Team Dynamics has recruited triple BTCC champion Gordon ‘Flash’ Shedden for pre-season testing, replacing fellow three-time Champion Matt Neal, as he continues his recovery from a recent mountain bike injury.

Shedden will re-join the team in a testing capacity and help to fulfil the team's test plan leading up to the start of the 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship.

“My recovery is going well and everything is starting to mend,” said Neal. “I’m doing everything possible to get in the car for the first round at Donington at the end of March.

"However, we have undertaken a lot of changes to the car over the winter period, which we need to try on-track and to do this with a back-to-back comparative test programme. There was no better choice than my old teammate Flash, he knows the team, he knows our work ethic and he is the natural choice to jump into my seat.”

“Team Dynamics has always been my race family and I’m happy to be able to help,” said Shedden. “We have obviously kept in constant contact since I went to WTCR and I have been down and seen the boys on a number of occasions over that two-year period. Obviously my friendship with Matt means I really feel for him, and hope that he can make a speedy recovery. But at the business end, we need to get the job done and get the cars race-ready for the start of the season.

"I haven’t driven the Honda Civic Type R FK8 yet so I’m really looking forward to getting behind the wheel and assisting with its development. Both Matt and Dan [Cammish] have been telling me how awesome it is to drive, so it will be interesting to compare it to the old FK2 that I won back-to-back drivers’ titles in 2015/2016!”

Team HARD. Racing has today (21 February) announced that Nic Hamilton will complete the squad’s 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship driver line up as its fourth and final driver.

Hamilton contested 24 rounds of the UK’s premier motor racing series in 2019, competing in a Motorbase-run Ford Focus, having previously joined the championship for four events in 2015 as a guest entry. Looking ahead to 2020, there is great excitement for what a second BTCC campaign might bring as Hamilton takes to the wheel of a ROKiT Phones and ABK Beer sponsored Team HARD. Racing Volkswagen CC.

The team has been working hard to develop the Volkswagen CC, which demonstrated an improvement in pace during the second half of the 2019 season.  This improvement in performance was highlighted when the team took its first-ever BTCC win at Silverstone.

“I’m super excited to be with Team HARD. Racing for the 2020 season,” said Hamilton. “Last year was so challenging for me. Coming close to facing a reality where my career might be over was really tough, but people stuck by me, kept me focused and upbeat and I’m now in a great place to start a new chapter behind the wheel. Team HARD. Racing is the most professional outfit I’ve worked with. The squad’s tenacity, motivation and belief inspire me. The team deserves a great season from me and I’m going to give it my all.   

“The way these guys go about things in preparing the car and energising the team is inspiring; it cultivates such a great atmosphere from the factory to the pit lane.  They help give me such enthusiasm for the season ahead and having ROKiT Phones and ABK Beer as partners, once again, is tremendous as they are brands with a passion to be the best in their industry, something that really resonates with me. Last year they stuck by me and acted with such integrity.  I’m proud to represent them and be a part of their success, and more than anything I’m grateful for their continued support.”

“I’m delighted that Nic has chosen to join the team for the 2020 season,” said Team HARD. Racing’s Managing Director, Tony Gilham. “His determination and drive to succeed has really lifted the whole team as we prepare three brand new Volkswagen CCs. Nic showed really encouraging signs in the series last season and his performance in the early laps of the opening round at Brands Hatch really caught my eye.

“This is the first year in the team’s history that we are going to Spain for testing and I couldn’t be more excited. A solid stint in the new Volkswagen CC will really benefit Nic both on and off-track as he settles into a new and very different team. I’m expecting Nic to learn a lot from our returning drivers as we look to move further up the grid in 2020.”

Hamilton’s Volkswagen CC is modified to allow him to compete with cerebral palsy. The car in its striking new ROKiT red livery will be heading to Spain for an intense test schedule alongside the team's other two CCs driven by Jack Goff and Mike Bushell, ahead of the series' official test day at Silverstone on 17 March.

Ciceley Motorsport has unveiled its exciting 2020 plans for the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship campaign with a new team name, new sponsor and a two-car line-up for the first time.

To be known as Carlube Triple R Racing with Cataclean & Mac Tools, this is the first time that Ciceley will have run two cars in the same colours and under the same banner, as previous assaults have always been as two separate one-car teams. Adam Morgan and Dan Rowbottom will drive the two cars as they aim to give Ciceley its best season yet in the BTCC.

“We are ecstatic about our 2020 plans,” said Team Principal Russell Morgan. “It is really exciting and positive to welcome Tetrosyl on board to promote its Carlube Triple R brand. Having two cars in the same colours is a first for our team, offering not only double exposure for our sponsors but also increasing our chances of scoring points in the teams’ championships. By retaining Adam and Dan, we have drivers who know the cars as well as how we operate and, along with the work we have done over the winter, I am sure that we will be more competitive than ever.”

