Onslow-Cole hit by recession

Tom Onslow-Cole has revealed he had three pre-season deals to compete in this season’s BTCC scuppered by the recession. Having spent 2008 in a works Vauxhall, Onslow-Cole had been confident of a top drive in 2009 until economic problems hit, but the 22-year-old believes that he will back to racing full-time soon.

Speaking to the Croydon Guardian, Onslow-Cole revealed that the current state of the British economy played a part in him missing out on a drive for 2009, but said, “I’m confident we can get back racing full-time soon.”

“We had three deals lined up with manufacturers and slowly one by one they had they went back on plans because of cash shortages. It was really frustrating. Because they were full deals we weren’t looking for sponsorship and when they fell through at the last minute we were in no position to find our own funding.”

For the man who finished sixth in the standings last year, winning two races at Thruxton, only an outing in the Team Aon Ford Focus as a replacement for Alan Morrison at Croft has saved his season from being a complete write off.

“I got back in a car once this year – which was good – but wasn’t ideal. I got a call on the Friday morning to go practising, we were qualifying on Saturday and racing by Sunday, so it was all a bit of rush job.”

In the end the three races in North Yorkshire proved a disappointment, as he failed to complete a lap in the first race and wasn’t classified in the second two events, after car problems struck.