BTCC: Bensley joins Toyota for remainder of the season

Ryan Bensley returns to the BTCC to replace Max Buxton for the remainder of the season at Toyota.

Bensley joins the team after racing briefly in an impressive debut outing with Hyundai last year at Snetterton, where he would show great speed in his first outing in the touring car field while also showing a professional attitude and having excellent technical feedback to his engineers, making him a promising prospect.

He initially started don the traditional karting path, racing against the likes of Lewis Hamilton on the way up the ladder before moving to Stock Hatch which took more interest from him than single seater racing. He would go on to claim the 2008 championship in the series before leaving full-time competition, only making one-off appearances in Citroen C1’s alongside now teammate Josh Cook.

Bensley would return to racing in the Civic Cup in 2020 and 2021 before having a good one-off outing in 2024 at TCR UK claiming fifth on debut. He would claim another couple of points finishes in 2025 with a fifth and sixth which gave him an opportunity to race in the BTCC at Snetterton. Now returning to the BTCC in 2026, he looks to use his experience and skill to claim some solid results for Toyota.

Meanwhile, Buxton will move to a reserve driver and development role as part of Speedworks Motorsports long-term strategy meaning he will remain with the team for the foreseeable future, helping him prepare for a return to the grid after showing great professionalism and work ethic.

With the announcement, Christian Dick, Speedworks Corolla Racing Team Principal, said: "Firstly, I'd like to thank Max for the professionalism he's shown throughout this process. He's an important part of our programme and that certainly doesn't change with this announcement. We've always viewed driver development as a long-term journey, not simply what happens over a handful of race weekends. Max will continue to play a valuable role within the team, working closely with our engineers, coaching our Rising Stars Junior programme and remaining fully involved in our BTCC operation as Reserve Driver. At the same time, we're absolutely delighted to welcome Ryan to Speedworks Corolla Racing. He impressed everyone with his performances last year, and we've been following his progress closely. He's quick, technically minded, works exceptionally well with Josh, and we're excited to see what we can achieve together during the remainder of the season."

After the announcement, Ryan Bensley said: "I'm incredibly excited to be joining Speedworks Corolla Racing and I'd like to thank Christian, Danny and everyone involved for the opportunity. Credit to Max, who I think showed great courage stepping into the BTCC at such a competitive time, and to hold his own was remarkable given his short racing career prior to joining. It’s a dream to drive for Speedworks Corolla Racing! Competing in the BTCC has been my life goal, but to also driver alongside Josh Cook – who has been so instrumental in my career to date, gives me the best platform to learn quickly ensuring we have the best chance to succeed as a team this year and next. Thruxton will be a massive challenge, but it’s actually my favourite track and with the new format, I can’t wait to get stuck in.”

Max Buxton added: "I’ve loved the first part of the year and yes, naturally, every racing driver wants to be on the grid, but I’ll continue to keep working away behind the scenes. I'm grateful to Speedworks for continuing to invest in my development. This certainly isn't the end of my BTCC journey – in many ways it's just another step along it. The goal is to be back on the grid as soon as possible, and I'll be using this opportunity to keep learning, keep developing and make myself an even stronger driver when that chance comes. I'll still be with the team at every event, supporting Ryan and Josh, working alongside the engineering team, supporting the team’s Rising Stars programme and contributing wherever I can. I'm determined to keep improving and make sure I'm ready when the opportunity arrives."