Tag: BTCC

Colin Turkington produced a stellar performance at Oulton Park this weekend (June 29/30) as he tallied a half-century of Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship victories, extending his advantage in the standings in-doing.

Marking the final stop on the calendar before the annual six-week summer break, the picturesque Cheshire venue served up a blockbuster race day with Turkington and Stephen Jelley sharing the spoils.

Reigning champion Turkington entered the fifth event of the season ladened with success ballast but that didn’t stop him from scorching his way to pole position in qualifying. The Team BMW driver powered his way to the top of the times early in the session and was ultimately never headed.

Turkington converted his front row start into a flawless victory in the opening encounter as he dominated proceedings, leading lights-to-flag. Despite being kept honest by the Honda of Dan Cammish throughout, the Northern Irishman had enough in hand to record his third win of 2019.

Andrew Jordan, the form man of recent events, continued his impressive run of results with a third place finish to round out the podium.

The latest chapter of Turkington’s storied career was written in the second race of the day as the triple champion swept his way to a milestone 50th BTCC win.

Storming off the line, Turkington hit the front and despite two safety car periods, the 330i M Sport driver commanded every lap to lead Jordan across the line for West Surrey Racing 1-2 – whilst Dan Cammish just prevented Tom Oliphant from making it a clean sweep on the podium.

Race three around the 2.23-mile circuit proved to be action-packed from start-to-finish with Team Parker Racing’s Jelley triumphing for the first time since his last BTCC win ten years ago.

Trade Price Cars’ Jake Hill took the chequered flag however a post-race penalty for the Audi driver saw his maiden victory in the series taken away.

Hill started on pole position virtue of the reverse grid draw but came under early pressure from Matt Neal. The pivotal moment in the race came on lap three as the Halfords Yuasa Racing driver passed Hill into the first turn. As Neal tucked ahead, contact was made and the triple champion was sent spinning across the grass and track.

Several cars took avoiding action and when the dust settled, Rory Butcher and Jelley found themselves in second and third. With a gap of more than five seconds to close down, Butcher soon began to eat into Hill’s advantage and by the penultimate lap had caught him.

Pushing hard, Butcher overcooked it into the hairpin and dropped down the order – all but confirming Hill’s victory with Jelley and Oliphant rounding out the rostrum. Hill’s celebrations were short-lived after the race as he was handed a 20-second time penalty for his part in the Neal incident, thus handing Jelley a first win since Rockingham 2009 and the team its first-ever in the series.

Leaving Oulton Park, Turkington holds a 33-point advantage at the top of the BTCC standings ahead of Jordan and Josh Cook.

To view the full classification of results across all sessions during the fifth event of the season, click here.

The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship will now pause for six weeks before the kicking the second half of the season off at Snetterton on August 3/4. Before that, a majority of teams will venture to the Norfolk venue on July 16/17 for the annual two-day in-season test.

The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship will speed into its annual summer break this weekend (June 29/30) at Oulton Park with three races set to bring the curtain down on the first half of the season – and it is all to play for in the battle for the UK’s biggest motorsport prize.

In what has been an ultra-competitive campaign to date, the picturesque Cheshire venue is set to add more fuel to the title fire as all 30 drivers bid to head into the six-week break on a high.

Following a pulsating event at Croft earlier in the month, reigning champion Colin Turkington finds himself in the pound – topping the standings by 11 points. West Surrey Racing’s new-for-2019 BMW 330i M Sport has been a potent weapon this year and Turkington has already reaped the benefits.

Doing the double at Donington Park, the three-time champion has been the epitome of consistency as always, banking solid points at every turn so far. With a proven track record around Oulton too, the Northern Irishman could well be in contention for more success too.

BTC Racing’s Josh Cook is Turkington’s nearest challenger and he too has impressed, scoring two wins and a podium at every weekend thus far. Ashley Sutton – who is yet to win a race this season – has been steadily accumulating the points and could well strike this weekend in his Subaru.

Andrew Jordan is arguably the form man heading to Oulton Park having won five races already this year. Following a trip to the hospital at Donington the 2013 champion has done the double at both Thruxton and Croft – throwing himself back into title contention.

