SPEAKER_01 0:00

Lewis, it really gives me great pleasure to uh to say welcome to the 2026 British Touring Car Championship. It's got a rather nice ring to it, hasn't it?

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Yeah, very much so. Yes, um something I've always wanted to do. Um something I never thought I'd get the chance to do, to be honest. So just um very excited to see what the whole year brings.

SPEAKER_01 0:18

Yeah, absolutely. You're joining uh Napa in this new shape uh Ford, which everybody's talking about. Looks tremendous. For people who might you might not come uh immediately to mind, just remind us what your your later journey has been in towards the BTCC.

SPEAKER_00 0:34

Um yeah, so I'm managing director for Napa Auto Parts. So um yeah, we started sponsoring the Alliance Racing team. It was then Motorbase Um 2023 then. Yeah. Um I was racing some in a mini melia at the time. Um, and then my wife was getting very frustrated that I was going off and doing my own racing and then also coming along to support the touring cars. So we thought it'd be a good idea to jump in the JCW Mini. Yeah, so I did that for the last three years. Um, came third in the championship last year, and then had an opportunity to jump into a touring car this year. So why not fulfill a childhood dream and and carry on doing that?

SPEAKER_01 1:10

So, what was that like jumping in a touring car as you've just sort of just waved it about, just jumped in a touring car? What was that like for the first time?

SPEAKER_00 1:17

Um, yeah, it was a very surreal experience. I think the the one that the thing that really kind of surprised me was when uh when I got the email the day before or a few days before to give me the movement schedule that the team sent out, and you just saw how many people are working on a touring car, and then you know that you're responsible for the car that so many people are putting a lot of effort into. Everything I've done before that has really been me and a couple of people, so yeah, that was quite intimidating. And then jumping in the car itself. Um, yeah, unfortunately, the first lap I uh did make a bit of a fool of myself and spun on cold tires, which uh was well publicised. So thanks to everybody who took pictures of that and put it everywhere. Um, but it was it is it was uh everything that I thought it would be. It was um yeah, very quick car, um quite sketchy at places, quite nervous down the crane of curves at Donnington. That was the first time I drove it, but yeah, an incredible experience.

SPEAKER_01 2:09

And you're jumping into a proven team as well, where there's a lot of support there for you, like you've just alluded to, there's a lot of people who uh help put you on the grid. But Napa, I've always uh uh sensed, uh, you know, with Alliance Racing in there as well, very much family. It feels like a family from the off. Yeah, it does.

SPEAKER_00 2:28

I think that was the big attraction to me when I met Pete Osborne and Ollie Collins. Um, we instantly clicked, they're great guys, um, they're very welcoming, and um, I think they allow us as a company to promote our brand in a way that not a lot of teams would probably allow. You know, we work so closely together, they think about how to help promote us as well. It's a really nice environment. Um, we get along really well. Um, yeah, and it's I have to thank them both really for everything they've done for me and the company that I work for.

SPEAKER_01 2:58

An interesting one for you because you're sort of expanding your day job in a way, aren't you?

SPEAKER_00 3:02

I am. Yeah, I am, yeah. It makes my day job a lot harder because I've got to catch up in the evenings and at weekends. Um, but actually, apart from the March testing programme, throughout the season, it's probably slightly easier than the JCWs, because the JCWs you had to get on a Thursday because you were practicing on the Friday, whereas you don't have that with a touring car. So I do almost get a day back in those weeks. So yeah, hopefully. That's how I sold it to my boss anyway. Yeah, well, good.

SPEAKER_01 3:28

I I think it sounds like you did a good job. Um, no, lots to get used to for you, um, but you'll know the circuits particularly uh well. Um, however, everybody's talking about this new qualifying uh format with the qualifying race uh that's going to happen. What have you made of that so far? How much time have you spent boring over the instructions? I had to get Tom Chilton to explain it to me this morning.

SPEAKER_00 3:50

I might go and see Tom there myself. Um, I think the the main thing that I've taken from it is it's it is look quite intimidating to be honest, and it's more the single practice session. Yeah. Because clearly I've driven the touring car now here, Donnington, Snetterton, and um Croft. But I haven't driven one at Alton Park. I haven't been to Thruxton for 23 years. I've not driven a car around there, so I don't I won't have the chance to drive a touring car for particularly long before I go straight into qualifying. So that's kind of my immediate wow moment. Um, I've got to adapt quite quickly. Um but I have got, as you've mentioned, some fantastic people around me. Um I've got some very good teammates that help out and help me prepare for each each race. So we'll see how it goes.

