BTCC: Vauxhall Pulls Out of the 2020 Season

The Vauxhall factory British Touring Car team Power Maxed Racing will not contest the full 2020 BTCC season, leaving Jason Plato and Mat Jackson on the sidelines.

The team has said the decision was made in order to make the 2021 season, and while not specifically mentioning the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is likely that is the main cause of the team’s decision.

It means 2020 will mark the first year since 2003 that 2x BTCC champion and 97-time race winner Jason Plato will not be on the grid. It also delays Jackson’s return to the BTCC after parting ways with Motorbase Performance on the run up to the 2018 season.

As for the Vauxhall’s 2021 plans, PMR have stated that Plato is already confirmed to race, while Jackson has what the team describes as a ‘first option to continue’.

PMR boss Adam Weaver said, “Obviously taking this decision was not easy, but ourselves and our commercial partners felt that overall it’s the right thing for us to do in order to preserve our resources for next year.

“But I want to clarify that this is in no way us ‘giving up’. We are simply hitting the pause button on these agreements. It means that we’ve got even more time to develop the Astras and will come out of the blocks fighting next March!”

Jason Plato said on the matter, “I genuinely believe this is the right decision for us as a team, and all of our loyal partners.

“It may not be what people want to hear, and we are all gutted to not be racing as we had planned, but the really important thing is to make sure we are in a position to race again in ’21 and for many years beyond, and this was the best way for us all to guarantee that.”

The announcement doesn’t mean that we won’t see a Vauxhall Astra at all however, as the team plans to field either 1 or both of their cars as an independent entry in selected races in 2020, using the entry to ‘showcase and develop young motorsport talent’ and give ‘surprise guest outings to some well-known touring car stars who weren’t able to commit to a full season due to various other commitments’.

However the decision leaves just 5 cars split across 3 teams entering as 'manufacturers', with BMW down to 2 cars after Andrew Jordan's recent exit, the factory Honda team fielding 2 cars for 2019 runner up Dan Cammish and veteran 3x BTCC champion Matt Neal, and the factory Toyota Gazoo Racing team entering a single Corolla for Tom Ingram.

The 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship season gets underway at Donington Park on August 1st/2nd, with the full current grid shown below: