SUNRED Engineering has merged with fellow Spanish team Campos Racing to form a new team running SEAT Leóns for the 2013 World Touring Car Championship season.
SUNRED has competed in the WTCC for the past five seasons, where it has run multiple cars each year. The team ran only Tom Coronel full-time in their first season in 2008, who also took the team’s first win in Japan. In 2009 Tom Boardman was added as a full-time second driver. With SEAT’s withdrawal for the series, in 2010, 2011 and 2012 the team ran multiple cars full-time for the likes of Gabriele Tarquini, Tiago Monteiro, Nortbert Michelisz, Michel Nykjær and Fredy Barth.
“I am delighted to incorporate my team into Campos Racing,” said Joan Orús, SUNRED Team Principal. “Together we may establish a stronger team that will be able to aim for ambitious programmes. My own task is to put in place a touring car department within Campos Racing for WTCC and ETCC.”
For Adrian Campos, the move marks a further expansion of his Campos Racing team, which was founded in 1997. Since then the team have competed in predominantly single-seater categories, achieving success in Formula Three and GP2. The team mounted a bid to join the Formula One grid in 2010, but financial difficulties led to the bid being bought out and renamed Hispania F1 (now defunct).
“I am very happy, as this is the first important step for establishing a formidable team,” explained Campos. “Joan Orús is one of the persons who knows better how to run a professional team for touring cars. I hope this collaboration will give Campos Racing as many titles as we have won in single seater championships in the last fifteen years.”
The team will compete under the Campos Racing banner, with the team’s two drivers yet to be announced.