The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship heads north of the border to Fife’s Knockhill Circuit next weekend (14/15 September) for its annual Scottish jaunt and Rounds 22, 23 and 24 of the 2019 season, which is rapidly reaching a crescendo. 

With three race weekends remaining, there are still more than 200 points on the table, and any number of twists and turns along the way to deciding the final destination of the most coveted prize in British motorsport. 

It’s BMW’s reigning champion Colin Turkington that currently holds the best hand, with a 30-point advantage over nearest rival, and West Surrey Racing stablemate, Andrew Jordan. The chasing pack, led by Honda’s Dan Cammish – buoyed by a strong outing in Hampshire three weeks ago – is waiting to pounce.

Knockhill is traditionally a source of vintage touring car action, with the rollercoaster circuit comprising undulations, big kerbs and slingshot jinks as well as a big stop at Taylor’s Hairpin – the scene of countless overtaking manoeuvres over a race weekend. 

It’s a longstanding favourite amongst drivers and fans alike, and its passionate, partisan supporters turn out in their droves – a major factor behind the circuit’s unique atmosphere. This year, despite its later-than-usual date in the calendar, it will be no different. For those not watching trackside, ITV4 will have all of the action covered, live and free-to-air over an eight-hour race day with qualifying also streamed live.

The lie of the land
Whilst the second visit to Thruxton in mid-August did not prove as fruitful as the first for the BMWs, West Surrey Racing’s three 330i M Sports – new for 2019 – have unquestionably led the way so far this season, claiming ten wins from 21 races. What’s more, the Bavarian automaker boasts a stellar record at Knockhill, with numerous victories and podium finishes in recent years.

That said, it is Honda’s Dan Cammish who is the series’ current ‘form man’, speeding to his first victory of the campaign at Thruxton three weeks ago, at a circuit that has traditionally been a happy hunting ground for the Japanese marque.

The Yorkshireman – who snatched his maiden BTCC pole position at Knockhill last year – is now right in play in the Drivers’ standings as he sits just four points behind second-placed Jordan, with Josh Cook in the BTC Racing Honda Civic Type R (FK8) a further four points back from his factory Honda rival. 

Fife’s own, Rory Butcher, will also consider his challenge far from over as he occupies fifth spot in the standings heading to familiar turf at Knockhill, where he works as a performance driving instructor. He knows the circuit like the back of his hand, and he has won twice already this campaign.

“We’re still in the running and we’ll be giving it everything,” said Butcher. “It’s my ‘home ground’ and racing up in Scotland at Knockhill is always such a buzz. The fans make it what it is, and I’ll do my best to send them home happy. 

“For any Scottish driver that races up in Scotland – myself and Aiden (Moffat) at the moment – it’s an unreal feeling. The supporters will have been watching the BTCC all season, so they’ll be champing at the bit to see the Scots in action. My family and friends, too, have seen me grow up around the sport and I can always count on them to cheer me on. It’ll be fantastic. It’s their only opportunity to come to a nearby circuit and watch me race!

“I’ve been relishing racing this Honda at Knockhill since I first tested at the circuit back in March. I’m feeling good. All I can do is my best, and we’ll have to see what happens. I have a good understanding of how the car will behave and how we can get the most out of it there.

“I won’t change my approach. The key is to take advantage when you’re on form and when the car’s working for you. You’ve got to take the podiums and the big points. There are other times where you’ve got to settle for seventh or eighth. I played it like this in the MG last year and it’s worked so far this year. 

“We want to be top three or thereabouts heading to the final weekend at Brands Hatch.” 

Timetable and Tickets
All three BTCC races on Sunday, 15 September and the rest of the day’s action will be broadcast live and in high definition on ITV4. Those in attendance at the circuit can stay in touch with the commentary and live timing from every session, available at btcc.net/live throughout the weekend.

The support series on the TOCA package are also guaranteed to thrill, with a double-digit total of races set to entertain the crowds. The Renault UK Clio Cup, F4 British Championship and Ginettas will all be appearing, making for a jam-packed weekend of truly unmissable racing.

Tickets are still available at Scotland’s Knockhill circuit (14/15 September), the BTCC’s only venture north of the border. Prices start at just £40 for adult weekend tickets, with discounts available for family bookings and children under 12 able to enter free of charge. For more information or to order tickets, head to www.knockhill.co.uk or call 01383 723337.

