Tom Oliphant will replace Will Powell for this weekend’s Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship event at Thruxton, taking over the wheel of the Autobrite Direct with JourneyHero Cupra Leon.

Team HARD. Racing today confirmed that Powell will miss the event due to last minute personal commitments but will return for the final two race weekends at Silverstone and Brands Hatch respectively.

Oliphant – who previously competed in the series between 2018–2021 – spent his debut season with Ciceley Motorsport before joining Team BMW for the next three campaigns, where he claimed two race wins and helped the squad to win the Teams’ Championship in 2020.

The 32-year-old took a step back from full time racing at the end of 2021 to move to Australia with his fiancée, but he’s relishing the chance to get back on track.

“This was certainly unexpected!” said Oliphant. “I’m only back in the UK for a few weeks and I was planning to come down to Thruxton to meet friends and colleagues in the paddock again, so it’s lucky timing that I got the call from Tony [Gilham] asking if I wanted to step in.

“It was a pretty easy decision to say yes and come racing again! I love the British Touring Car Championship and after four great years in the series, it’s been tough watching on from the other side of the world. There’s no pressure on me this weekend, I’m here to get back in the swing of things, have some fun and maybe pick up some points along the way.”