COMPETITION: TEE-OFF WITH KWIK FIT BTCC STARS AHEAD OF SILVERSTONE

Overtaking them on a circuit may not be an option but here is your chance to out-drive the BTCC stars on the fairways instead!

Once again, thanks to series title sponsor Kwik Fit, you and a friend could be teeing-off with a duo of BTCC stars – Tom Oliphant and Senna Proctor – in an 18-hole golf challenge ahead of Rounds 16, 17 & 18 of the 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Silverstone.

Following the hugely successful ‘Kwik Fit Majors’ at Donington Park and Knockhill the BTCC and Kwik Fit are excited to continue the feature throughout 2020, with further golfing events scheduled at Silverstone and Brands Hatch. BTCC drivers are already fired up to take part with the likes of Adam Morgan, Tom Oliphant, Senna Proctor and Michael Crees signed up throughout the year.

If you love golf and motorsport then this is the perfect money-can’t-buy experience for you, so if you want to tee-off ahead of a weekend bursting with BTCC action then follow the details below…

Date: 24 September
Time: 1pm
Venue: Within 5 miles of Silverstone

To win this exclusive chance to leave the BTCC boys in the bunker AND RECEIVE A KWIK FIT GOODIE BAG all you need to do is like and comment on the BTCC Facebook or Twitter post and to make sure you follow Kwik Fit on Facebook or Instagram.

Terms & Conditions

By agreeing to take part, you are committing to being at the venue stated and time agreed.

1 like/comment on BTCC post plus 1 like/follow of Kwik Fit Instagram or Facebook = one entry. Winners picked at random. The competition will close at 4pm on Tuesday 22 September.

The winner will be announced via BTCC social media channels the following morning and will receive a separate email that will require a response within 24 hours. If this does not happen, another winner will be selected. The prize is non-transferrable.

Precautions in relation to COVID-19 are in place but please do observe social distancing and wear a mask when appropriate. Any communal equipment (buggies/trollies etc) will be sanitised by the golf course prior to use. You will need to supply your own clubs. Face coverings/masks are not mandatory on the course, but we would recommend wearing one if you are in close proximity to others.

TOYOTA TRIUMPHS AS TOM INGRAM TAKES DOUBLE AT THRUXTON

Josh Cook wins finale while BTCC title race twists and turns in Hampshire

Toyota star Tom Ingram fired himself into Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship contention with a double victory at Thruxton, before BTC Racing’s Josh Cook put his recent misfortune behind him by winning the finale at the UK’s fastest circuit.

The BTCC title race also took a twist as Team BMW’s Colin Turkington saw his points advantage evaporate during a difficult day, enabling Laser Tools Racing’s Ash Sutton to move to the summit of the standings.

Ingram blasted his Toyota Corolla past pole-sitter Dan Cammish off the line in the opener, before the young duo commenced a race-long duel in Hampshire.

Halfords Yuasa Racing’s Cammish kept Ingram honest throughout, as he did again in the second bout in a near carbon copy contest, but the Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with Ginsters man held on under intense pressure to claim a hugely impressive win double.

BTCC legend Matt Neal maintained his incredible record of scoring a Thruxton podium every year since 2002, as the Honda man also made the rostrum in each of the first two races.

Cook then headed home team-mate Tom Chilton to score a memorable one-two for BTC Racing, as the former also continued his amazing run of scoring a BTCC victory in each of the last four visits to his local track.

The two Honda Civic Type Rs held station for the entire duration with Cook able to keep Chilton at arm’s length throughout, whilst the main squabble commenced behind them for third.

Motorbase Performance’s Rory Butcher eventually took the final podium position – just – following an intense battle with both Sutton and Ingram.

The victory represented a huge relief for Cook as the Bath racer has endured a hugely unfortunate start to his BTCC campaign, which recently included a post-race disqualification following an on-the-road victory at Oulton Park and then one of the biggest accidents of his career at Knockhill last time out.

Turkington’s day unravelled early on when his BMW 3 Series suffered a misfire in the opening race, resulting in his first non-points finish of the season. It was damage limitation thereafter for the reigning champion as he recovered to take a 13^th and an eighth in the following encounters.

The main beneficiary was Sutton, who performed consistently to score a trio of top-five finishes as he leapfrogged Turkington in the standings.

The 2017 champion now tops the order by 16 points from Turkington with Ingram a further 16 in arrears.

Despite an extremely rare weekend where BMW failed to claim a rostrum position, the German marque still heads both the Manufacturers’ and Teams’ tables.

Sutton and his Laser Tools Racing outfit are in command of the Independents’ titles, whilst Cammish heads the Goodyear Wingfoot Award as the highest qualifier during the season so far.

Michael Crees leads the Jack Sears Trophy and also enjoyed a really stellar weekend at Thruxton, which included two top-ten finishes overall.

There is little rest for the BTCC paddock with Rounds 16, 17 and 18 scheduled to take place at Silverstone next weekend (26/27 September).

