Biography

Halstead was a relative latecomer to racing, making his debut in 2017 and winning the Am category of the Ginetta GT5 Challenge in just his second season.

Halstead went on to become a regular on the BTCC support package in the Ginetta GT4 Supercup, scoring 16 podiums – including five wins – in his debut year alone, and then entered the British GT Championship in the GT4 Pro/Am class in 2020, ending the year as Vice Champion.

In 2021, Halstead made his Championship debut, after Rick Parfitt was unable to take part at Croft. Improving throughout race day, the Kent racer secured a best finish of 21st during the third contest on the 2.13-mile circuit.

In 2023, he embarked on his first full season in the Championship with defending champions BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8.

Halstead returns to the renamed Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS in 2024 looking to add to his two points scoring results of 2023, with a best result of seventh coming in the opening round at Donington Park.

Biography

Rob Huff competed in the BTCC back in 2004 for Seat – racing a Toledo Cupra to two victories – one at Brands and one at Snetterton – and a further three podiums, including one at Silverstone on the way to seventh in the standings.

Huff then went on a world tour to begin a 13-year stint in the WTCC. Becoming World Champion in 2012 in the Chevrolet Cruze. During his last season of WTCC, Huff made an appearance in the BTCC for Power Maxed Racing at Silverstone securing his eighth podium in the series in the final race of the day. After 2017 the Cambridgeshire man competed in the World Touring Car Cup and during his last season he again made an appearance in the BTCC, this time at Knockhill for Team HARD. 

Now in 2024, 20 years after his debut season, Huff will compete in his second full season of BTCC racing with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK. 

DeLeon started karting in 2008, and his first race followed five years later at Rye House Kart Raceway. The 17-year-old has since become champion in the Bizkart Rental Championship and HKC Honda Clubman category and taken wins in the finals for the Motorsport UK British Kart Championship and UKC Ultimate Karting Championship.

In 2021 he contended in a handful of Radical SR1 events, claiming a double win at Donington Park and was also a class podium finisher at the Algarve Circuit in the Radical Intercontinental Cup. 

The winning run has continued into 2022 taking another victory during the first round of the SR1 season at Donington Park in April, and a follow-up triumph at Brands Hatch. 

In 2023, Daryl DeLeon made his BTCC debut as a part of Team HARD’s line-up scoring 6 points. In 2024 he will drive for Unlimited Motorsport.

Biography

Doble began his car racing career in 2018 in the BMW Compact Cup, continuing in the category in 2019 and 2020. The following year he moved to the Ginetta GT5 Challenge, ending the year fourth overall in the standings.

In 2022, Doble produced a superb season-long performance, with a total of 12 victories and 10 further podium finishes in both the Ginetta GT5 Challenge and BMW Compact Cup, to ultimately be crowned the champion of each category on the same, thrilling weekend.

In his next season Doble built on this success and took on the biggest season of his racing career to date, after confirming his seat with CarStore Power Maxed Racing in his maiden BTCC campaign. In which he was the only man not in a NAPA Racing UK car to take a pole position narrowly missing out on the Jack Sears’ Trophy.

In 2024, Doble will aim to improve his Jack Sears’ Trophy position that extra place along with moving further through the field in his second season.

Sam Osborne navigated his way to the BTCC via single-make series the MINI CHALLENGE and Renault UK Clio Cup, with a brief stint in Radical racing in-between.

A multiple race-winner in MINIs, Osborne finished fourth in the Cooper category in 2010 and replicated that result in the headlining JCW class in both 2011 and 2012.

He returned to the championship in 2015 and 2016 – placing just outside the top ten in the standings on both occasions – before switching to Clios as he continued to learn the ropes of tin-top racing, establishing himself as a regular top ten challenger in the TOCA support series.

Osborne made his BTCC debut in 2019 with series newcomer EXCELR8 Motorsport, completing the team’s two-car MG6 GT entry and scoring points on the team’s home turf at Snetterton.

In his sophomore BTCC campaign, Osborne tackled fresh challenges in his MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square Honda Civic Type R (FK2), securing two top ten finishes.

Having moved to Racing with Wera & Photon Group in 2021, Osborne continued in the Motorbase Performance-backed Ford Focus ST in 2022, under the Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan banner alongside Ollie Jackson. He kicked off the year with his best qualifying performance of the year and would conclude the campaign fourth in the highly-competitive Jack Sears Trophy battle.

In 2023, we see Osborne join NAPA Racing UK’s line-up, as part of the then Motorbase Performance-run squad’s expanded four-car line-up.

Returning to the newly named Alliance Racing-run NAPA Racing UK, Osborne looks to add to his 14 point-score finishes of 2023.

Pearson had an impressive 2022 campaign, where he took three race wins to spearhead EXCELR8’s championship assault in the BTCC supporting MINI CHALLENGE series.

