Kent-based Motorbase Performance is pressing on with plans to return to the 2015 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship from the Snetterton round onwards.
The official BTCC website caught up with Team Principal David Bartrum at Thruxton last weekend and will again be with the team for an important test session this coming Friday (15 May) at Brands Hatch.
“It has been frustrating of course,” he said. “We desperately wanted to be on the grid, even more so because of the amount of work we have put into the car and the new EcoBoost engine over the winter. We really believed we had a championship challenger on our hands so to miss out on a potential sponsor so close to the opening round was really disappointing. We love the BTCC – it’s where we want to be and we’re determined to get back on-track, but it has to be commercially viable and therefore we simply couldn’t make the start of the season.”
Motorbase has been a stalwart in the series since 2006, taking 14 wins and 54 podiums along the way. The team’s star driver Mat Jackson, who has remained with the squad for 2015, has taken ten of those victories. Now in his sixth successive season with the outfit, Jackson is this year joined by former UK Formula Ford Champion James Cole.
“Both drivers have been great but obviously frustrated like the rest of us,” continued Bartrum. “Mat [Jackson] has helped develop the car over the last few years and he’s been really encouraged with the performance it has shown over the winter. James [Cole] has obviously just come onboard but he’s a driver we’ve enjoyed working with so far and we’re looking forward to seeing him grow with us.”
Such has been the commitment from the squad to return to action that it’ll undergo a full test day at Brands Hatch later this week.
“We’ve got some guests and sponsors coming along to see the hard work in progress, but in truth this is another important day in terms of car development,” concluded David. “We hope to be back for Snetterton, after the summer break, and we need to hit the ground running when we do so. We believe we have a car that can be competitive this season and moving into 2016.”
www.btcc02.ts6.testdigital.net will be with the squad in Kent on Friday when we’ll be hearing from both Jackson and Cole. A report on the team’s progress will follow next week.
