Following in the footsteps of his father, Rob Collard, Ricky Collard (TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK) began his career competing in national and international Karting Championships before progressing to cars. In 2014, Collard competed in the British Formula Ford Championship against BTCC counterparts Ash Sutton and Bobby Thompson, finishing seventh overall.
Collard would prove his speed in 2015 in the MSA Formula Championship. After scoring multiple race victories and podiums, Collard just missed out on the title to Lando Norris to finish in second but highlighted his talent in only his second full campaign in cars.
Moving into quicker machinery, Collard entered the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship in 2016. Matching his feats from the previous year, the surrey born driver would achieve multiple race victories and podiums but would have to settle for P2 in the series.
Establishing himself as hot-prospect, Collard selected to race Internationally in 2017, competing in the ADAC GT Masters and a round of the 24H Series at the Nürburgring 24H, winning in his class. With this GT success, Collard would continue racing in GT categories in 2018, but would also make his debut in the BTCC.
Collard made his BTCC debut at Rockingham in 2018 as a substitute for his father Rob at Team BMW while Rob recovered from a concussion sustained as a result of two high-speed incidents at Snetterton in July. Collard joined Colin Turkington at the WSR-run team for the remainder of the season and would be on the pace immediately, picking up a podium at Silverstone.
After this success Collard would go on a hiatus from the BTCC, returning to the GT world. Competing in multiple championships from 2019-2021, Collard’s best result would be a podium in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup – Silver Cup.
Collard tackled his first full year in the BTCC in 2022, with Toyota GAZOO Racing UK. After a tricky first half of the campaign, Collard seemed to find his groove in the latter part of the season and began to regularly take the chequered flag in the points-paying positions.
Returning with the Northwich-based squad for the 2023 season, Collard built on his experience from 2022, scoring his first podium with the team at Knockhill in August. As a result of consistently scoring points across the year, Collard ended the campaign eighth overall, the highest placed Toyota GAZOO Racing driver.
