Nick Halstead will continue in the British Touring Car Championship for a second full season campaign in 2024, completing an unchanged driver line-up at EXCELR8 Motorsport.
The 51-year-old made his BTCC début at Croft in 2021 with the team, but last year was his first full season.
Although he scored a career-best seventh in a rain-affected race at Donington Park, Halstead was classified last in the drivers’ standings due to twice having points deductions for engine changes.
In 2024, Halstead’s Hyundai i30 N Fastback will feature increased backing from Razor and their ‘Crazy Carts’ brand, including a new livery.
With two points finishes in 2023, the second coming at Knockhill, Halstead is hoping to more regularly challenge for the points in the forthcoming season.
“I’m delighted to not only announce my return to the BTCC grid this season with EXCELR8, but also to announce a new partnership with Crazy Carts that is going to be bigger and better than ever before,” said Halstead.
“The way that fans and my fellow drivers embraced Crazy Carts last season was fantastic, and the events we put on proved to be hugely popular.
“People started to call me Mr Crazy Cart as the season wore on, so the logical thing was to speak to the team at Razor and see what we could do to make it official for 2024.
“The livery of the Crazy Cart XXXL [Halstead’s BTCC car] is going to look fantastic and will really stand out on track, where I’m hoping I can push for some strong results as the season goes on.
“It was a big challenge for me last year, but I felt I made good progress behind the wheel, and towards the end of the season, I was regularly displaying pace comparable with the top 15.
“What held me back was a lack of experience, and generally on a weekend, it was race two or three before I would say I really felt comfortable in the car and was able to push.
“Now I’m going to be heading into events with knowledge already under my belt, and even though the grid looks like being a lot tougher in 2024, it leaves me feeling optimistic about what can be achieved.
“Obviously, I want to try and fight for overall points finishes, but I’d also love to try and get a Jack Sears Trophy win during the season and take Crazy Carts onto the podium!”
Justina Williams, EXCELR8 Team Owner, added: “We’re delighted to have Nick onboard again in 2024 and are keen to see what he can achieve in his second full season in the Hyundai.
“Last year was a big learning year given how different the BTCC is from what he had done before, but he worked hard with the team and that was reflected in the way his pace improved as the season went on.
“Off track, he had a huge impact in the paddock with the Crazy Carts Championship, and it’s great to see that initiative now grow as a result of the increased partnership with Razor.
“We look forward to continuing to work with Nick to achieve his goals on track, and also working with Razor to put the Crazy Cart brand in front of an ever-increasing audience.”