BTCC unveils new junior-level car

Race-winning British Touring Car Championship team Power Maxed Racing has begun production of the cars which will be used for a new junior championship on the BTCC package from next year.

The PM1 has been developed from the ground up specifically for 14-17 year-old drivers, with a number of as-yet-unnamed partners who are said to be among "the most respected names in motorsport" partnering on its development. It will include a full data and ECU package that mirrors high-level senior car systems, a spec power unit, and a sequential gearbox and differential, along with FIA-compliant safety systems.

Not just aimed at being accessible from a driving standpoint, the costs associated with the car have also been kept manageable. 'Read-to-race' cars are priced at £74,995 (approximately $102,000) – the first 10 cars sold will be priced at £69,995 (approximately $95,000) thanks to a £5,000 sponsorship contribution from the Power Maxed car care brand. A full season – of 30 races across 10 weekends – is said to cost £85,000 (approximately $115,000).

The new Junior Championship will be the first dedicated junior series on the BTCC package since the Ginetta Junior series left at the end. The latter is perhaps best known for starting 2025 Formula 1 world champion Lando Norris' car racing career, while other big names such as World Endurance Championship driver Sebastian Priaulx, three-time W Series champion Jamie Chadwick, 2024 F1 Academy champion Abbie Pulling, and BTCC champions Tom Ingram and Jake Hill also contested it.

After the Ginetta Junior series moved to the British GT support bill ahead of the 2023 season a replacement category for young drivers, featuring a car developed with British sports car manufacturer Chevron, was planned and slated to start in 2024. Its introduction was pushed back to 2025 but the plans were eventually dropped after the series failed to attract many entries.

As well as a first look at the car, Power Maxed has also announced Laura Payne, who has experience running the similarly-targeted BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship, as the new series' championship co-ordinator.

Topics

power maxed racing

british touring car championship

pm1

junior championship

ginetta junior

laura payne

british gt

chevron

BTCC

Dominik Wilde

Dominik often jokes that he was born in the wrong country – a lover of NASCAR and IndyCar, he covered both in a past life as a junior at Autosport in the UK, but he’s spent most of his career to date covering the sliding and flying antics of the U.S.’ interpretation of rallycross. Rather fitting for a man that says he likes “seeing cars do what they’re not supposed to do”, previously worked for a car stunt show, and once even rolled a rally car with Travis Pastrana. He was also comprehensively beaten in a kart race by Sebastien Loeb once, but who hasn’t been?

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