Tony Gilham‘s return to a Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship meeting will not take place after all this weekend at Brands Hatch, as Rotek Racing will be forced to miss the season finale as a result of the damage caused in the car’s Silverstone accident.
Robb Holland was powerless to avoid slamming into the side of James Cole‘s spinning United Autosports Toyota Avensis at Becketts in the third and final race of the Silverstone meeting two weekends ago, causing significant damage to the front end of the Audi S3 Saloon.
Although the American told TCF he was hopeful of the car being repairable for this weekend’s trip to the Brands Hatch GP circuit, the Rotek Racing squad have confirmed that further structural damage means the machine is not able to make the season finale in Kent.
Holland’s former team boss, Gilham, was set to take the wheel of the Audi for a one-off return to the BTCC, but instead will watch from the sidelines as the squad miss a second event of the season following damage sustained at Donington which forced them to be missing from Thruxton;s third event of the year – ironically due to an accident also involving Holland and Cole.
A statement on the official BTCC website said: “TOCA officials are satisfied that every attempt has been made by the team to meet its entry obligations and has therefore declared Rotek Racing’s absence as a case of force majeure.”
