Phil Glew has also lost his drive with Triple Eight Race Engineering ahead of this weekend’s Rockingham rounds, after principle sponsor UNIQ1 decided not to continue their sponsorship of the team.
It had earlier been announced that double BTCC champion Fabrizio Giovanardi was not to continue with the team due to funding issues, with James Nash instead taking the seat in the Vauxhall Vectra. However it has now emerged that Glew also does not have sufficient backing, despite sponsorship from WD-40.
Glew only made his BTCC debut last time out at Thruxton, where he took two solid points finishes and showed himself as an emerging talent in the series. “I’m devastated to be out of the car at this early stage in the season,” he told Autosport.
The 26-year-old remains committed to securing a drive in the championship in the future however. “My main efforts are now focused on putting together a concrete package which suits WD-40, myself, and our other sponsors to enable us to begin racing again and continue our fantastic relationship.”
UNIQ1, an American group of companies dealing in lifestyles, automotive, beverages and other sectors, told Autosport that the deal with Triple Eight would not be in the company’s interest to continue for the rest of the season. “We severely underestimated the impact that our brand exposure would have on the demand for certain products and services in the UK market, so to maintain sponsorship with Triple 8 would actually present us with a series of business problems,” said a UNIQ spokesperson.