For the third weekend of the 2023 British Touring Car Championship at Snetterton, Goodyear is set to make all three of its slick compound tyres available.

Goodyear successfully re-introduced the soft tyre at the last race at Brands Hatch, and this will be the first time that all three tyres will be available at a race weekend since Goodyear became the exclusive tyre supplier in 2020.

Snetterton’s ‘300’ layout used by BTCC, features several long straights with a mix of low, medium and high-speed corners. The 2.97-mile circuit hosts rounds 7, 8 and 9 of the championship, with tyre strategy and performance set to be key features.

Goodyear’s tyre compounds are denoted by their distinctive coloured sidewall to help the hundreds of thousands of fans who attend BTCC and view the live coverage on ITV4. The softest in the range features a white sidewall, medium is yellow, and green branding on the hard. All three tyres must be used across the three races, with qualifying restricted to the medium compound. 

Michael Butler, Event Leader: “Snetterton is the ideal circuit to make all three of our dry tyres available. Its mix of high-, medium- and low-speed corners will challenge the drivers and teams to think strategically about their tyre usage, as well as adding another element for fans to follow. We also look forward to Croft in July where the same rules will apply.

“In particular, we saw at Brands Hatch that the soft tyre had a pace advantage early in the race, so choosing when to use the extra performance over the weekend will be a big topic of discussion in the garages and briefing rooms.”

The third event of the 2023 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship gets underway this weekend at the Snetterton 300 Circuit (20/21 May). Here is all the information you need to know to keep up with the action…

A couple weeks ago, the cars and stars of the 2023 grid headed to Brands Hatch for the second instalment of this year’s Championship.

Team BMW star Turkington secured his 64th career victory in the opener – 20 years after claiming his first at the same venue. He now moves past Matt Neal and behind Jason Plato in terms of race victories. 

NAPA Racing UK’s Ash Sutton then surged to two stunning successes in the following bouts, helping NAPA Racing UK to now lead the Teams standings, with BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8 just 31 points behind.

After a career best finish of second place, Bobby Thompson and Autobrite Direct with Millers Oils top the Independent Driver and Teams battles.

Sam Osborne now leads the contest for the Jack Sears Trophy, but Re.Beverages and Bartercard with Team Hard. driver, Dexter Patterson, is only two points behind.

This weekend’s race day action will feature on the home of the BTCC, ITV4, from 1045 on Sunday (21 May) while ITV Sport’s own Youtube channel and itv.com/btcc will host qualifying on Saturday (20 May) from 1530.

Check out the full TV schedule below, which includes all the information you need to catch ITV’s highlights programmes from the opening rounds.

Qualifying LIVE: Saturday 20 May
ITV.com/BTCC / ITV Sport’s YouTube from 1530

Raceday LIVE: Sunday 21 May
ITV4 & ITV4 HD 1045-1815
ITV4 +1 1145-1915
ITV.com/BTCC 1045-1815

Highlights: Saturday 27 May
ITV4 & ITV4 HD 1130-1300
ITV4 +1 1230-1400
ITV Hub Available anytime for the next 30 days

Highlights: Sunday 28 May
ITV4 & ITV4 HD 0935-1105
ITV 4 +1 1035-1205
ITV Hub Available anytime for the next 30 days

Highlights: Tuesday 31 May
ITV1 & ITV1 HD 2340-0055
ITV1 +1 0040-0155

In just a few days’ time, the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship will arrive in Norfolk, as it heads to the Snetterton 300 circuit (20/21 May) for its third race event of the 2023 season. 

Earlier this month, the campaign continued at the famous Brands Hatch Indy circuit known for its close racing. It certainly did not disappoint, with two different race winners and some career best performances reinforcing the competitiveness of the UK’s premier motorsport series. 

Colin Turkington (Team BMW) and Ash Sutton (NAPA Racing UK) shared the top spot of the podium on the Sunday (7 May), with the latter claiming two victories across Rounds 5 and 6.  

