New SEAT team for 2009 BTCC.

Former Independents' champion Dan Eaves is to return to the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship in 2009 after being named as the lead driver for a two-car assault on the series by Clyde Valley Racing.

The team, which had initially planned to enter the BTCC back in 2007 before sponsorship issues forced it to change its plans, will run two bio-fuelled SEAT Leons for its first year in the series under the Carbon Zero Racing banner, with title sponsorship coming from Cartridge World.

Former Team Halfords man Eaves, who took the Independents' title in 2002 and then finished third overall in 2005, will be joined at the wheel by former GT racer Phiroze Bilimoria with the team set to undergo extensive testing over the winter ahead of the new campaign.

"Unfortunately the title sponsor we had lined up [for 2007] pulled out last minute due to a company acquisition so the sponsor and the money went," team boss Colin Neill told Crash.net Radio. "We have been working since then behind the scenes to get our guys on the grids. We met with Phiroze and were introduced to Cartridge World and have also got Doug Bebb onboard as team manager, who is well known as the former SEAT team manager.

"We looked at running the Leon and Adam Jones has shown this year that it is a competitive car. Running on E85 bio-ethanol, we think we can fight near the front of the Independent teams and that is our objective for 2009. We have a steep learning curve ahead of us, but hope to fight for Independent wins and maybe the odd podium."

Both cars will be ex-works cars from the WTCC and Neill said the team hoped to take delivery of its first machine in December.

"The cars will be ex-works cars as we don't have the budget to buy brand new cars, so they will be a season old," he said. "They will come with the ECU from SEAT to run on the E85. We are looking to bring the first car into the UK in December from Spain and are on track for that. The second car should come mid-January ahead of an official launch and a winter testing programme."

Once receiving the cars, the team will then evaluate which fuel to use, with the possibility that another bio-fuel could be used instead of the bio-ethanol already used in the past by the likes of Tech-Speed and Team RAC as the team attempts to become the first carbon neutral race team in the series.