Alain Menu was announced last night as re-joining the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship in 2014.

The two time BTCC Champion will be lining up on the grid for Team BMR for the coming campaign and it means that there is another champ on the grid in 2014.

Whilst many may not know who Team BMR are they have been on the grid since 2013 through team owner Warren Scott, and during the winter he merged with Kent’s Tony Gilham to take on the three other NGTC cars for 2014, meaning that they are going to be a team to most definitely keep an eye on.

Menu will be joined by Scott himself on the grid as well as Jack Goff who has already confirmed for a second season, and Aron Smith who moves from Wrotham based Airwaves Racing.

With a number of changes having taken place behind the scenes during the winter period, they are going to be ready to challenge for the Independent Teams and Drivers championships, aiming to following in the footsteps of Andrew Jordan last season’s champ.

Menu will be driving one of the VW Passat CCs as will Smith, with Scott and Goff piloting the Insignia’s for 2014.

Speaking about his move to Team BMR for next season, Menu said: “This is exciting. The best times of my career have been in the BTCC, and it’s going to be nice to see many people I’ve not seen for many years. I’m well aware that it will be different with a new team and new cars, but I’ve been watching the races, have spoken to a lot of people about it and the championship is really picking up at the moment. With lots of competitors, spectators and live TV, there are many reasons to be here.

“I got a call in early December – the plan all sounded good, so I came over to the UK around Christmas time to meet with Warren [Scott] and the team. Their plans and approach to the project are very appealing, we’re all highly motivated and it is our aim to be amongst the teams at the front. I am taking a realistic approach of course, it will take us some time and there are a few unknowns. With Geoff Kingston there as our engineer and Warren’s will to be the best I think we have a good opportunity to grab some strong results.

“I want to have fun too, this is a very important part of racing for me. It will be nice to race against people like Matt Neal again, and Gordon Shedden was trying to break into the BTCC just as I left so I’m looking forward to racing against him. Jason [Plato] has matured since we were team-mates too, so I’m sure we’ll get on well. Plus there is a whole generation of new talented drivers out there, so 2014 should be very exciting. I’m also looking forward to racing on the fantastic British circuits again. The tracks are great and the public are always enthusiastic. We’re going to have some test days soon, so I’ll know then what work needs to be done, but I’m sure it’ll all come back to me very quickly.”

With the team looking to challenge at the front end of the grid from the off, it is clear that the team are looking forward to the season ahead.

Team owner Warren Scott said: “We’re incredibly excited about the year ahead. We’ve worked very hard getting the cars prepared this winter. For us it was key to build a team that can make front-running cars before going after drivers that can challenge for the championship. I am extremely proud to be associated with such an enthusiastic group of hardworking people that make up the newly formed Team BMR. From Tony Gilham who is coordinating, Geoff Kingston our newly appointed chief engineer, Alan Cole and Mark Turner who manage the team, through to the all-important mechanics and other boys that are working tirelessly, with no effort spared into producing the foundations of what I anticipate to be a very successful team.

“Once we had everything in place we approached Alain, and he’s been fantastic from the very first meeting we had. He’s really enthusiastic and has loads of ideas for the season ahead. His experience is massive, and having him alongside already quick drivers in Aron Smith and Jack Goff is going to make the team a strong force in the pit lane. For myself as a relatively inexperienced driver it’s going to be amazing to learn from him and help push the team in the right direction.

“We are aiming to challenge at the front this year, to get podiums and hopefully race wins. Alain has the skill and experience to be a real contender, and with the work we’ve put into the cars we should be in the hunt for the Independents’ championships come the end of the year. There’s no reason why this can’t be achieved, and I hope that the set-up we’re creating now will stay with us to form a long-term programme that can go on to more success in the coming years.”

In a first, the team unveiled their new line-up in a video reveal on You Tube, which was a fantastic idea from the guys at Team BMR.