Onslow-Cole: It was tough, but enjoyable

Thu 21st January 2010 After a tough season in 2009 when he didn't know if he would be racing from one weekend to the next, Tom Onslow-Cole seeks to secure his place on the BTCC grid full-time for 2010.

By Matt Salisbury

After a season that proved to be far from straightforward in 2009, former BTCC race winner Tom Onslow-Cole is hopeful of securing a return to the series on a full-time basis in 2010.

Having taken a victory in his debut season in the BTCC with Team RAC in 2007, Onslow-Cole secured a factory drive with VX Racing in 2008 and picked up two further wins to finish sixth in the championship standings.

Despite that, the former Clio Cup title winner found himself out of the Vauxhall line-up for 2009 after being replaced by Andrew Jordan and his plans for the season were left in disarray when Volvo elected not to join the grid.

Suddenly Onslow-Cole found himself without a drive and on the outside looking in until the opportunity arose to join the Arena-run Team Aon outfit at Croft. Onslow-Cole had been due to the drive the doctor's car in the North East, but a call on Saturday morning gave him the chance to return to competitive action.

While that first weekend didn’t go to plan, Onslow-Cole had the chance to return at the wheel of the Ford Focus ST for the final three rounds of the year, scoring points at both Rockingham and Brands Hatch.

"It was a tough year, losing my drive at the start of the year when Volvo elected not to come in," he said, "but I was grateful to Arena Motorsport and Team Aon for putting me in the Ford for the last part of the season. Everyone knows that the car wasn’t fantastic when I first got into it, but the progress the team made in a short space of time was unbelievable. At the final round, we should have won and it was a great opportunity to get in the car. I enjoyed how the end of the year went.

"[Before Croft] I hadn't been in a car since the last round of the previous year and the deals kept happening late on. I wouldn't find out I was in the car until Friday afternoon and I think the earliest I heard was Thursday night. It is difficult to prepare for races when it is like that, but I was given the opportunity and I hope I made the most of it."

For Onslow-Cole, the aim now is to secure a drive with Team Aon again for 2010, with the team keen to build on the progress shown in the final round of 2009.

Despite rumours to the contrary, a deal has yet to be signed, although Onslow-Cole admits that discussions are moving forwards.

"I really want to go back there," he said. "I was blown away with the team and the car as well. I think the Focus will be a strong car this season and I would love to go back. We are in the process of making it happen and are getting closer, but it isn't a done deal yet.

"We haven’t looked anywhere else as Arena is where I want to be. We just need to work to make it happen."