Honda duo Matt Neal and Rory Butcher have been firmly in the mix too whilst Motorbase Performance’s Tom Chilton scored victory last time out to boost his title chances.

Dan Cammish, Tom Ingram and Jason Plato have all also enjoyed success this year and can’t be discounted out from the weekend’s trio of encounters around the challenging Island layout.

Beyond the championship top ten sit a host of drivers that are all keen to not only throw themselves into contention further up the standings but also cap off the midway marker in style.

Adam Morgan, Rob Collard, Sam Tordoff, Aiden Moffat, Jake Hill and Senna Proctor are just a handful of drivers to keep a keen eye over the course of Sunday’s race day.

With events at Brands Hatch, Donington Park, Thruxton and Croft already in the books, this weekend’s triple-header at Oulton Park is set to play a pivotal role in deciding the outcome of where this year’s title will end up.

To find out more information on the event, including links to timetables, live timing and commentary, click here.

Croft Circuit played host to an action-packed Rounds 10, 11 & 12 of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship this past weekend (June 15/16) as thousands flocked to the North Yorkshire venue to see Andrew Jordan and Tom Chilton share the spoils.

Faced with challenging weather conditions on both Saturday and Sunday, Britain’s premier race series served up a feast of entertainment as records tumbled around the newly resurfaced 2.12 mile circuit.

In qualifying, BMW Pirtek Racing’s Jordan set a new lap record to score his first pole position since 2014, despite plenty of disruption throughout the session. No less than five red flag stoppages, the last of which was caused by Jordan himself, truncated the session.

Launching off the line, the 2013 champion continued his rich vein of form as he took a lights-to-flag victory. Dealing with race-long attention from BTC Racing’s Chris Smiley, as well as a lengthy safety car period, the 30-year-old proved to be in a league of his own as he powered his way to the chequered flag.

The battle for the final spot on the podium fell the way of Tom Chilton after he held off the advances of Colin Turkington and Tom Oliphant for the entirety of the 18-lap encounter.

Race two proved to be a similar story for Jordan as he converted pole position into his fifth win of the season, replicating his double-winning performance at Croft last time out.

Making a good getaway, Jordan pulled out a comfortable gap in the opening stages as the chasing pack battled with second place Smiley. Turkington finally got the better of his Northern Irish counterpart but by that time the gap to Jordan was too big.

Reeling him in over the course of a handful of laps, the West Surrey Racing duo held station to record their latest 1-2 finish of the season. Yorkshireman Dan Cammish gave locals plenty to cheer about as he continued his recent run of form with a podium on home turf.

BARC Chief Executive Ben Taylor carried out the reverse grid draw live on ITV4 and pulled number nine out of the bowl, promoting Chilton onto pole position.

With heavy rain falling before the race the question on everybody’s lips was what tyres to go for – wets or slicks. As the sun broke through the clouds, a majority of the field opted for wet tyres with Tom Ingram, who was starting third, rolling the dice and gambling with slicks.

As the lights went out, Ingram tumbled down the order as those on wets got the best of the conditions. At the front, Chilton held the lead and fended off the advances of Josh Cook whilst Jason Plato joined remained with touching distance of the pair too.

Laps ticked by however Ingram’s progress didn’t come into effect until the final stages of the race, by which time he was too far back to challenge those in the points. Chilton meanwhile held on to record his first win of the season whilst Cook kept his championship challenge going with a second place finish.

Double champion Plato was back on the rostrum after a year-long drought, getting a big cheer as he made it onto the podium. Ashley Sutton and Matt Neal rounded out the top five with Sutton producing a string of mesmerising overtakes heading into the hairpin.

Leaving Croft, Turkington is now the sole leader in the standings – holding an 11-point advantage over Cook whilst Sutton remains a further two points back.

The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship now heads to Oulton Park at the end of the month on June 29/30 for Rounds 13, 14 & 15, before then heading into the annual summer break.

The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship has announced its calendar for the 2020 season, boasting a revised order of events with Silverstone taking on a second race meeting in place of Thruxton – which has done so this year.

