Tom Onslow-Cole will miss the 2014 British Touring Car Championship season, and will instead pursue opportunities in sports car racing for the year.

Onslow-Cole has been on the BTCC grid since his graduation from the Renault UK Clio Cup in 2007, and has driven for West Surrey Racing, VXR Racing (Triple Eight), Arena Motorsport, AmD Tuning, Tony Gilham Racing and more recently Motorbase Performance in his time in the championship, taking seven wins during his career.

His most successful year was the 2010 season, competing with the controversial Ford Focus ST LPG car run by Arena Motorsport, where he and team-mate Tom Chilton were overall championship contenders right up to the end of the season.

The 26-year-old is now looking to sports cars for 2014, with the BTCC grid now almost at capacity with just two seats to fill.

“I’ve been looking into sports car racing since the start of last year when the chance to test and compete in an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 came my way,” said Onslow-Cole. “Since then I’ve raced in Dubai 24 Hours and am looking to continue this momentum with some further GT outings.

“That said, this isn’t the end of me and the BTCC. I have unfinished business here and I’m sure I’ll be back one day to complete the job. For now, I’m widening my experience as a driver and exploring what could be some very exciting career opportunities.

“I’d like to thank TOCA, all the fans, the teams and my sponsors that have supported me throughout the last 10 years. It’s been an awesome ride and I hope the next 10 years live up to it.”