Category: BTCC

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.

Pos	Name	Team	Car
1 (3)	Charles RAINFORD	LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR	BMW 330e
2 (2)	Jake HILL	Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport	BMW 330e
3 (11)	Tom INGRAM	Team Vertu	Hyundai i30N
4 (7)	Ash SUTTON	NAPA Racing	Ford Focus
5 (6)	Chris SMILEY	Restart Racing	Hyundai i30N
6 (4)	Josh COOK	ONE Motorsport	Honda Civic Type-R
7 (12)	Tom CHILTON	Team Vertu	Hyundai i30N
8 (5)	Aiden MOFFAT	Team WSR	BMW 330e
9 (1)	Dan ROWBOTTOM	NAPA Racing	Ford Focus
10 (16)	Gordon SHEDDEN	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Toyota Corolla
11 (18)	James DORLIN	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Toyota Corolla
12 (8)	Adam MORGAN	Team Vertu	Hyundai i30N
13 (9)	Daryl DELEON	Team WSR	BMW 330e
14 (23)	Dan CAMMISH	NAPA Racing	Ford Focus
15 (15)	Aron TAYLOR-SMITH	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Toyota Corolla
16 (14)	Michael CREES	Team Vertu	Hyundai i30N
17 (10)	Ronan PEARSON	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Toyota Corolla
18 (17)	Sam OSBORNE	NAPA Racing	Ford Focus
19 (13)	Stephen JELLEY	ONE Motorsport	Honda Civic Type-R
20 (22)	Mikey DOBLE	Power Maxed Racing	Vauxhall Astra
21 (25)	Dexter PATTERSON	RoKIT Racing with Un-Limited Motorsport	Cupra Leon
22 (21)	Dan LLOYD	Restart Racing	Hyundai i30N
23 (19)	Nicholas HAMILTON	Powder Monkey	Cupra Leon
24 (20)	Nick HALSTEAD	Power Maxed Racing	Vauxhall Astra
25 (24)	Max HALL	RoKIT Racing with Un-Limited Motorsport	Cupra Leon

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.

Pos	Name	Team	Car
1 (7)	Daryl DELEON	Team WSR	BMW 330e
2 (4)	Adam MORGAN	Team Vertu	Hyundai i30N
3 (10)	Ash SUTTON	NAPA Racing	Ford Focus
4 (12)	Chris SMILEY	Restart Racing	Hyundai i30N
5 (20)	Aiden MOFFAT	Team WSR	BMW 330e
6 (15)	Josh COOK	ONE Motorsport	Honda Civic Type-R
7 (2)	Charles RAINFORD	LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR	BMW 330e
8 (1)	Jake HILL	Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport	BMW 330e
9 (18)	Dan ROWBOTTOM	NAPA Racing	Ford Focus
10 (11)	Ronan PEARSON	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Toyota Corolla
11 (3)	Tom INGRAM	Team Vertu	Hyundai i30N
12 (22)	Tom CHILTON	Team Vertu	Hyundai i30N
13 (14)	Stephen JELLEY	ONE Motorsport	Honda Civic Type-R
14 (13)	Michael CREES	Team Vertu	Hyundai i30N
15 (16)	Aron TAYLOR-SMITH	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Toyota Corolla
16 (21)	Gordon SHEDDEN	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Toyota Corolla
17 (8)	Sam OSBORNE	NAPA Racing	Ford Focus
18 (17)	James DORLIN	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Toyota Corolla
19 (25)	Nicholas HAMILTON	Powder Monkey	Cupra Leon
20 (24)	Nick HALSTEAD	Power Maxed Racing	Vauxhall Astra
21 (9)	Dan LLOYD	Restart Racing	Hyundai i30N
22 (6)	Mikey DOBLE	Power Maxed Racing	Vauxhall Astra
DNF (5)	Dan CAMMISH	NAPA Racing	Ford Focus
DNF (19)	Dexter PATTERSON	RoKIT Racing with Un-Limited Motorsport	Cupra Leon
DNF (23)	Max HALL	RoKIT Racing with Un-Limited Motorsport	Cupra Leon

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.

