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The BTCC debutant who has waited 20 years for his chance

Few British Touring Car Championship rookies have as much racing experience as Paul Rivett. But, after spending two decades in the support categories, he is finally set to move up to the top tier at Snetterton this weekend

Paul Rivett has waited a long time to finally make his British Touring Car Championship debut. After all, he has been a fixture of the BTCC's support bill for over 20 years - Artem Markelov's never-ending seven-season spell in GP2/Formula 2 pales into insignificance in comparison - and was a race winner in that very first full campaign on the TOCA package back in 1999. But Rivett is now finally due to make his BTCC debut at Snetterton this weekend in a Trade Price Cars Racing Audi S3.

Having started over 200 Renault UK Clio Cup races and won an unprecedented four titles, there can be no doubting Rivett's pedigree. And now, at the age of 42, he is certainly well-qualified to finally achieve his dream of stepping up to the top tier.

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Author Stephen Lickorish

Stephen Lickorish is Group National Editor of Autosport and oversees coverage of the plethora of different club championships that operate in the UK. He was formerly Deputy Editor of Motorsport News and has reported on a wide variety of national race meetings for Autosport and MN since 2011. He currently focuses on the British Touring Car Championship's support categories, which always provide plenty to talk about. Stephen also holds a degree in journalism studies from the University of Sheffield.