- Britain's MG Motor plans to enter two MG6 GT racecars in the 2012 British Touring Car Championship.
- MG Motor is owned by Shanghai Auto, China's largest carmaker.
- The MG6 GT hatchback is the first new MG model in 16 years.
LONDON — The Chinese are going racing — in the U.K.
Britain's MG Motor on Wednesday announced plans to enter two MG6 GT racecars in the 2012 British Touring Car Championship.
MG Motor is owned by Shanghai Auto, China's largest carmaker and a partner of General Motors and Volkswagen.
The MG6 GT hatchback was designed and engineered largely in the U.K., and is assembled in Birmingham. It is the first all-new MG model in 16 years. The car, which shares its underpinnings with the Chinese-built Roewe 550 sedan, went on sale in the U.K. last May.
MG Motor is sparing little expense in pursuing the BTCC crown. To prep the cars, it has retained Triple Eight Race Engineering, which has more than 100 BTCC race wins under its belt. Drivers include young star Andy Neate and veteran Jason Plato, two-time BTCC champ.
The MG KX Momentum Racing team is slated to debut April 1 at the BTCC opener at Brands Hatch.
Inside Line says: An interesting and gutsy move by the Chinese into professional motorsport in Europe.
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mbukukanyau says:
12:56 PM, 01/26/2012
So the English lost their empire, their car companies and now will even assist the Chinese take over their racing. Man. I wonder what baboon Clarkson has to say about all this.
duck87 says:
07:57 AM, 01/26/2012
I would be interested to see the race team's thoughts as they transform the stock car into a race car. Since the underpinnings are supposedly a complete SAIC design, I'm wondering if it would be any good! It would be interesting to see Plato stepping away from the Cruze and taking a turn behind the wheel too.