The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom , currently organised and administered by TOCA . It was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and was renamed as the British Touring Car Championship for the 1987 season . The championship, currently running Next Generation Touring Car regulations, has been run to various national and international regulations over the years including FIA Group 2 , FIA Group 5 , FIA Group 1 , FIA Group A , FIA Super Touring and FIA Super 2000 . A lower-key Group N class for production cars ran from 2000 until 2003.
102-441: The championship was initially run with a mix of classes, divided according to engine capacity, racing simultaneously. This often meant that a driver who chose the right class could win the overall championship without any chance of overall race wins, thereby devaluing the title for the spectators – for example, in the 1980s Chris Hodgetts won two overall titles in a small Toyota Corolla prepared by Hughes Of Beaconsfield, at that time
204-793: A business-only vehicle . In the past, GM also assembled the Suburban and Avalanche in Mexico for export to other markets, chiefly the U.S. and Canada. In 2009 China became Chevrolet's third-largest market, with sales of 332,774 vehicles, behind only the United States and Brazil (1,344,629 and 595,500 vehicles respectively). By 2010, Chevy sold just over half a million, with the Cruze being its best seller there. A total of 673,376 locally-manufactured Chevrolets were sold in China in 2018 (down from
306-653: A Ford Sierra , before calling time on his BTCC career. During the 1989 season, Hodgetts was driving for Brooklyn in an iconic red Ford Sierra RS500 . Besides racing in touring cars , Hodgetts also found success in sports car racing . He shared the BRDC C2 Championship with Tim Harvey in 1989 before retiring and won the TVR Tuscan Challenge in 1990. The 1994 season saw Chris in the Rover Turbo Challenge. He also drove in
408-418: A Liquified petroleum gas powered Super 2000 Honda Civic Type-R (which was subsequently replaced by a more competitive BTC-Touring Peugeot 406 Coupé , still LPG powered), and in 2005 Tech-Speed Motorsport converted an ex-works Vauxhall Astra Coupé to run on bio-ethanol fuel. In the middle of 2006, Kartworld's owner-driver Jason Hughes converted his 4-cylinder MG ZS to run on Bio-Ethanol, soon followed by
510-479: A 30-minute qualifying session which determines the starting order for the first race on the Sunday, the fastest driver lining up in pole position . Each race typically consists of between 16 and 25 laps, depending on the length of the circuit. A race may be extended by three laps if three or more laps have been run behind a safety car. The grid for race two is based on the finishing order of race one. For race three,
612-566: A Mercedes-Benz/Toyota main dealer when most of the race wins were going to much larger cars; and while the Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500s were dominating at the front of the field, Frank Sytner took a title in a Class B BMW M3 and John Cleland's first title was won in a small Class C Vauxhall Astra . In 1990, the BTCC introduced a class for cars with an engine displacement up to 2.0 litres which would later be adopted by
714-501: A Sunday night show called Motorsport UK , featuring many of the supporting races. From 2008, the races were screened live on ITV4, along with the support races. The series is screened in other countries. In Australia, Fox Sports Australia have been covering the BTCC championship since 2000. From 2009 the ITV coverage has screened on ONE HD . Speed TV screened several seasons in the USA over
816-614: A controlling interest in General Motors . After the deal was completed in 1918, Durant became president of General Motors, and Chevrolet was merged into GM as a separate division. In 1919, Chevrolet's factories were located at Flint, Michigan ; branch assembly locations were sited in Tarrytown, N.Y. , Norwood, Ohio , St. Louis, Missouri , Oakland, California , Ft. Worth, Texas , and Oshawa, Ontario General Motors of Canada Limited . McLaughlin's were given GM Corporation stock for
918-492: A draw takes place to decide at which place the grid is 'reversed'. This means drivers finishing race two in positions 6th through 12th could take pole position for race 3 depending on the outcome of the draw. For example, if ball number 7 is drawn, the driver finishing in 7th position in race two starts on pole, 6th place starts in second place, 5th place starts in third etc. Drivers finishing in 8th place and beyond would start race three in their finishing order for race two. The draw
1020-432: A driver instructor. His son Stefan raced in the BTCC in 2004. ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position – 1980–1990 in class) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap – 1 point awarded ?–1989 in class) † Events with 2 races staged for the different classes. ‡ Endurance driver. Chevrolet Chevrolet ( / ˌ ʃ ɛ v r ə ˈ l eɪ / SHEV -rə- LAY ), colloquially referred to as Chevy ,
1122-629: A market share of 21.5% of the region's plug-in electric passenger car segment. Combined global Volt/Ampera sales passed the 100,000 unit milestone in October 2015. As of June 2016 , the Volt family of vehicles ranks as the world's all-time top selling plug-in hybrid, and it is also the third-best-selling plug-in electric car ever, after the Nissan Leaf and the Tesla Model S . Volt sales in
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#17327794590241224-532: A racer as the foundation for his new automobile company. The first factory location was in Flint, Michigan at the corner of Wilcox and Kearsley Street, now known as " Chevy Commons " at coordinates 43°00′31″N 83°42′36″W / 43.00863°N 83.70991°W / 43.00863; -83.70991 ( Chevy Commons ) , along the Flint River, across the street from Kettering University . One of
