Onslow-Cole optimistic about new Volkswagen challenger

An optimistic Tom Onslow-Cole says he is delighted with the feeling of his new Volkswagen CC challenger, and is hoping a weekend of improvements could push him towards the top 10.

Onslow-Cole said the new Tony Gilham Racing machine is lacking straight-line speed, and needs tweaks on its bodywork to improve cooling.

But the New Malden racer said the chassis felt “very, very good” and he believed the car could make steps towards the top 10, despite having only turned a wheel for the first time this morning.

After running one installation lap in the first practice session, Onslow-Cole completed 18 laps in the second session, with a best time of 52.305, 3.922 seconds off the pace.

Speaking to TouringCarTimes, Onslow-Cole said: “We are getting there with it. At the moment our straight-line speed is not quite where it should be, but we have got to adapt some of the bodywork to get a bit more air in.

“It is first-fit bodywork, and it is quite late, so without a shakedown we weren’t quite sure what we needed. We just need to open things up a little bit to cool the charge temperature, and then it should perform a bit better.

“Once we have done that we will know a bit more. The chassis and the car feel very, very good, but we are a few seconds off the pace and not going quite as quickly as we should be in a straight line.

“It is step-by-step. We will improve it through the weekend. It arrived at 8.30 this morning, and the guys have been on it again all through the night.

“Massive thanks to the team that have been working on it – they have pulled all-nighters for the last week or so to get this done, and we are nearly there. We just need to have some time to spend on it sorting everything out we’d like to do.”

The first session also marked the first occasion Onslow-Cole had driven a Next Generation Touring Car (NGTC) model, but he said this wouldn’t be an issue.

He said: “I’ve never driven an NGTC car before and they are very different. But it a front-wheel drive touring car, and I know what I want out of it.

“Backstage, we want to develop it and bring the car on, and kind of fix it as we go, and improve all the time. If we can eke towards the top ten and close that gap then we have done a fantastic job, and it will have been a very good outing.

“At the moment it all feels good. I don’t think you can take an awful lot from that, but had it felt bad at this point, that would be terrible!”