Martin Byford (born 27 May 1972) is a British

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

from

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

. He competed in the

BTCC The British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), officially known as the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by ...

in 2011 for AmD Milltek. He is currently driving for BPM Motorsport in the 2019 Dunlop Endurance Championship with Ashley Woodman.

Racing career

Byford began racing in

single seater An open-wheel car is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have their wheels below the body or inside fend ...

s, mainly in

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single-seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world have historically been an important step for many prospective Formula One dri ...

and

Formula 3 Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. History Formula Three (adop ...

cars. He later moved onto tin tops, racing in several club series. He moved into the

British GT Championship The British GT Championship is a sports car racing series based predominantly in the United Kingdom. The series was originally created by the British Racing Drivers' Club in 1993 and, for its first two seasons, was known as the National Sports G ...

in 2000, where he achieved a few podium finishes. For 2001 he raced in the Renault Clio Cup UK, finishing 3rd in the championship after a successful debut season. Byford remained in the championship for 2002, however he only managed 4th position in the championship. Byford's next championship titles were the 2003 Super Coupe Cup and 2005 Mazda MX5 Championship. In 2006 he returned to the Clio Cup and finished 5th in the championship, in 2007 he won the championship despite not winning a race. 2008 saw Byford move into the Seat Cupra Cup, where he finished 3rd in the championship after achieving three wins. Budget issues prevented Byford from racing full-time for the next few seasons, until he was given the chance to race for AmD Milltek in the

after their previous driver Tom Onslow-Cole left the team. Byford signed with Team Bullrun in the

Britcar Britcar is an endurance sports car racing and touring car racing series in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1997, as a result of a discussion in a Nürburgring bar between Willie Moore and James Tucker. Folklore has it that James Tucker and J ...

British Endurance Championship after he was unable to raise the necessary funds to continue racing in the BTCC. For the 2019 season of Britcar, Byford was again entered to race with BPM Motorsport after a successful 2018 season with Ash Woodman in a CUPRA León TCR. Byford will compete in the Britcar Endurance Championship, for the sixth time in a row and the fourth in the CUPRA León TCR, continuing with Ash Woodman for EDF Motorsports.

Racing record

Complete British GT Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete British Touring Car Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position – 1 point awarded just in first race) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap – 1 point awarded all races) (* signifies that driver lead race for at least one lap – 1 point awarded all races)

Complete Britcar results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position in class – 1 point awarded just in first race; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap in class – 1 point awarded all races;-

Complete British Endurance Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position in class – 1 point awarded just in first race; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap in class – 1 point awarded all races;- ^*Season still in progress. ‡ Team standings.

References

External links

BTCC official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Byford, Martin Living people English racing drivers 1972 births British Touring Car Championship drivers British GT Championship drivers British Formula Three Championship drivers Britcar drivers 24H Series drivers Renault UK Clio Cup drivers Sportspeople from Colchester