RHYS HURD MAKES WESTBOURNE MOTORSPORT SWITCH

Multiple race winner and former Rookie Cup champion Rhys Hurd will switch to Westbourne Motorsport for 2025 Vertu MINI CHALLENGE Trophy campaign.

Hurd will line up alongside Jamie Keates, Luca Marinoni Osborne and Olivier Algieri as he looks to launch a bid for the overall championship title, having emerged as a proven front running over the last two years.

Joining the grid in 2023 with Chandler Motorsport, the Welsh racer took the Rookie Cup in his debut campaign and picked up a first overall win at Silverstone, and then added five further wins last year en-route to a top ten championship finish.

“I’m really looking forward to the year ahead with Westbourne Motorsport,” he said. “With all of last year’s success and with them winning both the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championship, this is without doubt a great opportunity for me.

“Last season I had plenty of race wins so it goes without saying that the aim is to have more of those, and to put together a championship challenge. In my eyes nothing else will cut it.

“Of course I wouldn’t be in this position without the fantastic support of my sponsors and I’ve got to say a big thank you to the Thriplow Group for their backing. I can’t wait to get going now!”

Team boss James Colburn said he was thrilled to bring Hurd onboard.

“Rhys was one of the standout drivers in the championship last year and he certainly took the fight to us; I was really impressed with some of his performances,” he said.

“For him now to join us is both a statement and an endorsement. Having a driver of Rhys’ calibre underlines that we’re going all-out to retain our Drivers’ and Teams’ titles and for him to make the move shows the faith that he has in us as a team.

“I think everyone expects Rhys to be one of the drivers battling for the overall title and I think when you look at the four drivers that we’ve announced, each and every one of them have a shot at walking away as champion.”