Edwards, Crease.
Cook has come up a lot, which would make a lot of sense,
I think, from the point of view of the team
wanting to be competitive,
but also Cook is another, he fits that mold in my opinion.
And also from Cook, there isn't necessarily
at this moment in time an obvious place
for him on the grid as things stand.
But obviously, I mean, you could name me 20 drivers
that could go into that scene.
I was going to say, I've seen proper name
for possibly going that seat as well.
Tom Zollswell, yeah, I mean, yeah.
There are so many drivers out there.
Let us know your thoughts down in the comments
if you haven't already, and if you haven't already,
go and drop us a like and a follow as well.
And again, to repeat, Jason Plater
was happy being a team principal.
Matt Neal is fully retired.
Andrew Jordan is doing Historex.
None of those three are in the seat.
Just saying.
Flag looking tasty.
It is never going to need to be consumed.
It is not happening.
It is not happening.
Yeah, so we'll move on to the next bit of news now.
And, wow, a couple of bits.
The bit from today, first of all,
that Napa have announced their fourth driver.
Obviously, with Robot, I'm now moving on.
They had a seat to fill.
And there are question marks over
who may well fill that seat,
whether they were going to go for a summer experience,
Light Robotom, or whether they were actually
going to possibly promote someone
through their driver program.
And we know now that Lewis Selby
will be coming up from the JCW Minis
and taking that seat.
Now, there was speculation as to whether
the other Osborne child would be
carrying on into that role,
but he'd already stated that due to circumstances
that ended his season in 2025,
that he wouldn't be racing again in 2026.
Otherwise, I think that would have probably been his seat.
Quite possibly, it does suggest that they were looking
to bring some of the up through the mini program,
following that.
There were, of course, some suggestions
that one of, or both, Camish and Sutton
might move on to past year's new.
Yeah.
Seats are opening up in this sport all of the time.
There's opportunities over teams
of different cars this year.
There is some suggestion that Camish
wanted to step out of the Sutton shadow.
So it's interesting to see
that they've managed to keep three of the four.
And let's be honest,
some stability is not always a bad thing.
We've said a couple of times that we think
that a few to many teams have changed
too many bits and pieces in one go.
And it's been difficult for them,
obviously, to add to that list as well.
And it's been difficult for them to sort of adapt.
You look at the teams that have done well
over the last few years.
Consistency.
Hyundai, it's been an upper to a degree.
It's been that consistency.
So it makes a lot of sense.
Osborne was always going to have a drive
if he wanted it at the team.
Makes sense to keep Sutton and Camish as well.
I'll be interested to see how the garages line up.
Because obviously last year,
I think it was Robottom and Camish
was only Dan's one side and Sam and Ash the other.
Which one were they put Selbian in some ways?
I suppose it'll depend on which driver he's more like.
Is he more like Dan Camish?
Is he more like Sam Osborne?
Is he more like Ash Sutton?
Because he's going to have a lot to learn.
It's a heck of a step up.
I think it would be talking down that route.
I think it'd be a really good idea
if they could put him in with Sutton
because I think Sutton's got so much knowledge
and prowess within the sport
that he can just impart all of that knowledge
and even sharing technical data between the two.
Sutton's not necessarily, I think, going to see him as a threat
and I think he'll like that senior role
to bring that driver through.
The only slight, I agree,
the only slight argument I have against that
is that Sutton is very fastapony
in the way he sets a car up.
It's very different.
It's very different.
Sutton drives a touring car very differently
to a lot of drivers on the grid.
It might be that somebody who's potentially
a bit more of a natural driver in Dan Kamish
is a better mentor at this early stage.
But again, it depends on how Selby subscribes to racing.
He might well also like every dick
as he loose front end or something
that we don't see across other drivers.
So it'll be interesting.
I'm torn because on the one hand,
I have to sound a little bit underwhelmed
if I'm being brutally honest.
But on the other hand,
we do want to see drivers coming through
and we do want to see the promotion pass.
And I've banged the German side plenty of times
that there is no clear pathway in
and this is what you want to see.
But I do have slight concerns
that it is a heck of a step up for a driver
that's not at the early stages of his career either.
