Jason Plato and Colin Turkington to spearhead title assault

Renowned manufacturer Subaru will enter the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship after striking a sensational three-year deal with Team BMR.

The squad will run the all-new Subaru Levorg Sports Tourer in this year’s series, with both Jason Plato and Colin Turkington spearheading the Japanese marque’s title assault.

“We’re very excited to have teamed up with BMR from the 2016 Championship – the first time a Subaru has competed in BTCC,” said Paul Tunnicliffe, Managing Director for Subaru UK & Ireland. "Although the Levorg features the Subaru famed all-wheel drive system, the car can be easily developed to compete with rear-wheel drive in order to comply with the BTCC regulations… so we can’t wait to see how it goes against very established competition.”

Subaru’s maiden foray into Britain’s biggest motor racing series will see Team BMR contest for Manufacturers’ Championship honours for the first time in its short career, something that Team Principal Warren Scott is hugely honoured by.

“I am extremely delighted that Team BMR are to become a Manufacturer team in only our fourth year of competing in the BTCC,” he enthused. “I have had aspirations of becoming a race-winning team with factory support from the very beginning and I am immensely proud of the team for giving Subaru the confidence to partner with BMR.”

In Plato and Turkington the outfit already boasts drivers with well over 100 victories and four drivers’ titles between them, suggesting the new Levorg Sports Tourer will be in extremely safe hands during its maiden BTCC campaign.

“Part of my role when joining BMR was to help secure a manufacturer deal,” said Plato. “The iconic Subaru brand has always been right at the top of my wish list. Obviously it goes without saying that I am very excited about our future together and I'm confident that BMR will produce a fantastic package for me to fight for the Championship. This really is exciting times for us all... I can't wait for the season to begin.”

Turkington, who won his two titles in rear-wheel-drive machinery, was equally excited by the tie-up between Subaru and Team BMR.

“Continuing with Team BMR for the 2016 season was an easy decision for me and represents a great opportunity to build on our strong maiden campaign,” he said. “I can't wait to get started with the development of the new Subaru Levorg BTCC race car and I'm more motivated than ever to win. This announcement is huge news for the Championship and equally for me.”

Under the guidance of Chief Designer Carl Faux, Team BMR - supported by the global technical resources of Subaru - will develop the new car and its famed four-cylinder boxer engine to full BTCC specification.

“It’s an honour to be leading not only Team BMR’s first ‘clean-sheet’ car design and build, but to be able to do this with Subaru’s new Levorg model is a real privilege,” confirmed Faux. “Engineering challenges is what the project presents – a new car, new engine and all the new generation TOCA components require a methodical approach. Establishing a three-year programme means we can focus on getting the basics right early before developing the package further over the following years.”

With the start of the season just two months away the team is working tirelessly to ready its cars for a testing programmes ahead of the official reveal at the BTCC Season Launch at Donington Park on 22 March. The squad will also confirm its full and final line-up over the coming weeks.

Subaru’s BTCC debut will then take place at Brands Hatch in early April for the opening rounds of the 2016 Championship, which Series Director Alan Gow believes will mark the start of a prosperous partnership.

“We are delighted to welcome another manufacturer to the BTCC and particularly one with such an incredible motor sport heritage,” commented Gow. “Subaru is an iconic brand with a huge following and its introduction to the BTCC is certain to excite our many fans both in the UK and around the world. No doubt Team BMR with its hugely experienced and talented driver line-up will make for a very successful partnership.”

Video - The New Subaru Levorg:

Following the sensational announcement that Subaru will be entering the BTCC with Team BMR we take a look at the marque's Subaru Levorg model:

Series Director Alan Gow has welcomed Subaru to the BTCC:

“We are delighted to welcome another manufacturer to the BTCC and particularly one with such an incredible motor sport heritage,” commented Gow. “Subaru is an iconic brand with a huge following and its introduction to the BTCC is certain to excite our many fans both in the UK and around the world. No doubt Team BMR with its hugely experienced and talented driver line-up will make for a very successful partnership.”

Build-up to the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship will be cranked up several notches this week with a series of announcements, driver signings and car unveils taking place.

The BTCC will enjoy its largest ever presence at Autosport International in Birmingham with the Dunlop stand (No.6440) set to be a hive of activity throughout the four days of running (14-17 January).