Confirmed by Series Organisers TOCA, the 2020 campaign will once again comprise of 30 races across ten weekends – three per event of equal distance.

Donington Park will lift the curtain on the new BTCC season in late March before the series then descends on Kent for the second meeting of the year as Brands Hatch plays host to Rounds 4, 5 & 6.

The first of two visits to Silverstone will follow just a couple of weeks later with the National circuit being used before the championship then heads to the fastest circuit in the UK, Thruxton.

Oulton Park will round out the first half of the season in mid-June before the annual summer break comes into effect, with Snetterton remaining as the starting point for the second of the year.

Having traditionally been a fixture during the first of the year in recent times, Croft is set for a BTCC summer spectacular as it hosts the seventh meeting on the calendar – with Knockhill swiftly following a fortnight later.

The penultimate event of the 2020 season will see Silverstone take up its usual spot on the schedule however unlike previous years, the International layout of the Northamptonshire venue will be used.

Brands Hatch will bring the curtain down on the year with three title-deciding races around the iconic Grand Prix circuit in October.

2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship Calendar

Rounds 1, 2 & 3 – Donington Park – March 28/29

Rounds 4, 5 & 6 – Brands Hatch (Indy) – April 11/12

Rounds 7, 8 & 9 – Silverstone (National) – April 25/26

Rounds 10, 11 & 12 – Thruxton – May 16/17

Rounds 13, 14 & 15 – Oulton Park – June 13/14

Rounds 16, 17 & 18 – Snetterton – July 25/26

Rounds 19, 20 & 21 – Croft – August 15/16

Rounds 22, 23 & 24 – Knockhill – August 29/30

Rounds 25, 26 & 27 – Silverstone (International) – September 26/27

Rounds 28, 29 & 30 – Brands Hatch (Grand Prix) – October 10/11

The 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship’s Season Launch is set to be announced at a later date.

To keep up-to-date with all of the latest BTCC information, head to btcc.net.

The battle for supremacy in the 2019 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship will see the series head to North Yorkshire this weekend (June 15/16) as Croft Circuit plays host to Rounds 10, 11 & 12 – and it is all to play for at the top of the standings.

Coming off the back of a scintillating weekend of racing at Thruxton in mid-May, Britain’s premier race series ventures to the north-east for a pivotal three encounters around the 2.13 mile layout.

One major change to take place at the venue since the BTCC’s last visit in 2018 has been the resurfacing of the entire circuit, meaning the drivers could be facing a different feel on-track altogether.

Historically, Croft has been better suited to rear-wheel-drive machinery down the years – with BMW and Subaru amassing 11 victories from the past 15 races – and many eyes will be fixed on those two outfits to reign supreme once again.

Dubbed the ‘King of Croft’, reigning champion and joint championship leader Colin Turkington will be looking to extend his impressive win tally around the BARC-run venue as he aims to put clear distance between himself and the chasing pack.

Ashley Sutton meanwhile has forged a path as Turkington’s main challenger to the ‘King of Croft’ mantel having enjoyed plenty of success in recent years. At the wheel of his Subaru Levorg, the 2017 champion has emerged as a consistent challenger already this season, notching four podiums so far.

Throw into the mix three-time 2019 winner Andrew Jordan, Tom Oliphant and local man Senna Proctor, and the potential of further rear-wheel-success could well continue.

Rory Butcher finds himself sharing the points lead with Turkington and he could well spring a surprise as he bids to lead the front-wheel-drive challenge. Having notched a breakthrough win at Brands Hatch, the Scotsman has been a tour-de-force in his Honda Civic Type R and could well continue his rich vein of form in the north east.

Two more Yorkshire home heroes pilot Civic Type R’s and both will be keen to make their mark on home soil. Sam Tordoff and Dan Cammish were in the thick of the action at Thruxton last time out and both will be hoping they’ll be in the mix at Croft.

The likes of Josh Cook, Tom Ingram, Matt Neal, Tom Chilton and Jason Plato, amongst many more, are also likely to be in the battle at the sharp end of the grid – making it a weekend that is not to be missed.

To find out more information on this weekend’s event, including links to live timing and the timetable, click here.

