Northampton racing driver to become first woman to compete in British Touring Car Championship for 13 years

A racing driver from Northampton will become the first woman in 13 years to compete in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) later this month.

Jade Edwards will compete in the three races at Silverstone Circuit on September 26 and 27 - making up rounds 16, 17 and 18 of the condensed 2020 season.

The 30-year-old, who has been racing in the Renault UK Clio Cup for the past three years, will drive Power Maxed Racing's (PMR) Vauxhall Astra live on ITV4.

“Racing in the BTCC is a childhood dream for me. Since I was a kid I’ve been around the track, either watching or competing myself," she said.

"For the first time I’ll be racing in the main event. It’s something I’ll never forget!”

Motorsport is in the Edwards blood as Jade's father is former BTCC race winner, Jim Edwards Jr, while her grandfather, Jim Edwards Sr, once won the Renault UK 5 TS Championship.

Jade, who has been driving since 2006, became the first female driver to take an outright win in an Aston Martin GT racer and finished seventh overall in last year's Renault UK Clio Cup.

The last woman to compete in the BTCC was Fiona Leggett - 375 races ago in 2007 - but Jade hopes to use her opportunity to launch her career on the circuit and continue the family racing tradition.

Mike Bushell had been PMR's driver for the last two meetings at Knockhill and Oulton Park after Vauxhall’s official team missed the opening two rounds of the coronavirus-affected season.

PMR team principal Adam Weaver said: “Having known Jade for quite a few years now, I’ve always been impressed with the way she throws herself into everything she does with such gusto.

"Whilst she’s had a lot of bad luck on the track, she’s a great driver, and has a well-earned reputation as a fan favourite.

"She’s spoken publicly about her longing to get onto the BTCC grid in a competitive car, and with the unique opportunities this year has given us, it was a no brainer for all of us to get her in the car for a round. I’m looking forward to seeing what she can do.”

Jade, who is also a qualified racing driver coach, previously trained Johnny Vegas on the ITV show Drive and has also appeared on ITV’s Loose Women.

Her sponsors include Bluedog Security Monitoring, whose founder Paul Lomax is a fellow racing driver and her father’s former team mate.

“Jade is a very talented racing driver and comes from a family of championship winners," he said.

"We’ve followed her progress from the start. It is great to see her keeping up the tradition, and also to see more women in competitions at this level.

"This is a great opportunity for her to build her career and encourage more women to enter the sport.”