The British Touring Car Championship heads to Knockhill for Rounds 16, 17, and 18, with the talk of the town being Ricky Collard and Nick Halstead.
Defying all the pre-season odds, and even performing a u-turn on his ‘goodbye’ to the BTCC after Thruxton, Collard announced an extension to his Team VERTU deal earlier this week.
The deal takes him all the way through to when Osamu Kawashima steps into his Hyundai for the final two meetings of the season – Silverstone and Brands Hatch.
“It’s no secret that when the opportunity came along to join Team VERTU on the eve of the season launch, we didn’t have the budget for the full campaign and could only commit to the first five events,” Collard said.
“The success we’ve enjoyed so far made me more determined that ever to extend my time with the team, and I’m delighted to confirm that I’m going to be in the seat for the next three meetings.”
And Collard’s place in the #11 is not the only surprise heading up to Scotland, with Halstead coming out of retirement to race for Power Maxed Racing.
Coming a year since the squad defied their factory fire to scramble cars together to race, the addition of the British driver will see the team’s first four-car appearance.
“Expanding to four cars is a significant step for Power Maxed Racing and reflects the continued progress the team has made in recent seasons,” PMR’s Adam Weaver said.
“I’m really pleased to be returning to Power Maxed Racing and being back on the BTCC grid,” Halstead added.
“It’s great to be back with a team I know well, and I’m looking forward to getting started again and seeing what we can achieve together.”
Halstead returning to the grid is not the only addition of recent times, with Ryan Bensley and Scotland’s Lewis Gilbert joining the fold at Thruxton for Speedworks Corolla and WSR respectively.
Gilbert has spoken excitedly about his second BTCC race being at home, while grid stalwarts Aiden Moffat, Dexter Patterson, and Gordon Shedden will also be looking forward to their foray north of the border.
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