Tin top stars entertain as BTCC blasts back into action
The 2025 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship resumed at Croft this weekend (2/3 August) following its annual mid-season break and it proved to be an absolute classic as the title race swung one way and then the other.
A duel between four-time champion Ash Sutton and 2022 supremo Tom Ingram had been brewing during the first half of the campaign and it was further fuelled in North Yorkshire.
A victory apiece for Ingram and Sutton – with Dan Rowbottom claiming the other – grabbed the headlines, but that doesn’t begin to tell the full story on a day that began with rain before breaking out into glorious sunshine.
Team VERTU’s Ingram now leads the standings from Sutton by eight points with a fight for third overall currently being played out by NAPA Racing UK team-mates Rowbottom and Dan Cammish.
Alliance Racing/Ford and its NAPA Racing UK outfit hold sway in both the Manufacturers’/Constructors’ and Teams’ standings, whilst the Independents’ battle sees Mikey Doble leading the Drivers’ and Restart Racing topping the Teams’ orders.
WSR’s Daryl DeLeon had a 20th birthday weekend to remember as an overall podium helped maintain his lead in the Jack Sears Trophy.
The BTCC is back on track at Knockhill in Scotland in two weeks' time (16/17 August).
Ingram leads championship after race one win
Team VERTU’s Ingram took the first victory after the mid-season break, leading home heroes Cammish and Senna Proctor in the North Yorkshire opener.
Ingram led from start-to-finish, keeping Cammish at arm's length, as well as dealing with a late safety car period to claim his third triumph of the season.
The #80 Hyundai i30N was the cream of the crop throughout the contest as Ingram moved into the championship lead, whilst title rival Sutton hit trouble.
Cammish closed in on Ingram in the early stages before the latter stretched the gap out for a comfortable success, whilst Team VERTU's Proctor wowed his local fans with a stellar podium.
Incredibly, Proctor went from eighth to third on the opening lap with a move by NAPA Racing UK's Rowbottom being a particular highlight.
Rowbottom held on to fourth from Team VERTU's Tom Chilton, whilst WSR's DeLeon starred in sixth.
Rowbottom roars to maiden Croft triumph
NAPA Racing UK’s Rowbottom took his third triumph of the season with a breakthrough victory at Croft in the second bout of the day.
The Ford Focus man made his way forward from fourth on the grid, as he picked off the leading three cars one-by-one in the early running.
With the race one rostrum runners forced to take the Goodyear hard tyre for race two, Rowbottom made light work of Team VERTU's Proctor and team-mate Cammish in the sister Ford Focus.
Leader Ingram didn't put up too much of a fight as he let Rowbottom and Team VERTU team-mate Tom Chilton through into first and second respectively. Although Chilton looked feisty for a few laps after that, Rowbottom was gradually able to cruise clear for victory.
Behind the lead duo was the popular DeLeon, who celebrated his 20th birthday weekend with a fantastic podium, which followed his top six finish in the opener.
Young gun DeLeon took a maiden BTCC victory in his WSR BMW 330i M Sport at Brands Hatch earlier in the season, and in terms of pace, Croft represented his most competitive weekend since then.
Team VERTU's Adam Morgan quietly went about his business to claim fourth, whilst drive of the contest went to the NAPA Racing UK Ford Focus of Sutton.
Sutton – starting from the rear of the field following his puncture in the earlier race – had made his way up to 12th after just a few laps, and he continued hustling until the chequered flag as he grabbed further positions on the run to a top five finish.
Sutton wins BTCC barnstormer
Four-time champion Sutton stood victorious after one of the most incredible races in memory as the action at Croft was rounded out in unforgettable style.
It's almost impossible to note everything that took place around the 2.13-mile circuit, but the relentless action kicked off almost immediately as Ingram's Team VERTU Hyundai endured a wild slide following contact with the BMW of pole-sitter Aiden Moffat on the opening tour.
LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR's Moffat defended valiantly in the early exchanges with a whole gaggle of cars running two and sometimes three wide.
It felt like something had to give and sure enough it did as the sister BMW of Charles Rainford touched the car of NAPA Racing UK's Cammish as they approached the Complex. Cammish's Ford Focus slid across the grass before re-entering the track and slamming into the WSR BMW of DeLeon.
