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One Motorsport adds Stephen Jelley to BTCC driver line-up

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Stephen Jelley will return to the British Touring Car Championship this season, completing One Motorsport’s driver line-up to race a Honda Civic Type R alongside Josh Cook.

Th 42-year-old will be back in front-wheel-drive machinery for the first time since 2017, when he raced a Ford Focus with Team Parker Racing and Maximum Motorsport.

Boasting more than 250 starts and four race wins in the UK’s premier motorsport series, Jelley has spent a large proportion of his career driving BMWs – namely for multiple champions West Surrey Racing.

Following three campaigns with the Sunbury-based squad between 2021-2023, Jelley made the switch to the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain last year.

“It’s fantastic to be back in the BTCC and to be a part of One Motorsport,” said Jelley. “If I’m honest I didn’t think I’d get another crack at the championship so to be back is a victory in itself; it’s an opportunity that really excites me.

“With the team taking a sabbatical last year I wasn’t sure how things were shaping up behind the scenes but after Josh helped make some introductions it quickly became clear that lots of work has been going on by a great bunch of people and that the team is back in a big way.

“I’ve obviously spent a good few years racing against the Honda so to now have the chance to get behind the wheel myself is something I’m relishing. I’ve got to make that transition back to front-wheel-drive but having a well-sorted car underneath me will accelerate that process.

“Going into the season we’ve got a couple of test days planned and they’ll be invaluable. I’m not naive though in thinking that the first few events will be all about learning; come the Thruxton meeting though I want to be dialled in and challenging for the best results possible.”