NAPA Announces Huge BTCC Plans for 2023
22 Feb 2023
NAPA Racing UK has today (22nd February) released their hugely anticipated plans ahead of the 2023 British Touring Car Championship.
Off the back of an incredible maiden season last year, NAPA Racing UK became Teams Champions and runners up in the Drivers’ Championship. This year, NAPA Racing UK are taking it up a gear with a four-car line up on the BTCC grid with the Motorbase Performance-run team for 2023.
With their multi-year deal, three-time BTCC champion, Ash Sutton and three-time Porsche Carrera Cup Champion, Dan Cammish will return this year with their eyes firmly on the prize. Despite a lot of learning, adjustments, and development during the early part of the 2022 season, Cammish and Sutton ended the year strong, setting them up nicely for the season opener at Donington Park.
The third driver joining Ash and Dan is Motorbase driver, Sam Osborne. Osborne, who made his BTCC debut back in 2019, is well-known in the NAPA Racing UK garages, after competing in one of Motorbase’s Ford Focus last year under Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan. After coming fourth in the Jack Sears standings last year, Osborne will be setting his sights on winning the trophy this year.
Completing the four-car driver line-up is a well-known character in the BTCC paddock and 2021 Jack Sears trophy winner, Daniel Rowbottom, bringing his major sponsor, Cataclean along with him. Rowbottom joins the NAPA Racing UK team at the pinnacle of the next stages of NAPA’s rapid growth in only their second year in the BTCC. He joins the racing family after an incredible career to date and will no doubt be challenging with the front runners after spending the last couple of years in a front-wheel drive car, giving him a significant advantage as he jumps in the Ford ST.
NAPA LIVERY
The striking blue and yellow livery on NAPA’s Ford Focus made it a crowd favourite last year and claimed the top spot of all liveries by BTCC followers.
The iconic NAPA branding has been refreshed for 2023, featuring more of the vibrant yellow and chevron elements around NAPA’s hexagon shaped logo, along with a range of new sponsors. While some features are different, the NAPA Ford retains its signature honeycomb effect on its front bonnet, which was a highly complimented feature last year. With four eye-catching NAPA cars this year, the grid will certainly be a brighter place this season!
THE TEAM
Oly Collins – Team Manager
“We’re absolutely delighted to announce the four-car line up with NAPA this year. I’m really looking forward to seeing all four cars line up on the grid for the first time. Since NAPA Racing UK started this journey with us, it has been non-stop excitement and evolution. Together, we have brought a new approach to the Championship and shown exactly how to maximise opportunities wherever possible. Every area of the team behind this have pushed boundaries both on and off track, so we’re really looking forward to our second season as NAPA Racing UK.
To continue the journey with the continuity of Dan (Cammish) & Ash (Sutton) is fantastic. But, to now have the opportunity to further improve our driver line up with Dan (Rowbottom) joining us alongside Sam (Osborne) is outstanding.
At the end of last season, we did look into other options of base car model for the 2023 season, but ultimately with a car & team which won the Teams Championship outright last year, we decided to continue for another season with the Focus ST. We have a lot of knowledge in the Focus and have invested over the winter to further improve the package in an aim to get the number 1 back on one of our cars as soon as possible.”
Dan Cammish – #27
“I am really looking forward to the upcoming BTCC season. The second half of last season was really strong and I am confident we will start this year in even better shape. The NAPA Racing UK team have put in a lot of work over the winter to ensure we are in the best place possible when the lights go out at Donington for the season opener.
The addition of Dan Rowbottom to the team along with Cataclean is further proof of the hard work that has gone on in the background this winter. I look forward to working with Dan, Ash and Sam to keep NAPA Racing UK at the front of the BTCC grid.”
Ash Sutton – #116
“2023 is shaping up to be an awesome season. Everyone at NAPA Racing UK and Motorbase have been hard at work over the winter months with the development to the Focus, so I can’t wait to see how that translates to the track. The addition of having Dan Rowbottom and Sam Osborne now apart of the NAPA outfit is a statement for the brand.
I personally love the new livery, it’s really going to look the part on track and especially with all four cars lining up on the grid. We have a solid testing plan in place, so it gives us a great opportunity to work our way through some setup changes that we didn’t visit in the season last year. The aim is to come out stronger than where we ended up last year!”
Dan Rowbottom – #32
“To say I’m excited is an understatement. The opportunity for not only myself, but for my long-term title partners Cataclean is superb. I’ve always been a NASCAR fan, so when NAPA joined BTCC, on a personal level that struck a chord for me, so to be able to continue the next steps of my career with NAPA Racing UK and Cataclean is an enormous privilege and something that words can’t quantify. I have no doubt that we can get on with the job and challenge for race wins in the 2023 season and cement ourselves as BTCC front runners once more.”
Sam Osborne – #77
“Super excited to join NAPA Racing UK for the upcoming season, feel privileged to represent such an incredible brand. We have been working hard with the team to get the car ready for the season, I have been working on my fitness and on the simulator and can’t wait to get started. Looking forward to Dan Rowbottom joining the team!”
It will be a busy few weeks for the team, as they travel to iconic circuits to test ahead of the season opener at Donington Park on 22-23 April.
Follow @NAPARacingUK on social media to never miss an update!
media relations
Rebecca Tarling