Tempus split leads to new BTCC team

A split within the Tempus Sport team will see Harry Vaulkhard complete the remainder of the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship season running with a newly-formed outfit named bamboo engineering.

Following differences of opinion and ongoing disagreements about the future of the team, team director Richard Coleman and head engineer David Scott have elected to part company with Tempus Sport owner Julian Tanser to form their own outfit.

bamboo will take over the operational and engineering aspects of the team from newly acquired premises at Silverstone, with many of the personnel involved in the Tempus operation continuing with the newly-formed team.

As well as running Vaulkhard's Chevrolet Lacetti for the remainder of the 2009 season, Coleman confirmed that the Geordie racer would continue to compete with bamboo into the 2010 season while the team will also take over the running of Tempus Sport's Formula Renault operation.

"We had some major fundamental differences over the engineering, operational and financial structure of the team with the owner of Tempus Sport, Julian Tanser," Coleman said. "We therefore decided to breakaway completely and form bamboo engineering.

"We are very pleased to confirm that we will be running Harry for the rest of the BTCC season and throughout 2010. We will also be running 4 cars in the remainder of the BARC Formula Renault Championship with current TOCA Championship runners Max Dymtrenko and Sasha Radola moving over alongside current championship contenders Don de Graaff and Callum Holland.

"What's particularly encouraging is that our commercial and technical partners from Tempus Sport have shown great faith and commitment to what we're doing and have moved over to support us here at bamboo engineering. I'm very excited about what we've created here and there will be more announcements in the near future confirming further racing and engineering projects that we are currently working on."

Vaulkhard, who will debut a new livery on his Chevrolet Lacetti when the season resumes at Snetterton, said he was delighted to see the long-term stability of the team secured - adding that podiums were the aim in the second half of the year.

"I'm really happy that this now gives the team more long-term stability within all areas," he said. "Everyone who has worked on my car this season is moving over to bamboo which I'm very pleased about as it will maintain the continuity with the progress that we have made this year.

"We've proved we have the speed but haven't had the luck sometimes this year but I'm sure we'll get some podium finishes before the end of the season."

The Lacetti, heavily damaged in Vaulkhard's accident in the opening race at Croft, has now been re-shelled and repair work is almost complete ahead of the resumption of the season.