The AmDTuning.com team have confirmed that they will be the latest team to embrace the NGTC regulations after confirming that they will enter an NGTC car for 2013.
Having competed with an S2000 Volkswagen Golf for the previous three seasons, the switch to the NGTC regulations will see the team undertake development of the Vauxhall Astra ahead of the switch for the second half of the 2013 campaign.
The team will start the 2013 campaign using the VW Golf due to the lateness of the announcement of the switch to the Astra. The team plan to use the TOCA engine in the Astra, while the final specification of the car is yet to be decided.
“When I first saw the Astra I thought it would make a fantastic BTCC car and I’m excited about this new programme,” team boss Shaun Hollamby said. “While this is a privateer programme, Vauxhall has been an integral part of British Touring Cars for a long time and we are fully focused on producing a car that will be capable of challenging at the sharp end of the grid.
“As a company, AmDTuning.com is known for its work with cars from the Volkswagen Audi Group, but we work with cars from a wide range of manufacturers and thought long and hard about the best model to use for our first NGTC machine. The Astra is a good size with strong aerodynamics and fits well into the regulations, which seem to favour the smaller and more nimble cars.
“While we have been thinking about this move for some time, the fact that the programme has come together now means we will focus on developing the Astra for the second half of the season, giving us the chance to build the car and do some testing before giving it its race debut.”
No drivers have been announced for the forthcoming campaign but the team could run both the S2000 Golf and NGTC Astra once the new car is ready for its race debut.
“We are talking with Ollie Jackson and would love to keep him onboard as he did a great job last year and showed that he deserves his place in the BTCC,” Hollamby continued, “but we are also interested in speaking to other drivers who are interested in competing in the series this season.
“While our plan at the moment is to start the year with the Golf before introducing the Astra, we could run the Volkswagen for the full season if the right driver comes along who wants to compete for the Jack Sears Trophy. With the reduced boost levels that the S2000 cars will run to, it will be a competitive package for a driver who doesn’t quite have the budget to go with an NGTC programme.
“With that in mind, there are various options for us to explore on the driver front and we will make an announcement in due course when the final decisions have been made.”