While the 2023 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship grid gets ready to hit the track at Donington Park for the Goodyear Tyre Test (4 July), the official BTCC website is kick-starting its recap series!
Up first is Round 1....
Check out ITV Sport’s Race in 80 seconds highlights clip below or watch the whole 21-lap contest here.
Alternatively, click here to catch-up with the full race report.
Steve Neal - BTCC racer and hugely successful Team Owner - has sadly passed away.
Steve was a talented racing driver during the 1960s - most famously known for racing Minis - and took an overall BTCC win at Crystal Palace back in 1968.
He is arguably better known, however, as the co-owner and team boss of multiple BTCC champions Team Dynamics.
Steve co-founded Team Dynamics in the early 1990s, with the outfit going on to compete in the BTCC for the best part of the next 30 years.
Six Drivers’ Championships followed - three apiece for son Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden - and numerous Manufacturers’ and Teams’ titles with Honda, in what proved to be one of the most successful eras for any team in the history of the BTCC.
Our condolences and thoughts go out to Steve’s family, friends and everyone at Team Dynamics at this difficult time. Steve was a huge part of the BTCC community, a champion and a great man.
As we’re halfway through this year’s Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship campaign, let’s check in to see how the Independent Drivers' Trophy is shaping up so far in 2023…
One Motorsport with Starline Racing driver Josh Cook is topping the tables, with a consistent haul of top points across the first 15 rounds. The Bath-racer sits 60 points ahead of nearest rival and stablemate Aiden Moffat, who has claimed 193 points so far.
Over the first half of the season, Cook has secured seven wins, five second-place finishes and one third in the Independents' championship. His campaign has steadily pick-up speed, with four of his seven wins occurring during the last two events before the midseason break.
Teammate Moffat has also collected a handful of podium finishes, having secured two Independent wins so far. The pairs' performance has helped to ensure that One Motorsport with Starline Racing lead the Independent Teams' Championship, as well as sitting in fourth in the overall Teams' Championship, just behind the three manufacturer-backed teams.
However, Moffat is only 19 points ahead of Autobrite Direct with Millers Oils Dan Lloyd, who sits on 174 points total. While Lloyd may have only secured one first and one second place finish thus far, he has collected a steady haul of points in third, keeping him in a competitive position for the latter half of the season.
The pack then quickly closes-up, with only nine points separating Mikey Doble (Carstore Power Maxed Racing) in fourth and Bobby Thompson (Autobrite Direct with Millers Oils) in seventh.
With the campaign due to get back underway at Croft (29/30 July), check out the full standings at this point in the season here.
The 2023 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is currently in its mid-season break, counting down the days until its next event at Croft (29/30 July), which will host Rounds 16, 17, and 18 of the campaign.
However, the tin-top action has not completely stopped – on Tuesday next week (4 July), the 2023 grid will head to Donington Park for the Official Goodyear Tyre Test.
The day will kick-off with the morning session from 0910-1225, before another run in the afternoon from 1400-1700.
The Test will use the 2.49 miles GP circuit layout, ahead of Championship returning to the venue at the end of August (26/27). This means the day will provide the drivers and teams with the unique opportunity to gather data from the track layout ahead of the official race weekend; it will also be the first time a handful of the grid drive the GP layout altogether.
The BTCC Media Team will be attending, so make sure to check out the official social media channels for regular updates and behind the scenes content (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook – @BTCC). Live Timing will also be available during the scheduled sessions.
Scottish driver Ronan Pearson came close to more overall championship points, as his debut season in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship hit the half-way stage at Oulton Park.
The Kelty-based racer made the trip to the Cheshire circuit targeting three strong results at the wheel of his Hyundai i30N, with the car having won two of the three races at the venue twelve months earlier.
A productive run in the two free practice sessions saw confidence high as Pearson headed into qualifying - which is seen as more important than ever at Oulton Park due to the tight nature of the circuit.
Whilst he would manage a best time just three-tenths of a second away from the top ten, Pearson had to settle for 19th place on the grid for the opening race of the weekend on Sunday morning.
