SPONSORSHIP CRISIS HITS TOURING CAR ACE

by Dumbarton & Vale of Leven Reporter Reporter

 

A RACING ace has revealed his frustration at having his promising career stalled by the credit crunch.

Motorsport star Michael Doyle has seen sponsorship money dry up during the recession, and watched on as the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) season kicked-off without him.

But the 21-year-old from Gartocharn is hoping to generate enough financial support so he can get back behind the wheel for the second half of the contest.

He debuted in the BTCC last season, finishing 16th out of 26 overall.

Michael and his team, chiefly backed by the family business, In-Tune Garage, hopes to be in a position to compete from August.

He said: “I watched the first race of this season and really wished that I was out there on the track doing my thing.

“Because we are such a small team and did so well, we had a lot of doubters last year.

“So that’s why it would be good to get back out there and get some egg on people’s faces again.

“I had been training really hard for months in the build-up to this season, but unfortunately some major sponsors pulled out because of their current difficulties caused by the credit crunch.”

Micheal, who is a parts and requisition manager for In-Tune, has several parallels with the greatest Scottish driver and Son of the Rock, Sir Jackie Stewart.

Michael, like The Flying Scot, worked in the family garage and he also started racing on some of the top British tracks with the BTCC, as Sir Jackie did at the beginning of his career in Formula Three.