Power Maxed Racing (for sponsorship reasons competing under the LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing and Steel Seal with Power Maxed Racing monikers) is a British auto racing team based in Studley, Warwickshire. The team has raced in the British Touring Car Championship, since 2015 after purchasing BTC Racing in February 2015.

British Touring Car Championship

Chevrolet Cruze (2015–2016) After having purchased BTC Racing in February 2015, the team will enter the 2015 British Touring Car Championship season with Dave Newsham and Josh Cook driving an NGTC Chevrolet Cruze each. The last season with the Chevrolet Cruze saw Emmerdale star Kelvin Fletcher take the wheel. Fletcher did not have a very successful season and was dropped from the team.

Vauxhall Astra (2017–2025)

On 22 November 2016 Power Maxed Racing announced that Vauxhall would be returning to BTCC with the Astra for the 2017 season.

The 2017 drivers were Tom Chilton and Senna Proctor. Senna secured victory in the prestigious Jack Sears Trophy, awarded to best rookie, with an unprecedented 5 rounds of the season left to run. The car earned a number of podiums under Tom Chilton and guest driver, WTCC Champion Rob Huff.

2018 saw 2015 Jack Sears Champion Josh Cook return to PMR alongside Proctor. Proctor would take both his and the team's first win in the second race at Brands Hatch, after gambling with slick tyres on a drying track. This was followed up by Cook taking the team's first pole position three weeks later at Donington Park, before converting it into his first win in race 1. Cook would go on to take another win in Race 2 at Thruxton, while Proctor would take 2 more podiums throughout the rest of the season. Cook finished the season in 6th with 246 points, with Proctor in 12th with 170 points to round out the team's best year in the sport.

For 2019, they signed Jason Plato and Rob Collard and ran under the name Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed Racing. Plato would win 2 races whilst Collard only achieved a best result of 2nd.

For 2020, Power Maxed Car Care Racing planned to enter Jason Plato once more and Mat Jackson as a manufacturer team. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the team withdrew from the season, forcing Plato and Jackson to miss the year. The team would later enter from Round 3 as an independent and hire drivers on a one-off basis. Mike Bushell was the first, racing rounds 3 and 4 at Oulton Park and Knockhill. The next drivers would be Rob Austin, the only entry to score points, and Jade Edwards. Jac Constable was entered for Croft but withdrew and the car was empty. The final 2 entries of the year would be Jessica Hawkins and driver coach Bradley Philpot.

Jason Plato would return for 2021 for, once again newly named, Adrian Flux Power Maxed Racing. He would be partnered by Yorkshireman Daniel Lloyd. Surprisingly to some, Lloyd got the better of the champion Plato, The team would go winless for the second consecutive year.

For 2022, both Plato and Lloyd would leave the team. CarStore Power Maxed Racing signed Porsche Supercup driver Michael Crees, along with debutant and GT driver Ash Hand. Hand and Crees would be closely matched all season, but debutant Ash Hand would beat Crees by 5 points. The team would once again be winless and Hand would finish 3rd in the Jack Sears Trophy.

Crees and Hand would be dropped for 2023, the team instead bringing in a record 3 drivers. Árón Taylor-Smith would be the experienced head of the line-up, moving over from the Cupra León. The team would sign 2 rookies alongside ATS, being Mikey Doble and Andrew Watson. Despite once again ending the year without a win, Taylor-Smith and Watson mustered 2 podiums each, whilst Doble failed to score a podium. Rookies Watson and Doble fought for the Jack Sears Trophy, with Mikey Doble retiring from Race 1 at Brands Hatch, handing Andrew Watson the trophy.

Andrew Watson would be dropped for 2024 as the team decided to run only 2 cars, he instead moved to Toyota Gazoo Racing UK. Árón Taylor-Smith would once again score 2 podiums, whilst Doble scored 1. No wins appeared for Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing for the 5th straight year. Mikey Doble would win Jack Sears Trophy by 53 points over Sam Osborne.

Motor Parts Direct with Power Maxed Racing would see Árón Taylor-Smith leave for 2025, following Watson in joining Toyota Gazoo Racing UK. This reduced the team to a one-car line-up. Nick Halstead would later join the team for Brands Hatch Indy alongside Doble. For the first time since 2019, the team would win a race, with Mikey Doble fending off fellow independents Daniel Lloyd and Chris Smiley to win the reverse grid Race 3 at Snetterton. The team would score double points at Round 6 at Croft, with Doble finishing 10th and Halstead 14th.

