Trade Price Cars Racing has today (9 January) confirmed that reigning MINI Challenge champion James Gornall will complete its driver line-up for the 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship season.

The 35-year-old from Bedford, who will be making his series debut with the second-year team as part of a new-look driver line-up alongside the recently announced Bobby Thompson, brings a wealth of experience from a hugely successful racing career to date.

A multiple champion in karting, Gornall – known to his fans as Jiggy – carried his success into car racing with a championship victory in BARC Formula Renault, but it was a move into the British GT Championship in 2008 that saw his career hit new heights.

Racing alongside Jon Barnes in a Brookspeed-run Dodge Viper, Gornall secured the championship title thanks to an unrivalled tally of four wins – wrapping up the crown with two races of the season still to run.

The same season also saw Gornall take a class win in the Silverstone 24 Hours with the Beechdean Motorsport team before a hiatus from racing that would run through to 2014 when he elected to return to competition in the BMW Compact Cup.

Racing against Trade Price Cars Racing team owner Dan Kirby, Gornall secured second in the standings in 2015 and then went one better twelve months later to lift the championship title.

After a strong guest appearance in the MINI Challenge in 2018, Gornall then worked to put together a full-season programme in the series in 2019, with five wins – and an impressive 13 podiums – allowing the BRDC member to secure another championship title.

That championship success resulted in Gornall securing the chance to sample a BTCC machine for the first time, with an outing in a Ford Focus RS at Snetterton only strengthening his desire to make the step up to the BTCC for the 2020 campaign.

Gornall has now agreed terms on a deal to move into Britain’s premier motor racing series with Trade Price Cars Racing, which will be looking to add to the silverware it secured on track during an impressive debut campaign.

The award-winning, Essex-based motor dealership took the step into team ownership in 2019 and celebrated a first win in the series at Knockhill, regularly taking the fight to the established order with its ever-improving Audi S3s.

Gornall will make his debut in the Trade Price Cars Racing Audi when the new season kicks off at Donington Park in late March.
 
“When I decided to enter the MINI Challenge last season, it was with the aim of learning the skills required to move into British Touring Cars in the future, as I’d never raced in front-wheel drive before,” said Gornall. “The test I did in the Focus as a reward for winning the title only increased my desire to join the grid, as I felt comfortable straight away and knew that I would be able to do myself justice.

“I’ve known Dan [Kirby] for a few years from our time racing against each other in the Compact Cup, and we had a chat about his plans for the touring cars with the Audis twelve months ago at Autosport International. I’ve kept a keen interest in how things have been going since then, and it’s great that I’m now going to be part of the team for my debut season in the BTCC.

“As a driver, you always want to win races and if you don’t go into a new season feeling you can win, then you won’t do. The team has shown that it can fight for victories and that has to be my target in 2020; to fight for silverware and to challenge for both the Independents’ title and the Jack Sears Trophy.

“I’m looking forward to working alongside Bobby and think we can have a lot of fun during the season ahead. A huge thanks to Dan and the team for making this deal happen, and I can’t wait to get started.”

“On the back of our 2019 season, there was a lot of interest in the Audis and a lot of speculation about who would be at the wheel,” said Trade Price Cars’ team owner Dan Kirby. “I’m really pleased to now welcome James into the team. I’ve raced against him in the past, and you only have to look at the success he has enjoyed in his career to date to see what a talented driver he is.

“As a newcomer to the series, James is a driver who fans might not be too familiar with. However, I’m confident that they will soon see what James can do when the season gets underway as you don’t become a six-time British champion in a range of disciplines without being a quick driver. James has a winning mentality, and I’m looking forward to seeing him make his mark on the BTCC during his maiden season.

“With James alongside Bobby, I think we’ve put together an exciting driver pairing that will allow us to build on the success we enjoyed in our first year, and I’m confident that we’ll make a real impression again in 2020.”