BTCC: James Dorlin joins Restart Racing for 2026

After competing with Toyota and Speedworks in 2025, James Dorlin makes the switch to Restart for the upcoming BTCC season.

Dorlin becomes the first driver to be announced by Restart Racing with another driver set to be announced soon.

Dorlin joined the BTCC in 2025 after competing in British GT Porsche Sprint Challenge GB. He claimed the 2020 title for the latter while also taking the Silver-Am Championship in British GT in 2022. Previously, he was a McLaren Development Driver where he built a reputation for being highly adaptable. Joining Toyota and Speedworks Motorsport last season, he would immediately impress managing to reach the 'Quick Six' in qualifying on multiple occasions and ten points finishes across his twenty-one starts.

After signing, James Dorlin said: “I’m very grateful for the opportunity to join Restart Racing for the 2026 season, especially off the back of the success they had last year. After the disappointment of having to cut my season short in 2025, a lot of effort has gone into making sure I’m back on the grid and ready to fight properly this time around. I think we’ve got a really competitive package at Restart and a great group of people behind the team, so I’m looking forward to getting in the car at Croft and seeing what we can do. Thanks to Pete, Chris and everyone involved in making this possible.”

Team Principal of Restart Racing, Pete Jones, added: “James showed last year that he has real pace in the BTCC. Now he has the car and the team around him to show what he can do. Dan did a fantastic job for us last season, and now we’re excited to give James the opportunity to build on that. We’re really pleased to have him join the team, and I’m looking forward to seeing him out in the car at Croft.”