Infiniti’s charge to become better known in Britain steps up a gear next year when it launches a manufacturer-backed team in the 2015 British Touring Car Championship.
Support Our Paras is the official charity of the Parachute Regiment, the British army’s elite airborne soldiers.
Injured soldiers will be working on the cars in the Infiniti Support Our Paras Racing Team announced today. The team is based at Mallory Park in Leicestershire.
The drivers of the new Infiniti New Generation Touring Cars
Infiniti is providing two Q50s, which are being race prepped in time for the 2015 BTCC season. Click here for our Infiniti Q50 review.
They’ll be driven by Richard Hawken, who has won three championships at club level and tested for Speedworks in 2013, and Derek Palmer, who has competed in Super Touring Cars.
All profits generated by the Infiniti Support Our Paras Racing Team will be donated to the Support Our Paras charity, helping injured ex-servicemen.
Infiniti: the renaissance
Entering the BTCC is one part of a publicity drive for a brand few members of the public still recognise as a premium player. It’s the same reason why Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn sanctioned the Red Bull F1 sponsorship.
The new November 2014 issue of CAR magazine spells out the stark nature of Infiniti’s progress to date in establishing a foothold in Europe. The company has sold just 591 cars in the first nine months of the year in the United Kingdom. BMW registered 113,520 in the same period, Audi 126,487 and Mercedes 99,096, showing how small Infiniti remains.
Cue an emergency relaunch programme, analysed in the latest issue. The company has a slew of new products it hopes will move the needle, led by the new Q30 compact crossover coming in 2015; has opened a new Infiniti design studio in London to influence more Euro-friendly styling; and a new boss in the shape of ex-BMW Roland Kruger.
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