Aiden Moffat, Jake Hill and Colin Turkington scored a win apiece as the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship took centre stage at Croft this past weekend (September 18/19).
For the first time in more than two years, thousands of fans descended on the North Yorkshire venue for a full-throttle trio of races from Britain’s premier motorsport series – and they were given plenty of entertainment.
Two red flag stoppages meant qualifying on Saturday proved to be a truncated affair however it ultimately wouldn’t stop Aiden Moffat from scoring a maiden BTCC pole position.
With a flurry of improvements coming late in the session, the Laser Tools Racing driver set a sensational lap to pip MB Motorsport’s Jake Hill to top spot whilst Colin Turkington and local driver Senna Proctor locking out the second row.
Leading from the front, Moffat didn’t put a wheel wrong in the opening encounter to score his first win of the season. Holding the lead off the line, the Infiniti Q50 driver fended off the race-long challenge from Jake Hill to score his first victory since 2018.
Yorkshire’s own Senna Proctor gave the local fans plenty to cheer about too as he rounded out the podium in third. The BTC Racing driver got the jump on Colin Turkington during the opening lap and held position for the remainder of the 18-lap bout.
Race two saw Hill come to the fore as he cruised to a commanding win. Muscling his way past the pole sitter Moffat heading into the Complex on early on, the MB Motorsport drove got his head down and pulled clear as action ensued behind.
With Hill making his escape out front, an almighty battle for second place played out with Moffat – now ladened with 75kgs – fending off the chasing pack of Josh Cook, Colin Turkington, Senna Proctor, Gordon Shedden, Ashley Sutton and Tom Ingram.
As positions changed hands, Moffat continued to hang on to second with the Honda of Cook managing to clinch the third ahead of fellow title contenders Ingram and Sutton.
The reverse grid race would see West Surrey Racing celebrate their 700th race in the series in style as ‘King of Croft’ Turkington charged to his 13th victory at the venue.
Drawn onto pole position after finishing seventh in the previous race, the Northern Irishman produced a measured drive as he pulled clear of the chasing pack to record his third win of the campaign.
Behind, fans were captivated by the battle for second place between Shedden and Sutton. Despite showing his nose on a number of occasions, the championship leader couldn’t find a way past the Scotsman and ultimately settled for third.
Leaving Croft, Sutton’s advantage at the summit of the standings now sits at 29 points ahead of Hill, who has moved into second.
To view the full classification of results from all BTCC sessions at Croft, CLICK HERE.
The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship heads to the Home of British Motor Racing, Silverstone, this coming weekend (September 25/26) for the eighth event of the 2021 campaign.