Category: BTCC

Gordon Shedden rolled back the years and proved he still has the quality which made him a triple champion, by taking a lights to flag win in race three at Oulton Park.

He had to hold off a resurgent Jake Hill, as well as the NAPA Ford duo of Ash Sutton and Dan Rowbottom, to take his first win since Croft in 2022.

It was a wet to dry race, with every car starting on wets. However the dry lines were soon appearing in a race affected by two safety car periods, and a lot of attrition.

Shedden got away from the line well, with Proctor, who started second, swallowed up by Josh Cook, Jake Hill and Dan Rowbottom. The trio squabbling for second allowing Shedden to get away in his Toyota.

On lap two Cook was out of the battle for second as he locked up going into Lodge corner, entering the gravel trap. He soon retired with an issue with his Honda.

The first of two safety car periods came when Max Hall went off at Lodge and beached his Cupra Leon in the gravel. The stewards deeming it to be parked in a dangerous place.

The restart came on lap ten, but only lasted a lap as Tom Chilton and Mikey Doble came together at Hislops. The latter parking his car in the barrier and the second safety car period began. Both cars retiring.

On lap 14 came the restart, with Hill hounding down Shedden. However on lap 17 Hill went wide into Cascades, letting through a host of cars, and his battle for the win over.

Shedden held firm to take his 53rd BTCC win, and show he still has the ability to fight at the front. A definite highlight of Toyota’s season so far.

Sutton came second to strengthen his championship lead, with Rowbottom third. Title protagonist Tom Ingram came home fourth with Senna Proctor fifth. Dan Cammish and Hill were sixth and seventh with James Dorlin eighth. Charles Rainford came from the very back of the grid to finish ninth, with Sam Osborne tenth.

Aiden Moffat was 11th with Dexter Patterson, who gambled on pitting for soft tyres, finished 12th. Finn Leslie finished 13th with points on his first race weekend at just 17 years old. Dan Lloyd and Daryl DeLeon rounded off the points, with no fewer than seven retirements and two drivers (Aron Taylor-Smith and Nick Halstead), failing to make the start.

Ash Sutton’s race one gamble paid off as he took victory in race two to retake the championship lead.

He conceded third place at the end of race one to avoid using the slower hard tyre in race two. Title rival Tom Ingram was at the front on the hard tyre, with Sutton ready to seize the initiative.

The Ford driver was up to second by Cascades from fourth and on the back of Ingram. Adam Morgan was up to third, with Ingram hoping his teammate could come to his aid and help fight Sutton. But this was irrelevant when Sutton dived down the inside of Ingram at the Island hairpin on lap two.

The safety car was out on lap three when Dan Lloyd, race one hero, crashed heavily at the high speed Druids corner. He clipped the tyre stack at the Hislops chicane which caused damage to his Hyundai. He spun and hit the wall at high speed, ending his race but thankfully Lloyd was fine.

After a lengthy period while the barrier was fixed, Sutton maintained his lead with Morgan in tow. Ingram was fourth behind Hyundai teammate Tom Chilton.

Ingram was soon being hounded by reigning champion Jake Hill in the BMW. Hill was on the soft tyre so had the pace advantage, with Ingram defending. Ingram’s other Hyundai teammate Senna Proctor was on the back of Hill, meaning he had to contend with the Hyundai behind him before focusing on the one in front.

Proctor’s ability to attack was hampered by bodywork rubbing on his left front tyre. He fell back a couple of spots to eighth, and gave Hill the impetus to go after Ingram.

There was the worry of another safety car when Charles Rainford was sent into the wall on the exit of turn one by Gordon Shedden. However Rainford’s BMW got away and the stewards decided to keep the corner under waved yellow flags for the duration of the race.

Sutton took the win, his fourth of the season and the 46th of his storied career, retaking the championship lead. Morgan and Chilton followed him home. Ingram’s Herculean defending effort saw him finish fourth ahead of Hill. Dan Rowbottom finished sixth with Josh Cook seventh.

Proctor ended up eighth with the bodywork damage with Shedden ninth and Dan Cammish tenth. The hard tyre being Cammish’s detriment.

Mikey Doble, Sam Osborne, James Dorlin, Chris Smiley and Daryl DeLeon rounded off the top ten.

Tom Ingram outlined his title credentials with a dominant lights to flag win in race one at Oulton Park.

