The UK’s largest motorsport championship and the UK’s leading automotive servicing and repair company today announce that they are joining forces over the 2019 season to raise funds for Children with Cancer UK.

The announcement is being made at the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship stand at Autosport International, the first public event for the BTCC under the new title sponsorship for 2019.

Kwik Fit and the BTCC will be seeking to help Children with Cancer UK by coming together to harness the support of the race teams and nearly 400,000 spectators who attend the race weekends throughout the season, as well as those who follow the championship on TV and via social media and online channels. Kwik Fit staff will be present at all the championship circuits to help fundraise for the UK’s leading charity dedicated to the fight against cancer in children and young people.

There will be a wide range of fundraising initiatives running over the championship programme, presenting some ‘money-can’t buy’ opportunities for BTCC fans. These will include the chance to win a lap ride in the BTCC safety car, to wave the chequered flag for a championship race, walk the track prior to the start of racing, win VIP tickets to the final race weekend, and to meet a driver and be part of a BTCC team for a day. 

Children with Cancer UK’s mission is to improve survival rates and the quality of survival in young cancer patients and to find ways to prevent cancer in the future. It funds research, works to raise awareness and also provides practical support for young cancer patients and their families. A key objective of the fundraising is to help fund new family accommodation at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital to keep families together while children from across the UK receive cancer treatment.

Andy Lane, Marketing Director at Kwik Fit and Alan Gow, Series Director of the BTCC will be at Autosport International to make the announcement. Andy Lane said: “We are really excited to be sponsoring the BTCC and are very grateful to the championship for joining us in supporting Children with Cancer UK. We know that BTCC fans are not only passionate about the sport but have also been very supportive of good causes over many seasons. We hope that children with cancer will benefit from their support this season.”

Alan Gow added: “Our new sponsorship agreement with Kwik Fit is bringing a new look to the championship this year, and we have lots of new initiatives to add to fans’ enjoyment of the race weekends and the overall programme in general. While we live and breathe our racing, we hope that by supporting Children with Cancer UK the championship can provide a benefit to those families facing a much bigger challenge than getting a podium position.”

As well as fundraising at BTCC events, Kwik Fit employees will also be carrying out their own activity to support Children with Cancer UK. Details of their ongoing fundraising programme will be shared via social media, with customers able to follow the company on Twitter at @kwik_fit.

Kwik Fit is the new sponsor of the BTCC for the 2019 season. The company’s branding will appear at the tracks, on the cars, driver and team clothing as well as digital collateral. Kwik Fit will also appear on the opening and closing credits and in the advertising breaks of the ITV broadcasts.

Kwik Fit will be aiming to attract even more fans to the series by highlighting the championship with its own customers, both in its national network of centres and online retail operations, as well as through its own marketing and social channels.