1326-401: A rear wing – an item that was delivered with the road-going version of the 155, however unfitted in its boot. Audi joined the BTCC in 1996 with its four-wheel drive A4 Quattro, and went on to take that year's title. The continuously high number of manufacturer-backed teams meant rapid development on the cars and quickly growing costs to compete which caused several manufacturers to withdraw from
1428-681: A record of 767,001 in 2014). In 2018, Chevrolet held just 2.90% share of the Chinese market (down from a record market share of 5.33% in 2012). The best-selling Chevrolet models in China by 2019 were the Cavalier (~ 10 000 units per month). Malibu (~ 3500 units per month), Equinox (~ 2000 units per month), Cruze - at one time the best-selling model (~ 1500 units per month), Sail (~ 1200 units per month), new Orlando (~ 1000 units per month), Malibu XL (~ 800 units per month), Trax (~ 100 units per month), Lova RV (~ 100 units per month), representing just 9 of
1530-688: Is a 101/102 RON and 89/90 MON unleaded gasoline with approximately 2% oxygen content that meets the FIA 'Appendix J' gasoline specification. The following regulations have been applied to the championship: Being a national championship, the British Touring Car Championship has visited circuits throughout the United Kingdom over its long history. Currently the series visits eight different tracks in England and Scotland over
1632-573: Is a British former racing driver . He began his racing career in 1979, driving in the Clubman Class A championship. Hodgetts debuted in the British Touring Car Championship in 1980 . His first overall podium place came in 1981 when he came second. He was consistent in the top five after that, mostly driving for the works Toyota team. He came fourth in 1983 , fifth in 1984 , second in 1985 , before winning
1734-516: Is aired on ITV4 . ITV has a one-hour highlights programme on the Monday night following the race. Live timing for the BTCC and its support races, as well as testing, is provided by Timing Solutions Ltd from their website . This service allows you to follow free practice and qualifying as well as race day action via a timing screen from your computer or mobile phone. Currently, five championships are awarded per season. The overall driver's championship
1836-697: Is also manufactured in Rayong, Thailand. Starting in 2003, the Holden Commodore was badged as the Chevrolet Lumina in Thailand for the VY and VZ model series. Exports lasted until 2005. General Motors is currently exploring cost-cutting options as part of its restructuring plan. One of these options involves expanding the Rayong, Thailand plant to add additional capacity to export Colorados to
1938-606: Is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941), Arthur Chevrolet (1884–1946) and ousted General Motors founder William C. Durant (1861–1947) started the company on November 3, 1911 as the Chevrolet Motor Car Company. Durant used the Chevrolet Motor Car Company to acquire a controlling stake in General Motors with a reverse merger occurring on May 2, 1918, and propelled himself back to
2040-558: Is normally conducted by a celebrity or VIP, live on TV. For 2014, this was changed so that the driver who finished Race 2 in 10th position made the draw. Fabrizio Giovanardi has twice managed to put himself on pole position by drawing out number 10. Before 2006, the driver finishing in 10th place in race two took pole position for race three. This initiated deliberate race 'fixing', whereby some drivers attempted to finished in 10th place during race two to gain pole position in race three. This "reverse grid" rule polarised opinion: some fans enjoy
2142-506: Is the driver gaining the most points overall throughout the season. Since 1992, the Independents driver championship has also been awarded to the leading non-manufacturer-backed driver. There are also awards for the best overall team, leading manufacturer and, since 2005, the top independent team. Previous championship titles were awarded to the leading "Production" (or "Class B") driver and team between 2000 and 2003. The Jack Sears Trophy
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#17327794590242244-703: The Chevrolet Camaro , all were commercially successful and included family sedans, practical station wagons, and sporty coupes and convertibles. As the popularity of small, fuel efficient imported vehicles began to find buyers in the US during the 1970s and 1980s, the Chevrolet Vega was introduced while the Chevrolet Chevette was the result of international collaboration. By the mid-1980s, the Vega
2346-882: The Chevrolet Cavalier , followed up by the Chevrolet Celebrity . Chevrolet during the 1990s formed a partnership with Toyota and introduced the Geo Prizm while also offering the domestically produced Chevrolet Corsica . As mid-sized family sedans began to gain popularity, the Chevrolet Lumina found many buyers and as minivans began to find buyers, the Chevrolet Venture followed the popular selling Chevrolet Trailblazer and Chevrolet Traverse SUV's. The basic Chevrolet small-block V8 design has remained in continuous production since its debut in 1955, longer than any other mass-produced engine in
2448-585: The Chevrolet Cruze , Chevrolet Spark , Chevrolet Optra , Chevrolet Aveo , Chevrolet Tavera , Chevrolet Captiva , Chevrolet SRV , Chevrolet Beat , Chevrolet Sail and Chevrolet Aveo U-VA . The Chevrolet Forester , a rebadged Subaru , was imported directly from Fuji Heavy Industries in Japan until 2005. The Cruze and Tavera were built at the Halol plant. Chevrolet also was the sole engine supplier for