The first race saw Turkington reach a significant milestone by securing his 64th career win, 20 years after claiming his first at the same venue. The result means that he now moves past the legendary Matt Neal and behind Jason Plato in terms of all-time race victories. 

Sutton then surged to two stunning successes in the following bouts as he got the better of BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8’s Tom Ingram and Turkington in race two, before scything his way from 11th on the grid to win a dramatic and tense finale. 

Round 6 also saw Bobby Thompson (Autobrite Direct with Millers Oils) claim a career-best finish of second, after starting on pole through the reverse-grid draw. 

Now, Britain’s premier motorsport championship will head to Snetterton earlier in the campaign than its usual mid-August slot, with the 2.97-mile circuit hosting Rounds 7, 8 and 9 on 20/21 May.

After completing the shortest track on the calendar with Brands Hatch, the popular Snetterton 300 layout will represent a completely different challenge to the 2023 grid, as it remains to be the longest circuit in the BTCC.

The challenge will be welcomed as Snetterton is a circuit that the drivers know extremely well; the BTCC has been visiting Snetterton in Norfolk for over 50 years, and the now familiar ‘300’ layout has been used since 2011. 

Drawing inspiration from iconic motorsport corners such as Monza’s Parabolica and the Montreal Hairpin, it certainly offers some fantastic viewing for spectators and makes for a popular family weekend.

Local Lights 

BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8, based in nearby Suffolk, will be hoping for home support as its quartet of cars take to the track with Tom Ingram, Tom Chilton, Nick Halstead and Ronan Pearson looking to pick up the points for the Hyundai squad, and build on their second place standings in the Teams' Championship.

TV, Timetables and Tickets 

Complimenting the tin top racing will be a sensational line-up of support series, as the Radical Cup UK, Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain, ROKiT F4 British Championship and MINI CHALLENGE completes the schedule of exciting races. 
  
Saturday’s qualifying session will be streamed live via itv.com/btcc and ITV Sport’s YouTube channel from 1530, before ITV4’s more than seven-hour race day broadcast gets underway at 1045 on Sunday. 
  
Tickets are available in advance or can be purchased on the gate throughout the weekend – visit here for more details. 

One way or another, Snetterton has been a memorable hunting ground for Toyota Gazoo Racing UK in the British Touring Car Championship – and the Speedworks Motorsport-run outfit is hoping to make more happy memories in Norfolk when the UK’s premier motor racing series returns there this weekend (20/21 May).

Having taken a significant step forward just over a week ago at Brands Hatch, the team is now bidding to up the ante again at a track that could scarcely be more different.

At almost three miles in length, Snetterton’s ‘300’ layout is more than twice as long as Brands’ short Indy loop, and it was where the British-built Toyota Corolla GR Sport achieved its maiden BTCC pole position in only its sixth qualifying session in 2019. The following day, that advantage was converted into a lights-to-flag victory, and two years later at the same circuit, Scotsman Rory Butcher piloted the rapid Japanese hatchback to his first top three finish for Toyota Gazoo Racing UK.

The 36-year-old Kirkcaldy native – a former Independents’ Champion and Jack Sears Trophy winner – secured the second of his ten BTCC triumphs to-date at Snetterton four years ago, while Ricky Collard is a multiple race-winner and podium-visitor there in the TOCA support series. 

The Surrey-born star handled the intense heat in Norfolk last summer to tally his highest score of the season courtesy of a brace of top six results. He was denied a breakthrough win at Brands Indy earlier this month after picking up a track limits penalty, but his stellar performance leaves the 26-year-old brimful of confidence.

George Gamble is also showing a fine turn of-speed during his sophomore campaign in the BTCC – his first in front wheel-drive machinery. The Nottinghamshire racer was a rostrum-finisher at Snetterton in both Ginetta Juniors and the Ginetta GT5 Challenge, and has impressed with his charges through the field behind the wheel of the Corolla. 