Tom Ingram said: “I’m well chuffed. If I’m being honest, I didn’t expect to be getting two wins coming into this weekend. I wanted a podium and I wanted to be up there, but I didn’t think I’d get two wins, so full credit to the guys and girls at Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with Ginsters. We’ve put a hell of a package together this weekend and it feels very exciting. It was a great result and a great weekend for Toyota Gazoo worldwide with the Le Mans win, the WRC win in Argentina and two wins here in the BTCC. It’s been a hell of a day.”

Josh Cook said: “I’ve never been so relieved. It probably didn’t look anything from the outside but I was clinging onto that, it was qualifying laps every lap, just needing to bring it home. We really, really needed a good result. Morale’s been down a little bit as we’ve just had struggle after struggle so far, but I’m just so chuffed. Credit to the whole team and I’m just so glad we’ve finished with a 1-2 for BTC Racing. You’ve got to roll with the punches in the BTCC. We’ve just approached every weekend the same, just a fresh start, and we’ll do the same at Silverstone. We’re just going for the glory. We’ll have elbows out and just try and get more of what we’ve just had.”

Ash Sutton said: “It’s never really how you want to see your main championship rival go out, in terms of him having a bit of bad luck. We’ve obviously nicked the championship lead away from him, but we’re going to take it. We had some bad luck at Donington Park earlier in the season and this counteracts that to some extent. I’m in a very good position but we all know touring cars, you know how quick it can change. One minute it’s all going swimmingly and the next you’re getting tagged or having a mechanical issue. You’ve just got to be mindful of those things still being able to happen. I don’t like going into a race weekend with full ballast, as we will at Silverstone, but overall it’s a fantastic position to be in.”

2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Race 1 – Thruxton

2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Race 2 – Thruxton

2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Race 3 – Thruxton

Penalties:

Race one:
Andy Neate was officially reprimanded and had his licence endorsed with two penalty points for an incident involving Carl Boardley

Race three:
Michael Crees was penalised by the addition of 0.5 seconds to his overall race time for gaining an advantage in an incident involving Sam Osborne

General:
MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square has had 10 points deducted from its Teams' and Independent Teams' Championship scores having changed an engine above the number permitted

Andy Neate was disqualified from the race meeting for an act prejudicial to the interests of motorsport generally in making a threat of physical assault by the use of his car to make deliberate contact with another competitor

COOK KEEPS THRUXTON RUN GOING WITH RACE THREE WIN

Josh Cook headed home team-mate Tom Chilton to score a memorable one-two for BTC Racing, as the former continued his run of scoring a BTCC victory in each of his last four visits to Thruxton.

The two Honda Civic Type Rs held station for the entire duration, with Cook able to keep Chilton at arm's length throughout, whilst the main squabble commenced for the final podium position.

The victory represented a huge relief for Cook as the Bath racer has endured a hugely unfortunate start to his BTCC campaign. A victory on-the-road at Oulton Park was later removed after his car failed a ride height check and that was followed by one of the biggest accidents of his career at Knockhill last time out, so this success may have proved more rewarding than others.

"I’ve never been so relieved," said Cook. "It probably didn’t look anything from the outside but I was clinging onto that, it was qualifying laps every lap, just needing to bring it home. The guys and girls at BTC Racing deserve it. It’s been a tough few weeks and a tough weekend, but to come home with a win especially after what happened at Oulton Park is just mega.

"We took a big step forward with the car in race two. I don’t think we’ve got to the bottom of the issues in race one yet but the team’s worked tirelessly. We really, really needed a good result. Morale’s been down a little bit because we’ve just had struggle after struggle so far, but I’m just so chuffed for the whole team.

"My number one, Dom, has worked absolutely flat out to get the car ready for this weekend, and during the weekend. Credit to the whole team and I’m just so glad we’ve finished with a 1-2 for BTC Racing.

"You’ve got to roll with the punches in the BTCC. We’ve just approached every weekend the same, just a fresh start, and we’ll do the same at Silverstone. We’re just going for the glory. We’ll have elbows out and just try and get more of what we’ve just had."

Motorbase Performance's Rory Butcher completed the podium position after he managed – just – to hold both Ash Sutton and Tom Ingram back. The battle intensified as the contest edged towards a thrilling climax as Laser Tools Racing's Sutton went around the outside of Butcher at the Complex. Sutton was barely able to stop his #116 Inifiniti Q50 and Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with Ginsters' Ingram immediately eyed his opportunity. The pair came close to touching and when the dust settled the positions remained unchanged as the trio made their way to the chequered flag.

Team BMW's Tom Oliphant rounded off a solid day with sixth, whilst BTCC legends Matt Neal and Colin Turkington were next in the order.

Neal and Turkington were joined by the third BTC Racing-run Honda of Michael Crees for much of the race, and the latter showed absolutely startling pace against his more illustrious rivals. Crees – in his sophomore BTCC season – was seemingly comfortable ahead of Turkington and quicker than Neal as he looked for a way, but disaster struck on the final lap as a puncture sent him tumblings towards the back of the order.

Jake Hill (MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square) and Dan Cammish (Halfords Yuasa Racing) completed the top ten positions, the latter having to recover from yet another slow start.