2550-702: The Chevrolet Tahoe . In 2018, the Corvette was added to the roster, making it the most expensive vehicle in the lineup. It is legally imported, as the government has seized and destroyed expensive vehicles that were bought into the country illegally. In 2019, the Camaro returned to the Philippines with a 2.0-liter turbo engine at 275 hp and 398Nm to compete with the Ford Mustang ever since it
2652-1059: The Chevy C2 , which is a reworked older-generation Corsa B. Vehicles based on US platforms are the Avalanche, the Suburban, the Equinox, the Tahoe, the Cheyenne (which is similar to the Silverado), the Aveo, the HHR, the Traverse, the Malibu, the Camaro and the Corvette. The Chevrolet Optra , assembled in South Korea by GM Korea, was also sold in Mexico. The second-generation Epica was sold as
2754-539: The Chrysler Corporation formed Plymouth in 1928, Plymouth, Ford, and Chevrolet were known as the "Low-priced three". In 1929 they introduced the famous "Stovebolt" overhead-valve inline six-cylinder engine, giving Chevrolet a marketing edge over Ford, which was still offering a lone flathead four ("A Six at the price of a Four"). In 1933 Chevrolet launched the Standard Six , which was advertised in
2856-585: The Corvette , a two-seater sports car with a fiberglass body. In 1957 Chevy introduced its first fuel injected engine, the Rochester Ramjet option on Corvette and Chevrolet Bel Air passenger cars, priced at $ 484 ($ 5,251 today). In 1960 Chevrolet joined the newly popular "compact car" market by introducing the Corvair , with a rear-mounted air-cooled engine. In 1963 one out of every ten cars sold in
2958-577: The Formula Rolon single-seater series in India. In 2017, GM ceased the production and sale of Chevrolet cars in India, but it continues to run service centers. In 1999, Opel was rebranded to Chevrolet as a coincidence of Chevy's entry to Indonesia. Chevrolet stopped selling cars and ceased production in Indonesia by the end of March 2020. From 1995 to 2000 Toyota in an agreement with GM sold
3060-695: The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile and become the Super Touring regulations that were used in various championships in Europe and around the world. In their first year, these cars were run alongside a second class which continued to allow larger engines and was once again dominated by the Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500, however from 1991 they became the only cars eligible to compete. The new one-class system
3162-915: The GM LS1 engine , commonly known by the name or a variant thereof of its progenitor, the Chevrolet small-block engine . On November 8, 1911, the Chevrolet Motor Car Company was incorporated. It was founded by Swiss race car driver and automotive engineer Louis Chevrolet with his brother Arthur Chevrolet , William C. Durant and investment partners William Little (maker of the Little automobile ), former Buick owner James H. Whiting , Edwin R. Campbell (son-in-law of Durant) and in 1912 R. S. McLaughlin CEO of General Motors in Canada . Former Buick officers were also employed, including Curtis R. Hatheway as secretary. Durant
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3264-526: The Sonic , Captiva , Camaro , and Corvette in limited numbers through an agreement with Yanase Co., Ltd. dealerships. In the 2000s, General Motors Asia Pacific (Japan) had distributed and marketed the TrailBlazer also. As of 2010 , Mitsui Bussan Automotive distributes and markets the Chevrolet Tahoe , Chevrolet Express , Chevrolet HHR , Silverado , and Traverse . Previously, it had also marketed
3366-572: The United Kingdom , were to be moved upmarket. However, GM reversed this move in late 2013, announcing that the brand would be withdrawn from Europe from 2016 onward, with the exception of the Camaro and Corvette . Chevrolet vehicles were to continue to be marketed in the CIS states, including Russia . After General Motors fully acquired GM Daewoo in 2011 to create GM Korea , the last usage of
3468-596: The West Surrey Racing cars of championship contender Colin Turkington and Rob Collard , and for the final event at Silverstone, Richard Marsh converted his Peugeot 307 to run on bio-ethanol fuel. Only Hughes continued on this fuel in 2007 and 2008. The regulations also permitted cars to run on diesel; attempted first in the 2007 season by Rick Kerry in a BMW 120d E87 run by Team AFM Racing. In 2008 SEAT Sport UK entered two Turbo Diesel Power SEAT Leons –
3570-717: The World Sportscar Championship on occasion and had seven starts in the 24 Hours of Le Mans , representing team such as Mazdaspeed , Courage Compétition and Spice Engineering . He had a best finish of 7th place overall in the classic 24 hour race. In 1995 he won the GT2 title in the British GT Championship , driving a Marcos LM600 . He retired after 1998, when he drove a Lola in the ISRS . Hodgetts now works for Racing Team & Drivers as
3672-632: The plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt , sold as the Opel/Vauxhall Ampera in Europe , which received multiple awards including the 2012 North American Car of the Year, European Car of the Year , and World Green Car of the Year. The Volt/Ampera family was the world's best selling plug-in electric car in 2012 with 31,400 units sold. The Opel / Vauxhall Ampera was Europe's top selling plug-in electric car in 2012 with 5,268 units, representing
3774-626: The 1920s. In the mid-2000s, Suzuki imported and marketed the Chevrolet TrailBlazer and the Chevrolet Optra wagon in Japan. Suzuki, a GM partner, also assembled and marketed the Chevrolet MW microvan. The MW was originally a rebadged Suzuki Wagon R+ and later a rebadged Suzuki Solio. Suzuki had also marketed the Chevrolet Cruze subcompact in the past. In the 2010s, General Motors Japan Limited distributed and marketed
