Champions ready to take on BTCC field

VX Racing’s defence of the British Touring Car (BTCC) Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ Championship begins next weekend with the start of the highly anticipated 2008 season at Brands Hatch, Kent.

Following a winter of hard work and development, the team is better prepared than ever to hit the track and battle with their rivals for the prestigious titles. 2007 BTCC Champion Fabrizio Giovanardi, who won ten out of 30 races last year, returns for his third season with the Luton-based manufacturer.

He will be joined by double BTCC Champion, Matt Neal, the first-ever independent driver to win the BTCC Championship and rising star, Tom Onslow-Cole, who won one race in his debut BTCC season in 2007.

With such depth of talent, the team is fired-up to begin the new season and VX Racing will be looking to carry on their momentum from 2007.

The season officially kicks off with the 30-minute qualifying session at 15:40 on Saturday, 29 March, with the cars lining-up on the grid for the first round of 2008 at 11:30 on Sunday, 30 March.

Fabrizio Giovanardi #1
“I’m really happy to be champion, also because it was one of the toughest title fights of my career. I’m a 100% committed again this year and the team is looking strong.

“Brands Hatch seems simple to drive but it’s not. Any small changes you make to the set-up result in a huge difference.

“I think the field will be very close as we had 14 cars within one second of each other at the Rockingham test session last week. I know the Vectra VXR is quick, last time we were at Brands Hatch we had two wins.”

Matt Neal #4
“Brands Hatch is a great track, even though it’s short it’s exciting to race there. The trickiest section is Clearways because you carry so much speed through but it’s great fun.
“Testing has shown that the Vectra VXR is a very good car and I’m confident we will be competitive right from the start.”

Tom Onslow-Cole #10

“I’m very excited to finally get started and it’s nice to begin the season at Brands Hatch, as it’s really my ‘home’ circuit.

“I’m well-prepared for the season and even though I’m still learning about the car and the team, I think I can fight for podium positions next weekend.”