2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Race 3 – Thruxton

1        Josh COOK (GBR) BTC Racing 16 lap
2        Tom CHILTON (GBR) BTC Racing +3.475s
3        Rory BUTCHER (GBR) Motorbase Performance +4.397s
4        Ashley SUTTON (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +5.096s
5        Tom INGRAM (GBR) Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with Ginsters +5.628s
6        Tom OLIPHANT (GBR) Team BMW +7.119s
7        Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +7.451s
8        Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +8.447s
9        Jake HILL (GBR) MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square +8.912s
10      Dan CAMMISH (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +9.629s
11      Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Power Maxed Car Care Racing +10.345s
12      Senna PROCTOR (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +13.729s
13      Ollie JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +14.270s
14      Jack GOFF (GBR) RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport +16.000s
15      Bobby THOMPSON (GBR) GKR TradePriceCars.com +17.840s
16      Chris SMILEY (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +22.384s
17      Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team Parker Racing +23.032s
18      Jack BUTEL (GBR) Carlube TripleR Racing with Mac Tools +31.263s
19      Tom ONSLOW-COLE (GBR) RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport +35.369s
20      Sam OSBORNE (GBR) MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square +35.595s
21 Michael CREES (GBR) The Clever Baggers with BTC Racing +36.060s
22      Adam MORGAN (GBR) Carlube TripleR Racing with Mac Tools +28.005s
23      Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +6 laps
24      Nicolas HAMILTON (GBR) ROKiT Racing with Team HARD +15 laps
25      Carl BOARDLEY (GBR) HUB Financial Solutions with Team HARD +15 laps
DQ   Andy NEATE (GBR) Motorbase Performance

TWO OUT OF TWO FOR TOYOTA'S TOM INGRAM

Tom Ingram is proving a tough nut to crack at Thruxton as the Toyota star withstood intense pressure for the second successive race to take a win double in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship.

Having got the jump by pole-sitter Dan Cammish in the opening contest, Ingram had no cars to pass this time around but he did have to contend with maximum success ballast onboard his Toyota Corolla.

Ingram made a similarly impressive start while Cammish dropped behind Halfords Yuasa Racing team-mate Matt Neal and had to forcefully hold off the charging Infiniti Q50 of Ash Sutton.

Critically, Cammish kept Laser Tools Racing man Sutton at bay and Neal seemed to let his stablemate back past into second shortly after as the works Honda squad worked together for the championship cause.

The Honda Civic Type R of Cammish reeled in Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with Ginsters' Ingram pretty rapidly but passing the race one winner proved an entirely different challenge. As per the opening bout the Toyota Corolla was the pace-setter in the opening segments of the 2.36-mile lap, whilst the #27 Honda had the upper-hand towards the end of each tour. The pair produced a classy high calibre joust throughout but the positions remained unchanged until the finish.

"I’m well chuffed," said Ingram. "If I’m being honest, I didn’t expect to be coming into this weekend getting two wins. I wanted a podium and I wanted to be up there, but I didn’t think I’d get two wins. So full credit to the guys and girls at Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with Ginsters. We’ve put a hell of a package together this weekend and it feels very exciting.

"It was just as tough as race one, other than the tyres were dropping off even more because of the extra weight we’re carrying. It was tricky, Dan was looking left, right and centre. Slow speed stuff we were starting to struggle towards the end. I was locking fronts; I was locking rears; I was locking my hands firmly onto the steering wheel.

"It was a great result and a great weekend for Toyota Gazoo worldwide with the Le Mans win, the WRC win in Argentina and two wins here in the BTCC, it’s been a hell of a day."

"We made some changes and for sure they were the right way to go," responded Cammish. "But another terrible start – I’m really having a bad day when it comes to starts – third time’s a charm though and I’ve got another chance at it.

"To be honest he’s too much for us. He’s got too much traction and I can’t make a difference in the slow stuff. When we get to the quicker stuff I’m there. By the end of the straight I’m catching him, but it's only ever catching, it’s not really passing.

"It was a tough one, we both gave it everything and I could see where Tom was on the track again like race one. He’s hanging it out everywhere and at times I saw the grass coming up far too quickly for my liking as well. But there’s nothing left in the tank for either of us. Two second places is a great day. Any other place I’d be saying fantastic, but obviously having pole and not having quite converted it yet is quite disappointing.

"They say it’s a Honda circuit, but you can’t say the Toyota isn’t very fast as well. Let’s regroup for the next one. I’m hoping we can make the best of it, come through from wherever we’re going to start and round out some really good points."

Matt Neal ensured the race two podium would be identical to the first as the three-time champion held Sutton back to complete the rostrum, although the latter will be buoyed as he extended his lead in the overall standings.

Rory Butcher maintained his championship challenge with fifth in the Motorbase Performance Ford Focus, as did Team BMW's Tom Oliphant with sixth.

BTC Racing team boss Bert Taylor would have had his heart in his mouth for almost the entire 16-laps as his trio of drivers proved inseparable. It was a vital battle too as Tom Chilton headed stablemates Josh Cook and Michael Crees home. There was more joy for the squad when the number #8 was pulled at random for the reverse grid draw meaning Cook and Chilton will start on the front row for the finale later today.

Excelr8 Motorsport's Senna Proctor rounded out the top ten.

