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
Performance
Our experts' guide on how you can become a better racing driver
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.
Share Or Save This Story
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.
More from James Newbold
How motorsport is embracing the opportunities of AI
Friday favourite: Why F1's original circuit retains its thrilling appeal
Verschoor loses Jeddah F2 sprint win to tech breach, Hauger inherits victory
Friday favourite: The Dallara that triggered Reynard’s F3 exodus
FIA reveals plans to focus hydrogen storage development in liquid form
The new combinations to look out for as GT3 arrives in the WEC
Friday favourite: The Ferrari partners that conquered GT racing
How Toyota has helped its new LMGT3 partner team in WEC transition from Mercedes
Latest news
McLaren will “protect” Piastri from busy Melbourne F1 schedule
Alpine F1 driver Gasly becomes co-owner in French football club
The key MotoGP change that has gone under the radar in 2024
What the data tells us about Mercedes’ latest F1 problems
Autosport Plus
How motorsport is embracing the opportunities of AI
The unlikely series providing an open door to innovation
Autosport writers' most memorable moments of 2023
How a lost Lotus that could have revolutionised Can-Am finally came to life
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.