During the opening bout, Pearson recovered from a tricky opening lap to climb up towards the points-scoring positions. An unfortunate mistake at the hairpin saw him run wide and lose places, but he would recover four places in the final handful of laps to take the flag in 18th.
Running the soft tyre again in race two, the 22-year-old quickly made up ground in the early laps to sit in 16th spot, however, an incident saw him drop away from the top 15 positions to finish in 17th.
Although, a penalty for Stephen Jelley (Team BMW) ahead meant he then moved up to 16th in the results – just missing out on a point.
Bolting on the hard tyre for race three, Pearson capped the weekend with a solid run to 17th place and whilst that meant he was unable to break into the overall points, three solid scores in the Jack Sears Trophy helped the Scotsman to retain fifth in the points going into the summer break.
"We had a really good run in practice, but I was left with mixed emotions after qualifying," said Pearson. "Only being three-tenths of a second away from the top ten was good, but things were so close that it meant we were back in 19th place – around a circuit like Oulton Park, it meant we had work to do going into race day.
"Despite that, I knew the Hyundai would be strong and we were having a good run in race one before I made a mistake at the hairpin and ran wide. That was frustrating but at the same time, it was my own error and I can deal with that happening because it’s all part of the learning process.
"The incident in race two was more frustrating because it ultimately cost us a points finish, which I think we would have deserved as in both races, we had the legs on the cars ahead but didn't have track position.
"Race three on the hards was more difficult - as it was for everyone - but we brought the car home for another top 20 finish. Points would have been nice but it's been another weekend where we have banked a lot of knowledge and now I can spend the summer break looking at everything I’ve learned so far ready to come out fighting when the season resumes."
Autobrite Direct with Millers Oils driver Daniel Lloyd scored the best result of his Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship season so far as the 2023 campaign reached the half-way stage at Oulton Park.
The Huddersfield-based racer was returning to the scene of his significant accident last season seeking to push into the top ten at the wheel of his Team HARD Cupra Leon.
In qualifying, Lloyd secured the 15th best time, which left him well-placed to fight for points come race day.
Running the soft tyre in the opening bout, Lloyd would work his way forwards to the fringes of the top ten and fought hard to secure an eleventh-place finish.
Once again on the soft tyre for race two, the 31-year-old made a demon start to jump up into eighth place and displayed impressive pace throughout, moving up into seventh when he nipped ahead of Ricky Collard’s Toyota on lap 13.
However, the strong pace of the BMW of Adam Morgan saw him overhaul Lloyd before the finish, and he took the flag in eighth for his first top ten result of the campaign.
A technical issue in race three forced Lloyd to dive into the pits. As the team worked to replace the part and the race got underway, the decision was taken to gamble on also changing onto wet tyres as light rain started to fall - with heavier rain having been predicted to hit the circuit in time for the race.
However, the weather held through to the finish, and Lloyd was unable to make any forward progress as he finished up in 23rd place.
At the half-way stage of the season, the Team HARD driver sits 17th in the overall standings and third in the Independents’ Trophy.
"We didn’t manage to piece the lap together in qualifying but when race one came around, I feel we did a really good job to make up four places and get into 11th considering how hard it is to pass around Oulton Park," said Lloyd.
"We worked to make changes for race two and had a great run up into the top seven before losing a place to Morgan, which meant we just missed the reverse grid. Despite that, I felt confident for race three but on the way to the grid we had a technical issue.
"We had no option but to pit to fix it so having dropped half a lap, we rolled the dice and bolted on wets considering it was starting to spit with rain. The heavier rain never came so the gamble didn’t pay off, but we had nothing to lose by doing it and had the weather changed, we’d have been ending the weekend as heroes! In hindsight, it might be a good thing we didn’t get pole as I’d have been gutted to have the problem in that situation.
"The pace was really good all through race day and it was only down to that one issue in the final race that we haven’t come away with top ten finishes and three solid points results.
"All in all, despite race three, we can go away from the weekend with a lot of positives to take into the summer break."
Ash Sutton entered the annual Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship summer break at the top of the Drivers’ standings, after producing a double podium performance at Oulton Park (17/18 June).
Two second place finishes, coupled with a retirement in race three, saw the NAPA Racing UK driver leave the Cheshire venue holding a six-point advantage heading into the second half of the season.
