LOCAL BOY DONE GOOD

Will Powell went from an Autocar road tester to the BTCC grid. Damien Smith caught up with him at Oulton Park and found out just how tough life as a racing driver can be

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One of our own was racing in the British Touring Car Championship this season. Fifteen years ago, Will Powell was a young road tester on Autocar. By hook or by crook, he made it onto the grid of one of the toughest and most competitive motor racing series in the world. Earlier this summer, we joined him on race day at Oulton Park to witness the cut and thrust close up. In short, BTCC life is brutal- and it turned out to be his final outing.

Powell, 38, was racing a Honda Civic Type R for One Motorsport with Starline Racing, teamed with 18-time race winner Josh Cook and Aiden Moffat, who way back in 2013 became the youngest driver to start a BTCC round. In contrast, Powell is a late bloomer. Following his time at Autocar, he embarked on a successful marketing career and made it into GT racing. So no junior racing, no high-level national campaigns. But still, sponsorship from a network of automotive suppliers the BTCC lifeblood led to a part-BTCC season with Team Hard last year. At Oulton, it was clear the pressure was on.

"In sports cars and longer-format racing, you can go Pro-Am. We were okay. That was working all right," Powell told us when Autocar caught up with him in the team truck on Sunday morning. The day before, he had skated into a gravel trap in qualifying, causing a red flag. He knew what he was getting into, didn't he? "One hundred per cent. When we stepped up to this level last year, at a week's notice, I knew it would be tough- and it is. Very."