Vauxhall confirms Vectra for '07.

Vauxhall has confirmed that, as expected, it will use the Vectra for its assault on the 2007 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

With the series switching to Super 2000 regulations for the new campaign, the team was forced to look for a replacement for the Astra Sport Hatch it has used for the past two seasons - and took Fabrizio Giovanardi to Vauxhall's 100th BTCC win back in September.

Extensive work is, understandably, well underway on the new model which will be the first Vauxhall model to run to S2000 rules. This in itself has led to late nights for the VX Racing team, especially when added to the fact that the team will be using a new car.

"For the last four months we've slept and worked and that's it!" technical director John Morton said. "The new regulations have given us a real headache. Now we have to design around standard road-car parts, which means designing a lot of things from scratch.

"Because of that, we can't predict how some parts are going to behave as we haven't had any race experience with them, but the Vectra definitely has advantages over the Astra - mainly aerodynamics."

The decision to use the Vectra came after extensive trials against other models within the Vauxhall range, although VXR brand manager Stuart Harris admitted that the 2007 season will be far from easy as Vauxhall and the rest aim to take the fight to a SEAT team that already has a number of years of experience with S2000 machinery.

"We've tested the various potential models - the Astra, Vectra and even the Corsa," he said. "Technically, and from an aerodynamic point of view, we decided the Vectra gave us the best possibility.

"2007 is going to be a tough year with another new car to develop and get on stream. The only team who won't be at a disadvantage is SEAT. Their car is the same as last year and they will benefit from the World Touring Car development, whereas we have to do it all ourselves. We've got an incredibly professional and hard-working team, though, and I know they are throwing everything at this project."

The 2007 season will mark the first time since the Super Touring era that Vauxhall has used the Vectra for its BTCC challenge, with variations of the Astra having been used - to great effect - since 2001.

The Vectra is set to be unveiled at the Autosport International show in January. Fabrizio Giovanardi and Tom Chilton are already confirmed as the team's two drivers.