Vauxhall has announced that they will be discontinuing their VX Racing activities in the British Touring Car Championship at the end of this season.
The company cites the lack of other manufacturer-backed teams in the BTCC as well as the "current global economic downturn" as the key reasons for not returning to the racing series in 2010.
While Vauxhall isn't ruling out the possibility of returning to the BTCC in the future, the press release seems to suggest that such a move would be at least several years away.
Although it seems odd for Vauxhall to withdrawal from the 2010 season already, the company wanted to give 13-year racing partner Triple Eight Race Engineering enough time to consider how best to proceed without them. While this obviously has to be a rough day for both parties, Vauxhall and Triple Eight Race Engineering have won over 100 races and seven out of the last eight manufacturer titles.
According to Vauxhall's marketing director Andy Gilson, "The company has enjoyed immense success with BTCC... However a number of factors have led us to take the decision to withdraw from the championship at the end of this season. Vauxhall's primary focus for next year will be bringing to market exciting new products, such as the new generation Astra and Meriva models.''
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