Rory Butcher has announced that he will take a sabbatical from the British Touring Car Championship, following a ‘really challenging’ season in 2023.
Butcher, 36, made his BTCC début in the second half of 2017 and has spent the past six years racing full-time in the championship.
During that time, the Scot has amassed 11 victories, with a season-best campaign coming in 2020 when he finished fifth overall with three wins.
In 2021, Butcher joined the Speedworks Motorsport-run Toyota Gazoo Racing UK outfit, and continued to be a front-runner, picking up more than half (17) of his 31 podiums in the BTCC.
At the end of the 2022 season, Butcher was the top scorer in the final three events, with five podiums from the last six races leaving hopes high for a title challenge the following season.
However, 2023 proved to be a challenge for Butcher, who scored only one win and two podiums, as he was beaten by team-mate Ricky Collard in the overall standings.
“As a racing driver, you’re naturally always looking ahead and building towards the next race, the next event or the next season,” said Butcher.
“But having been competing for the past 18 years and with a young family back home in Scotland as well as several other interesting projects that require a lot of my time and attention, I feel the moment is right to take a break.
“Last season was a really challenging one for me. We went into it with such high hopes after finishing 2022 so strongly, and having to come to terms with the fact that we were not going to be fighting at the front hit pretty hard.
“I’m pleased that I stuck the season out, and it was nice to rediscover a little bit of form over the second half. It was good to show what I’m capable of in qualifying at Knockhill and particularly Brands GP and to get the win at Donington, but despite that upturn in performance and results, I still knew deep down that it was time to push the pause button.
“I don’t feel right now like I’m the driver I want to be or know I can be, and the BTCC is so intensely competitive, with such fine margins, that you can’t afford to be at anything less than 100 per cent.
“The team always give it everything, as do my sponsors, who have played a vital role in my touring car journey. I am very thankful for their ongoing support, through good times and bad.
“Looking back, I think there’s a lot to be proud of and I have a lot of happy memories – it’s been a wonderful championship to be a part of for the past six-and-a-half years and a bit of a whirlwind, if I’m honest.
“I’m definitely walking away with some unfinished business as I haven’t accomplished everything I want to in the BTCC.
“I believe I have the ability to fight for the title, but if I do at some stage come back, the timing needs to be right.
“Christian [Dick – Team Principal], Amy [Dick – Team Manager] and John [Gilbert – Managing Director] put a lot of faith in me, for which I am extremely grateful and we still have an excellent relationship, and while I don’t know what the future holds, I don’t feel like this is goodbye – it’s just goodbye for now.”
Christian Dick, Team Principal of Toyota Gazoo Racing UK, is sad to see Butcher choosing to leave the team after three years.
“While obviously very sorry to see Rory leave the BTCC, we fully understand and respect the reasoning behind his decision and wish him well in his new ventures,” added Dick.
“He has been a lynchpin of our efforts over the past three seasons and has delivered the lion’s share of our success during that period.
“He has been a superb team leader; even when we were struggling at the start of last year, he was always the first to rally the troops, and his well-honed development skills played a major role in the way we managed to turn things around over the second half of the campaign.
“Speedworks is very much a family team, and Rory remains part of that family. He is one of the sport’s true ‘nice guys’ and has deservedly built up a very large fan base, all of whom, I have no doubt, will similarly be sad to see him go.
“That said, he is clear that this is not necessarily the end, and with the BTCC rewarding experience as much as raw pace and talent – all of which Rory has in abundance – I have no doubt that he will still be very much in demand if and when he decides he wants to come back.”