Words – Rob Andrews
Photos – Mick Palmer
- 1 NAPA MOTORBASE
Was there ever any doubt that the arrival of the famous NAPA colours would do anything other than look stunning when it landed in the BTCC? The unmissable livery has quickly become a fan favourite and it doesn’t half suit the Focus. On track it hasn’t quite matched the looks with a first win yet to come for the colours.
- 2. WSR BMW
It’s a classic. It’s historic, and after the last couple of seasons of black being the de facto colour for half of the grid, it’s great to see WSR running in colours that fit in with the 50th anniversary celebrations of the BMW ‘M’ brand. It’s matching up on track to boot too!
- 3. UPTON STEEL WITH EURO CAR PARTS RACING
There is no better way to create debate than to deliver something that divides opinion. Some love this look. Others don’t. Described as an ‘80s shell suit clothing a race car,’ it fits in perfectly with the Rock and Race vibe over at Team Parfitt. You know from the off which team draws inspiration from classic synth pop, and after those bland black cars dominating the category over the last couple of years, this Q50 balances it out!
MOTOR RACING UK mag – for BTCC fans.
We interrupt this article for a quick advert break
The new issue of Motor Raing UK is on it’s way, and we’re shifting to a Touring Car focus. Available in print or PDF (£6 for 12 digi issues,) featuring BTCC interviews and stories you won’t get anywhere else (along with TOCA and other British racing stuff) click on the pic to see how you can read it, get your Touring Car card game, free BTCC digi book and read a few BTCC related back issues (for free.)
- 4 CAR GODS CICELEY
Those black cars that are 10 a penny? Not all of them were bad. Especially this carry over from 2021. The Ciceley BMW was the best of the dark hued pack pack last term. A few tweaks only, plus individual sponsors for the drivers added on, shows that the original is a modern classic. Over the last couple of seasons the old adage of ‘everything looks good in black’ hasn’t rung true, but this design is an exception.
- 5 MB ROKiT BMW
Another stylish black car. It’s simple and effective. It looks quite a bit better than the ROKiT branding on the Cupra last season – okay we have to be honest here, we thought the old HARD one looked a bit too ‘Newcastle United’ so we had an aversion to it – but the Jake Hill machine just looks awesome, right in the sweet spot. Still though, the old ROKiT VW CC was red, white and black – much more in line with our Mackem tastes….
- 6 EXCELR8 HYUNDAI
There are two sides of the garage with two shades of blue, but we’ll throw them together here, as they’re both effective. The blocks we love. The good old bonnet a different colour to the wings and nose looks great, the angled stripes along the side give the ‘go faster’ orangey red flashes a real purpose, and it all gives the car a much more aggressive stance than the old Hyundai designs.
- 7 DYNAMICS
It’s always striking, but it doesn’t jump out as much as it used to for very good reason. They’re lucky (or well run enough) to retain their major partners year-on-year! So it’s fiddling with features and adding on the odd sticker here or there. The advantage for fans though is that you know what a Dynamics Civic looks like. If they ever change from Halfords and co it’ll take some time to get the adjustment.
- 8 LASER TOOLS
At first you’d think it was another ‘carry’ over, but it ain’t. The red straks that didn’t work last year are gone for a start. And with both cars carrying St Andrew’s Cross on the roof they just seem more well rounded than in the past overall. Some lovely little design touches, like the way the front flashes go around the wheel arch, and the green streak (a nod to hybrid?) It just works.
- 9 APEC MOTORBASE
Good and solid. Much better than the equivalent red design from 2020 with the addition of the black features. It’s probably the tidiest wrap on the grid and if you stripped the sponsors off all the cars in the field to leave the base design, it’s the one I’d drive on the road. But it has one major problem – it blends in far too much for a team that battles in the middle of the grid. If you were laying out sponsor money in the pack you’d want something that shouted a bit more!
- 10 POWER MAXED ASTRA
Variations on a theme. It’s not spectacular but the changes year-on-year with the constant white base and yellow mean that, like Dynamics, you know what you’re getting. The blue on the 2022 version does set the whole thing off better than the last few years though.
- 11 TOYOTA
What the Toyota has going for it is the fact that front is not symmetrical, it adds a bit of interest to the whole thing. It’s like a cute puppy with a black eye patch and the red streak in the middle is like it’s sloppy tongue, and like a little dog its tail wags a lot. A canny move, but truth be told, it’s still a Toyota innit?
- 12 TEAM HARD
Two sets of cars, two sets of liveries on a white background. They’re functional, and if we’re honest three of the designs from last season were better than what have HARD have delivered for 2022. We’re just glad the Nic Hamilton black and white stripe machine has been consigned to the history books! Far too ‘Mag/ for our tastes.
- 13 BTC
Hmm….. that sponsor. Okay, just for a fleeting moment drop the negativity surrounding all of that. The cars looked grand in pure black in testing before the season started…..
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