Tom Onslow-Cole
| Tom Onslow-Cole | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Nationality |  British |
| Born | May 16, 1987 Kingston (England) |
| 2012 British Touring Car Championship | |
| Debut season | 2007 |
| Current team | eBay Motors |
| Car no. | 4 |
| Former teams | Team Aon AmD Milltek Racing VX Racing Team RAC |
| Starts | 96 |
| Wins | 6 |
| Poles | 4 |
| Fastest laps | 7 |
| Best finish | 4th in 2010 |
| Previous series | |
| 2004–06 2002 |
Renault Clio Cup T Cars |
| Championship titles | |
| 2006 | Renault Clio Cup |
Thomas Michael Onslow-Cole (born 16 May 1987) is an English racing driver.
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[edit] Career
Onslow-Cole began his career in karting at the age of eight.[1] He was the 2006 Renault Clio Cup champion, winning the title by 113 points from his nearest rival. This allowed him to graduate to the BTCC for the 2007 season. He finished 10th overall in the championship standings for West Surrey Racing after recording 4 podiums, including his maiden victory at Snetterton.
In 2008, Vauxhall acquired his services and placed him into the third Vectra along with previous champions of the series, Fabrizio Giovanardi (2007) and Matt Neal (2005 & 2006). He took pole position for round 3 at Donington Park, leading race 1 until dropping to third through an off-track excursion. He was also strong in race 3, before being hit by Giovanardi, but recovered to finish third. He recorded another pole at Thruxton and followed this up with his first 2 wins of the season in races 1 and 2. He would go on to finish a career best sixth in the championship, scoring 170 points with two wins and nine podiums, including five podiums in succession.
Having been replaced at VX Racing by Andrew Jordan, he started 2009 without a drive. Onslow-Cole drove the medical car during the second BTCC meeting of the season, at Thruxton.[2]
Onslow-Cole was brought in by Team Aon to replace Alan Morrison ahead of the round at Croft, where he was due to drive the medical car once again. He had to use Morrison's race suit and seat.[3] He rejoined the team later in the season for the final three rounds, before signing for the team full-time for 2010.
In 2010 Team Aon's Fords are powered by liquefied petroleum gas, and Onslow-Cole was confident of a title push pre-season[4] and the team claimed four of the season's first five pole positions.[5] His first win of the season was awarded to him after Chilton was excluded from the results at Brands Hatch due to a technical infringement; holding off Gordon Shedden by 0.009 seconds, the closest finish in BTCC history.[6] By midseason, other teams and drivers were complaining about their apparent straightline speed advantage.[7] Onslow-Cole scored stronger results than team-mate Tom Chilton early in the season, but in the first two races at Silverstone, Onslow-Cole moved over when leading to allow Chilton to take the victories.[8] Chilton's father is responsible for the team's sponsorship from Aon Corporation, but Onslow-Cole was able to win the third race.
In 2011, Onslow-Cole raced a NGTC-powered, Super 2000-specification Volkswagen Golf in the British Touring Car Championship, with AmD Milltek Racing.[9] It was announced on ITV4's live coverage on 5 June 2011 that he had parted company with the team, after the second race at Oulton Park. Onslow-Cole has returned to Team Aon to drive the third 'Global' Ford Focus alongside 2010 team-mate Chilton and Andy Neate.
[edit] Complete BTCC results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position - 1 point awarded in first race) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap - 1 point awarded all races) (* signifies that driver lead race for at least one lap - 1 point given)
[edit] References
- ^ "Tom unimpressed by all the title talk". Norwich Evening News (Archant). 2010-08-06. http://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/content/eveningnews24/norwich-sport/story.aspx?brand=ENOnline&category=Sport&tBrand=ENOnline&tCategory=xSport&itemid=NOED06%20Aug%202010%2015%3A08%3A29%3A830. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
- ^ "Onslow-Cole's outing". Autosport 196 (5): p. 21. April 30, 2009.
- ^ O'Leary, Jamie (2009-06-13). "Onslow-Cole gets Arena Ford call up". autosport.com (Haymarket Publications). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/76110. Retrieved 2009-06-13.
- ^ Amos, Stuart (2010-03-29). "Onslow-Cole ready for BTCC title assault". Elmbridge Guardian (Newsquest). http://www.elmbridgeguardian.co.uk/sport/5384658.Onslow_Cole_ready_for_BTCC_title_assault/. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
- ^ Hockley, Chris (2010-08-05). "Tom Wants to be a Cool Guy". The Sun (News International). http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/motorsport/3083398/Tom-Onslow-Cole-wants-to-be-a-cool-guy.html. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
- ^ "Tom Onslow-Cole inherits race two honours". Brands Hatch (MotorSport Vision). 2010-05-02. http://www.motorsportvision.co.uk/news/article.asp?NewsID=5625. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
- ^ "Aon hit with restrictions". crash.net (Crash Media Group). 2010-08-22. http://www.crash.net/btcc/news/162609/1/aon_hit_with_restrictions.html. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
- ^ "Chilton doubles up in controversial fashion". crash.net (Crash Media Group). 2010-08-22. http://www.crash.net/btcc/race+report/162616/1/chilton_doubles_up_in_controversial_fashion.html. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
- ^ O'Leary, Jamie (21 March 2011). "Onslow-Cole in shock VW move". autosport.com (Haymarket Publications). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/90075. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Profile at BTCCPages.com
- btcc:action Profile
- Career BTCC Results
- Interview with Daily Express newspaper
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