Árón Taylor-Smith[1] (né Smith; Born 9 November 1989) is an Irish racing driver currently competing in the British Touring Car Championship for Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing. He is the younger brother of former VX Racing BTCC driver Gavin Smith.
| Árón Taylor-Smith | |
|---|---|
 Taylor-Smith at the 2022 British Touring Car Championship season launch at Thruxton Circuit. | |
| Nationality |  Irish |
| Born | Árón Smith 9 November 1989 Dublin, Republic of Ireland |
| Related to | Gavin Smith (brother) |
| BTCC career | |
| Debut season | 2011 |
| Current team | Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing |
| Car number | 40 |
| Former teams | Team HARD Triple Eight Racing Team BKR Team BMR Motorbase Performance |
| Starts | 297 (303 entries) |
| Wins | 4 |
| Podiums | 22 |
| Poles | 1 |
| Fastest laps | 5 |
| Best finish | 8th in 2012 |
| Finished last season | 11th |
| Previous series | |
| 2018 2007–09 2010–2017 2011 | Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup Renault Clio Cup Renault Clio Cup Italia Renault Clio Cup UK |
Racing career
editKarting
editBorn in Dublin, Taylor-Smith began his racing career in karting in 2004 at various tracks around Ireland such as Mondello Park and Athboy, he was the 2005 JICA Irish Kart Club Champion. He followed this up by becoming the Irish Open Kart Champion in 2006.
Renault Clio Cup
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He made the move into cars for the 2007 season by entering the Renault Clio Cup which runs on the British Touring Car Championship support package. Driving for Mardi Gras Motorsport, he finished his debut season placed 13th in the championship with a best result of 4th at Thruxton.
Taylor-Smith stayed with the team for 2008 finishing 9th. He also contested the 2008 Renault Clio Winter Cup with Team Pyro where he took his first Clio Cup pole position in the first race at Croft, followed by his first win in the same race. He won the four-race championship ahead of Phil House and future BTCC and WTCC driver Alex MacDowall. He raced with Team Pyro for the 2009 season. Once again he improved, finishing fourth in the championship having achieved three podiums including a win.
He switched to the Clio Cup Italia for 2010, finishing the season 4th overall with two wins and two pole positions. 2011 saw Taylor-Smith return to the UK championship with Team Pyro. He finished joint second to Paul Rivett in the championship after a close title decider at Brands Hatch.[2]
British Touring Car Championship
editTriple 8 Race Engineering (2011)
editTaylor-Smith made his BTCC debut for Triple 8 Race Engineering at the Knockhill round of the 2011 British Touring Car Championship.[3] He picked up a single point on his debut after finishing in 10th place. This was to be a one-off appearance as the Renault Clio Cup rejoined the TOCA package at Rockingham.[4]
Motorbase Performance (2012–2013)
edit
In 2012 raced for Redstone Racing in one of their NGTC engined Ford Focus STs.[5] His teammates were Mat Jackson and Liam Griffin. In the season opening race at Brands Hatch, the bumper of his car was memorably pulled off by a recovery vehicle as it was towed out of a gravel trap. In June 2012 he demonstrated his Ford Focus ST BTCC car on the streets of Dublin during the Bavaria City Racing Festival in front of an estimated 110,000 fans.[6] He came close to a podium finish at Knockhill and led at Rockingham until a safety car allowed his rivals to catch him. Taylor-Smith finally took his first podium finish at Silverstone by finishing third in the first race. He took his first win at the final event of the year at Brands Hatch, crossing the line ahead of champion Gordon Shedden in race two. He finished the year placed eighth in the final championship standings.
Taylor-Smith stayed with Motorbase for 2013, now driving a full NGTC specification Ford Focus ST as raced by Jackson in the second half of the 2012 season.[7] He led Jackson in the standings for much of the season but ended the year ninth, one place behind Jackson. Neither driver won a race, however they both achieved several podiums.
Team BMR (2014–2015)
editTaylor-Smith moved to Team BMR for the 2014 British Touring Car Championship, driving a Volkswagen CC alongside former champion Alain Menu.[8] Taylor-Smith took two wins, one at Oulton Park and the other at Snetterton, and finished ninth in the final drivers' championship standings. Taylor-Smith remained with Team BMR for 2015, where he was joined by former champions, Colin Turkington and Jason Plato. He finished the year 11th overall claiming 6 podiums.
Team BKR (2016)
editTaylor-Smith moved to the newly formed Team BKR for the 2016 season. He started the year strongly with podiums at both Brands Hatch and Donington Park. A win would come his way at Rockingham and he finished the year 14th overall.
MG RCIB Triple Eight Racing (2017)
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Taylor-Smith moved once again this season, this time to Triple Eight Racing for the 2017 British Touring Car Championship season. He was the lead driver of the two car entry paired with Daniel Lloyd and was lucky to escape without serious injury from an accident at Croft that also involved Jeff Smith and Luke Davenport.[9]
Team HARD (2021–)
editHaving spent a year outside racing due to COVID-19 in 2020, Taylor-Smith returned to the BTCC in 2021 as part of the four-car Team HARD programme driving a new Cupra Leon.[10]
Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup
editTeam Parker Racing (2018)
editBritish GT Championship
edit
Taylor-Smith drove with ex-BTCC driver Sam Smelt in a Ford Mustang GT4 in 2019. They finished 22nd in the championship with only 4 points, scored at Snetterton.
Racing record
editComplete British Touring Car Championship results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position – 1 point awarded 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 Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup results
edit| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Team Parker Racing | Bentley Continental GT3 | Silver | ZOL 1 18 |
ZOL 2 16 |
BRH 1 15 |
BRH 2 Ret |
MIS 1 15 |
MIS 2 Ret |
HUN 1 |
HUN 2 |
NÜR 1 |
NÜR 2 |
9th | 33 |
Complete British GT Championship results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | RACE Performance | Ford Mustang GT4 | GT4 | OUL 1 25 |
OUL 2 28 |
SNE 1 25 |
SNE 2 21 |
SIL 1 Ret |
DON 1 30 |
SPA 1 29 |
BRH 1 26 |
DON 1 Ret |
22nd | 4 |
References
edit- ^ James, Matt (6 February 2017). "MG reveals all-new 2017 British Touring Car Championship line-up". Autosport. Haymarket Media Group. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
Taylor-Smith, who used to race under his unmarried name Smith, will step across from the Team BKR VW CC.
- ^ Rampant Rivett nails third Clio Cup title, Renaultsport.
- ^ Turner, Kevin (30 August 2011). "Triple Eight signs Aron Smith for Knockhill". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
- ^ Hudson, Neil (9 September 2011). "Triple Eight down to one car for Rockingham". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
- ^ Turner, Kevin (22 February 2012). "Aron Smith joins Motorbase British Touring Car line-up for 2012". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
- ^ "Smith wows city centre crowds". BTCC.net. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
- ^ "Jackson and Smith return". British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 13 February 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
- ^ Turner, Kevin (27 January 2014). "Alain Menu to drive Team BMR Volkswagen Passat CC in 2014 BTCC". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
- ^ ""I STILL DON'T REMEMBER CROFT" – Inside BTCC". insidebtcc.com. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ "Taylor-Smith returns to the BTCC – Official Website of Árón Taylor-Smith". Retrieved 16 July 2021.