Aaron Irwin

Mikey Doble took his first BTCC race win in round nine at Snetterton, holding off a faster Ash Sutton for six laps to bring home the win.

The Power Maxed Racing team almost never made the grid this season, so for Doble to take a win, is testament to the work done by the team. He becomes the eighth race winner this season from nine rounds.

It was a lights to flag win for Doble, who started from pole on the soft tyres, while the others around him were on the slower hard tyre.

There was pre-race drama as Chris Smiley was due to line up second on the grid, but a crank shaft change meant he was unable to take his place on the grid. He finally made his way onto the circuit, albeit three laps down.

Doble led off the line, the gap vacated by Smiley meant the Vauxhall man had the advantage. Ash Sutton made an incredible start, jumping from tenth to fourth. The Safety Car was called when Stephen Jelley was pushed off into the wall. His Honda Civic going no further. Daryl DeLeon nudged Jelley into a spin and into the path of Ingram, who was an innocent party as he hit Jelley off.

On the restart, Dan Lloyd, on the hards, was doing his best to hold off Josh Cook and Ash Sutton, but the pair made it past. Sutton made his way past Cook and went on the hunt for Doble, 2.2 seconds up the road.

Within four laps the gap was eliminated, with Sutton on the back of Doble. The Vauxhall man lost a win last season when he defended against Jake Hill at Oulton Park. Hill made his way past on the final lap, so Doble was keen for history not to repeat itself.

He held off the Ford, and was given a reprieve from defending when Sutton locked up. He went wide and lost half a second. This gave Doble the space he needed to bring the car home and take his first win of his BTCC career. Sutton settled for second, extending his championship lead over Tom Ingram to 15 in the process. Cook finished third.

Ingram battled from the back of the grid to finish fourth, making up 19 places in an incredible drive. NAPA duo Sam Osborne and Dan Cammish took fifth and sixth. WSR pair Charles Rainford and Jake Hill were next up, with Ronan Pearson and Aiden Moffat rounding off the top ten.

Aron Taylor-Smith, Gordon Shedden, Dexter Patterson, Max Hall and Adam Morgan rounded off the points. Dan Lloyd finished 16th in the end, his rearguard defending only lasting so long before dropping down the order.

Sutton takes a 15 point lead into the next set of rounds at Thruxton, with Ingram close on his tail and Hill in third.

Dan Rowbottom held off a Hyundai horde to secure victory in round eight of the BTCC at Snetterton.

He passed team mate Ash Sutton on lap three, and held off the Hyundai’s of Tom Ingram, Dan Lloyd and Adam Morgan to take the win. Race one winner Dan Cammish led off the line but fell back on the hard tyre.

Sutton led by passing Ingram and Cammish by turn three. The championship leader took the lead and Ingram followed him through. Rowbottom passed Cammish by the end of the first lap, and was hunting down Ingram for second.

On lap three Ingram slid wide on the exit of turn one and hit the barrier; causing damage to the rear of his Hyundai. He pitted and promptly retired from the race. With Ingram out and Jake Hill down the order, Sutton decided not to fight when Rowbottom tried a pass. He banked points, eventually finishing tenth and extending his championship lead.

Dan Lloyd, Adam Morgan and Tom Chilton all passed Sutton on lap four. Lloyd was fighting hard with Rowbottom for the lead in his Restart Racing Hyundai. On lap eight he dived down the inside of Rowbottom into Agostini corner, before Rowbottom regained his lead further into the lap.

Morgan got the better of Lloyd on lap ten to steal second, he closed the gap to Rowbottom but it wasn’t enough. The Ford man held off the Hyundai onslaught to take the win. The seventh different winner from eight races this season so far.

Behind Rowbottom and Morgan, Tom Chilton took third in the Vertu Hyundai. Restart pair Lloyd and Chris Smiley, participating in his 200th BTCC race, took fourth and fifth. Mikey Doble came sixth despite a trip on the grass earlier on in the race. Josh Cook and Sam Osborne took seventh and eighth, with Charles Rainford taking ninth and Sutton tenth.

Reigning champion Jake Hill recovered from 22nd on the grid to finish 11th, with Aron Taylor-Smith taking 12th. Toyota duo Ronan Pearson and James Dorlin took 13th and 14th with Daryl DeLeon taking the last point for 15th.

Dan Cammish became the sixth winner from seven races this season with a lights to flag victory in round seven at Snetterton.

