The British Touring Car Championship heads to Norfolk this weekend and Snetterton for the latest instalment of bumper to bumper action.
After a frenetic Brands Hatch round last time out, the biggest names in UK tin-top racing are ready to continue their fight for the title.
WSR are back – and then some!
It’s fair to say West Surrey Racing didn’t have the best of season openers at Donington. Under par by their lofty standards, they went to Brands with lowered expectations, and blew them out the water.
They completed a clean sweep of race wins, with reigning champion Jake Hill getting his title defence off the ground, as well as first BTCC wins for Daryl DeLeon and rookie Charles Rainford.
While Brands favoured the rear wheel drive BMW, WSR secured a triple in one weekend for the first time since 2015 at Croft. They’re back, and the grid better watch out. Snetterton is a circuit which can favour rear wheel drive machinery, and its long straights will result in BMW excelling for sure.
Crees out, Bensley in
There will be a new face on the grid this weekend, as Ryan Bensley will make his BTCC debut at his home circuit. He will replace Michael Crees in the Excelr8 Hyundai i30N.
Crees himself is only in the seat for half a season, and scored two points finishes last time out at Brands. However he has stepped aside to allow Bensley, a long-time commercial partner of his, to realise a lifelong dream – competing in the BTCC.
Bensley has raced in the Milltek Sport Civic Cup as well as making an appearance in the TCR UK championship, racing at the season finale at Silverstone. He achieved a fifth place finish in race one, showing he has pace, and the ability to challenge for points.
Who to look out for
As stated earlier, the WSR trio of Jake Hill, Charles Rainford and Daryl DeLeon are all on good form. Snetterton will display the power of the BMW, so all three will be up there. Also discount fourth WSR man Aiden Moffat at your peril. He’s fast, sharp, and will be wanting to prove he can make headlines too.
Title protagonists Ash Sutton and Tom Ingram are always at the sharp end of the action, and expect this weekend to be no different. One driver who has been impressing so far this season is Tom Chilton. The series veteran has shown real pace in his Hyundai and could be in the hunt for race wins.
Qualifying is always important, but here at Snetterton, history shows that those who qualify on pole, usually tend to win the first race – and sometimes the second too.
One of the most successful drivers around Snetterton is Colin Turkington. He’s amassed ten wins at the Norfolk circuit, with Jason Plato the record holder with 11. With Turkington leaving the grid last year, the driver on the current grid with the most wins is Ash Sutton (7) closely followed by Gordon Shedden (6).
The racing is bound to be exciting, with another three rounds of breathless action guaranteed.
