Onslow-Cole targets win in first season

At just 19 years of age, Tom Onslow-Cole says he wants a race win by the end of his first season in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

The teenager, last year’s Renault Clio Cup champion, has got his big BTCC break after being confirmed as team-mate to Colin Turkington in Team RAC’s line-up.

Having got over celebrating his inclusion in the squad, Onslow-Cole has now had time to clearly map out what he wants to achieve in his debut season of BTCC racing.

Kingston-based Onslow-Cole told BTCC.net: “It’s only when we get to Brands Hatch on 31 March and head into that first practice session that I’ll know where I stand compared to the others. But my goal that weekend will be to qualify in the top eight and maybe improve on that in the three races.

“By mid-season I’d like to have snatched a couple of podiums and by the end to have taken my first win. There’s no particular driver I’d like to beat – to me, they are just other drivers in other cars. I suppose the only comparison will come between me and Colin, but that’s only natural as we’re team mates in equal machinery.”

Onslow-Cole becomes the youngest driver to enter the BTCC since Tom Chilton arrived in the championship in 2002 aged just 16. Chilton has since matured into a proven race-winner and top-line name, but made the leap to the BTCC straight from the junior saloon category T-Cars that Onslow-Cole has also contested.

“The way Tom (Chilton) did it was too big a leap,” added Onslow-Cole. “I’ve done more than three seasons in the Clio Cup since my time in T-Cars and my race craft will hopefully be a lot better for it in my first season of the BTCC. Everyone who’s seen the Clios knows you’ve got to have good race craft to be at the front.

“The BTCC is a lot more cut-throat and it’s something I’ll need to get used to but anyone who watched me in Clios will tell you that my biggest strengths are being able to adapt quickly to different situations as they arise, take chances when they appear and defend well if I’m being challenged.”

Onslow-Cole admits to being taken aback at the levels of preparation that go into a top-line BTCC squad but is enjoying every moment of it as he begins a career he hopes will bring plenty of success.

He said: “I wanted to be in the BTCC when I was 14 and being in Clios these past few years has enabled me to keep a close eye on the championship and see it grow. The buzz around the championship is tremendous.

“I got a phone call to tell me I’d got the RAC drive and the feeling was just sheer elation as I’d been chasing this drive for some time. I’d not really tried anywhere else. But already there’s been a lot to see and do with the RAC and at WSR’s workshop which is an amazing place. Everything happens at a much higher level.

“I know I’m still only 19 and that my chance has come a lot earlier in life than most people, but I feel I’m ready for it.”

Source: www.btcc.net