A bumper crowd witnessed another breathtaking weekend of motorsport as Thruxton Circuit played host to Rounds 7, 8 and 9 of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship.

Andrew Jordan was the star of the show at the famous Hampshire venue, taking victory in the first two races of the day behind the wheel of his BMW Pirtek Racing 330i M Sport.

BTC Racing’s Josh Cook also stood on the top step after a win in race three as fans who had travelled from all over the country were treated to some spectacular racing around Britain’s fastest track.

A full programme of support series’ action alongside qualifying ensured it was the best-attended Saturday in 20 years, while the banking was absolutely packed as race one got underway on Sunday afternoon.

In total, fans enjoyed 14 outstanding races, headlined by the brilliant BTCC but were also wowed by contests from Formula 4, Ginettas and Minis.

The late-spring weather held out and the hugely popular chicane grandstands and spectator banks around the circuit were filled, while the state-of-the-art Thruxton Centre – which opened only a year ago – was a hive of activity throughout the weekend.

Sam Tordoff of Cobra Sport AmD AutoAid/RCIB Insurance made a stellar start from pole once the highly-anticipated BTCC action got underway, having set a new lap record of 1m15.511s the previous afternoon.

Jordan jumped Halfords Yuasa Racing’s Dan Cammish into second while defending champion and West Surrey Racing star Colin Turkington, Tordoff’s team-mate Rory Butcher and Sterling Insurance Power Maxed Racing’s Jason Plato led the chasing pack.

The leading trio proceeded to pull away as battles raged behind, with BTCC veteran and fan-favourite Matt Neal muscling his way around the outside of Ash Sutton’s Adrian Flux Subaru Racing Levorg for seventh.

Tordoff looked set for a comfortable victory before a power steering issue caused a big wobble through the legendary Church corner on Lap 13, allowing Jordan to get a run on the 29-year-old, make a move around the outside at the chicane and cruise home for his second win of the season in front of the packed grandstands.

Race two began in familiar fashion, with the BMW pair of Jordan and Turkington both enjoying blistering starts as Cammish bogged down from third on the grid.

Tordoff went door-to-door with Turkington through Allard and past the imposing Thruxton Centre but wasn’t able to hold off the three-time champion into the Complex, meaning it was a BMW one-two at the end of lap one.

There was also plenty of action further back with contact between the Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher Ford of Ollie Jackson and the BTC Racing Honda Civic Type R of Chris Smiley, causing the former to retire and the latter to drop down the field.

Jordan and Turkington streaked away at the front to secure a comfortable one-two while Cammish rounded out the rostrum after working his way past Tordoff at the chicane on lap five, making contact with the AmD driver under braking and forcing both drivers to cut behind the tyre pillar on the apex of the corner.

Tordoff later dropped behind Plato and Matt Neal while Rob Collard produced a heart-in-mouth moment on the grass alongside Rory Butcher and Aidan Moffatt’s Laser Tools Racing Mercedes got sideways at the final chicane, hampering Team Parker Racing’s Stephen Jelley as supporters were treated to brilliant wheel-to-wheel action.

Former McLaren F1 Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh conducted the reverse grid draw, pulling Sutton’s number out of the hat to sit on pole for the ever-popular final race of the day.

However, it was Cook that got the best launch and snatched the lead on the way into the Complex before the safety car was called into action following contact between Collard and the Mac Tools with Ciceley Motorsport Mercedes of Adam Morgan.

Jordan’s strong weekend ended sourly when the BMW Pirtek star was tipped around by Stephen Jelley on the restart, but things were calmer near the front as Cook showed great pace to hold a comfortable lead.

Butcher capped a strong weekend with an excellent pass on Sutton for second into the final chicane on lap five, keeping his cool through a second safety car period to bank a sizeable points haul and move level with Turkington at the top of the Championship.

The 2019 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship resumes on June 15/16, with Rounds 10, 11 and 12 taking place at Croft.

Fans have another chance to get their fill of touring car action at Thruxton when the BTCC field makes a second visit to the circuit later in the season for Rounds 19, 20 and 21 on August 17/18.

