STYLISH
VXRacing - 100 Not Out
3 September was the day VXRacing finally notched its 100th BTCC victory, when Fabrizio Giovanardi won round 23, at Knockhill. And waiting for the historic century had made it all the sweeter when it came. In one of the best races BTCC has seen, Giovanardi (on his first visit to Knockhill) fought from fourth on the grid, snatched the lead from Jason Plato, then held off Plato, Darren Turner and series leader Matt Neal to complete that magic ton, with teammate Gavin Smith completing the team's first 1-2 of 2006. It had taken 17 years to amass that first 100, but it wasn't long before they were talking about chasing the double century…
And they'll be back!
Soon after winning their 101st BTCC race, at Brands Hatch in September, VXRacing confirmed that they will chase the championship again in 2007 - and that they will be stronger, quicker and more determined than ever.
They'll be back not only to deal with unfinished business after a tough 2006 season, they'll be back because the popularity of Britain's best-attended national race series just continues to grow - including regularly attracting TV audiences approaching one million viewers.
As Vauxhall Brand Manager Stuart Harris says, 'British Touring Cars is definitely on the ascent. The competition is diversifying with more teams and larger grids, which in turn is attracting a great fan base. . . so there's no denying that 2006 has been a difficult year, but that's all the more reason to redouble our efforts, regroup and attack'. Next year BTCC switches to new Super 2000 touring car rules, and Vauxhall are developing their new engine but haven't yet confirmed which car they will race it in. Meantime, you can retrace VXRacing's 2006 campaign - including their historic 100th victory.