Highly rated tin-top talent James Dorlin is back in the British Touring Car Championship for 2026 after being forced to cut short his rookie campaign last year.
The 26-year-old Yorkshireman will line up with reigning Independent teams’ champion Restart Racing to race one of the squad’s Hyundai i30 N Fastbacks.
He looks certain to be joined by Chris Smiley – the Northern Irishman has not yet been named by the Restart, but he is one of the prime movers in the team.
After a successful spell in GT racing, Dorlin joined the BTCC for 2025 with Speedworks Motorsport, and outdid his more experienced team-mates by twice making the top-six qualifying shootout at the wheel of a Toyota Corolla GR Sport.
Due to commercial difficulties, he gave up his seat to the returning Josh Cook for the final three rounds – unfortunately for Dorlin, this was just at the point when Speedworks took a big leap forward in competitiveness as it gradually shifted to the M-Sport-built TOCA engine in place of the bespoke Toyota powerplant.
Dorlin’s joining of Restart comes in place of 2025 Independent drivers’ champion Dan Lloyd, who has stepped away from the BTCC to focus on his other activities.
James Dorlin, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK with IAA Toyota Corolla GR Sport
Photo by: JEP
“After the disappointment of having to cut my season short in 2025, a lot of effort has gone into making sure I’m back on the grid and ready to fight properly this time around,” said Dorlin.
“I think we’ve got a really competitive package at Restart and a great group of people behind the team, so I’m looking forward to getting in the car and seeing what we can do.”
Restart boss Pete Jones added: “Dan did a fantastic job for us last season, and now we’re excited to give James the opportunity to build on that.”
Dorlin’s first run in the Hyundai will be at the two-day, pre-season official test at Croft on 24-25 March.
One driver who looks set not to be in a Hyundai is Senna Proctor. The two-time BTCC race winner shone on his return to the series following a three-and-half-year layoff with the Excelr8 Motorsport squad last season, but has now joined the Alliance-run NAPA Racing UK team as reserve driver and coach to Sam Osborne.
Alliance chief Pete Osborne, father of Sam, said: “I’ve long admired Senna as a driver and the Proctor family as friends. He’s a proven race winner and a great addition to our current crop of amazing talent.
Senna Proctor, Excelr8 Motorsport
Photo by: JEP
“I’m disappointed for him that he couldn’t secure a full-time seat on this year’s grid. I couldn’t see that talent go to waste, so we snapped him up once his decision was made.
“We have a lot going on at Alliance Racing with the NAPA Racing UK team and the WERA Alliance Racing Academy, so although he isn’t on the grid right now, I believe he’s in the best possible position to capitalise on future opportunities.
“For our sake, I hope he remains as Sam’s driver coach all season, but as we saw last year, circumstances can change. I can’t think of a better driver to step in as a super sub should we need one.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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