Newsham confident switch can make him competitive again
DAVE Newsham is confident that a change of team can see him featuring regularly towards the front of the grid in next year’s British Touring Car Championship.
The Inverness driver opted to leave Speedworks, who he represented during the this year’s campaign, to join AmD Technik Essex.
The move comes after a 2013 season where problems with fine tuning the set-up of the car at Speedworks often left Newsham out of the equation when it came to featuring amongst the front runners consistently.
The 46-year-old concedes that it was a source of frustration being unable to build upon the six podium finishes he achieved in 2012, but this was not the main reason he opted to depart Speedworks for pastures new.
"It was a difficult decision to leave Speedworks," he said. "We were just starting to make good progress by the end of the season.
"Unfortunately a large Speedworks sponsor, who supported my drive with them, reduced their support, meaning that I simply could not afford to stay with them.
"Both myself and Speedworks wanted to continue, but it was a financial reason that brought our relationship to an end. I wish them well for the future and I know they wish me well too.
"It was a very frustrating season as well. The team employed a very experienced and respected engineer to take the team forward.
"However, these NGTC (Next Generation Touring Cars) are tricky things to engineer and he steered us in the wrong direction for most of the season.
"I had a few options open to me, but the AmD deal was perfect for me. It is a great car with more speed to come from it.
"We will be working as satellite team to Motorbase (Airwaves) team, so we are a small team running within a very big team. "Shaun Hollamby, the team principal, is a good guy who as a former BTCC driver, knows what it is like for me and I respect him.
"He has a good team of guys working with him, some of which I have worked with before as well.
"As I have touched on, the relationship between driver and engineer is very important, and AmD’s engineer is a personal friend of mine.
"I have 100 per cent faith in him and I know he has in me too, so on the whole this should be a marriage made in heaven.
"Don’t get me wrong though, it still won’t be easy to get podiums, especially as there will be 32 NGTC cars on the grid, with very accomplished drivers throughout, but I am convinced we will be regular front runners."
Next season will be Newsham’s third in British Touring Cars and the former Renault Clio Cup champion is still enjoying it as much as over, insisting there was no thought of giving up his place in the championship next year.
"I didn’t consider anything else," he said. "There really isn’t anything in the UK that comes close to BTCC.
"I didn’t come to BTCC to just take part. I came to BTCC to win and challenge for the championship. I still have a lot to prove here before I consider doing anything else."
Newsham will find himself in the seat of a Ford Focus NGTC next year, but before testing can start he is busy attempting to put together a budget that will allow him a better opportunity to hone the car to the set-up he desires for the season, which starts at Brands Hatch on Saturday 29th March.
"I will meet my car for the first time at the Autosport Show International at NEC Birmingham in January, where it will be on display to the 80,000 visitors," he said.
"The team are busy preparing the car and getting the sponsors logos in place. We will start testing in March when the weather should be a little warmer.
"My time is spent between now and the start of the season trying to get the necessary budget in place.
"This is the hardest time of the year for me. It is always a struggle, and quite simply, the more budget we find, the more we can test, which inevitably will make us quicker."
