Forster Motorsport confident on second car

BTCC debutants Forster Motorsport are confident of securing a deal for second car in the coming week. Speaking at the Autosport Show, Arthur Forster told TouringCarTimes that the “second car is definitely coming off”, with the news expected to be confirmed soon.

“The second car is definitely coming off,” said Forster, “The deal will definitely be done by the end of next week. We’ll then need to get the car for testing in the first week of February, that’s what we’ve planned for.”

The second machine, for Martin Depper, should be another BMW, joining the ex-Mat Jackson BMW 320si that Forster Motorsport were out testing extensively before Christmas.

Forster has found the rear wheel drive BMW difficult to adjust to, and admits “the clock’s ticking” and it is “a steep learning curve”, but is confident that he is making progress.

“I’m loving it. At first it was a fairly daunting thing, as I’ve been driving front wheel drive for the last 15 years and using ABS brakes for the last seven years.

“Jumping in a touring car, everything is completely the opposite way round. The last day’s test I did though, bu the end I was really hooked up with the car and I feel as though I’ll be getting a reasonable pace in the next few tests.”

The team are currently waiting for a new set of roll bars to arrive, before getting back out on track in the final week of January. February will see the team “putting in a lot of test days” at the likes of Silverstone, Brands Hatch, Snetterton and Oulton Park as they seek to “find out as much as we can about the car on the TOCA tracks.”

A plan to take the car to Portugal or Spain for warm weather testing in March has also been mooted.

Forster is also confident that the arrival of a second machine will help the team and drivers progress.

“How we tested and developed the suspension on our Mini Challenge cars is we’ve actually gone out and done race distances with each other and figured out how everything works” says Arthur. “You push the limits when you’ve got someone else out there as a braking point reference and you’re behind them. Everybody just keeps pushing and pushing and pushing and it soon takes the times down no problem at all.”

The Forster Motorsport stand at the Birmingham show also gave first sight of a new and “very patriotic” livery that the cars will wear in 2010 alongside sponsorship from repaircare and buyspares.

A yet to be finalised red, white and blue Union Jack design dominates with Forster promising that the team are “looking to make a bit of a splash!

“We’re out there trying to look good as well as perform well. I don’t know how we’re going to perform but we’re going to look as good as we can.”