Nicolas Hamilton has been announced for a full-time assault in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) for the 2019 season with Motorbase.
The brother of five-time Formula 1 champion and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, Nicolas will compete in BTCC in the 2019 season driving a ROKiT-liveried Ford Focus RS car as a teammate to Tom Chilton and Ollie Jackson.
This will be Hamilton’s first full chance in Britain’s top touring car championship after making his debut in 2015 with AmD Tuning, where he only did 12 races. He skipped racing in 2016 all-together and returned in 2017 to compete in Renault Clio UK series.
Hamilton continued to compete in the series in 2018 as well and will now move to BTCC. Considering his medical condition as he suffers from cerebral palsy, Hamilton will drive a specially designed Ford car in the season.
“I cannot actually believe that I will be back on the BTCC grid this year. I have been in and out of different series since I started racing due to a lack of funding and general support,” said Hamilton with the announcement.
“A lot of people assume that due to my name, I will have all of the funding in the world, but this could not be any further from the truth. I have been on my own for the past six years, grinding away, trying to get a full season under my belt with all of the support I need.
“I have not had a continuous career in motorsport that allows me to work on my foundation. I have just been testing at the races, doing a decent job due to my funding level and experience, but getting judged on who I am related to.
“I am very proud that I finally get this chance to have a full crack at motorsport and to be doing it in the BTCC, driving for a competitive outfit such as Motorbase Performance, is unbelievable. It gives me great pride in knowing that, when I sit in my car this year, I did it all off my own back.
“I can’t wait to get started. I am still very inexperienced and am just going to take it all in my stride, do as best as I can, drive like I know I can, develop my craft and see where that takes me. I have a new title partner this year, ROKiT, an exciting new telco brand challenging the status quo.
“They offer premium smartphones technology, performance and design at an affordable price, as well as installing innovative Wi-Fi networks to make the world a better place. I am absolutely honoured to be representing them in 2019.
“As well as having ROKiT on-board, each specific relationship I have with my additional partners is very personal to me. Each brand/company has their own story behind their support for me and I am truly grateful.
“Monster Energy, BigChange, DUO PLC, PalmerSport, PUMA Motorsport, Arai Helmets and NGK Spark Plugs. Without their collective support, an opportunity like this would be impossible,” the British racer added.
Motorbase Team Principal, David Bartrum added: “I’m looking forward to Nic joining us in the BTCC. He brings a different type of journey for us to go on with him. He also brings with him a steely determination, a willingness to learn and a craving to succeed.
“From what I’ve of Nic so far, his approach is very professional and I would defy anyone to spend five minutes in his company not to be inspired by him. We have a very good pre-season test schedule to give him time to acquaint himself with the team and his new car to give him the best chance possible.”
https://twitter.com/nicolashamilton/status/1095010529662418946
[Read: Williams reveal F1 2019 car with ROKit as title sponsor]