Team HARD manager Tony Gilham says his outfit will leave ‘no stone unturned’ in its quest to become a frontrunner in the British Touring Car Championship after confirming Bobby Thompson as its second driver of the 2019 season.
Making his BTCC debut this year after winning the Volkswagen Racing Cup title in 2017, Thompson showed progress over the course of the season at the wheel of the Volkswagen CC to earn a second year with Team HARD.
Thompson is the second driver to re-sign with the Kent-based team following confirmation in September that Mike Bushell will also remain with the four-strong driver line-up.
For Gilham, the decision to retain two of its drivers will do its part in providing continuity and allow the team to wholly focus on development ahead of the 2019 BTCC campaign.
“It was very important for us as a team to retain the two drivers that completed the full season in 2018,” he said. “Bobby and Mike are both very special talents and it was a priority for us to have them back with us for next season.
“We have improved massively as a team and with a full winter programme ahead of us, we feel that we will have a driver line-up to challenge for silverware come the start of the season.
“We have a whole host of changes and developments planned both with the cars and the personnel. We have already added a lot of quality to the engineering department and with the addition of some key members and procedures, the preparation and overall quality of the team will be far better than ever before.
“Both Bobby and Mike showed some amazing pace at times, so to have them both back and confirmed early gives us the best chance of hitting the ground running and improving in all the areas we have identified on and off track.”
With Team HARD set to confirm a third driver next Wednesday [7 November], Gilham believes this fresh approach will see his cars competing at the sharp end in 2019.
“We have high expectations for 2019 and know that we have a package to rival the top teams, so we will leave no stone unturned in our quest to be one of the front running outfits
“The last few years have been very eventful but 2019 we believe will see a fresh start and the real launch of Team HARD. as a team to be reckoned with.”
