BTCC: Jack Butel completes Team HARD line-up

Jack Butel will race for Team HARD in the 2023 British Touring Car Championship, racing a Cupra.

Butel will enter his fourth season in the BTCC and will move to the experienced Team HARD squad. He will join Dexter Patterson, Bobby Thompson, Aron Taylor-Smith and Dan Lloyd in the team.

Jack Butel would race for the EXCELR8 team in 2022, driving the Hyundai i30 Fastback. He would finish 27^th in the standings, with a best finish of 15^th place, scoring one point in the championship.

The 26-year-old will continue to fight for the Jack Sears Trophy in 2023, which was previously won by his teammate Bobby Thompson. 

Butel would first enter the championship in 2020, with Cicely Motorsport, driving the team’s Mercedes-Benz A-Class. He would end his first season in the BTCC in 26^th position, taking two points across the year.

Butel said: “I’m back again for another crack at the BTCC and I’m delighted to be able to move across to Team HARD. for this season, It’s something that I have been looking at doing for a while, but our paths have never quite aligned.

“I’ve watched the team grow stronger and stronger over the years and now is a great time to join them. The Cupra looks fast, there is a buzz around the team and having met a lot of the staff, I know we are going to have a great relationship as we push the team on even further this year.  

“They have a great driver line-up this year and I’m excited to start working with the likes of Bobby and Dexter who were very quick last season as well as linking up with Dan once again who I worked well with last year. Combining all of these factors, I’m confident of a really strong debut season with Team HARD.”

Team Owner, Tony Gilham added: “Jack is a great lad and we’ve been in talks for a few years now to try and get him into one of our Cupra Leons, I’m delighted to say that 2023 is that year, and we can’t wait to work on making this season the most successful year for Jack in the BTCC to date.

“He is a driver that we really believe in and we are confident that he will be able to challenge consistently for the Jack Sears this season to help up defend the title won by Bobby in 2022.

“It’s been a very busy off-season for the team with lots of advancements in not only our driver line-up but also our engineering department. The Cupra showed lots of potential in 2022 and we are looking to take the next step towards the front. Jack’s experience in the series is only going to help that progress after spending two years developing the Hyundai I30 Fastback.

“We have a fantastic driver line-up for this season and Jack is going to slip in fantastically with the culture we have developed at Team HARD. over the past couple of years. The whole team can’t wait for the season to start!”

Image: BTCC.net