Infiniti has just announced that it will enter a two-car squad into the 2015 British Touring Championship. This is a huge announcement from a company that has never been involved with this form of motorsport before. Besides raising awareness of the Q50, the Official BTCC entry also helps fund the ‘Support Our Paras’ charity, which helps injured war veterans from one of the most iconic regiments in the British Army. The Infinitis pit crews ranks will be swelled by injured paratroopers. As for the drivers, the two sedans will be maned by veterans of Super Touring Car racing series: Richard Hawken from England and Swiss Derek Palmer Jr. All profits generated by the racing team will be donated to the ‘Support Our Paras’ charity. Ultimately, Infiniti will push an injured Paratrooper though all the necessary training and into the Q50s hot seat in the near future. Weve set ourselves a number of significant, but achievable targets, Team Principal Palmer stated. Of course we are aware of the challenges ahead of us, but with the united forces of The Paras and Infiniti, we believe we have the power to deliver results in the BTCC. The coolest car on the grid? A quick look at the 2014 BTCC racing grid will reveal that our Infiniti hero is rather special. Most cars used are front-wheel drive and lack the premium look of a Q50. Just to give you an example, Honda races a Cvic Estate, while Toyota fields a Avensis. The only rear-wheel drive BTCC racer we can think of is the eBay Motors BMW 1 Series. The Q50 is a direct replacement for the G-series sedan and is the first of an all-new breed of Infiniti models, having made its debut at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show. A direct rival for the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and AUDI A4, its built exclusively in Japan and offered with V6, diesel 4-cylinder and hybrid engines. However, none of these can be used for the races. Regulations will force Infiniti to use a 2-liter four cylinder engine and a six-speed sequential gearbox instead.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 15:51:53 +0000