Team BMW's Colin Turkington scored three points with a 13th place finish as he made his way up from the back of the grid following his earlier problems in the first race.

Round 15 of the 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship takes places at 1725 and will be live on ITV2.

2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Race 2 – Thruxton

1          Tom INGRAM (GBR) Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with Ginsters 16 laps
2          Dan CAMMISH (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.291s
3          Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +6.511s
4          Ashley SUTTON (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +7.776s
5          Rory BUTCHER (GBR) Motorbase Performance +10.089s
6          Tom OLIPHANT (GBR) Team BMW +11.192s
7          Tom CHILTON (GBR) BTC Racing +11.573s
8          Josh COOK (GBR) BTC Racing +11.800s
9          Michael CREES (GBR) The Clever Baggers with BTC Racing +12.390s
10        Senna PROCTOR (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +13.438s
11        Jake HILL (GBR) MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square +13.830s
12        Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Power Maxed Car Care Racing +15.265s
13        Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +15.442s
14        Ollie JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +20.514s
15        Jack GOFF (GBR) RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport +21.024s
16        Chris SMILEY (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +27.313s
17        Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team Parker Racing +30.532s
18        Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +30.866s
19        Carl BOARDLEY (GBR) HUB Financial Solutions with Team HARD +40.482s
20       Jack BUTEL (GBR) Carlube TripleR Racing with Mac Tools +40.929s
21        Tom ONSLOW-COLE (GBR) RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport +42.216s
22        Sam OSBORNE (GBR) MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square +55.579s
23   Adam MORGAN (GBR) Carlube TripleR Racing with Mac Tools +4 laps
24   Bobby THOMPSON (GBR) GKR TradePriceCars.com +4 laps
25   James GORNALL (GBR) GKR TradePriceCars.com +6 laps
26   Nicolas HAMILTON (GBR) ROKiT Racing with Team HARD +8 laps
DQ Andy NEATE (GBR) Motorbase Performance

TITLE RACE BLOWN WIDE OPEN AS INGRAM WINS THRUXTON OPENER

Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with Ginsters' Tom Ingram took his first Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship victory of the season with a faultless display in the opening contest at Thruxton, whilst standings leader Colin Turkington failed to score for the first time this season as the title race took a significant twist.

Ingram blasted his #80 Toyota Corolla off the line and past pole-sitter Dan Cammish, whilst Halfords Yuasa Racing's Matt Neal and Carlube TripleR Racing with Mac Tools' Adam Morgan slotted into third and fourth.

Cammish pressured Ingram throughout the race with the Honda Civic Type R quicker towards the end of each lap, whilst the Toyota pulled clear in the early sectors. It was a game of cat and mouse for the 16-laps duration, with Ingram's 'lively' Toyota often getting two wheels on the grass on the exit of Church.

Honda star Cammish made one last attempt through the chicane on the final tour but Ingram held on to take a popular victory, whilst Neal continued his incredible run of scoring a Thruxton podium every year since 2002.

Morgan's Mercedes proved a potent force to take a comfortable fourth, but it was the battle behind involving the leading trio in the Drivers' standings that proved to be the most significant battle in the contest.

At one stage the Motorbase Performance Ford of Rory Butcher was ahead of Team BMW's Colin Turkington and Laser Tools Racing's Ash Sutton, but it all changed around the midway mark.

The extremely rare sight of a struggling BMW was exactly what many title protagonists had secretly been hoping for and that's exactly what happened when a misfire on the #1 car of Turkington sent the four-time champion tumbling down the order. The Northern Irishman eventually pitted for repairs and although he returned to the action he was way out of contention, ending his sequence of finishing inside the top ten in every race so far this season.

The moment seemed to inspire Sutton as he made a late ballsy move by Butcher at the Complex and when the Honda of Jake Hill also spun out, suddenly Sutton held fifth and with it the championship lead by a single point.

The BTC Racing stable claimed seventh, ninth and tenth with Tom Chilton, Josh Cook and Michael Crees respectively, whilst the Team BMW car of Tom Oliphant finished among them to claim eighth.

Race two gets underway at 1435 before the finale commences at 1725 – all the action and support series' races are LIVE right now on ITV2.

Tom Ingram said: "Dan had me on the edge of my seat as much as the car did to be perfectly honest, she was a bit lively in the lap few laps. I could see Dan was strong. Of course he was, he’s top drawer and he’s in a top car around here. I knew it would be difficult to get him on sheer pace, so I had to get him off the line. So I was well chuffed to get it off the line and well, well, well chuffed to get our first win of the year.

"Church definitely felt a lot more lively than it did in qualifying, I don’t know if it’s wind direction or anything today. I could see that Dan was super strong through that sector. I could gap him in sector one and sector two and then we’d get to sector three and he’d be coming at me like a freight train. So I knew I had my work to do in the first sector to make up what I was going to lose in the final third. I think I’ve probably earnt my Ginsters lunch now.

"I think it’s going to be lively races all afternoon."

Dan Cammish said: "I didn’t want to make a jump start, I don’t want to make a mistake so I was focussed on making sure they were definitely out and it wasn’t going to be an issue and it just wasn’t a good enough start from my point.

