Continuing our countdown to the new season we are looking back at the announcements made in December, a month where the news started to come through thick and fast, beginning with TOCA confirming the TBL (TOCA BTCC Licence) holders for 2025.

Once the list had been announced all eyes turned to which drivers would be piloting each entry and, in some cases, which car would be driven. The very same day, 2 December, Restart Racing announced a collaboration with EXCELR8 Motorsport, which would see the former race two Hyundai i30 Ns in 2025.

Not two days later, the team entering its sophomore season would announce the retaining of Northern Irishman Chris Smiley for the upcoming campaign. The #222 is familiar with the team’s new car after being the first driver to test the car in the BTCC back in 2020 and raced the very same shell that season and the year after.

19-year-old Daryl DeLeon was the next driver to confirm where he would be taking his skills for the 2025 campaign. After an impressive first full season racing for Un-Limited Motorsport the Anglo-Filipino driver will be racing for West Surrey Racing (WSR) in year two.

With one joining WSR, the very next news would be one of its pilots of last year to venture elsewhere. Adam Morgan and EXCLER8 Motorsport announced that the Lancashire-born racer would be partnering with Tom Ingram and Tom Chilton, heading back to the familiarity of front-wheel drive.

The final announcement of the calendar year came in two parts. Initially seeing title sponsor LKQ Euro Car Parts move from the Toyota-driven Speedworks Motorsport outfit to WSR. Later in the month, the night before Christmas Eve, it would be announced that Aiden Moffat will also be making that very same switch in one of two LKQ sponsored BMW 330i M Sports.