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.