The MINI CHALLENGE will further strengthen its link to the British Touring Car Championship when Callum Newsham joins the JCW category this year, being run by his father – BTCC regular Dave Newsham.
Newsham Jnr only began his own racing career two years ago, competing in club karting in Scotland. Having progressed to become a frontrunner in the domestic series, 18-year-old Newsham will now make the leap into JCW racing.
The car will be entered under the family Newsham Racing banner, with Dave retiring from the BTCC after seven successful seasons to become team manager and mentor his son’s own racing ambitions.
Newsham Snr most recently raced with the BTC Norlin team in a Chevrolet Cruze, scoring a podium finish at Silverstone last year. He is a two-time BTCC race winner across his career.
“I’ve had a good run with my own racing, and now it’s time for Callum to have a go and I want to be right there to support that,” said Newsham.
“The MINI CHALLENGE is the perfect option for us as the JCWs are basically little touring cars and suit my own front-wheel-drive experience.
“We’re going to set up as our own team and I’ll run the car. We’ve bought a JCW and we’ll have three tests where I’ll drive the car to find a base setup and then Callum will be gaining the vast majority of miles to get ready for the season. He’s in at the deep end, but I know he’ll swim just fine.
“There’s no pressure on Callum and I’ve never forced him to follow in my footsteps with racing. In recent years he’s become more and more interested and this year he’s chomping at the bit to get into cars, so the MINI series is the perfect fit. It’ll be an exciting season with a lot to learn… for both of us!”
The arrival of the Newshams signals the fourth team with BTCC links to take part in the MINI CHALLENGE JCW Championship – following Team Dynamics [Henry and Will Neal], Eurotech [Brett and Jeff Smith] and Power Maxed Racing.