Motorbase Performance have confirmed that the teams’ Ford Focus ST cars will run Ford EcoBoost engines for the 2015 British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) season.
Development work has been carried out during the off-season by engine partner Mountune on the new powerplant, with support from Samco Sport, Pro Alloy and Speciality Fasteners.
The first engine build has already been completed and the Kent-based team will embark on a significant pre-season testing programme ahead of the opening round of the season.
“It’s been a busy winter for us behind the scenes, but I’m delighted to be in a position to finally go public with this very exciting development for Motorbase,” said Team Principal David Bartrum. “The Ford EcoBoost engine has been a long time in the planning and it’s only really come together in recent months thanks to the great teamwork and input from Mountune and our technical partners.
“It’s early days yet and we’ve obviously still got a long way to go in terms of testing and development but it’s great news for Motorbase, Ford and the BTCC and I’m confident that we’ll be back in the thick of it once more when the flag drops in April.”
Mountune Technical Director David Mountain is confident of being able to deliver and develop a strong engine by the start of the season.
“There’s still more development to do before the start of the season” said Mountain. “Having said that, we’re confident that by the first round we’ll have a strong package available, from which we can build on during the course of the season.”
Motorbase lost long-time title sponsor Airwaves at the end of the 2014 season and have yet to reveal who their title sponsor for 2015 will be. However the team has already confirmed that former sports car driver Alex Martin will race one of their three Ford Focus STs in the coming season.