Arena announces BTCC return
Arena International Motorsport has announced it will introduce a major commercial sponsor and return to the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship in 2009, fielding a team of Ford Focus STs as an independent entry.
The team also confirmed that Tom Chilton will race one of the hatchbacks which are currently being built up in Arena’s Sussex workshops.
Arena team principal Mike Earle said: “This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for Arena to return to the BTCC after a three-year absence. We will announce our commercial partners in January, but I can confirm we will definitely be back.
“We have researched many options of cars to build and decided the Ford Focus was dynamically the most suitable for our programme.
“We will be entering the 2009 BTCC as an Independent entry. We will not be receiving any additional support from Ford.”
Arena has previously worked with Chilton in the BTCC, running him in factory and then privateer Honda Civic Type Rs from 2003 to 2005. In that time they struck up a race-winning partnership, Chilton becoming the youngest driver in BTCC history to achieve a race victory still aged only 19 in 2004.
Earle added: “We have selected Tom Chilton as the driver to lead this programme due to his suitability from both an on-track and off-track perspective.
“As a driver he has a proven track record and we are very excited to be re-united with him after the successes we enjoyed together in 2004 and 2005. Out of the car Tom has a unique appeal to our commercial partners and provides excellent PR opportunities for the programme.
“Everyone at Arena is looking forward to the challenges ahead and we are aiming to return to the winning ways we enjoyed in the BTCC in the past.”
Arena International Motorsport has announced it will introduce a major commercial sponsor and return to the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship in 2009, fielding a team of Ford Focus STs as an independent entry.
The team also confirmed that Tom Chilton will race one of the hatchbacks which are currently being built up in Arena’s Sussex workshops.
Arena team principal Mike Earle said: “This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for Arena to return to the BTCC after a three-year absence. We will announce our commercial partners in January, but I can confirm we will definitely be back.
“We have researched many options of cars to build and decided the Ford Focus was dynamically the most suitable for our programme.
“We will be entering the 2009 BTCC as an Independent entry. We will not be receiving any additional support from Ford.”
Arena has previously worked with Chilton in the BTCC, running him in factory and then privateer Honda Civic Type Rs from 2003 to 2005. In that time they struck up a race-winning partnership, Chilton becoming the youngest driver in BTCC history to achieve a race victory still aged only 19 in 2004.
Earle added: “We have selected Tom Chilton as the driver to lead this programme due to his suitability from both an on-track and off-track perspective.
“As a driver he has a proven track record and we are very excited to be re-united with him after the successes we enjoyed together in 2004 and 2005. Out of the car Tom has a unique appeal to our commercial partners and provides excellent PR opportunities for the programme.
“Everyone at Arena is looking forward to the challenges ahead and we are aiming to return to the winning ways we enjoyed in the BTCC in the past.”
