Premium lubricant manufacturer Valvoline has been welcomed as a new technical partner for top Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship team Motorbase Performance ahead of this weekend’s action at Thruxton Circuit, the third event of the 2022 season.
In particular, Valvoline VR1 engine oil will be used in the Mountune powerplants of the team’s Ford Focus ST cars with Valvoline fluids also utilised in the gearboxes. Established in 1866 in the USA, Valvoline is a leading worldwide marketer and supplier of premium branded lubricants and automotive services – with sales in more than 140 countries globally.
At the cutting edge of motor oil technology, from creating the X-18 motor oil in 1939 through to MaxLife high-mileage motor oil in 2000, innovation is at the core of Valvoline’s operations. Notably, when the Ford Motor Company’s Model T was first mass produced in 1920, each car was filled with Valvoline motor oil before it rolled off the production line.
Oly Collins – Motorbase Performance Team Manager:
“We’re absolutely delighted to welcome such a great technical partnership between Motorbase and Valvoline. To have such a big brand in the oil industry, with the experience and history they have, behind us and working with our technical team is fantastic.
“In pre-season testing both on track and on the dyno we’ve been working closely with Valvoline with a variety of their lubricants to further improve the performance and longevity of our components, particularly in the power train, with great results. With such close margins in the BTCC I feel Valvoline will be a very important feature to our BTCC campaign this season and beyond and we’re looking forward to growing our relationship with their team.”
Mike McCabe – Marketing Director at Valvoline Europe:
“This new relationship with Motorbase Performance spearheads a new and exciting era for our brand in Europe. High performance cars place extreme demands on engine lubricants, coolants and racing fluids. To return to UK racing with a championship winning team such as Motorbase Performance, and their current NAPA Racing UK and APEC Racing with Beavis Morgan teams, is a great honour. As current team and driver champions in NASCAR, we hope our expertise and technical partnership will help drive Motorbase Performance to success here in the UK.”
Following both free practice sessions at Thruxton tomorrow, Saturday, 28th May, qualifying will take place at 15.20. All three races will be contested on Sunday, 29th May, with round seven at 11.40, round eight at 14.40 and round nine at 17.20. All three races will be screened live on ITV4, while qualifying and the race action will also be streamed live online at www.itv.com/btcc
