Sam Osborne inks AmD Tuning deal
Sam Osborne says he is keen to become a regular contender for points finishes after securing the second drive with the AmD Tuning team for the 2020 BTCC season.
Osborne was confirmed as team-mate to Jake Hill in the new-look AmD line-up on the opening day of the Autosport International Show in Birmingham, and switches to the Honda team on the back of a challenging debut season with series newcomers Excelr8.
The former Clio Cup racer secured a best finish of 14th during his rookie campaign, but said he was optimistic about an improved showing in his second year in the series, with his goal being to try and impress in the race for the Jack Sears Trophy.
“I’m ecstatic about this deal and can’t wait for the new season to get underway,” he said. “To be honest, it hasn’t really sunk in yet, but this is fantastic opportunity for me, and one that I want to try and grab with both hands.
“From the moment I first spoke to Shaun, I knew that this was the right deal for me and I’m hoping that this can be the start of something long term with the team. There is little doubt that my rookie season had its challenges, but I’m hopeful that the Honda is a car that will be better suited to my driving style and that I can work with the team and with Jake to learn as much as possible and make progress up the order.
“To regularly challenge for points finishes is the first objective and if I could then make a bid for the Jack Sears Trophy then it would be fantastic.”
Team boss Shaun Hollamby was also confident that Osborne would prove to be a solid team-mate to Hill during the year ahead as AmD seeks to build on a breakthrough 2019 season, where it secured both the Independents title and JST with the now-departed Rory Butcher.
“Sam is a driver who did a solid job during the 2019 season when you consider that he went into his first year in the series with very little testing and with a team that was new to the BTCC,” he said. “It’s a big step up from the Clio Cup, and he showed himself to be more than capable of racing at this level.
“With a year of experience behind him, Sam’s goal now has to be to make the step forwards to challenge for points on a regular basis and we certainly feel that that is something that he can do during the year ahead. The Jack Sears Trophy is a realistic goal, and it would be great if he could help us challenge for the title for a third time.
“Sam and Jake have known each other for a number of years and our hope is that they can work together to challenge for some strong results in 2020.”
Entry list – 9 January:
No – Driver – Nat – Team – Car
1 – Colin Turkington – GBR – West Surrey Racing – BMW 330i M Sport
4 – Sam Osborne – GBR – AmD Tuning – Honda Civic Type R
15 – Tom Oliphant – GBR – West Surrey Racing – BMW 330i M Sport
16 – Aiden Moffat – GBR – Laser Tools Racing – Infiniti Q50
19 – Bobby Thompson – GBR – Trade Price Cars Racing – Audi S3
21 – Mike Bushell – GBR – Team HARD – Volkswagen CC
24 – Jake Hill – GBR – AmD Tuning – Honda Civic Type R
25 – Matt Neal – GBR – Team Dynamics – Honda Civic Type R
27 – Dan Cammish – GBR – Team Dynamics – Honda Civic Type R
31 – Jack Goff – GBR – Team HARD – Volkswagen CC
41 – Carl Boardley – GBR – Team HARD – BMW 125i M Sport
66 – Josh Cook – GBR – BTC Racing – Honda Civic Type R
77 – Andrew Jordan – GBR – West Surrey Racing – BMW 330i M Sport
116 – Ashley Sutton – GBR – Laser Tools Racing – Infiniti Q50
Race numbers subject to confirmation when official entry list is revealed
