As we draw closer to the final two race weekends of the 2024 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, we’re taking a look back at the story so far in each of the respective championships before the final push for glory.

Continuing with the Independent Drivers’ Championship, click here to see the story of the first half of the season, and read on for the most recent updates…

Croft - Rounds 16-17-18

After taking three quarters of all victories in the opening half of the season, Árón Taylor-Smith came break from the mid-season break as he left before it. The Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing driver took two independent victories in the opening two races of the day at Croft to extend his championship lead.

Mikey Doble, Taylor-Smith’s teammate, would see the rear bumper of his Vauxhall Astra counterpart for all of the trip to the North-Yorkshire venue. The #88 would finish in second in the Independent Drivers’ class as his team-mate won and would finish third in the final bout of the day.

In fact, the Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing pair had won all of the races before said final bout, until Chris Smiley broke the 100% record in Round 18. The Restart Racing driver would stand on the top step of the podium despite a non-score in the race before as a Cupra Leon would top a category for the first time this season.

Independent Drivers' Standings - Event 6

Knockhill - Rounds 19-20-21

As Taylor-Smith continued his first-half season form, the Irishman then repeated his points output from Croft again at Knockhill with two wins and a second-place finish. The battle behind would become tighter as Restart Racing continued to take steps forward.

Doble would initially start the day well, backing up his team-mate’s victory with a second-place finish. Form and fortune would not go the #88’s way, however, as a fourth-place finish and a non-score would round out his weekend north of the border.

Smiley would stand upon the podium in all three races with a second-place finish being the highlight of the day in the second contest. It would be his team-mate Scott Sumpton who would dent the Vauxhall Astra’s win percentage with a victory in the final race of the day to close in on fourth-placed Daryl DeLeon (Duckhams Racing with Un-Limited Motorsport) to only two points.

Independent Drivers' Standings - Event 7

Donington Park GP - Rounds 22-23-24

After taking two victories at each event since the summer break, Taylor-Smith would not complete the same feat at Donington Park but instead winning all three races on the GP layout. The gap between the two Astras out in front would grow to 59 points before the final two events.

Smiley would outpace Doble to take home the second-place trophy in the opening bout of the day before luck would reverse for the pair from the previous event. The #88 would return to the second-place spot on the podium for the rest of the weekend as the Restart Racing driver would fall to third in race two before a non-score in race three.

DeLeon and Sumpton would equal each other after the opening two contests on the GP circuit remaining two points apart. Until Smiley’s misfortune in the final race would allow the pair to fight over a podium place in which the Duckhams Racing with Un-Limited Motorsport driver would take advantage to grow the points margin from two to four.

Independent Drivers' Standings - Event 8