3876-417: The 1st generation Chevrolet Camaro by the Yutivo family-owned General Motors plant. Other than Chevrolets, the plant also assembled Opels , Pontiacs , Holdens , Buicks , and Vauxhalls for the Filipino market. GM withdrew from the Philippines in 1985 and returned in 2000. During Chevrolet's absence in the market, many cars like the Chevrolet Suburban and the Chevrolet Astro have been imported new in
3978-401: The 60th anniversary year in 2018, any driver who had yet to take an overall podium was eligible to contest the Jack Sears Trophy. The BTCC has had several championship sponsors over the years. The BTCC features entries with the backing, funding and technical support of a motor manufacturer. This may be a motor racing team running cars on behalf of the manufacturer or cars being run directly by
4080-476: The American market passed the 100,000 milestone in July 2016. In October 2016, GM began production of the Chevrolet Bolt EV , the first ever affordable mass market all-electric car with a range over 200 mi (320 km). The Chevrolet Bolt won several awards including the 2017 Motor Trend Car of the Year award, the 2017 AutoGuide.com Reader's Choice Green Car of the Year, Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy 2017, Green Car Journal 's 2017 Green Car of
4182-416: The Atlanta Constitution on November 12, 1911. Others claim that the design was a stylized Swiss cross , in tribute to Chevrolet's home country. Over time, Chevrolet used several different iterations of the bowtie logo at the same time, often using blue for passenger cars, gold for trucks, and an outline (often in red) for cars that had performance packages. Chevrolet eventually unified all vehicle models with
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4284-413: The BBC's F1 coverage in 2012 and David Addison replaced Toby Moody for the 2013 season. In 2006 the ITV coverage included highlights from the first and second race of the day and live coverage of the third and final race. This returned in the second half of 2007, after the first five meetings had been on ITV3 (a digital channel with fewer viewers), with a half-hour late-night highlights show. ITV also has
4386-472: The BMW 3-Series and Infiniti Q50, and hatchback cars such as the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and Ford Focus, based on models from a variety of manufacturers, using NGTC regulations. S2000 cars continued running in the Jack Sears Trophy until the 2014 season. BTCC teams are a mixture of manufacturer entries (currently BMW and Toyota ) and independent teams such as BTC Racing , and Motorbase Performance . In 2010, following Vauxhall's decision to pull out of
4488-418: The Camaro and right-hand-drive Corvette in Japan. Kazakhstan-based Allure Group of Companies and Uzbekistan-based UzAuto Motors opened an assembly plant for the manufacture of Chevrolet-branded cars in March 2020, in the city of Kostanay . As of 2024, the vehicles are assembled from semi-knocked-down or complete-knocked-down kits. Assembly of the Chevrolet Onix from complete knock-down kits commenced at
4590-437: The Carrera Cup has held two races at each BTCC meeting. Finally, the Renault Clio Cup UK allows aspiring touring car drivers to showcase their talent in this single make series, utilising Clio Renaultsport 200 cars. The championship awards three different titles for drivers. Along with the overall drivers' championship, younger rookie drivers can chase points for the Graduate Cup and older gentlemen drivers can seek points for
4692-435: The Chevrolet Export Boxing plant at Bloomfield, New Jersey was repurposed from a previous owner where Knock-down kits for Chevrolet, Oakland, Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac passenger cars, and both Chevrolet and G. M. C. truck parts are crated and shipped by railroad to the docks at Weehawken, New Jersey for overseas GM assembly factories. Chevrolet continued into the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s competing with Ford, and after
4794-452: The Daewoo automotive brand was discontinued in its native South Korea and succeeded by Chevrolet. In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the prominence and name recognition of Chevrolet as one of General Motors' global marques, 'Chevrolet', 'Chevy' or 'Chev' is used at times as a synonym for General Motors or its products, one example being
4896-501: The GM presidency. After Durant's second ousting in 1919, Alfred Sloan , with his maxim "a car for every purse and purpose", picked the Chevrolet brand to become the volume leader in the General Motors family, selling mainstream vehicles to compete with Henry Ford 's Model T in 1919 and overtaking Ford as the best-selling car in the United States by 1929 with the Chevrolet International . Chevrolet-branded vehicles are sold in most automotive markets worldwide. In Oceania , Chevrolet
4998-484: The Impala was added to the lineup as Chevrolet began importing the American-built sedan to South Korea for the first time. In 2018, Gunsan plant was shut down on May 31 and VIDAMCO plant in Hanoi , Vietnam was sold by Vinfast in June. Chevrolet Cruze and Chevrolet Orlando was discontinued on May 31. Also Chevrolet Captiva discontinued in July 2018. Their best-selling vehicle is Chevrolet Spark and Chevrolet Malibu . The American-built Chevrolet Colorado pickup
5100-430: The Masters Cup. During 2013, the Clio Cup will hold two races at all BTCC weekends except the rounds at Croft and Knockhill . For 2020, the Renault Clio Cup UK has been replaced by the Mini Challenge, which joins from the British GT package. The Clio Cup has joined the British GT Package instead. Chris Hodgetts Christopher Leonard Hodgetts (born 6 December 1950 in Tanworth-in-Arden , Warwickshire)
5202-435: The Middle East, Chevrolet-badged cars, trucks, SUVs, and crossovers are sourced from GM Korea (in South Korea) and GM in North America. Formerly, some models were sourced from GM Holden in Australia. The Middle Eastern market has a separate division called Chevrolet Special Vehicles , which (as of December 2007) sourced the high-performance 400 bhp (300 kW) CR8 sedan from Holden Special Vehicles . The Holden Commodore
