Senna Proctor will make a return to the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship for the first time since the 2021 season later this year after agreeing a deal to rejoin the grid with Team VERTU.
Proctor, who previously raced for the EXCELR8-run team back in 2020, will take up the role of Reserve Driver during the opening five rounds of the season, before stepping into a race seat at his local circuit of Croft in August.
The 26-year-old will then go on to compete at Knockhill, Donington Park GP, Silverstone and Brands Hatch GP at the wheel of the car that will be raced in the first half of the season by Michael Crees.
Proctor first joined the BTCC grid back in 2017 when he made the move up from the Renault Clio Cup at the age of just 18-years-old, having previously finished as runner-up in the Ginetta Junior Championship in 2015; a title he would have won without dropped scores being in play.
Becoming the youngest winner of the Jack Sears Trophy in his rookie campaign, Proctor scored his maiden win in the opening meeting of the following year at Brands Hatch, where he came from 27th on the grid to emerge on top after a stunning drive in mixed weather conditions.
Following a challenging 2019 campaign, Proctor joined forces with EXCELR8 for the first time ahead of the 2020 season, which marked the debut in the series for the Hyundai i30 that had been designed and developed by the team in house.
After a tough opening round, Proctor would go on to score points on a regular basis throughout the year and picked up a podium finish at Knockhill en-route to what was then the highest-scoring season for an EXCELR8 driver in Britain’s premier racing series.
Moving to BTC Racing in 2021, Proctor would go on to take two pole positions - including breaking the qualifying lap record at Brand Hatch GP - and would score a second race win amongst six podiums.
Unfortunately, circumstances beyond his control meant a race seat was not available the following season due to budget constraints, preventing him from building on what had been his strongest year in the series to date.
However, having long harboured hopes of a return to competition, Proctor has now agreed a deal that will see him rejoin the BTCC grid at his home circuit following the summer break.
Proctor will use his five rounds in the car to work towards a full-time return to the grid in 2026 and beyond, and will hope to make his mark on track and add to his record of ten BTCC career podiums.
Proctor will also celebrate his 150th start in the series as a result of the new deal, a landmark he will reach when the series heads to the Donington Park GP circuit - the only venue where he has yet to race during his BTCC career.
Senna Proctor said: "It is great to be returning to the BTCC with EXCELR8 and to be joining forces with Team VERTU, firstly as Reserve Driver for the first half of the season, before returning to competitive action on home soil at Croft. It’s been a long wait for me to get back into a BTCC car, and I’m excited that the opportunity has now come along to me to return to the grid.
“I have driven the Team VERTU car before when it was first introduced into the series, so I am looking forward to seeing how much it has changed since then. It’s clearly one of the top cars on the grid so even though I’ve been away from the series for a while, my aim it to be straight back up to speed from the outset and fight for strong results.
“This part season allows me to lay a solid foundation for a full time programme in 2026 and beyond. Everything is there to do the job as I have a great car, a great team behind me and three great team-mates in Tom Ingram, Tom Chilton and Adam Morgan. There can be no excuses, and it’s great to be back.”
Justina Williams, Team VERTU Team Owner, said:
“We’re delighted to welcome Senna back into the team this season, firstly in the role of Reserve Driver for the first half of the season before he steps into a race seat from his home round at Croft.
“When we first introduced the EXCELR8 car into the series, Senna played a key role in the early development of the car despite difficult circumstances caused by the pandemic and government lockdowns.
“I know Senna is very capable of doing a great job behind the wheel and we are confident that he will deliver some strong results and challenge for multiple podiums during his five rounds as part of the driver line-up.”
