Brock and MG hit the track

James Brock and Chinese auto maker MG will hit the track this weekend with a tilt at a class victory in the Australian Production Car Series.

Brock will contest the 2018 Australian Production Car Series in a race-prepared MG6 PLUS across five rounds. The opening shot in this year's series is this weekend at Sandown Raceway (Vic) in Melbourne's east.

The 1.8-litre turbocharged MG6 PLUS has been prepared by Brock's own operation, Brock Race Engineering (BRE), and will compete in one of the series' capacity-based classes. It is not expected to vie for overall victory in a series that's likely to be dominated by high-output BMW and Mercedes-Benz performance cars.

Brock's alignment with MG was announced on the brand's revival Down Under in 2016.

MG has competed in recent years in the pinnacle of UK production-car based racing, the British Touring Car Championship. Brock's MG6 PLUS program has the formal blessing of MG's Chinese head office, but is essentially a toe in the water in Australian motorsport.

The car will be raced under the MG Motorsport Australia banner.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for MG Motor to showcase the capabilities of the MG6 PLUS, and a further sign of our commitment to re-establishing the proud and passionate MG brand with new generations of Australians," MG Motor Australia's Senior Manager for Marketing and Communications, Danny Lenartic, told motoring.com.au.

"It's always been a passion of the business to enter motorsport again. You only have to look at the [sporting] history [of MG] to know how rich it is and it's absolutely part of the DNA. So we're very keen to continue that and showcase to Australians that we haven't forgotten it.

"The production car series is based on the [core] vehicle's capability... We feel we can field a car that is competitive, but still maintain a lot of its integrity. It's not modified within an inch of its life, to the point where people don't really feel like that's the same car that they're driving."

Lenartic says MG Motor Australia will activate its on-track presence in conjunction with its dealers and leverage the relationship with Brock. He says even during a test event in Victoria last weekend there was "solid enquiry" in the MG vehicles on display.

"We've already had some really solid enquiry... so that would suggest that there's absolutely an appetite for, for race goers to, to have a look at our new cars. So where possible, we'll work with dealers [and events] to display the vehicles," Lenartic said.

MG's two newest models ZS and GS are SUVs, with an expected update of the smaller MG3 not due until later this year. The next MG6 is yet to be confirmed for the Australian marketplace.

Lenartic dismissed the suggestion that the racing program was aimed at deflecting attention from MG's SUV focus.

"Lot of brands, you know, have halo vehicles and then their core volume cars are something very different... This is somewhat similar... I guess the point of difference that we've got is the car that's available to you is the car that's actually going to be on the racetrack."

Lenartic says MG has a sight on grander motorsport intentions but it may take a paradigm shift in the energy that powers race cars for that to come to fruition.

"I'd like to think that we have reignited the legacy, for want of a better phrase. And, and I hope that, that it does continue – certainly from a manufacturer point of view. From the first day or time that I mentioned it, it was fully and wholeheartedly supported. But given where we're going to be in five year's time, with new energy vehicles and electric and so forth, we'd probably have to wait and see what Australia does and what, what races [series] will be made available..."

Meantime, Brock's MG Motorsport Australia MG6 PLUS is very much a production car and will front the start remarkably standard, save for racing suspension, brakes and safety equipment. That hasn't affected the Melbourne-based racer's enthusiasm.

"For me personally, it's great to actually get back behind the wheel and be able to attack a full championship again. And it's great to be working with a supportive brand that wants to get out there and do it. For me to have large amount of control over how the program is run... means no stress and no drama," Brock told motoring.com.au.

Lenartic says MG Motor Australia will have two foci to measure the success of the racetrack program

"People forget that liberty and freedom are just sitting in that driver's seat and driving for pleasure... You know, that's the brand equity that we'd like to build... and the legacy we want to continue – that MG was a sports-car [brand]," he explained.

"Sure, we've had to evolve as a brand and build SUVs and sedans and hatches and so forth, because at the end of the day we're a business... but I still wanted to try and bring some of that spirit back into the brand... To allow people to believe or reignite the fact that, that driving is actually a fun thing to do."

And the adage that racing improves the breed?

"Yes, from a KPI perspective – we want to prove reliability. There's obviously a lot of negativity around where these cars are made... But they've got British style; they've got global technology; they're backed by a really strong warranty... We're not afraid to test our cars in the most extreme environment," Lenartic stated.

Australian Production Car Series calendar
May 11-13, Sandown (Vic)
Jul 27-29, Queensland Raceway (Qld)
Aug 31-Sept 2, Winton (Vic)
Sept 21-23, Sydney Motorsport Park (NSW)
November 2-4, Phillip Island (Vic)