Photo: PSP Images

Chilton and Nash to race for Arena Motorsport

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Tom Chilton and James Nash will race for Arena Motorsport in this year’s FIA World Touring Car Championship in the team’s Ford Focus touring cars.

The two young British drivers will spearhead Ford’s return to the WTCC for the first time since 2005.

2011 BTCC independents’ champion James Nash will drive alongside 2010 BTCC independents’ champion Tom Chilton in the team’s newly built Super 2000 specification Ford Focus.

“I’m incredibly excited about the WTCC,” said Chilton.

“It’s a new challenge for me and the team, but I know we’ve got the experience and the tools to do a good job at that level. It’s going to be a different season, not knowing the tracks or the competition like we did in the BTCC, but that’s part of the appeal – new challenges and new targets.”

“The initial time I’ve had with the new WTCC version of the car has given me a lot of optimism. The team has a tremendous amount of experience with the older versions of the car and it has just been a logical development with a lot of the new parts. I’m confident we can take the fight to the established teams even in our first year.”

New driver to the team, James Nash, added:
“I’m really excited and pleased to be moving on to the next step of touring cars,” said Nash. “I’ve had a great time in the BTCC, however everyone has aspirations and this was ultimately the next step in my career. I believe that I’m in the best position to have a successful 2012 season with Team Aon and I’m looking forward to my first season in the WTCC.”