So yeah.
I think from my perspective
and possibly Napa's perspective
and maybe even the rest of the grid,
I think it weakens the team.
No offense to Selby.
He's a rookie coming into the series.
He's going to have a lot to learn.
And we know that Napa have always been up against it
with Hyundai and Accelerate.
Virtually we're not going to rookie in that team.
If they are, it's going to be a rookie
of your Z-Loss style,
with a thought rather than,
then yeah, Selby.
And let's say,
Virtually we've also got hands in other motorsports
and they're sabering through a development driver
or through the mini program or whatever.
I don't necessarily see that happening.
I think they'll stay strong
and they were stronger last year.
And it did come into its own
as the season went on.
I think if Virtually were ever likely to do that,
then they would possibly use the option
that they have with putting them
into the restart car first of all.
Possibly slightly funding that season
to then bring them up into the...
That makes a lot of sense.
That makes a lot of sense.
Just a statement from Selby in joining the team.
He said that he'd never really considered the BTCC
as an option,
which leads me to think that they possibly had
Osborne in there for the second son basically.
But due to various events,
I was asked immediately and said, yes,
can't thank Pete Osborne and Steve Richardson enough
and look forward to doing the best job that I can for them,
the team, partners, you know, all the commercial stuff.
It's not the most ringing endorsement, I don't know.
No, no.
Of it.
And I also just think to myself,
what, obviously it'll be in the Jack Sears
and that'll be the number one priority, but...
He might, will he?
Well, yeah, but realistically,
is he gonna be in, I don't know.
I don't know.
It really depends on how many other rookies
or Jack Sears or entries at all.
Yeah, yeah, we'll get onto that a bit.
Yeah, it depends how many drivers turn up on the grid
and what sort of competition
there's gonna be in that Jack Sears,
but I certainly think that's got to be his aim
going into the season.
Get your feet under the table in the first couple of rounds
and the testing and stuff like that.
And possibly even try and surprise some people.
And on the flip side,
you're gonna be in a team that's weather-quipped,
well-funded and well-stocked in experience
to help you in your touring car career.
Hopefully, it'll be a good step up for him
and he can be competitive.
We'll have to wait and see, come testing day,
which way it looks like and what he might be going.
Talking of stepping up,
we have another driver announcement to come to you with
and that is Dexter Patterson.
I would say it's probably, well, hopefully,
going to be a step up for him.
He's moved away from unlimited motorsport.
He's moved away from the Coupre.
That's the step up.
Yeah, yeah.
Well, hopefully, we don't know
what the Audi's gonna be like,
but yes, he's moved on board with Power Max Racing.
He's their first driver announcement
and must I say, they both looked happy about that
in the picture, didn't they?
Yeah, I mean, it's like a hostage release with the photo.
It's so, yeah, Neve, I mean,
we'll pop it on the screen
if Sam remembers to do so in his edit,
but if not, you can find it on the socials.
Yeah, not the happiest looking photo.
I know he's a Dower Scotsman
and most of them never really seem to be there.
Yeah, but Adam doesn't look exactly thrilled to be there.
Never really seem to smile.
But yeah, so he's joining up with PMR.
Obviously, they've got, I think, three TBO licenses.
Correct.
We know they're gonna be running the Audi's this year.
How they feel those, we're not completely sure
whether there's gonna be one more driver with an Audi.
There'll be at least one more.
Yeah, at least one more.
Thoughts are that it could well possibly be Mikey Doeba
in the world.
I'm surprised that he wouldn't be the first announcement.
But if he's the lead driver,
which he would be the head of that team now,
you'd have thought so.
Let us know down in the comments
who you think is gonna fill that second
or even third seat
and what you think Dexter is gonna be able to achieve
this season.
I think it's a really good move for Dexter and Paramax
if I'm being brutally honest
because to bring out a phrase I've not brought up
for a minute, a couple of years now
is that there is a racer in there.
We did see, when he was in the hard Cupra,
we did see some performances from him
where you thought, you sat up and went,
okay, he's quick this lad.
There's a bit of racing in him.
It didn't really work out last year.
And then in motorsport,
the bit of the Ralph is teammate
at the start of the season
where they were knocking seven shades of each other.
