Árón Taylor-Smith is feeling ‘incredibly excited’ as the new Independent Champion’s plans for the 2025 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship begin to take shape.
The Dubliner has enjoyed something of a career renaissance since joining the Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing setup at the beginning of 2023.
Having put down strong foundations during his first season with both the team and the Vauxhall Astra, the 35-year-old reaped the rewards in 2024, claiming a dominant 20 Independent victories en route to the title, plus a brace of outright podium finishes.
The four-time BTCC race winner also proved to be consistent, as much as quick, and finished the campaign as the only driver on the grid to score points in each of the 30 races across the season.
“Stability has certainly been key,” explains Taylor-Smith, “And when you look up and down the grid, most of the main contenders have that familiarity with the team, the car, and work with the same faces year-on-year to extract the maximum from the package.
“I’ve definitely felt the benefit of that, of being the focal point of a team and really being able to not only drive forward the development on the car, but also make sure we’re going in a direction that plays to my strengths as a driver.”
Having endured a three-year hiatus from the BTCC after a silverware-laden start to his career, Taylor-Smith’s path back to the front has been a long and steady one.
“You think the grass is greener, but it really isn’t,” he admits, “This championship has the absolute crème de la crème of British motorsport competing in it, it doesn’t really get much better as a driver than this.
“It took us a little while to re-establish ourselves, to get into a competitive seat, but we’re there now, and it really feels like this is just the beginning of a journey, rather than the end.”
Having secured the Independent honours and established himself as a front-runner once again in the UK’s premier motorsport series, the focus has now switched to competing for the outright title in the future.
“It’s only at the end-of-season gala when I looked down at the trophy and saw the names on it – Tom Ingram, Ash Sutton, Colin Turkington – all the names you now see fighting for the main prize.
“The competition is always incredibly fierce, but I’m here for the long haul and it’s absolutely the ambition to put myself in a position to give it a go. I’ve always said I only ever want a chance, and that’s what keeps me pushing.”
Taylor-Smith’s programme for 2025 has already begun to gather momentum, with a number of new and existing partners re-affirming their support in recent weeks.
“2024 was an incredible season, and that’s entirely down to PMR, my partner network and all their hard work,” says Taylor-Smith.
“I’m incredibly excited to see what 2025 brings.”
