The first ever touring race car version of the all-new Ford Focus will make its world premiere at this week's 2011 Geneva Motor Show, ahead of it is scheduled track debut in the British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch towards the end of March.
The BTCC Focus was developed by Arena Motorsport with technical support from Ford, and it's the first car to come out from a global initiative by Ford to support private teams around the globe in developing one common race car to S2000 specification.
To meet current local regulations, Arena Motorsport's UK-based Team Aon has opted for a 2.0-litre turbocharged Ford engine, instead of the 1.6-litre Ford EcoBoost engine other teams will use in Championships in line with international FIA regulations.
"There has been tremendous interest in new Focus from the racing community and it's the perfect fit for a global touring car," said Jost Capito, director of Ford Global Performance Vehicles and Motorsport Business Development.
"This new BTCC Focus is the first result of a collaborative effort between Ford and race teams around the world that have already built and raced successful Focus race cars. The teamwork has resulted in a global technical platform for racing using a common Focus with a safety cage built to FIA regulations – a competitive platform that can be tailored for regional competition, based on different rules," Capito added.
Ford said that the new Team Aon Focus touring car is expected to compete in all 10 rounds of this year's British Touring Car Championship .
_______________________________GALLERY_______________________________
