Here at Team Aon we wanted to give you a little bit more of an insight into our team so we’d like to introduce you to our pretty special team members. We’ll be introducing you to everyone who gets the Ford Focus World Touring Cars out on track each weekend. First up it’s those you’ll see on the pit wall at every event, our Team Principle and Team Manager, and our race engineers…

Name: Mike Earle

Job Title: Team Principle

What is your favourite part of the weekend? I like Fridays because that’s when we all sit together and discuss what our weekend strategy is. Although qualifying is also a great 30 minute adrenaline rush!

Which has been your favourite track this year and why? I like Portimao because the track is a great challenge and the facilities are excellent but in terms of atmosphere so far this year it has got to be Hungary.  Morocco was also great because we were running at the front.  It’s been a challenging first half to our debut season, but there’s been some highlights as well.

Name: Alan Cole

Job Title: Team Manager

What’s your role involve during a race weekend? I’m the team manager so I oversee everything within the team, from making sure the team personnel and drivers have everything they need and know where they need to be at what time, to overseeing the logistics, representing the team and drivers in front of the stewards, making sure the team looks at its best etc.  It’s a pretty wide ranging role!

Do you get nervous before a race? Yes, every race about 10 minutes before the start I get nervous, although I never used to get nervous when I was racing myself.

Which track are you looking forward to racing on this year and why? Sonoma; because it looks like a great track and it will be a new experience for all the teams so it’ll be a bit more of level playing field.  We’re also going to do some mountain biking after the event, which will be great fun as well as being a team building event for all the guys.

Name: Greg Simmons

Job Title: Tom Chilton’s race engineer

What’s your role involve during a race weekend? I engineer Tom’s car. I’ve worked with him for a few years now, through the British Touring Car Championship and now in the WTCC.  He’s a great driver to work with and is very vocal in the car giving good feedback to me during the race and in our debrief after.  We work together to get the best possible package out of the car at each event.  We understand each other pretty well by now and I know the kind of set-up he likes, which helps. 

Name: Paul Ridgway

Job Title: James Nash’s engineer

What’s your role involve during a race weekend? I engineer James Nash. My role ultimately is to make the car the best it can be and go as quick as possible. Away from the race track we work hard to make steps forward with our development so it’s a constantly evolving process. 

What is your nickname and where did it come from? I’m now known as ‘Stan’ by most of the team. James (Nash) couldn’t remember my name during the very first test we did together and called me Stan for some reason – and so it stuck!

So that’s the first batch of team members!