As a member of EXCELR8’s BTCC Young Driver Development Programme, Pearson also spent the 2022 season working alongside its title-winning BTCC team to gain insight into what is required to compete at the highest level of British motorsport.

In 2023, Ronan Pearson made his BTCC debut as a part of EXCELR8 Motorsport’s line-up. The Scot impressed during his rookie season narrowly missing out on his first podium with his best finish of the season being fourth place, at his home race of Knockhill. This season Pearson will have his sights firmly set on the Jack Sears’ Trophy after finishing fifth in 2023.

Andrew Watson joined CarStore Power Maxed Racing with a wealth of racing expertise, having contested high-level GT machinery since 2015; examples include the FIA World Endurance Championship, the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans, GT World Challenge Europe and British GT.

Watson began his motor racing career at the age of 15, in the Ginetta Junior Ireland Championship, making regular podiums through to 2011.

The Northern Irishman’s resume also includes experience driving in major endurance events such as the Daytona 24 Hours and Spa 24 Hours, and Watson has enjoyed further success on the world stage in the FIA WEC with class podiums at the 6 Hours of Monza and 8 Hours of Bahrain alongside a class podium at the Bathurst 12 Hour.

In 2023, Watson claimed the Jack Sears’ Trophy in his first season of BTCC racing, taking the title ahead of rookie teammate Mikey Doble. 

A champion in his first season, Watson moves to TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK for his second season in 2024, immediately moving up to a manufacturer drive. 

The younger brother of former VX Racing BTCC ace Gavin Smith, Árón Smith began his car racing career in the Renault UK Clio Cup in 2007, off the back of a three-year stint in karting.

Three seasons yielded a best championship finish of fourth place in 2009, a victory at Donington Park and two further podiums.

A switch to the Clio Cup Italia in 2010 saw Smith snare a brace of triumphs and fourth position in the title chase, before a return to the UK series the following year resulted in a championship challenge and second spot in the final classification.

The Irishman picked up a point during a one-off BTCC appearance for Triple Eight Race Engineering at Knockhill that same season, a precursor to joining the champion- ship full-time in 2012 with Motorbase Performance, clinching his maiden victory in the Brands Hatch finale and winding up inside the top ten in the drivers’ points both that year and the next.

More success followed for Smith in 2014 as he made the switch to a Team BMR Volkswagen CC, with two wins behind the wheel. A further six podiums and 11th in the championship in 2015 acted as a springboard for Árón into a third season in the CC for 2016 with new entrant Team BKR.

Two early season podiums showed promise, then came a hard-earned win at Rockingham, much to the delight of both Aron and his fledgling team. For 2017, Taylor-Smith moved to MG RCIB Insurance Racing, partnering Daniel Lloyd, before taking a break from the series to compete in the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup, followed by the British GT Championship.

Taylor-Smith made his BTCC return in the all-new Team HARD-backed Cupra Leon for 2021, and stuck with the squad in 2022, where he collected a number of points across the exciting campaign.

For 2023, the Irishman made the switch to CarStore Power Maxed Racing, where he joined rookie team-mates Andrew Watson and Mikey Doble in the squad’s Vauxhall Astra.

Taylor-Smith returns to the renamed Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing in 2024 alongside Doble.

Daniel Rowbottom’s career began in karting, winning the 2001 Super 1 National Comer Cadet Championship and the Renault Elite League - Super Libre title in 2005. A move to cars followed in 2008 with a season in the SEAT Cupra Championship, before funding halted his progression.

He returned to racing in 2015 in the Lotus Elise Trophy and moved into the Renault UK Clio Cup in 2016. He was a triple race-winner in the single-make series in 2018 on his way to fourth place in the overall standings.

Rowbottom made his BTCC debut in 2019 in a Ciceley Motorsport-run Mercedes-Benz A-Class and was due to stick with the squad for 2020 before the season was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in him unfortunately being unable to continue with the campaign.

In 2021 we saw Rowbottom return to the series in the Halfords Racing with Cataclean Honda Civic Type R, alongside team-mate Gordon Shedden, bagging his first pole podiums, pole position and even a maiden victory at Oulton Park. In addition to these accolades, Rowbottom also dominated the Jack Sears Trophy, sealing his victory in the category during the penultimate race weekend of the campaign.

The Kidderminster racer continued with the Team Dynamics-run squad in 2022, which saw Rowbottom claim a pole position, as well as a further podium finish at Croft. Rowbottom continued to find flashes of speed across events, regularly placing himself in the top ten or on its coattails, rounding out the season in 12th overall in the championship.

Rowbottom made the switch to NAPA Racing UK’s four-car outfit in 2023 as he aimed for more silverware. The 35-year old doubled both his career wins and podium numbers in the one season.

In 2024, Rowbottom will be looking to make that next jump as he looks to take the fight to champion teammate Ash Sutton, remaining with NAPA Racing UK for his second season with the team.