Colin Turkington's racing future remains uncertain
Another week has gone by and the momentum continues to build ahead of the 2010 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.
Here’s a look back at some of the stories that have emerged over the past seven days.
More coverage from ITV
First there was the news that 2010 will be another record-breaking year for ITV’s coverage of the BTCC. It might not seem a big deal, but for the teams and drivers currently struggling to get (potential) sponsors to part with their cash, this is crucial. Bigger, better TV coverage means more exposure and a greater return on their investment. (BTCC.net)
Bamboo to WTCC
The news that bamboo engineering will switch to the FIA WTCC in 2010 is a blow for the BTCC. Harry Vaulkhard a Chevrolet Lacetti for the team in the second half of 2009 (after starting the year with Tempus Sport) and went on to contest the FIA ETCC at the end of the year. It all looked like it was building to a two-car assault in 2010. And it was – just in the WTCC rather than the BTCC!
On the plus-side, it gives British fans another driver to follow in the WTCC (but only one, as the second car will be driven by the Candian Chinese driver Darryl O’Young. Nonetheless, it’s a shame to lose a couple of cars that looked like they were going to be lining up on the BTCC in 2010. (bamboo-engineering.com)
George to Sunshine.co.uk
One driver who will be returning to the BTCC in 2010 is John George. The Cornish mobile phone magnate will again drive an Honda Integra, but will switch to the Sunshine.co.uk team, lining up alongside Paul O’Neill in the seat vacated by Martin Bell. George loves his racing and loves being in the BTCC – much like O’Neill and indeed Bell – so he should be a good fit at the Tech-Speed operated team. (BTCC.net)
Testing begins
After his recent appearance on ITV1’s new dating programme ‘Take Me Out’, Tom Chilton has returned to track action with the Arena Motorsport team. Chilton took his Ford Focus – still in full Team Aon livery – out to the Guadix circuit in Spain for two days of testing ahead of the new season.
Arena are set to return to Spain with a test in Valencia later in the month. Meanwhile, Matt Neal will put a revised Team Dynamics Honda Civic through its paces at Rockingham next week. (BTCC.net)
Champion in demand
There’s still no news on where reigning BTCC champion Colin Turkington will be racing in 2010. Autosport reports that bamboo wants the Northern Irish racer to join its WTCC line-up. Previous reports suggest he has (unsurprisingly) also received offers from other WTCC teams. Turkington’s enjoyed good times at WSR over the years, though, so don’t be surprised if he remains with Dick Bennetts’ outfit. Once again, funding is key.
Twitter scandals
Users of the social networking site Twitter may have picked up on a couple of interesting developments over the past few days. First up was Harry Vaulkhard, who hinted at the bamboo WTCC deal before it was officially announced. His ‘tweet’ wasn’t there for long though – disappearing without trace until Thursday’s official announcement.
The second Twitter story of the week concerned Chevrolet. This time, the service was used to post new about Chevrolet and Jason Plato in the 2010 BTCC. Again, the tweet was subsequently removed.
Expect some exciting news on this one soon, though!
Tags: 2010, Autosport, bamboo engineering, btcc, Chilton, fia wtcc, itv, john george, Matt Neal, RML, Sunshine.co.uk, turkington, WSR