Former British Touring Car champion Ash Sutton tested the Laser Tools Racing Infiniti last week as the talented young gun was drafted in to provide additional feedback to the squad.

“I was really impressed with the Infiniti – there is certainly lots of potential with that car,” said Sutton. “I think the Laser Tools guys just wanted a benchmark and I was keen to try and help out.”

Laser Tools Racing launched its rebuilt rear-wheel-drive Infiniti Q50 at Snetterton during the summer, and the machine has since been put through its paces by regular pilot Aiden Moffat.

The Scotsman produced eye-catching displays at both the Norfolk venue and again at Thruxton recently, but the team also wanted to draw upon Sutton’s extensive RWD experience.

“The ingredients are in the car to make it a force, and it is just a question of unlocking the speed from it,” concluded Sutton. “They will certainly make progress over the latter part of the year.”

Three-time race-winner Moffat and the rest of the 2019 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship grid will be back on track at Knockhill for Rounds 22, 23 and 24 in just over a week’s time (14/15 September).

In case you missed it...

Cobra Sport AmD AutoAid/RCIB Insurance's Sam Tordoff achieved Pole Position during both Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship visits to Thruxton this year.

Sam's early summer contender pipped the more recent effort around the UK's fastest circuit by just 0.365s – here's a look at the two laps side-by-side, which saw him rocket to the front of the pack in both May and August.

Adrian Flux Subaru Racing's Ash Sutton has an impressive record at Knockhill – winning there in both 2017 and 2018 – and now the former champ can't wait to get back to the tight and twisty track that he says is 'all out attack'. The official BTCC website caught up with the 25-year-old as the UK's premier motorsport series gets ready to head north of the border...

Mac Tools with Ciceley Motorsport has reason to be hopeful for the rest of the season, after one of the Lancashire-based squad’s best weekends to date. Rounds 19, 20 and 21 of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship saw the Mercedes-Benz A-Class race to third, second and fourth across the three races at the high-speed Thruxton circuit.

The team endured a frustrating start to the season – scoring one podium from the first six events of 2019 – which prompted a recent change in engineering personnel for the Hampshire races, as staff who previously worked with both Ciceley Motorsport and Adam Morgan were drafted in to bring about a change in fortune for the remaining rounds.

It was evident that there was an immediate difference in car performance for Adam, lining up fourth for the first race of the weekend - his strongest qualifying performance of 2019.

Adam clinched his first podium since the season-opener at Brands Hatch after a race-long battle with the Honda Civics of Dan Cammish and Josh Cook in race one.

The A-Class took on 42 kilos of success ballast for race two, proving a further test for Adam and his newfangled team of engineers. A season best second place awaited the Lancashire driver at the flag as he followed Josh Cook home.

The semi-reversed grid for the final race of the day meant Morgan started fifth, carrying a further six kilos after his race two success. In tricky conditions, he held his nerve and even gained a place (with an audacious dive to the outside of the chicane) eventually finishing fourth to complete the team’s second best point scoring weekend ever.

Dan Rowbottom confirmed a strong weekend for the outfit as the BTCC rookie added to his 2019 points tally.

Ciceley Motorsport currently sits fifth in the independent teams' standings while Morgan occupies the sixth independent driver spot, two points shy of a top five position.

A return to form means the team are upbeat and hopeful of similar results heading to Knockhill - a track where Adam scored a second place finish in 2015 and narrowly missed out on a podium last season.

“Straight away, the car felt different,” Adam commented. “It is so much easier to drive and that in turn gives you more confidence. We needed to know where the root of the problem was and we felt fresh eyes would be a good way of starting that process.

“I made a good start in race one and got alongside Cammish, I then looked after the tyres for the first few laps which helped in the battles later on. A podium is a huge boost for us all and the car just felt great.

“Race two was the first time I’ve run with weight all year so we didn’t really know how the car was going to react, but it was excellent once again. Maybe there was a bit left in me, but I just want good finishes and points, so another podium is brilliant. We discovered when we got the car back that a clutch release bearing failed so we needed to do an engine change before race three.

“It’s been an incredible weekend. The car feels so different, much easier to drive, more confidence inspiring and we have had pace that we’ve lacked all season. We had great pace in race three against lighter cars and we’ve done so little to the setup all weekend, just the occasional camber change, because it has worked. We’re back!”