In the meantime, supporters can get their fill of automotive action at the Thruxton Motorsport Celebration on 1/2 June where there will be a mouth-watering array of sensational sportscars, flame-spitting saloons and evocative single-seaters.

The annual event, founded following the success of our 50th anniversary celebration, will feature iconic on-track demonstrations in addition to stunning ‘Battle of Britain’ flypasts as the past comes back to life at the fastest circuit in the country.

“We were delighted to welcome such a fantastic crowd to witness a sensational weekend of racing,” said Thruxton Director, Bill Coombs. “The thrills and spills of the BTCC were there for all to see, but the entire bill of racing provided such great entertainment. The Minis were a wonderful addition to the line-up and seeing so many of them slipstreaming and getting sideways was a real joy.

“The Saturday alone produced the best attendance figures we’ve seen in some two decades, which shows the great appeal of the BTCC and Thruxton as a venue. The Thruxton Centre, which has been open for business almost a year, was a hive of activity throughout with guests enjoying the facilities over the weekend. The best thing about it all… is that we have a chance to do it all again in August this year as the BTCC makes two visits to Hampshire in 2019. Attention now turns to the Thruxton Motorsport Celebration at the beginning of June, which I’m sure will be a wonderful event.”

Thruxton Circuit played host to a hugely successful Dare To Be Different (D2BD) event earlier today, as over 100 schoolgirls got a first-hand experience of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship.

The Hampshire circuit teamed up with the pioneering charity to put on an action-packed day of activities designed to inspire more girls to get into motorsport.

Pupils from local primary schools were invited to Britain’s fastest racetrack ahead of this weekend’s BTCC event, taking part in garage tours and meeting star drivers such as Jason Plato, Tom Ingram, Josh Cook and Michael Crees.

D2BD, founded by former Williams F1 test driver Susie Wolff and Motorsport UK, is an initiative designed to inspire female participation and challenge preconceptions in a traditionally male-orientated environment.

And today’s event gave attendees a chance to get up close and personal with the BTCC through exclusive access to the Thruxton paddock, as well as developing their STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) skills with a number of tricky engineering challenges.

The schoolgirls then tried a spot of presenting with ITV Sport journalist and D2BD Ambassador Louise Goodman, taking the place of the host, interviewer and interview subject to get an insight into motorsport media.

The group also tested their reactions and questioned engineers about their roles within the teams before getting their hands dirty with the Pirelli Pit-Stop Challenge.

Meanwhile, the F1 in Schools Programme was present to showcase its inspirational learning resources with D2BD aiming to ‘Drive Female Talent’ and highlight potential career paths within motorsport.

The day was rounded off with a prize giving ceremony in the stunning Thruxton Centre for the fastest pit-stop team and best media presentation.

Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed Racing’s Jason Plato said: “They’ve had a fantastic time and hopefully it will light a candle in a few of their minds that motorsport is a great opportunity. Not just for driving the car, because there are many more things in motorsport than driving the car.

“I’ve been in this game a long time, and it was a male-dominated place when I started. It’s not now, and it’s a better paddock for it. It has changed massively, and I think the way the world is at the moment motorsport needs to be more inclusive.

“It’s a great initiative and it opens their mind up to all sorts of opportunities, whether they be science-based, sports-based, nutrition… there’s a million and one different offshoots in motorsport.”

ITV Motorsport presenter and D2BD Ambassador Louise Goodman said: “What a great event! I’ve been working with Dare To Be Different since it was set up and I just think it’s a brilliant initiative. I’ve spent pretty much my entire working life in motorsport and I have seen the numbers of women involved change, but if you look at the numbers its still not gone far enough.

“What Dare To Be Different is all about is working on the premise that you’ve got to see it to be it. It’s showing girls and importantly their parents and teachers that there are a whole range of career opportunities in motorsport. In F1 they don’t care if you’re male or female, they just want the best of everything. We’ve got to get more girls engaged in engineering and STEM activities with motorsport-orientated career options and subjects at the bottom level. It’s all about changing those perceptions.”

