Daryl DeLeon put WSR back on the podium at Croft on an intense day of Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship racing on Sunday.
The Cambridgeshire-based racer, who celebrated his 20th birthday a day earlier, was on inspired form in North Yorkshire as he scored his second rostrum result of 2025 and bagged a brace of Jack Sears Trophy (JST) wins to maintain his category advantage.
DeLeon had already marked himself as one to watch on race day as he climbed from 10th on the grid to sixth by the race one chequered flag, aided by a well-judged getaway in his BMW 330i M Sport.
Taking advantage of the opening race’s top three finishers being mandated to start the second bout on the hard-compound Goodyear tyres, the Brands Hatch race winner surged forwards through the 15-lap encounter.
The Anglo-Filippino moved into third place just before half-distance with a well-judged move at the final corner and never looked threatened afterwards as he scored his second career podium.
That was his second JST win of the day. He was eliminated in the closing fixture of the weekend – an innocent victim after stablemate Charles Rainford and Dan Cammish came together at the complex with the latter unable to slow whilst on the grass.
DeLeon's misfortune opened the door for the LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR driver, Rainford, to take his second JST event victory – and his first since Brands Hatch in May.
The #99’s 47-point haul was seven more than the #2 and came as a result of eighth, sixth and 13th-place finishes overall for the Sussex racer.
The BTCC rookie constantly moved forwards from his starting positions and made it up to second place within the first few corners of race three as he and team-mate Aiden Moffat circulated in one-two formation.
As rapid as his opening lap was, the front-running duo was short lived. Contact led to him dropping down the order on the second tour and lost further ground from being spun at the hairpin later on.
Moffat, meanwhile, achieved his best weekend points haul since the Donington Park opener. The #16 superbly finished 13th – three places higher than he started – in the opening contest whilst using the hard tyre.
The Scotsman ten progressed well to ninth in race two and was then drawn on pole position for the finale’s partially-reversed grid.
Despite a firm, but fair, defence of his position, Moffat would lose his lead at the end of opening lap, continuing to fall come two-thirds distance. That dropped him to sixth, which was still his best finish of the weekend and will spur him on to even more in two weeks’ time when he races on home soil at Knockhill.
Daryl De Leon, WSR: “I’d call it a good weekend. We had strong results in races one and two with sixth and a podium, but it’s been an unfortunate end after I was caught in an incident in race three that meant I had to retire. We’ve made a step forwards with performance so we’re heading in the right direction. A huge thank you to WSR for all the work they’ve put into the season so far.”
Charles Rainford, LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR: “It’s been a good day. The BMW’s been fast so thanks to WSR for putting me back at the sharp end. We’ve had some good results, taken the Jack Sears Trophy win and had a very entertaining Race Three. Getting up to second on the hard tyre was great. I knew I was always going to fall back, but to do that and be spun around and still recover to win the JST was a nice achievement. We’ll go to Knockhill with our heads held high.”
Aiden Moffat, LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR: “We were fighting at the front, which was nice, but it was ultimately a frustrating end to the day. Tom [Ingram] got me on my right-rear wheel, which let Ash [Sutton] by for the lead, but I thought we were still on for a podium..."
Dick Bennetts, Team Principal: “You could call today ‘mixed’. On the one hand we’ve had some encouraging performances from all three drivers, who have been able to go forwards whenever they were on the soft tyre, Daryl’s finished on the podium with a very good drive in race two and Charles has taken the Jack Sears Trophy win overall. I’m disappointed for Aiden, who defended his position well and thoroughly deserved to finish on the podium in the last race, but we’ve seen enough from the BMW today to feel like we’ve made some progress and hopefully we can do more at Knockhill.”
