Silverline Chevrolet used the recent Media Day at Silverstone to unveil the cars they hope will take them to title glory once again in 2011 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship. The Cruzes, built by the hugely successful RML Group, will be driven once again by reigning champion Jason Plato and Alex MacDowall.
The cars livery follows the design used on RML's World Touring Car Championship cars and once again features title sponsorship from Silverline. The car also features backing from DuPont, ECM Vehicle Logistics and Tesco Momentum 99 Octane fuel, with Plato's car hosting additional sponsorship from Britain's biggest-selling newspaper, The Sun.
When the grid lines up at the opening round at Brands Hatch on April 3rd, there will be three additional Chevrolets running on the BTCC grid, with two Cruzes in the hands of the GoMobileUK.com with Tech-Speed team and a Lacetti run by Team ES Racing.
The Media Day also saw the BTCC runners enjoy a test around the Silverstone National circuit and with both Chevrolet's drivers now having driven the 2011 Cruze, they are both happy with it potential.
BTCC Veteran Plato said: “It's even better than last year's car, and we won the championship in that!”
MacDowall added: “I'm thrilled to be driving for Silverline Chevrolet again, and the car feels brilliant.
“Last season was a learning curve for me – it's fair to say nerves got the better of me a couple of times – but this year I'm much more comfortable and much more confident. I'm hoping for some good results, and hopefully a couple of wins.”
Unveiling the cars was RML Group's Sponsorship Director, Rupert Mainwaring, who commented: “It's great to see the Silverline Chevrolet team getting such great support – it shows the broad appeal of the country's most exciting motorsport series, and gives us a great boost as we head into what promises to be the BTCC's most competitive season ever.”
Chevrolet Managing Director, Mark Terry, added: “Last year I had great pride in seeing the Chevrolet Cruze winning the BTCC driver's title in its first full season, and this year I can't wait to once again see the Cruze leading rival models around the track. We've got a great team behind us, and we're extremely excited about our prospects for 2011.
It's Chevrolet's centenary year, we have four major new model launches, and it's important that our long tradition of motorsport is part of what will be one of the most significant years in our company's history.”
