The world's first touring race car based on the all-new Ford Focus makes its global debut at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, just weeks before it is scheduled to appear on the track for the first time in the ultra-competitive British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch.
Developed by Arena International Motorsport, with technical support from Ford, it is the first car to emerge from a global initiative by Ford to support private teams around the globe in developing one common race car to S2000 specification, to help private teams win major touring car categories worldwide. The first application appears on the track only a few weeks after the road-going Ford Focus will be on sale to customers across Europe and North America.
Arena International Motorsport's UK-based Team Aon has been a successful long-term competitor in the British Touring Car series with a version of the previous Focus ST model. Just 18 months after their first race with this car, the team and driver Tom Chilton secured both the 2010 Independent Teams' Championship and Independent Drivers' Championship titles in the UK.
The new Team Aon Focus touring car is expected to compete in all 10 rounds of the 2011 British Touring Car Championship .
"There has been tremendous interest in new Focus from the racing community and it's the perfect fit for a global touring car. This new BTCC Focus is the first result of a collaborative effort between Ford and race teams around the world that have already built and raced successful Focus race cars," said Jost Capito, director of Ford Global Performance Vehicles and Motorsport Business Development. "The teamwork has resulted in a global technical platform for racing using a common Focus with a safety cage built to FIA regulations - a competitive platform that can be tailored for regional competition, based on different rules."
No comments:
Post a Comment