Matt Hamilton looks set to miss the next BTCC meeting at Croft due to funding woes. The 20-year-old racer, who made his BTCC debut last year, has been running with logos for the charity ‘Help for Heroes’ throughout 2010 as a substitute for a lack of sponsorship. However the lack of sponsorship income now means that he is unable to make his debut at the Croft circuit in the BTCC.
Whilst the team has received smaller-scale sponsrship during the season, the lack of a title sponsor is the main problem.Despite the low budget, Hamilton and TH Motorsport have worked wonders with the ageing Honda Civic Type-R, with Hamilton consistently in the thick of the touring car action.
“I am absolutely devastated” said Matt. “We knew we are taking a bit of a gamble at the start of the year, but felt confident that we would be able to find a commercial partner to support us in such a high profile Championship. We got very close to one big deal in particular, but it just fell apart at the last minute. The current economic climate is making companies understandably very cautious about investing in sports sponsorship.”
“I am so grateful to the boys at TH Motorsport. They worked so hard to get my Honda Civic competitive on very little budget…..they wanted to continue as much as I did. However, you cannot run a car in a Championship as high calibre as this one on fresh air. I am very proud of what we have achieved as a team.”
“I am also very grateful for the immense support I have had from the BTCC fans. I was stunned to win the HiQ Champagne moment award from Brands Hatch just last week, and in particular, I was extremely proud that so many fans appreciated my efforts in the dreadful weather. You can all be rest assured that my family and I will be working extremely hard to raise the money to race again later in the season. The BTCC is where I want to be, and I feel certain that you will see me battling back on track again in the future.”
A campaign has been started on Facebook to promote interest in Hamilton for the rest of the season, which can be found by clicking here.