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#17327794590245304-449: The Middle East. In Pakistan, Chevrolet introduced its cars in collaboration with a local automobile manufacturer called Nexus Automotive . The lineup from Chevrolet Pakistan included the Chevrolet Optra , Chevrolet Spark , Chevrolet Joy , Chevrolet Aveo , Chevrolet Cruze , and Chevrolet Colorado . Chevrolet has been in the Philippines for a long time, assembling the Chevrolet Bel-Air , Chevrolet Impala , Chevrolet Malibu and even
5406-450: The Starcraft versions of the G-Van and Chevrolet TrailBlazer . Mitsui Bussan Automotive had been importing and distributing certain GM models since 1992, but will cease their GM import business in November 2011, as GM Japan wants to consolidate the distribution channels. The Chevrolet models that have been imported by Mitsui will no longer be sold once existing inventories are depleted. As of 2022, General Motors Japan imports and distributes
5508-409: The UK for the 2015 season . Known as F4 British Championship from 2016 , the championship uses Mygale carbon-fibre monocoque chassis and a Ford 1.6L EcoBoost engine as used in the more modern Formula Ford cars. The Ginetta GT Supercup is a GT style, multi class championship. The main class is the G55 class, utilising Ginetta's G55 car. The second class, known as the G50 class, utilises
5610-407: The United States as the cheapest six-cylinder car on sale. During the Great Depression the Chevrolet Master introduced a streamlined appearance, showing Art Deco influences and before and after the World War II era, the Chevrolet Deluxe and Chevrolet Fleetline found many buyers. Chevrolet had a great influence on the American automobile market during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1953 it produced
5712-404: The United States was a Chevrolet. During the 1960s and early 1970s, the standard Chevrolet, particularly the deluxe Chevrolet Impala series, became one of the United States' best-selling lines of automobiles in history. During that era, the mid-sized Chevrolet Chevelle which was used to introduce the Chevrolet Monte Carlo , and the economically priced Chevrolet Nova , which was the basis for
5814-649: The Year , and was listed in Time magazine's Best 25 Inventions of the Year of 2016. On February 14, 2021, Chevrolet unveiled the 2022 Bolt EUV and redesigned Bolt EV . As of 2010 Chevrolet had operations in over 140 countries, and global sales in 2011 set a record with 4.76 million vehicles sold worldwide. Mexico has a mix of Chevrolet models from different GM brands and platforms branded as Chevrolet. The models come from Chevrolet USA, GM Korea, Mexico and other origins. Examples of Opel-sourced vehicles are Vectra, Astra, Corsa, Meriva, Zafira and Captiva (Opel Antara). Mexico also has some cars of its own, such as
5916-414: The approach to the finish line, with cars behind forced to take evasive action to avoid collecting slower cars ahead. These factors contributed the rule change for the 2006 season . Points are awarded to the top fifteen drivers in each race as follows: Points are awarded to the top ten drivers in each race as follows: The BBC screened highlights of every race from 1988 to 2001. The F1 commentator at
6018-426: The championship at almost every round, along with several smaller championships supporting one or two events. All the support championships are either Single Make Championships or Formula racing . After previously supported the BTCC in the late 1990s and then in 2013 and 2014 , the British Formula Ford Championship announced that it was folding to become the MSA Formula , the FIA 's Formula 4 championship in
6120-419: The championship until the 2000 season, when only Ford, Honda and Vauxhall remained in the championship. To this day, the 'super touring era' during the 1990s is still looked at as the most successful period of the BTCC. The high number of manufacturer-backed teams provided very close competition, close and hard-fought racing on track and many spectators at the circuits. In order to reduce the costs to compete in
6222-486: The championship with run two races at all BTCC weekends. Out of all the current support series, the Porsche Carrera Cup GB is the longest serving support championship. Drivers compete in identical Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Type 997) cars which produce 450 bhp. The three tier championship splits drivers according to their racing experience. Professional drivers compete in the Pro class, with semi-professional and amateur drivers racing in either Pro-Am1 or Pro-Am2. From 2013,
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#17327794590246324-577: The championship, the organisers introduced new regulations for the 2001 season. The BTC Touring regulations cut costs dramatically but both manufacturer and spectator interest was low. The Super 2000 rules were adopted for the 2007 season . The 2000s saw cheaper cars than the later Supertouring era, with fewer factory teams and fewer international drivers. In 2009, the BTCC released details of its Next Generation Touring Car (NGTC) specification, to be introduced from 2011. The introduction of these new technical regulations were designed to dramatically reduce
6426-416: The cost of entry more affordable. To further keep costs in check, the BTCC uses a single tyre supplier, with Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company the current supplier of rubber to all the teams. The following compounds are used: Hard, Medium, Soft and Wet. The rules previously allowed for a variety of different fuels in a bid to encourage more efficient cars. In 2004 Mardi Gras Motorsport independently entered
