Quest entry overshadowed by Blackman death.

The Quest Racing entry into the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship has been overshadowed by the death of team manager Ian Blackman in a motorcycle accident.

Blackman had been involved with the team - previously known as GA Motorsports - for a number of seasons and was set to form an important part of the squad running a Super 2000-spec Alfa Romeo 156 for Irish driver Eoin Murray from the next round of the season at Croft.

"Ian's death is of course a massive setback," Quest Racing team principal Mike Thompson said. "No-one's irreplaceable but Ian was Ian. He was so good with new drivers and would have been fantastic help for Eoin.

"But Eoin is a very good driver, as he's proved. He just needs to get through that learning curve. Croft's not the easiest place to learn, but he's had strong results there in the past.

"The decision to continue wasn't that difficult. First of all, it's important we go ahead at Croft because Eoin needs to see we can do it. Another consideration was that we all felt Ian would have wanted us to continue. Technically, the basics will still be the same. I also hope this is the start of a long-term spell for Quest in the BTCC."

Crash.net extends its sympathies to Ian's family and friends.