Following Saturday afternoon’s qualifying session at 15:40 – streamed on ITV Sport’s YouTube channel – every moment of Sunday’s doorhandle-to-doorhandle action will be broadcast live and in high-definition on ITV4, beginning at 10:45.

Christian Dick, Team Principal, Toyota Gazoo Racing UK, said:

“Notwithstanding the disappointment of what happened at the end, we left Brands Hatch feeling very optimistic that we are on the right path. All three drivers are working very well together, and the changes we made between Donington Park and Brands clearly paid off as we were much more competitive and, as I say, should have come out of the weekend with a lot more than we ultimately did.  

“We are going to Snetterton in a very positive frame of mind, confident in the knowledge that we have yet to fulfil our potential this season and that we are consistently improving. All of our drivers have shone at the circuit in the past – last year, indeed, it was where Ricky arguably came of age as a touring car driver, and he is continuing to get better all the time. What we need more than anything is a clean, trouble-free weekend; if we get that, I see no reason why we shouldn’t be right in the mix.”

Rory Butcher, Driver, Toyota Gazoo Racing UK, said:

“We definitely took a step forward at Brands Hatch. We were closer to the sharp end than we had been at Donington Park – had Lady Luck been on our side in the final race, we could well have come away with all three cars finishing inside the top five – and while we’re still not quite where we want to be, we know the areas in which we need to improve and everybody has been pushing super-hard behind-the-scenes in order to do so. 

“I’m confident that will see us edge a bit nearer again at Snetterton, which is a very different kind of challenge to Brands Indy. Despite not being one of my favourite circuits on the calendar, it’s somewhere I usually go well and it holds happy memories as the scene of my first podium for Toyota Gazoo Racing UK a couple of years ago. If we can kick-start our season with a similar result this weekend – if not even better – that would be a great way to reward the team for everybody’s hard work.”

Ricky Collard, Driver, Toyota Gazoo Racing UK, said:

“It would have been very easy for us to let our heads drop after race three at Brands Hatch, but it’s characteristic of the spirit inside this team that we came away not so much ruing what might have been as looking ahead to replicating that form. The reversed grid may have played in our favour, but there was no luck involved at all in our performance – we proved we have the pace to fight up at the front and to win, and that gives us all tremendous encouragement.

“Snetterton is a tough one to predict. Parts of the lap are all about outright power – and we know we still have some work to do to improve our straight-line speed – but you also need a good chassis, which is very much one of the Corolla’s strengths. So let’s wait to see how we shape up, but the most important thing is that we’re clearly moving in the right direction, and I’m hopeful we can maintain that momentum this weekend.”

George Gamble, Driver, Toyota Gazoo Racing UK, said:

“I enjoy going to Snetterton. It’s obviously very different to Brands Hatch Indy – it’s fast-paced, smooth and flowing and somewhere you can really stretch the legs of the car. I’ve never been there before in front wheel-drive, but I’m getting more comfortable in the Corolla every time out so I’m really looking forward to it.

“Hopefully we can have a completely dry weekend to enable us to build upon the progress we’re making. The mixed weather so far this season has made it difficult to learn as much as we’d have liked, and from my point-of-view, trying to adapt to front wheel-drive, I just want consistent conditions.

“Our race pace on Sundays has been great and we’ve been able to come through the pack well, but we need to perfect our single-lap form to set ourselves up better. If we can start further up the field, we will make our life easier, so the aim for Snetterton is to qualify inside the top ten and then push on from there.”

The 2024 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship calendar has been announced today (15 May), after series organisers TOCA confirmed its dates even earlier than ever before.

After completing just two events of the 2023 campaign so far, the UK’s premier motorsport series has already locked down its dates for next year, sticking to a tried and tested format.

Next season will once again commence on the Donington Park National circuit in late April, before the Brands Hatch Indy circuit event and Snetterton in May.