6528-524: The country via grey-market and sold to retailers. Chevrolet's current Philippine operations are under the control of The Covenant Car Company Inc. The company was officially incorporated on July 1, 2009 and assumed business operations on October 1, 2009. There are at least 24 dealerships around the country as of 2020. Its current lineup include the Chevrolet Spark , Chevrolet Sail , Chevrolet Cruze , Chevrolet Malibu , Chevrolet Colorado , Chevrolet Trax , Chevrolet Trailblazer , Chevrolet Suburban , and
6630-405: The course of ten meetings. These tracks are: Brands Hatch (Indy Layout), Donington Park , Thruxton (the fastest track ever visited by the BTCC, with an average speed of 111.31 mph, set by Andrew Jordan during qualifying in 2014), Oulton Park , Croft , Snetterton , Knockhill , and Silverstone (National and International layouts), with a return to Brands Hatch (GP Layout) at the end of
6732-415: The design, build and running costs of the cars and engines as well as reducing the potential for significant performance disparities between cars. The NGTC specification also aimed to cut costs by reducing reliance on WTCC / S2000 equipment, due to increasing costs/complexity and concerns as to its future sustainability and direction. Currently, the cars used are a mix of 2.0 L saloons (sedans) such as
6834-432: The drivers and teams championships between 2001 and 2004. Neal and Dynamics were also victorious in 2006, before Vauxhall won the 2007 title with Italian Fabrizio Giovanardi . Team Dynamics also achieved the first overall independents race win in the 'Supertouring' era when Neal won a round of the 1999 BTCC at Donington Park, earning the team prize-money of £250,000. As a result of Matt Neal 's championship victories, and
6936-430: The fact that Team Dynamics were designing and building their own S2000 Honda Civic Type R (with unofficial support from Honda ), they were no longer entered into the Independents category, and were classed as neither an "independent" or "works" team until the 2009 season, when the Manufacturers championship was renamed Manufacturers/Constructors Championship to allow both Team Aon and Team Dynamics to compete with at
7038-425: The factory. Below is a timeline of manufacturer/constructor entries from the beginning of the 2-litre era. Each BTCC race meeting, the crowds are kept further entertained by the appearance of high-profile supporting championships, known as the TOCA Support Package , from the manufacturers Ford , Ginetta , Porsche and Renault . The TOCA Support Package consists of five main support championships, which support
7140-420: The factory. The engine design has also been used over the years in GM products built and sold under the Pontiac , Oldsmobile , Buick , Hummer , Opel ( Germany ), and Holden ( Australia ) nameplates. In 2000, Chevrolet brought back the iconic Impala , although unlike its predecessors, this car was a mid-sized front-wheel drive four door sedan. It was produced until 2020, and the last generation (2014-2020)
7242-414: The first diesel powered manufacturer entered cars. At the start of the 2010 season, it was announced that Team AON racing had converted both of their Ford Focus ST cars to run on LPG. In 2024, Daryl DeLeon ran his Cupra Leon on 100% sustainable fuel for the final two meetings. Such fuels were introduced full-time for the 2025 Season. Under current NGTC regulations, all entrants use Carless HiperFlo 300 which
7344-617: The first twenty months, with increased production expected. The Chevrolet Cobalt compact sedan will be the first Chevrolet-branded vehicle to be assembled at the plant, with plans to expand to many other models in the coming years. Chevrolet entered the Malaysian market in 2003, replacing Opel . Between 2003 and 2009, a joint-venture between GM and DRB-HICOM called Hicomobil, marketed the Chevrolet Aveo , Chevrolet Optra , Chevrolet Nabira and Chevrolet Lumina . The joint venture
7446-438: The gold bowtie in 2004, for both brand cohesion as well as to differentiate itself from Ford (with its blue oval logo) and Dodge (who has often used red for its imaging), its two primary domestic rivals. Louis Chevrolet had differences with Durant over design and in 1914 sold Durant his share in the company. By 1916, Chevrolet was profitable enough with successful sales of the cheaper Series 490 to allow Durant to repurchase
7548-538: The manufacturer teams when they update their chassis. With the introduction of the NGTC rules, all cars share a number of common components provided through a contract with RML Group . This has allowed many independent teams to enter without the need for manufacturer support, and negating the need to source ex-works cars. Teams can install an engine from their marque's broad 'family' of cars, or opt to lease an engine from TOCA, built by Swindon Engines which also helps to make
7650-675: The office was relocated to the General Motors Building at Cadillac Place in Detroit. In January 1921 a General Motors management survey recommended that the Chevrolet Division be cancelled, but Alfred P. Sloan Jr . recommended that the division be saved and William S. Knudsen , a former Ford employee who oversaw production of the Model T, was made Vice President of Operations and performance improved In May 1925
7752-484: The older and less powerful Ginetta G50 . Most weekends in 2013 see three Supercup races with a few rounds hosting only two races. Ginetta also run a championship on the support package that caters for up and coming young talent in the form of the Ginetta Junior Championship . These 14- to 17-year-olds race in identical Ginetta G40J cars with strict regulations which help keep costs down. In 2013,
