James Nash to drive for Bamboo in 2013 WTCC season
World Touring Car Championship racer James Nash will switch to leading Independent team Bamboo Engineering for the forthcoming season after enjoying a promising rookie campaign with Team Arena's Ford Focus in 2012
Silverstone-based Bamboo Engineering has announced it will field Nash in a latest specification Chevrolet Cruze.
Former factory Chevrolet team RML dominated the 2012 WTCC, but has yet to confirm its participation in next year's series following the loss of manufacturer support.
Nash and Bamboo-Engineering team principal Richard Coleman believe Chevrolet's factory withdrawal signifies the removal of a significant hurdle for a 2013 WTCC title assault.
"I'm delighted to have signed with Bamboo, the Chevrolet is such a strong platform and will give me a chance to show my true potential," said Milton Keynes driver Nash. "Richard runs a tight ship and we both share the ambition to challenge for the drivers' championship in 2013.
"I've definitely been bitten by the WTCC bug, the racers, the tracks, the countries are all top notch, but now I need to make my mark on the global stage.
"It was important for me to sign early for 2013. I'm up to speed with the tracks and have some good experience in the WTCC, now is my chance to get my head down, bag some points and focus on my driving."
Coleman added: "We've been knocking on the door for a few years now, but with Nash onboard, and his newly gained WTCC experience, he'll be a challenger. 2013 is going to be great."
Nash gave the Ford Focus its highest WTCC qualifying position of fourth in Slovakia, and briefly led the reversed-grid race in Marrakech before finishing sixth.
Bamboo-Engineering took fellow British Touring Car Championship graduate Alex MacDowall to fifth in this year's Yokohama Drivers' Trophy, and rounded out the season with a double Yokohama victory for Darryl O'Young in Macau.
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Autosport 70: Why Portimao is the right home for the Portuguese GP
FV8 3.5 race winner Orudzhev switches to title-winning AVF team
How the post-Renault 3.5 series is shaping up
WRC 2025 rules limbo creating “critical” situation for teams
Top five roles on Motorsport Jobs this week
Perez: Red Bull can be more resilient to graining after Melbourne
Jota's first Le Mans car to return to competition
Why joker laps are entering the mainstream
The making of the world's best tin-top driver
Volvo's plan to conquer the WTCC
The WTCC's Nordschleife gamble paid off
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments