Autosport Plus

How simulation is powering a BTCC underdog to glory

Speedworks won the BTCC Independent drivers' and teams' titles last year and, with in-house simulation capabilities, it’s aiming for the very top in 2018

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There's an element of romanticism to the story of a single-car independent team holding its own against the British Touring Car Championship's manufacturer-backed giants, but Speedworks Motorsport has no plans to rest on its giant-killing laurels just yet.

Independents Trophy champion Tom Ingram won four times on his way to third in the standings last year and returns for a fifth season at the team with the overall title as his stated aim. Ordinarily, that might appear fanciful for an outfit of Speedworks' size, but team boss Christian Dick has an ace up his sleeve.

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Author James Newbold

James Newbold is Autosport's Plus Editor, responsible for coordinating website feature content.

In a sign of things to come, having completed his Politics and International Relations degree at the University of East Anglia in 2015, he left his graduation ceremony early to catch the last train to Brussels for the following day's Spa 24 Hours.

After a period as a freelancer, he joined the Autosport staff in 2018 and won the Motorsport UK young journalist of the year award. He initially edited Autosport magazine's Performance and Engineering supplements before joining the website team in his current role in 2020.

A keen enthusiast of anything that can be categorised unusual or niche, he enjoys unearthing little-known stories across all branches of motorsport, but has spent most of his career covering sportscars and is a regular part of the Le Mans 24 Hours reporting team.

He lives with his wife and children in Plymouth, England.