Category: Touring Cars

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.

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.

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,

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.

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

Gordon Shedden inherited the race two win from Tom Ingram, won had won his fourth race of the season on the road to keep his title hopes alive in race two at Donington Park in stunning fashion.

The Hyundai driver made up ten places, having started 11th, and was followed home by race one winner Gordon Shedden and Rory Butcher finished third. However Ingram was given a one second penalty as he was adjudged to have made contact with Shedden in order to pass him.

Butcher muscled his Toyota into the lead on lap one having started third but soon lost it a lap later as brother in law Shedden regained his lead. Ingram had an incredible start moving to sixth by the end of the lap from 11th on the grid.

By the end of lap two Ingram was fourth before moving into the top three by the end of lap three. His ballast free car easing past his heavier opponents.

Lap five saw Ingram pass Butcher at Redgate and he hunted down Shedden in the lead. Championship leader Ash Sutton was struggling, deciding to be defensive rather than attack. He was passed by the Honda’s of Josh Cook and Dan Rowbottom but had a late resurgence in the final few laps to finish fourth in the end.

Another title fighter Colin Turkington was up into fourth, chasing down Butcher. Meanwhile back at the front Ingram finally made his way past Shedden, with the Scotsman’s Honda struggling with the maximum 75kg of ballast.

On lap 13 Turkington was fighting hard for third, but going into the Old Hairpin corner he got too much on the grass on the inside and it put his BMW into a spin, dropping him down to 11th where he finished.

Ingram took the win on the road, but was demoted to second, with Shedden and Butcher following behind. Sutton was fourth, with Dan Lloyd, Senna Proctor, Josh Cook, Aiden Moffat, Jake Hill and Dan Rowbottom rounding off the top ten.

• – Tom Ingram given one second penalty following incident with Gordon Shedden.