Cupra León (2025)

On the 10th of August 2025, Power Maxed Racing's headquarters were destroyed in a fire as a result of a neighbouring company burning pallets, which got out of control, resulting in the total loss of their entire fleet of cars including their iconic Touring Car Vauxhall Astras. They would enter the Round 7 at Knockhill on the same week with two Cupra Leóns, one loaned to them by Un-Limited Motorsport, previously driven by Stephen Jelley at Croft, and the other previously raced by Scott Sumpton in 2024 and owned by the Patterson family.

Audi S3 Saloon (2026)

For 2026, Power Maxed Racing took the risky decision to drop the Cupra León after 4 rounds and start from scratch, bringing the Audi S3 Saloon back to the BTCC. They also moved headquarters to Studley around 15 minutes away. They formed an alliance with car part giant LKQ Euro Car Parts, forming LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing. They sponsored cars of new driver Aiden Moffat and returning driver Mikey Doble. Long time business and family friend Dexter Patterson joined and raced in the standard Steel Seal with Power Maxed Racing livery. Doble won Round 1 of 2026 in after Ingram was disqualified, scoring the car's first win since 2019 and scored his second career win, Moffat and Patterson both showed great promise with 3 sets of Top 10 finishes. Former driver Nick Halstead unretired to run a record 4th car for the team, partnering Patterson under the Steel Seal guise.

Racing results

British Touring Car Championship

Year Name CarNo. Driver Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points DCCC PtsCC2015Power Maxed RacingChevrolet Cruze 4dr17 Dave Newsham2900009516th2098th66 Josh Cook 30 0 0 0 1 95 15th2016Power Maxed RacingChevrolet Cruze54 Hunter Abbott3000103819th6814th71 Dave Newsham600002822nd84 Kelvin Fletcher240000032nd2017Power Maxed RacingVauxhall Astra2 Tom Chilton27001110015th2017th18 Senna Proctor3000106319th37 Rob Huff300012625th2018Power Maxed TAG RacingVauxhall Astra18 Senna Proctor30101317012th4093rd66 Josh Cook3020462466th2019Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed RacingVauxhall Astra9 Rob Collard30001211816th3485th11 Jason Plato3011132377th2020Power Maxed Car Care RacingVauxhall Astra9 Jade Edwards30000035th1315th10 Rob Austin300001322nd21 Mike Bushell30000127th29 Jac Constable000000NC39 Jessica Hawkins30000033rd49 Bradley Philpot30000034th2021Adrian Flux with Power Maxed RacingVauxhall Astra11 Jason Plato30000115614th3627th123 Daniel Lloyd30000419011th2022CarStore Power Maxed RacingVauxhall Astra97 Ash Hand3000005519th5311th777 Michael Crees2900005020th2023CarStore Power Maxed RacingVauxhall Astra11 Andrew Watson3000029315th3427th40 Árón Taylor-Smith29001216511th88 Mikey Doble3001006320th2024Evans Halshaw with Power Maxed RacingVauxhall Astra40 Árón Taylor-Smith3000122247th4275th88 Mikey Doble29000114812th2025Motor Parts Direct with Power Maxed RacingVauxhall Astra50 Nick Halstead230000427th1908thCupra León88 Mikey Doble3010011008thVauxhall Astra2026LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed RacingAudi S3 Saloon16 Aiden Moffat88 Mikey DobleSteel Seal with Power Maxed Racing17 Dexter Patterson55 Nick Halstead

Other Touring Car Ventures

Touring Car Trophy (2019)

Power Maxed Racing entered a BTCC-spec Vauxhall Astra in the finale of the 2019 Touring Car Trophy for series organiser Stewart Lines.

TCR UK (2020)

Power Maxed Racing has announced it will make the move into TCR UK for the 2020 season full-time in partnership with TradePriceCars.com. The team will run a Cupra León TCR in the series, with Trade Price Cars owner Dan Kirby the driver.

Engineering

Power Maxed Racing are renowned for their skills in project management. From initial design, through development, to finished product, the company has built a number of successful racing cars being campaigned across Europe.

Notes

References

External links Power Maxed Racing official website