Ricky Collard to make full-time BTCC move with Speedworks

Ricky Collard will make a full-time move into the British Touring Car Championship this season after agreeing a deal to partner Rory Butcher at Speedworks.

Collard will take the place of Sam Smelt in the Toyota Gazoo Racing UK line-up as he returns to the grid for the first time since 2018, when he stepped in to substitute for father Rob for the final four meetings of the year – scoring a podium finish at Silverstone.

The 25-year-old has since been competing in sportscars but will now switch to front-wheel drive for the first time after a number of successful tests at the wheel of the Corolla GR over the past week

“Last week’s test at Donington was the first time I’d ever driven a front-wheel drive race car, and while we’re clearly not yet where we want to be, my lap times showed that I already feel pretty comfortable in the Toyota,” he said.

“The Corolla is a proven race-winning package, and everybody in the team is doing all they can to help me to get quickly up to speed. I’m getting faster with every lap, and that progression is only going to continue.

“As a former racing driver himself, Christian [Dick] can properly relate to the feedback I’m providing, and Rory [Butcher] has been really helpful too. We had a good relationship even beforehand, and I honestly couldn’t ask for a better team-mate. He has a lot of experience that I can draw upon and learn from, and by working closely together, the aim is to drive the whole team forward.

“It’s funny – the only type of car I’ve raced that I haven’t won in is a touring car, so I’m pretty keen to put that statistic to bed and I’ll have 30 chances this year to do so. Despite effectively being a rookie, I’ll be disappointed if I don’t achieve that, and I’m targeting podiums at the very least. I’m certainly going to give this my absolute best shot!”

Team boss Christian Dick said he was delighted to sign Collard to compete in the second Toyota during the year ahead.

“We ran a series of evaluation tests with Ricky over the last week, and by the end, both parties were very keen to sign on the dotted line,” he said. “He has slotted into the team seamlessly and, having grown up around the BTCC, he knows the championship inside-out so there should be no acclimatisation required from that point of view.

“It was evident watching Ricky as he rose through the ranks that he is a driver of considerable talent and potential, and his performances during his short previous stint in the BTCC in 2018 really turned some heads. It takes a fair degree of skill to qualify on the front row of the grid and finish on the podium in this series – and to do so with only two prior race weekends under his belt was a seriously impressive accomplishment.”