Pos	Name	Team	Car
1	Jake HILL	Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport	BMW 330e
2	Charles RAINFORD	LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR	BMW 330e
3	Tom INGRAM	Team Vertu	Hyundai i30N
4	Adam MORGAN	Team Vertu	Hyundai i30N
5	Dan CAMMISH	NAPA Racing	Ford Focus
6	Mikey DOBLE	Power Maxed Racing	Vauxhall Astra
7	Daryl DELEON	Team WSR	BMW 330e
8	Sam OSBORNE	NAPA Racing	Ford Focus
9	Dan LLOYD	Restart Racing	Hyundai i30N
10	Ash SUTTON	NAPA Racing	Ford Focus
11	Ronan PEARSON	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Toyota Corolla
12	Chris SMILEY	Restart Racing	Hyundai i30N
13	Michael CREES	Team Vertu	Hyundai i30N
14	Stephen JELLEY	ONE Motorsport	Honda Civic Type-R
15	Josh COOK	ONE Motorsport	Honda Civic Type-R
16	Aron TAYLOR-SMITH	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Toyota Corolla
17	James DORLIN	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Toyota Corolla
18	Dan ROWBOTTOM	NAPA Racing	Ford Focus
19	Dexter PATTERSON	RoKIT Racing with Un-Limited Motorsport	Cupra Leon
20	Aiden MOFFAT	Team WSR	BMW 330e
21	Gordon SHEDDEN	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Toyota Corolla
22	Tom CHILTON	Team Vertu	Hyundai i30N
23	Max HALL	RoKIT Racing with Un-Limited Motorsport	Cupra Leon
24	Nick HALSTEAD	Power Maxed Racing	Vauxhall Astra
DNF	Nicholas HAMILTON	Powder Monkey	Cupra Leon

Ash Sutton celebrated his title win by cruising to his fifth race win of the year in the final race of the season at Brands Hatch.

He burst through from fourth on the grid to stroll to the win in his Infiniti. Dan Rowbottom and Tom Ingram rounded off the podium after a race-long battle between the pair.

Rory Butcher had a poor start which allowed Sutton to fly into third. He was soon past Chilton into second, with Rowbottom into third as he passed Chilton on lap two.

Sutton’s team mate Carl Boardley spun off and his season ended early at Graham Hill bend.  As did Colin Turkington’s, with his title challenge over, he had a moment coming out of Graham Hill bend and pulled into the pits.

Lap three and Sutton made his move for the lead past Stephen Jelley into Paddock Hill bend.

Jack Mitchell went off in his Cupra Leon to bring out the final Safety Car of the season. While this neutralised the race, Sutton still had everything under control.

He pulled away into the distance and left Rowbottom and Ingram to squabble for second place. The Hyundai driver couldn’t quite get the better of the Team Dynamics Honda and Rowbottom took second in an impressive debut season having replaced Matt Neal.

Jake Hill finished fourth with Josh Cook having to settle for third in the championship and couldn’t capitalise on Turkington’s retirement having won the first two races of the season.

Tom Chilton recorded his best finish of the season in sixth. Shedden finished seventh with Jack Goff, Butcher and Jason Plato rounding off the top ten.

The title went to Sutton, who won his third title and his second successive championship.

Pos	Driver	Car	Team	+/-
1	Ash Sutton	Infiniti Q50	Laser Tools	30:22:671
2	Dan Rowbottom	Honda Civic Type R	Team Dynamics	+1.369
3	Tom Ingram	Hyundai i30N	Excelr8	+1.502
4	Jake Hill	Ford Focus ST	MB Motorsport	+3.274
5	Josh Cook	Honda Civic Type R	BTC Racing	+8.001
6	Tom Chilton	BMW 330i M Sport	Ciceley	+8.960
7	Gordon Shedden	Honda Civic Type R	Team Dynamics	+9.682
8	Jack Goff	Cupra Leon	Team HARD	+10.043
9	Rory Butcher	Toyota Corolla	Toyota Gazoo	+11.992
10	Jason Plato	Vauxhall Astra	Power Maxed	+13.002
11	Ollie Jackson	Ford Focus ST	MB Motorsport	+14.806
12	Chris Smiley	Hyundai i30N	Excelr8	+15.345
13	Dan Lloyd	Vauxhall Astra	Power Maxed	+15.962
14	Aron Taylor-Smith	Cupra Leon	Team HARD	+17.214
15	Tom Oliphant	BMW 330i M Sport	Team WSR	+17.461
16	Adam Morgan	BMW 330i M Sport	Ciceley	+17.697
17	Sam Osborne	Ford Focus ST	Motorbase	+19.176
18	Aiden Moffat	Infiniti Q50	Laser Tools	+19.397
19	Senna Proctor	Honda Civic Type R	BTC Racing	+20.545
20	Jade Edwards	Honda Civic Type R	BTC Racing	+21.143
21	Sam Smelt	Toyota Corolla	Toyota Gazoo	+21.462
22	Andy Neate	Ford Focus ST	Motorbase	+31.965
23	Nicholas Hamilton	Cupra Leon	Team HARD	+32.503
24	Stephen Jelley	BMW 330i M Sport	Team WSR	+42.127
25	Andy Wilmot	Hyundai i30N	Excelr8	+1 Lap
Retirements
DNF	Jack Mitchell	Cupra Leon	Team HARD	Crash
DNF	Colin Turkington	BMW 330i M Sport	Team WSR	Damage
DNF	Carl Boardley	Infiniti Q50	Laser Tools	Crash
DNS	Rick Parfitt	Hyundai i30N	Excelr8	Mechanical

