James Kaye will switch machinery for the remainder of the 2013 British Touring Car Championship, driving an S2000 Honda Civic for the same AmDTuning squad.
The experienced Kaye will leave the driving seat of the Essex-based AmD team’s Volkswagen Golf that he has been at the helm of throughout the 2013 season so far, jumping into an ex-Team Dynamics Civic from the next event at Snetterton onwards.
Kaye has picked up two Jack Sears Trophy victories thus far in 2013, AmD boss Shaun Hollamby leaping at the opportunity to acquire the Dynamics Civic to assist the team’s pursuit of further success this year in the S2000 class.
Hollamby said: “I’d like to say a massive thank-you to Team Dynamics and to Honda for allowing us to use what is undoubtedly one of the best engine-chassis combinations ever seen in the championship. The guys have been fantastic – they were incredibly helpful when we were testing at Snetterton yesterday (24 July) and have worked flat out to get the car ready for us.
“It was important from our point of view that there was a dialogue with the Dynamics engineers, and they were very enthusiastic about getting the car out there again.”
Hollamby admitted that the team’s focus now lies solely on picking up wns during the remainder of the season, with Kaye currently on a deficit of four wins to current Jack Sears Trophy leader Lea Wood on six victories.
…although the AmD VW Golf is not banished yet (Photo: AmDTuning.com)
He also quashed any speculation that the Civic’s arrival may spell the end of the Volkswagen Golf’s BTCC life, Hollamby hinting that the car – which has been in the championship under the AmD banner since 2010 – is likely to continue with a second driver behind the wheel for the latter half of the current season.
“The aim for the rest of the season is to add more wins”, continued Hollamby. “This car will give us the best possible opportunity to do so, but we’re hoping to run the Golf alongside it as well. We’re talking to a number of drivers at the moment, and the car is still very much capable of getting class wins.
“Our aim going into the BTCC this season was to win the Jack Sears Trophy with the Golf, and we were pleased with the good start we had. The car has been as quick if not quicker than our main rivals, but the big crash at Donington set us back a long way. The opportunity to switch to the Civic arose as a result of James’ relationship with Honda and it was too good to miss.”
