Simon Belcher will undertake a second British Touring Car Championship campaign in 2015, after confirming that he will continue with Handy Motorsport next season.
The 2014 season marked 40-year-old Belcher’s debut in the championship, where he competed in a Toyota Avensis and secured three 18th place finishes.
Looking to build on a learning year in the championship, the team had recently expressed openly that they were assessing their options with regard to the TOCA licence in their possession as well as who might driver the machine, but after talks with race-winning BTCC drivers over the seat, the squad opted to retain Belcher’s services for a second year.
And with his place on the 2015 grid confirmed, Belcher was pleased to be continuing in the series and to have his plans in good shape at such an early stage in the off-season.
“I am delighted to be back on the BTCC grid for a second season, being able to announce our return so early should put us in the strongest possible position for 2015,” said Belcher. “We had a fantastic time in the championship this year, it was such a good experience and so much better than we ever expected.
“We haven’t finalised all of the plans yet, but it is all coming together and I am targeting considerable improvements next season where we will also be strengthening our engineering team which should help us push forward and move further up the grid.”
In addition to Belcher’s announcement, it was also confirmed that the team would continue their technical tie-up with Speedworks Motorsport – who have run an NGTC Toyota Avensis since the regulations were first introduced back in 2011 – for a second campaign, a relationship that the former jet ski racer was keen to continue.
“Handy Motorsport and Speedworks worked very well together this year, Christian [Dick] runs a great team and I am personally delighted to continue our partnership,” he added. “With such terrific continuity, hopes are high we can really make the most of it and start to climb the order in the BTCC. There’s a lot of hard work ahead, but we can’t wait to get started.”