The 2023 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship was celebrated on Saturday (4 November) at the annual TOCA Night of Champions, with the stars and cars on show at Silverstone to conclude another memorable campaign.  

A host of awards were handed out – including to the champions of our stellar support series’ – and over the next few days we’ll be having a rundown of the BTCC’s big winners from the 2023 season. 

Today we’re starting with a few special awards that celebrate the Engineer of the Year and the Jack Sears Trophy Champion, which has previously been a springboard for the likes of Josh Cook, Ash Sutton and Dan Cammish… 

BTCC Engineer of the Year – Antonio Carrozza 

The ‘BTCC Engineer of the Year’ award was first introduced in 2016 to recognise the achievement of the Chief Engineer behind the Championship winning car and this year there is little doubting that this man prepared a fantastic race car. 

Having worked with Ash Sutton to secure six pole positions, twelve victories, twenty podiums and 175 laps led… the 2023 BTCC Engineer of the Year has undoubtedly been NAPA Racing UK’s Antonio Carrozza – and he becomes a record three-time winner of the award! 

Jack Sears Trophy Champion – Andrew Watson 

The Jack Sears Trophy is exclusively for drivers who have not stood on the podium before the start of the year, and the 2023 season fight proved to be one of the closest battles to date.  

Five different drivers from four different teams led the championship across the campaign, including the likes of Andrew Watson, Dexter Patterson, Sam Osborne and Mikey Doble. 

But a total of ten JST wins, three second places and six thirds, pushed our winner over the line to take the crown at Brands Hatch… congratulations Andrew Watson! 

Tomorrow we will be looking at the Manufacturers’/Constructors’ champions as well as the overall and Independent Teams’ title winners!