BTCC News
New Team For BTCC In 2005
By
Dec 21, 2004, 22:50

A new team will enter the MSA British Touring Car Championship in 2005 thanks to new sporting regulations devised to help attract fresh faces to the grid.

SpeedEquipe will move up into the BTCC, Britain’s biggest motor racing championship, with a Lexus IS200 built to FIA ‘Super 2000’ specification. This will be achieved through ‘local homologation’ granted by the BTCC’s technical chiefs. Previously, ‘Super 2000’ cars, raced in the European Touring Car series, have been permitted into the BTCC but only with homologation from the FIA.

SpeedEquipe boasts a successful history, with titles in Mini Miglias and Mini Seven racing in the mid-Nineties. More recently, it has emerged as a race-winner in the Renault Clio Cup that supports the BTCC. Its owners are Dave Older and Jason Porter – a co-founder of the hugely successful Friends Reunited website.

Older believes the rear-wheel-driven Lexus – a version of which, built to BTC specification, raced in the BTCC in 2001 – has the potential to spring a surprise or two as the season progresses.

Older said: “The Lexus has twin wishbone suspension all-round, with a very strong and powerful engine, so the team will have less to find when trying to match the performance of the current manufacturer developed cars. With a good platform to start with and a team of the right people with the right skills and commitment, SpeedEquipe hopes to climb the learning curve as quickly as possible.

“The key objectives for the 2005 season are to learn about the dynamics of the race car, running a car in the BTCC and to become faster during the season. The team’s expectations are based around the car’s relative competitiveness compared to other Super 2000 spec. cars, particularly those cars run by Independent teams.

“If we can regularly run in the top ten against the factory SEATs and Vauxhalls plus the other established Independents then I think we can say we’ve done a good job on the budget available.”

Older expects to announce the driver of his team’s Lexus early in the New Year.

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