7854-649: The plant in March 2024. A separate dealer in Almaty , authorized by GM, imports and sells the Tahoe and Traverse. Uzbekistan-based UzAuto Motors and Kyrgyz supplier DT Technikis are opening an assembly plant near Bishkek in the summer of 2024. Components will initially be imported from Uzbekistan, with plans to build components independently in the coming years. The plant will assemble Chevrolet and Isuzu vehicles. The Chevrolet brand has been licensed from GM. The plant will assemble 10,000 cars from semi-knocked-down kits within
7956-737: The proprietorship of their Company article September 23, 1933 Financial Post page 9. In the 1918 model year, Chevrolet introduced the Series D , a V8 -powered model in four-passenger roadster and five-passenger tourer models. Sales were poor and it was dropped in 1919. Beginning also in 1919, GMC commercial grade trucks were rebranded as Chevrolet, and using the same chassis of Chevrolet passenger cars and building light-duty trucks, sharing an almost identical appearance with GMC products. Until 1921, Chevrolet Corporate headquarters were located at 57th and Broadway in New York City until April when
8058-463: The races live, including some support races, both in the UK and across Europe. In 2007 Setanta Sports showed all the races live, including the support races; this ceased when the entire day's coverage moved to ITV4 . The current coverage consists of Saturday's Qualifying Sessions and support races live on ITVX . Sunday coverage starts an hour before Race 1 and finishes after Race 3. All of Sunday's Coverage
8160-649: The season. In the past, the BTCC has visited Mondello Park in Ireland and Pembrey in Wales. A street race around the city of Birmingham known as the Birmingham Superprix , was held in 1989 and 1990 . Aintree , Crystal Palace , Goodwood , Ingliston , Mallory Park and Rockingham have also hosted rounds in the past. On the Saturday of a race weekend there are two practice sessions followed by
8262-407: The series in 1986 and 1987 at the wheel of a Group C Toyota Corolla AE86 . The 1988 season was not a success. The new Group A Toyota Supra needed a lot of development and only a handful of good results were gained. His last race in the BTCC was in 1990 . That season he drove for the works Vauxhall team, helping to develop the new Vauxhall Cavalier . Towards the end of the year he switched to
8364-537: The series, there were two new works teams, : Chevrolet , run by RML ; and Honda , run by Team Dynamics . In 2005 , Team Dynamics became the first independent outfit to win the BTCC drivers and team championships; Matt Neal won the overall and independent drivers contests in his Team Dynamics Honda Integra. This included finishing all 30 championship races that year, something no other driver had achieved before and only equalled by Adam Morgan some 10 years later in 2015. This ended Vauxhall's run of 4 victories in
8466-495: The spectacle afforded by having unlikely drivers on pole position while faster ones have to battle through the field; others feel it detracts from the purity of the racing. For example, some drivers might decide to slow down and let others pass them, thereby improving their own starting position for the "reverse grid" race, which is contrary to the spirit of motor racing – which is to try to come first in every race. It also led to some safety concerns as drivers would slow dramatically on
8568-580: The staggering total of 628 (sic) models of passenger cars being produced in China by February 2019. Until 2003, GM India—originally a joint venture with Hindustan Motors , sold the Opel Corsa , Opel Astra and the Opel Vectra . Launched by GM's India operations, Chevrolet officially began business in India on June 6, 2003. The Corsa and Astra were built at a plant in Halol , Gujarat. Chevrolet sold
8670-412: The technical advancements Chevrolet benefited from was the implementation of an overhead valve engine from the very beginning, as the company was developed by the former owner of Buick , which had patented the overhead valve and cross-flow cylinder design as being more efficient than the conventional use of the flathead engine . Actual design work for the first Chevy, the costly Series C Classic Six ,
8772-592: The third-generation model Chevrolet Cavalier as the Toyota Cavalier in Japan in exchange for the Geo/Chevrolet Prism in an effort to avoid additional restrictions on their exports to the US. The OHV Chevrolet Stovebolt engine was used and reverse-engineered by Toyota when they created the Toyota Type A engine when GM had a factory manufacturing GM cars in Japan at Osaka Assembly during
8874-474: The time the sole works entry of Vauxhall . As of the 2014 British Touring Car Championship , all cars are built to the same regulations: There are strict limits to the modifications which can be made to the cars, which are intended to reduce the cost of running a competitive team, which had become prohibitive in the final years of the Super Touring rules. These cost reductions saw a rise in independent entries – teams or individuals entering cars purchased from
8976-485: The time, Murray Walker , commentated. From 1997, some races were screened live with Charlie Cox joining Murray Walker. After 1997 the commentary team was Charlie Cox and John Watson with Murray Walker dedicating his time to Formula 1. In the UK, ITV covered the series from 2002, with commentary from Ben Edwards and former champion Tim Harvey , with Toby Moody replacing Edwards after he replaced Martin Brundle on
9078-486: The winter, but this ended when the network became Fox Sports 1 in 2013. BTCC returned to the air in the US with the 2015 season, being aired on CBS Sports Network in condensed, one-hour packages like those aired on Speed. Unlike Speed's offering as the series being winter programming filling the void after the American racing season, CBSSN airs events a week or so after their actual running. Motors TV used to show all
