Senna Proctor makes early BTCC return at Thruxton

Two-time British Touring Car Championship race winner Senna Proctor is to make an earlier-than-expected return to the series at Thruxton this weekend.

The 26-year-old Yorkshireman had been revealed pre-season as filling the fourth Excelr8 Motorsport Hyundai seat for the second half of the campaign, from the early August round at his home circuit of Croft onwards.

Michael Crees was supposed to be on board for the first five rounds, but relinquished the seat last time out for round three at Snetterton to TCR UK racer Ryan Bensley, who is one of Crees’s backers.

While Bensley did a more-than-respectable job after no pre-event testing, that left Excelr8 in a situation whereby it risked breaking the BTCC regulation that no entry can have more than two driver changes per season.

It has therefore expanded Proctor’s deal to include Thruxton and the following round at Oulton Park, as well as the five events he had originally signed up for.

Proctor is no stranger to Excelr8 – he was one of the squad’s drivers in the first season for the Hyundai i30 N Fastback back in 2020, and he will line up alongside team-mates Tom Ingram, Tom Chilton and Adam Morgan in the very same chassis he campaigned five years ago.

His best BTCC season to date came in 2021, when he placed 10th, despite missing the opening round, with one win in a BTC Racing Honda Civic Type R, but financial pressures have kept him off the grid since then.

“I’m delighted to be back on the BTCC grid this weekend and can’t wait to get going at Thruxton,” said Proctor.

“There’s no doubting the fact that it’s a challenging circuit on which to make my return to the series, but it’s one where I’ve had some good results in the past – including my last outing back in 2021 when I finished on the podium!

“As I said when my deal with the team was announced, this season is all about playing the long game and looking to the future as I work towards a full-time return to the grid in 2026 – but I still want to be able to challenge towards the front and fighting for some strong results.

“This will be the first time I’ve tasted the new three-part qualifying format which promises to be interesting, but having seen how well the car has performed in the opening rounds, I’m just really excited about the prospect of getting back behind the wheel.”

Excelr8 team owner Justina Williams added: “With Senna rejoining the line-up alongside Tom, Tom and Adam, we now have four proven race winners in the four cars and I’m looking forward to seeing them all pushing towards the sharp end.”