EXCELR8 Motorsport and Restart Racing have entered into a multi-year collaboration which will see two additional Hyundai cars join the 2025 British Touring Car Championship grid.
Restart Racing joined the BTCC in 2024, running a brace of ex-Team HARD CUPRAs for Chris Smiley and Scott Sumpton.
The team will now switch to Hyundai machinery in 2025, working with EXCELR8 Motorsport, which is to supply the cars, taking the number of Hyundais on the grid to six.
EXCELR8 had previously stated it was open to working with another team as a customer in the future, providing additional cars if requested to do so.
Restart Racing, which was formed in 2022 to compete initially in TCR UK, has now become the first team to enter into such an arrangement with Suffolk-based EXCELR8 Motorsport.
“When we went public with the announcement that we were open to providing cars to a customer, we expected there to be interest given the success we have enjoyed with the Hyundai,” said EXCELR8 Team Owner Justina Williams.
“We are delighted to have agreed a deal that will see us join forces with Restart Racing as a customer team for 2025 and beyond.
“Although this will be the first time we have provided BTCC machinery to another team, we are no strangers to building cars for customers in the MINI Challenge and this is another step in the continued growth of EXCELR8 as we look to strengthen our position as one of the premier teams in British motorsport.
“The fact that Restart Racing has chosen the Hyundai as their weapon of choice is an indication of how far we have come in a relatively short period of time, and we look forward to working with them to make a success of this new collaboration over the coming seasons.”
The two Restart Racing Hyundais will also use a Hyundai engine, just like their EXCELR8 counterparts. Details of the team’s drivers will be revealed in due course.
“I have been involved with the BTCC for a number of seasons, including a highly successful period alongside EXCELR8 supporting Tom Ingram’s 2022 title win, so when I heard that they were open to supplying cars to another team, it obviously caught my attention,” said Restart Racing Managing Director Pete Jones.
“The CUPRA served us well this year as we embarked on our first season in the BTCC, but we are an ambitious team that has a desire to establish ourselves on the grid and to progress up the order – in much the same was as EXCELR8 themselves have done.
“The Hyundai is clearly an extremely strong package, and one that we know will allow us to move closer towards the targets we have set ourselves as a team.
“We are delighted to enter into this new relationship with EXCELR8, and can’t wait to take delivery of the cars and kickstart our preparations for 2025.”