Date change for Kirkcaldy race ace Rory Butcher

Organiser Toca has shifted the start of the 2021 campaign back by five weeks.

A spokesman said that change had been made “in order to maximise the opportunity for spectators and guests to attend our events”.

The revised schedule will now start at Thruxton on May 8, kicking off a full ten-event, 30-race season.

Snetterton follows the season opener, before Brands Hatch Indy hosts the third event of the calendar, while late July and August will see the series head north to Oulton Park and Knockhill before Thruxton's second date of the year.

Back-to-back weekends at Croft and Silverstone in September precede the penultimate race weekend of the season, at Donington Park.

Brands Hatch’s legendary grand prix configuration will host the season finale – as initially planned – on the slightly later date of October 23 and 24.

The full list of revised dates is: 8/9 May – Thruxton, 15/16 May – Snetterton (300), 12/13 June – Brands Hatch (Indy), 31 July/1 August – Oulton Park (Island), 14/15 August – Knockhill, 28/29 August – Thruxton. 18/19 September – Croft, 25/26 September – Silverstone (National), 9/10 October – Donington Park (National) and 23/24 October – Brands Hatch (Grand Prix).

Butcher will be hoping to improve on his fifth-placed finish in 2020, the same position he finished the year prior. He had to get to grips with a new car last season, a Ford Focus ST.