Mini star Hall makes step into BTCC

Runner-up to Zelos to be part of two-car Cupra team

Mini Challenge star Max Hall is to graduate to the British Touring Car Championship for the 2025 season.

The West Country 17-year-old will drive a Cupra Leon run by Un-Limited Motorsport as the team expands to field two cars for its second season in the series.

Hall has made quick progress through the Mini ranks after winning the 2022 title in the Citroen Saxo-based Junior Saloon series. He won multiple races last year in the second-tier Mini Challenge Trophy, then finished runner-up as a rookie this season in the BTCC-supporting JCW premier division.

He now makes the step up to the UK’s tin-top elite following two test days in the Cupra at Brands Hatch.

“I am so excited,” Hall told Autosport. “The tests were really encouraging. The car is really nice to drive – it’s a purpose-built race car.

“After finishing runner-up in Mini Challenge as a rookie, there was not a lot of point doing it again. You’ve got to move onto bigger things.”

Hall, who could be joined in the BTCC by reigning and three-time Mini Challenge champion Dan Zelos, is targeting success in the Independents class, plus the Jack Sears Trophy for those with a maximum of one overall podium finish.

“I’d like to get a few podiums in the Jack Sears and Independents, but we’ll have to see what happens,” he added.

“It’s very important that I get some more testing in – I’ll be the least experienced guy on the grid.

“To be on the BTCC grid is fantastic – the racing looks amazing, and I’ve always wanted to be part of it.”

Un-Limited boss Bob Sharpless said of Hall: “He’s done well in the testing with competitive laptimes, and his family are really keen.

“They want to do a lot of testing for the winter and really push for the Jack Sears title.”

The expansion to a two-car team comes with the acquisition of a third Cupra shell, and talk that Dexter Patterson, who raced one of the machines with Team Hard in 2023, could fill the seat after a detour into GT4 this season.

“Dexter is quite a strong contender at the minute,” said Sharpless of a driver who has tested with Un-Limited at Donington Park in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, Un-Limited’s solo 2024 driver Daryl DeLeon is the subject of swirling speculation surrounding a big-time move to the West Surrey Racing BMW squad.

Although DeLeon became something of a cult hero this season for his spirited performances in the Cupra, his background is in rear-wheel-drive machinery, including championship success in Radical sportscars.

Sharpless said that the team was still in conversation with DeLeon, while WSR chief Dick Bennetts said that he is one of “many drivers” the team has been in contact with.