Sunshine break for O'Neill

Leading online travel company sunshine.co.uk will continue to have a presence on the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship grid for the 2011 season after concluding an extended sponsorship deal with leading independent team Tech-Speed Motorsport.

Sunshine.co.uk, which held the position of title sponsor of the team for the past two seasons, has purchased the Chevrolet Cruze that carried Jason Plato to the 2010 drivers title to allow Paul O'Neill to launch his challenge on the 2011 championship with the Leamington Spa-based team. O'Neill , a race winner earlier in his career when part of the factory Vauxhall team, finished ninth in the championship last year after a season that saw him take three outright podium finishes and two Independent victories, despite his Honda Integra being one of the oldest cars on the grid. He will form part of a two-car entry alongside 2010 team-mate John George for the season ahead.

"At the end of the day, Chris Brown and his wife Claire from sunshine.co.uk have helped to put me back on the map with their commitment and enthusiasm in the past two years," O'Neill said, "You can put deals together for a racing programme but, without them, I wouldn't have had a car to race this season.

"They have been behind me 100 per cent over the past two seasons and, at times, they could have walked away, but they have never let me down and I don't intend to let them down on track this year.

"Sunshine.co.uk has been an important cog in the deal with Tech-Speed and the team's new sponsor Go Mobile for this season and, if I can get a win this year, it will be in the car that they own. That would be a fantastic way to pay them back for their continued support."

Although sunshine.co.uk will not hold title sponsorship of the Tech-Speed team during the season ahead, a two-car entry wouldn't have been possible without the involvement of the Fleet-based company, which will hope to cheer O'Neill on to further success in the year ahead.

"We are hugely excited to be involved in the BTCC again this season," MD Chris Brown said, "The trusty old Integra has been a great piece of kit for the past two seasons, but now the team really has the tools to take the fight to the big boys and challenge at the front.

"There is now doubt that Paul is one of the best drivers on the grid and I'm sure that Tech-Speed are going to be a force to be reckoned with this season. We can't wait for the season to get underway."