Windy wrote:Motorsport News is saying that MG is about to announce a 3 year factory backed program to be on the grid at the start of the 2012 British Touring Car Championship.
They have a picture of a standard MG6, but say that there are no details yet - keep listening...
I guess this may tie up nicely with the launch of the UK MG3.
If it makes it for 2012 then it has to be the MG6. I'm not sure that the weight is a big issue since under the new rules the cars share so many components for cost saving reasons that they there is not much of the original road car left in an NGTC BTCC car. It probably makes sense to use the standard engine so that they can compete on the same level as the other NGTC cars and with similar reliability but if they want to win and are prepared to take the risk of lots of teething problems then the new SAIC 2.0 direct injection Turbo NLE might be the choice, if it goes on sale in time! I don't think a K series could be competetive with the current rules.MartinZT wrote:I have heard similar rumours from someone involved in motorsport and an MG follower/writer. His comment was that if it is going to happen an announcement will probably be around the time of the Autosport show in January. The question is, is the MG6 the car that will be used? Seems a bit heavy for the job? Also, what engines? Will it be the standard formula engine?
Two MG6 GT cars will run in the all-new MG KX Momentum Racing team piloted by double BTCC champion Jason Plato and BTCC rising star Andy Neate.
The cars will be prepared by Triple Eight Race Engineering, one of the most successful constructors in touring car racing. And completing the ‘dream team’ are principal sponsors Tesco Fuels with their Momentum 99 brand and KX energy drink completing an all-British line-up.
MG KX Momentum Racing will debut at Brands Hatch on April 1 when the 2012 Dunlop MSA BTCC championship season gets under way.
The MG6 GT five-door fastback is the first all-new MG in 16 years. It is designed and engineered at MG Motor UK’s plant in Birmingham where final assembly also takes place.
Jason Plato is the most successful driver in BTCC racing history with 68 career wins, with more fastest laps, pole and podium positions than any other driver in the history of the Series. He is undoubtedly the face of British Touring Cars as well as being a well-known and respected TV presenter and newly appointed Director of the British Racing Drivers Club.
Plato said: “It’s really exciting to be involved in a brand-new all-British team and it’s just brilliant that the iconic name of MG will be back on the track.”
Guy Jones, MG Motor’s Sales & Marketing Director, said: “We are delighted that the new MG6 will be seen by millions of fans in Britain and beyond and this continues the famous sporting lineage of the brand.”
Triple Eight, headed by Ian Harrison, is based at Greatworth, just a few miles from the famous Silverstone race circuit. The company has more than 100 BTCC race wins to its credit.
patpending wrote:I notice the "KX" is an energy drink.
THE SUN and Jason Plato are aiming to rock British motorsport with a mega new project.
SunSport columnist Plato will contest this year's British Touring Car Championship in a works MG – bringing the iconic Midlands brand back into top-level motor racing.
The bold move will also give MG's Chinese owners their first taste of racing in the UK's premier series.
Two-time BTCC champ Plato will fly Sun colours on an MG6 Fastback prepared by the team boasting the most wins in the history of the series, Triple Eight Race Engineering.
He has landed a three-year deal – backed by store giants Tesco through their Momentum 99 fuel and KX energy drink brands – that has lured him away from his successful partnership with the RML Chevrolet team.
Plato said: "This is one of the best opportunities that has come my way in the whole of my career.
"It's incredibly exciting to be with a new British team, with the cars designed and built in Birmingham.
"It's a rebirth of the famous MG brand and Triple Eight are without doubt the BTCC's most successful team.
"It's amazing to be in the embryonic stages of a programme like this – and that's when I'm at my best.
"If I can have an input from the start, not just in terms of developing the race car but in everything that surrounds it, that will be great.
"I believe this project is great news not just for me, but for British motor racing and all the many fans of MG."
Plato, the BTCC's most successful driver ever with 68 wins, has no doubt the MG will give him the chance of a third title.
He said: "Every year when I arrive at the first race I believe I am going to win. And things are no different this time."
Triple Eight chief Ian Harrison said the "base platform" of the MG6 looks good in terms of body shell and aerodynamics.
He admitted the team "has a mountain to climb" to prepare Plato's car for the first race of the season on April 1.
But he added: "If it was easy everyone would be doing it. We've just got to knuckle down."
MG, a subsidiary of China's Shanghai Automotive car company, have hailed their partnership with Plato, The Sun, Triple Eight and Tesco as a "dream team".
Marketing director Guy Jones said: "We are delighted the new MG6 will be seen by millions of fans in Britain and beyond. This continues our famous sporting lineage."
Plato, who will have improving BTCC regular Andy Neate as a team-mate, is embarking on his fourth year as a SunSport columnist.
And The Sun's Online Sports Editor Jim Munro said: "This looks like it will be the most exciting yet. Bring it on!"
patpending wrote:Video of interview with Jason Plato, Andy Neate, Ian Harrison from Triple 8 Racing, and Guy Jones.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJSEmEJvrAs
MG hoping for sales boost after entering British Touring Car Championship by patpending on Thu Feb 02, 2012 8:07 am
“This is a commercial decision. We have got to get out there and sell products. We’ve done the hard bit, getting the team off the ground commercially, the next step is we need to sell products.”
Mr Jones would not be drawn on sales figures but added: “We sold 360 cars last year and our first milestone will be 1,000 cars. We don’t want to be bandying numbers around yet.
"I have been criticised for being too reticent but people have been hanged for giving numbers out".
The BTCC project is part of MG Motor UK’s growth strategy which this year will see the expansion of its UK dealer network, which currently stands at 40, and the launch of a diesel version of the MG6.
Next year will herald expansion into Europe and the arrival of a new model – the MG3.
Moving into Europe will be a “step by step approach”, according to Mr Jones who added: “We don’t have any distribution network in Europe so we will be building from scratch. But we have got a famous and iconic brand with big expectations.
patpending wrote:SOURCE: Birmingham Post
http://www.birminghampost.net/birmingham-business/birmingham-business-news/automotive-business/2012/02/02/mg-hoping-for-sales-boost-after-entering-british-touring-car-championship-65233-30247372/2/
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