Arriving at the fifth meeting of the year having won six of the last eight races, the 29-year-old laid down his marker as he smashed the lap record on his way to pole position; the tenth of his career in the UK’s premier motorsport series.
Topping the times in the opening segment, the three-time champion then upped the ante during the Top Ten Showdown as he punched in a best time of 1:24.832 to claim outright honours by two tenths of a second.
Race day would see the front-wheel-drive racer add to his silverware collection as he tallied a pair of measured drives across races one and two.
Blasting off the line for the opening encounter, Sutton dropped behind the fast-starting BMW of Jake Hill (Laser Tools with MB Racing) to cruise to the second step on the rostrum.
Race two proved to be a carbon copy result as Sutton again shadowed Hill all the way to the chequered flag; albeit this time he had to withstand pressure from reigning champion Tom Ingram (BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8) at times.
Sutton's race day came to a premature end in the reverse grid finale, as contact with Ingram on the run down to the first corner resulted in an early DNF.
Ashley Sutton: “It’s frustrating to be going into the summer break off the back of a non-finish and basically having seen all of our hard work over recent weeks be undone immediately because of one incident.
“Since Donington Park we’ve been playing catch up and there’s no denying that we've been on a mega run of results. I’d been chipping away at things and finishing in front of Tom [Ingram] in those first two races had got the gap up to a number that I was happy with.
“Despite seeing the lead cut to six points there are plenty of positives to take away from the weekend. The car and team are working at a phenomenal level and I’m feeling better than ever behind the wheel.
“We’ve got a nice summer break to hit the reset button, see what more performance we can extract and then its off to Croft – a place I absolutely love – to kick off the second half of the season. This title battle is only going to get tougher but I’m more than ready for the fight.”
The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship returns to action on 29/30 July, when the series makes its annual trip to Croft Circuit for Rounds 16, 17 and 18.
The One Motorsport with Starline Racing crew celebrated a lock-out of the winners’ silverware in the Independents Trophy division of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Oulton Park last weekend (17/18 June).
Josh Cook took two victories at the picturesque Cheshire track during Rounds 13 and 14, while Aiden Moffat collected a battling triumph during the meeting finale in his Japanese hatchback. It was another challenging weekend for the team’s third driver Will Powell, after an opening race which had delivered much promise.
Cook broke into the front positions in qualifying, and was part of the Top Ten Shootout for pole position; he lined up on the fourth row of the grid for the opening bout.
The Bath racer made progress in the opening 15-lapper for a competitive sixth spot at the flag and underscored his pace with fifth in the second race, which was his second Independents’ glory of the meeting – his success extended his advantage at the head of the Independents’ Trophy points table to a whopping 60 points at the halfway stage.
In race three, where most drivers were using the harder tyres, Cook then grabbed his third top-10 finish of the weekend, with a fighting seventh place at the flag.
“That was a good weekend in terms of consistency and banking the points, but I always want more,” said Cook. “It is always so hard to overtake at Oulton Park because of the nature of the track and so I was a bit stuck in the races themselves.
“Despite that, it is clear that the One Motorsport with Starline Racing crew and I are making the right kind of progress with the car. We have had so much learning to do over the start of the season with what is effectively a new chassis to us and a new engine, and that means every event is a journey for us all, but solidly banking the points while we aim to get to the front is very positive.
“While it is nice to get onto the podium and collect the trophy for the Independents glory, I am always going to be striving to be on the very top and first overall. So long as we keep pushing and working in the way we have already been, I am very confident we will get there.”
Moffat started the opening race on the seventh row. However, opting for the hard tyre in race one whilst most others were on the softer compound, as well as a technical issue, meant he came home in 20th spot.
The Scotsman then bolted on the more favourable softer tyres for race three and produced one of the drives of the event as he cut through the pack to sixth at the flag, right on the bootlid of the leading pack.
“It is strange, because I overtook nine cars and landed the Independents’ Trophy win, but I was still left slightly frustrated," Moffat admitted. “I thought an overall podium might have been on the cards. But, because I had been so aggressive at the start to get up the order, the tyres started to wear out at the end and I had to bank what I had.