Thruxton Circuit Director Bill Coombs said: “It came about after a chance conversation with Alan Gow and we were fortunate to have Friday free of any testing but still had all the teams here, so it was an ideal opportunity for Dare To Be Different to come down and take advantage of everything else that is going on, and be hosted in our Thruxton Centre.

“We’re very pleased to be able to help out, and the initiative has been very well supported by all of the teams. We’ve had about 100 children here from different schools and they’re been around to all the teams, having a very full day of activity.”

The D2BD event took place on the eve of Rounds 7, 8 and 9 of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, which commences tomorrow at the Hampshire venue.

Tickets for the BTCC’s visit on 18/19 May can be purchased on the gate, starting at £17 for Saturday (qualifying) and £34 for Sunday (race day). Children aged 13-15 get in for £5 on Saturday and £10 on Sunday; accompanied children aged 12 and under will be admitted free of charge.

For further information, see https://thruxtonracing.co.uk/racing/btcc or call 01264 882222.

For more information on Thruxton’s race meetings and driving experiences, visit: www.thruxtonracing.co.uk/

Britain’s premier motorsport series meets Britain’s fastest race circuit this weekend (May 18/19) as the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship descends on Thruxton for Rounds 7, 8 & 9 of the 2019 season.

Providing a unique challenge like nothing else on the calendar, exhilarating high-speed thrills are set to take place at the home of the British Automobile Racing Club in front of a bumper crowd as it stages the first of two BTCC meetings in Hampshire – having gained a second event in August.

In what has already been another unpredictable and ultra-competitive start to the year, the opening six races of the new season has served up five different race winners.

Josh Cook, Andrew Jordan, Rory Butcher and Tom Ingram have all tallied one win whilst reigning champion Colin Turkington is the only man to score two victories following his Donington Park double last time out.

Despite the aforementioned winners it is 2017 champion Ashley Sutton who finds himself at the top of standings. Three podium finishes paired with a further three points scoring finishes leave the Adrian Flux Subaru Racing leading the way into the third event of the year.

Traditionally making a slow start, Sutton has come out the blocks fast this year but with his Subaru Levorg ladened with success ballast, the 25-year-old will likely look to play the long game in his bid of extending his advantage.

Whilst Sutton is the early leader, the battle for supremacy at the top of the standings however is fraught with the top five separated by just six points.

Cook, who is local to the circuit, leads the chase for Sutton with Turkington, Tom Chilton and Butcher all hot on his heels. Toyota GB-back Ingram rounds out the top six after his victory in the Corolla at Donington Park.

Down the years Thruxton has been a happy hunting ground for the Honda Civic Type R and whilst Cook will be one to watch in his BTC Racing machine, several others will be keen to come to the fore too.

Cook’s team-mate Chris Smiley was one to watch at the TOCA test last month whilst the Halfords Yuasa Racing pairing of Matt Neal and Dan Cammish can’t be discounted either. Throw into the mix the AMD Tuning duo of Butcher and Sam Tordoff and the Type R could well add to its impressive record this weekend.

Both the Mercedes Benz A-Class and Vauxhall Astra have enjoyed varying success down the years at Thruxton too so Adam Morgan, Aiden Moffat, Jason Plato and local man Rob Collard will be all worth keeping an eye on over the course of the weekend too.

Brands Hatch race winner Jordan found himself in the wars last time out and the 2013 champion will be battling hard to fight his way back into early contention around a circuit that he has always excelled at.

Throw into the hat a raft of other front-running contenders such as Jake Hill, Jack Goff, Stephen Jelley and more, and you begin to see why this weekend is set to be such a blockbuster event.

Tickets to Thruxton’s first BTCC race meeting of the season will be available to purchase on the gate. For more information on pricing head to http://thruxtonracing.co.uk/racing/btcc.

To find out more information on the event such as the full timetable as well as links to live timing, click here.

The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship arrives at Thruxton this weekend (May 18/19) for the first of its 2019 appearances at the high-speed Hampshire track, with the hugely popular series returning in the summer (August 17/18) for another bite of the cherry.

