Ryan Bensley will make his British Touring Car Championship début at Snetterton this weekend, taking over the EXCELR8 Motorsport Hyundai raced by Michael Crees in the opening two events.
Bensley made his touring car début in TCR UK late last year, and has been continuing in TCR UK in 2025, where he has been racing a Lynk & Co 03 TCR.
The 40-year-old will now make his first appearance in the BTCC at his home circuit this weekend, as he steps into the Hyundai i30 N Fastback previously raced by Crees alongside team-mates Tom Ingram, Tom Chilton and Adam Morgan.
Crees had only been set to compete in half a season anyway, as his car is set to be taken over by Senna Proctor for the second half of the season.
Bensley was already backing Crees’ entry through his mortgage business prior to getting the opportunity to race the car himself.
“This season for me is all about building for the future, and over the first two weekends of the year I feel I’ve been able to show what I can do despite the fact that I went into the opening round with no testing and having been out of a car for twelve months,” explained Crees.
“Ryan is someone who has been a long-term commercial partner of mine through his mortgage business, and it’s always been his dream to be able to compete in the BTCC at Snetterton given it’s his home circuit.
“As I didn’t sign up for a full season and don’t have a championship to think about, this was the perfect opportunity to help him achieve that dream, and he’ll have my full support on track this weekend.”
Justina Williams, Team VERTU Team Owner, stressed that there is no pressure on Bensley to achieve any particular results in Norfolk.
“We’re delighted to welcome Ryan into the team this weekend at his home circuit and are looking forward to supporting him to achieve his goals on track,” added Williams.
“Although he has shown what he can do in other championships, we are fully aware that joining the BTCC grid is a big step up, and there is no pressure in terms of results.”