Eurotech Racing has today confirmed that Brett Smith will complete their driver line-up for the 2018 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.
Brett, son of Eurotech driver and Team Principal Jeff Smith, completed half-a-season with the team last year having come into the fold to replace his father, who was sidelined by injuries sustained from his accident at Croft.
Despite the step up, the 2017 MINI Challenge champion handled the swift introduction to Britain's premier motorsport championship nicely with an impressive initial test followed by points on debut at Snetterton.
Building on this momentum, he went on to seal two Jack Sears Trophy victories at Silverstone and Brands Hatch GP respectively, as well as the MINI Challenge Championship in the interim by a considerable margin – one rarely seen in single make championships of its standing.
Come the finale weekend at Brands Hatch GP, Smith junior was really finding his stride – setting the third quickest time in Free Practice 1 and going better still by notching the quickest time in Free Practice 2, ahead of team-mate Jack Goff.
The team are brimming with confidence heading into 2018 with the retention of Goff and Smith proving a boon. Coupled to the introduction of the ever-improving Matt Simpson, the outfit are well-placed to build upon last year’s achievements and mount another challenge for both the Independent Teams' and Drivers' titles that it narrowly missed out on in 2017.
“Obviously the circumstances around me coming into the BTCC weren’t ideal," said Brett. "It would have been great to share the grid with my Dad as I have done in the Mini Challenge, though we are all still hoping that can be realised with a swift recovery!
"Nevertheless, it's always been a dream of mine to race in the BTCC. It has a rich history, and it’s an unrivalled spectacle but for me it’s the challenge of beating 31 other drivers who on their day are also capable of beating you.
"There are very few other championships in the world which can lay claim to that and it’s my intention this year to build upon the steady progress I made between Snetterton to Brands Hatch and to be towards the front, challenging for podiums and, with a little bit of reverse grid luck, possibly even a win in 2018.”
“The BTCC is a monumental step up from any other UK championship," added Eurotech Team Principal Jeff Smith. "With Brett having had no testing in the Honda Civic Type R, we were initially quite conservative on car set up.
"Whilst I have always been aware of Brett’s natural talent as a driver, I like many others were taken aback by just how quickly he got to grips with BTCC. As we saw in Free Practice at the final race weekend at Brands, he was fully committed.
"Unfortunately in qualifying, he was caught out by the rapidly changing conditions. Had this not happened, I'm sure he would have been right at the sharp end and would have got his maiden podium. Given this success, I see no reason for Brett not to be challenging very hard this year and look forward to seeing him on the podium.”
