Rory Butcher will mount his first full season in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship this year after being named as AMDTuning.com’s fourth driver for 2018.
The Scotsman will partner Tom Boardman in the second AutoAid/RCIB Insurance Racing MG6 GT, alongside the team’s Audi S3 pairing Ollie Jackson and Sam Smelt.
Butcher made his championship debut last season with Motorbase after filling the seat left by Luke Davenport due to his injuries sustained at Croft.
The 31 year old enjoyed a standout debut on home tarmac at Knockhill with a pair of top ten finishes, and went on to add two more points finishes.
Butcher, who will be eligible for the Jack Sears Trophy, got get his first taste of the AmD MG at Snetterton recently as he shared a car with Boardman.
“I was determined to try and get a place on the grid this year to build on what I learned from the final four rounds of 2017 and to start building a long-term BTCC career,” said Butcher.
“In January, it looked like it wasn’t going to be possible but then I spoke to AmD and with a lot of effort from the team and from my sponsors we’ve been able to pull together a deal.
“The BTCC is such a strong series that it hard to make too many predictions about what we can expect to achieve, but my goal is to regularly fight inside the points.”
Butcher makes his full-time BTCC move with experience in UK and European sportscar racing, with AmD boss Shaun Hollamby excited about his signing.
“We are delighted to have concluded a deal with Rory for 2018. The way he performed last year when he joined the grid in difficult circumstances was hugely impressive,” he commented.
“Since announcing the MG programme, a huge amount of work has gone into preparing and updating the cars and bringing in the drivers is the final piece of the jigsaw.
“I’m confident that in Rory and Tom, we have a pairing is capable of picking up some really strong results on track. We want to challenge towards the front.”
Butcher’s addition to the grid means just one more driver needs to be confirmed for the full 2018 entry, which is rumoured to be in a third Team BMR Subaru Levorg.