The summer months are occupied by trips to Thruxton, Oulton Park, Croft, Knockhill and Donington Park’s Grand Prix Circuit – which returned to the BTCC calendar for the first time in more than two decades in 2023. 

As is often the case, the campaign concludes with the visit to Silverstone and the finale on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix in early October.

Alan Gow, BTCC Chief Executive, said: "Our 2024 schedule has the same flow as this year, which was universally praised. And going back to the Donington GP circuit next year will ensure that the teams can build upon their experience of that circuit layout from this season.

"With the Paris Olympics and Euro 2024, it's a very busy year for major sporting events during our season. So, it was important that I locked-in our calendar as early as possible, in order to secure our most ideal ITV4 live broadcast dates. As always, releasing our calendar so early also has a positive benefit for the rest of British motorsport, as it helps domestic race organisers and venues with the forward planning and scheduling of their own events.

"Releasing the calendar on 10th May to our teams and support races, and publicly today, sets a new record for having our next season's BTCC schedule confirmed this early... although, in future I really can't imagine it can be done any earlier and this record being beaten!"

2024 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship

Rounds	Date	Venue/Circuit
1, 2, 3	27/ 28 April	Donington Park (National)
4, 5, 6	11/ 12 May	Brands Hatch (Indy)
7, 8, 9	25/ 26 May	Snetterton (300)
10, 11, 12	08/ 09 June	Thruxton
13, 14, 15	22/ 23 June	Oulton Park (Island)
16, 17, 18	27/ 28 July	Croft
19, 20, 21	10/ 11 August	Knockhill
22, 23, 24	24/ 25 August	Donington Park (GP)
25, 26, 27	21/ 22 September	Silverstone (National)
28, 29, 30	05/ 06 October	Brands Hatch (GP)

Despite it not being a race weekend, there is still plenty of BTCC content to catch-up on!

Listen again to this week’s Autoglym Tin Top Tuesday podcast, as pitlane commentator Alan Hyde catches up with a number of BTCC drivers after Brands Hatch last weekend (6/7 May), including NAPA Racing UK's Ash Sutton, who claimed a double win, Team BMWs Colin Turkington, who secured his 64th win in the Championship, as well as the reigning champion Tom Ingram (BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8), and Autobrite Direct with Millers Oils' Bobby Thompson, who gained a career best result.

The two-hour show, which aired on Tuesday 9 May, is now available in the BTCC Audio Portal as well as the audio player below.

Listen to the guests talk all things BTCC – and a number of things somewhat not BTCC, in true TTT style – before the Championship returns for it's third event at Snetterton on the 20/21 May.

CarStore Power Maxed Racing collected some important points on an otherwise difficult trip to Brands Hatch in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship last weekend (6/7 May).

The Bidford-on-Avon-based team made the journey to the iconic 1.2-mile Kent venue looking to extend their advantage atop the Independent Teams and Jack Sears Trophy standings.

After some hurdles in practice, the team recovered well and came within 0.090 seconds of making the coveted top-ten shootout in qualifying for the second weekend in a row.

As it was, leading driver Aron Taylor-Smith slotted in P12, with Andrew Watson and Mikey Doble P20 and P22 respectively in a session punctuated by red flag stoppages.

In race trim on Sunday, the Vauxhall Astra trio did not get much luck. Taylor-Smith was able to secure the team’s only points of the weekend by maintaining 12^th in the opening race, but suffered technical problems in the second contest, which in turn side-lined him for the remainder of the day.

Unfortunately, Watson was collected in a multi-car incident at Clark Curve during the first race. Although, a superb repair job by the team put the Northern Irishman back on the grid just two hours later for race two, in which Watson gave a glimpse of the car’s potential by gaining four places from the back.

But a wide moment at Graham Hill Bend filled his front radiator with grass and necessitated a trip to the pit lane in race three, ending the 28-year-old’s hopes of further forward momentum.

