General Motors British division Vauxhall have announced their decision to withdraw from the British Touring Car Championship for 2010.

The company said that its decision to leave the championship was ‘influenced by the absence of other manufacturer-backed teams and financial prudence in the current global economic downturn.

“BTCC boss Australian Alan Gow said the he was not surprised by the decision and he was confident that the series would continue to be strong even without the factory presesnce.

“Given the (widely reported) extremely difficult financial position in which GM finds itself, it’s inevitable that the company must make some drastic cutbacks in nearly all areas of its operations - and motor sport is certainly not immune, as we have witnessed in all major forms of our sport over the last 12 months. he said.

Gow thanked the company for its support of the series and said he was confident of continued success even without manufacturer support.

“…it is important to remember that over the last six years we have seen direct manufacturer involvement decline within the BTCC - yet at the exact same time we have seen crowd figures rise, TV audiences rise, TV airtime rise, competitor numbers rise and the championship being as closely fought as ever. That’s certainly no coincidence and the facts prove, over these last few years, that a heavy degree of manufacturer involvement is no longer crucial to either the success or popularity of the championship.”

The decision of Vauxhall to leave the series follows Spainish manufacturer SEAT who left after last year’s series.

SEAT continue to field cars in the World Touring Car Championship as doead GM through it’s Chevrolet Europe division with the new Cruze.

With Vauxhall’s parent company GM America teetering on the brink of bankruptcy and the continuing global economic meltdown the future of other GM brands in various local race series remains under a cloud.

Holden have however committed to a continued presence in Australian V8 Supercar Racing at least for “the forceable future”

In the current environment that’s about 3 days.