Ryan Bensley to make BTCC debut at Snetterton

Ryan Bensley will make his British Touring Car Championship debut at Snetterton this weekend, having been drafted in by EXCELR8 Motorsport to substitute for Michael Crees.

The 40-year-old will step up to the UK’s premier motorsport series to drive a Hyundai i30 Fastback N alongside Tom Ingram, Tom Chilton and Adam Morgan at what is his home circuit.

Bensley began his career competing in the ultra-competitive Milltek Sport Civic Cup before he graduated to the TCR UK Championship last year – and he was in action at Silverstone just a few days ago.

Crees had originally joined EXCERL8 at the start of the season and scored a pair of points finishes last time out at Brands Hatch. He was scheduled to drive the car at the first five events before Senna Proctor then took on driving duties for the second half of the season.

His ties with Bensley – who was a commercial partner of the former Jack Sears Trophy winner in 2020 – have made this deal come together heading into the third meeting of the 2025 campaign.

Crees said: “This season for me is all about building for the future, and over the first two weekends of the year I feel I’ve been able to show what I can do despite the fact that I went into the opening round with no testing and having been out of a car for twelve months.

“Ryan is someone who has been a long-term commercial partner of mine through his mortgage business, and it’s always been his dream to be able to compete in the BTCC at Snetterton given it’s his home circuit.

“As I didn’t sign up for a full season and don’t have a championship to think about, this was the perfect opportunity to help him achieve that dream, and he’ll have my full support on track this weekend.”