The NAPA Racing driver had the perfect race, leading every lap, setting the fastest lap, and cruising to the win. However there’s suspicion he jumped the start, and so his victory has the heir of anticipation over it as the stewards investigate.

Behind him Tom Ingram and Ash Sutton, both duelling for the championship, were battling it out on track. Both were keen to capitalise on Jake Hill starting way down the grid. The reigning champion was tagged on lap one by a Toyota and spun round. Hill pitted at the end of the lap to check for damage, and ended the race five laps down.

Lap three saw Max Hall lose control going into the final corner, he went wide and ended up T-boning Gordon Shedden. The Toyota man’s race ended as he crawled back to the pits. Hall also out.

The top three were pulling away half way into the 12 lap race, with Ingram and Sutton proving why they’re first and second in the championship. Cammish had a 1.4 second advantage while the pair squabbled over second place.

The soft tyre was the compound to be on, with the hard tyre being slower, and drivers such as Jake Hill will be glad to be rid of it. The hard tyre only has to be used in one of the three races, with the soft-shod drivers still having the hard tyre disadvantage to come.

The final lap saw Cammish cruise to victory, albeit provisionally while we await the outcome of the stewards’ investigation into his start. Sutton dived on Ingram taking the inside line, but he couldn’t make it stick. Ingram came home second with Sutton third.

Dan Rowbottom made it three NAPA Ford’s in the top four, with Dan Lloyd and Adam Morgan taking fifth and sixth. Tom Chilton followed Vertu teammate Morgan home in seventh, with Chris Smiley, Mikey Doble and Daryl DeLeon rounding off the top ten.

The final five points finishers were Josh Cook, Charles Rainford, Aiden Moffat, Sam Osborne and Aron Taylor-Smith.

Honourable mention also for series debutant Ryan Bensley, standing in for Michael Crees, the Vertu driver made his way from 25th and last on the grid up to 17th, battling it out with the Toyota duo of Taylor-Smith and James Dorlin.

Cammish joins Sutton, Chilton, Hill, DeLeon and Rainford in winning a race this season, but will be wary of a potential penalty coming his way.

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.

Charles Rainford picked up his maiden win while securing a clean sweep for WSR in the process. In just his sixth BTCC race, Rainford moved up from third on the grid to take the lead.

Jake Hill came home second behind his teammate with Tom Ingram having to settle for third. It’s the first time since 2015 that three different WSR drivers picked up wins over a single race weekend.

Dan Rowbottom had pole position thanks to the reverse grid draw, and led off the line; despite a brilliant start by Hill. Rainford managed to get past Hill before making a move on Rowbottom into Paddock Hill on lap two.

The BTCC is renowned for its bumper to bumper action, but Aiden Moffat took that too literally when he was repeatedly tapping the rear end of Ash Sutton’s Ford Focus. The Scot was handed a warning and backed off.

Hill fought and finally passed Rowbottom on lap nine, and went in pursuit of Rainford ahead. Meanwhile behind, Ingram made his way from 11th on the grid up to third in his Hyundai, setting the fastest lap in the process.

A few laps from the end Rainford was under pressure, trying to keep his composure and secure his win. Max Hall going off at Clearways and parking his Cupra could have brought out the safety car, but the stewards let the race come to a natural conclusion.

On the penultimate lap Ingram fought Hill for second, making slight contact into Druids. Despite the scuffle, Hill prevailed, and it allowed Rainford to get away and secure his first win.

Rainford took first, Hill second and Ingram third. Sutton came home fourth with Chris Smiley and Josh Cook following behind. Tom Chilton recovered from a poor race one to finish seventh. Moffat, Rowbottom and Gordon Shedden rounded off the top ten.

James Dorlin, Adam Morgan, race two winner Daryl DeLeon took home points. Dan Cammish recovered from his race two DNF to take 14th with Aron Taylor-Smith grabbing the last point for 15th.

Ash Sutton retakes the lead of the championship by just five points to Ingram, with Hill third heading to the next trio of races at Snetterton.

Daryl DeLeon secured his maiden BTCC win as he took the chequered flag for WSR in round five at Brands Hatch. A chaotic race dominated by tyre compounds and interrupted by two safety car periods, DeLeon was on the better soft tyre and powered to victory in his BMW. Adam Morgan finished second with Ash Sutton taking his 100th BTCC podium in third.

