Monday 28th November 2016

Vauxhall back in the BTCC!

Official manufacturer involvement with Power Maxed Racing will see Astras back on next year's grid

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Vauxhall is one of those manufacturers with such a long and illustrious history in touring cars that every BTCC fan will have a Vauxhall memory. There's Cleland in the Cavalier (plus his 1989 title in an Astra), the early-2000s dominance in the Astra Coupe and Giovanardi's back-to-back championships. In a Vectra.

So the return of Vauxhall for the 2017 BTCC is a pretty big deal actually. The Astra you see here will be raced with Power Maxed racing, which have been racing Chevrolet Cruzes since 2015. It will be powered by the standard BTCC 2.0-litre engine and we'll guess it will be front-wheel drive too, although that's not yet confirmed.

Vauxhall will join MG, Subaru and Honda in the battle for the BTCC Manufacturers' title, although drivers for the new Astra haven't yet been announced. Power Maxed Team Principal Adam Weaver said "We are incredibly pleased and proud to be working with Vauxhall and to be the team that brings this iconic and highly successful brand back to the BTCC."

The shells have now been supplied, with work and testing due to commence very soon. Expect a driver line up before next year as well. Oh yes, and the BTCC/Haymarket tie up has been extended, so we will continue to bring you race reports and highlights until the end of 2018 at least.

So welcome back Vauxhall, good to have you racing again. See below for classic Vectra carnage with Derek Warwick and John Cleland, just to set the mood. Fancy a return chaps?

BTCC 1998 video here.

[Source: BTCC.net]

 

[Allaloneatron]

Being old and creaky and remembering the good old days, I would rather it was the Insignia they were taking out on the track.

[Relax]

Junk cars Vauxhall, nothing to get excited about lol.

[IanJ9375]

Relax said:

Junk cars Vauxhall, nothing to get excited about lol.

It's good news to have any manufacturer entry in the BTCC - think before you type next time

[mikeg15]

I wonder why they bother. With that livery effectively disguising the vehicle underneath so that it is unrecognisable as anything Vauxhall.
I suppose it keeps the marketistas in work.

[IanJ9375]

mikeg15 said:

I wonder why they bother. With that livery effectively disguising the vehicle underneath so that it is unrecognisable as anything Vauxhall.
I suppose it keeps the marketistas in work.

Makes more sense than sponsoring the Football if you ask me, and also the fact that they've done a deal to supply their fleet -

"This landmark deal will see Automotive Brands run a fleet of Vauxhall vehicles as well as leverage its relationships with commercial partners who operate fleets totalling over 25,000 light commercial vehicles. The deal will enable Vauxhall to increase its share of this highly valued market."

Full story - http://www.btcc.net/2016/11/22/power-maxed-racing-...

[MG CHRIS]

Allaloneatron said:

Being old and creaky and remembering the good old days, I would rather it was the Insignia they were taking out on the track.

Um there has been a insignia raced in the btcc not that long ago it was st it was built by a well known Vauxhall tunning company as well.

The astra fits the ngtc regs way better than the insignia.

[MG CHRIS]

mikeg15 said:

I wonder why they bother. With that livery effectively disguising the vehicle underneath so that it is unrecognisable as anything Vauxhall.
I suppose it keeps the marketistas in work.

Its a rendering of what it could look like which wont be anywhere like that as that is based of the tcr racing astra which is a totally different rule set to the btcc

Oh and pistonheads this was announced last week you think you be quicker to announce news like this considering your paymasters are sponsoring the btcc.

[Northern_Monkey]

Clever deal from PMR - with the fleet aspect of things with the parent company.

These are the kind of deals you should expect now rather than a full blown manufacturer outfit - an agreement that works for both sides for differing reasons.

[eastlmark]

Relax said:

Junk cars Vauxhall, nothing to get excited about lol.

not much Vauxhall in it so wouldn't worry about it, good to have another shaped car on the grid.

[krismccloy]

By no means a Vauxhall fan, But nice to see another manufacturer entry, Another reason to look forward to the 2017 season.

[RodeVR]

Speaking of the Astra K ... They seem to be taking their merry old time churning out a VXR version.

Good to see Vauxhall back in the BTCC.

[IanJ9375]

RodeVR said:

Speaking of the Astra K ... They seem to be taking their merry old time churning out a VXR version.

Good to see Vauxhall back in the BTCC.

No VXR coming in the K model, the GTC which is the 3dr model is carrying on at the moment whilst the K 5dr is effectively a model ahead - bit like what VW have done with the Scirocco compared to the Golf.

[Rude-boy]

IanJ9375 said:

It's good news to have any manufacturer entry in the BTCC - think before you type next time

Is it really good news to have a manufacturer entry back in the BTCC?

The Honda/Dynamics set up is the closest to that i would like to see.

[MG CHRIS]

Rude-boy said:

IanJ9375 said:

It's good news to have any manufacturer entry in the BTCC - think before you type next time

Is it really good news to have a manufacturer entry back in the BTCC?

The Honda/Dynamics set up is the closest to that i would like to see.

The pmr deal is pretty similar to the 888 set up with mg the manufacture pays the entry fees and shells the rest is from the team.

[DanielSan]

I'm surprised Vauxhall haven't insisted on getting at least one experienced/winning driver in the lineup. Granted we don't know whose in the second car yet but the potentials don't seem great.

[rubystone]

MG CHRIS said:

The pmr deal is pretty similar to the 888 set up with mg the manufacture pays the entry fees and shells the rest is from the team.

So which entries are genuinely manufacturer supported? I'm told some so called manufacturer teams are a little strapped for cash right now. Apparently some might even be having trouble getting credit from suppliers.

So just how healthy is BTCC when one strips out all the fluff and bullst?

[knowitall]

rubystone said:

So just how healthy is BTCC when one strips out all the fluff and bullst?

Then on that basis just how healthy is F1. or WEC. or WRC. or Indycar. or Supercars. or WTCC or etc etc.

I can't think of a single major professional championship where every competing team is in rude health, doesn't have any issues and is profitable - can you?

[MG CHRIS]

rubystone said:

MG CHRIS said:

The pmr deal is pretty similar to the 888 set up with mg the manufacture pays the entry fees and shells the rest is from the team.

So which entries are genuinely manufacturer supported? I'm told some so called manufacturer teams are a little strapped for cash right now. Apparently some might even be having trouble getting credit from suppliers.

So just how healthy is BTCC when one strips out all the fluff and bullst?

None really, not like the 90s but the grids are full and the top 20 are quality drivers, pretty much the same big teams around now come from the 90s. The series isn't deisgined for manufactures but for the privateer teams and its working.

Dynamics has more than likely the biggest manufacture input with Honda but they still need Halfords sponsorship this year not that sure on the Subaru deal but the 888 mg deal is similar to this Vauxhall deal.

[EDLT]

Manufacturer teams are a bad idea long term, they push up costs until independent teams can't compete then bugger off as soon as marketing tells them it isn't worth it so we end up with the "glory days" of the early 2000s when there was only half a dozen competitive cars and three different models.