 

Josh Cook won in race two at Brands Hatch in the BTCC but it was Ash Sutton who stole the headlines as he sealed his third BTCC title.

The Infiniti driver finished sixth meaning he had enough of a gap over Colin Turkington to seal his second successive title win.

There was chaos on the opening lap when Senna Proctor went off at the Druids hairpin. Further into the lap Ollie Jackson was spun around, and collected Tom Oliphant and Adam Morgan too. Inevitably the Safety Car was deployed.

On the restart Cook pulled away under some initial pressure from Dan Lloyd. On lap seven Rory Butcher was nudged onto the grass going into Druids in a tussle with Aiden Moffat. Moffat collected damage and spun going into Graham Hill bend.

Sutton was doing what he needed to seal the win but another Safety Car was deployed on lap 13 when Nicholas Hamilton went off into the gravel trap.

There was little action following the restart and Cook cruised to his fifth win of the season from Lloyd and Gordon Shedden who rounded off the podium.

Turkington was fourth with Dan Rowbottom fifth, Sutton finished sixth and was overcome with emotion on the slow down lap as it sunk in that he’d won his third title, the youngest driver to ever do so.

Butcher, Stephen Jelley, Jake Hill and Jack Goff rounded out the top ten,

Pos	Driver	Car	Team	+/-
1	Josh Cook	Honda Civic Type R	BTC Racing	30:55:544
2	Dan Lloyd	Vauxhall Astra	Power Maxed	+0.587
3	Gordon Shedden	Honda Civic Type R	Team Dynamics	+1.432
4	Colin Turkington	BMW 330i M Sport	Team WSR	+1.745
5	Dan Rowbottom	Honda Civic Type R	Team Dynamics	+2.352
6	Ash Sutton	Infiniti Q50	Laser Tools	+3.169
7	Rory Butcher	Toyota Corolla	Toyota Gazoo	+4.073
8	Tom Chilton	BMW 330i M Sport	Ciceley	+4.333
9	Stephen Jelley	BMW 330i M Sport	Team WSR	+4.805
10	Jake Hill	Ford Focus ST	MB Motorsport	+5.706
11	Jack Goff	Cupra Leon	Team HARD	+6.809
12	Tom Ingram	Hyundai i30N	Excelr8	+6.924
13	Sam Smelt	Toyota Corolla	Toyota Gazoo	+7.358
14	Sam Osborne	Ford Focus ST	Motorbase	+7.903
15	Carl Boardley	Infiniti Q50	Laser Tools	+8.533
16	Jade Edwards	Honda Civic Type R	BTC Racing	+11.243
17	Jack Mitchell	Cupra Leon	Team HARD	+12.094
18	Jason Plato	Vauxhall Astra	Power Maxed	+12.246
19	Andy Wilmot	Hyundai i30N	Excelr8	+15.083
20	Aron Taylor-Smith	Cupra Leon	Team HARD	+59.263
21	Rick Parfitt	Hyundai i30N	Excelr8	+1 Lap
22	Aiden Moffat	Infiniti Q50	Laser Tools	+1 Lap
Retirements
DNF	Nicholas Hamilton	Cupra Leon	Team HARD	Spin
DNF	Chris Smiley	Hyundai i30N	Excelr8	Damage
DNF	Andy Neate	Ford Focus ST	Motorbase	Damage
DNF	Tom Oliphant	BMW 330i M Sport	Team WSR	Crash
DNF	Adam Morgan	BMW 330i M Sport	Ciceley	Crash
DNF	Ollie Jackson	Ford Focus ST	MB Motorsport	Crash
DNF	Senna Proctor	Honda Civic Type R	BTC Racing	Crash

Colin Turkington took his 60th British Touring Car Championship win in a lights to flag victory for the BMW driver.

