Thursday 11th January 2018

Ford RS returns to the BTCC

Motorbase has upgraded its Shredded Wheat Focus ST to a Shredded Wheat RS for 2018 - here it is!

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Today sees the first bit of good news as far as BTCC 2018 goes, with the unveiling of Motorbase's new championship challenger. Yes, the Shredded Wheat livery has remained, but the car has now been upgraded from a Focus ST to an RS - a welcome return for an iconic touring car nameplate. Of course it's not quite how things used to be, the upgrade merely cosmetic rather than heralding the launch of a new homologation special, but it's interesting motorsport news nonetheless.

Team Principal Dave Bartrum said of the new look: "The RS styling suits the BTCC bodywork so well, the styling is really aggressive and has given the Focus a whole new look. The team has done an excellent job over the winter, it's not just been a case of updating a few bumpers, a lot of development work has gone into this car and we're confident that the improvements will show on track." Again the car will use a Mountune-built 2.0-litre turbo engine, with testing to commence in Spain next month ahead of the Brands Hatch season opener on April 8th.

But, well, seeing as this marks the return of the RS badge to British touring cars, we would be remiss not to revisit what made the old fast Fords so iconic. Who can forget that sensational race between Soper and Rouse at Brands Hatch that we so love on PH? See as well this incredible race at the Birmingham Superprix and the copious oversteer on show at Donington in 1988. All featuring RS Sierras of some kinds, all fantastic displays of tin-top racing. If the new Focus RS can help recreate a spectacle even half as exciting then we'll be in for a great season.

[RichTBiscuit]

Seems misleading to me.

It's not really an RS, in the same way it was never an ST.

BTCC has become pretty much like a silhouette series in recent years;

Same Engines, gearboxes and subrames bolted on to different body shells.

Snore.

[rastapasta]

so is this a Factory entry?? or are there any factory entries in this championship?? sorry i logged out in 2000 when the super touring cars were banned.

[RB Will]

Am I correct in assuming they have done this to be able to go rear wheel drive?

[anniesdad]

Looks pukka!

[8V085]

Hopefully they'll use a revised engine ha ha haaaaaaaa (sorry)

[fatboy69]

Boring series now. Same engines etc with different body shells.

So dull compared with Super Tourers.

[hurstg01]

Would still rather watch this [BTCC] than F1 though

[DanielSan]

RB Will said:

Am I correct in assuming they have done this to be able to go rear wheel drive?

Still fwd due to how the engine is mounted. They’ve done this because he RS bumpers offer more aero and have that rear diffuser that they can use unlike the old bumpers. It won’t be a massive difference but every little helps

[thebigmacmoomin]

RichTBiscuit said:

Snore.

When was the last time you watched BTCC?

[Leggy]

thebigmacmoomin said:

RichTBiscuit said:

Snore.

When was the last time you watched BTCC?

Exactly. Great bumper to bumper sport. Lots of contact too. Is brilliant to watch live. Tickets already bought for Thruxton.

[legalknievel]

Not a single three shredded wheat quip?

Shame on you, Pistonheads!

[JimbobVFR]

Leggy said:

thebigmacmoomin said:

RichTBiscuit said:

Snore.

When was the last time you watched BTCC?

Exactly. Great bumper to bumper sport. Lots of contact too. Is brilliant to watch live. Tickets already bought for Thruxton.

I find BTTC both highly entertaining (maybe for the wrong reasons) and intensely frustrating at the same time. A lot of races last year had an air of bumper cars or a destruction derby with a lot of blatant dirty driving and the impression of a large portion of bias on the part of the series organisers.

It's still massively better than F1 and I'll continue to watch and follow it but surely they can do better.

[Mark-C]

I get that this is front page on PH but don’t get the absence of a proper story on the new Ginetta LMP1

[MB140]

I was more interested in Wookies new Alfa Romeo BTCC than this.

https://www.autosport.com/btcc/news/133845/hms-rev...

Wife and I have tickets for donnigton and Rockingham already. Highlight last year was meeting Rob Austin

Edited by MB140 on Thursday 11th January 23:39

[Pericoloso]

MB140 said:

I was more interested in Wookies new Alfa Romeo BTCC than this.

https://www.autosport.com/btcc/news/133845/hms-rev...

Wife and I have tickets for donnigton and Rockingham already. Highlight last year was meeting Rob Austin

Edited by MB140 on Thursday 11th January 23:39

PH Wookie confirmed at AMD again in the Audi.

[MB140]

Pericoloso said:

MB140 said:

I was more interested in Wookies new Alfa Romeo BTCC than this.

https://www.autosport.com/btcc/news/133845/hms-rev...

Wife and I have tickets for donnigton and Rockingham already. Highlight last year was meeting Rob Austin

Edited by MB140 on Thursday 11th January 23:39

PH Wookie confirmed at AMD again in the Audi.

I stand corrected then I always though ph Wookie was Rob Austin. Either way I like the Alfa a lot.

[Matt Bird]

Mark-C said:

I get that this is front page on PH but don’t get the absence of a proper story on the new Ginetta LMP1

It's on the way, sorry! Rather a busy day on Thursday...

[mrnoisy78]

8V085 said:

Hopefully they'll use a revised engine ha ha haaaaaaaa (sorry)

Thought the same - you note the "Mountune 2.0 built engine" comment....so not an RS unit then.

[rwindmill]

JimbobVFR said:

Leggy said:

thebigmacmoomin said:

RichTBiscuit said:

Snore.

When was the last time you watched BTCC?

Exactly. Great bumper to bumper sport. Lots of contact too. Is brilliant to watch live. Tickets already bought for Thruxton.

I find BTTC both highly entertaining (maybe for the wrong reasons) and intensely frustrating at the same time. A lot of races last year had an air of bumper cars or a destruction derby with a lot of blatant dirty driving and the impression of a large portion of bias on the part of the series organisers.

It's still massively better than F1 and I'll continue to watch and follow it but surely they can do better.

Totally agree with the 'dirty driving' sentiment. I caught a few races last year and the plan seemed to be, sit behind the leader until the last lap, then punt him off at the last corner with a blatant shoulder barge and go on to win.

For too long now, BTCC has seemed like a bunch of well-to-do kids who developed their racing skills on the playstation, rather than the track.

They could all take a huge lesson from the V8 supercar series in Aus. Whilst there is contact in the racing down under, the vast majority of the time the drivers give each other space. This leads to some amazing overtakes that last up to 3-4 corners, with door handle to door handle racing at 100 mph+.

[Alex Langheck]

Matt Bird said:

Mark-C said:

I get that this is front page on PH but don’t get the absence of a proper story on the new Ginetta LMP1

It's on the way, sorry! Rather a busy day on Thursday...

What about the launch of the WRC?
I thought the whole premise of launching it at the Autosport Show was to generate interest? Apart from the usual suspects, I;e rally forums and rally journalists, I've seen very little.