Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing ready for 2024 BTCC season-opener

Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing are targeting a strong start to their 2024 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship campaign this weekend (27-28 April) as the series descends on Donington Park for the annual curtain-raiser.

Ready to launch what will be their tenth full-throttle season in the UK’s premier motorsport series, spirits are high inside the Worcestershire-based team as they look to target title glory in both the Independent Teams’ and Drivers’ categories.  

Despite slimming down its presence to two cars this year, the outfit has retained its spine in the shape of multiple race winner Árón Taylor-Smith, Jack Sears Trophy runner-up Mikey Doble and its trusty Vauxhall Astras.

Armed with a years’ worth of experience with the squad, Taylor-Smith and Doble will be looking to build on what was a memorable 2023 where the Irishman netted a handful of outright podiums and Doble scored a sensational pole position at Silverstone.

With a number of upgrades having been made to the front-wheel-drive Astras over the winter, both drivers - as well as the rest of the team - are now eager to make their mark as regular front-runners.

Árón Taylor-Smith: “I think everyone at the PMR can go into the first round full of confidence following on from everything that we’ve achieved in pre-season testing. We’ve stuck to our plan, worked through our programme and that should put us in good stead for the year ahead.

“Personally, I am more confident than I’ve ever been going into a new season. The continuity of staying with the team, knowing the mechanics and engineers and having Mikey alongside me can’t be stated enough.

“I’m excited to get to Donington so that we can put on a show and see where we stack up.”

Mikey Doble: “I really can’t wait to get the season underway at Donington Park this weekend. A lot of work has gone on behind the scenes to ensure we’re in the best possible place for the new season. 

“Pre-season testing has been largely positive so I’m looking forward to seeing where we will slot in against our rivals come qualifying on Saturday afternoon.

“My aim this season is to go and contend for both the Jack Sears Trophy and the Independent Drivers’ Championship, simple as that. I’m feeling confident that we can kick the season off on the right foot.”

Martin Broadhurst, Team Manager: “Given how busy the whole team has been since the end of last season it sort of feels like the start of the new campaign has come round in no time at all. 

“As we all know, you can’t stand still in the BTCC and that’s why we’ve been meticulous in our preparations for this season; with a clear and concise plan of what changes we wanted to make to the car.

“Having the benefit of retaining Árón and Mikey has been huge and its underlined that the improvements we’ve made have worked. We’re in good shape and should be able to enjoy a strong start to the season.”

Adam Weaver, Team Principal: “This is set to be our tenth season competing in the BTCC and the feeling among the team is that this has the potential to be one of our strongest seasons to-date.

“The off-season has been really strong for us. Away from the track we’ve built upon a number of long-standing partnerships whilst also forging some new relationships too. 

“Testing has been really productive as well with a number of changes being made to the car which both Árón and Mikey have been happy with. Everything feels like it is in a good place so we can’t wait to get going now.”5E

Three action-packed races will lift the curtain on the new 30-race BTCC season, with live and free-to-air coverage broadcast across ITV4 and TikTok.