BTCC News

The Vauxhall Astra Coupe of Jason Plato topped the timesheets at the second official TOCA test of the season, at Oulton Park today.

A landmark agreement with the TOCA Tour will see BFGoodrich Tires entering the top echelon of UK motorsport as the exclusive tyre supplier to the 2001 BTCC.

At the media launch of the British Touring Car Championship the drivers and teams had plenty to say. Read what they hope to do in 2001: BTC Touring: Peugeot Sport Mick Linford - Peugeot Motorsport Director:

JSM enter the British Touring Car Championship in 2001. Team Principal John Shields said: "Achieving a place in the BTCC's as an independent team has taken a huge amount of hard work and a lot of persistence - and it's great to be here."

Team Egg:Sport, a two car team running identical Astra Coupes to Vauxhall's own works cars, has been launched at the official presentation of the Vauxhall works team livery.

Vauxhall Motorsport began its official countdown to the start of the 2001 British Touring Car Championship with the presentation of its works team livery and drivers, Yvan Muller and Jason Plato at the first official TOCA test day for BTCC teams.

The British Touring Car Championship announced today the appointment of Dawn McDaniel to the TV commentary team for the 2001 season. She will link up with the current pairing - Charlie Cox and John Watson.

Aaron Slight, the New Zealand motorcycle racer, has joined Peugeot's touring car team for 2001 after turning down superbike offers in America.

The new rule changes brought in by BTC organisers to reduce the costs of racing appear to have been successful, with the announcement that 36 cars have been officially entered for the 2001 championship. BTC Touring class entries:

Lexus BTC Touring Team, ABG Motorsport, have named their second driver for the 2001 season as Brazilian Thomas Erdos. There has been much speculation about who would fill this seat, but this official announcement should bring an end to the rumours.

The Triple Eight Vauxhall team ran at Vallelunga, in Italy this week. It was the first time the team had run the cars to the 2001 British Touring Car Championship rules.

JSM have announced their biggest and most exciting project ever taken; to run a total of six Alfa 147's, four in Class A and the other two in Class B (for Production cars) in the 2001 British Touring Car Championship.

British youngster Tom Ferrier will drive a Triple Eight-prepared Vauxhall Astra Coupe in this year's British Touring Car Championship, it was announced yesterday [Thursday].

The Peugeot 406 Coupe destined for this year's new-look British Touring Car Championship was shown for the first time in Birmingham today [Friday].

When the new rules were announced for the 2001 British Touring Car Championship, some observers felt that the 2001 season would be spent slowly trying to rebuild grid sizes and luring the spectators back to the track despite the passing of the Super Touring era.

Peugeot Motor Company today announced that BTCC veteran Steve Soper would spearhead its assault on next year's new-look British Touring Car Championship.

One of the British Touring Car Championship's most loyal supporters will return to the series next year alongside a name that will be contesting its first BTCC campaign as BMW and Lexus add further weight to the burgeoning Production Class.

Edenbridge Racing will run a brace of BMWs in next year's new-look British Touring Car Championship, after tying up a deal with two of Europe's leading saloon racing concerns.

Former Williams sponsorship director Richard West has been appointed to manage the new-look British Touring Car Championship next season.

Honda has announced that it is withdrawing from the British Touring Car Championship. William de Brackleer, Europe's Motorsport manager for Honda said: "With the imminent changes in the technical regulations we think the time is right to take a break"

Despite being a near certainty since the all-new 2001 BTCC regulations were announced back in June, Peugeot finally confirmed that they would return to the series in a works capacity next year with a two-car factory backed attack.

It may not have won the BTCC title in 2000, but the Honda team went out on a high with a double win at Silverstone to match its exploits in Europe this season.

New series promoters BMP announced at Silverstone on the eve of the 2000 British Touring Car Championship title decider that the new-look 2001 series will incorporate the current National Saloon Championship as a Class B, a move that virtually guarantees the biggest BTCC grids since the four-clas

1. Alain Menu SUI Ford Mondeo West Surrey Racing 195. 2. Anthony Reid GB Ford Mondeo West Surrey Racing 193. 3. Rickard Rydell SWE Ford Mondeo West Surrey Racing 178. 4. Yvan Muller FRA Vauxhall Vectra Triple Eight 168.