Huge headlines will be made as early as Tuesday, however, with an incredible announcement coming tomorrow afternoon, so make sure you stay in touch via our Twitter and Facebook social media feeds.

A leading Independent squad will confirm a driver on Wednesday morning, which you’ll be able to read about in Motorsport News and of course right here on btcc.net, whilst the main bulk of our action takes place at the NEC in Birmingham.

One particular driver announcement will be confirmed in Autosport Magazine on Thursday morning before the car is launched at the show later that morning. In total the Dunlop BTCC stand will boast five car unveilings on Thursday from WIX Racing, West Surrey Racing, Simpson Racing, Eurotech and Handy Motorsport, with the latter also confirming its race-winning driver for the upcoming campaign.

“Everyone has been working so hard behind the scenes to get our 2016 plans to the position they’re at now – this week is when we can finally go public,” commented Handy Team Principal Simon Belcher. “It really is an incredibly exciting time for Handy Motorsport, we’ve enjoyed two fantastic years in the BTCC and now we’ve gained a foothold the time is right to turn things up a notch.

“We’re very excited to be competing with a newly built car this year, but the biggest development is bringing in a proven winner to lead our challenge. We’re confident, when the unveiling takes place, there will be a lot of happy faces among our fantastic fans, and fans of the BTCC in general.”

Andrew Jordan's Pirtek Racing Ford will make its public debut plus there will be a host of interviews and driver signings on the Dunlop BTCC stand, whilst both AmD and Speedworks will unveil their respective 2016 challengers on separate stands at the Birmingham show.

Selected BTCC drivers will be interviewed on the main Autosport Stage, where Gordon Shedden’s 2015 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship winning Honda Civic Type R will also feature.

So with a packed week of activity look out on Facebook and Twitter tomorrow morning as we build up the excitement ahead of our first major announcement of 2016!

WIX Racing’s Adam Morgan has joined the list of current BTCC drivers to be invited to the world famous Goodwood in 2016. 

Race-winner Morgan will contest the Gerry Marshall Trophy – named after the former saloon driver and cult hero – during Goodwood’s 74^th Members Meeting in March.

The Ribchester Rocket will race Ric Wood’s immaculately prepared rapid CNC Heads 1980 group 1 V6 Ford Capri, which is sure to spark memories of yet another evocative BTCC era.

“I have been to see the car and Ric’s set-up, both are absolutely mind blowing,” commented an excited Morgan. “All the cars that Ric builds are of the very highest quality. The Capri that I am racing went to Portimao earlier in the year and Ric finished second straight out of the box. The Capri is a stunning no expense spared object of beauty.

“The car has over 300bhp, hits close to 150mph and reaches 70mph in first gear! My biggest concern is being quicker than Ric as he’s a highly competent driver – beat your team-mate they always say!

“We have a couple of tests prior to the event too, so we’re hopeful of going to Goodwood and getting a really good result – I can’t wait”

“I like the way Adam conducts himself both at and away from the track,” responded Wood. “He drove my V6 Mazda at the Silverstone Classic in July, and he not only won the class but also broke the existing lap record.

“Not many professional racing drivers are fast and mechanically sympathetic towards their cars. Adam treats the car with respect, he doesn’t over rev or over drive the car and I, as the bloke who builds them from scratch, obviously appreciate his approach. There really is nobody else I would rather have in the car.”

Morgan's Ciceley Motorsport squad have been hard at work preparing for the 2016 BTCC season too, having tested the Mercedes A Class a number of times before Christmas.  The team have another extensive testing programme planned in the New Year and they'll be launching their latest livery at Autosport Show International – see btcc.net for details on this over the coming days.

Power Maxed Racing is busy preparing for its sophomore season in the BTCC having enjoyed a stellar maiden campaign in 2015. 

Josh Cook was the dominant force in the Jack Sears Trophy as the Bath racer cruised to claim the largest piece of silverware on offer in the BTCC.

Cook and team-mate Dave Newsham regularly troubled the established front-runners too, with the former grabbing a memorable overall podium at Rockingham. The new outfit kept pushing until the very end of the season, as Newsham narrowly missed out on his own rostrum at both Silverstone and Brands Hatch.

The team was chosen to run the new-for-2016 RML components at Brands Hatch and then again at a post-season test at Donington Park. The whirlwind period is far from over, however, as Team Principal Adam Weaver confirmed the Chevrolet squad haven’t stopped since.

