ACTIVE

AND V FOR VECTRA AND VXRACING - VAUXHALL'S NEW RACING CAR OF CHOICE AND THE RESURGENT TEAM WHICH HAVE STARTED THE 2007 BTCC SEASON IN SPECTACULAR, RACE-WINNING STYLE

With their new Vectra racers, British Touring Car Championship hotshots VXRacing have hit the ground running in 2007. Over the first three meetings, the team won four BTCC races, with a further five podium spots, and took an early lead in the Teams' Championship title chase. And this fine set of season opening results is one of the best Vauxhall has ever had in almost 20 years of BTCC competition.

So with almost a third of the 30-race season completed, you'd think the team would be over the moon, wouldn't you? But VXRacing's Team Principal, Ian Harrison, is being realistic. As he points out, 'It's still very early in the season. The Fat Lady hasn't even booked her air ticket yet, let alone started warming up her singing voice. It's nice to win four races at the start of the season rather than the end, and of course we're happy with our success. But, after 60 per cent of the races, I want to have won at least eight, not four. That will be a better measure of how we're really doing.'

2007's opening rounds were played out on April Fool's Day at Brands Hatch in Kent. But while two podium places for Fabrizio Giovanardi and Tom Chilton weren't to be sniffed at, it wasn't quite the blistering start the team was looking for - even if it did move Vauxhall into a clear points lead over chief rivals, SEAT.