Worksop driver Sam Osborne set for British Touring Car Championship

Sam Osborne is preparing for the biggest challenge of his career so far

The 26-year-old was "ecstatic" to sign with the West Thurrock-based outfit and will be at the wheel of one of the team's two race-winning Honda Civic Type Rs.

Having previously raced in the MINI Challenge and the Renault Clio Cup UK, Sam made his touring car debut in 2019 after securing a late deal to join Excelr8 Motorsport at the wheel of an MG6 GT.

Racing one of the two cars that has been campaigned by the AmD team a year earlier, Osborne secured a best finish of 14th during the season after an impressive drive at Snetterton, where he picked up his maiden points finish in the series.

It meant Osborne ended the year just outside the top 20 in the Independents’ championship, whilst he was also well placed in the Forever Forward standings having made up more than 90 spots from his starting positions over the course of the 30 race campaign.

Osborne now heads into 2020 looking to make the most of the expertise of the AmD Tuning team - and the undoubted potential of the Honda - to make strides forwards up the grid.

Running alongside Jake Hill, Osborne will hope to challenge for points finishes, with his overall goal being to challenge for honours in the Jack Sears Trophy - which is open to drivers who have yet to finish on the podium in the series.

He said: “I’m ecstatic about this deal and can’t wait for the new season to get underway. To be honest, it hasn’t really sunk in yet, but this is fantastic opportunity for me and one that I want to try and grab with both hands.

“From the moment I first spoke to Shaun, I knew that this was the right deal for me and I’m hoping that this can be the start of something long term with the team.

“There is little doubt that my rookie season had its challenges, but I’m hopeful that the Honda is a car that will be better suited to my driving style and that I can work with the team and with Jake to learn as much as possible and make progress up the order. To regularly challenge for points finishes is the first objective and if I could then make a bid for the Jack Sears Trophy then it would be fantastic.”

Shaun Hollamby, team principal, added: “Sam is a driver who did a solid job during the 2019 season when you consider that he went into his first year in the series with very little testing and with a team that was new to the BTCC. It’s a big step up from the Clio Cup, and he showed himself to be more than capable of racing at this level.”