There have been some grumblings of late that race car liveries simply aren't as appealing as they once used to be. As multiple sponsors have to be involved to keep a team going, so liveries become less cohesive and more scrambled to accommodate them.
Is 2017 Jackon's championship year?
No longer! Say hello to the Motorbase Ford Focus ST for the 2017 BTCC, with Shredded Wheat as its title sponsor. Oh sure, they've also had to make room for other sponsors espares, IKO and some magazine called Autocar, but this is without doubt the Shredded Wheat Ford Focus. And who was expecting that?
Motorbase Team Principal Dave Bartrum said they were "extremely proud" to be bringing Shredded Wheat to the BTCC, those thoughts echoed in an excellent quote by Nestle UK Marketing Director Toby Baker: "The Shredded Wheat brand is a catalyst for living life to the full and so it is fantastic that we are able to partner with a high adrenaline sport like the BTCC and with a proven winning team like Motorbase." We know what's for breakfast in the Motorbase hospitality this season...
The other big news for the 2016 Independent Team champions is the retention of Mat Jackson as a driver, reigning Independent champ and in fact just 16 points behind Gordon Shedden in last year's title race. It's his eighth consecutive season with the team, with the additional drivers to be confirmed soon.
It's unknown exactly whose idea the Shredded Wheat BTCC car was, but we commend whoever came up with it because the end result looks fantastic. What else might be seen on the 2017 grid? Wheat Crunchies? Jammie Dodgers? Twix? Over to you...