Photo: Jakob Ebrey

Second Toyota “fantastic” for Speedworks

Speedworks team boss Christian Dick insists that the addition of a second car for the 2021 BTCC season is “fantastic news” as the Toyota squad gears up for a championship challenge during the upcoming campaign.

Speedworks will field a second car after acquiring a TBL from AmD Tuning after it merged with the Motorbase Performance team, and will have a new look driver line-up after the departure of Tom Ingram.

Although the team ran Matt Simpson’s Honda in 2016, this season will mark the first time that the team has fielded its own multi-car entry since 2013, with two Corollas entered under the Toyota Gazoo Racing UK banner.

Drivers are set to be confirmed later this month.

“It’s fantastic to be able to confirm our expansion to two cars this year,” Dick said. “It’s a step we have been targeting for a while, and something we knew needed to happen if we were to have a real shot at winning the Manufacturers’ and Teams’ championships in a series as ultra-competitive as the BTCC. It’s tremendously motivating for everybody involved.

“I’m incredibly proud of what we have achieved as a single-car entrant over the past seven years – outperforming and outscoring many teams running two or more cars, which is quite a feat – and I cannot wait to see what we can now accomplish with a second Corolla in the garage. We had arguably the fastest car in the field towards the end of last season, and we are confident of unlocking even more pace from it between now and Brands Hatch.

“Whilst we’re under no illusions about the size of the challenge ahead, we’ve proved we are more than capable of running two cars before, the Speedworks guys and girls are the best in the pit-lane and we have a dynamic new driver line-up that will be unveiled soon, representing an exciting blend of youth and experience. We are immensely grateful to Toyota UK for their ongoing support, and we fully intend to repay that through our on-track performance and results over the coming months.”