GA now Team Sureterm

[redshoes]

GA Motorsport are going to be entered this year as 'Team Sureterm'. You might remember the name as being Charlie Butler-Henderson's sponsors in Clio Cup last season.

As expected, 3 cars - Paul Wallace and CB-H in the Vauxhall Astras, and Carl Breeze in an ex-ETCC Alfa Romeo 156.

[Craig]

4 March 2004
PRESS RELEASE

GA MOTORSPORTS CONFIRMS ITS BTCC DRIVER LINE-UP

Carl Breeze, Paul Wallace and Charlie Butler-Henderson in “Team Sureterm”

Top BTCC independent team, GA Motorsports, is delighted to confirm the drivers of its three car entry as Team Sureterm for the 2004 Green Flag British Touring Car Championship.

Carl Breeze will be driving GA’s ETCC spec Alfa Romeo 156. Carl joined GA Motorsports midway through 2003, achieving three independent wins in the five race meetings, and moving up to ranks of independent drivers to finish the season 3rd.

Paul Wallace and Charlie Butler-Henderson are piloting GA’s two ex-works Vauxhall Astras. The Astras have been fully rebuilt over the winter and will start the season with up-rated engines to the end of 2003 works team spec. Paul drove successfully for GA in the BTC Production class for the first half of 2003, before making the move up to the Astra mid-season and achieving two top three independent finishes. Charlie joins the team this season with a wealth of saloon, single-seater and karting experience, all of which will put him in good stead for what looks to be a very competitive championship.

Pre-season testing has already started for Paul and Charlie with shake-down testing at Thruxton on 20 February, and both will be at Silverstone tomorrow (5 March). Carl will be joining them for the rest of the pre-season programme starting at the BTCC Media Launch day at Donington Park on Tuesday 16 March.

[Craig]

and:

4 March 2004
PRESS RELEASE

GA MOTORSPORTS ANNOUNCES NEW COMMERCIAL PARTNERSHIPS

GA MOTORSPORTS ENTERS THE 2004 BTCC AS “TEAM SURETERM”

Top BTCC independent team, GA Motorsports, is delighted to announce a number of exciting new commercial partnerships. These partnerships will further strengthen GA Motorsports’ competitiveness as it prepares its three car line up for the 2004 Green Flag British Touring Car Championship.

Sureterm Direct, the specialist car insurance intermediary, tops the list of new partners and will receive extensive brand publicity through its involvement with GA. With a rapidly growing reputation for expert knowledge of classic cars, kit cars and 4x4s, and delivering top quality and high value-for-money insurance solutions, the BTCC is a perfect fit for Sureterm Direct. The GA Motorsports team will be entered into the BTCC as Team Sureterm.

RS Components, Europe's leading industrial distributor of electronic, electrical and mechanical components, health and safety products, and associated tools, enters into Touring Car sponsorship with GA in 2004. A business that’s already a household name in engineering and technical arenas, RS’s exposure in the BTCC will underpin the broadening of its brand awareness to a wider audience.

Honeywell Control Systems and Bluechip, both strong supporters of GA driver Carl Breeze, extend their involvement to now encompass the whole team. Blue Chip Customer Engineering is one of the leading providers of maintenance, service and support of IBM mid range systems. Honeywell Control Systems, part of the $23 billion Honeywell group, provide automation and control technologies for buildings, home and industry. Both Honeywell and Blue Chip have experienced considerable brand awareness and business relationship building benefit from their involvement in the BTCC and are looking forward to continuing their successful relationship with Carl Breeze and GA Motorsports.

St. James’s Place Partnership, provider of a wide and growing range of financial services of outstanding quality, is also a new entry into Touring Car commercial involvement. As an organisation whose expert knowledge, top quality advice and outstanding track record has allowed it to build highly successful individual and corporate relationships, its foray into the BTCC will both provide the opportunity to continue to strengthen those relationships as well as attract new clients.

