James Nash took a Vectra to the 2011 Independents' title (Photo Credit: BTCC.net)
Chris James' Team ES Racing squad will field Vauxhall Vectras in their 2012 British Touring Car campaign.
James himself will return for a second season behind the wheel, with Dave Newsham joining the team for 2012. A third race seat is still available at the team if a driver can bring the necessary budget to the team.
The Vectra has been a race winner in previous seasons, James Nash, Andrew Jordan, Fabrizio Giovanardi, Matt Neal and Tom Onslow-Cole all claiming victories in the car since it was introduced by Vauxhall’s works outfit for the 2007 season.
The Vectras will run in the same spec that James Nash used to win the 2011 Independents' title in running a NGTC engine in an S2000-spec chassis. Chris James is confident that the tried and tested nature of the package will reap early rewards for his Luton-based squad.
“We will get podiums and maybe even sneak more than that,” said James, “certainly in the first half of the season. NGTC will get stronger but I truly believe that like football it will be a game of two halves – the first half will be S2000 and the second NGTC.”
“[The Vectras are] race winning cars and they will continue to be highly competitive in 2012. We're delighted to get the deal concluded to run the Vectra's and look forward to pushing hard at the start of the season. They come with a great spares package and a massive amount of data so we should be able to hit the ground running.”
The team's new car will make their first appearance at the BTCC Media Day on March 19 at Silverstone, with the afternoon testing session being open to the public.
