Newsham hunts top ten spot after sealing BTCC drive
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DAVE Newsham is targeting a top-ten finish after sealing his drive for the 2015 British Touring Car Championship.
Inking a one-year deal with Power Maxed Racing, a team under new ownership, has Newsham expecting big things from the coming season and believes there is no reason why they cannot rack up podium finishes.
The team operated under the BTC Racing moniker during 2014 and finished bottom of the constructors’ championship. Owner and driver Chris Stockton sold the team to Power Maxed, part of Automotive Brands which is owned by Adam Weaver, last week and preliminary discussions had already taken place with Newsham about driving for them.
Newsham had only briefly met Weaver at a Rallycross event in October but believes his new boss was obviously impressed with his credentials and achievements in BTCC.
Winning the Jack Sears Trophy in 2014, awarded to the driver with the most overtakes during the season, coupled with a podium finish at Knockhill made the Westhill racer an in-demand figure.
“I had another contract on my desk to sign when this offer came in. Adam is very ambitious and wants to take this team places,” said Newsham, who has a test day on the 12th March when he will get behind the wheel of the new Chevrolet Cruze for the first time.
“They are bringing in some good people behind the scenes and the top ten is where we want to be by the end of the year. We want to be on the podium and if we get a few good reverse grids, we could scrape a win or two.”
Weaver’s new team have been working round the clock since his buy-out of the team was completed, with the Cruze being completely rebuilt for the new season.
Instead of the hatchback version that ran in 2014, the car will be replaced by a saloon equivalent. It is currently under-going aerodynamic testing in a bid to maximise its potential speed.
Newsham will be the only driver of the car for 2015 with expansion plans afoot for the following season. Given that the 47-year-old already had a drive lined up for the 2016 championship, this latest development does affect his future plans.
“It’s a one-year deal because we’re just going to take it and see how it goes this year,” said Norscott Vending managing director. “Myself and Adam have already spoke about the future and in an ideal world, I want to have more than a year with a team, which I’ve not had yet in BTCC.
“I can bring the experience the team needs to the car and they are doing that with guys behind the scenes as well.”
Just because a drive is in the bag for the Carmarthen-born driver does not mean the work is over. Two of Newsham’s main sponsors — energy drink company No Fear and Clarke Energy — have pulled the plug on their agreements with him.
No Fear have been taken over while the deal with Liverpool-based firm Clarke Energy, which was only supposed to run for two years and had already exceeded that, was brought to a close. However, Inverness firm Simply Wifi have signed on for 2015.
“I got four years out of the Clarke Energy deal, which I can’t complain about,” said Newsham. “But you can never have enough sponsorship.
“We can’t really start chasing it until we’ve got the car sorted but I’m still on the look-out.”
Newsham will be officially introduced with his new team at the BTCC Media Day at Donington on 24th March. The new season starts and finishes at Brands Hatch, Kent, on 4th April and 10th October respectively.
Any parties interested in sponsoring Newsham for the new season can contact him on 0845 241 3330 or email Dave@norscottvending.co.uk.
