BTCC: Chris Smiley joins Team EXCELR8 for 2020

Chris Smiley has joined Team EXCELR8 for 2020’s campaign, completing a new-look line-up with Senna Proctor.

Team Excelr8 are to debut a pair of Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performances come the start of the season.

Smiley departs the BTC Norlin team after three years, racing a Chevrolet Cruze in 2017, and two varying Honda Civic models in 2018 and 2019. The team have since added a third car to the grid, with Tom Chilton and Michael Crees being the new arrivals.

Chris has been impressive since his first BTCC race in 2016, having since put three podium finishes to his name, including a memorable victory at Rockingham in 2018. In a career filled behind the wheel of front-wheel operated machines, the Hyundai’s should suit him well.

Smiley said:

“I’m very excited to be joining Excelr8 Motorsport for the new season. It is going to be a good challenge to work with the team and bring Hyundai into the BTCC as a new manufacturer.”

In the vast collection of manufacturers to have featured in the BTCC’s great history, Hyundai will no longer be absent in the list. In recent years, Hyundai have made a name for themselves as a dominant force in world motorsport, particularly in the WRC and other touring car championships.

“I know the team at Excelr8 have made an incredible effort with the new car over the winter months and have strengthened their engineering capabilities and brought in some very talented people to work on the project.

“Developing a new car is always a great challenge, and to do it with a brand that has a tremendous passion for motorsport like Hyundai means this is a fantastic opportunity for everyone involved to create something really special.”

Thanks to this switch, Smiley targets a stronger and more competitive future in the BTCC.

“The BTCC is an ultra-competitive championship and being a race winner in the series I know that I can mix it at the sharp end of the series. I fully believe that this new project will allow me to do that, and I am more motivated than ever to make this new partnership a success – not just for one season but as a long-term plan for us both.”

Team Principal Ollie Shepherd also said:

“Chris Smiley alongside Senna Proctor – what a driver line-up! We now know that we have the drivers to win BTCC races, we have the best looking operation to do our partners proud, we have a superstar engineering team to be announced and we have new cars that are ticking all the right boxes during the development and build process.”

It’s fair to say that Shepherd is eagerly awaiting the season opener…

“2020 will be the year when we surprise the establishment! Overconfident, no way! Chris and Senna are two of the best young drivers in BTCC and this year we will do our very best to give them the tools to get the job done.”

The 2020 Kwik Fit BTCC Season officially gets underway at Donington on March 28/19th.