Arena confirms Neate for 2011

Neate, 36, finished 18th in his first full BTCC campaign in a WSR BMW last year and has tested for Arena during recent weeks. He will race one of the team's new 'Global' Ford Focus machines alongside independents' champion Tom Chilton.

Arena has submitted three entries into the championship, with the official entry list being revealed at Silverstone on Thursday ahead of collective testing.

Although the third car does not have a driver assigned to it, team principal Mike Earle confirmed that former Triple 8 driver Phil Glew is a candidate for the seat along with several other drivers.

Twenty seven entries have been lodged for the championship with a record 10 different makes represented and five cars built entirely to the new-for-2011 NGTC regulations.

Full entry list:

 1. Jason Plato         Chevrolet (RML)         Chevrolet Cruze
 2. Matt Neal           Honda (Team Dynamics)   Honda Civic
 5. Tom Chilton         Arena Motorsport        'Global' Ford Focus
 7. Mat Jackson         Motorbase Performance   Ford Focus ST
 8. Rob Collard         WSR                     BMW 320si
11. Frank Wrathall      Dynojet                 Toyota Avensis
12. David Pinkney       Rob Austin Racing       Audi A4
13. TBA                 Rob Austin Racing       Audi A4
14. James Nash          Triple 8 Engineering    Vauxhall Vectra
17. Dave Newsham        Geoff Steel Racing      BMW 320si
18. Nick Foster         WSR                     BMW 320si
20. Alex MacDowall      Chevrolet (RML)         Chevrolet Cruze
22. Tom Boardman        Special Tuning Racing   SEAT Leon
28. John George         Tech-Speed Motorsport   Chevrolet Cruze
29. Paul O'Neill        Tech-Speed Motorsport   Chevrolet Cruze
34. Tony Gilham         Triple 8 Engineering    Vauxhall Vectra
42. Dan Welch           Welch Automotive        Proton Gen-2
43. Lea Wood            Team Wood Racing        Honda Integra
44. Andy Neate          Arena Motorsport        'Global' Ford Focus
50. Tony Hughes         Speedworks Motorsport   Toyota Avensis
52. Gordon Shedden      Honda (Team Dynamics)   Honda Civic
55. Jeff Smith          Eurotech Racing         Vauxhall Vectra
66. Liam Griffin        Motorbase Performance   Ford Focus ST
77. Andrew Jordan       Eurotech Racing         Vauxhall Vectra
78. Chris James         Team ES Racing          Chevrolet Lacetti
99. Tom Onslow-Cole     AmD Milltek Racing      Volkswagen Golf Mk5
TBA TBA                 Arena Motorsport        'Global' Ford Focus