Racecar client wins Independent Trophy for 2010 - PR below:

Tom and Team Aon celebrated a fantastic conclusion to the 2010 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship as he secured the Independents Trophy for drivers, helping the Arena Motorsport run Ford squad to win the Independents Team Trophy as well……..

There was plenty of celebration at the end of a tough weekend at the world famous Kent venue, where a record crowd of 42,000 people witnessed the conclusion to the 30 rounds of BTCC action. Tom had his work cut out going into the season’s final event, having to overcome a 22 point deficit to lift the trophy.

He did it through hard work and sheer determination which delivered two top-five finishes, including a podium in the final title deciding race, earning enough points to overhaul his opposition and be crowned Champion. Obviously delighted, Tom was quick to praise the efforts of the team around him;

“Wow, what a result. What a weekend.” He said after receiving the silverware. “It’s been a hard job to win this, a great team effort as we had to try and find the pace here at Brands today to be competitive. My engineer Greg Simmons deserves a special mention as he has worked tirelessly to improve the car in every session and every race. I’ve got to thank the whole Team Aon crew, they’ve been amazing all year and if it wasn’t for them and Mike Earle’s leadership I wouldn’t have been in a position to win anything, so I’m really grateful. I feel sad for my team mate Tom Onslow-Cole because I’ve had to beat him this weekend and he’s had a nightmare really. He didn’t get a chance to compete through no fault of his own and as he’s also a good friend, I feel for him. I came to this final event knowing I couldn’t win the overall title, but the Independents Trophy was a possibility, so to come away having achieved it is a tremendous feeling.”

It hadn’t looked an easy task after qualifying on Saturday afternoon didn’t produce the pace that Tom or the team had hoped for and at a track where several rows of the grid are covered by just tenths of a second, every fraction is important. Tom did qualify fastest of the Independent drivers though, just two tenths of a second from pole, putting him 5th on the grid.

He experienced problems off the line at the start of the first race and suddenly found his 5th place grid slot turn into 10th place in the opening laps. The field got unusually strung out with Tom battling fellow Independent runners for points. Gearbox failure for Tom’s team mate and Mat Jackson spinning out in his BMW promoted him to 8th. Then over the second half of the race he managed to find a way past James Nash’s Vauxhall to cross the line in 7th place overall and 3rd in the Independents class. The gap in the points was closing.

He then converted his 7th place start to a 5th place finish in the day’s second race, a better getaway helping at the start of a rather processional race. Again it was a good result in terms of the Independents Trophies, with another 10 points for the 3rd in class result and his nearest challengers all finishing behind him. The result also sealed the Independents Team Trophy for Team Aon.

The final race of the season was a hugely tense affair as the Independents driver's title was within Tom's grasp.  A good start and a determined performance saw Tom finish in 3rd place in a race that effectively became a battle for the Independent honours. Under huge pressure from the BMWs of Rob Collard and Mat Jackson, Tom didn’t put a wheel wrong and kept his closest challenger for the crown, Steven Kane, in his sights for the whole race. Finishing just behind Kane and taking the final podium place, was enough to secure the Independent Drivers Trophy for 2010.

“It was a hell of a fight to win the title today and right now it feels like the best thing ever. We obviously would have loved to have won the overall series outright, but it is tough to compete with the manufacturer teams, so winning the Independents is all we can really ask for; we'll have a good party tonight!”