Vauxhall has bowed out of the British Touring Car Championship following almost 20 consecutive years in the sport.
To mark the occasion Autocar has sifted through the archives to bring you a gallery of the Luton’s brand’s best BTCC moments.
See the hi-res picture gallery from Vauxhall's time in the BTCC
Vauxhall’s last appearance in BTCC was celebrated with the Manufacturers’ and Teams’ title at Brands Hatch over the weekend.
Vauxhall driver Fabrizio Giovanardi took two podiums and a fourth place to secure third in the BTCC Drivers’ Championship.
The British car manufacturer first entered BTCC in 1976 with the Vauxhall Magnum Coupe. Gerry Marshall won his class and third overall that year and Jeff Allam finished fourth overall a year later.
Twelve years later, Vauxhall returned to the Championship and began two decades in the series.
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Re: Vauxhall BTCC in pictures
Whilst I have enjoyed watching Vauxhall`s contribution to the BTCC over the years, I cannot see that it can ever have made financial sense. Has their image changed since they started? No, and that goes double for Renault. The vast majority of customers for Scenics surely neither know nor care that Renault are in F1.
Re: Vauxhall BTCC in pictures
Simple. They won't. Or at least they shouldn't. If they do then they won't have learned anything from the past, lessons that F1 and WRC are learning now. If you organise a race/rally series to entice the big guns they will come.
They spend there big bucks and push the cost of competing so high that eventually the whole thing topples over.
Why can't private teams run cars conforming to a set of rules and be left to go racing? Why do the manufacturers have to get involved as factory backed teams?
Re: Vauxhall BTCC in pictures
Personally im going to really miss having Vauxhall there but it would never had made sense for them to stay when once SEAT left. I guess next year Matt Neal will go back to his dads team and Andrew Jordan should get a sponsorship deal but I think Gio will leave the BTCC - what a shame! A real class act.
The big question is: How will the organisers ever tempt any Manufacturer backed teams to enter again?