Senna Proctor will make a return to the BTCC after a three-year break from Touring Car racing.

The two-time race winner will jump into the fourth Excelr8 Hyundai i30 N for the second half of the 2025 season from Croft onwards, confirming the paddock rumour that the deal Michael Crees signed with the team was for the first half of the season only. This news almost certainly sets the grid for the upcoming campaign at 24 cars.

Proctor has been teasing a news release with photos of previous BTCC cars he has raced, and he was spotted with Excelr8 at Croft during the pre-season test last week. Prior to the announcement there had been rumours of a possible return to Power Maxed Racing – where he took his first BTCC win in 2018.

A paddock source has suggested the 24-car grid is set, and that Power Maxed have been approached by a number of drivers with offers below the required number for their second seat. With the team supposedly making a small profit from their BTCC single car with Mikey Doble, and a profit from their three car TCR UK campaign, the source also said only a driver who could bring a budget that didn’t eat into the other revenue streams would be considered.

“It is great to be returning to the BTCC with EXCELR8 and to be joining forces with Team VERTU, firstly as Reserve Driver for the first half of the season, before returning to competitive action on home soil at Croft,” Proctor said. “It’s been a long wait for me to get back into a BTCC car, and I’m excited that the opportunity has now come along to me to return to the grid. I have driven the Team VERTU car before when it was first introduced into the series, so I am looking forward to seeing how much it has changed since then. It’s clearly one of the top cars on the grid so even though I’ve been away from the series for a while, my aim it to be straight back up to speed from the outset and fight for strong results.

“This part season allows me to lay a solid foundation for a full time programme in 2026 and beyond. Everything is there to do the job as I have a great car, a great team behind me and three great team-mates in Tom Ingram, Tom Chilton and Adam Morgan. There can be no excuses, and it’s great to be back.”

Team principal Justina Williams said: “We’re delighted to welcome Senna back into the team this season, firstly in the role of Reserve Driver for the first half of the season before he steps into a race seat from his home round at Croft. When we first introduced the EXCELR8 car into the series, Senna played a key role in the early development of the car despite difficult circumstances caused by the pandemic and government lockdowns. I know Senna is very capable of doing a great job behind the wheel and we are confident that he will deliver some strong results and challenge for multiple podiums during his five rounds as part of the driver line-up.”