"Whether or not we’d have had enough to beat Tom, hard to say. He’s very, very quick and he’s pushing hard. He had quite a few moments and I thought one of those would eventually bite him, especially if I kept pushing him hard enough. We could drive quite a bit neater in certain places, and weren’t under the same stress. But he held onto it no matter how much I was hoping he would eventually drag it onto the dirt and that would be it.

"We got close, some of the changes we made in qualifying worked when the tyre was brand new and I’m not sure they work now we’re up and running. As the tyre degrades I can’t use what I had, but I think we can go away and change it and go better again. It seemed like we were quite a long way ahead of third, so it seemed like me and Tom had some good performance. Of course, it’s disappointing to start on pole and not win the race but great points and we go again for the next one."

2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Race 1 – Thruxton

1          Tom INGRAM (GBR) Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with Ginsters 16 laps
2          Dan CAMMISH (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.644s
3          Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +8.578s
4          Adam MORGAN (GBR) Carlube TripleR Racing with Mac Tools +9.064s
5          Ashley SUTTON (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +18.578s
6          Rory BUTCHER (GBR) Motorbase Performance +19.776s
7          Tom CHILTON (GBR) BTC Racing +20.374s
8          Tom OLIPHANT (GBR) Team BMW +21.234s
9          Josh COOK (GBR) BTC Racing +21.487s
10        Michael CREES (GBR) The Clever Baggers with BTC Racing +21.888s
11        Senna PROCTOR (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +24.456s
12        Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Power Maxed Car Care Racing +27.261s
13        Chris SMILEY (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +27.587s
14        Ollie JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +27.879s
15        Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +29.910s
16        Jack GOFF (GBR) RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport +30.192s
17        Bobby THOMPSON (GBR) GKR TradePriceCars.com +30.478s
18        James GORNALL (GBR) GKR TradePriceCars.com +38.403
19        Jack BUTEL (GBR) Carlube TripleR Racing with Mac Tools +44.675s
20       Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team Parker Racing +48.784s
21        Tom ONSLOW-COLE (GBR) RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport  +52.965s
22        Jake HILL (GBR) MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square +1 lap
23        Sam OSBORNE (GBR) MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square +3 laps
24        Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +4 laps
25        Carl BOARDLEY (GBR) HUB Financial Solutions with Team HARD +6 laps
26        Nicolas HAMILTON (GBR) ROKiT Racing with Team HARD +15 laps
DQ   Andy NEATE (GBR) Motorbase Performance +6 laps

QUALIFYING IN QUOTES: THRUXTON

Catch up with the top three qualifiers for Round 13 of the 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship now!

Dan Cammish scored his first pole position of 2020, and the second of his BTCC career after dominating in FP1 and FP2 at the Hampshire circuit:

While Toyota man Tom Ingram held the top spot for some of Saturday's qualifying session but had pole position snatched away by the #27 car:

Cammish's team-mate Matt Neal took P3 ahead of today's opening encounter, making it a Team Dynamics 1-3 on the grid for round 13:

Relive all the quali action via the circuit commentary, available on the BTCC Audio Portal now!

Josh Cook ready to turn up the heat

BTC Racing’s Josh Cook has endured a challenging start to his 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship campaign but the Bath racer is focussed on making a return to the front for the remainder of the campaign.

Cook has frequently been one of the fastest drivers on track during the opening four events of the season, but few could have predicted the reasons as to why race wins and podium potential has often turned to despair.

Temperature issues with his car, contact with a team-mate, race disqualification and one of the biggest accidents of his career so far have combined to deliver one of the most bizarre and unfortunate starts to a season ever.

“It has been challenging, but you make your own luck and you’ve just got to get on with it,” said Cook. “We hoped to be making a championship challenge this season and I know we have the expertise within myself, the team and the car to do that, but so far we’ve just had a series of circumstances that haven’t gone our way.”

He qualified inside the top ten for the opening two events at Donington Park and Brands Hatch, and even took a podium in the reversed grid race during the curtain raiser, but Cook confirms that this didn’t tell the true story behind-the-scenes.

“We have a great chassis and a great car,” he said. “But we were suffering massively with temperature problems during the first two weekends. Team Dynamics had a part that could alleviate those problems on their car and unfortunately this wasn’t made available to us until the third race weekend.

“Donington and Brands just happened to be two of the hottest weekends ever and the situation conspired against us, as we lost two events simply trying to manage the temperatures in the car.”

With the car finally running at full tilt for Oulton Park, Josh immediately put his BTC Racing Honda Civic Type R on the front row of the grid at the Cheshire circuit.

“I was actually gutted not to get pole,” he continued. “It was one of those laps where I was a few tenths up coming into the final corner and everything was perfect. I didn’t want to risk it too much and was maybe just a little conservative through there.

“I only held P1 for a matter of seconds. I knew as soon as my engineer came on the radio, I could tell by his voice that we’d been pipped, and Rory [Butcher] had just snatched pole from us.”

Undeterred, however, Cook produced one of his best ever drives in the Oulton Park opener as he eventually saw off Butcher before cruising clear to take an on-the-road victory.

