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Vauxhall to defend
BTCC titles with new Astra
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Re igning
champion Vauxhall will launch its assault on the 2005 British
Touring Car Championship with a brand new three-door Astra this year
– the new Astra Sport Hatch.
The new generation VX Racing car makes its competition debut in the
opening rounds of the 2005 BTCC at Donington Park in April, in the
same week its sister car, the three-door Astra Sport Hatch goes on
sale across the UK.
An artist’s impression of the new Astra Sport Hatch BTCC car is
shown on Vauxhall’s stand at this week’s Autosport International
exhibition (NEC, Birmingham, January 13-16).
Based on the latest generation Astra road car, Vauxhall’s new
racer comes with a strong racing pedigree, its predecessor, the
out-going Astra Coupe, being the most successful car ever in the
BTCC.
Stuart Harris, VXR Brand Manager, said: "The new Astra Sport
Hatch has a tough act to follow because the old Astra Coupe was so
incredibly successful, winning the BTCC manufacturer’s, team and
driver’s titles for four straight seasons. It always takes some
time to develop a new racing car, but the newcomer does have some
inherent design advantages over the outgoing car, and we’d like to
think it won’t be long before the new Astra is winning
races."
BTCC technical regulations require the racing cars to retain a
strong similarity to their roadgoing counterparts, retaining
essentially the same suspension layout, engine structure, engine
position, and bodywork.
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Click on image for larger version
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The new Astra Sport Hatch’s chassis is stiffer
than its predecessors, which benefits roadholding; the front and
rear tracks are a little wider, which will aid stability and
increase the grip potential; and the front and rear suspensions,
while remaining essentially the same as the road car’s in layout
and geometry, have been re-tuned to increase installation stiffness
and improve control. The new three-door Sport Hatch has a
particularly low roofline, which gives a useful aerodynamic
advantage.
Currently under construction, the new car is scheduled to have its
first high-speed runs at Jarama circuit in Spain later this month.
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