BTCC analysis: Have the new rules for 2015 gone too far?

Cold temperatures led to many teams suffering severe graining issues when running the soft-compound Dunlop tyres on Sunday.

Double champion Jason Plato won the opening race but was only eighth in the finale when he had to run the softs.

"It was worst-case scenario," he told AUTOSPORT. "I was going as slow as I could. I'm not racing. That doesn't sit well with me.

"I don't think it's doing what it should be doing [the soft tyre]. I'm wondering if we've gone too far.

"It is a circus to create a spectacle and you don't need it."

COMBINATION OF VARIABLES THE ISSUE

For this season the championship has upped the success ballast amounts for first to 10th places to: 75kg; 66kg; 57kg; 48kg; 39kg; 33kg; 27kg; 21kg; 15kg; 9kg.

That's a significant increase over previous seasons, when the system was 45kg, 36kg, 27kg, 18kg and 9kg for the top five.

The weights have been increased because the latest generation touring cars, those built to NGTC specification, have a higher base weight than the previous S2000 cars. BTCC series director Alan Gow refined the system to reflect the increase in the cars' overall weight.

Those quantities have not been criticised, with Matt Neal praising the new rule for the increased tactical element it has brought, but it is how they are used in tandem with the soft tyres that sparked concerns at Donington.

Honda men Neal and Gordon Shedden were two of the hardest-hit drivers, tumbling down the order as their choices to run the soft tyre in race one and race two respectively coincided with them carrying 66kg of ballast.

The result was Neal dropping from fifth to 16th and Shedden from third to 14th.

One argument against the current format is that as the championship already adopts a grid order for race two based on fastest laps and a reverse-grid for race three, and has now increased success ballast, there is no need for another variable in the form of a second, higher-degradation tyre.

Plato's team-mate Aron Smith disagreed, though, arguing that it contributed to the unpredictable spectacle the BTCC is associated with.

"This is what this is about," he said of a frenetic finale.

"Is it a race I would want to watch? Yes, 100 per cent.

"I don't want to watch F1. That sort of race [race three] is what the BTCC is about.

"No one had a big shunt and everyone left thinking what a great race they had.

"That's why we're here, not to follow around as a procession. I want more of the same."

SOFT DUNLOPS UNDER SCRUTINY

"I think the difference was much bigger than expected," Shedden said of the soft-compound Dunlops compared to the control tyre at Donington.

"It was enormous, like having two different races."

While the issue was more severe than it had been at Brands Hatch, three-time world champion Andy Priaulx still suffered in Kent when he led the first half of the race only to fall to ninth when his WSR BMW's soft tyres deteriorated.

WSR boss Dick Bennetts admitted the issue could be eased when temperatures improve but he suggested the soft tyre should be dropped for 2016.

"The soft tyres will get better when it's warmer," he continued. "But the current medium tyre is almost too hard.

"For 2016 the soft could be cut and Dunlop could introduce a new control tyre that's slightly softer."

AUTOSPORT understands Dunlop is open to changing the compounds for next season, or tweaking the options to medium and hard or even soft and hard, if it is asked to.

It could even use the one-off harder tyre that it uses at the demanding Thruxton circuit as the 'joker' option.

But it is not something that is on the championship's radar at the moment.

GOW PRAISES EARLY-SEASON ACTION

Series boss Gow dismissed the worries and said the response to the opening two rounds of the championship pointed to the formula being correct.

"I don't think anyone could argue that the racing has been some of the very best the BTCC has delivered for a very long time," he said.

"And, overwhelmingly, the very significant increase so far this year in our spectator and TV audience numbers clearly agree - so to pour a bit of cold water on it seems a peculiar thing to do."