“It was a great race and a great feeling as I crossed the line – nobody can take that away from me," reflects Josh. "I realised something wasn’t quite right as the roller went in. I heard that dreaded scrape and started to get a little concerned. I remember hitting the kerb pretty hard as I went through the chicane during the race and that’s where it came from. It wasn’t an engineering error or anything like that and the car wasn’t quicker because of it – it was picked up during the race, but the rules are the rules and I have to respect that.

“It hurts but I’ve benefited from the rule in the past when I think it’s happened to Ash Sutton and Tom Ingram so I can’t really complain – rules are rules.”

Cook then suffered contact with stable-mate Michael Crees in the second bout before finally getting to show his true pace as he surged through the order to take ninth in the final encounter.

If the luck hadn’t been with Cook so far then even worse was to follow at Knockhill when a puncture – picked up because of debris – forced the young talent into a huge accident in the first race.

The BTC Racing squad produced a herculean effort to repair Cook’s car in time for race two before further misfortune followed.

“Absolute credit to everything the guys did,” Cook notes. “When we pulled out of the garage after the repairs – just minutes before race two – I think pretty much every other team lined the pitlane to give us a round of applause.

“I was winded immediately after the accident, but my first thought was that I needed to let the team know about the car. I borrowed a phone from one of the marshals, phoned my Dad and the crew chief Paul.

“I was able to tell him all of the damage so he could start prepping the parts. Had we have not acted so fast then we wouldn’t have made it, but that’s testament to everyone involved in the team. We could have just packed up and gone home, which would have been totally understandable, but everyone wants to keep fighting.

“I wasn’t feeling fantastic following the accident – it was a really big hit and I was diagnosed with concussion post-Knockhill.

“Ordinarily I would have needed to take a three-week break but I had a couple of MRI scans in Cambridge. I’ve started to feel good in the last week or so and my reflexes are back to normal, but if it wasn’t for the 'Rescue Racer' programme I wouldn’t be racing here this weekend.”

Looking ahead, Cook is a Thruxton specialist having won here on each of the last three occasions. He also holds the lap record around 2.36-mile track and has set more fastest laps than anyone else… surely he is set to have a good weekend in Hampshire?

“That’s the plan,” he concluded. “I’ve got a good record here and I feel completely at home at Thruxton. It’s a circuit I love and it also suits the car too.

“Of course, I want pole position and race wins but it’s about having the right mentality too. I know we have an even better race car on a Sunday than we do on a Saturday so I’ll be confident we can move forward – we just need to make sure we’re in the mix.

Incredibly, Cook's #66 machine suffered with a misfire and brake issues during Thruxton qualifying and he eventually had to settle for tenth of the grid, but here's hoping for an upturn in fortunes later today and for the rest of the season...

“It hasn’t been the perfect start to the season but we’re looking forward and we can still turn this into a positive.”

DOMINANT DAY FOR DAN CAMMISH AT THRUXTON

Honda's great hope tops BTCC qualifying at the UK's fastest track

Halfords Yuasa Racing's Dan Cammish topped both free practice sessions at Thruxton earlier today (Saturday), before smashing the qualifying lap record to claim pole position for Round 13 of the 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship.

Honda has often been the dominant force around the UK's fastest track and Cammish duly delivered at the marque's home circuit, as he followed up his practice performances with a late 1:15.201s lap time during the all-important qualifying session. The Yorkshireman had pushed too hard on his maiden qualifying run – eventually aborting his first attempt – subsequently piling on yet more pressure ahead of his final fling around the 2.36-mile circuit.

Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with Ginsters' Tom Ingram then looked to have grabbed the opportunity presented to him as he set the fastest overall first and second sectors, before a wild moment in the closing stages of the lap may have ultimately decided his fate. The talented Toyota racer ran wide on the exit of Church – the fastest and arguably bravest corner in the country – with almost all four wheels of the Corolla coming off track. Incredibly, Ingram kept his foot in and still topped the timesheets as he crossed the line, but Cammish would eventually move to the summit on his final run.

Matt Neal backed-up the prowess of the Honda Civic Type R as the three-time BTCC champion ended up third, whilst Adam Morgan left it extremely late to grab fourth in the Carlube TripleR Racing with Mac Tools Mercedes – both drivers having been towards the sharp end throughout the day.

MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square's Jake Hill was fifth, whilst Rory Butcher kept his championship challenge on-track with a top-six result. The Motorbase Performance Ford Focus has not been as near to the ultimate pace as the team would have arguably expected, but the Scotsman ensured he would be in the fight at the front come race day.

The BTC Racing stable took seventh, ninth and tenth places with Tom Chilton, Michael Crees and Josh Cook respectively – also confirming a total of six Hondas inside the top ten positions.

As ever, among his rivals, was the consistent championship leader of Colin Turkington, who had to settle for eighth in this particular session. The result represented the lowest grid position for the Team BMW star so far this season, but with maximum success ballast onboard his 3 Series, the Northern Irishman can still be hopeful for a promising Sunday.

Just outside the top ten was another championship chasing duo with Laser Tools Racing's Ash Sutton in 11th and Team BMW's Tom Oliphant taking 12th.

