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Dunlop Sport Maxx Cup promisses strong grids for first championship races next month |
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Saturday, 29 March 2008 |
After a successful pilot season, the BARC/Dunlop Sport
Maxx Cup has been confirmed as a full-time prime championship in the Dunlop
Great and British Festivals package for 2008. Dunlop, co-sponsors to the HiQ MSA
British Touring Car Championship, has pledged to promote the Cup as a BTCC
‘feeder series’.
The championship, for near-standard production cars,
runs in three classes based on power to weight ratios, and is set to replicate
the BTCC with a Vauxhall versus SEAT and BMW battle at the front of the field.
In the most powerful class a fleet of
Vauxhall Astra VXRs head the line up with a strong driver line-up. Former
Ginetta Rookie Champion, Simon Shaw; VXR Driver of The Year winner, John Allison
and 2007 winner Martin Wallbank will represent Vauxhall in Class A. They face a
stern challenge from the SEAT Leon Cupra to be driven by former VW Cup winner,
Shaun Hollamby and at least two BMW M3s, with 2007 Brands Hatch winner, John
Thorne, heading the Bavarian charge. Two Ford Focus STs and a Nissan 350Z are
also expected to be front runners in this class.
The SEAT and Vauxhall will also be doing battle in Class B as well, with
Leyton Clarke (Corsa SRi Turbo), Boyzone singer and British GT Winner Shane
Lynch (doing three rounds of the 2008 Cup in a SEAT Leon FR) already signed up
to challenge the 2007 MG ZR and Renaultsport Clio domination of this class.
Westfield Winner, Quentin Laithwaite, will be a front runner in his Clio in
Class B, and hoping to nibble at the bigger class cars on the twistier
circuits.
In Class C, for smaller cars,
it looks set to be shoot out between a number of VW Lupo GTi, Mini Cooper and
Fiat Punto HGT drivers, looking to tackle the prolific 2007 winner, Paul Lund,
who returns in his Alfa Romeo 147.
Twenty
cars are expected on the grid for the first championship race at Snetterton on
April 27th, with more cars expected to join the championship before
mid-season.
Being part of the Dunlop
Great and British package will mean the championship will benefit from full
BTCC-standard Dunlop technical support, professionally promoted events and
television coverage at six of the eight double header rounds (shown in bold
below)
Calendar 2008:
SNETTERTON 27 APRIL 2008
PEMBREY 11 MAY 2008
CROFT 15 JUNE 2008
CASTLE
COMBE 20 JULY 2008
DONINGTON PARK 03
AUGUST 2008
BRANDS HATCH 25 AUGUST
2008
THRUXTON 7 SEPTEMBER 2008
ROCKINGHAM 28 SEPTEMBER 2008
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