Matt Simpson has explained the decision he made to resume running his own team in the run up to the Knockhill round of the British Touring Car Championship, having departed Eurotech Racing after Rockingham.
Simpson announced on the Monday after the previous event that he would depart Eurotech Racing with immediate effect, having earlier this year scored his maiden pole position and win in the BTCC with the outfit at Oulton Park.
It came after the 36-year-old had just scored his second-ever BTCC podium in race three at Rockingham, shocking Jeff Smith and his Eurotech team.
Simpson explained that the decision was prompted when he realised that renowned race engineer Geoff Kingston had become available in the paddock.
Kingston had previously been working with Tony Gilham’s Team HARD outfit in the first half of the season.
Simpson thus re-established his own team, Simpson Racing, to run his Honda Civic Type R, having previously operated his own outfit when he raced in the Intermarque series prior to the BTCC.
“It was obviously a tough decision, because we had a good start to the year,” Simpson told TouringCars.Net. “We had always ran our own cars up until the BTCC, and I heard at Snetterton that Geoff Kingston had become available.
“I made contact with Geoff after Snetterton and we had a meeting, and we managed to secure him. I thought that, moving forward, we needed to secure him before he went to another team. I wanted to start with Geoff to continue on into the future. That’s one of the main reasons why I wanted to change so quickly and so early.”
Simpson admitted that it had been difficult to break the news to Eurotech Racing Team Principal Jeff Smith at Rockingham.
“It was mixed emotions. After stepping onto the podium and then telling them I was going to leave, I was dreading it all weekend.
“I knew going into the weekend that it was going to happen, and it was playing on my mind all race weekend.
“Once I told them it felt like a big weight off my shoulders – I was just worried about the reaction and so on that was going to happen.
“To be fair they took it well. I think they were really shocked if I’m honest, which obviously is understandable. I wish them all the success to the end of the season.
“I’m really excited and a lot more relaxed and focused. It’s nice to have the guys behind me fully focussed on me.
“It gives us three meetings on our own for the team to bond together, get working together and know how each other work and also how Geoff wants to work as well.
“Next year we can hit the ground running and hopefully I can be up at the sharp end.”