Rounds 13, 14 and 15 of the 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship take place at Thruxton tomorrow with the action being screened live and exclusively on ITV2 from 1110.

Dan Cammish said: "I was strong in the first two sessions, which is a funny one because you go into it thinking this is yours to lose. And I tried to lose it didn’t I. I pretty much ruined that first set with too much enthusiasm, not enough talent. But I recovered it and I’m really happy with a pole lap in the end. Team Dynamics has done a great job. We are strong here, the Honda in general as a package. But we’ve worked at it and developed it and improved it incrementally every year we’ve had the FK8, and that’s the result. On a circuit it suits with the drivers turned up to 11, we can deliver a really good lap. It’s nice to have a qualifying lap record, and to not be a bridesmaid. I seem to always qualify second most of the time, so it’s nice to just take that one more. But that was only part of the battle. The real fun starts tomorrow. First pole position of the year and second of my career, I’m very, very happy."

Tom Ingram said: "That lap was all out, and maybe a little more! That was genuinely quite scary, my hands have gone white now from gripping onto the steering wheel that hard through there. But we made a load of changes between FP1 and FP2 and the car felt magnificent, so I am really, really happy with that. That’s the quickest we’ve been around Thruxton by a country mile, probably by a second. That’s 12 months of development under our belts, and it goes to show that we’ve made some big improvements. When Dan did his time in FP1 and FP2, I thought ‘that’s quick, that’s going to be tough to beat’. But nearly... very, very nearly. It’s always close around here but full credit to Dan, he has the biggest talent bag of the day! Fingers crossed this sets things up quite nicely."

Matt Neal said: "I love qualifying here but I hate it too. It’s so on the edge, and so hanging on. In FP1, Dan and Tom were straight on it. But a man of my age, I’ve got to build myself up to it! We were both nervous before we went out. But fair play to the BARC, every year we come back they make circuit improvements. They’ve done a great load of work outside of Church. The circuit’s looking well. I was resigned that I was going to be behind Dan, then I ended up in first and thought ‘I’ve got a chance here’ and Tom [Ingram] beat me. I’ve never been so chuffed to be pipped off the front row as when Dan did it and gave us a Halfords Yuasa Racing car on the front. The BTCC’s so close now, it’s all about qualifying so at least we’re starting at the right end. But Thruxton is one of those places where you can overtake. You’ve just got to keep it tight and make sure you get a good start, because the BMWs will be somewhere alongside us I’m sure by the first complex."

2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Qualifying – Thruxton

1          Dan CAMMISH (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing 1:15.201s
2          Tom INGRAM (GBR) Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with Ginsters +0.092s
3          Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.142s
4          Adam MORGAN (GBR) Carlube TripleR Racing with Mac Tools +0.159s
5          Jake HILL (GBR) MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square +0.262s
6          Rory BUTCHER (GBR) Motorbase Performance +0.452s
7          Tom CHILTON (GBR) BTC Racing +0.497s
8          Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +0.516s
9          Michael CREES (GBR) The Clever Baggers with BTC Racing +0.597s
10        Josh COOK (GBR) BTC Racing +0.600s
11        Ashley SUTTON (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +0.702s
12        Tom OLIPHANT (GBR) Team BMW +0.712s
13        Senna PROCTOR (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +0.750s
14        Chris SMILEY (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +0.752s
15        Ollie JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +0.755s
16        Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Power Maxed Car Care Racing +1.114s
17        Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team Parker Racing +1.235s
18        Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +1.285s
19        James GORNALL (GBR) GKR TradePriceCars.com +1.302s
20       Bobby THOMPSON (GBR) GKR TradePriceCars.com +1.377s
21        Jack GOFF (GBR) RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport +1.853s
22        Sam OSBORNE (GBR) MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square +2.169s
23        Jack BUTEL (GBR) Carlube TripleR Racing with Mac Tools +2.288s
24        Tom ONSLOW-COLE (GBR) RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport +2.289s
25        Carl BOARDLEY (GBR) HUB Financial Solutions with Team HARD +2.514s
26        Nicolas HAMILTON (GBR) ROKiT Racing with Team HARD +3.654s
DQ   Andy NEATE (GBR) Motorbase Performance

DAN CAMMISH DOES THE DOUBLE

Halfords Yuasa Racing’s Dan Cammish again dipped under the existing Thruxton qualifying lap record as the Honda driver proved to be the class of the field once more in the second and final BTCC practice session.

Last year’s championship runner-up is currently playing catch-up to the likes of Colin Turkington and Ashley Sutton in the 2020 standings, and the Yorkshireman recognises the need to make up ground at one of Honda’s favourite tracks. The driver of the #27 Honda set his benchmark on his first run 0f the final 40-minute practice session, with the lap time seemingly coming quite comfortably for the multiple race winner.

"I’ve done a few flying laps to see what the balance is like as we progress," said a confident Cammish with ten minutes of the session still remaining. "Thruxton is such a tyre killer in terms of degradation. We only get a certain amount of tyres to begin with and it’s the only circuit which we’re using the hard compound tyre this year.

