Butcher to lead two-car Toyota BTCC effort alongside Smelt for 2021
Six-time British Touring Car Championship race winner Rory Butcher will lead an expanded two-car Toyota line-up run by Speedworks Motorsport this season


As expected, the 33-year-old Scot is replacing the Excelr8 Hyundai-bound Tom Ingram, following a 2020 season in which he remained in title contention until the final race weekend with the Motorbase Performance Ford Focus squad.
Speedworks, which is representing Toyota in the BTCC manufacturers' championship and racing under the Toyota Gazoo Racing UK banner, is fielding a second Corolla for the first time, and this will be handled by British GT Championship graduate Sam Smelt.
Butcher, like Ingram before him, is on a one-year deal with Speedworks, and will be expected to be a title contender.
Speedworks team principal Christian Dick told Autosport: "I've known Rory for a long time - he's a real team player and he's massively enthusiastic about what the team is doing, not just in the BTCC but in GT as well.
"He's done a hell of a lot in a very short space of time in the BTCC - he's quite open to the fact that he's got points to learn, but we'll put him in the best position to do that."
Butcher added: "Moving to a manufacturer-backed team has been a goal of mine ever since I joined the BTCC, and I have no doubt that this will give me my best chance yet of truly fighting for the championship.

"I've known Christian for some time, going back to when we raced against each other in British GT in 2010 [Dick won the G4 class title in a Ginetta G50, with Butcher runner-up in a KTM X-Bow], so I've always had a lot of respect for him and have taken note of what Speedworks has achieved in the BTCC, especially in recent seasons.
"Over the past couple of years, we had a few casual conversations about maybe working together at some stage, and when the opportunity finally presented itself, I jumped at it.
"Despite 2021 being only my fourth full season in the BTCC, the Corolla will be the fifth touring car I've driven, so hopefully I can bring some of that knowledge to its continued development and perhaps even improve it further.
"It was arguably the most competitive car on the grid by the end of last year - the team definitely seems to have a proper handle on it now in all conditions, both with or without ballast."
Butcher and Smelt have been BTCC team-mates before, at the AmD squad in 2018, when Butcher raced the ageing MG6 and Smelt the Audi S3 in just his second season of car racing.
Smelt, 24, scored no points during that campaign, but since then has forged a reputation in the GT4 class of British GT at the wheel of the Speedworks-run GR Supra.

"We've seen something in Sam that we like," said Dick.
"He's not an experienced frontrunner in the BTCC, but the pressure is off and he'll be in a very different car.
"He's already got that first year in the BTCC out of the way, and I think he'll spring a few surprises through the year."
Speedworks has recruited long-time tin-top expert Paul Ridgway as chief engineer.
Since running the GR Motorsport squad, Ridgway has had numerous roles, his most recent BTCC involvement coming with Team BMR's Subarus and Ciceley Motorsport's Mercedes machinery, while he has also worked in World Touring Cars.
Speedworks is hoping to get Butcher and Smelt behind the wheel of their Corollas for testing in early March.
BTCC confirmed entries so far
West Surrey Racing BMW TBA, TBA, TBA
Team Dynamics Honda Dan Cammish, TBA
Laser Tools Racing Infiniti Ash Sutton, Aiden Moffat, Carl Boardley
Motorbase/MB Ford Jake Hill, TBA, TBA, TBA
BTC Racing Honda Josh Cook, Michael Crees, Jade Edwards
Speedworks Motorsport Toyota Rory Butcher, Sam Smelt
Excelr8 Motorsport Hyundai Tom Ingram, Chris Smiley, Jack Butel, TBA
Ciceley Motorsport BMW Adam Morgan, Tom Chilton
Team Hard Cupra Jack Goff, Aron Taylor-Smith, Glynn Geddie, TBA
Power Maxed Racing Vauxhall Jason Plato, TBA

Plato to make 2021 BTCC return with PMR Vauxhall squad
Cosworth to buy out BTCC battery supplier Delta

Latest news
Double F1 race winner Jean Pierre Jabouille has died
Former French Formula 1 driver Jean-Pierre Jabouille has died on Thursday at age 80, French media have reported.
IMSA champion Jarvis to contest full ELMS season with United Autosports
Reigning IMSA Sportscar Championship title-winner Oliver Jarvis will contest the European Le Mans Series with United Autosports alongside Formula 2 convert Marino Sato, in addition to the World Endurance Championship.
20 years on: Porsche’s 911 GT Daytona 24 Hours giant-killing relived
IMSA’s new GTP class for LMDh cars had a more auspicious debut last weekend than the Daytona Prototypes that arrived in 2003. Back then, they were humbled by a GT Porsche 911, which won the Floridian sportscar classic by nine laps.
Entries open for the 2023 Williams Autosport Engineer of the Future Award story
Entries have opened for the 2023 Williams Autosport Engineer of the Future Award, with budding motorsport engineers invited to apply for the revamped prize.
Autosport writers' most memorable moments of 2022
The season just gone was a memorable one for many of our staff writers, who are fortunate enough to cover motorsport around the world. Here are our picks of the best (and in some cases, most eventful) from 2022
How the BTCC's new hybrid era aced its first test
Expectations were high for the start of the British Touring Car Championship’s hybrid power era, and despite nerves and problems to solve prior to its debut the new rules gained widespread approval. Here’s how the first test at Donington Park was passed and the thorough examinations that are to follow
The Ford BTCC superteam combining two reigning TOCA champions
Reigning BTCC champion Ash Sutton and Porsche Carrera Cup GB victor Dan Cammish form a potent line-up at the Motorbase-run NAPA Racing team as the series adopts hybrid power. With Sutton bringing the key components of his title-winning Laser Tools Racing set-up, and Cammish eager to prove a point on his return, their dynamic is set to be one of the season's major talking points
The stalwart tin-top boss still shaping careers more than 40 years on
Veteran team manager Marvin Humphries and former Tech-Speed team boss has worked not only with stars of the British Touring Car Championship, but legends including Gil de Ferran, Hans Stuck and Tom Sneva in a long and varied career that has spanned five decades across tin-tops, single-seaters and sportscars
The grassroots rise that shaped an understated BTCC star
Having started out in club-level competitions alongside his own university engineering studies, Josh Cook's journey to becoming an established frontrunner in the British Touring Car Championship is atypical. But it's these experiences that have moulded the 30-year-old into a humble star, respected throughout the paddock
Ranking the top 10 BTCC drivers of 2021
A refresh in equipment and some returning faces helped contribute to a supremely competitive 2021 British Touring Car Championship campaign. Ash Sutton was crowned a three-time champion, successfully defending his 2020 title, but faced stiff competition in the final year before the switch to hybrid. Autosport picks out the best performers
Why the BTCC's ballast increase couldn't stop champion Sutton
Ballast will be gone from the BTCC next year as hybrid power enters the scene, but for its final season the maximum was increased from 60kg to 75kg. Despite having to carry that nearly all season, Ash Sutton was always the favourite to pocket a third title - the 27-year-old getting his reward for a season of speed tempered by savvy to nail his opportunities
The much-loved tin-top superstar bowing out at 59
OPINION: It's not often that a driver achieves widespread affection for their personality, as well as their on-track performances. One such individual is Gabriele Tarquini, who will soon bring the curtain down on a remarkable career that has yielded touring car titles on the European and global stage - and, famously, in Britain too
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.