World series aim to bounce back from Chevrolet blow

As many as five manufacturers could be represented in next year’s World Touring Car Championship despite the withdrawal of Chevrolet.

Series boss Marcello Lotti insisted that he had no concerns about the exit of Chevrolet Europe, which is on course for a third consecutive clean sweep of drivers’ and manufacturers’
titles. He described the Chevrolet pull-out after eight years as “one of the realities of motorsport”.

World series aims to bounce back from Chevrolet blow Honda will be a like-for-like replacement for Chevrolet. The Japanese manufacturer is joining the WTCC with a minimum of two Civics with a full-house factory programme to be masterminded by the Italian JAS organisation.

Lotti also expects Lada to firm up its return to the series and for SEAT, BMW and Ford to continue at their present levels. Chevrolet will continue to support privateer teams running its Cruze model, while RML, which has masterminded Chevy’s WTCC campaigns since 2005, has revealed that it is searching for finance to remain in the series as an independent.

Chevrolet Europe announced its intention to quit the WTCC at the end of the season in early July. It said it had taken the decision after a strategic review of all its marketing programmes.