Britain?s biggest motorsport series has announced its largest-ever grid of cars.
A total of 32 cars from 11 brands will compete in the British Touring Car Championship.
The BTCC saw grids of 32 cars at some races in 2015, but this is the first season in which a full grid has been confirmed for the entire championship. Series organisers are also revealing that with the grid full two further entries were turned away.
The 11 brands represented comprise Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Honda, MG, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Proton, Subaru, Toyota and Volkswagen. Newest manufacturer on the grid is Subaru ? leading team BMR, which was in contention for the drivers championship right up to the final race of the 2015 season, has replaced its Volkswagen CC cars with the new Subaru Levorg GT estate. The Subaru Levorg is a new shape in the 2016 championship.
As the championship outlaws all-wheel-drive powertrains, BMR will run its four Subarus, two of them driven by former champions Jason Plato and Colin Turkington, in rear-wheel-drive configuration.
Many rivals believe the Subaru?s flat-four ?Boxer? engine, which is both compact and sits very low in the chassis, is likely to be a major competitive advantage for the BMR cars.
Honda Yuasa Racing, which won the 2015 title with driver Gordon Shedden, has a new engine in its Civic Type-R cars this year and a returning sponsor in Halfords Autocentres.
The 2016 season is expected to be the most open for some time. Several drivers have moved from one team t...