Team Dynamics to miss the 2023 BTCC season

In an announcement made a week before the BTCC’s season launch at Brands Hatch, team owner and three-time champion Matt Neal said it had been an extremely difficult decision to make, but that the team was hoping to “actively be back in the BTCC in the future”.

“Unfortunately, with the current economic climate, we have not been able to secure the commercial partnerships we required to commit to the forthcoming BTCC season,” explained Neal. “I’ve been in the BTCC all my life and it has presented us with many fantastic opportunities and memories, so I’m extremely disappointed that we will not be directly involved and saddened for our dedicated employees, partners, fans and supporters.”

The last couple of seasons have not seen Dynamics reach the heights it would come to expect of itself, and with Dan Rowbottom moving to NAPA Racing UK for 2023, and taking his Cataclean backing with him, the team was forced to look elsewhere for the required funds to compete in the BTCC. While it was not possible to put together a package for the upcoming season, there will still be a Team Dynamics presence in the paddock, providing support for One Motorsport across the year.

“We still want to keep the Honda brand at the forefront of racing and ultimately winning races," explained Neal. “Under our tenure, the car marque became one of the most successful manufacturers in the championship, second only to Ford in just half as many years. So, we aim to put to good use our resources and developments made over the winter by supporting One Motorsport in 2023 and helping them to win races and challenge for the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships.”

Although most well known for its successes with Honda, Team Dynamics’ BTCC story began back in 1991, when a young Matt Neal piloted a BMW M3 at Silverstone, finishing in 13^th under the Pyramid Motorsport banner. The first full season came a year later under the Rimstock Racing banner, with Neal taking his first points results in the M3, before switching to a 318is at the season finale at Silverstone. Championship success would come as early as 1993 for the Pershore-based team, with Neal scooping up the TOCA Challenge for Privateers – now known as the Independent Drivers’ Championship) title by two points ahead of Ian Khan.

After a year on the sidelines while Neal raced for the works Mazda squad, Team Dynamics returned in 1995 with a Ford Mondeo, and Neal duly swept up a second Independents’ crown. The team expanded to two cars in 1996, and former champion Robb Gravett was signed to drive the second Mondeo.

Lacklustre performances in the ageing Mondeo saw Dynamics switch to the Nissan Primera halfway through 1997, a move that only started coming good in 1999, taking the first outright win for an independent team at the season opener at Donington Park, a result that has gone down in history as one of the most iconic moments in the championship’s storied past. The form continued throughout the season, and Neal would take back-to-back Independents’ crowns in 1999 and 2000.

Following another short break from the championship, the team entered a Vauxhall Astra Coupe for Gareth Howell in the final four rounds of the 2003 season, taking a pair of Independent victories at the season finale. Neal would return to his family team for the 2004 season, in what was to be the first in a long and successful partnership with Japanese manufacturer, Honda.

Neal, and team-mate Dan Eaves, scored four wins between them under the Computeach Racing with Halfords banner in the Civic Type R, but it would be 2005 where the partnership really kicked up a notch. Competing with the all-new Integra Type R in the now iconic orange Halfords livery, Neal would take his first overall drivers crown, repeating the feat 12 months later, while the team also took back-to-back Teams’ Championship titles.

Switching the Integra for the Civic in 2007, the team endured a relatively quiet couple of years, combined with Neal jumping across to the Vauxhall works squad for 2008 and 2009, leaving Gordon Shedden to lead the outfit in his stead. Shedden lined up alongside Tom Chilton for 2008, before only competing in the season opener in 2009. James Pinkney, former champion James Thompson and Grand Prix winner Johnny Herbert filled the remaining seats throughout the 2009 season. While there were wins for Shedden, Chilton and Thompson over those two years, the results were not consistent enough to mount serious title challenges.

The 2010 season would be a hugely significant year for Dynamics, becoming a works entry for the first time in its near 20-year history. While Jason Plato would take overall honours in 2010, Honda dominated the Teams standings, winning its first of three consecutive titles between 2010 and 2012. An equally dominant season in 2011 gave Neal his third and final BTCC crown, before Gordon Shedden took his first the following year in the first car to be fully built to the Next Generation Touring Car (NGTC) regulations.

Shedden would go on to win back-to-back titles in the Civic in 2015 and 2016, the final Drivers’ crowns for Team Dynamics, while there would be one more Teams’ crown remaining, coming in 2019. This final success was somewhat overshadowed by Dan Cammish’s heartbreak, missing out on overall honours by just two points having crashed out from a title-winning position on the final lap.

In the meantime the team will continue to build its classic, touring and GT race car business as well as supporting a number of customer racers in various series around the globe, including entering a car for Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden to share in next weekend’s Jim Clark Trophy for Ford Lotus Cortinas at the 80^th Members’ Meeting. For now, at least, it would appear the curtain has closed on one of the most significant teams to ever line up on a BTCC grid.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.