Collard to make BTCC return for Brands Hatch finale

British Touring Car Championship ace Ricky Collard has been given a reprieve and will be back on the grid for this weekend’s final round at Brands Hatch.

Collard’s late deal with the Excelr8 Motorsport Hyundai team for 2026 was initially for the first five of the 10 rounds, but this was extended to eight while Japanese hopeful Osamu Kawashima waited in the wings.

The 57-year-old Kawashima was finally given his chance last time out at Silverstone, but ran far adrift at the back of the pack on the simple National Circuit, leading to concerns that he would be out of his depth on the challenging Brands GP layout.

A statement from Excelr8 read: “While tests prior to Silverstone were successful in demonstrating the necessary performance, it was evident following the race meeting at Silverstone that Kawashima would benefit from additional time in the car to fully realise his potential.

“As a result, and given the unique challenges of the Brands Hatch GP layout, the decision has been taken to instead focus on providing Kawashima with additional track time away from the pressures of a race weekend.”

Collard arrived at Silverstone, apparently in case a driver switch was needed after free practice, before heading to Brands Hatch to support father Rob in his ultimately unsuccessful bid to win the British GT Championship – a crown they won together in 2024.

BTCC at Silverstone

Photo by: JEP

The absence of the 30-year-old Collard from Silverstone plummeted him from spearheading a multi-driver fight for fourth in the championship all the way down to 10th. But that does mean that he will arrive at Brands on maximum TOCA Turbo Boost for qualifying, the qualifying race and race one. Theoretically he can catch CPRL Mercedes driver Adam Morgan, the current occupier of fourth place, 33 points ahead of Collard.

“Silverstone was a situation where emotions were running high and things were said in the heat of the moment, but the focus now is on looking ahead to the finale and ending the season on a high,” said Collard.

“I’m grateful to have the chance to get back behind the wheel of the Hyundai this weekend, especially around such an iconic circuit as Brands Hatch GP, and hopefully we can have another strong weekend and build on the results we have gained already this season.

“Seven podiums has been a fantastic return and the only thing missing to complete the set is to make it onto the top step. If we could do that, it would be an amazing way to end the year, not least as I am working with the team to try and make a return to the seat possible for 2027.”