9180-511: The world, although current versions share few if any parts interchangeable with the original. Descendants of the basic small-block OHV V8 design platform in production today have been much modified with advances such as aluminium block and heads, electronic engine management, and sequential port fuel injection. Depending on the vehicle type, Chevrolet V8s are built in displacements from 4.3 to 9.4 litres with outputs ranging from 111 horsepower (83 kW) to 994 horsepower (741 kW) as installed at
9282-823: Was badged as the Chevrolet Lumina in the Middle East, as well as South Africa. The longer wheelbase Holden Caprice was sold as the Chevrolet Caprice in the Middle East. The Middle East fleet (particularly Saudi Arabia) includes the likes of the Groove, Captiva, Blazer, Tahoe, and Traverse in the SUV/crossover category, and the Silverado in the truck category. Previously, the Cruze, Malibu, Sonic, and Avalanche, among other models, were offered in
9384-524: Was dismissed from his senior management position at General Motors in 1910, a company that he had founded in 1908. In 1904 he had taken over the Flint Wagon Works and Buick Motor Company of Flint, Michigan. He also incorporated the Mason and Little companies. As head of Buick , Durant had hired Louis Chevrolet to drive Buicks in promotional races. Durant planned to use Chevrolet's reputation as
9486-415: Was drawn up by Etienne Planche, following instructions from Louis. The first C prototype was ready months before Chevrolet was actually incorporated. However, the first actual production was not until the 1913 model. So in essence there were no 1911 or 1912 production models, only one pre-production model was made and fine tuned throughout the early part of 1912. Then in the fall of that year the new 1913 model
9588-507: Was ended and Naza was taking over Chevrolet's dealership as Naza Quest Sdn Bhd in 2010. The lineup of Chevrolet cars available were Chevrolet Sonic , Chevrolet Cruze , Chevrolet Malibu , Chevrolet Captiva , Chevrolet Orlando and Chevrolet Colorado . In 2018, Naza Quest Sdn Bhd ceased to distribute new Chevrolet vehicles in Malaysia, but continues to provide warranty support and aftersales service for existing Chevrolet customers. In
9690-587: Was gone and the Chevette was about to be discontinued. Lacking a line of competitive small cars, Chevrolet imported several Japanese models and re-badged them as Chevrolets. The Suzuki-sourced Chevrolet Sprint and the Isuzu-supplied Chevrolet Spectrum were a better match to compete against the popular Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic . The Chevrolet Citation was the division's first compact sized front-wheel-drive car along with
9792-540: Was introduced at the New York auto show . Chevrolet first used the "bowtie emblem" logo in 1914 on the H series models (Royal Mail and Baby Grand) and The L Series Model (Light Six). It may have been designed from wallpaper Durant once saw in a French hotel room. More recent research by historian Ken Kaufmann presents a case that the logo is based on a logo of the "Coalettes" coal company. An example of this logo as it appeared in an advertisement for Coalettes appeared in
9894-522: Was introduced for the 2013 season and was awarded to the highest scoring driver competing in S2000 machinery. For 2014, with S2000 cars no longer eligible to compete, it was awarded to the drive that had made up the most places from their grid position throughout the season. From the 2015 season the Jack Sears Trophy has been awarded to the highest placed rookie driver at the end of the season. For
9996-551: Was introduced in 2010. Many global-market Chevrolet vehicles are designed and manufactured by GM Korea of South Korea, but they had been sold under the Daewoo Motors brand in South Korea until February 2011. The Daewoo brand was fully replaced by Chevrolet in March 2011. All Daewoo products relaunched under the Chevrolet brand, with the release of the Chevrolet Camaro , Chevrolet Orlando and Chevrolet Aveo . In 2015,
10098-539: Was larger and classified as a full-size passenger car. In 2005, General Motors re-launched the Chevrolet marque in Europe , using rebadged versions of the Daewoo cars produced by GM Korea . The Chevrolet division largely recovered from the economic downturn of 2007–2010 through launching new vehicles and improving existing lines. GM began developing more fuel efficient cars and trucks to compete with foreign automakers . In late 2010 General Motors began production of
10200-418: Was popular with manufacturers from the beginning with six manufacturer supported teams from BMW , Ford , Mitsubishi , Nissan , Toyota and Vauxhall entered in the championship. During the first seasons, the cars were not fitted with aerodynamic aids such as a front splitter or a rear wing which were allowed from 1995 after Alfa Romeo caused controversy a year earlier, when they entered the 155 fitted with
10302-429: Was relaunched in Europe , primarily selling vehicles built by GM Daewoo of South Korea with the tagline "Daewoo has grown up enough to become Chevrolet", a move rooted in General Motors' attempt to build a global brand around Chevrolet. With the reintroduction of Chevrolet to Europe, GM intended Chevrolet to be a mainstream value brand, while GM's traditional European standard-bearers, Opel of Germany and Vauxhall of
10404-481: Was represented by Holden Special Vehicles , having returned to the region in 2018 after a 50-year absence with the launching of the Camaro and Silverado pickup truck (HSV was partially and formerly owned by GM subsidiary Holden , which GM retired in 2021). In 2021, General Motors Specialty Vehicles took over the distribution and sales of Chevrolet vehicles in Oceania, starting with the Silverado. In 2005, Chevrolet
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