“It has been an extremely busy but brilliant year,” he said. “From buying the team through to completing our first season it has been completely flat out. We were delighted with our results, but we won’t be resting on our laurels and now it’s hopefully time to push even further up the grid.”

Part of that process over the winter will be of course to secure its driver line-up for the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, something that Weaver admits can be a long and pain-staking process.

“It’s hugely important to get the right drivers and we’re keen to speak to all interested parties,” he continued. “There’s no need to panic and that’s why we would like to assess all the options available to us and see who fits in with our philosophy and ambitions.

“People sometimes fail to realise that it requires delicate negotiations between lots of different parties. Drivers’ sponsors can't conflict with existing team sponsors, and vice versa, and then drivers have to get permission from their prospective sponsors and so on. It's an art form, one we are mastering and having to as quickly as possible.

“Nothing would have given us more pleasure than to instantly re-sign Dave Newsham and Josh Cook, and negotiations with the latter are very much still ongoing. The process is not always straight forward, however, and that’s why it’s important that we carefully evaluate every opportunity.

“We believe that we proved ourselves to be a very worthy team in what is the toughest championship in the country, and we look forward to continuing our development into 2016.”

Andrew Jordan completed a faultless day of running in both dry and wet conditions as he continued his testing programme in the newly-liveried Pirtek Racing Ford Focus at Donington Park.

Jordan made his bow in the Motorbase-run machine at Brands Hatch last month but yesterday marked his first outing with the car fully shod with the latest RML components.

“We completed more than 60 laps and had absolutely no problems whatsoever,” he told btcc.net. “It was wet in the morning, then dried out, and then it rained again later in the afternoon.”

“There are always some frustrations with changing conditions but in truth it was actually good to get some wet running – we haven’t much of that in 2015.

“The RML parts felt very good and overall the car is just so responsive. We ran with RML’s suggested base set-up rather than trying to reinvent the wheel. We believed that would be the best way to start the process and to be honest the car was in the ballpark straight away.”

Jordan and Motorbase have an extensive testing programme planned over the winter, which bodes for a team and car that was arguably the cream of the crop in the latter half of the 2015 BTCC season.

“We were able to start some fundamental sweeps through set-up changes but we have much more planned in the New Year, and particularly when we test in Portugal,” continued Jordan. “The car is easy to drive but it’s always a much bigger task to learn everything, which is obviously one of the reasons why we have such a comprehensive testing schedule ahead.

“It’s a car that you feel fyou can really influence it. It’s so responsive to driver input and I drive very much on feel, so this suits me. You can hustle the car if needs be and it provides good feedback.

“We mostly did short runs, although we probably completed three quarter race distance on one run. Like I say, it was a really productive day but we have a lot more to do in the coming months.”

WIX Racing and Eurotech were also in attendance at the open test day at Donington Park, and we’ll be catching up with both teams in the coming weeks.

Andrew Jordan has taken to the track today (Thursday) in his newly liveried Pirtek Racing Ford Focus.

The 2013 BTCC champion has driven the Motorbase-run Focus previously at Brands Hatch, but today's test at Donington marks his maiden run in the car with the latest RML components.

We briefly spoke with Andrew this morning but we'll be catching up with him in full tomorrow at the completion of the test. So look out for Andrew's exclusive interview at www.btcc.net on Friday afternoon.

PHOTO CREDIT: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Two legendary motor racing forces will be coming together in 2016 when world famous toy brand and slot-racing company Scalextric produces a host of officially licensed BTCC products.

The partnership has been in the making for more than a year with both parties now delighted to announce the full range of products that will be available from next summer.

At the very top of the list will be an incredible four-car ‘BTCC Touring Car Challenge’ app-based ARC PRO set, which is the first ever edition in the latest style of slot racing. The multi-car racing package comes complete with lane-changing track and can even be managed via your mobile device using a specifically designed app.

The cars included in this set will be Colin Turkington’s #1 Team BMR VW, Andrew Jordan’s #77 888 MG, Matt Neal’s #25 Honda Civic Type R and Rob Collard’s #7 WSR BMW 1 Series – all fully replicated from the 2015 BTCC season.