“I am feeling very positive about this season,” said Morgan. “We turned a corner mid-way through 2019 and found a good set up and we are aiming to build on this. Steve Farrell, our race engineer, has had some ideas to improve the cars and some of our processes as a team and so we are in good shape for the season ahead.”

“I am really keen to get back in the car and get started,” said Rowbottom, who is aiming to build on his rookie campaign in the BTCC in 2020. “Last year was a huge learning curve, which taught me a lot, so with the experience and hard work over the winter to improve the cars, I am confident of a stronger season. It’s also very positive to bring Cataclean back as a title sponsor as they join forces with some of the biggest names in the automotive industry.”

The Lancashire-based squad makes this announcement less than four weeks prior to the BTCC Season Launch at Silverstone on 17 March, with the opening rounds at Donington Park, Leicestershire, on 28/29 March. All raceday action is covered live on ITV4 with Saturday’s qualifying session shown live on itv.com/btcc

For our final week of #WinItWednesday, we’re reflecting on the very last victory of the 2019 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, where BTCC veteran Jason Plato took to the top step of the podium in Round 30, at Brands Hatch.

In a finale which will live long in the memory of BTCC fans, teams and drivers alike, Plato took his first and only win of the year on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix layout in October.

Having achieved a pole position in the preceding event at Silverstone, seasoned BTCC campaigner Plato took his 97th win in his 599th race in the series.

Click the image below to download…

The 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship will see a fresh look from Motorbase Performance with the introduction of the fourth-generation Ford Focus. The Kent-based squad is putting the finishing touches to the first of its new machines and will be ready to hit the track and begin testing in the next few weeks.

In what David Bartrum hopes will be a watershed year, the team boss has reflected on a challenging 2019 season and has set about ramping up his targets for 2020.

“Making a move to a new car for the BTCC is not a decision you can take lightly,” said Bartrum. “It’s an expensive exercise and one which you need to get right from the off. This is a more difficult challenge as an independent team.

“Motorbase is one of very few teams who have taken on this task in NGTC-spec and built our own cars without an affiliation with a manufacturer. We made our debut with our in-house built Focus back in 2011 at Snetterton. Now we’re taking on the daunting task of designing and building our own new cars, once again without the support of the manufacturer. For 2020, we’ve chosen to continue with the Ford Focus but in the style of the all-new fourth generation Focus.

“We had great seasons in 2016 and 2018 with our Ford Focus so we were confident in the car in 2019 but it just wasn’t to be. One thing Motorbase has never done and will never do is be content with not winning, so something had to change. The chassis design of the 2019 car was fundamentally in its eighth year – although the chassis themselves were much newer. There has been constant evolution of the cars in that time, but you couldn’t get away from the fact it was getting old and our competition were mostly new cars. With Honda, BMW and Toyota bringing new cars to the grid in recent years, we had fallen behind. So, we started looking at a replacement for 2020 quite early last year."

Last season’s single victory for Tom Chilton at Croft was taken with the hatchback, but it failed to sparkle elsewhere. Whilst its element clearly lay on a damp circuit, the long-in-the-tooth chassis showed its age at other venues.

The choice of car was seriously considered, but Motorbase’s long relationship with the Blue Oval was too strong a pull for the operation to switch.

“Despite our 10 years running the Fords we don’t have an official relationship with the manufacturer itself so, from the outside, there is no real reason why we would go with Ford again," concluded Bartrum. "Ford has, however, had the new car out for over a year now so we started to evaluate the chassis. The new Focus is far from just a minor upgrade. Underneath the skin, it seems to be an ideal fit for the BTCC. It has an extremely different chassis with some very advanced approaches to the design.

“The new car has obviously got a few years on its predecessor and benefits from a few more years of development and understanding. The base car is a decent step on and hopefully, this will show in the new car.

“We received the first bodyshell last week and it was painted over the weekend ready for us to get on with the long-awaited build of our newest, most exciting and most difficult challenges to date. The car looks stunning in its new colours. The guys last week were all like expectant parents and that’s just for the bodyshell, who knows what we’ll all be like when it comes to firing it up and running it on track for the first time. On paper and in it all theory looks fantastic, we have two very excited drivers who I hope to give the best car on the grid this season. It’s going to be a difficult couple of months ahead getting everything ready but a challenge we’re up for.”

Driver Ollie Jackson will be joined at the team by reigning Independents’ Trophy winner Rory Butcher, and an as-yet-unnamed third driver.

A full exclusive feature on Motorbase Performance can be read in this weeks' Motorsport News.