“While that was a bit disappointing, I am happy with the steps forward we are making. I have had two strong meetings at Thruxton and now at Oulton Park, and we are getting into the sort of positions that I want to be in. There is a lot to build on and things are moving in the right direction.”
Powell lined up in 26th place after a spin in the qualifying session but chopped his way through the lower order in race one to climb to an impressive 19th position at the flag. However, mid-pack contact in race two broke the steering on his Honda and he went off. He rebounded with a 21st place finish in the weekend’s finale.
“Race one was how things should go,” explained Powell. “I got hit in race two but the One Motorsport with Starline Racing team did a great job, as ever, to put the car back together again.
“In race three, we were starting from the back on the harder tyres. That meant making progress was always going to be a tough ask. The entire race was a struggle.
“It is all about putting a weekend together across qualifying and all three races, and I feel like that hasn’t come to me yet. Despite that, I have enjoyed the learning. I am taking all the positives I can from my experiences in touring cars.”
The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship now enters a five-week break before it resumes at Croft in North Yorkshire on 29/30 July.
The BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8 team grabbed two more podium finishes in their quest for the Championship title.
The Suffolk-based outfit went into the weekend bidding to replicate the strong form it had displayed at the circuit last season.
Tom Ingram headed the times at the wheel of the #1 Hyundai i30 Fastback N, whilst there was also encouraging pace from Tom Chilton, Ronan Pearson and Nick Halstead; the latter pair appearing at Oulton Park in a touring car for the first time.
After more solid running in FP2, confidence was high going into qualifying - although the two-part session would prove to be a challenge.
Whilst Ingram made it into Q2 with ease, during the final top ten showdown he placed sixth on the times, with Chilton also enduring a tricky session that left him 21st.
That was two places behind Pearson, who was the final driver to lap within a second of the fastest Q1 time, Halstead put himself in 25th.
Ingram’s performance in the opening race saw him rise to third place to secure a spot on the podium behind title rival Ash Sutton (NAPA Racing UK), whilst Chilton made up five places on the first lap and fought his way up to twelfth.
Pearson had a tough first lap that dropped him outside the top 20 and then an error at the hairpin saw him run wide and cost him places, with the Scot classified in 18th place at the finish. Battling throughout with Nic Hamilton (Go-Fix with Autoaid Breakdown) and Jade Edwards (Re.Beverages and Bartercard with Team HARD), Halstead finished 23rd.
Race two would see Ingram replicate his earlier result as he secured another third-place finish, with Chilton tried to recover from mid-race contact at the hairpin and finished 11th. Pearson as he ended up in 17th place having earlier been fighting for a place in the points, with Halstead enjoying another trouble-free race in 24th.
With the expected rain not arriving for the reverse grid race three, all four drivers were on the hard tyre alongside most of the field, with Ingram and Sutton making contact off the line and confusion when an early safety car was called. He made a fourth-place finish.
Chilton would spend the early stages in the top ten before dropping back to twelfth place, with Pearson just missing out on the points in P17. Halstead meanwhile took the flag in 19th place for a third top 20 result of the season.
Tom Ingram said: "This should really have been our weekend like it was last year, but we were left playing catch up after Q2 when we just couldn’t get the tyres hooked up for whatever reason.”
"Yet again we’ve scored good points this weekend and whilst it might not be the most exciting way to go racing, our approach has served us well again and allowed us to close the gap at the top ahead of the summer break."
Tom Chilton said: "It’s good to come away from the weekend with three points finish, especially after a difficult qualifying session where we just weren’t quick enough. In race trim, the car was brilliant and I showed that it is possible to overtake round Oulton Park in race one to come through to P12.”
"Three points finishes is a good way to head into the summer break, but I hope to be fighting higher up the order when racing resumes and pushing to get back on that podium."
Ronan Pearson said: "We’ve been able to learn a huge amount this weekend but there are things that happened on track that ultimately didn’t allow us to get the results. It’s a shame as the car felt really good and we were quicker than the cars around us, but this is a circuit where track position really is key.”
