Tom Onslow-Cole to race V8 Superstars at Donington this weekend!

Our very own Tom Onslow-Cole is always a busy chap. In addition to a gruelling BTCC schedule, he’s only gone and got himself a drive in the V8 Superstars at Donington this weekend! And in the ultra-competitive Jaguar XF-R to boot!

We caught up with Tom literally a few hours before he was due to jump on a plane from Austria to come over and begin his testing. Naturally we had to ask him what was going on:

How did this all come about? My team, West Surrey Racing have been in conversation with the organisers for a while. We got a call literally a couple of days ago to ask whether I would like to come and drive the car at Donington...one of my favourite tracks. As you can imagine, I didn’t need much persuading!

How does the Jag differ from your regular BTCC BMW? It’s quite a bit more powerful that’s for sure. This car has proven to be very competitive in this series too...so I'm looking forward to getting to grips with it. The honest answer is I don’t know. I’ve had zero seat time so far, so I’m straight into testing on Saturday. I love driving different machinery, and I feel this opportunity is a real privilege to be alongside some other fantastic drivers in some really quite special cars.

Donington. The full GP circuit for this event. Any different? I haven’t had a lot of experience of the Melbourne Loop as it’s so rarely run in the series I have been in, that said, it shouldn’t take me long to get to grips with it, and the other 90% of the circuit, which I am very familiar with, so I can’t see any dramas. Weather-wise, I’m hoping for bright sunshine to let me get to grips with the car. I can imagine it would be quite ‘exciting’ in the wet!

What are your hopes for this event? Obviously to finish as near to the front as possible! The car’s a potential winner; I'm feeling positive and confident at the moment, so you would have to say that we’re in with a chance. There are a few true legends in the mix like Johnny Herbert to keep me on my toes, but rest assured, I will be aiming for the podium from the second the lights go out!