Martin Byford (born 27 May 1972) is a British racing driver from
Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian.
Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...
. He competed in the
BTCC
The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA. It was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and was renamed as ...
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 seaters, 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 form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula For ...
and
Formula 3
Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as 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 driv ...
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 GT ...
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
BTCC
The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA. It was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and was renamed as ...
after their previous driver
Tom Onslow-Cole
Thomas Michael Onslow-Cole (born 16 May 1987 in Kingston, Surrey ) is a British auto racing driver. He won the International GT Open in Pro-Am category in 2018 and in 2019 and the 24H Series in 2015.
It was announced in April 2014 that he wou ...
left the team.
Byford signed with Team Bullrun in the
Britcar 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
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete British Touring Car Championship results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (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
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (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
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (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;-
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