Mikey Doble enjoyed a steady climb through the field across the day, as he continues to acclimatise well to life in the UK’s premier tin-top series. The Brands Hatch local moved forward three spots to P19 in the opener, which he then followed up with P18, then P16 in the second and third contests respectively.

The team now slip to third in the Independent Teams Championship, albeit just nine points off the summit. Watson and Doble are similarly well-placed to bounce back next time out, when the BTCC visits Snetterton on 20/21 May.

"This weekend was tough, from start to finish. Conditions on Saturday were tricky, and it was all about timing, which we got wrong in qualifying. But in those scenarios, it’s about luck as much as anything,” said Andrew Watson.

“We had a lap that would have put us much further up the grid, but we just missed it with the red flag. Starting down in the pack was always going to be difficult, but we made a good start in race one, before I got caught up in somebody else’s incident.

“There was quite a lot of damage to the car, but the team did an amazing job to turn it around, which was incredible to watch. We got back out, but we didn’t really have enough time to set the car up as we wanted, so we struggled a bit. But we got out and scored some Jack Sears points.

“But it was a weekend to forget, so time for a re-think and then we’ll re-group at Snetterton."

Teammate Aron Taylor-Smith said, “On weekends like this, all we can do is take the positives. We were nine hundredths off making the top-ten shootout, so we can safely say we’ve unlocked a little bit more one-lap pace in the Vauxhall Astra.

“All was going well in the first race, but there was a small component failure on the car – nothing the team could have controlled or foreseen – and that limited how much I could progress from there. Even to come home with the points is something I’m really happy about.

“Race two started quite well, but as early as the opening lap, I could feel something was astray with the engine. From deep-diving into the data, we had two separate issues, both of which unfortunately brought about an untimely end to said engine.

“The team did all they could to get me back out, but with only an hour turnaround, it wasn’t to be. But we have a very fast car, and I know we can build on that. It feels worse when you’re at the back thinking ‘we’re struggling for pace’, but this isn’t that. The stars just didn’t align for us today, and that’s life, but we’ll re-group and come back stronger in two weeks’ time.”

“It’s been a tough weekend for the team, but on a personal note for me, there were a lot of good things to take away from it,” said Mikey Doble.

“Things didn’t quite go our way in qualifying, which meant I had work to do in the races. We chipped away at the car setup during Races 1 and 2, all whilst moving up through the field.

“Race 3 was the best the Vauxhall Astra had handled all weekend, and we just missed out on points by one place. It was a real pleasure to be right in the thick of the midfield battle, and also to get three finishes under my belt, all of which has helped move me up in the Independent and Jack Sears standings.”

Last weekend (6/7 May), the Team HARD squad had a strong showing at their home race circuit of Brands Hatch, with the outstanding high being Autobrite Direct with Millers Oils’ Bobby Thompson, who secured his career best finish in the BTCC by taking second place during Round 6.

Here is what the Team HARD, drivers had to say…

Autobrite Direct with Millers Oils

Bobby Thompson said: “Honestly, I’m so happy with this weekend, not only for the results but also to show what the Cupra can do. We have the car in a great window at the moment, and we are finally able to show everyone what we have been working on and developing over the past couple of seasons.

“I’m hoping we can keep the car in this form for the rest of the season and consistently compete inside the top ten race after race and pick up some podiums along the way. The team deserve it for all their hard work and dedication to the operation so far this season – to mix it with the manufacturer teams like we did was a real statement. It was great to do it at Brands Hatch as well, as it’s both mine and the team’s home race. We had lots of partners, family and friends with us over the course of the weekend and for all of them to join us in our most competitive weekend to date was amazing.

“Thank you to everyone for their support, and long may this form continue.”

Dan Lloyd said: “Overall I think the race weekend was really positive after scoring points in all three races and getting ourselves into Q2 for the first time this season.

