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BTCC announcements at Autosport International - part 2

By MJP Media | 14 January 2016

Team IHG Rewards Club confirmed today the signing of talented young driver Jack Goff for this season's Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, replacing Andy Priaulx.

Jack Goff with his 2016 Team IHG Rewards Club BMW 125i M Sport

Goff is a proven race-winner and has enjoyed a strong start to his relatively short BTCC career so far, with a number of podiums and a maiden victory at Snetterton last season being the outstanding highlights. The team has put its faith in Goff as it too looks to build on its success in Britain's toughest motor racing championship. The squad experienced victory on two occasions in 2015 and now looks to mount a serious championship challenge in only its second season of BTCC action. Goff gets his first realistic championship chance behind the wheel of the West Surrey Racing built, prepared and run BMW 125i M Sport.

The High Wycombe racer undertook a number of media duties at the show today, as well as meeting some of the thousands of dedicated BTCC fans in attendance, before the serious business gets underway over the coming weeks. Goff and WSR - under the expert guidance of its experienced Team Principal Dick Bennetts - will undergo an extensive testing programme ahead of the official BTCC Season Launch event on 22 March. The 24-year-old will then make his competitive debut for Team IHG Rewards Club at the opening 2016 BTCC event at Brands Hatch in early April.

Jack Goff being interviewed on the Autosport stage

Jack said: "I am extremely proud and honoured to have been selected to drive for Team IHG Rewards Club. Representing such a well-known brand, with a clear history of supporting racing talent, is fantastic and I hope to 'reward' the faith shown in me. Similarly the prestige of driving a BMW for a legendary team like West Surrey Racing represents a real dream come true for me. I've experienced BTCC podiums and took my first victory last season, so now I am looking at stepping up another level. Ultimately I want to become BTCC champion and challenging for the title is my immediate goal - I can't wait to get started with WSR and Team IHG Rewards Club."

AmDTuning.com will pay tribute to one of motor sport's most iconic colour schemes this season after announcing its all new livery for the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship. Having fielded the Audi S3 during five events in 2015, the West Thurrock-based team will embark upon its first full season with the car this year, with high hopes of building on the early promise shown by the front-wheel-drive machine.

Matt Simpson unveiled his 2016 BTCC car at the show today

To celebrate a full-time switch to the Audi following two seasons running a Ford Focus, the team has drawn inspiration from one of the German manufacturer's most famous liveries, taking the wraps off its new colours on the opening day of the annual Autosport International show at Birmingham's NEC. The car is on display on the Cobra Exhausts stand (No.19120) for the remainder of the show. The revised look replaces the all-black livery seen on the S3 last year and has been designed to integrate elements of the legendary colours that appeared on the fearsome IMSA Audi 90 GTO of the late 1980s, as driven by the likes of German hero Hans-Joachim Stuck.

Matt Simpson also took the wraps off his brand new Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship challenger at the show. The former European Hot Rod Champion will be making his BTCC debut in 2016 in a Simpson Race Exhausts-branded Honda Civic Type R, fielded by front-running independent outfit Speedworks Motorsport. The 34-year-old admits he is eager to get out on track to begin the learning curve. "It's exciting to be unveiling my first British Touring Car," he enthused, "and the sheer interest and buzz around the Dunlop stand at Autosport International blew me away - to be racing in such a popular and prestigious championship is a huge deal for me. I can't wait to get started, but at the same time, I'm keeping my feet firmly on the ground."

Touring Car content supplied by MJP Media