SPEAKER_01 4:31

Have have you been pleased with what you've achieved so far? Because I mean it there is a certain amount, you put pressure on yourself, don't you, to do well. And and you just said jumping in that car for the first time is quite something. Um but have you have you achieved what you wanted to achieve in the time, the seat time that you've had so far?

SPEAKER_00 4:47

Um largely, yeah. I think day two at Croft um I struggled a bit. Um kind of got slightly lost on setup. That was more my fault than anyone else's. I wanted to try a few things, um, but even that was good because I learned what I don't like. So yeah, so far it's been it's been good. Um, it's really getting up to speed quick enough. I feel I can get up to a decent pace by the end of the day, is I need to start doing it a bit quicker. Um, but yeah, I feel very comfortable in the car. Um yeah, I've had no issues driving it. I've got a few, let's say, flaws in the way I drive a car because I've come from a very different type of car, I've come from old classic cars mainly. So I need to slightly change the way I drive, but the team are helping me do that.

SPEAKER_01 5:26

I I know I remember a few years ago talking to uh a couple of drivers who had come from different series, and they'd said that the the expectation was that it was the BTCC was just bigger, faster. But actually what caught them by surprise was the actual race craft required to go up against you know the multiple champions and the eager and and whatever else that are on the grid. Is that something that you've you've already given some thought to?

SPEAKER_00 5:53

Um not particularly. Sorry to have mentioned it then. No, no, I think I'll just go with the flow, really, and see uh see how much they bully me on the first race. Yeah, I think um you know, with uh most of the people on the on the grid have all raced in various different categories. Um, and you've raced against good, bad, average drivers, and um we'll just see how it goes, really. Um I've done all sorts over the years, so hopefully, from a racecraft wise, I'll be okay, fingers crossed.

SPEAKER_01 6:19

Looking ahead to um the summer break, which comes I think slightly early this year. We've got four rounds, uh four weekends, and then we're into the summer break. What would you like to have achieved? Where would you like to be in the championship at that point?

SPEAKER_00 6:34

Have you set yourself as a mark in the sand? Yeah, good question. I think I'd um I'd very much like to be quick enough to challenge for the top ten. I think that would be nice. I'm not too unrealistic with you know top fives. If I can start trying to eke into that top ten from a pace wise, I'd be absolutely delighted with that, to be honest. Um that's my that's my first target I've set myself. I don't like to try and get too far ahead of myself. I think if I can try and do that to begin with, and if that if I don't achieve that till after the summer break, so be it. But that's where I want to get to first.

SPEAKER_01 7:04

Absolutely. Well, we'll keep our fingers crossed that uh that you can uh can achieve that. I'm sure you will. A lot of the drivers are saying to me that they're they're anticipating this being one of the best uh championship seasons for a long time, and it sort of just feels like that. The build-up so far on social media and the chat with the fans and whatever, it just feels like this could be one of the big ones.

SPEAKER_00 7:23

Oh, hopefully. I could do with a few more rookies to race against, but um, have a great season.

SPEAKER_01 7:29

Um really good to uh to welcome to the uh to the series. Um uh what you won't know is that uh at this time of the year um I like to ask a couple of questions which have sort of pretty much nothing to do with the BTCC. Okay. Just to see where you are and also maybe test your sense of humour. This year they're on the highway code. Oh dear. You're not the only one who's looked so panicked. So uh choose a number one, two, or three. Three. Ah. So you have stopped in an emergency area, an ERE emergency refuge area on on the highway in the UK. Before you rejoin the carriageway, what must you do according to the highway code rule 278? Put on your hazards, put on your headlights, use the emergency phone, or wave your arm out of the window to alert other drivers. Or go with hazards, seems to make sense. It's actually you you have to use the emergency phone if you've pulled into an emergency area to alert the operator who may, depending on your circumstances, then decide to request assistance in closing a lane so that you can rejoin safely. Oh, okay. Every day's a learning day. Fine fine. Let's do one more. One or two. Over one. Forty miles per hour in the dry. What does the highway code suggest is the stopping distance? In either metres, feet, or car lengths. It's quite bad, this isn't it. Go for 20 metres. 20 metres? Yeah. You've just hit the car in front, it's 36 metres. Oh dear. Nine car lengths. Wow. But anyway, let's hope you can stop a lot quicker in a touring car than you can in a road car. Lewis, really good to uh to chat to you. Thank you for your time and have a great season. Thank you very much.