Alain Menu could help Team BMR’s drivers’ title bid at Brands finale

Alain Menu could race for Team BMR at the BTCC finals weekend at Brands Hatch, with Warren Scott ruled out due to the injury he sustained at Silverstone.

Scott sustained two cracked vertebrae in a 20G shunt in first practice on Saturday, but was well enough to return to the circuit to watch the races on Sunday.

Team owner/driver Scott would be under no obligation to run another driver in the fourth Volkswagen CC, as his absence would be classed as force majeure. However, he told TouringCarTimes he was looking at the possibility of double BTCC champion Menu standing in for him.

The Swiss, who has been working as a driver coach for Scott this season, raced for the team in 2014 and was also on standby to replace Matt Neal at Honda Yuasa Racing for the finals day in 2013.

“I can leave the car out as it’s force majeure, because I’ve been hurt. We’ll look into whether we will put someone else into it or not,” said Scott to TouringCarTimes.

On the possibility of his replacement being Menu, Scott added: “It’s always possible…we’ll see. I might have to educate him around Paddock, but we’ll be alright!”

With both Jason Plato and Colin Turkington both still in the championship hunt, Scott said Menu’s role would be clear if he did fill in for him. “He would be driving for the team,” he said.

Scott was also upbeat about his own recovery after his heavy impact on Saturday, which ruled him out of the running for the remainder of the weekend.

“I’m just a bit sore, I’m not too bad. I’m going to the fracture clinic next Friday,” he said.

“The fractures are nothing too much to worry about, I’ve just got to let them heal. It’s unfortunate – there’s one piece of wall around here which isn’t protected by tyre bales, and I managed to find it.

“The cars are amazing, and the marshals and the medical staff were fantastic. It’s all credit to them that I’m here the next day smiling and watching some good racing.”

Menu was team-mates with Jason Plato at Williams Renault Dealer Racing in 1997-1998, where the two were famously very competitive with each other. The Swiss driver was last drafted into a BTCC finale in 2007 by Vauxhall, at that time to aid Fabrizio Giovanardi’s title bid against then factory SEAT driver Plato.