And for better or for worse,
I think we can all agree the Cupra hasn't really worked out
in British touring cars as a particularly viable car.
Nobody has really got a tune out a bit
other than Bobby Thompson
who did take a couple of podiums in it.
But it's been run by lots of top drivers
who haven't managed to get a lot out of it.
And I think that's probably an indictment
of the car to be honest with you.
So he's moving across to PMR
who are renowned for developing young talent
and Dex is to the very young talent.
He's still a very young driver.
And I say they are renowned for,
you think of Mikey Doble,
you think of Andrew Watson,
they got Aaron Taylor Smith,
okay, not a younger driver,
but certainly his career back on track
who's been in the wilderness for a long time
of nothingness in touring car terms
and really got him back into
what has been the best form of his racing career.
So it seems a very sensible place for Dex
to try and get to grips with touring cars properly.
I don't think he's quite fulfilled
his potential in touring cars as of yet.
And I don't think he's necessarily
had the equipment and opportunity to do that either.
So this is a real good move I think for him.
And it brings PowerMax a solid driver.
So yeah, it seems to be a win-win for everybody.
I think it's crucial for PowerMax
to bring in a driver like Dex,
the fact that he's been in the series
for a couple of seasons as well.
He knows what the touring cars are all about
and to be able to develop a car,
you've got to know the ins and outs
of what setup changes are gonna make,
what differences.
And I think that's a really good basis
for them to work from.
And if they have got Mikey Doble there as well,
I think that could be really understated yet solid team
to be able to develop that car with.
Now, one little thought in my mind
is what's this part of the deal
that gave them the Cooperas towards the half
back in the last season?
It does make you wonder
because for those who may have forgotten
in the aftermath of the great fire
that wiped out the Astros for PMR,
they were given a car by the Patterson family,
which is one of the Cooperas
and they got the other Cooperas from one motor sport,
sorry, limited motor sport, sorry, as well.
Jenny lost out for the rest of the season.
Again, you probably didn't notice he wasn't there.
But anyway, it does make you wonder
was there some kind of agreement?
Or to be fair, was it just a case of,
hang on a minute,
we've actually built a good ratio here.
This has gone well.
We've built a bridge we didn't have before.
Let's explore it further.
And that's, you know,
whether it was a stipulation or a clause of that.
I don't know.
It could just as easily been actually,
do you know what?
This is a really positive chat
between this and the driver we haven't spoken to before.
Quite like this.
I think Adam Weaver in the past on documentaries
has said that he likes to have drivers
that are easy to work with,
i.e. not gonna have their dads,
they're being beep heads.
I'm fairly sure-
It's a fearing, I think,
is the term that he needed to use.
That's not a verbatim quote,
I'm fairly sure on the Drive to Survive rip-off
that Turing Cars has done,
that he has said that in the past,
that they've had drivers who've come with
a big entourage in this course,
problems, et cetera, et cetera.
So maybe they've just had a really positive experience
with Dexter and the family so far.
I'm going, do you know what?
If it's our values, let's build it.
And we know that PMR,
we're gonna be looking for a driver
with house did stepping back.
Yes, absolutely.
So, yeah, that's the driver announcement.
That's the driver announcement.
There are a few tidbits
that you can take a little bit of stuff from,
a little bit of thinking.
So first of all,
WSR have released some images this week
of their race car build,
and there's only one.
The rest of them are just chassis
without any front ends bolted on.
Now, of course, if you look at what's happened, WSR,
Turkinson has been announced as going to the GTs,
which is a great move for him,
and one I'm not surprised about.
Which we kind of expected as well,
when they said they were gonna be joining the GTs,
we thought, okay, Turkinson's taking the season out.
It's a prime opportunity for him
to be with the team he knows,
but also go off and do something a little bit different.
But also it's less racing,
which is, as he's trying to bring through his sons
into the work sport world,
and just be more of a family man,
this suits where he has that in life perfectly.
I wouldn't be surprised if we haven't,
if we've seen, sorry,
if Turkinon ever comes back to the Turin,
because I think those days may,
if the door's not shut,
it's certainly pushed to.
