WTCC star MacDowall confirms 2013 Indy title bid with Bamboo
Carlisle racing driver Alex MacDowall will remain with crack team Bamboo Engineering for a second season of FIA World Touring Car Championship action at the wheel of a Chevrolet Cruze after today, Thursday, 14th February, confirming his place on the 2013 grid.
Driving with Silverstone-based Bamboo for a second consecutive campaign, the 22-year-old Briton has his sights squarely set on mounting a challenge for the Yokohama Independents Trophy crown after a sparkling breakthrough in the WTCC last year.
Claiming two memorable Independents Trophy race victories and eight podiums during his maiden season in the World Championship, Alex steered his turbo-charged Chevrolet to a top five finish in the Independents title race and only just missed out on the outright championship top 10.
Now, armed with vital experience of the WTCC circuits and with a full season’s knowledge of the Bamboo engineered Cruze and the Yokohama tyres, the Cumbrian is confident he can hit the ground running and mount a sustained bid for the prestigious Independents crown.
“It’s fantastic to be staying with the guys at Bamboo and with Chevrolet, we had a great first season together in the WTCC”, said Alex, “I would have liked a few more Indy wins but, overall, I think we did a really good job. My confidence really started to build during the second half of the season and with all of that experience I’m certain we’ll be able to fight for the championship this year.
“Coming into the WTCC from the BTCC [British Touring Car Championship] obviously meant I had experience of touring cars, but the World Championship is a whole different level. The experience I’ve got going into this season will be invaluable and I’m confident we’ve got a great chance to arrive in Macau at the end of the season in the mix for the title.”
Realistically Alex’s performances throughout his rookie campaign in 2012 merited a top three finish in the Yokohama Independents Trophy standings but his debut WTCC season didn’t pass by without incident unfortunately. Even so, the British racer delivered standout performances throughout the year and will certainly go into the 2013 campaign as a genuine front-runner.
Bamboo team principal Richard Coleman is delighted to have secured Alex’s signature for the new season and is confident of sustained success. He said: “We’re delighted to keep Alex in the Bamboo Engineering camp again this year and to build on his strong experience from the 2012 season.
“Alex had an especially strong second half to the season and this, twinned with the signing of James Nash, not only gives us a great driver line up, but a real chance to challenge for a title. Plus, with more exciting developments for 2013 being released in the next few weeks, it’s going to be a storming 2013!”
Monza in Italy will host the opening two rounds of the 2013 FIA World Touring Car Championship over the weekend 23rd/24th March – the scene of a sensational series debut for Alex last year where he achieved two Independents Trophy podiums and concluded the event as joint class leader.
From there, the WTCC tour will travel to Morocco, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Russia, Portugal, Brazil, America, Japan and China ahead of the season finale in Macau on 16th/17th November. As in 2012, live television coverage of all races will be screened via the Eurosport network with live online streaming available through the Eurosport Player service.