Tom Barley will be back on track this weekend as the Dunlop Britcar Championship gets back underway at Rockingham.

Once again Tom will be behind the wheel of a Ginetta with teammate Simon Rudd and Team Hard Racing.

Speaking about returning to the championship, Tom said: “The winter is always a nervous time for racing drivers. You hope you’ve provided your partners with a good return on their investment, which leads to more collaboration.

“Thankfully I had a great year on and off the track, and my sponsors saw both commercial and engagement benefit. This makes me extremely excited about the season ahead.”

Last season Barley and Rudd formed something of a formidable partnership and they will be looking to continue that on track in 2018.

He added: “Simon and I agreed that for 2018 we’d pair up again if possible. We didn’t look at any other options. Wind the clock back to the first four races in 2017 where we took four wins, and it’s easy to understand why. We get on as well off track as we do on.

“Britcar is a truly fantastic race series. It’s run by enthusiastic professionals who understand how to make great, fair racing. I have a lot of respect for Rob and Claire Hedley for what they’ve achieved with Britcar.

“We gelled with the car quickly, and by the end of the year we were seriously quick. Simon and I both agreed it was our most enjoyable season to date.”

Being back with Team Hard means that Tom knows how the team work and they know how he works and that makes it simple to slot back into that relationship at the start of the season.

“Team Hard do a fantastic job preparing the Ginettas. Big shout to Peter who is the number one on our car. What he doesn’t know about a Ginetta isn’t worth knowing.

“There’s also a great family vibe within the team. The weekend as a whole is enjoyable from start to finish.”

Like his teammate Tom has only got one real target for the 2018 season, Tom said: “We want to win the championship this year. No two ways about it. It was ours to lose in 2017, and we did just that, thanks to other drivers ruining our final weekend. 2018 is our year.”

Image courtesy of PSP Images