West Surrey Racing will expand to run three cars for the remainder of the British Touring Car Championship season, after signing Lewis Gilbert for the final six events of 2026.
Scottish single-seater convert Gilbert will join Charles Rainford and Daryl De Leon behind the wheel of one of the team’s BMW 3 Series cars, as he makes his touring car racing début.
The 22-year-old will make his first race start at Thruxton later this month, before going on to complete the season.
Gilbert is a European Champion kart racer, securing the IAME Euro Series X30 Junior title in 2018 as well as the Kartmasters British GP crown in the Rotax Junior class the same year.
The North Ayrshire racer continued competing in karting in the following seasons, finishing runner-up in the Senior Max class in the RMC Grand Finals in 2022 and 2024, the International Trophy in ‘22, and the BNL Kart Series in ’23.
Gilbert went on to make his car racing début only earlier in 2026, having also tested F4 and Formula Regional cars before embarking on a programme in the GB3 Series partnered by the BRDC, where he has scored a best result of tenth, on two occasions, out of 12 races thus far.
The Scot will get his first opportunity to sample the BMW at Snetterton later this week.
“I’m thrilled to make my touring car debut with WSR and to join the BTCC – a series I’ve watched and loved for a long time,” said Gilbert.
“I’m only half a season into my car-racing career and already fortunate to be in a position to move into the BTCC, which has been a long-term aim since I started karting.
“WSR are the most successful team ever in the BTCC and with all the championships they won in single-seaters before that and the experience they have, I know I’m in the best place possible.
“I definitely feel like I’m in at the deep end with the fastest circuit on the calendar – Thruxton – first, and then my home track at Knockhill, which couldn’t be more different, straight after. But with the knowledge around me at WSR, I’m really looking forward to the challenge.”
Dick Bennetts, Team Principal, welcomed Gilbert into the fold.
“We’re very pleased to welcome Lewis to WSR,” said Bennetts. “Throughout our history we’ve developed a strong track record of working with young drivers and turning them into champions, whether it be Colin Turkington and Jake Hill in touring cars, or Ayrton Senna and Mika Hakkinen in Formula 3.
“Lewis is the latest in a long line of such young talents and he makes the switch from single-seaters to touring cars with a huge amount of promise waiting to be untapped.
“He’s probably quite a new name to many BTCC supporters, but we think he’ll be a fast learner and definitely has the potential to surprise quite a few people during the second half of the year.”