No.99 Tom Onslow-Cole
VW Golf
S2000 chassis, NGTC engine
One of the great unknowns in the grid – a last minute deal has brought Onslow-Cole and Shaun Hollamby's team together for the season.
The deal, announced only days before the series' media launch pushed Hollamby into the team principal role, and has the potential to push the car up the grid.
The team passed the rite of passage of the learning curve season, the car improved all year, the team also taking the fans' trophy – a relationship the squad will take further in 2011 thanks to support from YourRacingCar.
When TCF spoke to Hollamby – then still looking forward to a season in the driving seat – back in January he said he was aiming at getting into the top ten with the power from the new NGTC engine. With the addition of Onslow-Cole – a proven race winner who was headed for the Independents' title before his nightmare final weekend – the slide rule of expectations has to be moved upwards.
However, Onslow-Cole still needs to learn the car, prompting the potential teething problems of another learning period before any racking up of points can begin.
Tom Onslow-Cole On…….Expectations
“It's the million-dollar question right now, expectations, I think, are quite high of me and the team and I hope we can deliver, I think we can win races I really do. I think we've got a fantastic set of engineers and mechanics working on the car – we've got a good facility where Shaun's based and I think we've got all the skills to bring this car together. I don't know it's going to be difficult or not because I haven't really got much time with the car yet but for sure there'll be a few little gremlins at the start as there always is – it's a new engine package with the car and the chassis' had a lot of work. I'm going to have to get comfortable and get things how I want it. But, it's a long season we might be running straight out of the box but we'll definitely get there.”
Verdict: More learning early, consistent points by the summer
