Forget NASCAR. The British Touring Car should be aspiring to the heights of popularity of Roman Chariot racing. With weekly audiences of a quarter of a million spectators, highly talented and skilled racers throughout the field and prize money that would make Tiger Woods eye’s water, this is the sport to emulate.

Since YRC began pitching to sponsors in 2009, we’ve often described the BTCC as modern day chariot racing and this works pretty well as a description for those that aren’t familiar with the series. It still staggers me that people in the UK haven’t heard of the BTCC because in our bubble, we think it’s big business! It’s growing and has a great audience but we’ve got a long way to go before we can claim to have even a smidgen of the status enjoyed by the participants of the Roman equivalent.

BTCC, in a Top Gear nutshell

So, times have changed but a little examination of history wouldn’t hurt would it?

Winnings

Gaius Appuleius Diocles, the superstar of the ancient Roman Empire, had career winnings equivalent to £9.6 billion. BILLION! He wasn’t even the best driver (he was certainly not the one with the most wins to his name) but he chose his events wisely – big cash races.

Times might be tough but perhaps some more thought needs to be put into exactly how we can incentivise professional participation in the BTCC. With negligible financial awards on offer, it’s no wonder that teams look for more lucrative championships to participate in.

The SEAT Cupra Championship was enormously popular in the mid-naughties. With a £250,000 prize pot and touring car machinery, it was the perfect platform for young aspiring professional drivers. With a manufacturer fronted purse, there was more at stake than honour so the level of competition and professionalism was unrivalled. Surely someone must want to benefit from the level of exposure that kind of contribution can afford?

David meets McLaren

Free events

Just like our touring cars, going to the chariot racing was considered to be a family event. However, there was one massive difference – the events were free and the emperors provided free bread as well as the entertainment which they believed would make governing the largely unemployed population happy. Hmmm. I think we can dream on… or threaten revolt unless David Cameron pays for our BTCC tickets.

Equal opportunities

Like most charioteers it is thought that Gaius was probably an illiterate peasant but an extrodinarilty talented one. In our current motor racing culture, it’s pretty unusual that any child from an impoverished background would succeed in becoming a top level driver but organisations such as BSKC are doing a great job of trying to change that tradition. Making karting affordable could prompt a cascade throughout the stages of driver development. Let’s hope so because there are some very talented young people giving up their dream at each, progressively expensive, rung of the ladder.

Fan Culture

Much like now, chariot racing teams represented different groups of financial backers (our ‘sponsors’) who sometimes competed for the services of particularly skilled drivers. They invested heavily in training and maintenance of the horses, drivers and equipment. This is rarely seen outside the very top echelons of motor racings world championships today but one thing remains consistent – these teams became the focus of intense support among spectators.

Officials

It’s documented that the employment of race officials at chariot racing wasn’t to stop cheating and maintain order amongst the competitors, but to control the crowd who seemingly got a little ‘passionate’ when supporting their favoured team or driver. Violance often erupted – thankfully something I’m yet to see trackside but, our modern world often sees pathetic and embarrassing behaviour in the forums so perhaps nothing’s really changed!

Where it all went wrong

Chariot racing declined in popularity and the death knell was violent riots between the supporters of different teams (differentiated by their colours) which, having got wildly out of control, resulted in the reported death of tens of thousands of people.

Now there’s a thing that we should be proud of in our sport. Rivalry in the grandstands is sporting and jovial and team colours are worn with pride and not as gang markings.

The future

The BTCC is far from ‘on its knees’ but, it would be nice to see some real prize money on offer so more than a handful of drivers could make a living from their talent and the sprawling banks of our favourite UK circuits regularly attracted crowds of 250,000.

Yet again it’s all about the money money money.