The latest two-car entry into the BTCC certainly met expectations and then some in the teams' debut season in the UK's premier motorsport series. Driving the Cupra Leon, Restart Racing would arrive with returning BTCC driver Chris Smiley and newcomer Scott Sumpton behind the wheel.
This season, the Essex-based team went on to battle it out with eventual Independent Teams', Drivers', and Jack Sears Trophy (JST) Champions Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing (PMR) on many occasions, collecting 31 podiums across all categories in the 30-race season.
Donington Park was the scene of the first event of the year, to which Restart Racing impressed immediately after Smiley, in the #222 Cupra, would advance into Part 2 of qualifying. The one-time BTCC race winner would leave the Leicestershire-based circuit with two points-scoring finishes.
It would be at the first event after the mid-season break where the first victory for the BTCC's newest two-car entry would come. After 17 straight victories in all Independent categories for PMR from the very first round, the #222 would break that streak at Croft to kickstart the second half of their season.
After tasting victory at the North Yorkshire circuit, Restart Racing would go on to walk away from the season having a victory at three of the last five events. The second of those came up one event later at Knockhill but this time in the hands of the #29, Sumpton, tying his best result of the campaign.
The final of the three triumphs would come at Silverstone in what was a heavily rain-affected day. The result would be Smiley's best result of the campaign in sixth with his first double-digit points haul of the season. In the 30-race season, this race alone would make up 10 of his 70 points accumulated throughout 2024.
After a season in which the latest two-car entry made its mark on the BTCC, the Essex-based team already looks ahead to 2025 after two postseason announcements…
The first is a partnership with EXCELR8 Motorsport which will see the outfit run Hyundai i30Ns next season, a car that finished second in both drivers' and teams' championships in 2024. The second announcement was the re-signing of Chris Smiley, a previous driver of the same car model in previous years in the championship. There will be more eyes on Restart Racing in its sophomore year in what could be one of the stories of the season in 2025.
