STS Team Chilcott team thread

[pepsibottle1]

This morning, rumors of a possible re-emergence of British manufactuer STS back into TMMC competition leaked onto various media outlets such as the Daily News and Autosport.com

STS had a previous presence in the series most notably with Mathius Taube and Ocean Motorsports developing variants of the RWD luxury Arrow coupe for TMMC competition. However, STS never made an effort to truly support Ocean Motorsports despite giving the green light and the company themselves never seemed very interested in the program despite their very competitive outings. STS already fielded factory backed Arrows in German Supercars and the OTTC (Oceania Touring Car Championship) where it was against more relevant rivalry than in the TMMC. Why race against race car privateers and the American makes when you can compete against relevant market rivals? Sure, the sport gave the brand increased exposure but the was little need to compete in areas where the brand was non existant.

The relationship came to an end when the team decided to partner with Lenard starting in 2011, leaving only Bill Barclay Racing as the only team to field the Arrow. Despite winning the round of Ohio, STS still failed to show any sort of dedication towards the Arrow stock car program and BBR ended up shutting their doors after failing to find necessary funding.

Still, all was not lost. There was always the ever-popular Touring Car scene in Europe where the company had been a staple in both the BTCC, and the ITCC (International Touring Car Championship). For years, the company continued to showcase their award winning and top selling Celtra family sedan (along with the Arrow of course) by fielding a successful and competitive factory effort amongst the likes of and other European rivals.

And back in 1984, STS gave a lifeline to storied British sports car/ race car manufacturer Chilcott (compare to Lotus). The buyout and STS funds allowed ailing Chilcott to survive and flourish as one of the world's elite sports car and supercar manufactuers, thus preserving a important piece of motorsport and British automobile history. More importantly though was that STS now had both an outlet to the motorports teams and Chilcott's engineering knowhow along with the sports car line. Chilcott would remain a seperate marque under STS and strived under their finances but now the company now had piece of the major global motorsport pie and hell, the go fast for their mainstream cars.

Still, there was little reason to try and compete in the TMMC. There needed to be some kind of enticing factor....

That came with the move of Wernstrom to TMMC, Chilcott's heated rival, rapid TMMC European expansion, and the cry for increased manufactuer involvement in the sport.

With that backstory, rumors have a factory Chilton-STS team entering full time in 2013. Full blooded Britishness, with questionable build quality and tea and crumpets. No drivers have been named yet but it is suspected that the project will indeed again be based upon the STS Arrow

[pepsibottle1]

Hethel, England: Today at STS Team Chilcott, the orginization which runs the motorsports arm of STS, officials confirmed rumors that the British manufactuer will pursue a bid to run a factory team full time in the TMMC for 2013.

"The increased presence of the TM Master Cup Series on the world stage was a major contributing factor in our decision" says John Watson, team principal for STS Team Chilcott.
"The STS and Chilcott brands have both been reknowned by participation and success in international motorsport and we feel that participation in these events is the best way to truly prove that we truly make the world's finest automobiles. After talking to officials from STS Motors Ltd., we feel that the TMMC best suits our future goals for research and development and thus the decision was made".

Watson confirmed that the project would revolve around the road going STS Arrow R coupe. The Arrow R variant is the high performance trim of the Arrow tuned in-house by Chilcott.

This would mark the first time that a car carrying Team Chilcott colors will grace the TMMC grid. Chilcott is of course no stranger to motorsport. Founded in 1952 by Sir William Chilcott, the british sports car company has had a storied racing history. Chilcott's racing team, Team Chilcott experienced success in GT, talking two straight LeMans wins in 61' and 62' before dominating Formula A in the late 60's.

Throughout the 70's, Team Chilcott was a championship contender battling Wernstrom for much of the decade at Le Mans and Formula A, and the company produced some of the finest sports cars to come out of England. However, the company struggled as the price of gasoline rose and subsequently declared bankruptcy in 1983. STS purchased the ailing marque a year later and with the influx of cash, prospered and continued to run Team Chilton in major global motorsporr events.

Chilcott became the performance vehicle and Motorsports division of STS where Team Chilcott became STS Team Chilcott. Chilcott also cooperated with STS to produce special sport versions of various models. "Spec C" was the designation given to these cars. In touring car action, the Spec C Arrows and Celtras were dominant.

[pepsibottle1]

Hethel, England: STS Team Chilton has announced that Italian Alessandro Rossini has been signed to drive for the 2013 season.

"We're extremely pleased to have Rossini onboard with us for our debut season" says team principal John Watson. "Alessandro is an extremely talented young man and we are more than excited to have him. For us, it was a no-brainer that this was the right man for the job"

Also announced was Rossini Sport, Rossini's motorsports team would have the full blessing of Corsa, STS' Italian subsidary and that Rossini Sport would be be the brand's official tuning and performance company.

With the signing of Rossini it is likely that the team will naturally pursue a British driver to take the helm of the other race seat.

[pepsibottle1]

West Midlands, England: In a shock announcement today, STS has decided to abandon the 2013 TMMC project. This comes just after news that Italian Alessandro Rossini was signed to pilot one of the two proposed race seats. STS made the move this morning stating "budgetary restraints" and "other miscellanious factors" for the justification.

It is reported that the company will however comphensate Rossini for his contract fee.

[Sponsored content]