I don't see it being open for a while.
Jake Hill, of course, is also off to,
is he off to GTs as well?
Is he off to Historic?
I can't remember.
He's off somewhere else.
Jake Hill is doing all sorts,
international, GTs, all sorts.
He'll pretty much try and turn his hand to anything.
And I think he's enough of an experienced driver now
that he should be able to adapt to them all as well.
Agreed.
He was doing some interesting stuff
from the old Sayats this week,
which was quite cool.
We also know that from De Leon's LinkedIn post,
because we're now in the J.Cumpfrey-style world,
that he's got plans this season
and written between the lines.
It's not Turin cars,
because it's on an international scale,
which it's a bold way of looking at ITV4
if it is Turin car-related.
So it looks like he's off.
So that now, and he leaves from last year, Moffat.
There's lots of interesting thoughts around Moffat.
And Rainford, who has, through his own comments
on news articles and reviews,
suggests that he is back in the Turin cars.
It would make sense if the WSR...
It very much sounds that way.
He says he's excited for the new 2026 season sort
in the Turin cars and the regulations that are coming in,
which kind of makes you think
that he's going to be there or thereabouts.
And if WSR are down to possibly just one,
I think they would be right to take him forward.
Agreed.
Especially with the other drivers going elsewhere.
I don't think they need to look outside of the team, basically.
No, I think with WSR, they will...
The way it's looking for me and the way I'm reading it
is that they will be a one-car team.
However, there are two shells available
if the right deal comes forward with the right driver,
and it works financially for all involved.
They've been in the game long enough to know what it takes,
what they need to do, all that kind of stuff.
But yeah, it's slightly worrying that they have three,
if not four, kind of spot my head at TBLs.
And at the minute, it looks like only one of those
are going to be fulfilled.
Yeah.
At the minute.
If it is the case, by the start of the season,
that we do only have one WSR or WSR car,
I think it would be a great loss to the series,
considering the team that they are,
the heritage that they have.
Yes, I understand they're going off and expanding their basis
and doing GTs and stuff like that.
And there have to be cutbacks elsewhere,
probably because of that.
But for, yeah, a team like WSR not to be able
to put a package forward for someone to go out,
yeah, that sounds really enticing.
It's a slight worry.
I think it's a little bit of an indictment
to where Turing cars is, both on a financial scale,
also in this sort of gray area between regulations.
We've got a few changes coming in this year
before the big ones hit next year.
And I kind of get the feeling that, you know,
there was a lot of talk that Napa
are going to be changing cars coming to the season.
That seems to have died to death.
That if nothing else is going to be afford, it appears
subject to change, but that's what we understand
it's going to be afford.
A couple of months ago,
it was going to be a Jaguar and Alfa Romeo.
But again, there's a lot that why would you do too much
now when so much can change next season?
So maybe it's a bit of a consolidation season for WSR.
We're just going to, you know, keep their,
keep their finger in the sport,
but also not, you know, not put all the resource
and energy into this when there are other programs
that are involved in.
And there's a lot that can change over the next couple
of years with the regs.
Yeah, let us know your thoughts down in the comments
what you think is going to happen with WSR.
Be interested to see what other theories out there.
Obviously, these are theories.
Absolutely, yeah, I've seen a picture on Twitter
and I've added one and one together.
That I could be beyond wrong.
Yeah, that picture that you sent me, actually,
I saw all the trophies in the background
and you can see how much they won over that time.
And it's ridiculous.
I can understand why they don't have a trophy cabinet
because it would need to be a factory for absolutely.
Absolutely. Yeah.
And then the only sort of bit of speculation is that Proctor
has said in his one of his interviews on BTC.net
that he's got options on the table for next year.
So that would hopefully mean the return of Proctor.
Obviously, he had a really strong half and a bit season
when he came in for Michael Kreese last year.
Had he been in from the start,
he'd have probably finished him in the top six,
maybe even higher than that.
I was going to say to finish,
so like well within the top 10 with what he did,
it's got to be such an attractive option
for any team out there.
Personally, for me, I mean,
if they can get the deal done at Virtue,
it makes perfect sense to have him there.
