CARL SWIFT CONFIRMED AS FIRST TCR UK DSG TROPHY ENTRY

Following last week’s meeting between TCR UK teams and Marcello Lotti, Carl Swift has confirmed that he will be the first entrant in the DSG Trophy – one of the main points to come out of the meeting.

Swift began competing in autograss racing in 2000, making the switch to circuit racing (“the discipline I preferred”) in 2014. After competing in a Honda Civic from 2015 until last year, including a couple of appearances in the Creventic 24H series, Swift bought a CUPRA TCR DSG car over the winter in readiness for an assault on the TCR UK championship.

“I raced against TCR cars in the Creventic 24H, which is where my interest came from,” commented Swift. “I wanted to step up for this year and try a higher profile championship; my initial thought was the Clio Cup but when TCR UK was announced I knew that it was right for me and so I started looking for a car.”

Despite the fact that he’d already bought the CUPRA, Swift was concerned about how the 2018 Balance of Performance would affect the DSG car, but the chance to discuss the situation directly with Marcello Lotti was the ideal opportunity to answer his questions.

“The meeting with Marcello to finalise the TCR UK details was very promising; I love the fact he just gets things done!” Carl enthused. “I mentioned to him at lunch that since the BoP will probably never fully balance the DSG cars, a trophy for the best DSG car would be something to differentiate them. ‘Leave it with me’ he said. Thirty minutes later, he had arranged the €20,000 sequential gearbox upgrade as the prize for the top DSG car in the championship – wow!!”

The speedy reaction to his BoP question wasn’t the day’s only highlight for Carl. The chance to discuss ways in which to keep budgets under control and the interest in TCR UK from the continent meant he was more than happy with the way the meeting had gone.

“It’s so interesting to think that several European teams are considering the UK championship for their 2018 campaign. TCR UK should be a roaring success, just like the German series, and so I am now looking forward to the season more than ever.”