Race one winner Jake Hill started on pole with Charles Rainford second to make it an all-BMW front row. They sped off the line, both on the hard tyre, which would mean a deficit in pace to the soft tyre shod cars.

Dan Cammish made his way up to third, battling Rainford for second before passing him on lap four at Clearways.

Lap five saw DeLeon take third from Rainford, his hard tyres making it hard to defend. The first piece of drama came when Dan Lloyd was punted wide on the Cooper straight. He made a pit stop but finished a lap down in 21st.

The first of two safety car periods came on lap seven when Max Hall and Dexter Patterson collided at Paddock Hill and ended up in the gravel trap. After a near ten-lap delay, the safety car was halfway down the pit lane when it was to be re-deployed.

As is standard procedure with safety car restarts, Hill was bunching up the pack. However Dan Cammish encountered an issue with his Ford Focus, causing it to stop. Cars made their way past the stricken Yorkshireman, but Aiden Moffat wasn’t as lucky; running into the back of Cammish. Causing another safety car to clear his car and the debris on the circuit.

This promoted DeLeon up to second, and on the restart he wasted no time. He passed Hill into Paddock Hill bend in what was a gutsy overtake. He pulled it off and led away to the chequered flag. This began Hill’s descent down the grid as the soft tyre cars made their way through.

The best of the overtakes on Hill however, went to Adam Morgan, who rounded the BMW on the outside at Paddock.

DeLeon strolled to the finish, taking his first win in the series. Morgan and Sutton finished on the podium, with Chris Smiley following Sutton through the grid for fourth place.

Moffat finished fifth despite the contact with Cammish, making up 15 places in the process. Josh Cook was sixth with Rainford and Hill following behind. Dan Rowbottom and Ronan Pearson rounded out the top ten.

Championship leader Tom Ingram could only finish 11th on the hard tyre, with Tom Chilton in 12th. The final three points places were taken by Stephen Jelley, Michael Crees, and Aron Taylor-Smith.

Dan Rowbottom will start the final race on pole thanks to the reverse grid draw, with Sutton and Ingram looking to fight through the grid for vital points.

Jake Hill ignited his championship defence with a lights to flag win in round four of the British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch.

BMW teammate Charles Rainford followed for a one-two finish for the WSR team; a record breaking 133rd win making them the most successful team in BTCC history. Tom Ingram claimed third place, and while briefly threatening the BMW’s in front, he managed his race well for third.

Hill and Rainford got away well at the start, settling into a formation which wouldn’t be breached for the duration of the 24 lap race. Ash Sutton was the one who started best, making three places off the grid from 13th. Dan Lloyd was given a five second penalty for a false start, taking him from seventh to ninth.

Ingram started to pressure the BMW duo on lap two, the Team Vertu driver had a promising opening weekend at Donington Park last time out, and pulled away from teammate Adam Morgan in pursuit of the leaders.

The BMW hadn’t shown much pace at Donington, but with Brands favouring rear wheel drive, they came to life here. Rainford set a new lap record not once, but twice; showing Donington was just a blip.

By lap nine Hill had settled into a rhythm, while Rainford had Ingram to deal with. The Hyundai driver putting pressure on Rainford, the rookie who was starting his fourth BTCC race.

After a few laps of pressure, Ingram decided to play the long game, and eased off, settling for third. This led to Morgan closing in, and the Excelr8 drivers running in formation.

Hill strolled to his first win of the season, in the process kick-starting his championship defence. Rainford followed home six tenths behind for his first BTCC podium. With a performance like that, it will surely be the first of many.

Ingram and Morgan followed behind with Dan Cammish having a quiet race, coming home fifth. Mikey Doble was sixth for Power Maxed Racing with Lloyd finishing seventh on the road, but dropping to ninth once his penalty was applied.

Daryl Deleon and Sam Osborne were the beneficiaries of Lloyd’s penalty, finishing seventh and eighth. Ash Sutton rounded off the top ten for NAPA Racing. Ronan Pearson, Chris Smiley, Michael Crees took points finishes with the two ONE Motorsport Honda’s of Stephen Jelley and Josh Cook taking the final points places.

Tom Ingram takes the lead of the championship, capitalising on Sutton finishing lower down the order, with Jake Hill now third. The BMW man will be starting on pole for race two, which will give him an advantage and a chance to climb further up the table.