BTCC: NAPA Racing UK to run Ford Focus Saloon for 2026

The 2025 Teams Champions, NAPA Racing UK have announced they will make the switch to the Ford Focus Saloon for 2026.

It was announced that last season would be the last time that NAPA Racing UK and Alliance Racing would run the Ford Focus ST in the BTCC, and would head into 2026 sporting a new look. A lot of speculation of what it could be whether it was another manufacturer or a model from Ford brand such as the Focus Estate. It has been confirmed that today that the team will run the Ford Focus Saloon for the upcoming BTCC season.

After announcing a few days ago there full four-car driver lineup for 2026 which includes, four time BTCC Champion Ash Sutton, multi-time BTCC race winner Dan Cammish, rising star Sam Osborne and 2024 Mini Challenge Directors Cup winner Lewis Selby, the team have now completed there lineup with the model change from hatchback to saloon variant of the Ford Focus.

This change from the front end is not a massive change, sharing significant resemblance to the hatchback version as well as wheelbase. But with the rear of the car changing significantly in style allowing a more efficient design and reducing drag. Furthermore, the changes to the rules mean that the car should be lighter which will improve performance further.

Antonio Carrozza, NAPA Racing UK Lead Engineer, commented: “This is an exciting time for the entire team. It was a lengthy process to come to this decision, such were the options we had, but we feel like the saloon version of the Focus is the way to go.

“The ultimate goal is to reduce aerodynamic drag. We highlighted that as an area we wanted to address last season, and this move to a different shape allows us to do just that; there are many elements that remain the same to the car, however, there will be some fine-tuning required.

“Everyone involved in this project has done a fantastic job, and now the exciting bit comes next: to head out on track and begin dialing the car into what we hope will be a championship challenger.”

Pete Osborne, Alliance Racing Team Owner, said: “I can’t wait to get going. We’ve had a very busy winter with the team behind the scenes working relentlessly on reworking the Focus into a virtually new car, one that looks stunning.

“We’ve got a good test programme scheduled in for March, where the drivers and engineers will get to work on understanding the changes to the new car. Everyone is very excited for this year, and we’ll be doing our best to get the number one back on our car.”

Steve Richardson, Managing Director of NAPA UK, said: “Having seen the methodical process in selecting this year’s car, I’m delighted with the progress we’ve made during the off-season. Being able to continue with Ford, having had so much success in previous years, along with Mountune, means we have the cornerstones of what is shaping up to be an exciting season on track.”