"We showed that you can overtake and it would have been nice to go into the summer break with more points on the board, but I’m pleased with how I performed."
Nick Halstead said: "I love Oulton Park and this weekend has been a similar story to a number of rounds this year. By the end of the third race, I was up to speed and to get a top 20 finish without it being down to mixed weather was mega and something I really enjoyed.
"I think my starts hurt me this weekend, but my race craft was good and it’s a positive that I found myself being held up as it shows we were on the pace. I’m getting closer to the position I want to be in, where I can turn up for race one and be able to fight, but I’m thoroughly enjoying the whole experience."
Ricky Collard led the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK charge as the Championship concluded the opening half of its 2023 campaign at Oulton Park in Cheshire last weekend (17/18 June), achieving his best result of the season to-date on Speedworks Motorsport’s home soil.
Collard and team-mates Rory Butcher and George Gamble entered qualifying aiming to progress through to the second part of the session – the ‘Top Ten Showdown’ – in the knowledge that grid position at Oulton is often key, given the difficulty of overtaking around the 2.26km circuit.
All three drivers were in the mix as the clock ticked down in Q1, with Collard and Butcher safely booking their spots in Q2 while Gamble missed out by a tenth-of-a-second. Collard then maintained his Q1 form in the shootout to secure a season-best third on the grid, with Butcher winding up ninth and Gamble 14th.
The next day, Collard initially held position before conceding a place to defending champion Tom Ingram (BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8). Thereafter, the 26-year-old battled multiple race-winners Dan Cammish (NAPA Racing UK) and Josh Cook (One Motorsport with Starline Racing) to cement fourth at the chequered flag behind the wheel of his British-built Toyota Corolla GR Sport.
Having advanced to eighth, a five-second penalty for a false start and a minor error demoted Butcher outside of the points, while Gamble had climbed to 12th when a technical problem forced him into the pits and retirement approaching mid-distance.
Collard ran up at the sharp end again in race two, until he touched the grass in the closing stages, costing him positions and leaving him a frustrated ninth. Butcher was next up in tenth as the Kirkcaldy native battled back from his earlier disappointment. Nottinghamshire driver Gamble similarly gained ground from the tail-end of the grid after his race one DNF to wind up 20th.
The Toyota trio subsequently ran together for a while in the day’s finale, with Collard and Butcher ultimately replicating their race two results in ninth and tenth respectively, as Gamble picked up a handful of points just behind in 11th.
Rory Butcher said: “It was a steady if unspectacular weekend, I would say. We were missing a little bit in the top ten shootout in qualifying, and at Oulton, your race day is so often conditioned by your starting position. I was on the back of the second pack of cars in race one and thought we might be able to make some inroads, but unfortunately, the penalty and small mistake then dropped us out of the points, which was frustrating.
“I was pleased to climb back into the top ten in race two, and race three was something of a journey into the unknown on the hard tyres. Still, we managed to come away with another top ten finish, and now the focus shifts to unlocking that last little bit of performance over the next few weeks that will allow us to really take the fight to the front-runners in the remaining rounds.”
Ricky Collard said: “I was really happy with third place in qualifying. The team gave me an absolutely unreal car – the Corolla was just fantastic – and it was a proper lap, one of the best I’ve ever done around Oulton. That put us in a really good position for the races, when I was looking forward to getting my teeth stuck in.”
“I think race one was the maximum we could do. The car felt good and I managed to keep [Dan] Cammish behind me, which was positive, although I was hoping it would come to me slightly more towards the end.”
George Gamble said: “After struggling at Thruxton, Oulton Park was a much stronger weekend all-round. Right from the outset, we had solid pace and it was nice to be back inside the top ten in free practice, although obviously disappointing to miss out on progressing through to the shootout in qualifying by such a tiny margin. That’s the BTCC, though – it’s not the country’s toughest championship for nothing.”
“Sunday was then a bit eventful, all-in-all. I was gutted to have to retire from race one with a technical issue as we were moving forwards, but to make up nine positions in race three and fight our way into the points was a mega end to the day and a very positive way to go into the summer break.”
Following a six-week break, the BTCC will continue at Croft in North Yorkshire on 29/20 July.