The Hyundai man coasted to his 35th career BTCC win, setting a new lap record in the process. Title rival Ash Sutton could only manage fourth.

There was an extra formation lap due to series debutant Finn Leslie having a driveshaft issue on the grid. This resulted in the race being reduced by one lap to 14.

When the race got underway, Ingram made an excellent start and pulled out a nice gap heading into turn one. Chris Smiley, starting second, was jumped by the NAPA Fords of Dan Cammish and Ash Sutton.

The safety car was deployed on lap two when the unfortunate Sam Osborne was sent into the wall by Stephen Jelley coming out of the hairpin, damaging the protective barrier.

After a two lap delay, the race restarted, with Senna Proctor pulling off a stunning double overtake on Josh Cook and Charles Rainford into Cascades. Max Hall’s difficult season suffered another setback when he made contact with Un-Limited Motorsport teammate Dexter Patterson into the Hislops Chicane. Hall came worse off with a broken suspension, crabbing his way back to the pits and into retirement.

Meanwhile up front, Ingram was sailing away, setting a new lap record of 1:24:052 as he was surging clear at the front.

Throughout the race there was a battle between Josh Cook and James Dorlin, with a couple of flashpoints. The Honda man got the better of Dorlin in his Toyota, with Cook finishing ahead.

WSR’s Daryl DeLeon got his elbows out throughout the race, making contact with a couple of drivers, with the main point being pitching Aron Taylor-Smith into a spin going into the hairpin. DeLeon hadn’t done WSR teammate Aiden Moffat any favours as Taylor-Smith bumped into him, putting the Scot back a few places.

A special mention must be made for Dan Lloyd. Excluded from qualifying on Saturday after failing the ride height test, he started from the back and battled through the field to finish 12th. A fine drive.

Ingram won the race at a canter, with Dan Cammish second. There was a bit of tactics in play by Ash Sutton, as he allowed Chris Smiley to pass for third. This was so that Sutton wouldn’t be on the slower hard tyres for race two, potentially increasing his chances for race two victory.

Team Vertu pair Tom Chilton and Adam Morgan were fifth and sixth. Jake Hill was seventh in his WSR BMW with Senna Proctor eighth in the fourth Vertu Hyundai. Cook and Dorlin rounded off the top ten.

Rainford and Lloyd were next, with Taylor-Smith edging out DeLeon for 13th while Dan Rowbottom took the final point for 15th.

Dan Rowbottom took his second win of the season and thrust himself into championship contention with a victory in round 12 at Thruxton.

The NAPA Racing man took the lead on lap one, and didn’t lose it in what was a frantic final race of the day.

It was Jake Hill who took the lead off the start, jumping front row starters James Dorlin and Senna Proctor into first place. Rowbottom got past the pair too and chased down Hill. By the end of lap one Rowbottom’s Focus was in the lead with Hill second.

Dan Cammish had made it into third and was being the perfect wingman for his teammate in front, by harassing Hill and allowing Rowbottom to pull away.

Not to be outperformed, fellow NAPA driver Ash Sutton was hot on the heels of title rival Tom Ingram in fourth. The two championship protagonists made contact coming out of the Complex but nothing too serious. Ingram going wide and losing ground.

The safety car was deployed on lap eight when Adam Morgan crashed out going into turn one. The Vertu Hyundai driver was looking to get a more sweeping line into the right hand corner, but pitched a wheel on the grass and it sent him spinning into the wall and out.

On the restart Ronan Pearson was out of the race, his bonnet flying up and causing damage. He became the second Toyota to retire with Dorlin already out earlier in the race.

The main flashpoint of the race came on lap 12 when Sutton tried a move on the outside Hill. But the BMW man ran wide, taking Sutton with him, and pitching him into a spin. The pair haemorrhaging places with Senna Proctor the main beneficiary.

Proctor’s fine weekend ensured he finished fourth, heralding three top ten finishes on his return to the sport, his first BTCC race since 2021.

Rowbottom secured the win, becoming only the second driver to win multiple races this season. Ingram finished second with Cammish third.

Proctor came home fourth with Sutton recovering for fifth, three NAPA cars in the top five. Chris Smiley and Aron Taylor-Smith were next with Josh Cook coming from the back of the grid to finish eighth. Tom Chilton was ninth and Dan Lloyd tenth. He’d finished seventh on the road but was given a five second penalty for a false start.

