Hoy's return to spark Peugeot U-Turn?

Will Hoy's return to the BTCC fold in a Class B Peugeot 306 could be seen as something of a homecoming for the 1991 series champion as he is being re-united with the man who brought him his only BTCC crown. The move has also sparked rumours about Peugeot's possible return to the BTCC as a factory team.

The pair of Touring Car VIP Club 306's which are currently the cream of the Class B field in the BTCC are run by Vic Lee, the man who guided the BMW of Hoy to the 1991 title. Lee, whose eponymous team was a prominent feature of the BTCC in its early Super Touring days, has only recently returned to the sporting scene himself after being involved in a fraud scandal.

Hoy, who last raced in the BTCC in 1998 for Ford said of the move, "I'm really looking forward to racing in the BTCC again. I raced a Class B type car at Spa in Belgium last year, so I won't be jumping in completely blind."

Thanks to Hoy's arrival, the Class B entry list for Silverstone has risen to a season high six. That number will increase to seven at Brands Hatch in August when Lee Linford enters the series in a third Touring Car VIP Club 306.

The move has coincided with the news that Peugeot mat re-enter the BTCC in a works capacity next year now that the 2001 regulations have been announced. The company has been out of the BTCC since 1998 when it abandoned its largely unsuccessful team of 406's. However Motorsports boss Mick Linford has stated that if the circumstances were right they would return. "There is the BTCC which is a natural progression for us, but it's all up to budgets."

Peugeot still enters a factory team in the British National Saloon Car Championship under the Bowman Motorsports banner. Bowman have achieved more Touring Car success with the Peugeot concern than any other outfit and would be favourite to run any factory squad next year.