December 23, 2010
Published on tags: Superleague
Reigning World Champion Janne Tanskanen shook the GPVWC World by announcing his retirement in a tense and emotional press conference today. Long the focus of speculation, the future of the Finn will not be at the wheel of a GPVWC car as the ace elected not to defend his title, while returning to his home in Finland instead.

The decision is obviously going to send shockwaves through the league, adding extra spice to an already interesting driver market: it is especially so for Nordsjoen Racing, who were expecting Tanskanen to spearhead their charge for a record fourth straight Championship crown. "It is a bad blow for our team and one our team won't easily recover from" declared Nordsjoen owner Birgitte Wangensteen. "I would like to thank Janne Tanskanen for the immense contribution he has given to Nordsjoen Racing over the last 12 months and I wish him well for his future endeavours."

The spot left open by Tanskanen at Nordsjoen, who are yet to announce either of their drivers, will surely be a coveted one, and a few names have already been linked to the car which will now bear number 0. With team veteran Adam Rouse thought to be heading to other teams, the highest-profile name touted to be Tanskanen's replacement is Maltese hotshot Jason Muscat, who could be following into his compatriot Joe Consiglio's steps and join the Cardiff-based outfit. "Jason is a truly outstanding driver and any team would be lucky to have him" said Wangensteen, who however refused to confirm whether this endorsment means the team will try to contract Muscat for 2011.

Red Archer VRT, Muscat's employers in 2010, were unavailable for comments.