Rory Butcher will remain with the Speedworks Motorsport-run Toyota Gazoo Racing UK outfit in the 2022 British Touring Car Championship, after the team confirmed his stay for a second successive season.
Butcher, 34, moved to the Toyota team for the 2021 season and emerged as a regular challenger for race wins, picking up three during the course of the year, although a title challenge eluded the Scot.
Now Toyota has confirmed that Butcher will remain with the team for 2022, Butcher’s fifth full season and sixth in the BTCC overall, in an expanded three-car team.
After some mid-season misfortune, Butcher was the third-highest scorer in the final three weekends of the year, ending on a high with momentum he hopes to carry into a 2022 title challenge.
Butcher will be supported by Toyota Insurance Services for the coming season.
“I’m absolutely delighted to be returning to the BTCC for my fifth full season in the championship,” said Butcher.
“To be coming back with the same team and car is a ‘first’ for me, and that continuity can only be a positive – especially as we head into the new hybrid era, with all the changes that will entail.
“Not needing to gel with different people or a different car will be one less thing to have to worry about, and it means we can put everything we’ve learned together so far to good use.
“I made no secret of the fact that it took me a little while to completely get to grips with the Corolla last year; there was a lot to adapt to, but once we ‘clicked’, we were quick pretty much everywhere, which fills me with a lot of confidence going forward.
“We know we still have a few areas that need ironing out to fully maximise the car’s potential, but we have so much data to draw upon and with the pre-season development we have planned, there’s no reason at all why we shouldn’t be pushing for wins at every circuit.
“Considering what we achieved over the second half of 2021 in particular and the experience and knowledge we have gained, the target has to be to hit the ground running at Donington Park in April and then go into the final event at Brands Hatch in October with a fighting chance of taking the title.
“That will obviously be no easy task in a series as ultra-competitive as the BTCC, but Speedworks is a fantastic team and when we get the Toyota really in the window, it feels like nobody can touch us.
“Due to its extra weight, the hybrid system will inevitably make the car handle slightly differently and will add another element to the competition in giving us all a bit more to think about strategically and racecraft-wise.
“But ultimately, I think the best teams and drivers will rise to the top. I’m really looking forward to the challenge.”
![Rory Butcher, Toyota Gazoo Racing UK [Speedworks Motorsport], Toyota Corolla](https://www.touringcars.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/RoryButcherToyota.jpeg)
“Rory had a great first year with us in 2021 and by the end of it, he was a regular front-runner in the Corolla – so it made perfect sense to extend our partnership into a second season, when the goalposts will very naturally shift as we look to challenge for the championship,” added Dick.
“He is a first-rate driver with an impeccable work ethic. It inevitably took him a little bit of time to feel completely comfortable in the Toyota, but he was on the podium in only his second weekend in the car and took a brilliant first win at Oulton Park – helping us to break our bad luck hoodoo at our home track – and over the second half of the campaign, he was a match for anybody else out there.
“Although he has only been competing in the series for a handful of years, Rory drives with all the intelligence, guile and panache of an experienced veteran, and he is a team leader par excellence who truly motivates everybody in the team to perform at their best.
“He undoubtedly has all the qualities required to be a BTCC champion, and with the added support now of Toyota Insurance Services, we look forward to fighting for many more victories together over the coming months.”
Stuart Sanders, Director of Communications & Product for Toyota GB, is looking forward to continuing to work with Speedworks Motorsport, who are also racing in the British GT Championship.
“We’re very happy to renew our longstanding relationship with Speedworks Motorsport, as Toyota Gazoo Racing UK continues to develop as the perfect support programme for the GR Yaris, GR Supra and forthcoming GR86 road cars,” said Sanders.
“We are proud of the team’s new association with Toyota Insurance Services, which further strengthens those close ties.
“Just as 2022 heralds a significant season in the BTCC with the advent of the hybrid era, so too is it an important year for our increasingly popular GR range.
“We look forward to celebrating positive results in both domains and to seeing success on the racetrack drive showroom sales.”