Repsol And A20 Continue To Paint Picture For Arrow

The Arrows team has moved closer to finalising its line-up for the 1999 season by unveiling a long-term sponsorship deal with Spanish company Repsol and the chassis with which it will begin the new season.


Team boss Tom Walkinshaw revealed the updated A20 chassis in Barcelona, at the same time confirming the deal with Repsol which brings driver Pedro de la Rosa to the Leafield outfit. Although the car is not an all-new design, and will continue to utilise the self-badged Arrows V10, Walkinshaw remained pleased with the progress his team was making.


(I welcome the new partnership with Repsol, and the arrival of Pedro de la Rosa, who has shown great talent and speed during our test sessions,) the Scot said, (I also have all confidence in Mike Coughlan's new car, and am particularly proud to see our own engine development going from strength to strength.)


Coughlan, who took over from the departed John Barnard as designer for the team, took the opportunity to point out that the A20 was more than just an update of the 1998 A19 chassis, and insisted that it would develop as the season went on.


(Although we have elected to keep the same chassis as last year,) he admitted, (the running gear and all the crucial aerodynamic features are new. The car maintains the carbon fibre gearbox, albeit with all brand new internals, making it the most advanced unit of its type.)


(The car is not yet in its final version until Imola,) he continued, (but recent testing has given us the opportunity to arrive in Melbourne with a reliable car.)


An announcement on the team's second driver is expected imminently.