Ford evaluating WTCC comeback

Date published : 23 Jun 2011 - 15:44:27

Ford is evaluating a return to the World Touring Car Championship with the new-shape Focus.The American manufacturer is working with British Touring Car squad Arena International Motorsport, which currently fields three new Focuses in Britain, to assess a World Championship programme.Arena team principal Mike Earle said: "We are evaluating the build of a WTCC car and we've started work already. It should be ready in November."It's an evaluation project with Ford and we'll decide where we go with it. No-one has committed to anything."AUTOSPORT understands that the base car will be the same generation-three Focus used by Arena in the BTCC and driven by Tom Chilton, Andy Neate and Tom Onslow-Cole.Ford last appeared in the WTCC in 2005 with the Hotfiel Sport team.For more on this story, please see this week's issue of AUTOSPORT magazine.