Thirty top-tier drivers have battled it out in the opening six rounds, producing five different winners from the Brands Hatch Indy and Donington Park race weekends. Reigning champion Colin Turkington is the only driver to win more than a single race so far in 2019, and his victories last time out were enough to propel him to third in the overall Drivers’ standings behind BTC Racing’s Josh Cook and Subaru’s Ashley Sutton. The latter currently leads the championship having not yet taken to the top step, though he has notched three podium finishes.

Closer than ever

The 2019 BTCC is as close as ever with the top eight drivers in the standings separated by fewer than 25 points, while a total of 13 different drivers have already visited the podium. The first two meetings have been full of surprises, with Cook taking the honours in the season opener, followed by victory for BMW Pirtek Racing’s Andrew Jordan in the second encounter of the year – just days after the new 3 Series’ build had been completed by West Surrey Racing. Donington Park wasn’t so kind to Jordan, though, with his participation in the weekend curtailed following a spectacular collision.

Rory Butcher and Tom Ingram took popular victories in the final races at Brands Hatch and Donington Park respectively, the latter in front of 4,500 Toyota employees and their families all there to cheer on Ingram in the new Corolla with the Japanese marque making its BTCC manufacturer return this season. This fantastic result for the Cheshire-based team, coupled with consistent top-ten results in the previous five races, catapulted the reigning Independents’ champion to sixth in the overall standings, just 12 points shy of the summit.

A whole host of other drivers have shown the pace and potential to win so far this season, and as is the norm in BTCC, they are queueing up to take to the top step at Thruxton. The most noteworthy has been championship leader Ash Sutton, who is yet to win a race despite his pole position at Brands Hatch and a flurry of podium finishes. Another driver to have reached the rostrum already this year is Hampshire’s own Rob Collard. Tom Oliphant is also one to watch after his third place at Donington Park, while a win-double for Turkington highlighted the BMW’s prowess throughout that weekend.

Testing, testing

A host of Honda Civic Type Rs showed their intent at Thruxton’s official BTCC Test Day back in April. As the grid looked to prepare for two 2019 visits to Hampshire, the top three positions were locked out by Hondas. Dan Cammish – who is yet to find himself at the sharp end so far this season – led the way for the Halfords Yuasa Racing works team, two tenths clear of anyone else. Chris Smiley (second) and Rory Butcher (third) joined Cammish at the top of timesheets closely followed by Sutton’s Subaru Levorg.

The Mercedes-Benz A-Class runners seemed to be there or thereabouts with Aiden Moffat in fifth and Adam Morgan in eighth. Turkington and Jordan in the BMWs also showed strong pace after posting the sixth and 11th fastest times respectively.

The top 11 drivers were less than a second apart, giving high hopes of some close racing and plenty of opportunities to capitalise at the Hampshire speedbowl for Rounds 7, 8 and 9.

“It’s a huge deal that we have two BTCC meetings at Thruxton this year,” enthused Thruxton Group Director, Bill Coombs. “It’s the biggest event of the year for us and to be able to have two of those over the course of the year is just fantastic.

“It’s a stunning weekend out, a real family event. There are plenty of trade shows and children’s activities to keep everyone entertained throughout the weekend. Due to the high-speed nature of Thruxton, the racing is probably the closest you will see in the UK, there’s always plenty of slipstreaming and overtaking so it’s very hard to pick a winner.”

“Thruxton is a very unique circuit, it’s not like any other on the calendar,” said Bath-based racer Josh Cook, who regards the Hampshire track as his home circuit. “We are coming here twice this season so that means it’s even more important to get the right setup during testing and practice, anything we can learn will benefit us at two race meetings.

“There’s really only two braking points on the whole circuit and then around the back section you’re at full power for the majority of the time. It is tricky – Church Corner is famed for its high-speed nature. It’s certainly a circuit that I love coming to.”

Tickets for the BTCC’s visit on 18/19 May can be purchased on the gate, starting at £17 for Saturday (qualifying) and £34 for Sunday (race day). Children aged 13-15 get in for £5 on Saturday and £10 on Sunday; accompanied children aged 12 and under will be admitted free of charge.

For further information, see https://thruxtonracing.co.uk/racing/btcc or call 01264 882222.

For more information on Thruxton’s race meetings and driving experiences, visit: www.thruxtonracing.co.uk/