Norman Burgess, Commercial Director of Ciceley Motorsport said: “It was a tough decision to part with our Italian friends after all their endeavours, which we appreciate massively but we have shown that a fresh set of eyes and different ways of engineering a car have worked well.

“Adam has been in the mix every time he’s hit the track and the morale in the team has skyrocketed accordingly. It’s been a tough start to the year but this has been a massive boost for us all. Dan has had a great weekend too, he is really getting to grips with his car and I am certain that his first top ten finish is just around the corner.

“We go to Knockhill now confident of running at the front and finishing the season on a high note.”

Rory ready to race the AmD Honda at Knockhill in just over two weeks’ time.

Can he put on a show for the Scottish home fans?

Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed Racing’s Jason Plato has taken 14 top ten finishes from the last 18 races – making him one of the form drivers in the BTCC – but the tin-top legend is still searching for his first win of the 2019 campaign.

As the series heads north of the border to Knockhill in just over two weeks’ time the official BTCC website caught up with the Vauxhall man, as he talked about one of the most ‘crucial’ qualifying sessions of the season and even had time to mention ‘deep-fried Mars bars’…

A hard-fought win for Dan Cammish topped off a strong weekend back at Thruxton for Halfords Yuasa Racing, with the team scoring podium finishes in all three races.

Qualifying brought contrasting fortunes for Honda's two drivers. After topping the time sheets in first practice, Cammish took a competitive third grid spot with a lap of more than 111mph, less than one-hundredth-of-a-second off of the pole position time. Neal struggled with the setup of his Civic Type R (FK8) and wound up a disappointing 17th on the grid, half-a-second behind his team-mate.

Cammish – scorer of eight podiums in the previous 14 races and one of the form men in the BTCC – was carrying more success ballast than either of his rivals ahead aboard his Type R, but he maintained third spot at the start of race one - quickly turning into second when Jason Plato was penalised for a jumped start. Thereafter, the Honda stayed in touch with leader Sam Tordoff, but the extra weight told as the race wore on. Cammish, though, withstood the challenge of Adam Morgan to score his eighth podium finish of the season.

Neal staged an impressive comeback performance to carve through the field, passing fellow former champions Colin Turkington, Andrew Jordan and Ashley Sutton on the way to an eighth-place finish.

Weighed down by even more success ballast, Cammish's car bogged down at the start of race two and he slipped back to sixth. Neal meanwhile made up a place and the two Hondas then ran together for several laps as part of a frantic battle involving a train of cars. Opportunistic passing with 11 laps on the board promoted Neal to fourth just ahead of his team-mate, before he spectacularly rounded rival Tom Oliphant at the final chicane to secure third and maintain his record of at least one podium finish at Thruxton in each of the last 10 seasons. Cammish came home a fighting fifth.

Fortune then smiled on the Halfords Yuasa Racing drivers, the draw for the final race putting Cammish on the outside of the front row with Neal just behind in fourth. The field lined up under threatening skies, and after initially being outdragged off the line by Oliphant, Cammish quickly regained second spot and closed in on leader Rob Collard.

Rain began to fall around the circuit as the Honda made several passing attempts on the run to the chicane, finally making the move stick with four laps left. Controlling his slick-shod car on the now rain-soaked track, Cammish stretched his lead to secure the Halfords Yuasa squad's first victory of the season. To complete the team's joy, Matt Neal took third spot.

Cammish and Neal now lie third and seventh in the Driver's title chase heading towards Knockhill in a couple of weeks' time, while Honda has closed the gap in the Manufacturers' championship, holding a strong second, and Halfords Yuasa Racing regained the lead of the Teams' points chase.

"Thruxton was my best weekend this year: first, second and fifth," said Cammish. "To finish race one in second with the weight on was a good effort. I almost stalled at the start of race two and if I had, my weekend would have been ruined – shows you need a bit of luck in Touring Cars at times given just how fine the margins are.

"I battled back to fifth and once the weight came out for race three I knew we had a good chance. I drove a sensible race, didn’t take too much out of the tyre in the opening laps. It was difficult with the rain at the end, but the team kept me cool and calm and we took the win.

"I was on pole at Knockhill last year. I’ll go there with the car much heavier than ever before but that won’t stop me giving it a good go."

"We had a great day, especially considering how we started the weekend – I was very relieved," added Matt Neal – Halfords Yuasa Racing driver and Team Dynamics Director. "I didn't get a win but the next best thing – four podiums for us as a team, our best weekend of the year so far.

"Knockhill is a circuit that favours some of our rivals but we’ll go there in confident mood and see what we can do."

Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher took three hard-fought points finishes during a tough return visit to Hampshire’s Thruxton circuit for Rounds 19, 20 and 21 of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship last weekend.

Mechanical issues, contact and qualifying woes put paid to the Motorbase-run squad’s podium hopes during the seventh BTCC meeting of the year. A gritty fight back, however, managed to salvage three points finishes from the squad’s misfortunes.

Struggling to unlock the full potential of the Focus RS during Saturday’s Free Practice and qualifying sessions, Tom Chilton and Ollie Jackson found themselves in 16th and 14th spots respectively for the first of Sunday’s three races.

Chilton’s hopes of recovery in race one were quickly dashed when the #3 Focus RS was forced to return to the pits on the green flag lap with a turbo issue, meaning the best result he could muster was 22nd having raced from the back of the pack. Contact picked up on the opening lap curtailed Jackson’s efforts, as he took the flag in 15th.

Aiming for the top-12 with the hopes of a favourable reversed-grid draw result in race three, Chilton recovered well to scrape his way up the field and into 12^th.  Jackson, meanwhile, dropped back to 18^th.

Just missing out on the reverse grid benefit, Chilton made a strong opening charge from 12th in the final contest. With the imminent threat of rain, the 34-year-old had caught up to the pack battling for sixth place with just three laps remaining.

As Jason Plato, Ash Sutton, Tom Ingram and Josh Cook all jostled for position and the heavens opened, Chilton he made a brave lunge round the outside as they charged into the complex.

Having almost completed the stunning move, the #3 Focus RS took a heavy hit from behind, resulting in a huge slide which forced Chilton into a dramatic save. In spite of his heroic efforts, the incident dropped him down the order, and he eventually crossed the line in 22nd.

Jackson’s consistent points-scoring efforts continued in race three, with the Alcon and Beavis Morgan-backed racer picking up his eighth points finish from the last nine rounds, taking 15^th at the final flag.

Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher remains third in the Independent Teams’ standings and eighth overall ahead of the next race meeting at Knockhill. Tom Chilton currently sits 12^thoverall and fourth in the Independents' standings, with Ollie Jackson in 18^th and ninth positions.  

“That was a tough weekend," said Team Manager Oly Collins. "We came to Thruxton with optimism and promise after recent weeks of testing and development with the Focus but we didn't get it right when it mattered.

"Our pace in FP2 suggested we had the car in a place where we could qualify well which is so important round here. But when you qualify that far down in the BTCC it’s always going to be a big ask.

“On race day, any glimmer of hope sadly failed to come to anything. We need to learn from our failings this weekend in every area and make sure it doesn't happen again. We have a great team and this weekend didn't reflect that.”

Tom Chilton added: “Thruxton is still one of my favourite circuits, just not in a Ford Focus. We’ve moved forwards from when we last came here. I was fourth in FP2 and we made up another three-tenths in qualifying but it just wasn’t enough. Everyone else made up more. Sadly, qualifying where we did just put us on the back foot.

“To be honest, I was having a great last couple of races. We had a quick car in race three, were making up places and then it all bunched up at the chicane. I pulled a great move on Sutton as it started raining and then I just got a huge hit from behind that lifted my back wheel off the ground. That put me into a humongous backwards slide in fifth gear and ruined my race. I think we could have made top six or seven from there.

“Knockhill is next though. I won there last year in the wet. We know that the Focus goes well there as well. I’m hoping for a little more luck.”

“It’s been a challenging weekend again and we’ve not really been on top of it all weekend," said Ollie Jackson. "We improved the car over the course of the day, but unfortunately so did the back half of the field. That’s what has hung us out to dry unfortunately. I think we’ve shown flashes of pace but we’ve not quite get a handle on it. Thruxton turned out to be a bogey track for us last time out and it’s been another one for us. At least we’ve come away with some more points.
 
“We’ve got three rounds coming up next that suit the focus and we’ve got to make hay while the sun shines. As long we can keep our noses clean, I think we can have three really strong meetings.”