He has matched touring car legend Andy Rouse’s tally of 60 in an uneventful race for the Northern Irishman. His 330i M Sport was ballast free and meant he had the advantage out front.

The Safety Car was deployed on lap one as Jack Butel and Sam Smelt clashed coming out of Redgate, ending both their afternoons.

The restart came on lap four with Turkington pulling away thanks to those behind him having ballast to deal with. Newly crowned Jack Sears Trophy winner Dan Rowbottom and Dan Lloyd were both given five second penalties for jumping the start.

Following his race two penalty, Tom Ingram was doing his best to hold on to eighth with title rival Ash Sutton behind him. The fight was close, with Stephen Jelley in the mix too.

The win was looking like a foregone conclusion by lap 11 as Turkington was far ahead. Behind him Jake Hill passed Rowbottom for second but was too far back to challenge Turkington. Josh Cook tried to get through too but couldn’t make the move stick and fell to fifth with Rory Butcher sneaking past too.

Sutton finally passed Ingram into Coppice corner and came home eighth, with only one title rival in Turkington ahead of him.

The BMW man took the win, with Hill four seconds back. Aiden Moffat capped off a fine weekend with third, Butcher and Cook were fourth and fifth once Rowbottom’s penalty was applied, he finished sixth with Lloyd seventh after his penalty was applied too. Sutton, Jelley and Ingram rounded off the top ten.

Pos	Driver	Car	Team	+/-
1	Colin Turkington	BMW 330i M Sport	Team WSR	22:27:150
2	Jake Hill	Ford Focus ST	MB Motorsport	+4.096
3	Aiden Moffat	Infiniti Q50	Laser Tools	+4.945
4	Rory Butcher	Toyota Corolla	Toyota Gazoo	+7.401
5	Josh Cook	Honda Civic Type R	BTC Racing	+7.752
6	Dan Rowbottom*	Honda Civic Type R	Team Dynamics	+11.136
7	Dan Lloyd*	Vauxhall Astra	Power Maxed	+13.260
8	Ash Sutton	Infiniti Q50	Laser Tools	+13.594
9	Stephen Jelley	BMW 330i M Sport	Team WSR	+18.258
10	Tom Ingram	Hyundai i30N	Excelr8	+19.615
11	Ollie Jackson	Ford Focus ST	MB Motorsport	+20.201
12	Aron Taylor-Smith	Cupra Leon	Team HARD	+22.557
13	Gordon Shedden	Honda Civic Type R	Team Dynamics	+24.079
14	Jack Goff	Cupra Leon	Team HARD	+24.251
15	Jason Plato	Vauxhall Astra	Power Maxed	+24.651
16	Chris Smiley	Hyundai i30N	Excelr8	+25.309
17	Carl Boardley	Infiniti Q50	Laser Tools	+25.679
18	Tom Chilton	BMW 330i M Sport	Ciceley	+25.887
19	Sam Osborne	Ford Focus ST	Motorbase	+26.533
20	Tom Oliphant	BMW 330i M Sport	Team WSR	+27.104
21	Jack Mitchell	Cupra Leon	Team HARD	+28.928
22	Rick Parfitt Jr	Hyundai i30N	Excelr8	+29.252
23	Andy Neate	Ford Focus ST	Motorbase	+33.338
24	Nicholas Hamilton	Cupra Leon	Team HARD	+41.519
25	Adam Morgan	BMW 330i M Sport	Ciceley	+47.549
26	Jade Edwards	Honda Civic Type R	BTC Racing	+2 Laps
Retirements
DNF	Senna Proctor	Honda Civic Type R	BTC Racing	Mechanical
DNF	Sam Smelt	Toyota Corolla	Toyota Gazoo	Collision
DNF	Jack Butel	Hyundai i30N	Excelr8	Collision

• – Rowbottom and Lloyd handed five second penalties for jumping the start.