BTCC: Lewis Gilbert joins WSR for the remainder of the 2026 season

WSR have announced that Lewis Gilbert will drive the third BMW for the remainder of the BTCC season.

The Scottish driver will make his debut in the BTCC at Thruxton joining Daryl De Leon and Charles Rainford in a now three car BMW lineup for the rest of the season. He won the Euro Series X30 Junior title in karting in 2018 before taking the Kartmasters British GP and Rotax Junior Class as well that same year. He would go on to secure more victories across karting as he went to higher levels before testing F4 and Formula Regional cars earlier this year. He would score a couple top ten finishes in GB3 this year in his debut year before now moving to Touring Cars for the second half of the year.

Gilbert will test the WSR BMW at Snetterton later this week ahead of his debut at Thruxton and he will compete in the Jack Sears Trophy as well as compete for Independent and Overall honours throughout the remainder of the season.

After signing, Lewis Gilbert said: “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. 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 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 of West Surrey Racing, said: “We’re very pleased to welcome Lewis to WSR. 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.”