Motul to become Primary Partner to new-look Toyota Gazoo Racing UK

• Global lubricant giant steps up commitment ahead of forthcoming BTCC campaign
• Speedworks-run outfit extends successful relationship with Witham Motorsport
• Two-year agreement will see prominent Motul branding on team’s Toyota Corollas

Toyota Gazoo Racing UK will enter the 2021 British Touring Car Championship with a striking new look and a new Primary Partner, as global automotive lubricant giant Motul ramps up its involvement with the Speedworks Motorsport-run squad in the country’s premier motor racing series.

Through its official UK importer and distributor, Witham Motorsport – a sub-division of acclaimed lubricant manufacturer, The Witham Group, which marks its centenary this year – Motul has supplied Cheshire-based Speedworks with its premium-quality, high-performance and high-tech oils and fluids since 2014, initially as a Lubricant Partner before growing into a Subsidiary Partner and now a fully-fledged Technical and Primary Partner, in a fresh two-year agreement.

The forthcoming campaign will represent the eighth consecutive season for the long-standing collaboration, and comes at a pivotal moment for Toyota Gazoo Racing UK, which is doubling up to become a two-car effort for the first time with a brace of Toyota Corollas for 2019 BTCC Independents’ Champion Rory Butcher and series returnee Sam Smelt.

The full livery – featuring prominent Motul branding – will be revealed later this month, before Butcher and Smelt take to the track for pre-season testing. The racing action is due to get underway in earnest at Thruxton in Hampshire on 8/9 May, with almost 20 million viewers traditionally tuning in on ITV4.

Christian Dick, Tean Principal, Toyoto Gazoo Racing UK, commented:

“It goes without saying that we are delighted to extend our relationship with Motul and Witham Motorsport to what will be nine years by the end of 2022. A phenomenal amount of hard work has gone in to bring this all together – in what are obviously distinctly challenging times at present – and for that, I would like to thank everybody involved.

“Motul and Witham have been loyal partners on our journey in the BTCC as we have developed from a midfield contender into a multiple race-winner and regular title challenger in recent seasons, and the outstanding performance and efficiency of Motul’s products has been a key factor in that progress. Both companies have become very much part of the Speedworks family.

“Motul is a world-renowned organisation with a strong heritage in the sport, having featured at the very highest levels in touring car, sportscar and motorbike racing, and its reputation for excellence is thoroughly well-deserved. We are all tremendously excited to embark upon the new BTCC campaign together, and look forward to showing off Motul’s branding on our two Toyota Corollas over the coming months as its first-class lubricants continue to do the business underneath the bonnet.”

Richard Scarbrough, Sales Director, Witham Motorsport, said:

“We are immensely proud to have strengthened our ties with Toyota Gazoo Racing UK, and at such an exciting time for the team, too! It has been an excellent relationship since day one, and it has been hugely rewarding to witness the vital role played by Motul lubricants in a sport in which hundredths if not indeed thousandths-of-a-second make all the difference – especially in a series as ultra-competitive as the BTCC.

“Speedworks has always been a well-oiled operation, and we have enjoyed a long and successful partnership to-date. This two-year extension and promotion to Primary Partner now presents us with a golden opportunity to truly grow the Motul brand in the UK, which is one of our major objectives. It is the first time that Motul will be a leading sponsor in the BTCC, and we genuinely cannot think of a better team or platform – or, indeed, any better way to celebrate Witham Motorsport’s milestone 100th anniversary.”

Günter Steven, Head of Sales Export Central and Eastern Europe, added:

“We are proud and delighted to be continuing our relationship with Speedworks Motorsport, and thrilled that Motul is the team’s Primary Partner this year. We cannot wait to get the BTCC campaign underway and look forward to seeing Toyota Gazoo Racing UK back on-track during the season ahead.”