Proven touring car race winner Rob Austin will race for Handy Motorsport in the 2016 British Touring Car Championship season, racing a brand new Toyota Avensis for the team.
Austin has spent the past five years racing for his own Rob Austin Racing operation, campaigning Audi A4 cars in the series. After a challenging 2015 season, which saw Austin miss out on a podium finish for the first time, the Pershore-based racer has opted to call time on racing for his own outfit.
“I’m really excited to be joining forces with Handy Motorsport”, said Austin. “The new car is a lot more suited to the [championship] regulations than my Audis were and through this deal we’re combining the best bits of both teams. I think we should be able to do a really good job with the new Toyota and spring some surprises.
“There will be some adapting back to front-wheel drive but, as Colin Turkington [two-time BTCC Champion] has proved, if you can drive, you can drive. It’s bloody hard work organising the money, running a team, sorting the sponsorship and driving as well, so I’m looking forward to focusing on the thing I do best rather than spreading myself so thin. This really is a perfect opportunity.
“I really want to be part of the whole project with Handy Motorsport, I want to contribute to the whole success of the team. There is so much potential and Simon [Belcher] has some very big plans for the team going forward. These are exciting times…”
Team Principal Simon Belcher was delighted to be able to welcome Austin to the team, something which he believes signifies a sign of intent from his young outfit.
“It goes without saying, we are absolutely ecstatic to announce Rob as our new driver for 2016”, said Belcher. “He’s a quality driver, a proven race winner in touring cars, and brings a huge amount of experience to the team.
“We’ve been discussing the possibility of working together for a while and, thanks to a new sponsor package, we’ve been able to put this programme together. We’re at the start of a very exciting period in the team’s BTCC story and very much looking forward to making big strides this season.”
Although Handy Motorsport only have one TOCA BTCC Licence (TBL) at present, Belcher is still hoping to be able to continue in the championship as a driver in 2015 in an older-spec Avensis. TouringCars.Net understands that Austin will race under the Handy Motorsport TBL, whilst Belcher himself hopes to race under a TBL leased from Rob Austin Racing.