TOCA, Series Organiser of the British Touring Car Championship, has today (18 February) revealed that its hybrid power introduction project is running ahead of schedule.
 
Teams, partners and other stakeholders have been advised of the impressive progress made during a recent meeting of the BTCC Hybrid Working Group, as all parties further established the roadmap for the introduction of hybrid energy in the BTCC.
 
Back in August 2018, the BTCC became the first major touring car championship in the world to announce the move to hybrid power and furthermore the first to specify the exact timing, pathway and technical details of its introduction. Every BTCC car will boast hybrid power from the start of the 2022 season, with its integration being welcomed as part of an evolution of the current technical regulations.
 
Having awarded the contract to Cosworth Electronics for the design, supply and servicing of the BTCC Hybrid System, both TOCA and Cosworth will select an existing BTCC race car for the initial hybrid integration and comprehensive testing programme.
 
TOCA has confirmed that all technical and practical targets are being met during the design and build stage. The hybrid equipped BTCC test car is set to hit the track in June, ahead of a projected public debut during the annual two-day tyre test at Snetterton in July.
 
Rigorous testing and simulations will then commence in order to refine the exact nature of the driver-selectable hybrid power delivery (i.e. how many seconds per lap, when/how it can be used etc.) as well as configuring the varying amounts of regeneration and hybrid power that will be used to replace the current success ballast system. The additional hybrid power will be used by each driver using a steering wheel mounted button – after lap one – for either passing or defending. This will provide new competitive strategies and opportunities during each BTCC race.
 
“I’m incredibly pleased with the fantastic progress we are making on this project," said BTCC Chief Executive Alan Gow One always assumes there will be some hiccups along the way, but so far…nothing. And that’s great testament to the high quality of the technical partners involved - not just Cosworth of course but also Xtrac, PWR, Delta Motorsport, AP Racing and Goodyear.”
 
Further updates will continue to be provided by TOCA over the coming weeks.

For our penultimate #WinItWednesday, the official BTCC website recalls Ash Sutton's Round 29 victory in the 2019 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship.

Having achieved the first pole position of the year, Sutton’s 2019 campaign seemed to start promisingly; however, it wouldn’t be until the series' penultimate outing that the Hertfordshire-based driver would take his first and only win.

Race two on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix layout saw the former champion fire from 11th on the grid to lead the pack, clearly determined to recover from a less-than-ideal race one result.

With an average qualifying position of ninth, and having only finished out of the points in six of the 30 races, Sutton consistently built his tally to conclude the campaign eighth overall.

Click the image below to download…

Mark Blundell Motorsport (MB) will join the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship grid in 2020 after forming a strategic alliance with the series’ reigning Independents’ Champions.

The new partnership will see the experienced West-Thurrock outfit rebrand as MB Motorsport ahead of the new season of the UK’s premier racing series, with former Formula One driver and 1992 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, Mark Blundell, taking up a new role as the team’s Sporting Director.

Combining the race-winning, on-track operation of Team Owner Shaun Hollamby with Blundell’s three decades worth of experience at the highest level of international motorsport, MB Motorsport hopes to uniquely position itself to deliver results both on and off the track for both its drivers and its collection of high-profile partners.

No stranger to the BTCC paddock thanks to his maiden campaign in 2019, Blundell’s new role within the series comes as a result of the huge impression that the Championship left on him last year and is the realisation of a long-held ambition.

“I made no secret of how impressed I was with the British Touring Car Championship as a platform last year," said Blundell. "As I found out quite clearly, it is fiercely competitive, and if you ask anyone involved, it's that unpredictable race result that is a huge attraction.

“Last year, together with my team at our sports management and marketing agency, MB Partners, we proved the value that the series can have for a number of major global brands, and the forming of MB Motorsport this year will allow us to further these partnerships and build on those relationships.

“Having reached this stage of my career, I love being involved in motorsport and this opportunity is a new challenge for me and one that opens channels for our managed driver portfolio at MB Partners and many of our commercial partners. I have a huge amount of respect for Shaun and his team who run an excellent operation, so working with them and forming MB Motorsport together provides us with a huge platform to build from both on and off the track.”

Shaun Hollamby will continue to lead MB Motorsport’s on-track efforts in his role as Team Principal and the former BTCC racer shares in Blundell’s excitement at the potential of the new partnership.

“Working with Mark and MB Partners last year was of huge benefit to us as a team, and this announcement signals the start of a new and really exciting chapter of our time in the BTCC," said Hollamby. "Mark found out firsthand just how tough this Championship can be, but he brought with him a new level of detail, processes and the highest of standards to our operation.

