Young BMW driver stars at Silverstone

WSR's Daryl DeLeon capped off a hugely impressive day with a maiden Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship pole position at Silverstone.

The young BMW driver had starred throughout the day, taking P1 and P2 in the two respective practice sessions, before the one-time BTCC race winner confirmed his pace during qualifying.

DeLeon has progressed at a rate of knots during his fledgling BTCC career so far, taking a first ever win at Brands Hatch and another podium at Croft earlier in the year, but his recent focus has turned to the Jack Sears Trophy.

The JST – for drivers not to have yet scored an overall podium ahead of the season – has been won by some prestigious names, including the likes of Ash Sutton and Josh Cook, so DeLeon will be aiming to extend his advantage over stablemate Charles Rainford tomorrow afternoon.

Wet-dry conditions played havoc for the second successive BTCC race weekend with car setup and tyre choice proving pivotal during qualifying.

DeLeon switched to wet Goodyear tyres at the perfect time during the 'Quick Six' finale, as did three-time champion Gordon Shedden in his TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK with IAA Corolla, who will lineup on the front row for tomorrow's opener.

Those drivers currently higher in the championship order, and subsequently running with restricted TOCA Turbo Boost, seemed to struggle during the session, but reigning champion Jake Hill fought against the tide to produce a great lap to take third in his #1 Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport BMW.

Daniel Lloyd (Restart Racing) and Josh Cook (TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK with IAA) each produced one of their best qualifying performances of the season to claim fourth and fifth respectively, whilst Team VERTU's Senna Proctor rounded out the top six.

Incredibly, only one of the Team VERTU and NAPA Racing UK cars made it through to the 'Quick Six' as a number of the title protagonists hit trouble.

Tom Chilton (Team VERTU) and Dan Cammish (NAPA Racing UK) both had their lap times removed after their cars failed ride height checks, championship leader Tom Ingram (Team VERTU) dropped out in Q1 for the first time this season, whilst championship rival Ash Sutton (NAPA Racing UK) failed to capitalise as he could only end up 12th.

Dan Rowbottom's (NAPA Racing UK) seventh place proved to be a positive result as he looks to hound down teammate Cammish for third in the overall standings.

The top ten positions were completed by the LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR duo of Aiden Moffat and Charles Rainford, ahead of TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK with IAA's Árón Taylor-Smith.

Rounds 25, 26 and 27 of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship take place around the 1.64-mile Silverstone National circuit tomorrow with the action getting underway on ITV4 at 1045.

Fans around the world can also get their BTCC fix with every race being broadcast LIVE – see the BTCC TV page for the listings in your region. 

Daryl DeLeon, WSR, said:

2025 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Silverstone – Qualifying – Classification: