Handy Motorsport says it will leave no stone unturned in its quest to produce a race winning car for Rob Austin in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship this season – the Swindon team having declared it will put all of its resources behind the series fan-favourite with a single car entry.
Plans to become a two-car squad, having secured the use of an additional TBL [TOCA BTCC Licence], progressed well in recent weeks but team principal Simon Belcher has now confirmed any expansion is being put on a back burner until 2017.
Extended talks with drivers regarding the team’s potential second seat didn’t, unfortunately, result in a deal being struck in time to ensure another brand new Toyota Avensis could be constructed before the first weekend of the new season in April.
“After a lot of thought, and many discussions, we have decided to run just one car in the BTCC again this year to concentrate all of our efforts on Rob [Austin] and on pushing for podiums and, hopefully, race wins”, said Belcher.
Handy’s third season in touring cars will undoubtedly be its most high-profile with proven race winner Austin onboard. Even though a boosted two-car operation is on hold for the time being, the squad is determined to make significant strides in the meantime to get among the established order.
“We need to focus on our ‘A game’ to become front-runners, that’s the reason we signed Rob”, Belcher added, “It would have been great to get a second car on the grid, but we still have a lot going on behind the scenes which will hopefully mean we’ll expand as planned in 2017 after proving ourselves as front-runners this season.
“Having two cars this year and just making up the numbers isn’t for us. We are here to try and win so one car makes sense, especially as we share data with the Speedworks [Motorsport] car Tom Ingram will be driving. Two cars aren’t a necessity unless the numbers add up.”
Initial testing of Austin’s brand new Toyota Avensis will take place in Portimao, Portugal, next week as part of a three-day outing which commences on Friday, 26th February. On its return to the UK, the team will then undertake an extensive test program throughout March during the run-up to BTCC Media Day at Donington Park on Tuesday, 22nd March.
