The final spots on this year's British Touring Car Champiosnhip have been filled by Daniel Rowbottom at Team Dynamics and by Nicolas Hamilton at Team Hard.
21/03/21
First announced was Daniel Rowbottom who returns to the championship. Rowbottom last competed in the BTCC in 2019 after taking a sabatical last year following the Covid-19 Pandemic. He will take the second seat alongside returning triple Champion Gordon Shedden at Team Dynamics.
Rowbottom's announcement means that triple Champion Matt Neal, who's dad Steve owns the team, will take a sabatical following to put the team's interest first in the hope of maybe returning next year.
Rowbottom his BTCC debut in 2019 when he contested a full campaign with Ciceley Motorsport. In the Mercedes A-Class, he scored points on four occasions.
Also announced was the new deal Team Dynamics and Cataclean. Rowbottom’s new deal, under which he will race a Honda Civic Type R, is described by Dynamics “as part of a multi-year partnership between Halfords and Cataclean”.
Neal said: “Firstly, it is great to welcome Cataclean to the team and continue our long-standing relationship with Halfords. Secondly, I am going to be taking a year out of the sport this season, but I will still be representing Halfords as a brand ambassador and acting as a mentor, both on and off track, for both drivers."
Rowbottom said: “For me this an absolute dream come true and I’m really looking forward to the season ahead. This is a great opportunity for me with a top-flight team and the continued backing of Cataclean."
The second recent announcement was at Team Hard in that their four car line-up has been completed with the confirmation of Nicolas Hamilton to the team.
Hamilton's confirmation is the last announcement fans have been waiting for in that 29 drivers have signed up to compete in this year's championship.
Hamilton's BTCC career can be traced back to 2015 when he contested in the opening four rounds with AmD Tuning. He became the first disabled driver to compete in the championship and races in a specially-modified car due to his cerebral palsy.
Hamilton returned to the championship in 2019 and contested eight round with Motorbase Performance. He then joined Hard in 2020 and had his fullest campaign yet at the wheel of one of the squad’s venerable Volkswagen CCs. Hamilton scored his first ever point with a 15th place finish in the third race at Brands Hatch.