Collard joins Plato at PMR Vauxhall
British Touring Car Championship stalwart Rob Collard will switch to the Power Maxed Racing team this season to line up alongside Jason Plato in the squad’s Vauxhall Astras.
The 15-time race winner has inked a deal with the factory-backed outfit and is relishing the chance to get back into a front-wheel-drive tin-top for the first time since he raced a SEAT Leon at the end of 2007.
Collard said: “It is an exciting new challenge – I have been watching Power Maxed Performance’s development over the last few years and they are a team on the move.
“It will also be interesting working with Jason Plato: we have been rubbing door mirrors for so long now but it will be a different story now we are in sister cars.”
Collard had driven for the WSR BMW team for the last nine seasons in the BTCC.
He was forced to sit out the latter part of 2018 after an accident at Snetterton aggravated a head injury which he initially sustained in a crash at Silverstone in 2017.
He was replaced by his son Ricky for the final four meetings last term, but Rob is now keen to get back to the front of the grid.
“Power Maxed was in a position to win races last season and we obviously want to carry that form on,” said the 2003 Independents Trophy winner. “I am fighting fit and raring to go.
“I am not someone who likes to make too many predictions about what is to come, but I would like to think I am competitive and I will be in the top six in the points going towards the end of the year. From there, anything can be possible.”
Josh Cook, Power Maxed Racing Vauxhall Astra
Photo by: JEP / LAT Images
Powed Maxed Racing tied up a deal to run the factory-backed Vauxhall Astra in 2017 and it was a podium finisher in its maiden campaign before going on to take three wins in the 2018 season.
PMR finished joint second in the BTCC teams contest and third in the manufacturers-constructors championship last year.
PMR team principal Adam Weaver added: “After our breakthrough year in 2018, we have been looking for a driver line=up that not only matches our ambitions, but that also has the speed and experience to help us realise those ambitions.
“I am delighted that Rob has decided to join PMR to complete what I believe to be an incredibly strong driver line up.
"It is quite surreal for me as the two drivers we have signed are ones that I group up watching and are a big part of the reason I fell so in love with BTCC in the first place.”
2019 BTCC line-up so far
WSR BMW: Colin Turkington, Tom Oliphant, Andrew Jordan
Team Dynamics Honda: Matt Neal, Dan Cammish
Power Maxed Racing Vauxhall: Jason Plato, Rob Collard
Motorbase Perfromance Ford: Tom Chilton, Ollie Jackson, Nic Hamilton
Speedworks Motorsport Toyota: Tom Ingram
Ciceley Motorsport Mercedes: Adam Morgan, Daniel Rowbottom
BTC Racing Honda: Josh Cook, Chris Smiley
Team BMR Subaru: Ash Sutton, Senna Proctor
AmD Tuning Honda: Sam Tordoff, Rory Butcher
Laser Tools Racing Mercedes: Aiden Moffat
Simpson Racing Honda: Matt Simpson
Team Hard VW: Mike Bushell, Carl Boardley, Bobby Thompson, Michael Crees
Excelr8 Motorsport MG: Rob Smith
Trade Price Cars Audi: Jake Hill, Mark Blundell
"Bruised and beaten up" Plato came close to BTCC hiatus
BMW brings back 3 Series to BTCC in 2019
BTCC Snetterton: Turkington pips Hill to take last gasp pole
British Touring Car Championship points leader Colin Turkington grabbed pole position at Snetterton in a qualifying session dominated by BMW, narrowly beating his West Surrey Racing stablemate Jake Hill.
BTCC Knockhill: Gamble claims maiden BTCC win in finale
British Touring Car Championship rookie George Gamble took his maiden series victory in the reversed-grid finale to the Knockhill round.
BTCC Knockhill: Sutton takes first Ford win after close Hill fight
Reigning British Touring Car champion Ash Sutton finally claimed his first victory of the 2022 season at Knockhill after another thrilling battle with Jake Hill.
BTCC Knockhill: Hill wins Race 1 after thrilling Sutton fight
Jake Hill took victory in the first race of the Knockhill round of the British Touring Car Championship after a scintillating battle with Ash Sutton.
Ranking the top 10 BTCC drivers of 2021
A refresh in equipment and some returning faces helped contribute to a supremely competitive 2021 British Touring Car Championship campaign. Ash Sutton was crowned a three-time champion, successfully defending his 2020 title, but faced stiff competition in the final year before the switch to hybrid. Motorsport.com picks out the best performers.
Why the BTCC's ballast increase couldn't stop champion Sutton
Ballast will be gone from the BTCC next year as hybrid power enters the scene, but for its final season the maximum was increased from 60kg to 75kg. Despite having to carry that nearly all season, Ash Sutton was always the favourite to pocket a third title - the 27-year-old getting his reward for a season of speed tempered by savvy to nail his opportunities
The much-loved tin-top superstar bowing out at 59
OPINION: It's not often that a driver achieves widespread affection for their personality, as well as their on-track performances. One such individual is Gabriele Tarquini, who will soon bring the curtain down on a remarkable career that has yielded touring car titles on the European and global stage - and, famously, in Britain too
The making of the BTCC's newest superstar
Ash Sutton is on the verge of being crowned a three-time British Touring Car Champion; he seems to have it all. But life hasn't always been straightforward for this superstar of touring cars, as Marcus Simmons has been finding out
Five key plotlines to follow in the 2021 BTCC
It’s been a busy silly season in the BTCC since the chequered flag fell to end the 2020 campaign last November. While last year’s top two have stayed put, there’s been a lot of fat to chew elsewhere, which should result in another fascinating year of tin-top action.
Why a BTCC legend remains defiant at '97 not out'
After a year of enforced absence from the British Touring Car Championship grid, Jason Plato is back and hungrier than ever. Despite stellar opposition and some familiar challenges, the two-time champion still has his eyes focused on the biggest prizes.
The Top 10 BTCC drivers of 2020
The 2020 British Touring Car Championship will go down as a classic in which new winners graced the top step of the podium and an unloved chassis was resurrected into a champion. But who were the year's top performers?
The Villeneuve-esque 'engineer's dream' who lit up BTCC 2020
The Infiniti Q50 was completely redesigned, redeveloped and revamped by BMR and Laser Tools Racing for 2020. And the flamboyant brilliance of the driver behind the wheel was enough to snatch the title at the last gasp…