Francisco Howitt will drive for the Area Motorsport team as he embarks on his second consecutive season in the Milltek Civic Cup.

The 18-year-old will step up to the front-running team following his debut season in 2025, where he drove for SVG Motorsport in a Civic EP3.

Francisco competed in the Paul Winfield Trophy for drivers who are either rookies or less experienced in the championship. The highlight of his first season was taking a class pole position at Brands Hatch in April and following that up with his first class win in the first race of the weekend.

Known as “Disco”, the move to the Rob Baker-led team means that he will now drive a newly built EP3 chassis for the 2026 season and will also be teammates alongside the already announced Charlie Budd.

Having experienced the close racing nature of the Milltek Civic Cup first-hand, the young Oxfordshire-based driver is already looking to make improvements next year as he aims to go onwards and upwards in his career.

“I’m very pleased to have signed with Area Motorsport for 2026 and excited to get my second in the Civic Cup underway. This offers me the best chance to work on improving my performances from this year, which has been a real learning experience,” said Francisco.

“The highlight of 2025 was winning in the Paul Winfield Trophy at Brands Hatch, so to repeat that and more, I want to take my performance to the next level and start working towards the top ten of what is an incredibly competitive championship. Working with Area means that I can improve myself as a driver and start to achieve more on track.”

Championship Manager Jack Finlan is delighted to see Howitt return for a second straight year and make the step up to joining Area Motorsport.

“The Milltek Civic Cup can be a daunting first step in UK Motorsport. That said, I’m pleased to see that Francisco is making his return to the championship for next season, a clear sign that he will make further progress and is ready to take his career to the next level,” explained Jack.

“We’re proud to have seen many drivers enter the tough world of the Civic Cup and then go on to bigger and brighter futures with the lessons they have learned. I look forward to seeing how Francisco improves further in 2026 as his young motorsport career continues.”

To find out more about the Milltek Civic Cup, visit https://civic-cup.co.uk/ for more info and how to get involved.

To find out more about the events on the 2026 Milltek Civic Cup Calendar, visit https://civic-cup.co.uk/2026-season-calendar/ for more info.