by Tom Letourneau
European and Racing Correspondent
Alfa Returns to UK Tin-Top Grids for 2000 Season!
The Alfa Romeo name has been lined up for a return to British "Tin-Top" racing next season in the national Saloon Championship. Touring car and GT ace Gary Ayles is switching his team from the one-make Vauxhall Vectra Challenge Series to field a pair of Alfa 156s in the Super Production Series. It will be the first time that the Italian Marque has been seen in a major national series since it curtailed its title-winning British Touring Car Championship campaign in 1995.
The project is being supported by legendary saloon specialist Bigazzi, which won the Italian NSC equivalent series this year also in an Alfa 156. Ayles is also in negotiation with Alfa’s UK importer to try to attract works’ support. The former works Peugeot Italia racer said, "The 156 has an excellent chassis, a very strong engine, and will be well suited to Britain. Bigazzi is building us two new cars and we’re going to work very closely. We should be very competitive in what is a fast-improving championship."
Alfa now becomes the seventh manufacturer confirmed for next year’s NSC, which is one of the three main series in the new PowerTour package. A driver has been lined up for one of the seats available, but the second seat is still up for grabs. Ayles said, "It’ll be a substantial ride, and we’re looking for a title contender. It’s not out of the question that I’ll drive, but it’s unlikely."
The cars will race under the Gary Ayles Racing banner, born out of his successful HDT Racing team that won the Vectra title in 1997. Gary Ayles Racing’s Alfa Romeo entry means that no less than five different manufacturers will be run by major two-car teams in National Saloons next year.
The series organizer, the British Racing Drivers’ Club, feels that this diversity shows that the NSC concept is on a roll. Race manager Chriss Norman said, "This is precisely what we’re aiming for - professional teams working with different marques." With the British Touring Car Championship in a restructuring period, it is down to three manufacturers participating from a high of ten during the 1994 season, and the NSC’s rise could not be better timed.