New Focus for MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square in 2021
MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square are delighted to announce new machinery will drive forward their assault on the 2021 British Touring Car Championship as the team make the transition to a pair of fourth-generation Ford Focus ST’s for their second season in the UK’s highest profile racing series.
Continuing Mark Blundell’s successful collaboration with Shaun Hollamby and Pete Osborne, the switch comes following news of the recent acquisition of Motorbase Performance by the pair and sees the team jump into race-winning machinery for 2021 which will be operated by the Kent-based squad. Shaun and Mark will continue to spearhead the team’s efforts remaining in their roles of Team Principal and Sporting Director respectively.
The news also sees the extension of MB Motorsport’s multi-faceted partnership with the award-winning retail marketing agency, Blue Square. Blue Square accelerated the team’s debut BTCC season in 2020 and return to the fore again this year as the team’s naming rights partner with many more exciting activations planned between the two organisations.
The team made an early move last year to re-sign the services of BRDC SuperStar Jake Hill who cannot wait to get behind the wheel of front-running machinery as he looks to continue his progression within the BTCC. The 25-year-old will be joined by a new teammate for the 2021 season as the team give their all to make a fully-fledged assault on the Championship.
Mark Blundell - Sporting Director, MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square:
"Today’s news marks another exciting point in the team’s journey. We all loved our debut campaign in the series last year and are all united in wanting to achieve much more in the coming year. The Honda Civic was a fantastic car and we all loved it fondly but everything has a lifespan in motorsport and we are firm in our belief that the Ford Focus ST is a huge step forward both in terms of outright pace but also with the introduction of Hybrid engines in 2022.
“The announcement sees us building on Motorbase Performance's fantastic relationship with the team at Mountune. The Mountune developed EcoBoost NGTC engine has proved itself again and again with front-running results in the BTCC and we can't wait to benefit from that this coming season!”
Shaun Hollamby - Team Principal, MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square:
“Following on from the transition into Motorbase Performance, continuing our relationship with Mountune and the EcoBoost NGTC engine is a very important part of our strategy. We know that merging our existing operations with the ever-successful Motorbase Performance team gives us an excellent package on-track. This, alongside strengthening our work with MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square to the next level gives us an incredible amount of commercial expertise and a really exciting platform to build on.”
"Looking further ahead, Mountune also has the technology and infrastructure to innovate and embrace change - this capability is key to Motorbase staying ahead of the curve as we tackle a rapidly changing motorsport landscape."
Following news of the recently updated BTCC calendar, the 2021 season will now get underway at Thruxton on 08/09 May for what's promising to be a very exciting season for everyone involved and of course, the fans of the BTCC!