Team VERTU has confirmed that Japanese racer Osamu Kawashima will take over the Hyundai previously raced by Ricky Collard for the final two events of this year’s British Touring Car Championship.

At 57, Kawashima will become the oldest driver to make his BTCC début in over 50 years.

He is the first Japanese driver to race in the championship since Kunimitsu Takahashi raced a Mitsubishi to ninth at Silverstone in the 1985 season.

Kawashima previously competed in the BTCC-supporting Ginetta GT4 Supercup where he was runner-up in the Am category.

“I’m hugely excited to have the opportunity to become the first Japanese driver to race in the BTCC in the modern era and would like to express my gratitude to everyone at EXCELR8 for making it possible and for supporting me during testing,” said Kawashima.

“When I previously raced in the UK in Ginettas, I set myself the goal of one day competing in the BTCC. It’s taken longer than I hoped, but everything has fallen into place and my dream is now finally coming true.

“I’m looking forward to challenging myself against some incredibly fast and talented drivers on the grid, and my goal is to try and achieve some good results and to hone my own driving skills.

“As a racing driver you always want to win, but realistically speaking, if was able to score a point it would represent an outstanding achievement for me.”