Proteam Racing vow to be on the grid in 2012

Italian WTCC team Proteam Racing have announced plans to be on the grid for the 2012 season with their two BMW 320 TCs, despite uncertainty surrounding the team with the recent incarceration of team owner Valmiro Presenzini.

The 58-year-old team owner was remanded in custody yesterday, facing allegations of tax evasion, whilst his five properties in Italy have been released as they were owned by Presenzini’s wife since before marriage according to the La Nazione newspaper.

Despite this, Proteam Racing’s Team Principal Marco Guidicci has stated that the team will be on the grid for the start of the 2012 season, with negotiations ongoing to retain the team’s 2011 line-up of Mehdi Bennani and Javier Villa, and expect to announce their drivers in the first week of January.

The team are also considering entering their third car, the BMW 320si E90 with the older 2.0 litre normally aspirated engine in the 2012 FIA European Touring Car Cup, which shares three events with the WTCC.