Tony Gilham steps up to BTCC with Triple Eight

Tony Gilham will join James Nash at Triple Eight for 2011 after signing a deal for the full season. 31-year-old Gilham is graduating to the series after three successful seasons in the Porsche Carrera Cup that saw him finish 6th overall in his debut season and 9th in the standings last year.

However Gilham admits that Triple Eight was not his only option for the forthcoming season and that he could have been in another team had things panned out differently.

“The BTCC is something I’ve wanted to do for an awful long time,” admitted Gilham, from Dartford. “I had opportunities to go with several other teams. However, following the withdrawal of a sponsor who had a big interest in a certain marque one of the offers had to be ruled one out. Nevertheless, and with all due respect to all of the other offers once I’d heard of Triple Eight’s interest in me and met with their management team, my mind was made up.”

“Decisions like these are never easy to make, but I’m sure that by working with Triple Eight it will help me gain the knowledge and  experience necessary for a successful BTCC campaign.

“I can’t wait now for Brands Hatch and the first round. It’s my local track too so I know that they’ll be a lot of support.”

According to Team Chairman Ian Harrison the outfit had been looking for new talent to join the BTCC for sometime and he admitted that Gilham was high on their list. “I am pleased to welcome Tony to the team,” said Harrison. “We’ve been keeping an eye on a number of drivers running outside of the BTCC for a little while now and Tony was one of those who caught the eye. I’m sure he’ll settle into things very quickly and surprise a few people too.”

There has still been no official confirmation on which car the team will run, although it is expected to be the same Vauxhall Vectra chassis that the squad ran last year.