Toyota Gazoo Racing UK bidding to build upon BTCC momentum at Brands Hatch

Toyota Gazoo Racing UK will return to a happy hunting ground this weekend (26/27 June), as the Speedworks Motorsport-run squad travels to Brands Hatch for the third outing on the 2021 British Touring Car Championship calendar buoyed by its first podium of the season last time out.

Following a difficult start to the campaign at Thruxton – where the pace and potential of the team’s Toyota Corolla GR Sport went unrewarded – Toyota Gazoo Racing UK enjoyed a much more successful trip to Snetterton, where Scotsman Rory Butcher sped to a trio of top six finishes, including a well-deserved rostrum in the opener.

The 34-year-old Kirkcaldy native – a former BTCC Independents’ Champion and Jack Sears Trophy winner – boasts an excellent record around Brands’ short Indy circuit, which never fails to generate spectacular entertainment. Scene of his breakthrough win in the country’s premier motor racing series in 2019, Butcher has prevailed there in each of the past two seasons – in different cars – and is aiming to complete the hat-trick in Speedworks’ British-built Corolla this weekend.

Team-mate Sam Smelt made his BTCC debut at Brands Hatch in 2018, and while that represents his only prior appearance around the 1.2-mile Indy loop, he is eager to demonstrate the progress he has made over the intervening three years when he returns to the track. After persistent problems scuppered his chances at Snetterton, the 24-year-old Northampton-born ace is fired-up to fight his way back into the points-paying positions in Kent.

Northwich, Cheshire-based Speedworks – two times a BTCC Independent Teams’ title-winner – secured its maiden victory in the series at Brands Indy in 2016, repeating the feat with further triumphs there over the following two campaigns. What’s more, the Corolla – contesting just its second season in the championship – was the only car in the field to achieve a full house of podium finishes at the circuit last November, leading to high hopes for another strong points haul this weekend.

Every moment of the wheel-to-wheel action will be broadcast live and in high-definition on ITV3 on Sunday (27 June), beginning at 11:00am.

Christian Dick, Team Principal, Toyota Gazoo Racing UK, said:

“It’s fair to say we will travel to Brands Hatch with a much bigger spring in our step after Snetterton. We didn’t go there looking to grab any headlines, but rather to keep our heads down and proceed quietly about our business, and that approach clearly paid off. Three top six finishes and a first podium of the season was just reward for everybody’s stellar efforts.

“We now need to make sure we carry that form forward, and Brands Hatch has traditionally been a successful circuit for us, with some very happy memories. History has shown that we know how to make a car work around the short, technical Indy layout, and the Corolla was the highest scorer in the field there last year, which gives us a lot of reasons to feel optimistic going into the weekend.

“Rory, similarly, has always excelled at the track, and Snetterton was just the tonic he and the whole team needed after Thruxton. He has been bang on the pace since the beginning of the campaign, and we were all very pleased to see his performance properly rewarded last time out. He is fully focussed on exploiting that renewed confidence to secure another strong set of results at Brands Hatch.

“Sam obviously had a more difficult time of things at Snetterton through no fault of his own, but we have been working tirelessly to rectify the issues that afflicted him there, and hopefully he can enjoy a trouble-free weekend at Brands Hatch to continue his BTCC progression and show what he is really capable of. He is a very motivated young man, and provided we give him the tools to do the job, I have no doubt that he can reproduce the fighting form he displayed in the final race at Thruxton last month.”

Rory Butcher, Driver, Toyota Gazoo Racing UK, said:

“I’m feeling very positive. It’s nice to be heading into a new event looking to build upon some momentum, rather than needing to fight back as was the case after Thruxton. The five-week break before Snetterton gave us the opportunity to reset and our aim there was three decent points finishes, which is exactly what we delivered to haul ourselves up into the top six in the championship standings. Now we’ve got that monkey off our back, we can crack on.

“There are certain tracks you particularly look forward to going to, and I’ve always loved racing at Brands Indy. I won the Formula Ford Festival there in 2009 and achieved my first BTCC victory at the circuit – I don’t know why, but I’ve always just seemed to connect with it pretty well. Maybe it’s because the lap is so short and undulating, a bit like Knockhill.

“Qualifying is the most important element of any BTCC weekend, but even more so at Brands Indy because it’s invariably super close on times and tricky to overtake. We’ve managed to start up towards the sharp end in both of the first two events and we’re not carrying too much ballast, so hopefully we can do that again to set ourselves up for another strong race day.

“I’m continuing to find my feet in the Corolla, and learning more every time I get behind the wheel. It clearly has the potential to win races because it’s done so before, so now it comes down to nailing that sweet spot – and ultimately, our strategy remains the same. We’re still playing catch-up to a certain extent, so we need to keep on bagging the points and hopefully pick up some more silverware. To win at Brands Hatch for the third year in a row and in a third different car, well, that would just be a dream…”

Sam Smelt, Driver, Toyota Gazoo Racing UK, said:

“The good thing about it being a short gap between Snetterton and Brands Hatch is that we’ve got the opportunity to quickly put that weekend behind us and move on – it’s not like we’ve got six weeks to sit and dwell upon what happened. We’ve left no stone unturned to ensure we get to the bottom of the issues, and I’m fully focussed on bouncing back at Brands and putting all of those wrongs right.

“My BTCC debut was actually the only previous time I’ve raced around the Indy circuit, and there was obviously a lot to take in that weekend. I’m looking forward to going back now without that ‘new boy’ pressure and with more experience under my belt.

“With its short lap and the close-fought nature of the BTCC, the finer margins will make even more of a difference than usual, so it’s really important that we are on top of our game – particularly in qualifying, when the times will be incredibly tight. It’s vital that we maximise every single area of our performance, and dealing effectively with the traffic to get some clear laps in will be key, especially as overtaking won’t be massively easy. Hopefully we can conquer that challenge and take a step up the grid.

“The biggest positive we took from Snetterton was that when it was working properly, the car gave me a good feeling and I’m getting more comfortable in the Corolla every time out. It also performed extremely well at Brands Indy last year, so we have all that data to fall back upon, and Speedworks as a team has a great record around the track. That gives me a lot of confidence, so hopefully we can start off from a good place straightaway on Saturday morning and then just focus on fine-tuning…”

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