Tom Onslow-Cole
Encyclopedia
Career
Renault Clio Cup
The Renault Clio Cup is a One-make racing series created and managed by Renault Sport. As the name suggests, Renault Clio cars are used, and are grouped in 15 national championships and an International Cup.-Championships:...
champion, winning the title by 113 points from his nearest rival. This allowed him to graduate to the BTCC for the 2007 season
2007 British Touring Car Championship season
The 2007 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season was the 50th British Touring Car Championship season. It was won by Fabrizio Giovanardi with 10 race wins and 17 podiums...
. He finished 10th overall in the championship standings for West Surrey Racing
West Surrey Racing
Founded in 1981, West Surrey Racing is a UK-based motorsport team run by New Zealander Dick Bennetts. He is responsible for masterminding the careers of such names as Ayrton Senna, Mika Häkkinen, Jonathan Palmer, Rubens Barrichello, Maurício Gugelmin and Eddie Irvine with his involvement in F3 and...
after recording 4 podiums, including his maiden victory at Snetterton
Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit
Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit is a motor racing circuit in Norfolk, England. Owned by MotorSport Vision, it is situated on the A11 road some 20 km north-east of the town of Thetford and 30 km south-west of the city of Norwich...
.
In 2008
2008 British Touring Car Championship season
The 2008 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship season was the 51st British Touring Car Championship season. It was also the first that the championship is sponsored by HiQ...
, Vauxhall acquired his services and placed him into the third Vectra along with previous champions of the series, Fabrizio Giovanardi
Fabrizio Giovanardi
Fabrizio Giovanardi is an Italian racing driver. During his career he has won eight touring car titles, including European and British crowns...
(2007
2007 British Touring Car Championship season
The 2007 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season was the 50th British Touring Car Championship season. It was won by Fabrizio Giovanardi with 10 race wins and 17 podiums...
) and Matt Neal
Matt Neal
Matthew Neal is a British motor racing driver. He won the British Touring Car Championship in 2005, 2006 and 2011. He has also won a European Touring Car Championship race. He is 6' 6" tall, making him almost entirely unable to race single-seaters...
(2005
2005 British Touring Car Championship season
The 2005 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season was the 48th British Touring Car Championship season. As in 2004, there were ten racing weekends at nine different circuits; each round comprising three races, making a thirty round competition in total.-Teams and drivers:After 2004 saw...
& 2006
2006 British Touring Car Championship season
The 2006 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season was the 49th British Touring Car Championship season. As in 2005, there were ten racing weekends at nine different circuits; each round comprising three races, making a thirty round competition in total.-Changes for 2006:-Teams and...
). He took pole position for round 3 at Donington Park
Donington Park
Donington Park is a motorsport circuit near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England.Originally part of the Donington Hall estate, it was created as a racing circuit during the pre-war period when the German Silver Arrows were battling for the European Championship...
, 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
Andrew Jordan (racing driver)
Andrew Jordan is an English auto racing driver, who drives in the British Touring Car Championship.-Rallycross:...
, he started 2009 without a drive. Onslow-Cole drove the medical car during the second BTCC meeting of the season, at Thruxton
Thruxton Circuit
Thruxton Circuit is a motor racing circuit located near the village of Thruxton in Hampshire, England which is used to host a number of motorsport events including British Touring Cars and Formula 3 racing....
.
Onslow-Cole was brought in by Team Aon
Arena Motorsport
Arena International Motorsport is a British motor racing team founded by Mike Earle. Earle originally ran the Onyx Formula One team from the same base in Littlehampton, before selling the team....
to replace Alan Morrison
Alan Morrison (racing driver)
Alan Morrison is a British racing driver who resides in Northern Ireland.-Racing career:After spending his early racing years in motocross, he first started circuit racing in the Ford Fiesta championship in 1997 and again this time winning the championship in 1998. He entered the Vauxhall Vectra...
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. 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 and the team claimed four of the season's first five pole positions. His first win of the season was awarded to him after Chilton was excluded from the results at Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit near West Kingsdown in Kent, England. First used as a dirt track motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently holds many British and international racing events...
due to a technical infringement; holding off Gordon Shedden
Gordon Shedden
Gordon Shedden is a Scottish auto racing driver.-Early years:In 2000 Shedden won the Ford Fiesta championship, with 9 wins. He raced in the SEAT Cupra Championship, finishing as runner-up in 2003 and 4th in 2004...
by 0.009 seconds, the closest finish in BTCC history. By midseason, other teams and drivers were complaining about their apparent straightline speed advantage. Onslow-Cole scored stronger results than team-mate Tom Chilton
Tom Chilton
Thomas James Chilton is a British auto racing driver. He has spent most of his career competing in the BTCC; he is a former factory Vauxhall and Honda driver. For 2011 he is driving an NGTC-spec Ford Focus for Team Aon...
early in the season, but in the first two races at Silverstone
Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit is an English motor racing circuit next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side...
, Onslow-Cole moved over when leading to allow Chilton to take the victories. 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
Super 2000
Super 2000, also known as S2000, is an FIA specification and classification for production based race cars. The specification is split to cover both rally and touring car racing. Super 2000 rally cars are also permitted to compete in Super 2000 World Rally Championship events...
-specification Volkswagen Golf
Volkswagen Golf
The Volkswagen Golf is a small family car manufactured by Volkswagen since 1974 and marketed worldwide across six generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplates – as the Volkswagen Rabbit in the United States and Canada , and as the Volkswagen Caribe in Mexico .The...
in the British Touring Car Championship, with AmD Milltek Racing
AmD Essex
AmD Technik Essex is a British car tuning company and auto racing team.The company was formed in 1987, specialising in the Volkswagen-Audi marque, forming their own VW-backed race team in 1990. They went on to win many championships with AmD-built and tuned Volkswagen Golfs...
. 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
Andy Neate
Andrew Neate is a British racing driver, who has driven in several different series throughout his career.-Racing career:...
.