Charles Rainford heads to Brands Hatch (10/11 October) with a maiden Independent Drivers’ Championship still within reach following an impressive second season in the BTCC.

The WSR driver sits third in the standings on 345 points, 28 behind championship leader Mikey Doble and just three adrift of Gordon Shedden. Four Independent victories, six second-place finishes and one third have kept the #99 firmly in contention heading into the final weekend of the campaign.

Rainford has also enjoyed a strong trajectory with his best BTCC season in year two. An opening-event podium at Donington Park was followed by a standout weekend at Snetterton, where he won the Race to Pole before converting pole position into victory in Race 1. He then made it back-to-back winning weekends by charging to the front in the Oulton Park finale.

A tougher spell followed during the second half of the campaign, but Rainford has built momentum again as the season has reached its closing stages. Fifth overall at Croft brought his third Independent victory of the year before another strong showing at Silverstone, where he charged to third in Race 2 to secure his fourth outright podium of 2026 and another maximum score in the Independent Drivers’ Championship.

Now the battle moves to Brands Hatch, a venue already responsible for some of Rainford’s biggest BTCC moments. He claimed his maiden victory on the Indy Circuit in 2025 and returns to the Grand Prix layout as its current qualifying lap record holder.

With one weekend remaining, 28 points is the deficit to Doble. Rainford remains firmly in the fight.

Stats

Independent Drivers’ Championship: 3rd – 345 points
Independent Wins: 4
Independent Podiums: 11
Overall Drivers’ Championship: 7th – 247 points
Overall Wins: 2
Overall Podiums: 4

Snetterton Race 1 - Round 7:

Oulton Park Race 3 - Round 12: