Andrew Thompson has confirmed that he will not be at Walkinshaw Racing in 2011.
The Queenslander has endured a shocking season, including two heavy crashes at the start of the year, followed by a raft of mechanical gremins that have kept him down in 35th position in the championship – behind endurance-only drivers Steve Owen, Luke Youlden, Mark Skaife and Owen Kelly.
Thompson told Speedcafe.com.au that he is disappointed with the way the season has panned out.
“It’s been disappointing. I made a couple of mistakes at the start of the year, and unfortunately, we didn’t have the reliability that we wanted. It just hasn’t gone how everyone wanted it to,” he told Speedcafe.com.au.
“That’s been frustrating for me and the guys at Walkinshaws. They’ve worked extremely hard on the car all year, but I haven’t been able to reward them with any real solid results.
“Now, I want to look at getting some sort of result in the last four races and salvage something.”
Thompson admits that his chances of finding a full-time drive for next year are slim. He says he will use the year to secure himself the best endurance drive with a leading team before thing about returning to the Main Series in 2012.
“At this stage, a full-time drive is not really an option. There’s nothing that is really what I’m looking for or what I need to get myself re-established,” he said.
“I need to get into the right situation, so I’m not going to rush into it. It may be another year or two of sitting on the sidelines before I can get the right opportunity. I need to rebuild myself, because I feel I’m a driver with a lot of potential, but I need to get myself in the right environment.
“I’ve spoken to a couple of people about endurance drives next year. I’d like to get a good seat for next year, and I think I’d be a good fit for most teams and do the job that I’d be required to do.”
For more with Thompson, CLICK HERE for his today’s edition of Café Chat …