“I have known Mark for a number of years, and we have always spoken about how we could work together - now we are finally getting the chance to do so formally. Our hope is that combining our pedigree within the BTCC, Mark’s experience and profile, and MB Partners’ commercial expertise can really take our whole operation to a new level and it is one we cannot wait to get started with.”

The rebranded team’s on-track efforts will be led by the new driving duo of Jake Hill and Sam Osborne, with major announcements and unveilings planned in the build-up to the official pre-season test day at Silverstone on the 17 March before the season begins in earnest on the 28/29 March at Donington Park.

BTC Racing Team’s Brackley headquarters became the scene of a fire and rescue training exercise recently, with teams from the Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service using the race-team workshops as the setting for a simulated firefighting mission. 
 
Crews from the Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Services attended the joint training exercise, which involved volunteers acting as missing persons for the search and rescue drill.
 
The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship racing outfit has strong links to the local fire service, with team ‘truckie’ Tom Barton dedicating his time away from the team as a serving part-time firefighter with Northamptonshire Fire Service.
 
“We would like to thank OFRS and BTC Racing LTD for the opportunity and support in carrying out this realistic training scenario," said Ashley Tugby, Station Commander, Operational Effectiveness. “Using real buildings in this way gives us an invaluable insight into tackling different types of fires in realistic surroundings so we are very grateful to have been given this opportunity to practice our Fire Fighting actions and large buildings procedures in this way.
 
“We had multiple appliances in attendance and deployed Breathing Apparatus wears to carry out simulated Fire Fighting and search for persons reported missing.
 
“The exercise was extremely useful and all learning and good practices were captured through our Debriefing system.”
 
“We were delighted to be able to assist the Fire and Rescue service with this important training exercise," added BTC Racing Team Principal Bert Taylor. “These guys and girls risk their lives to keep us all safe, so anything we can do to help support them is a real privilege. We’re very proud of the fact that one of our team, Tom, is a local firefighter. They are all everyday heroes.
 
“It was a great insight to be able to watch the crews in action, and to see their professionalism in dealing with the demanding scenario.”

EXCELR8 Motorsport has today (10 February) announced the signing of race-winning driver Chris Smiley for its 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship campaign, bringing a wealth of experience to the team, having raced in the series for four years.

After a successful debut year in the championship, EXCELR8 is delighted to welcome Smiley to the squad. It hopes to utilise the 27-year-old’s experience to guide the team over the coming season, particularly as the team develops its new Hyundai i30 N Performance duo.

Picking up his maiden win in 2018, Smiley took the honours at Rockingham, also recording the fastest lap of the race. His success would continue into 2019 where he racked up three podiums and a first pole position at Snetterton, proving his potential by dicing with former champions Ash Sutton and Jason Plato.

Having risen to prominence in 2013, winning the MINI Challenge JCW Class, Smiley joined the BTCC with TLC racing in 2016. His BTCC career would see him join BTC Norlin Racing the following year, where he became a regular points scorer.

“I’m very excited to be joining EXCELR8 Motorsport for the new season,” said Smiley. “It is going to be a good challenge to work with the team and bring Hyundai into the BTCC as a new marque.

“I know the team at EXCELR8 have made an incredible effort with the new car over the winter months and have strengthened their engineering capabilities and brought in some very talented people to work on the project. Developing a new car is always a great challenge, and to do it with a brand that has a tremendous passion for motorsport like Hyundai means this is a fantastic opportunity for everyone involved to create something really special.

“The BTCC is an ultra-competitive championship and being a race winner in the series I know that I can mix it at the sharp end of the series. I fully believe that this new project will allow me to do that, and I am more motivated than ever to make this new partnership a success – not just for one season but as a long-term plan for us both.”

“Chris Smiley alongside Senna Proctor, what a driver line-up,” said Team Principal Ollie Shepherd. “We now know that we have the drivers to win BTCC races, we have a superstar engineering team to be announced and we have new cars that are ticking all the right boxes during the development and build process. 2020 will be the year when we surprise the establishment! Overconfident? No way! Chris and Senna are two of the best young drivers in the BTCC and this year we will do our very best to give them the tools to get the job done.”

“I have known Chris since his days in the MINI Challenge, when he won the title that we should have won in 2013,” said Team Owner Justina Williams. “Back then, Chris was a dedicated and tenacious driver who never gave up, his recent seasons in the BTCC have proved that this was no one-off. He always gives it his all and the team and I are all looking forward to seeing him take on the grandee teams, weekend after weekend. 2020 will be the year when we show we are not just in the BTCC to make up the numbers, we are here to win. With our new Hyundai cars, two experienced and blisteringly fast young drivers in Chris and Senna, along with a star engineering signing (soon to be announced), we are sure to leap up the grid, though of course, time will tell!"