Turkington could be back for Oulton .....

[UltimateDanGTR]

They are doing the full season!

This year if he joins at Oulton, realistically he's looking to finish 6th-8th.

Now to the casual fan at the end of the year, they may think he's down their due to having a bad year!

I just don't see what he has to gain from doing half a season? Better to save the money for a full season in '11!

I'd guess that when you're the defending champion, you wanna be on that track as quickly as possible!

[christophulus]

The more the merrier. There's something lacking about the BTCC this year for me, there aren't enough "big names" on the grid. Hopefully by next year we'll be getting a full complement back.

[Allyc85]

What's the point though? To run round with the #1 on the car for a while I guess?

Surely its better for him to be out racing, instead of being the forgotten champion, sat on the sidelines and totally out of potential backers eyes!

[VkmSpouge]

What's the point though? To run round with the #1 on the car for a while I guess?

To win races and secure a full season's worth of sponsorship for 2011.

[Alfa Fan]

To win races and secure a full season's worth of sponsorship for 2011.

Yes..but..

what sounds better to a prospective sponsor for 2011?

telling them you were champion in 2009 but kept on sideline due to budget problems in 2010

or, trying to explain why you only finished 8th in the championship last season or whatever?

[Northern Monkey]

Well obviously if you are trying to get a new sponsor involved, not racing is the perfect way to do it....

If there is a chance of Colin racing, he is much better racing, showing prospective backers what he can do on track and trying to secure the funding for next year.

If he can get a potential sponsor along for an event and they like it enough to back him for 2011 then its a result.

There is also the fact that racing this year keeps him sharp.

[VkmSpouge]

Yes..but..

what sounds better to a prospective sponsor for 2011?

telling them you were champion in 2009 but kept on sideline due to budget problems in 2010

or, trying to explain why you only finished 8th in the championship last season or whatever?

Much better to say that you were 2009 champion and then in only a partial season with huge budgetry contraints won all these races. Plus if this potential sponsor is looking to come on this season you race this season. It is a no brainer.

[KILOHMUNNS]

It's not just about the driver, I'm sure WSR would benefit from additional funding and have a driver capable of accruing more points for the team championship.

[BDunnell]

They are doing the full season!

This year if he joins at Oulton, realistically he's looking to finish 6th-8th.

Now to the casual fan at the end of the year, they may think he's down their due to having a bad year!

I just don't see what he has to gain from doing half a season? Better to save the money for a full season in '11!

By the same logic, Team Dynamics may as well have only entered Pinkney last year, given that neither Thompson nor Herbert were going to be able to win the title by virtue of only doing part-seasons. You seem to forget that these people are racers — and that goes for the likes of Steve Neal and Dick Bennetts as well. They want to race and want to race well.

[Rover V8]

Yes..but..

what sounds better to a prospective sponsor for 2011?

telling them you were champion in 2009 but kept on sideline due to budget problems in 2010

or, trying to explain why you only finished 8th in the championship last season or whatever?

What sounds better to a prospective sponsor?

'We were champions in 2009, but budget problems meant we had to miss the first few 2010 meetings, We managed to pull together a deal for the rest of the season though- the championship was out of reach by then but we won a bunch of races, finished 8th despite only doing a part-season, and got our sponsor plenty of TV coverage- and they're very keen to stay on board with you for 2011....'

or

'We were champions in 2009, but then had budget problems which meant we missed the first few 2010 meetings. There was a possible sponsor who we could have put together a deal with to do the rest of the year, but it didn't really seem worth the hassle if we were only going to finish 8th, so we sat it out. No, the other sponsor won't be on board with you for 2011, they went off and sponsored somebody else instead.....'

If WSR have got a sponsor willing to back a third car now, it makes more sense to get a third car for Colin out there ASAP, and use this year to try and build it into a multi-year deal