Mat Jackson makes BTCC return with Power Maxed Racing

Multiple race winner Mat Jackson will make a return to the British Touring Car Championship for the 2020 season after securing a drive with Power Maxed Racing.

Jackson has been linked with a number of drives following his dramatic departure from Motorbase on the eve of the 2018 season, and will now make his series comeback after two years on the sidelines in place of Rob Collard.

The 38-year-old will partner double champion Jason Plato in what looks set to be one of the strongest driver pairings on the grid – with the duo having a combined tally of nearly 130 BTCC wins.

“I may have been away from the series temporarily, but thoughts of winning the BTCC were never far away,” Jackson said. “I have unfinished business and it was critical for me to return with a top team, capable of mounting a consistent title challenge.

“I have received a number of offers during the last two years, but [team boss] Adam Weaver has worked tirelessly to make my return possible with PMR. The team continues to grow in stature, and I have no doubt that this is the squad I need to be with. When the opportunity came to join and partner with JP again, I was not going to miss out.”

Jackson and Plato previously teamed together back in 2009 when the duo spearheaded RML’s return to the series with a pair of Chevrolet Lacettis.

Confirmation of Plato’s return will see the double champion look to build on a solid 2019 campaign, where he rebounded from a disastrous 2018 season with Team BMR to regularly challenge towards the sharp end of the field – ending the year with a victory in the final race of the year at Brands Hatch.

“It has been a while since I was this excited for the start of the season,” Plato said. “I genuinely love my team at PMR; they work unbelievably hard to provide me with the very best car, but also have a lot of fun doing it; it’s a great place to be.

“Adam and Martin [Broadhurst] have put a very special group of people together that are focused on winning the championship, whilst sensibly making sure they are also building a stable future in the sport. This all helped me get my mojo back in 2019, and I want to reward them all with plenty more race wins. They will be the team I hit 100 wins with, I have no doubt!

“I am sorry to see Rob leave, as last year was fun, but at the same time I’m very happy about working with Mat again, and really look forward to seeing what we can achieve by working together.”

Entry list – 5 February:

No – Driver – Nat – Team – Car

1 – Colin Turkington – GBR – West Surrey Racing – BMW 330i M Sport
3 – Tom Chilton – GBR – BTC Racing – Honda Civic Type R
4 – Sam Osborne – GBR – AmD Tuning – Honda Civic Type R
6 – Rory Butcher – GBR – Motorbase Performance – Ford Focus RS
11 – Jason Plato – GBR – Power Maxed Racing – Vauxhall Astra
15 – Tom Oliphant – GBR – West Surrey Racing – BMW 330i M Sport
16 – Aiden Moffat – GBR – Laser Tools Racing – Infiniti Q50
18 – Senna Proctor – GBR – Excelr8 Motorsport – Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performance
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
32 – Daniel Rowbottom – GBR – Ciceley Motorsport – Mercedes A Class
33 – Adam Morgan – GBR – Ciceley Motorsport – Mercedes A Class
41 – Carl Boardley – GBR – Team HARD – BMW 125i M Sport
48 – Ollie Jackson – GBR – Motorbase Performance – Ford Focus RS
66 – Josh Cook – GBR – BTC Racing – Honda Civic Type R
77 – Andrew Jordan – GBR – West Surrey Racing – BMW 330i M Sport
80 – Tom Ingram – GBR – Speedworks Motorsport – Toyota Corolla
116 – Ashley Sutton – GBR – Laser Tools Racing – Infiniti Q50
777 – Michael Crees – GBR – BTC Racing – Honda Civic Type R
TBC – James Gornall – GBR – Trade Price Cars Racing – Audi S3
TBC – Mat Jackson – GBR – Power Maxed Racing – Vauxhall Astra

Race numbers subject to confirmation when official entry list is revealed