With the season opener of the 2023 British Touring Car Championship just days away, here’s a brief overview at the rookies joining the grid for their first season in Britain’s premier motorsport championship.

Andrew Watson

Andrew Watson is the first of this year’s BTCC Rookies competing with CarStore Power Maxed Racing. Watson will be bringing a wide range of racing knowledge to the team, having competed in the likes of the FIA World Endurance Championship, GT World Challenge Europe, British GT, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 

His resume also includes driving experience at the Daytona 24 Hours and Spa 24 Hours and has world-stage accolades in the FIA WEC from class podiums at the 6 Hours of Monza and the 8 Hours of Bahrain.

With all this success and experience in endurance racing, Watson has spoken of how “getting the opportunity to compete in the BTCC is really exciting” and that “the challenge of front-wheel drive will be an interesting one”, but will be one he is “looking forward to takling”.

However Watson isn’t new when it comes to racing at tracks frequented by the BTCC, as from 2013-2014 he competed in the Ginetta GT and GT4 Supercup Championships, which were part of the support network of races that followed the main headline races across the UK. He achieved 5 wins and 15 podiums over these 2 years with a best finish of 4th in the championship standings.

Andrew Watson will be racing for CarStore Power Maxed Racing under the number 11.

Ronan Pearson

Ronan Pearson is another Rookie making the step up to BTCC after competing in one of the support package racing championships.

After an impressive 2022 season campaign, where he took 3 race wins as part of his team’s championship assault in the MINI CHALLENGE series, Pearson will make his debut at this Seasons opener at Donington Park for BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8 Motorsport. 

Pearson spent the 2022 season also working alongside the title-winning BTCC team as a member of EXCELR8’s BTCC Young Driver Development Programme, helping him to gain insight into the requirements of the highest level of British Motorsport and what it takes to be successful. 

Pearson will be teammates with defending champion Tom Ingram, race winner Tom Chilton and fellow rookie Nick Halstead, which makes Pearson the first member of BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8’s BTCC Young Driver Development Programme to graduate to a BTCC race seat.

Ronan Pearson will be racing for BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8 Motorsport under the number 14.

Nick Halstead

Nick Halstead is another new face to the BTCC grid this year after joining BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8 Motorsport for his first full season with the team.

This isn’t Halstead’s first outing in Britain’s premier motosport series, as he made a one-off appearance for the same team at Croft in 2021, but has now made the full-time switch for the 2023 season. 

The 51-year-old has gained a wide variety of experience since his racing debut in 2017, which includes winning the Am category of the Ginetta GT5 Challenge in his second season.

He also competed in the Ginetta GT5 Supercup – where he secured 16 podiums (including 5 wins) in his debut year, and also competed in the British GT Championship in the GT4 Pro/Am class in 2020, where he secured an impressive Vice Champion position.

Nick Halstead will be racing for BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8 Motorsport under the number 22.

Mikey Doble

Mikey Doble is the last of this year’s rookies stepping up to compete in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship with CarStore Power Maxed Racing.

He will join race winner Aron Taylor-Smith and fellow rookie Andrew Watson in one of the Independent squad’s three Vauxhall Astras.

In 2022, Doble lead an impressive campaign, leading to a total of 12 victories and 10 other podium finishes in both the Ginetta GT5 Challenge and the BMW Compact Cup to be crowned the champion of each category on the same weekend.

When asked for his thoughts Doble remarked “To be able to announce I’ll be joining the BTCC for 2023 is an absolute dream come true”, later adding that he has “watched the BTCC for more than 20 years” and has always had his “sights set on one day becoming a touring car driver”.

Mikey Doble will race for CarStore Power Maxed Racing under the number 88.