Matt Salisbury: “Touring cars has long been my passion”

As with everyone else involved with the site, touring cars has long been my passion when it comes to motorsport – largely because of the fact that as a youngster growing up, I could relate to the cars that I was watching on track and was drawn in by the all-action nature of the racing.

Having experienced the BTCC in person for the first time at Croft back in 1998, I was lucky enough to be given the chance to work in the series when I graduated back in 2004, and have now completed 22 seasons in the paddock – working for various publications, teams and drivers along the way.

I first joined forces with TouringCarTimes back in 2016 and whilst my involvement now isn’t at the same level as it once was due to my varied commitments, I remain proud to play a part in continuing to deliver news to like-minded fans of the sport.

I think it’s fair to say that the BTCC has proven to be something of an anomaly in terms of touring car racing over the 30 years in which TouringCarTimes has been in operation, quite simply because of the fact that it exists now in much the same way as it did back in 1995.

Okay, so the regulations were different to what they are now and manufacturer involvement was on a totally different level, but the grid was made up of two-litre ‘family cars’ like those you would see in the car park outside. Although times have changed and the rules have evolved, it’s a similar story to this day.

Over the same period of time, the DTM has gone from being a silhouette-based touring car formula to a series for GT3 sportscars, Supercars has moved away from saloons to two-door coupes and a ‘World Championship’ has been launched, ended, revised, closed and now exists only as a pale imitation of what it used to be.

What comes next remains to be seen as the automotive world goes through a period of immense change with the drive towards a more sustainable future. There is no doubt that a time will come when touring cars are no longer powered by the internal combustion engine and may not be shaped like a saloon or hatchback, but rather than worrying about what it is to come, I prefer to enjoy the present era.