Steven Kane - 2010 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship

The 2010 season marks a homecoming for Steven Kane, who has returned to racing a Motorbase Performance BMW in the BTCC after a year on the sidelines in 2009.

The 29-year old from Newtownards in Northern Ireland was a key part of the Motorbase squad in 2007 and 2008, with three podium finishes in his debut BTCC season in 2008. The year before he had challenged for the Porsche Carrera Cup with Motorbase, finishing third overall with eight wins.

Unusually, Steven's motorsport career began on two wheels, as he started winning as a schoolboy in motocross events. He then progressed into kart racing in Northern Ireland before making the logical step into Formula Ford. Like so many talented youngsters, Steven's ability was not always matched with the funds to race at the level he deserved.

However, he battled up the single-seater ranks, winning the 2001 Junior Formula Ford title before climbing through Formula Renault into Formula 3. He was a race winner in both British and Spanish F3 and that propelled him into World Series by Renault in 2006. A best result of second at Zolder again showed his class, but his single-seater career was running out of steam due to the usual lack of funds to progress.

Instead, it was with Motorbase that Steven took his career in a fresh direction for 2007. The team ran him in the Carrera Cup GB and he was a title contender showing great pace against drivers like Tim Harvey and James Sutton. The step into the BTCC followed, but he then spent a frustrating season on the sidelines in 2009. However, Steven kept himself race fit as official test driver for the new Formula 2 project, working with the Williams Grand Prix team.

Now, as the 2010 season kicks off, Steven is back where he belongs; at the wheel of a Motorbase BMW touring car. "I've been working with Formula 2 over the winter and doing a lot of tyre testing and developing the car," he said. "Then I was working on trying to get out in the BTCC, so it was a busy winter. We worked up to Christmas and into the New Year on the BTCC, but I thought it was gone. Then all of a sudden it just came around again."

The links with Motorbase, which had been maintained through the 2009 season, delivered a fabulous opportunity. "David came to me the week before the media day with the Airwaves deal, and that was a bit of a shock. It’s great to be in the BTCC and fighting for the championship. We had a good day's testing at the media day, but you can’t learn everything in one day."

Steven has been massively impressed with how the team and the cars have developed since the end of the 2008 season. "David has worked hard over the last year to elevate the team in every area," he said. "There are a lot of good people in the Motorbase squad and I think we can move forward quite quickly. The main objective for Thruxton was to come through with solid points."

It's a real homecoming for the personable Irish racer and he's very happy with how the 2010 season has shaken out. "It is good to be back. Motorbase with a BMW seems to be the place to be at the moment. Now I think we've got the equipment to fight for the championship."