GA Motorsports is also delighted to welcome back Tork, Millers, Foster Refrigeration, Cashmores, Finesse, IFS Chemicals, all of whom have continued their partnership with the team from last season.

[ATF]

Seems like GA will be a force to be reckoned with for the Indy Cup. Are they expecting the Alfa to be quicker than the Vauxhall though? We haven't seen how the ETCC-spec cars fare against the rest and putting their lead driver in an unproven car could be a bit of a risk?

[kmchow]

It's great to see so many sponsors lined up to back Team GA. OTOH, we don't know how much GA is actually benefiting from these sponsors. Are they actually supplying money or just services in lieu??

[Super Tourer]

Honeywell, Blue Chip, Cashmores and Foster refrigeration are long term sponsors of Carl Breeze, so they will be cash sponsors.

Carl's father works for Foster Refrigeration, which is part of the link.

[Neil Adams]

will they be a match for Bentwood in a the junior vx team running a 2003 spec astra though?
(reported in latest autosport, is supposed to be very definate).

GA / sureteam, whatever are running their astras in sinister black.

So i suppose the rumours of Julian Westwood in an astra and wallace in an second alfa are not true.

Anyone else seen on triple eights website, they'll have a new livery this year, less red please!

[BootsOntheSide]

It seems strange that the Alfa is being regarded as the lead car, considering that the Astra is a proven success in the series, the team are used to running two, and the Alfa is an upgraded Production car, so may not perform as well as the ones built for the ETCC.

Still, great to see such a healthy repetoire of sponsors for the team, and only one of the three drivers brings money but little proven ability. Carl is one of the great up and coming touring car racers, and Paul got the job done reasonably well last year.

It's a shame they can get sponsorship but so many others (WSR, Barwell, Edenbridge etc) have struggled.

[Paul Millard]

isnt the alfa brand new? i thought it was.
but I may have it wrong
paul

[kykiske]

Originally posted by BootsOntheSide
and the Alfa is an upgraded Production car

forgive me if im wrong, but i thought the Alfa was made in Itlay and shipped to GA, rather than them doing the build themselves. And thus is a sorted Alfa on par with those so successful in last years ETCC.

If this is so, im not surprised its the lead car...

[Super Tourer]

It is a new car delivered from Italy recently IIRC, the old production spec Alfa's are still at GA.

[redshoes]

I would say Carl would be the 'lead driver' in terms of experience but not necessarily that the Alfa was the 'lead car'.

I thought the Alfa was an ex-factory car rather than new this year, although I could be wrong on that. Either way it's the same spec as the Nordauto/N-Tech works Alfas and definately not an upgraded Production car. As ST said they are safely in storage at GA and might get converted to Super 2000-spec at some point.

[Craner Curves]

From the photo in Autosport a few weeks ago it's a 2002 spec car upgraded to 2003. Has an Italian flag on the roof, a yellow front bumper and blue mirrors. Can't see the driver's name to see who it was raced by though.

[BootsOntheSide]

My mistake. Chances are that the two cars will be fairly equal, but it all depends on how the ballast is applied.

[Super Tourer]

Sorry! When I said 'new' I meant 'new' as in different to GA's exisitng prod spec Alfa's, not as in a brand new car - apologies for the confusion.

Redshoes is right, it's an ex Nordauto Alfa of some vintage - in 2003 spec.

[Craner Curves]

Looks like maybe a car raced by Bigazzi last year.

[Alfa Fan]

Yes I think it is

[kmchow]

Originally posted by redshoes
I thought the Alfa was an ex-factory car rather than new this year, although I could be wrong on that. Either way it's the same spec as the Nordauto/N-Tech works Alfas and definately not an upgraded Production car.

It must have been many years since a purely indepedent team could buy a brand new works car? I think the fact that a Indepdent team could buy an updated year old Works car is already very impressive? Usually, they just the used Works car, no updates at all??