Gordon Shedden was 11th with Sam Osborne, Aiden Moffat, Mikey Doble and Daryl DeLeon rounding off the points finishes.

Sutton leads the championship by nine points from Ingram going into the next set of races at Oulton Park. Rowbottom’s win moves him into third in the standings with it all still to play for.

Ash Sutton stormed to this third win of the season in round 11 at Thruxton. He was unchallenged and comfortably secured victory, with title rival Tom Ingram second and Josh Cook securing another third place finish.

Sutton, the only multiple winner so far this season, got the best possible start off the line, surging from fourth to first by the end of the first corner. He scythed between Cook and Dan Cammish in front, before diving down the inside of Ingram at turn one. He built a lead of near two seconds and never surrendered it.

Ingram was largely unchallenged behind from Cook, with the title in mind, the Hyundai man held off Cook’s Honda for second.

Further down the field there were some scrappy moments. Jake Hill was in the wars, making contact with Adam Morgan into the final chicane – pitching the latter into a half spin. Hill then also battled Dan Rowbottom throughout as well as Cammish, with both Ford drivers finishing ahead of Hill’s WSR BMW.

Sutton, Ingram and Cook took the top three spots, but Cook was disqualified after the race for failing the ride height check in parc ferme, with everyone moving up a place.

Rowbottom took third, with Cammish and Hill battling for fourth. Senna Proctor’s fine return to the championship continued with a seventh place finish on the road, promoted to sixth, from ninth on the grid in his Hyundai. He was initially rewarded with reverse grid pole for race three but Cook’s exclusion means that now goes to James Dorlin.

James Dorlin had another fine race as the Toyota Gazoo Racing team are still getting to grips with the Corolla this season, he took seventh. Chris Smiley, Daryl DeLeon and Dan Lloyd rounded off the top ten.

Charles Rainford was next, ahead of Adam Morgan, who had finished eighth on the road but a track limits penalty sent him down to 13th before being promoted back to 12th.

The final points places were taken by Aiden Moffat, Ronan Pearson and Dexter Patterson.

Tom Ingram became the ninth different race winner from ten rounds as he cruised to victory in race one at Thruxton.

The Hyundai driver gained the lead from Ash Sutton and sailed into the distance for his 34th BTCC win. Dan Cammish secured second, but the story of race one was Josh Cook taking third in his ONE Motorsport Honda.

Having crashed heavily in qualifying, resulting in a trip to A&E for Cook, and a late night for the mechanics, Cook started 14th and surged to third. A fine reward for the team, and a good haul of points for the man who’s previously been dubbed the ‘King of Thruxton.’

The start was a hectic affair, with both Charles Rainford and Tom Chilton being pitched into spins. Further into the lap Max Hall got wide on the grass, pitching his Cupra into a spin. He collected NAPA’s Sam Osborne with both ending in the wall and the safety car deployed.

On the restart on lap eight, Cammish lunged past Mikey Doble for third at the Complex. Meanwhile coming into the final chicane, Ingram was battling Sutton for the lead. Ingram broke last on the outside, with Sutton on the edge of control. He understeered into Ingram with both going wide and cutting the chicane. Ingram was through, and never lost the lead.

Further down the order Senna Proctor, returning to the sport after a three year absence, was battling with Cook, Jake Hill and Gordon Shedden. The latter ran wide and lost the back end, spinning and collecting a large amount of turf in his radiator. He ended the race in 18th.

The later stages of the race saw Ingram unchallenged. Sutton reported a loss of power as he was lacking top speed. If there’s one thing you need around the fastest circuit in the UK, is top speed. Cook seized the opportunity and passed the beleaguered Ford driver for third place.

Ingram took the win, boosting his title chances. Cammish was second with Cook third. Sutton brought his stricken Focus home in fourth with teammate Dan Rowbottom fifth.

Jake Hill was sixth with James Dorlin securing his best finish of the season for Toyota in seventh and Adam Morgan eighth. Proctor was ninth in his return with Tom Chilton coming home tenth on the road, but a ten second penalty was applied for frequent track limits infringements.

Daryl DeLeon inherited tenth with Chris Smiley and Aron Taylor-Smith securing decent points. Dan Lloyd and Aiden Moffat coming home ahead of Chilton, who dropped to 15th.

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.