Curley confirmed in second Lexus for Donington

New BTCC team SpeedEquipe has confirmed that it will enter not one, but two Lexus IS200s in the opening rounds of the championship at Donington in less than two weeks, despite neither car having yet turned a wheel. And what’s more, second driver Ian Curley reckons that the team could be challenging for wins by the end of the season.

“The car is gonna be awesome,” said the former Mini champion. “It's got some really good guys building it and there's been a lot of really good input from a lot of good people so I don't see why by the end of the year we won't be on the podium and standing a chance of winning some races. That's what we're here for, we're not just here to make the numbers up.

“We've been waiting for some parts for the car but all the parts are there now so it's just a case of assembling them. The first car will run at the end of this week and my car will be ready for Donington. It's going to be a bit of a frantic rush to get it ready but it'll be there.”

Unlike some independents, SpeedEquipe chose to develop a completely new car as opposed to buying a second-hand model from one of the works teams.

“That was the main reason we chose the Lexus, so we could build a car that was truly independent - it wasn't an Astra or an MG, it was unique,” said Curley, twice a race winner in last year’s Clio Cup. “We went with the Lexus because it's rear-wheel drive and as a base car it's very good so hopefully that can be slid over into the race car and work well.”

Curley’s team-mate, Richard Williams, was confirmed back in the autumn. The two finished drivers were separated by just two points in last year’s Clio Cup standings with Williams fourth and Curley fifth. After several years of competing in front-wheel drive cars in both the Clio Cup and mini racing, Curley will face a challenge to adapt to the Lexus, the only car in the field to be rear-wheel drive.

“I'm not really that worried about it,” said Curley. “I've done a few tests in a TVR Tuscan a while ago and never really had a problem adapting to the rear-wheel drive so I think it'll be different, but it's still a car and as soon as we've done a few laps it'll be fine.”

Following a deal with radio controlled car makers HPI Europe, the team will now be called “HPI Racing with Friends Reunited.” Friends Reunited, a sponsor of the team from their time in Clios, continue to support the team.

By Paul Rayner