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NGTC Cruze or bust for RML for next season

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Jason Plato says RML will only be in the BTCC next year if the team can secure the investment to develop an NGTC-specification car for the championship in his latest column for The Sun.

The 2001 and 2010 British Touring Car Champion admits he’s looking ahead to next year after a season where he hasn’t “enjoyed this year’s racing as much as I have in previous seasons.”

Rumours in the BTCC paddock suggests RML are already developing a Next Generation Touring Car (NGTC) specification engine, despite their most recent expense in building a cost-intensive 1.6 litre turbocharged unit for the FIA World Touring Car Championship, which has already secured Chevrolet both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles with three rounds to go.

As a result, RML opted to continue with the Super 2000 specification cars used by the team’s WTCC drivers last season in the BTCC, using their existing stock of S2000 engines, relying on championship organisers TOCA’s promise of performance parity between the the different specifications to keep them in contention for the title. This is despite the straight-line speed advantage of the new turbo engines introduced for all teams to use from this season.

Chevrolet have also supported the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship’s decision to adopt the NGTC platform from 2012, although this has led to a number of high profile teams breaking away to start their own championship using a different formula who weren’t convinced of how cost effective NGTC would be. Any development from RML within the NGTC regulations could be used in both Sweden and the UK from 2012, even if it is just a turbo engined S2000-spec Cruze or an all new car for either series.

“If the RML team I drive for can get all the investment we need, which I have to say is substantial, we will be producing a turbo-powered ‘next generation’ Chevrolet Cruze,” said Plato in his column.

“I’m happy to go on record as saying I hope to be driving for the team next year. There’s no other team I want to drive for as they are the greatest.”

“So RML and yours truly will either be on the grid next year with a car that can win – or we won’t be there at all.”

You can read the full article here.