Photo: Team HARD

Will Powell secures Team HARD seat to complete BTCC grid

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Will Powell will make his BTCC debut at Brands Hatch after being named as the final member of the Team HARD line-up for the remainder of the 2022 campaign.

Powell will fill the seat vacated by Jack Goff on the Autobrite Direct with JourneyHero side of the garage alongside Bobby Thompson as he moves into the series on the back of a title-winning campaign in the British Endurance Championship last season in a GT3-spec McLaren.

The 37-year-old has also raced in TCR UK in a Maximum Motorsport-run Hyundai and tested the Team HARD Cupra at Snetterton last year.

“This is the realisation of a boyhood dream, going back to when we would skip school to camp out at Brands Hatch and watch the BTCC,” said Powell. “I’d like to thank Tony Gilham and his family for the opportunity to make the dream a reality, along with our friends at Autobrite Direct, JourneyHero and all my partners at Motus One.

“I think the series is the pinnacle of British motorsport and – despite unusual circumstances – I’m over the moon to join the grid at Brands Hatch. I don’t underestimate the scale of the challenge, but I’m looking forward to racing with the best.”

Team boss Tony Gilham said he was pleased to welcome Powell into the line-up.

“We have been working with Will and Motus One for a little while now, including a successful test day in our Cupra last season, so it’s great that we are able to get him onboard to fill our last seat this year,” he said. “Will is a great guy.

“Coming into the season at this stage, we wanted to find a driver that already has a relationship with both our staff and partners to build long-term and with his vast experience in motorsport both on and off the track will really help accelerate his development in the BTCC, as well as the fact that the team knows Will and vice-versa.”