Reigning British Touring car Championship Independents’ Champion James Nash has signed with Team Aon to compete in the 2012 FIA World Touring car Championship at the wheel of a turbocharged ‘Global’ Ford Focus.
Twenty six year old Nash, who secured one victory en route to fifth in the outright BTCC drivers’ standings in 2011 is excited about the challenges which lay ahead for him, and the team are confident that they can be competitive from the off.
Speaking about the announcement, Nash said: “Taking the step up into the WTCC is a great challenge and very exciting. The whole Team Aon and Ford package is fantastic. With Ford’s support and Team AON’s detailed knowledge of the car I’m hugely looking forward to what I hope will be another rewarding season.”
Nash openly admitted that he could have stayed in the BTCC for 2012, but the lure of going up against some of the biggest names in the Touring Car world was something that he couldn’t turn down.
“Of course, as a reigning British Champion it has been a difficult decision to move away from the National series,” added Nash, who was the only driver to finish every race in the 2011 BTCC. “I had offers to stay but quite honestly the lure of world competition was too strong to resist.
“I can’t wait to go wheel to wheel with people like 3-time World Champion Yvan Muller, Rob Huff, Alain Menu and Gabriele Tarquinii. I’ve grown up watching them race and I’m itching to get behind the wheel and make my own mark too.”
Looking back at the 2011 campaign, Nash admits that the cars which the Triple Eight team used were as developed as they could have been and is looking forward to the challenge of helping develop the Team Aon Ford Focus, with the 1.6-litre turbocharged engine from Mountune.
Nash concluded by saying: “Helping the team to develop the Focus is also something I’m really looking forward to. Last year with the Triple Eight team budget was tight and anyway the Vauxhall cars we used were pretty much fully developed. The Focus though is new and already in pre-season testing I’ve found a few things that enabled me and my new team-mate lap to close to qualifying record speed.”
The 2012 FIA World Touring Car Championship gets underway at Monza, Italy over the 10/11 March, with the season concluding at Macau in November.
Eurosport will once again be providing live coverage of qualifying and the races in 2012, as Nash heads into his latest career challenge.