Restart Racing battled through a thrilling day of mixed conditions at Knockhill in the 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, with Chris Smiley (#22) and James Dorlin (#132) scoring a double points finish.
The team entered Sunday encouraged by its strongest qualifying performance of the campaign. Smiley secured fourth in Saturday’s Race to Pole, while Dorlin would come 15th after contact whilst running in the top eight.
A heavy downpour shortly before the opening bout of race day left the circuit in treacherous conditions with limited visibility. The whole grid, including both Restart Racing Hyundai i30 N cars, started on wet tyres.
Smiley started from fourth but immediately dropped to fifth after Charles Rainford (WSR) passed him at Duffus Dip on the opening lap. Dorlin’s start differed, gaining two positions to move into 13th.
The difficult conditions soon began to affect the #22, who was struggling with a misted windscreen, causing visibility issues. After losing ground, Dorlin moved ahead of Smiley at Taylor’s Hairpin on lap seven, placing the duo 13th and 14th.
Smiley’s race became even more challenging when contact with Árón Taylor-Smith (Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport) saw him off the circuit at McIntyre’s. The Irishman recovered to 19th, while Dexter Patterson (Steel Seal with Power Maxed Racing) passed Dorlin as the pair continued to battle in the midfield.
The Yorkshireman initially crossed the line in 16th, directly ahead of Smiley in 17th. Both drivers were subsequently promoted one position following a penalty for NAPA Racing UK’s Dan Cammish, pushing the pair up one spot each.
With the circuit dry for the middle race of the day, both drivers switched to the soft tyre. Both drivers gained a position during a frenetic opening lap. The Safety Car was deployed to allow the stricken car of Aiden Moffat (LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing) to be recovered.
Racing resumed on lap five, with Smiley making strong progress through the order as he recovered from an early setback.
A string of overtakes lifted the Restart Racing driver into the top ten before he passed Cammish for ninth. His charge was brought to a premature end on lap 22, however, when damage sustained earlier in the race led to a front upright failure and sent him into the gravel at Duffus Dip.
The incident resulted in the team’s first retirement of the season and triggered a second Safety Car period. Dorlin also made ground following the restart, eventually taking the chequered flag in 14th.
Both cars ran the medium tyre for the final race, with Dorlin starting 14th and Smiley lining up 20th following his earlier retirement.
The #22 made immediate progress through the field, while Dorlin was shuffled back following contact with Daryl De Leon (WSR) in the opening laps.
The pair later found themselves in a close battle with championship leader Ash Sutton (NAPA Racing UK), with both Restart Racing cars briefly moving ahead during a lively scrap for the points-paying positions.
Smiley and Dorlin continued to run closely together through the closing stages but were unable to make further progress, eventually taking the chequered flag in 14th and 15th respectively to secure a double-points finish for the team.
Chris Smiley, #22 Restart Racing, said: “That’s Knockhill finished for another year. It promised to be one of our best weekends after the pace we showed in Qualifying and the Race to Pole.
“I started race one from fourth and unfortunately had an issue with my heated windscreen. I couldn’t see where I was going, so we fell back and eventually finished 16th.
“We made great progress in race two and climbed from 16th to ninth. I had a slight lock-up on some water on the inside at Taylor’s Hairpin and made unintentional contact with another car. That damaged the front upright, which then failed as I went into Duffus Dip and caused our first DNF of the season.
“We started race three from 20th on the medium tyre, and recovered to finish 14th. We’re going home feeling as though we’ve let a weekend get away from us because it could have delivered much more.”
James Dorlin, #132 Restart Racing, said: “Knockhill is done, and it had been a really, really tough weekend. We had the pace to be right at the front, but we weren’t in the right place at the right time and kept getting pushed around.
“In race three, we were moving forward during the opening laps and the car felt good. I was pushed wide on lap two; it compromised our race because, although we recovered several positions, we had lost too much ground through that initial contact.
“That’s touring car racing, unfortunately, especially around a circuit like Knockhill. It’s one to put behind us, and I’m really looking forward to Donington Park and seeing what we can achieve there.”
