Matt Allison has called a halt to his HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship campaign this evening [Monday] after budgetary issues forced him to pull out of the fourth round of the season at
Thruxton.
The former Motorbase driver had scored the first points for the Robertshaw Racing Chevrolet Lacetti during the opening rounds of the season at
Brands Hatch and looked well set to add to his tally after breaking into the top ten in qualifying last time out at
Donington Park before an accident in the opening race sidelined him for the remainder of the weekend.
With the car having received a 20 kilo weight break, the team was confident of a strong weekend at the quickest circuit on the calendar but Allison will now be forced to watch from the sidelines after a proposed sponsorship deal failed to come to fruition late this afternoon.
"We've lost Matt for the weekend at Thruxton and for the foreseeable future as a sponsorship deal has fallen through," team manager Joe Bradley told
Crash.net. "He has been working hard to find the budget and will keep working hard to find the budget and it's a shame after Donington Park when we really showed we are moving in the right direction.
"The car should go well at Thruxton and it is really disappointing that this has happened. We are now looking to get someone in the car for the weekend alongside Harry to keep moving forwards."
Allison himself was understandably disappointed with the news that his season has been put on hold but he said he would be working hard to ensure a return to the grid – if not this season then for the 2009 campaign.
