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Ford to return to the BTCC

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It seems that the Ford name could be back on the grid of the HiQ MSA British Touring Championship in 2009 after an absence of eight years.
The expected team of Ford Focus saloons will reportedly be an independant entry without official manufacturer backing. The Ford blue oval was last seen in the top tier of the championship in 2000, the last year of Supertouring.

The cars are being built by Arena Motorsport at their West Sussex base, with finance from a private backer. Tom Chilton is expected to be confirmed as the main driver for the team.

Although Ford have been seen in the BTCC since they dominated the proceedings in 2000, albeit in the production class in the following year.

Ford’s last official entry into the BTCC saw the manufacturer go onto make a clean sweep of the Drivers, Teams and Manufacturers titles with their drivers taking the top three places in the final placings at the end of 2000.

Even though it is expected to be an independant entry, this marks a serious return to the highest profile race championship in the UK.

The project was started last year, but was put on the back burner as it’s intended main driver Tom Chilton signed for Team Halfords.

Now with Chilton not re-joining Team Dynamics, the project has been restarted although not as a manufacturer entry, but we at TouringCarTimes understand with Ford’s blessing!

Stay tuned for more information..