Welcome back Martin!

I don't think I was the only fan that was surprised today when I found out that Pirtek Racing have hired Martin Depper as a team mate for BTCC champion Andrew Jordan, but it was definitely a pleasant surprise to find out he'll be back next year.

Since I got into the series in 2010, I've always been a big fan of Depper and then team mate Arthur Forster for their BTCC project. I can't imagine it is an easy task to run a team in touring car racing, even for the manufacturer teams. Forster Motorsport deserve a lot of credit for trying in 2010, and even though they didn't have that many great results, not many people can claim they have run their own team and raced in Britain's biggest motorsport championship.

In my opinion, I'm delighted to see Martin come back. He shown a lot of potential in the ageing Forster Motorsport BMW in 2010, and with his vast experience from the MINI Challenge, he should have more than enough skill to handle a front wheel drive touring car. Of course it's a completely different ball game and a huge jump up from the MINI's, but with him being back in familiar territory in a front wheel drive machine, then I honestly think that he can get consistent top 10 finishes. He's got a fantastic team mate in the reigning BTCC champion, and Pirtek's engineers have been fantastic time and time again with their Honda Civic's.

It's far too early to make any predictions yet though, and it won't be until after the first few rounds that we will see what Martin can deliver, but for me he is a fantastic addition to the 2014 grid and I can't wait to see him back in action and hopefully mixing in with the action 

2014 dream driver and car lineup

Now that the chaos of 30 BTCC races has finished, the big question now is who will be there at Media Day in 2014, and who will they be driving for? 

With the new licence system that TOCA have introduced for the upcoming season, places are limited. There are more restrictions on the teams as to how many cars and drivers they can run, and the experience of the drivers. So that makes driver choices quite difficult for a new team coming into the series. 

For me, if I was a team manager entering a brand new team into the series, I wouldn't want to go for the obvious choice of NGTC machinery - the Honda Civic. Of course, it has proven to be the best car on the grid over the last two years, and aided Gordon Shedden and Andrew Jordan to their maiden BTCC titles in 2012 and 2013 respectively, but with it being likely that Honda and Pirtek will return, then there will be at least 6 Honda's on the grid - and one thing that makes the BTCC so special is the variety of cars that appear on the grid every year, no matter what era. 

Going on the basis of that, I would choose a car that has not really seen much track action this year, but I think has huge potential and can be a real front-runner with the right engineering and development - the NGTC spec Chevrolet Cruze, which will feature next year in the hands of Aiden Moffat and possibly IP Tech Race Engineering. In my opinion, it was the best looking car on the grid throughout the year, and we have had some amazing looking cars on the grid this season. If the Cruze was to be engineered and developed by the guys at RML, like the S2000 spec car, then it'd be a force to be reckoned with.

So that's the car sorted, but what about the drivers? To get the best out of a new car, then two top experienced drivers will be needed. The first driver I'd love to see in the wheel of an NGTC Cruze next season is BTCC double champion Fabrizio Giovanardi - firstly because it will have been 4 years since the Italian last appeared in the series, but mainly due to his driving style and huge reputation around the paddock. For a team mate, I'd go for Josh Files. He's shown his skill over the years in the Clio’s and now has the championship under his belt. As well as that, a young driver can learn a lot from someone as experienced as Fabrizio, and if they were both in the same team in the Cruze, then I think they'd be able to compete with the big boys. The chances of that happening though are unlikely, but I'd love to see it happen next year