Former independent team Speedworks Motorsport gets manufacturer backing for 2019
Toyota will make a return the British Touring Car Championship next year as a manufacturer for the first time since 1995, when it fields a Corolla with Speedworks Motorsport and its sole driver, Tom Ingram. Fresh from topping the independent running this year, the Cheshire-based team will receive full factory backing from Toyota as well as an all-new car based on the latest five-door hatchback.
Speedworks, which supported 25-year-old Ingram to finish as runner up in the overall BTCC standings with an Avensis this year, will now run under the banner of Toyota GB. The team is re-engineering the Corolla into NGTC form, as per the BTCC’s regulations, so it’ll use a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine producing around 350hp, based on a unit provided by Toyota. New renderings show how the race-spec Corolla will look once work is finished, including its white and red colour scheme.
The 2019 deal comes after several years of growing involvement from Toyota, as Speedworks team principle Christian Dick explains. He said the team has been “nurturing [the] bond through our common passion for motorsport, engineering excellence and, ultimately, success. Our new relationship with [Toyota] will enable us to take that final step and really push for the overall BTCC title”.
Toyota’s last full factory involvement in the BTCC saw it field a pair of Supertouring-spec Carinas in the mid-90s, but it enjoyed most success in the 1980s. The appropriately named Win Percy won Toyota’s first BTCC title in 1982 with a Corolla GT, before Chris Hodgetts used the same model to win again in ’86 and ’87.
No doubt Toyota’s deal with Speedworks – now entering its ninth season in the BTCC – is aimed at repeating this level of success using its new Corolla. Of course, given Speedworks’ achievements prior to gaining factory support, it looks as well placed as any take on the likes of BMW, Honda and Subaru in 2019. We can’t wait to see how it fares when racing kicks off again in April.
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