2025 BTCC drivers and teams

Andrew Watson and Speedworks part company

Updated: Thursday 21^st November. Speedworks Motorsport and Andrew Watson have confirmed that the Northern Irishman will not be competing with the team for the 2025 British Touring Car season.

After an impressive debut season for Watson in 2023 saw him bring home the Jack Sears Trophy for Power Maxed Racing, there was a lot of excitement around his pairing with Rob Huff in the Toyota Gazoo Racing UK team for 2024. Despite scoring points in 25 of the 30 races, including a best of fifth at Snetterton, the season was somewhat of a disappointment for Watson. Although he scored 28 more points than his 2023 tally, Watson could only finish 14^th in the final points standings.

“This season obviously didn’t yield the results we all wanted, which is a shame,” admitted Watson. “At the time, it was the obvious progression to move from an independent team to a manufacturer-backed entry. Due to various reasons, we didn’t operate at the level needed to fight at the front in the BTCC, but I wish everybody at Speedworks well moving forward.”

For the vast majority of the 2024 season, the independent satellite Toyota team lead by Josh Cook outperformed its sister team carrying the official Toyota colours. Although Cook’s pair of victories matched Huff, Aiden Moffat’s sole win meant the LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ outfit not only took more wins but also outscored the works team by 130 points.

“First and foremost, I would like to thank Andrew for all his efforts with Toyota Gazoo Racing UK this year,” said Speedworks Team Principal Christian Dick. “He has been a great guy to have in the team and worked well with Rob to help develop the Corolla. Ultimately, the anticipated results didn’t materialise for a variety of reasons, and following some post-season discussions, we have all agreed it is in everybody’s best interests to have a fresh start. We wish Andrew all the very best.”

Jake Hill and Laser Tools Racing to defend title with West Surrey Racing

Updated: Wednesday 6^th November. Jake Hill will return to the wheel of a West Surrey Racing-run BMW 3-Series for the fourth consecutive season in defence of his 2024 championship victory.

The 30-year-old came out on top at a thrilling Brands Hatch finale only last month, and will continue his strong partnership with the historic WSR squad. The partnership racked up an impressive eight wins, 16 podiums and scored 28 points finishes across the 30 races in 2024, in what was the first year Laser Tools had backed Hill and the BMW team.

Hill has confirmed he will carry the number one on the windows of his BMW for the 2025 season, and is pleased to continue with the team that has seen him take 17 of his 20 race victories across his BTCC career.

“I was so proud that, as a team, we managed to take the crown in 2024 after going close so many times before,” explained Hill. “To achieve it in the way we did in a thrilling title race that went right down to the wire made it even better. To put it simply, there was nowhere else I wanted to be in 2025 than to be lining the grid once again for Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport, in a WSR-run BMW.”

Hill’s performances throughout 2024 alongside the Team BMW pairing of Colin Turkington and Adam Morgan were instrumental in getting BMW across the line to its record-breaking tenth manufacturers’ championship in the BTCC, while West Surrey Racing stretched its tally to a hugely impressive 18.

“We are very pleased to have extended our agreement with Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport and to have Jake back in one of our BMWs in 2025 to defend the championship,” said West Surrey Racing Team Principal, Dick Bennetts.

“He raised his level this year and dealt with late-season pressure extremely well to not only take the drivers’ title, but to help BMW win the manufacturers’ crown, too. Naturally, our aim is to win again in 2025 and having these important building blocks in place so early in the winter is a huge help so we must thank Mark, Alex and the team at MB Motorsport for their ongoing commitment to this programme.”

2025 BTCC drivers and teams

Which drivers are already confirmed for BTCC 2025?

Four-time champion Ash Sutton was one of the first to have a firmed-up drive for 2025. The NAPA Racing UK team confirmed in April that Sutton had signed a three-year extension on his contract, committing both parties to the BTCC until at least the end of the 2026 season.

While no there has been no official confirmation for 2025 at present, 2024 rookie Scott Sumpton has confirmed that he will not be returning with Restart Racing next season. Having competed with the squad for two years – the first in the TCR UK championship – Sumpton announced he was leaving the team in a social media update. The initial post suggested he would be leaving the series entirely, but a later edit confirmed that he was moving to “a new challenge within the BTCC.”

Elsewhere, Excelr8 Motorsport confirmed at the end of October the return of the two Toms – Chilton and Ingram, to spearhead its charge in 2025.

Which teams and cars will be racing in BTCC 2025?

While its drivers and cars will remain the same, Team Bristol Street Motors’ official entry will change to Team VERTU. This change follows the decision made by the Vertu Motors group to consolidate its main retail brands (of which Bristol Street Motors was one) together under one banner.

Vertu has been working with the Hyundai team since 2021, and has been title sponsor since 2022, enjoying no fewer than 20 race wins and 52 podiums. In its first season as title sponsor, Tom Ingram took the Hyundai to championship glory and finished no lower than second in the standings for the next season. Ingram returns to lead the team once more, with Tom Chilton joining him in the garage once again. Chilton celebrated his 500^th BTCC start in 2024 and will line up for his fourth year behind the wheel of the i30.

Alliance Racing, the team behind NAPA Racing UK, has also confirmed that the Ford Focus ST will be back for 2025, but there are serious discussions ongoing regarding a replacement for 2026. While remaining coy on what’s in the pipeline, team owner Pete Osborne has gone on record to state it will be a front-wheel-drive saloon from a manufacturer currently not in the BTCC paddock.

Grids in 2024 were noticeably lower than previous years, and the BTCC has stated it is actively looking for more teams for next season. However, TOCA boss Alan Gow has also announced there will be a cap of 24 entries on the grid for the 2025 season.

One of the teams expected to be in the running to extend the field next year will be One Motorsport. The team stepped away from the grid for 2024 but stated from the beginning that it was eyeing up a return in 2025. One Motorsport’s previous driver line-up have all found places in the BTCC paddock elsewhere, with Josh Cook and Aiden Moffat jumping across to Speedworks to drive the satellite Toyota Corolla team, while Jade Edwards is now a regular pundit in the ITV4 TV studio.

This page will be updated whenever team news is revealed - so make sure you keep checking back for the latest BTCC news!

Are there any new rules in BTCC 2025?

ToCA have confirmed a number of rules tweaks for 2025. These include a two-year engine freeze, a slight amendment in how grid positions for those who fail to make it out of Part 1 of qualifying are decided, and the eligibility for Jack Sears Trophy contenders. The most noticeable changes, however, are likely to be the new rules that state only the top three from races one and two, rather than the top ten, will be forced to run the hardest tyre available in races two and three respectively, as well as a new NASCAR-style ‘Restart Point’ at the end of Safety Car periods.