Ford will show off their new Touring car based on the 2012 Focus at the Geneva Motor Show, ahead of the car’s first track appearance at Brands Hatch in the British Touring Car Championship.
This car will start its motoracing career a few weeks after the production version goes on sale in UK and Europe. The car is developed by the Arena Motorsport. This car will be the new BTCC contender for Team Aon that has been a successful long-term competitor in the British Touring Car series with a version of the previous Focus ST model. But it won’t be limited to Britain. The car will also compete in various Touring series across the globe thanks to its standard S2000 specification.
The new Team Aon Focus touring car is expected to compete in all 10 rounds of the 2011 British Touring Car Championship. For 2011 season with the car gets a turbocharged 2.0-litre Ford engine to meet current local regulations, rather than the 1.6-litre Ford EcoBoost engine other teams will use in Championships in line with international FIA regulations.
“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.”
“It is always very satisfying to see privateers taking Ford products and racing successfully with them,” said Gerard Quinn, Ford of Europe Motorsport senior manager. “This demonstrates a real level of trust and confidence in our product and when we are able to bring some help as well, that faith can be rewarded with even more success.”