“Bobby did a mega job all weekend as well and we’re leading the Independent teams’ championship, which is really positive for just the second round of the season. Especially considering our lack of testing. I can only see our performances getting stronger as the season progresses.

“From my side, we made some big steps forward, we’ve got a lot of information from all the dry running on Sunday, so we need to go away and go through all of that and come back stronger for Snetterton. I want to start getting right into the top 10 in the next round, and I think we are starting to get the platform that will enable us to do that.”

Re.Beverages and Bartercard with Team HARD.

Dexter Patterson said: “It was nice to get a point in the last race to come away from Brands Hatch with something. We showed decent pace on Saturday in the wet, but we struggled on race day with the balance of the car and often found ourselves dropping back.

“We have lots to work on between now and Snetterton to make sure that we can compete inside that top 15 and bank as many points as possible.”

Jade Edwards said: “Despite encountering some power issues in the first two races, I’m pleased with the progress we made as a team during the latest round of the BTCC at Brands Hatch.

“Qualifying in 19th was a positive outcome given the challenging car build and weather conditions, and I was looking forward to moving up the grid during the three races. The start in the third race felt fantastic, and I was confident as I moved forward on lap one and two. Unfortunately, contact with another car ended our chance to see the full potential of the car over a race distance, but I’m still optimistic about the progress we made over the weekend.

“I’d like to give a final shout-out to the hard-working team at Team Hard Racing who continue to strive for improvement each weekend, as well as congratulating my teammate Bobby on his impressive podium finish in the third race.”

Go Fix with Autoaid Breakdown

Jack Butel said: “Starting 13th was great, and I felt like I belonged there after a good qualifying session. We got a really good start, and we held our own, but as the red flag came out for the massive accident at the end of the opening lap, we had to do it all over again.

“The second start didn’t go as well, and despite a good launch, I think we had taken most of the life out of the soft tyre on that first lap, so we struggled to make up ground. We held our own in 14th, which I was fine with, but we soon developed an issue that relegated me to 18th as I just didn’t have the speed to defend from the cars behind.

“In race 2, we developed another issue as we were making our way to the grid. The car just cut out, and by the time we located the issue, we had to start from the pit lane, which is never ideal on such a short lap.

“Race 3 was a lot better, and we ended up in 17th, which I’m happy about as we came from much further back. It’s a shame for the team that issues out of their control hindered our race day. They’ve done an amazing job, the chassis is great, and once we get these other issues sorted, we will be mixing it up at the front more often and taking the fight to the top 10.”

Nic Hamilton said: “I had an up and down day on race day. I had really good pace at the start of all three races and was able to keep up with the drivers in front of me and be in the fight. However, we seemed to drop off a lot quicker, around lap 8. I’m not sure whether that is due to some of the modifications we have made in the past couple of weeks or just myself in general.

“Overall, I have to be happy with race day; it was just a bit of an eye-opener that we need to find a bit more time during the races, but generally, I’m really happy with the car. It feels good, I like the balance, I just need to be able to extract more time out of it. But it’s only round 2, and I’ve got lots of work that I’m going to do with the team to minimise the disadvantage I have with my legs.

“We are getting closer and closer to everyone else, and we are only a couple of tenths away from achieving our goal of running consistently inside the top 20. We finished race three in 19th, which was great, but looking forward to the rest of the season and achieving this more frequently.”

Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport and Jake Hill experienced mixed emotions in the second event of the 2023 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship season, as they claimed a brace of fourth-place finishes before a puncture in the final race of the weekend snatched a possible podium from Jake and the team.

With Hill claiming the fastest lap time in qualifying, he eventually secured a third-place starting position in Saturday's 'Top Ten Showdown' and lined up on the second row for the opening race on Sunday morning.

Piloting his #24 WSR-run BMW 330e M Sport, Jake got a strong start off the line but with his front tyres not at their optimum temperature compared to his FWD rivals, Jake lost out on third position to Ash Sutton and crossed the line at the end of lap one in fourth place. 

