Blundell returns to BTCC in 2020 with sporting director role

BTCC News

Mark Blundell takes the role of sporting director role in the newly-rebranded MB Motorsport BTCC team

MB Motorsport 2 resized

Hollamby & Blundell: team owner and sporting director of MB Motorsport

Ex-Formula 1 driver and 1992 Le Mans 24 Hours winner Mark Blundell will return to the British Touring Car Championship in 2020 as sporting director for the rebranded AmD Tuning squad.

Blundell retired from motor sport at the end of 2019 following a single campaign in the BTCC aboard a Trade Price Cars Racing Audi S3 in which he scored just two points finishes in 30 races and ended up 28th in the standings.

In what is being called a “strategic alliance”, the rebranding of the BTCC Independents Trophy champion to Mark Blundell (MB) Motorsport will not change its structure significantly, as Shaun Hollamby will continue in his role as team principal.

Its 2020 driver line-up of BTCC sophomore Sam Osborne and Jake Hill, who was Blundell’s team-mate in 2019, will also be retained, the pair driving Honda Civic Type R FK2s.

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“I made no secret of how impressed I was with the British Touring Car Championship as a platform last year,” said Blundell. “As I found out quite clearly, it is fiercely competitive, and if you ask anyone involved, it’s that unpredictable race result that is a huge attraction.

“Last year, together with my team at our sports management and marketing agency, MB Partners, we proved the value that the series can have for a number of major global brands, and the forming of ​MB Motorsport ​this year will allow us to further these partnerships and build on those relationships.

“Having reached this stage of my career, I love being involved in motor sport and this opportunity is a new challenge for me and one that opens channels for our managed driver portfolio at MB Partners and many of our commercial partners.

“I have a huge amount of respect for Shaun and his team who run an excellent operation, so working with them and forming ​MB Motorsport together provides us with a huge platform to build from both on and off the track.”

Mark Blundell racing at Thruxton in 2019 BTCC

Blundell retired after last season’s BTCC campaign with Trade Price Cars

Motorsport Images

Hollamby, formerly a BTCC driver who formed his race team in the 1990s, added: “Working with Mark and MB Partners last year was of huge benefit to us as a team, and this announcement signals the start of a new and really exciting chapter of our time in the BTCC.

“Mark found out firsthand just how tough this championship can be, but he brought with him a new level of detail, processes and the highest of standards to our operation.

“I have known Mark for a number of years, and we have always spoken about how we could work together – now we are finally getting the chance to do so formally.

“Our hope is that combining our pedigree within the BTCC, Mark’s experience and profile, and MB Partners’ commercial expertise can really take our whole operation to a new level and it is one we cannot wait to get started with.”

In the announcement confirming the new alliance, the team says “major announcements and unveilings” are planned ahead of the official pre-season test day at Silverstone on the 17th March.

The 2020 BTCC season will begin at Donington Park on March 28-29.