I could also see him maybe going across
to restart racing just because...
Possibly.
Might be a slightly lower budget.
Yeah, exactly that.
And a competitive carnival.
We know that Dan Lloyd's seat needs filling.
But yeah, it'd be...
The grid would be stronger with Proctor on it
and hopefully one of those deals
he can get across the line and be on the grid.
I know people out there have also mentioned
that there's a possibility you could go to Playtoe.
I don't think that would be the right move for him
having to develop a car.
You don't know what sort of budget you possibly need to bring.
So I think he would be better off staying with a team
that is well-renowned
and been on the grid for at least a couple of seasons.
I would agree with you.
A couple of other names that are yet to be announced anywhere
just to tie these things up
is that Morgan has not had a seat announced anywhere as of yet,
nor has Cook.
One motorsport have licenses,
but doesn't seem to be any sort of signs of life
at the moment.
That may well, of course, change.
Jelly's another name that, I mean, if WSR want another car,
he makes sense to go back there, depending on budgets.
But they're sort of the big names
that I could think of straight up on my head
that haven't got plans announced for 2026 as of yet.
And also if there are BMW shells floating around,
we know they're a competitive outfit
and we could possibly see WSR almost being like a feeder
for independent teams.
It wouldn't surprise me if for whatever reason
we see two BMWs turn up at one motorsport.
That's a bold theory.
It is bold, yes, I know,
but we've seen stranger things happen.
We have.
So just to quickly sum up,
we've got all the Napa drivers now as discussed here.
We've got Ingram and Chilton at virtue,
two seats maximum to be announced there.
We've got Smiley's in all the promo stuff
for restart at the moment.
So I would be astonished if he's not one of the two there.
We've got the two seats at one to be announced.
We've got the seats at WSR to be announced
in terms of Toyota.
We've got two of those announced,
which are the laser tools side of things,
which is Shedden and Arantella Smith,
potentially two other Toyota seats
to be announced there as well.
And there should be a livery release later this week
for that car as well.
Correct.
And then at PMR, we've got Dexter Patterson
announced potential of a two drivers to come there.
And unlimited if they are doing anything this season,
have also got a potential,
I would have thought Nick Hamilton
would be the obvious place,
obvious driver for there.
He has got his racing license,
but he may well want to go elsewhere.
Like everybody else seems wants to at the minute.
There have been rumors surrounding unlimited
that there are unpaid bills
and that the tax man is following those up.
So we don't know.
I imagine that's the same of every team
to agree as well.
It's an expensive business.
I don't understand company's house enough to comment.
But yeah, let us know your thoughts down in the comments
and any drivers that you want to see back on the grid
or give us your driver's thoughts
on where the whole grid is going to be
if you really want to.
But we'll keep you updated on our social media.
So if you haven't already, go and subscribe,
like, comment, share it.
Wherever we're seeing, the more the better, basically.
Absolutely.
It's been really good, hasn't it, lately?
Yeah, I'm just going to say thank you so much
for all the people that have seen our posts
across social media,
mainly on Facebook by the look of it.
And thank you for everyone who watched
the last YouTube video, five and a 1,000 of you.
Amazing.
Yeah, unbelievable.
That is, yeah, quite something.
We blew it out of the water.
Absolutely.
So if we could do that again on this one, it would be lovely.
Yeah, or make it 6,000.
That'd be lovely as well.
But no, honestly, the start of the year
has been amazing for us in terms of what,
just the sheer explosion we've seen
in terms of engagement and our stuff,
which inspires us to keep going, which is great.
And great for you, if you like listening,
because if you don't inspire us,
then we become boring and sad.
Are we really leaving it on that?
I like to be pessimistic.
Okay, good.
It's my whole shtick.
No, we'll say thank you very much indeed.
There's still lots to be announced
and there's lots of fun in the off-season to be had.
It will be me today before you know it, however.
And soon we'll be complaining about
steward decisions and not having the old days
and stuff like that.
And that's been negative again, isn't it?
Sorry.
Yeah.
Come on, keep it up, mate.
Keep it up.
Yeah, until next time, we'll keep you updated
on social media.
Until then, goodbye.
Until we stick again.
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