However, as a number of cars were caught up in an incident and a red flag was waved, the order was reset to the starting grid and Hill once again lined up from third place. 

At the restart, the 29-year-old again got a fantastic launch and followed his WSR-stablemate Colin Turkington past pole-sitter, Dan Cammish, and into second place. Managing his tyre temperatures and battling to keep the Fords behind, Jake was eventually passed and fell back to fourth position – from where he took the chequered flag. 

In race two, Hill once again got a strong start off the line to move into third place. However, he was then passed into the Druids hairpin by Tom Ingram, as well as Cammish, demoting Jake back down to fifth place. After a nose-to-tail battle with the Ford Focus ST, Hill launched a fantastic move into Druids to retake fourth position, where he finished.

The third and final race of the day saw Jake handed an eighth place starting position in the reverse grid draw. Displaying a flurry of overtakes on the soft compound tyre, Hill was up to fourth place, however, a puncture through the high-speed Paddock Hill Bend ended his charge.

Jake now heads to the Snetterton (20/21 May) fifth in the Drivers' Championship with 58 points.

“Coming away from Brands feeling gutted to be honest! The car was decent all day with two P4s in the first two races and we manage to save the soft tyre for race three,” said Hill.

“The car was simply mighty at the midpoint in the race and the fight was on to try and get onto the podium… however that chance was taken away from me with a blowout at the bottom of paddock hill bend.

“We move on and aim to come back fighting at Snetterton which we are feeling strongly about! Huge thank you to everyone at Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport and WSR for their efforts this weekend!"

One Motorsport with Starline Racing claimed its first piece of silverware of the 2023 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch last weekend (6/7 May).

Josh Cook charged to an Independents Trophy victory in race two at the famous Kent venue, while team-mate Aiden Moffat claimed a brace of hard-fought points finishes. Will Powell, meanwhile, would battle his way forward in all three races, to just miss out on a maiden top 15.

After splashing his way to the eighth fastest time in Saturday’s wet qualifying session, Cook maintained his position during race one, before going on to guide his Honda Civic Type R to the Independents win in Sunday’s second bout.
 
In the thick of the action throughout the 24-lap contest, the reigning Independents Trophy champion muscled his way into seventh on the final lap to clinch his first win of 2023. Choosing the soft option tyre for race three, the 31-year-old then capped off his weekend with another top 10 drive.
 
“It’s great to have been able to claim a first Independents Trophy win, however, what we really want is to be standing on that top step of the podium,” said Cook, “This weekend had its challenges but we made the best of it and came away with some solid points and silverware.

“We’re still gaining an understanding of this chassis and engine package, but improvements are being made by the team all the time. We’ll keep our heads down and continue to chip away ahead of Snetterton in two weeks’ time.”

Teammate Moffat lined up on the 11th row of the grid for the weekend’s first race. However, he wasted no time in fighting his way forward, as he produced a number of eye-catching overtakes on his way to 13th at the chequered flag.

While race two saw contact drop the Scotsman down the order, he regrouped in the weekend’s finale to fight back up to 12th.

“I was relatively happy with how we ended the weekend as I felt we made some really good improvements to the car,” said Moffat, “Problem is when you’re in the pack you become a bit of a pinball and that’s what happened in race two, which dropped us back after a solid race one.

“We know that it’s going to take us a little while to get to where we need to be but everyone at One Motorsport with Starline Racing is working hard to ensure that happens as soon as possible and I’m confident we’re not far away now!”

While some mechanical problems would hamper Powell throughout the weekend, it wouldn’t stop him from a strong showing, as he made progress in all three races to just miss out on what would have been a maiden points-paying finish.

“There are certainly more positives than negatives to take away from the weekend,” said Powell, “ I’m optimistic that we can make another step forward at Snetterton.”

The next rounds of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship take place on the Snetterton’s 300 circuit in Norfolk on the 20/21 May.

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