We try to do a good job and I think there is respect from fans and media alike and also from our peers as well. The association is there and we sponsor Mike to do a job that he is good at doing. We wouldn’t dictate what he does, but we try to keep it fresh.
Crash.net:
In keeping it fresh, GT racing had been the home for Eurotech before going down the BTCC route so for you wanting to extend the relationship, it must have been good to go them and say ‘We want to do this, there’ll be live TV and the John Guest name will be out there even more’…
MJ:
Very much so. We had two years in British GT after the
FIA GT campaign and British GT just wasn’t working for us. There were some big spenders buying brand new Ferraris and spending millions of pounds – and unless you had a new 360, you weren’t winning races. We dropped off the map with it a little bit and that was probably the most worried I was in talking to the directors at JG. The TV was pretty average and we were never looking at a win.
I personally got my head down a bit with it all and was thinking that it was like walking a treadmill. I went and had a chat and said we needed to freshen it up a bit and we looked at a few different things. In the past, I have gone in and said 'This is what I think we should do' but it is never what
I should do and can they write a cheque as it has to work for them as well. It is pointless me wanting to go and do something that I know won’t give them value for money. I said we needed to be on the TOCA package and asked if we should look at doing the Carrera Cup.
We talked about running a two-car team in that or running a touring car team and with the live TV package and everything else, they seized on the touring car opportunity. It was the best thing we’ve ever done.
CG:
You rang Matt didn’t you to ask what the crowds were like and in that conversation with
Matt Neal, he said 'Why don’t you think about buying an Integra?' I can remember I was walking to the station to go to work and you rang me and said 'Carl, I’ve had an idea. Rather than doing Carrera Cup, how do you fancy touring cars?' We’d discussed it previously but never felt we had the budget to do it. I remember driving to Spa once and talking about it and we didn’t feel we had the money. Really from you ringing Matt, it all came about a few years ago.
Crash.net:
For you as a driver, and without being disrespectful, a driver who isn’t getting any younger, the move to the BTCC has really given you a new lease of life as you’re always smiling at the end of it.
MJ:
I’m always smiling to you guys in the media but I’m a right miserable git when I’m driving back in my motorhome! [Laughs]
The age thing is a big mental thing as you do start to challenge yourself a bit and I remember reading something that Jan Lammers said a few years ago when he was racing at Le Mans in the Dome and he said 'The car doesn’t know how old you are – it’s all in your head'. I think he is exactly right. When we first went into the BTCC there was that feeling of 'We’re just a little team with one car' but it has four wheels at the end of the day. There is always a trade-off that you’ll get your experience but might lose a little bit of the bravery on a one-off qualifying lap but it makes up for it in the races.
