BTC Racing raring to go with “spectacular” Chevrolet Cruze

BTC Racing boss Bert Taylor says the team’s “spectacular” new Chevrolet Cruze is almost ready to hit the track – and believes it’s the best car he’s ever worked on.

The team took delivery of the ex-RML shell in December 2012, and started working on it around March 2013. And it has since become a labour of love for the boss’s son, Ben, who has been working on it from 6am to 4pm, three days a week, for six months.

Taylor said the team has spent 640 man hours working on the shell and subframe alone, and estimated the cost so far to be in the region of £450,000.

But now the Cruze is just waiting for its engine before it runs for the first time – and TouringCarTimes understands the team is also set to unveil a title sponsorship deal in the coming days.

The #28 machine will be driven by Chris Stockton, who returns for his first full season in the BTCC since a giant-killing year in the recalcitrant Lexus IS200 in 2007.

Speaking to TouringCarTimes, Taylor said: “We bought the shell, but we have had to build and design the rest of it. It has been a long journey. There is so much of it we didn’t give consideration to, like the bodywork – that’s a six-month job, four if you’re lucky.

“Trying to build a car to replicate a works car has been difficult. But Peter Riches, and the other [TOCA] guys who have seen the car, say it is one of the best built they have seen, if not the best.

“It is encouraging, and when you see the livery, it is pretty spectacular. The whole thing is RML. I have been involved in a few cars, and nothing comes close to this one.”

Thoughts will soon switch to the Cruze hitting the circuit for the first time, ahead of the season opener at Brands Hatch.

Taylor said: “We are almost ready to go. We’re just waiting for the engine from RML, and should have it back by Wednesday or Thursday.

“We will then get out [testing] as soon as possible, as soon as the weather turns, in mid-February or the beginning of March.”

Taylor said the team is once again joining at a time when the series is on the up, as it was in 2007, but added: “We’re not scared of a challenge.

“We always set out to win a race, and that is still our goal.”