Marc Hynes has decided not to return to the British Touring Car Championship in 2015 in favour on assisting the revival of the Manor F1 Team in Formula 1 this season.
The thirty-seven-year-old Briton worked as the Head of Driver Development for the Marussia F1 Team before its financial troubles, and insists his role within the management of Manor is now his priority.
“F1 takes over your life,” said Hynes to Autosport. “I really enjoyed the BTCC last year and would definitely want to be back in it.
“Right now, though, F1 is the focus and we just need to get the team back up and running. I think we’re doing a reasonable job of getting it back in shape, so for me I’ve just got to focus on that and do one thing properly.”
The 1999 British Formula 3 Champion had made his BTCC debut in 2014 driving in a privately-owned MG that was run by Triple Eight. He finished eighteenth in the final standings, with a best finish of eighth at Silverstone, but is keen to return to the series, possibly as soon as 2016.
“It’s definitely something I want to [come] back to,” added Hynes. “That car’s not on the list at the minute but I definitely want to be back in the BTCC soon.
“To be honest, it will probably be 2016 but I don’t know yet. I definitely want to be back, I really enjoyed the whole experience last year. I wasn’t good enough at front-wheel drive, but I’ve been a long time out of racing and I was starting to get the hang of it at the end of the season.
“If I had gone straight back in again this year it would have been an improvement but I’m just going to have to postpone that for a year and I’m fortunate enough to have some backers who are willing to roll that over for a year.”
Despite his car not been entered into the 2015 championship, a capacity field of 31 cars is expected, although the Motorbase entry will be absent for the early rounds of the season.