BTCC countdown continues for Aron Taylor-Smith at official Season Launch

Photo: Jakob Ebrey

Aron Taylor-Smith’s countdown to the start of the 2025 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship continued with the official Season Launch at Donington Park today [15 April].

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK marked the occasion by unveiling a striking new matte black and red livery on the Toyota Corolla GR Sport challengers of Taylor-Smith and his team-mates, with the Irishman also sporting a new race suit and helmet design at the East Midlands venue.

After meeting the media, the reigning Independent BTCC champion then took to the track, completing 63 laps of the 1.95-mile National layout, setting a best time of 1:08.428s as the 35-year-old continues to gather data and acclimatise to his new challenger.

The UK’s premier touring car series reconvenes at Donington Park on 26-27 April for the 2025 season opener, with an expected capacity trackside crowd and live TV coverage on ITV4.

Photo: Jakob Ebrey

Aron Taylor-Smith (#40) said: “I love the BTCC Season Launch - it always has a real ‘first day back at school’ vibe to it!

“It’s always a great occasion, and I’m so proud to show off the new car, the new suit and my new helmet design. It’s an honour to fly the flag for both TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK and all my fantastic partners, and I know we’re all going to have a fantastic season ahead.

“On track, it was another really positive day of testing for me. It’s only my fifth day in the Toyota Corolla GR Sport, so we haven’t even had the opportunity to show our full potential yet, which is really exciting, because I already feel as though we’re starting from a strong base line.

“There’s such a fantastic energy around the team at the moment; everyone’s worked very hard all winter to develop the package, we have four very competitive drivers and, from what I’ve seen and felt so far, everything I’d hoped for is here to be able to go out and put on a real show, starting back here at Donington in two weeks’ time.”