General News
08/Jan/2013
AmD plotting NGTC Astra
The AmDTuning.com team will expand to run an NGTC-spec Vauxhall Astra in 2013’s Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.
Team principal Shaun Hollamby has revealed how the Astra – set to debut mid-season – could look in an artist’s impression (pictured), although the car will be a five-door model and not three-door as shown.
Hollamby's West Thurrock-based outfit will begin 2013 running its VW Golf in the newly created Jack Sears Trophy for older S2000-spec cars and could continue with the car alongside its NGTC Astra in the season’s second half.
“When I first saw the Astra I thought it would make a fantastic BTCC car and I’m excited about this new programme,” commented Hollamby. “While this is a privateer programme, Vauxhall has been an integral part of British Touring Cars for a long time and we are fully focused on producing a car that will be capable of challenging at the sharp end of the grid.
“As a company, AmDTuning.com is known for its work with cars from the Volkswagen Audi Group, but we work with cars from a wide range of manufacturers and thought long and hard about the best model to use for our first NGTC machine. The Astra is a good size with strong aerodynamics and fits well into the regulations, which I believe seem to favour the smaller and more nimble cars.
“While we have been thinking about this move for some time, the fact that the programme has come together now means we will focus on developing the Astra for the second half of the season, giving us the chance to build the car and do some testing before giving it its race debut.”
Hollamby has yet to finalise his driver line-up, but he added: “We are talking with Ollie Jackson and would love to keep him on board as he did a great job last year and showed that he deserves his place in the BTCC. But we are also interested in speaking to other drivers who are interested in competing in the BTCC this season.
“While our plan at the moment is to start the year with the Golf before introducing the Astra, we could run the VW for the full season if the right driver comes along who wants to compete for the new Jack Sears Trophy for S2000 cars. With the reduced boost levels that the S2000 cars will run to, it will be a competitive package for a driver who doesn’t quite have the budget to go with an NGTC programme.”
