GA Janspeed raring to go in the BTCC.

Salisbury-based GA Janspeed, lead by team principal and former BTCC driver, Gary Ayles, will be competing for honours in Britain's premier race series this coming weekend - the British Touring car Championship.

The team will be running three Alfa Romeo 156's in the hotly fought BTC Production Class championship, against 17 other teams. GA-Janspeed has been working solidly on the cars to give Blairgowrie-born Gavin Pyper (21), Glasgow-based Colin Blair (42) and Kings Langley-based Antonio Russo (36), the best chance against the tough competition.

The BTCC attracts superb exposure thanks to its excellent television coverage on both the BBC and Sky Sports, while crowds of up to 30,000 watch the door-handle to door-handle racing action.

Commenting on the weekend's prospects, Gavin Pyper, the youngest driver in the GA-Janspeed team, said, "We've not had much initial testing, but basically the car feels like a new model. The competition is excellent this year, with 15 cars that are very close - it should make it a great spectacle. I love Brands Hatch, and I've won races there before, so I look forward to winning again!"

Colin Blair exudes an air of cautious optimism about the start of the new BTCC season. "Testing's been limited in the car, but that's the same with most of the rival teams." His tactics for the season opener are those of someone who is used to the rough and tumble of the BTCC arena. "I'm going to keep my nose clean and get a good finish at Brands, partly because I'm still getting to grips with left hand drive and no down-force. But I like the Indy circuit at Brands Hatch, so I'm quietly confident."

Restaurateur and former single-seater racer Antonio Russo is raring to get back into top-line motorsport. "This marks my return to motor racing after a ten year absence, and I feel that I'm in a good team with a good car. I will be giving a 100% effort to put on a good show."

Running with GA-Janspeed Racing ensures that he will be given some of the best machinery on the grid.

* Antonio Russo tested GA-Janspeed's third car at Silverstone yesterday (Wednesday) and declared himself "delighted" with the results, having completed a full test session with no problems.

Background Information:

The BTCC Championship:

From April to October, from Brands Hatch in the South to Knockhill in the north, this high-octane saloon car racing series provides bumper to bumper action at the UK's premier circuits and attracts BBC TV audiences in excess of 1.5 million.

The BTC Production Class:

Further to a successful debut season in 2000, the BTC Production class has expanded greatly for 2001, with teams using a variety of different machinery from several manufacturers. All the BTC Production class cars are based on manufacturer's production models, of which 2500 have to be produced to homologate the model for the BTCC. Compared to the BTC class for Touring Cars, the Production cars run with fewer modifications, but while looking externally near standard, the cars are extensively modified under the skin. For the 2001 season, twenty-three entries, representing seven different manufacturers, will be racing for glory, with GA - Janspeed Racing's three car Alfa Romeo team in the thick of the action.
GA - Janspeed Racing:

This small, dedicated team is located at Janspeed Engineering's modern high-tech facility at Salisbury in Wiltshire, where it maintains and develops its trio of Alfa Romeo 156 BTC Production race cars. As a joint venture between GA Racing and Janspeed Engineering, the team is new for 2001, but both teams have extensive past experience of the BTCC and saloon car racing at all levels. On the engineering side, the Alfa Romeo race cars are developed jointly by Janspeed Engineering and GA Racing, with heavy input from Janspeed's engineers, who formerly worked on the Nissan BTCC effort in the early 1990s. Under this arrangement GA - Janspeed Racing has full access to the considerable engineering back up and facilities that Janspeed has to offer.

** The Brands Hatch races will be shown on BBC Grandstand on weekend of 21st / 22nd April.