Next up is the ‘BTCC Champions’ car set, which includes the cars of the last two Championship winners of Britain’s most coveted motor sport prize. Colin Turkington’s #5 WSR BMW 1 Series and Gordon Shedden’s #52 Honda Civic Type R will see the 2014 and 2015 champs going head-to-head in a one-off collectors edition.

If that isn’t enough, Scalextric will also be producing a further six individual cars for sale, which include the two 2015 manufacturer winning Hondas of Neal and Shedden, plus Jack Goff’s #31 888 MG, Sam Tordoff’s #7 WSR BMW, Jason Plato’s #99 Team BMR VW and Andy Priaulx’s #111 WSR BMW.

Products will be released from May through to November so you can start writing your 2016 Christmas list before we’ve even celebrated this coming festive season! The multi-year partnership between the BTCC and Scalextric could see further products added in 2017, so keep up to date with all the latest news via www.scalextric.com.

Scalextric will also be working together with the BTCC throughout 2016 so look out for a host of activities at our race events, plus online competitions and a whole lot more.

Alan Gow, BTCC Series Director, said: “We are really excited by this partnership with Scalextric. The brand is a legendary household name and fits perfectly with the BTCC. We’ve had an extremely busy few months cementing some of the vital components to our championship well into the next decade, and it’s great to announce something different that we believe will excite and inspire people of all ages and indeed the next generation of BTCC fans. It just goes to further underline the massive appeal of the BTCC.”

Jim Procter-Blain, Scalextric Marketing Controller, said: “We’re very excited to announce our new BTCC range after working with the well-loved touring car series for just over a year. We’re delighted to have BTCC included in our very first app-based ARC PRO set, and we can’t wait to attend BTCC events with our new range. Scalextric and the BTCC are a great match and we hope it inspires our slot car racers to be just like their idols.”

Gordon Shedden, reigning and double BTCC champion, said: “Every kid, and some big kids, had Scalextric when I was growing up. I remember having some epic races and fun and even had a track set up full time in the spare room! It was my first introduction to motor sport you could say, which started an amazing journey to my career now. To have my 2015 Championship winning Honda Civic Type R is mega and I can’t wait to have a go and make the Scalextric version a winner as well.”

Jason Plato, double BTCC champion, said: “It’s great to see BTCC cars in the latest Scalextric range. I am sure it’s also an honour for Scalextric to be partnered with our successful series and will also excite the next generation of BTCC fans.”

Colin Turkington, double BTCC champion, said: “As a kid who grew up slightly addicted to playing Scalextric it feels pretty special to have my very own BTCC cars recreated as Scalextric models. I have no doubt the 2015 BMR VW and my 2014 championship winning car will look cool, but most importantly I hope they’re fast. I look forward to adding them to my collection.”

Matt Neal, triple BTCC champion, said: “We all grew up with Scalextric and I remember many exciting nights challenging my Dad. Now the next generation can enjoy the fun and competition, choose their weapon which has to be a Honda Civic Type R and let battle commence!"

Andrew Jordan, former BTCC champion, said: “From a very early age I was and still am addicted to cars. For me, the best way to be a ‘real life racer’ at such a young age was to play with Scalextric. I loved everything about it, from building the circuits in my bedroom with the additional grandstand and lap timer I had, to the competitive racing with the great variety of cars. We took it pretty seriously and turned our loft into a Scalextric room. I thought I would clean the track one day and was found polishing it with Mr Sheen, they didn’t quite have the grip after that...”

Listen again to the Christmas Special episode of the hugely popular Tin Top Tuesday radio show as Alan Hyde brings you all the latest BTCC news and gossip ahead of the festive season.

Autoglym Tin Top Tuesday includes studio guest – none other than Motorbase Performance boss David Bartrum – as he looked back at a successful finish to the campaign for his squad, his signing of Andrew Jordan, the recent Pirtek Racing car launch and of course ahead to an exciting 2016 season!

Stewart Lines is on air talking about the developments of Maximum Motorsport over the winter, with the team joining the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship in 2016. A number of other team bosses were on the show too as they prepare for another action-packed BTCC season.

Former champions also starred on this special Autoglym Tin Top Tuesday and a certain Series Boss even popped in to say hello! All this, along with the normal fun and frolics make this an unmissable show so make sure you visit https://soundcloud.com/tintoptuesday to listen.