The incident also took out Restart Racing's Chris Smiley, as well as hampering others, and the inevitable safety car was scrambled with stricken machines needing to be retrieved.
The action restarted with Ingram shuffling past Sutton but still finding Moffat an immovable object up ahead, as Gordon Shedden’s TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK with IAA Corolla joined the party in a four-way fight for victory.
Then came the incredible moment – almost inexplainable in its completion – as Sutton came from third at the final hairpin, had contact with Shedden's #52 machine in the process of the move, as the four-time champ then somehow sliced his Ford Focus down the inside of Ingram's Hyundai and Moffat's BMW to emerge in front.
It was a barnstorming and breathtaking move as Sutton romped on to victory ahead of title rival Ingram.
Moffat's podium was scuppered following contact with Proctor’s Hyundai i30N, as the latter completed the rostrum positions ahead of Shedden and team-mate Morgan.
Tom Ingram, Team VERTU, said: “Great result. Team VERTU did a brilliant job. The summer break was really positive for us; we made a lot of little tweaks to continue refining and optimising every aspect of the Hyundai. The car felt just superb, as it does every weekend thanks to the fantastic job done by Team VERTU. Every circuit we turn up to, it seems to be in a really good place.”
Dan Rowbottom, NAPA Racing UK, said: “It was good. The soft tyre didn’t quite turn on as quickly as I hoped and I was briefly stuck behind Dan (Cammish), but once we got through it was relatively straightforward. I did have a vibration on the front left and I was desperately just hoping that the tyre would hang on, but I’m happy with that – third win of the season.”
Ash Sutton, NAPA Racing UK, said: “It was a typical BTCC race – really really good from our side, to beat Tom (Ingram) and get some of those points back. I think both Gordon (Shedden) and I had the same idea at the same time with that move, but somehow, we came through. So important to get the win. They say it’s the bad weekends that win you championships, and really this was a bad weekend for us, so we’ll take that.”
2025 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Race 1 – Croft
1. Tom Ingram, Team VERTU 17 Laps
2. Dan Cammish, NAPA Racing UK +1.112s
3. Senna Proctor, Team VERTU +2.692s
4. Daniel Rowbottom, NAPA Racing UK +3.060s
5. Tom Chilton, Team VERTU +3.523s
6. Daryl DeLeon, WSR +4.120s
7. Árón Taylor-Smith, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK with IAA +5.394s
8. Charles Rainford, LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR +6.985s
9. Daniel Lloyd, Restart Racing +8.415s
10. Adam Morgan, Team VERTU +9.625s
2025 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Race 2 – Croft
1. Daniel Rowbottom, NAPA Racing UK 15 Laps
2. Tom Chilton, Team VERTU +1.863
3. Daryl DeLeon, WSR +3.829s
4. Adam Morgan, Team VERTU +6.115s
5. Ash Sutton, NAPA Racing UK +10.104s
6. Charles Rainford, LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR +10.324s
7. Gordon Shedden, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK with IAA +11.388s
8. Tom Ingram, Team VERTU +13.089s
9. Aiden Moffat, LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR +18.778s
10. Dan Cammish, NAPA Racing UK +19.559s
2025 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Race 3 – Croft
1. Ash Sutton, NAPA Racing UK 18 Laps
2. Tom Ingram, Team VERTU +2.201s
3. Senna Proctor, Team VERTU +4.506s
4. Gordon Shedden, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK with IAA +4.878s
5. Adam Morgan, Team VERTU +5.386s
6. Aiden Moffat, LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR +11.745s
7. Sam Osborne, NAPA Racing UK +12.220s
8. Tom Chilton, Team VERTU +21.090s
9. Árón Taylor-Smith, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK with IAA +22.930s
10. Mikey Doble, Motor Parts Direct with Power Maxed Racing +24.672s
Penalties:
Race Two
Chris Smiley received a verbal warning in Round 17 of the championship, for an incident involving Stephen Jelley.
Race Three
Mikey Doble received a verbal warning in Round 18 of the championship, for an incident involving Dexter Patterson.
Senna Proctor received an official reprimand and two penalty points on his license in Round 18 of the championship, for causing a collision with Aiden Moffat.
An incident between Stephen Jelley and Charles Rainford will be investigated at the next event, Knockhill (16–17 August).
