Anthony Reid Q&A

"I would definitely say so. They are two of the best drivers in the business and have formed the touring car benchmark over the last five or so years. To be testing my mettle against the very best there is week-in, week-out was very exciting. Working with a state-of-the-art organisation like Prodrive was also fantastic, and was different to the smaller teams I've worked with in the past. That was an education in itself."


"Yes, because the guy who wins the championship is usually the one who's the most consistent. I adopted that formula for success and it very nearly worked, and I was very disappointed it didn't. I scored more points than any other driver in the championship, and I feel the thing which let us down was the loss of points from Croft over a technical infringement on the ECU. I wasn't allowed to use that zero score as a dropped score, and on reflection that cost me. The problem was found after qualifying and, even if I'd started that race from the back of the grid and not scored anything, it would've been enough for me to win the championship."


"Well there's a lot of things you can say in hindsight. It so nearly worked. OK, Rickard scored a lot of pole positions, but I'd argue that was because he was inconsistent in the races and he often qualified on pole because he wasn't carrying any weight. With the weight penalties in place, that meant a consistent approach didn't work as well as it has in previous years."


"I really do feel I've got some unfinished business to attend to. Without doubt, in my mind I can win this championship. I'd like to re-run the season again, because I know I'm at least as good as Alain and Rickard. It was so close, it could've gone any way and, on this occasion, it went to Alain. But I feel I've learnt a tremendous amount from this year and I've really worked on my driving, whereas in the past I've relied on getting my equipment to do what I wanted it to. This year, I learnt to drive the car I've got and drive it better. Certainly, in the second half of the season, I was driving it better than the other two. On the Supergrid [the average qualifying position] I was ahead of Alain and only second to Rickard because, as I said, he was inconsistent and had less weight. I'm now looking for the opportunity to apply what I learnt this year. I'm going to be better and faster than ever before."


"Clearly, as indicated in Autosport this week, I would hope to have an opportunity in that direction if it all comes off. I can't say any more on the subject than that. I've been talking to Peugeot, like everyone else, but when you look at the BTCC the number of experienced drivers is very limited. So I might be in the frame there. Sure, most teams want to bring on junior drivers, but there needs to be that element of experience. I hope there will be opportunities in Britain next year."


"I think that's one of the great things I have to offer. Some drivers are perpetually linked to a manufacturer, but I've proved that if I'm on at the ground floor of a new project then I can turn the car around into a winner. I've shown that with Ford and Nissan in Britain, and Opel in Japan. There's a lot more to this game than just driving a car fast, you've got to build and develop relationships within the team - that is a key factor. I'd like to think I had a big part to play, in that respect, with Ford's success."


"I've been very impressed with the championship on my visits over there. It's a very exciting series. From a driving point of view, the cars are very similar to those I cut my teeth on in Japan - the 450bhp, rear-wheel drive machinery is more like the GT cars I used to drive. I'd love to be involved, purely from a driving pleasure point of view, and I have been talking closely with teams over there. I have existing connections with Opel, but it's too early to say whether there might be an opportunity at this stage."


"Ideally, I'd love to do DTM with Prodrive, but as I've said it's too early to say if that will happen or not. I'm very impressed with what Prodrive can do. They've managed to shortcut the time it takes a project from zero to hero. I'd like to have the squad who worked on my car this year do it again next year."


"There's a thin chance. I've been in contact with a number of teams, but there's only two manufacturers and a number of other supported teams. They say it would help if I brought sponsorship, but if I'd been any good at raising funds I'd have been in Formula 1 years ago! I'm a driver, I'm not in the business of finding sponsorship - I let my driving do the talking. I'd love to race Australia, but I feel I might go there and never come back...not through force, voluntarily I mean!"


"Yes, because normally I would have a rolling contract, but it's quite exciting because I feel my profile is high and I've received quite a lot of interest, so I'm very confident I will lock something up before Christmas."