Anthony Reid: independent and proud
By Dave Brockman:
"It's 80 years old this year, there's a lot of history and there's a lot of people who want to see a British product with a British driver going out there and beating all comers. It is something that the British public should be very proud of. "I've been quite taken back by the support since Thruxton, it's been phenomenal! For example I had a kid send me £7 out of his pocket money - but that all adds up to a racing budget. It's an ongoing process, and hopefully we'll announce some more sponsors in the coming weeks." Reid agrees that the view that the championship is on the ascendancy. Certainly the crowd figures have been encouraging so far this year, and the commitment shown by broadcasters ITV and Motors TV is the best in the history of the series. "The great thing about the British Touring Car Championship is the profile it gets in the press and on television. ITV1 on a Sunday afternoon - it doesn't get better than that, and if people can see the opportunities there then that's really good news. I think people genuinely want to get involved. "The profile of the championship is getting bigger and bigger, some of the big names are coming back like Jason Plato. There's some new faces, Colin Turkington is probably the brightest young prospect, so there's lots of interesting situations going to occur during the season." 
One trait of which Reid is particularly proud is his patriotism. Born and raised north of the border, even his mobile phone has "Scotland the Brave" as a ring tone! He's remained true to his roots, but like many aspiring drivers he took the decision early in his career to move down south.
"Unfortunately Scotland isn't really the centre of motorsport. If you want to make a career in the sport the last place you want to be based is Scotland! You have to come down to the motor-racing belt, where all the teams are, it's what all Scottish drivers have to do." Naturally he is well pleased that his local circuit is making a return to the calendar after a year's absence. "Knockhill is perfect for touring cars," he says. "I went to school just a few miles from Knockhill, and I'm supported by them even now." Like fellow countryman David Leslie, he proudly wears the track's logo on his overalls. Knockhill isn't the only motor racing circuit with which Reid has connections though. The spectacular Dubai Autodrome will play host to GT and ETCC races, plus a round of the A1 Grand Prix series. Unlike some of the newer tracks on the F1 calendar, Dubai features elevation changes, banking and challenging high speed corners. It's a welcome change from some of the sterile looking venues introduced recently, and it should come as no surprise that some well-known drivers had an input. "WSR have some connections in the middle-east, and we've got some great designers and engineers in the team. We were approached by a partnership to design the new circuit in Dubai, and I got involved in that and have left my own hallmark on the track along with Damon Hill and Warren Hughes. I think it's important if you're designing a circuit to have drivers give their input. "There are no corners named after me though! I've not driven the track yet - I did have an opportunity to go to the launch but it was just before Thruxton." He may not have experienced that particular circuit just yet, but racing in exotic locations is nothing new to Anthony Reid, who spent several highly successful years in Japan. "That was a great opportunity in my career," he recalls. "It all came at the right time, just as things over here were a bit quiet. It all came about through having the opportunity to race in Le Mans in a Porsche 962 for a Japanese team in 1990. We went out and finished 3rd behind the Jaguars, one of the Porsches had a chance of finishing second but for an engine problem. "That opened the door to Japan, they invited me over and I started racing there. At the time the pioneers had gone out there, like Tiff Needel. By the time I got over there, there were a lot of Europeans racing. I was against people like Michael Schumacher; Ralf was out there for a time, Eddie Irvine of course, Jacques Villeneuve, Rikard Rydell... you can reel the names off. There were some big names." Back to the BTCC, and Reid has started the season strongly. He followed up the podium at Thruxton with some strong - and typically robust - performances at Brands Hatch. A misfire cased by a faulty battery prevented him finishing race one, but the team can take encouragement from setting the fastest lap. He was fourth in race two, behind a VX Racing 1-2-3, and in the weekend's final race managed to equal his impressive finishing position from Thruxton, bagging a strong second place. The result moved Reid up to 3rd in the championship, and made him the top Independent just ahead of his team mate Turkington. There were complaints from fellow drivers Shaun Watson-Smith and Rob Huff about Anthony's physical style of racing, but one only has to watch highlights tapes of previous BTCC seasons to appreciate that a little bit of paint-swapping is all part of the fun. Come Silverstone next week, expect more of the same - but don't rule out a win! |
It's indicative of how racing drivers think that they often describe not having a race seat as "being unemployed", even when they have a day job. That's exactly how it was for Anthony Reid just 72 hours before the start of the 2004 BTCC season: even though he works hard promoting MG, the team's withdrawal of factory support meant that only Colin Turkington had been confirmed as a driver.
