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Dunlop Delighted With Sport MAXX Debut Entry |
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Friday, 20 April 2007 |
Dunlop and the British Automobile Racing Club have announced that they have received an encouraging entry of twelve cars for the first ever BARC/Dunlop Sport Maxx Cup race at Snetterton on April 29th, exceeding the organiser’s original target for the opening round.
Additional cars are expected to join the series throughout its inaugural season, with BARC and Dunlop targeting a twenty car grid for the start of the first full championship season in 2008.
“We would like to thank these first competitors for committing to the
opening round. It is really significant that all of these cars are
brand new builds. They are not cars that have migrated from other
championships. BARC could have taken the easy option to get an initial
full grid and invited cars such as obsolete Clio Cup cars to boost the
grid, but they have a home in Britcar’s Dunlop Production S1 series.
For the pure production car specification BARC/Dunlop Sport Maxx Cup we
have stuck to the ethos of ‘very standard’ regulations and been
rewarded with a diverse mix of cars from day one” stated James Bailey
of Dunlop Tyres.
At the front of the field, there will be an intriguing battle between
the rear wheel drive Nissan 350Zs of Jethro Bovingdon and Shawn Taylor
who will have to fight off the latest turbocharged hot hatches such as
the Vauxhall Astra VXR of Martin Wallbank and the Renault Megane R26 of
Simon Gusterson.
The most hotly contended class will be Class C, where the 200hp Seat
Leon FR will be battling against the less powerful but more nimble
Renault Clio, MG ZR and Citroen Xsara VTR.
“Our next area of focus is to develop Classes B and A for the lower
powered cars. We already have cars such as VW Lupos, Fiat Puntos, Mini
Coopers and Citroen C2s being built for the series, but we believe that
these classes offer a great opportunity for competitors wanting to race
in a high profile series on a small budget” added Bailey.
Interestingly, approximately half of the cars on the grid are expected
to be registered for road use as well, proving the decision to keep
standard parts and off-the-shelf road legal Dunlop Sport Maxx tyres
means that entrants can have a versatile race, road and track day car.
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