Emmerdale star Kelvin Fletcher will drive the 2016 Chevrolet Cruze for Power Maxed Racing in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC). Fletcher, better known to the public as Emmerdale's Andy Sugden, has been in the popular soap for the past 20 years and has been racing competitively since 2012.
The 32-year-old actor hails from Oldham and has had a successful racing career to date competing in the Porsche Carerra Cup and GT3 Cup Challenge, the Ginetta GT5 Challenge, a stint in prototypes in the V de V Challenge and he even completed a guest round in the F1 support race the Porsche Supercup. Kelvin has racked up 5 race wins, 3 fastest race laps and 29 podiums, based on the 45 races Kelvin has entered he has a podium percentage of 64.4% which puts him well above the majority of racing drivers.
Power Maxed Racing has already signed Hunter Abbott to compete in the sister Chevrolet Cruze and have made a number of changes to the car for this season including the adoption of the upgraded RML components.
Kelvin also has close ties with the University of Bolton who has supported his racing for a number of years. Part of the deal sees Power Maxed Racing working alongside the University to help them develop their ever growing motorsport qualifications. Power Maxed Racing will offer students the chance to gain practical industry experience and help ready them for a career in motorsport.
Adam Weaver, Team Principal, Power Maxed Racing commented: "We are delighted to welcome Kelvin to PMR and give him his chance to step up into the BTCC. He has a strong sportscar track record and he is more than ready to make the transition to the UK's finest domestic racing series. We think Kelvin is an excellent choice to race alongside Hunter, we feel they will work together and will both be turning a few heads this year.
"We promised a big name for this year and Kelvin’s celebrity status will certainly draw a crowd. We’re looking forward to working with another celebrity driver following our relationship with Paul Hollywood. We have thousands of ideas buzzing around the office for other projects we could work on with Kelvin, our favourite at the moment is an Emmerdale vs Corrie track day."
Kelvin Fletcher commented: "I’m really looking forward to making the step up to the BTCC, signing with such a solid team as Power Maxed Racing will no doubt make the transition to the BTCC a smooth one.
"I'm a massive motorsport fan and have been watching the BTCC for as long as I can remember, it has been a lifelong dream to race against my childhood heroes and it is about to become a reality thanks to Power Maxed Racing and the University of Bolton."
