Ricky Collard appears to have said goodbye to the British Touring Car Championship after his thrilling Sunday at Thruxton.
After a Saturday that saw yet-another Team VERTU reliability issue force Collard out of the Race to Pole, he completed a stunning recovery Sunday at the tough-to-overtake speedbowl.
While it wouldn’t quite match his climb to the podium at Oulton Park, ending the day in P4 is just another example of Collard’s talents. Talents which, as feared by many, may no longer be seen in the BTCC.
Collard’s funding struggles have been well-publicised through 2026, even admitting his future ‘doesn’t look good’ at Oulton Park. And, despite sitting P5 in the Drivers’ Championship, the dream could well be over.
“If this is my last time in a touring car I wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone that supported me,” Collard told BTCC media.
“The only message I can say is peace out.”
Team VERTU had already formalised a replacement for Collard for the final two rounds of the season. 57-year-old Japanese driver Osamu Kawashima will make his debut at Silverstone in September, 10 years after testing a Speedworks Toyota Avensis.
As for the gap between, no rumours are floating around the paddock.
Ricky Collard: Thruxton thrills ‘how touring cars should be’
The highlight of Collard’s weekend came in Sunday’s Race 3, where he usurped pole-sitter James Dorlin with a stunning sideways overtake.
Having started the race from P11, Collard found himself climbing through the pack at a rate of knots, joined by NAPA Racing UK stand-in Senna Proctor in carving through the field.
“Today is a real mix of emotions, real highs and lows of British touring cars.”
“One of them days where it’s what could have been – shows how important it is to qualify well and have good reliability and not make mistakes.
“We had a mechanical gremlin in the sprint race which meant I’ve had to start last, absolutely stone dead last, so every race I’ve overtaken. I’ve done more overtaking I think than anybody in this Championship, because I also ended up qualifying last at Oulton Park – so somehow I’m still fifth in the Championship.”
Switching the focus to his move on the Restart Racing driver, Collard added: “I think everyone liked that move on Dorlin.
“I was looking at him out the side of my window when I was sideways.
“Great respect between all of us. I kept it on so I didn’t push him wide or lean on him, there was no contact, and it’s how touring cars should be.”
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