Reigning British and former European truck racing champion Stuart Oliver will race a BTC Racing Lexus IS200 in this year’s HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship.

Oliver, seven times a British truck champion, will be team-mate to Chris Stockton and his signing will be seen as major coup for BTC as it enters only its second full BTCC season. Meanwhile, Oliver’s arrival into Britain’s premier motor racing series is likely to bring with it a considerable following – his own fan base from his years as one of the world’s top truck racers has grown to almost 15,000.

And the 44-year-old from Hexham, County Durham does not foresee any problems in the transition from trucks to touring cars. He told BTCC.net: “I’ve probably achieved everything there is to achieve in ten years of truck racing, so I’m looking for a new challenge and it doesn’t come much tougher than the BTCC.

“I think the discipline and racecraft will be pretty similar – I’m used to a bit of rubbing and squeezing through some tight gaps. I’m just going to be doing it sitting two metres closer to the ground!”

Oliver, who runs a transport warehousing company, confirmed he’ll continue to “fit in as many truck events as possible”.

On joining BTC, he added: “It is a great opportunity to be involved in a team that has great potential going forward in the BTCC. I am looking forward to working alongside Chris and the established team and hope that my experience in British and European truck racing will bring some development opportunities for the team.”

Stockton, co-owner of the BTC Racing squad and who produced some giant-killing acts in the Lexus last season, said:” The signing of a driver with the racing experience of Stuart is very exciting news and I am really looking forward to partnering him in the team and seeing what we can achieve this year. This signing, along with the development we have done on the cars over the winter, means that it is going be a very exciting year for us.”

Team principal Bert Taylor commented: “Stuart’s decision to join our young team speaks volumes for the effort the whole team put in last year. It just goes to show that all our hard work has finally paid off and that the pedigree of our drivers should deliver the results that we as a team are striving to achieve. The whole team is really excited about this year and can’t wait for the season to begin.”