Jack Butel will makes his British Touring Car Championship début at Donington Park this weekend, as the Jersey racer replaces Dan Rowbottom in one of Ciceley Motorsport’s Mercedes-Benz A-Class cars.
Rowbottom had been set to take on a second season at Carlube Triple R Racing, but he has now been replaced by Butel in the ‘part-funded’ seat.
The 24-year-old has raced in a variety of series, from single-seaters to LMP3 cars, and he more recently competed in GT racing. He was selected as an Aston Martin academy driver in 2019.
Butel has already raced for Lancashire-based Ciceley Motorsport earlier this year, when he took part in the Dubai 24 Hours at the wheel of a Mercedes GTS GT4.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for me, joining the British Touring Car Championship grid is a dream come true,” said Butel.
“I have so many people to thank… firstly my parents for their unwavering support, Carlube Triple R Racing and Lucas Batteries for their financial backing and Ciceley Motorsport for their belief in me as a driver.
“I will be taking the first part of the year as a learning curve preparing for 2021, but with help from Adam Morgan and the engineering team, hope to be able to secure some impressive results towards the latter part of the campaign.
“The opportunity has come at literally the eleventh hour, I just can’t wait to get cracking.”
Ciceley Motorsport Commercial Director Norman Burgess praised Butel for his attentiveness when working with the team previously.
“We are delighted to welcome Jack back to the team,” said Burgess. “I have worked with him before with our GT4 team in Dubai and his enthusiasm is infectious, he just wouldn’t leave the team’s engineer alone, his thirst for data interpretation and improvement held no bounds.
“This is a part-funded drive and Russell [Morgan, Team Principal] was insistent that the team signed Jack, he like us all at Ciceley Motorsport, believe that he has the natural ability to deliver the results we require.
“Adam and Jack enjoy a great relationship and have been racing together on their simulators during the lockdown period. Jack, his sponsor and family fit our team dynamic perfectly.”