New Avensis racers which will take part in the 2011 BTCC have been unveiled.
Dynojet Racing and Hughes Motorsport/Speedworks have unveiled the Toyota Avensis racers they hope will power them to a successful season on the track in the 2011 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.
The series starts at Brands Hatch on 3 April, and both teams used the public unveiling at Silverstone this week to talk about their hopes for the new cars, designed to meet the BTCC's new Next Generation Touring Car regulations.
Dynojet Racing's driver is the reigning Ginetta G50 Cup Champion Frank Wrathall Jnr, and the 24-year-old Lancastrian will be making his Touring Car debut in a 2.0-litre turbocharged Avensis. The engine has been developed by X CTech R, and will produce in excess of 300bhp. Unfortunately, component delays mean the car will not be put through shakedown testing until early next week, but Wrathall remained optimistic: "It looks amazing and we are all delighted with it," said Wrathall, "It's frustrating not to have done more testing, but we will just get on with it and I hope that over the course of the season we can show the car's potential and, most of all, enjoy ourselves along the way."
Stockport-based Tony Hughes is another former Ginetta racer making the step up to the BTCC. He was able to use the Silverstone unveiling to run a few exploratory laps in his Hughes Motorsport/Speedworks Toyota Avensis. "I am sure that when we get the car running smoothly that it will perform as amazingly as it looks," said an impressed Hughes after stepping from the cockpit, "This was literally my first time at the wheel and the suspension, the brakes and so on all felt good. I am hoping to get to know the car better in testing next week."
Both teams have had their cars built by GPR Motorsport from bodyshells produced at the Toyota factory at Burnaston, near Derby.
The British Touring Car Championship, organised by TOCA, should be more competitive than ever this season, with a record 27 cars participating. There will be 10 different manufacturers represented on the grid, run by a mix of factory teams, and privateer teams like Dynojet Racing and Hughes Motorsport/Speedworks. All 10 race days in the BTCC calendar will be covered live by ITV4, and qualifying sessions will now also be available to view on the itv.com website.
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