Tom Onslow-Cole

Tom Onslow-Cole is a British racing driver who currently competes in different sports car competitions with GT3 cars. His greatest achievements so far are the title of A6-Pro class champion in the 2015 24H Series and Pro-Am title in the 2018 International GT Open.

Earlier in a career, he recorded 189 starts in the British Touring Car Championship between 2007 and 2013, scoring seven wins and finishing best in the fourth place in 2010 season.

Tom Onslow-Cole

Renault Clio Cup champion in 2006

Tom Onslow-Cole was born on May 16, 1987, in Kingston upon Thames near London. After starting a racing career at the age 8 with go-karts, Tom switched to bigger T Cars in 2002.

In 2004, he entered the British Renault Clip Cup, reaching a peak two seasons later, when he became a champion. In the 2006 Renault Clio Cup, he was driving for Total Control Racing, scoring ten wins in twenty races.

Tom Onslow-Cole debuted in BTCC in 2007

2007 - maiden BTCC victory in debut season

As the Clio Cup champion, Onslow-Cole graduated to the British Touring Car Championship in 2007, joining West Surrey Racing/Team RAC to drive the #33 BMW 320si. His teammate was Colin Turkington.

Tom scored his maiden BTCC win in the seventh round of the championship at Snetterton. With one victory and three more podiums, he finished 10th in the overall standings and fourth among independent drivers. The team took championship title in the independents' category.

Tom Onslow-Cole in 2008

2008 - Teams' champion with VX Racing

For the 2008 BTCC season, Onslow-Cole joined VX Racing. He was the third driver, along with former champion Matt Neal and reigning champion Fabrizio Giovanardi. Driving the #10 Vauxhall Vectra, Tom scored two wins at Thruxton Circuit and added seven more podiums to finish sixth in the final standings, one place behind Neal. Giovanardi was the champion again and VX Racing captured Teams' title.

Joining Team Aon in 2009

For the 2009 BTCC season, VX Racing hired Andrew Jordan, so Tom Onslow-Cole was without a ride. He was occasionally hired to drive a medical car during BTCC meetings until Arena Motorsport/Team Aon gave him the #6 Ford Focus ST for the sixth round at Croft. He joined the team for three more weekends in 2009 before signing as a full-time driver for 2010.

Onslow-Cole scored four BTCC wins for the Team AON

Four BTCC wins with Ford in 2010

The next season was the best in his career, as he finished in the fourth place in the championship. He scored four wins at four different circuits in the LPG-powered#21 Ford Focus ST. Among the independent drivers, Onslow-Cole was third. His teammate Tom Chilton was the independent champion and the team also took independents' title.

In 2011, Onslow-Cole raced with AmD Miltek Racing's Volkswagen Golf in four championship rounds, rejoining Team Aon after that to drive Ford Focus. He scored two podiums at Brands Hatch and Silverstone to finish 13th in the points.

Tom Onslow-Cole in 2012

2012 - one more season with West Surrey Racing

In 2012, Team Aon switched to the World Touring Car Championship, not signing Onslow-Cole. He returned to West Surrey Racing to drive the #38 eBay Motors BMW 320si. He was on a podium in the season-opening race at Brands Hatch and six more times after that, finishing sixth in the overall standings and the third among independent drivers.

In 2012, Onslow-Cole also participated in one round of the International Superstars Series, driving a Jaguar XFR for Ferlito Motors at Donington Park.

Tom Onslow-Cole in 2013

2013 - two teams in the last BTCC season

For the 2013 BTCC season, Tom joined Team HARD to drive the #6 Volkswagen CC. After three overall podiums and two independent wins in seven rounds, he parted ways with the team to join Motorbase Performance/Airwaves Racing for the last three rounds.

He moved his number 6 to Ford Focus, finishing best in the fourth place at Brands Hatch. At the end of the season, he was 12th in the points.

Tom Onslow-Cole and Paul White

British GT season with Paul White's Strata 21

In summer 2013, Onslow-Cole participated in one Britcar GT race with Paul White's Strata 21 team. In 2014, he completely switched to GT racing and joined Strata 21 in the British GT Championship. In the opening round at Oulton Park, he and Paul White were driving Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3, replacing it with Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 from the next round. They scored one podium, the third place at Snetterton, to finish 10th in the final championship standings.

Outside of the championship, Onslow-Cole participated at Spa 24 hours, driving Aston Martin for PGF-Kinfaun AMR and not finishing the race. He finished another endurance race, the 12h Mugello, taking the D1 class win with KPM Racing's Volkswagen Golf.

Thomas Jäger and Tom Onslow-Cole, 2015 A6 Pro 24H Series champions

24H Series champion with RAM Racing

In 2015, Tom Onslow-Cole became the endurance racing specialist, participating in the 24-hour and 12-hour GT races all over the world. He joined RAM Racing in the 24H Series, starting a season with the second place at Dubai 24 Hours, driving a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3.

One more podium followed at 12h Mugello before he won the 24-hour race at Circuit Paul Ricard. He added two more podiums at 24h Barcelona and 12h Brno. At the end of the season, he was the A6-Pro champion in the 24H Series, together with teammate Thomas Jäger.

Successful in many endurance races

Outside of 24H Series, he scored few notable results in endurance races. At 24 hours of Silverstone, he was a class winner in the MARC Cars Australia's Ford Focus V8. At Spa 24 Hours, he joined Leonard Motorsport AMR to drive Aston Martin Vantage GT3, finishing in the 10th place (5th in Pro-Am class). He was also at Le Mans, but not in the main race. He won the race at the Aston Martin Le Mans Festival.

Onslow-Cole's rallycross car

One-off attempt in the World Rallycross Championship

In 2015, Tom Onslow-Cole also tried something else besides GT racing. He won the MSA RX Talent Search at Lydden Hill in May, securing a drive in the RX Lites support race at the World Rallycross Championship event at Istanbul Park in October. Sponsored by Rockstar Energy Drink, he managed to finish on a podium in his World RX debut.

In 2016, Onslow-Cole was also driving Ferrari

Racing with four teams in the 2016 24H Series

In 2016, Onslow-Cole had a double program, participating in the 24H Series and Blancpain GT Series. He continued to drive for RAM Racing in the 24H Series, switching to new Mercedes-AMG GT3.

He also had one-off appearances with three more teams (SPS automotive-performance, MP Sports and Scuderia Praha) in the same competition. With one victory, driving Scuderia Praha's Ferrari in Brno, he was 5th in the overall A6 class standings at the end of the season.

Tom Onslow-Cole as Bentley driver

A season with Bentley in the Blancpain GT Series

On the other side, Onslow-Cole joined Team Parker Racing to competed in selected rounds of the Blancpain Endurance Series. He was sharing the #24 Bentley Continental GT3 with Ian Loggie and Callum MacLeod, scoring disappointing results at Monza, Silverstone and Paul Ricard. At Spa 24 hours, they were joined by Andy Meyrick but didn't finish the race.

Pro-Am champion in the 2018 International GT Open

In 2017, Onslow-Cole continues with a double program, driving a Mercedes-AMG GT3 for SPS automotive-performance in different competitions (24H Series, International GT Open) and for RAM Racing in the Michelin Le Mans Cup, but also BMW M6 GT3 for Schubert Motorsport in the VLN endurance series and 24h Nürburgring.

In 2018, his main job was to drive the #20 Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the International GT Open, sharing a car with Valentin Pierburg in Pro-Am class. They became champions after winning six races during the season.

In 2019, Onslow-Cole continues to drive Mercedes for different teams in several competitions, including Blancpain GT Series, International GT Open and 24H Series.

Photos: tomonslowcole.com,