"We’ve all got a certain amount to use and other than putting another set on there’s not much I can gain now. So now park it up, give it 10 minutes, get back in and then we’ll do our practice start and obviously the weigh-in at the end. I will get back in it but to be honest, other than just driving in circles and wearing it all out, I don’t think there’s much left to gain there."

Excelr8 Motorsport’s Senna Proctor and Carlube TripleR Racing with Mac Tools’ Adam Morgan were third and fourth respectively, whilst Matt Neal backed up the prowess of the Honda Civic Type R by slotting into fourth.

Championship leader Turkington is again going about his business in a quietly confident manner as the Team BMW star set the fifth quickest time with his 3 Series carrying maximum success ballast.

Michael Crees enjoyed a hugely impressive run to take sixth, whilst Excelr8 Motorsport's encouraging day continued with Chris Smiley claiming seventh as the Hyundai hopes to extract more straightline speed at the UK's fastest circuit this weekend.

Tom Ingram was eighth in the Speedworks-run Toyota Corolla, whilst the BTC Racing duo of Tom Chilton and Josh Cook rounded out the top ten.

Qualifying for Round 13 of the 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship takes place at 1510 with the action being streamed live and exclusively via www.itv.com/btcc.

2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Free Practice 2 – Thruxton

1          Dan CAMMISH (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing 1:15.386s
2          Senna PROCTOR (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +0.600s
3          Adam MORGAN (GBR) Carlube TripleR Racing with Mac Tools +0.764s
4          Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.785s
5          Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +1.002s
6          Michael CREES (GBR) The Clever Baggers with BTC Racing +1.073s
7          Chris SMILEY (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +1.092s
8          Tom INGRAM (GBR) Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with Ginsters +1.114s
9          Tom CHILTON (GBR) BTC Racing +1.209s
10        Josh COOK (GBR) BTC Racing +1.272s
11   Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team Parker Racing +1.439s
12        Rory BUTCHER (GBR) Motorbase Performance +1.541s
13        Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Power Maxed Car Care Racing +1.542s
14        Tom OLIPHANT (GBR) Team BMW +1.627s
15        Jake HILL (GBR) MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square +1.711s
16        Ashley SUTTON (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +1.758s
17        Jack GOFF (GBR) RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport +1.764s
18        James GORNALL (GBR) GKR TradePriceCars.com +1.796s
19        Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +2.139s
20        Bobby THOMPSON (GBR) GKR TradePriceCars.com +2.244s
21        Ollie JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +2.284s
22        Sam OSBORNE (GBR) MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square +2.532s
23        Jack BUTEL (GBR) Carlube TripleR Racing with Mac Tools +2.906s
24        Carl BOARDLEY (GBR) HUB Financial Solutions with Team HARD +2.965s
25        Tom ONSLOW-COLE (GBR) RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport +3.140s
26        Nicolas HAMILTON (GBR) ROKiT Racing with Team HARD +4.039s
DQ Andy NEATE (GBR) Motorbase Performance +3.379s

CHILTON CLAIMS VICTORY IN 'KWIK FIT THRUXTON 24'

Tom Chilton claimed victory in the inaugural ‘Kwik Fit Thruxton 24’ bike ride at Thruxton on Friday evening (18 September) as a number of BTCC stars and personalities raised money for the NHS.

Originally designed by title sponsor Kwik Fit as an event in which fans could compete alongside BTCC drivers around the UK’s fastest circuit, the inaugural ride had to be amended due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Rather than simply cancelling the event, however, the BTCC paddock pulled together to produce a fun-filled contest under a beautiful sunset in Hampshire.

Chilton was joined by the likes of Adam Morgan, Jade Edwards, Jack Butel, Carl Boardley and even Championship Coordinator Dan Mayo lined up for action, plus a number of other team members from the wider BTCC community.

With the Thruxton circuit registering nearly 2.4 miles per lap and another certain famous 24-hour race taking place in France this weekend, the idea of a 24-mile, ten-lap battle set the competitive juices flowing.

BTC Racing’s Chilton survived claims of illegality due to running on an e-bike and even a ‘track limits’ scare in true touring car fashion to storm clear to take victory from Mayo, whilst the podium was completed by Chilton’s friend Ian Gilland.

“That was brilliant,” enthused Chilton. “It was great fun and it was for a great cause, which is the most important thing.”

“Believe it or not that’s my first ever victory at Thruxton! It is the only BTCC circuit that I’ve never won at so I’m delighted, and hopefully now I can go on to do it for real over the weekend.

“Thanks to Kwik Fit for putting on a great event.”

“Congratulations to Kwik Fit and everyone that took part,” said BTCC Media Manager Simon Melluish. “It’s great for everyone to have some fun – even more so during this challenging year – but to do so for a great cause like the NHS made this inaugural ride extremely special.

“We are missing the BTCC fans hugely this year, but sometimes it is good to remind ourselves of the wider picture at this difficult time, and we would like to thank the fantastic NHS staff for everything they are doing.

“This inaugural ‘Kwik Fit Thruxton 24’ has simply whet the appetite to do it again next year and we hope to invite some our loyal fans to join the race next time.”

Rounds 13, 14 and 15 of the 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship take place at Thruxton this weekend.

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