Mark Blundell Motorsport formed for 2020 BTCC season

Mark Blundell and Shaun Hollamby have announced a new partnership that will see the newly-named Mark Blundell Motorsport team appear on the grid for the 2020 British Touring Car Championship season.

Former Le Mans 24 Hours winner Blundell will take on the role of sporting director of the two-car Honda programme featuring new BRDC Superstar Jake Hill and Sam Osborne, with Hollamby retaining the position of team principal.

The decision to join forces in what is being dubbed as a ‘strategic alliance’ comes after Blundell elected to retire from driving following the 2019 campaign, where he secured a pair of points finishes with the Trade Price Cars Racing team.

“I made no secret of how impressed I was with the British Touring Car Championship as a platform last year,” he said. “As I found out quite clearly, it is fiercely competitive, and if you ask anyone involved, it’s that unpredictable race result that is a huge attraction.

“Last year, together with my team at our sports management and marketing agency, MB Partners, we proved the value that the series can have for a number of major global brands, and the forming of MB Motorsport this year will allow us to further these partnerships and build on those relationships.

“Having reached this stage of my career, I love being involved in motorsport and this opportunity is a new challenge for me and one that opens channels for our managed driver portfolio at MB Partners and many of our commercial partners.

“I have a huge amount of respect for Shaun and his team who run an excellent operation, so working with them and forming MB Motorsport together provides us with a huge platform to build from both on and off the track.”

Hollamby meanwhile said he was delighted with the new partnership and expressed confidence that MB Motorsport will be able to challenge for honours during the season ahead.

“Working with Mark and MB Partners last year was of huge benefit to us as a team, and this announcement signals the start of a new and really exciting chapter of our time in the BTCC,” he said. “Mark found out firsthand just how tough this Championship can be, but he brought with him a new level of detail, processes and the highest of standards to our operation.

“I have known Mark for a number of years, and we have always spoken about how we could work together – now we are finally getting the chance to do so formally. Our hope is that combining our pedigree within the BTCC, Mark’s experience and profile, and MB Partners’ commercial expertise can really take our whole operation to a new level and it is one we cannot wait to get started with.”

A number of further announcements are due from the team ahead of the opening rounds of the campaign at Donington Park.

Entry list – 12 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 – Mark Blundell Motorsport – 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
22 – Chris Smiley – GBR – EXCELR8 Motorsport – Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performance
24 – Jake Hill – GBR – Mark Blundell Motorsport – 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